Finally Got A Closing Date...

GatorFan · June 15, 2008

Sorry guys, I have been scarce on here over the past couple of months. It seems like work and this house is driving all of my time. Anyway, I talked to the builder and we agreed on July 28th as the closing date. That works for me because I only have to pay three days of interest. All-in-all the house is turning out like my wife and I envisioned it. We had to get in their asses a few times but it is all coming together now. There are a few things they will not budge on and I can make those simple changes after we close. I know the foreman is going to have a party once he doesn't have to deal with me anymore.

Below are a few of the latest pics of the house. I plan on painting the garage floor the day we close because we don't have to move out of our apartment until August 11th, so we have plenty of time to allow it to dry.

This is the side of the house that is next to my neighbor. They are really cool people. He is an Emergency Room Surgeon. As soon as he found out I was a "Computer Dude" he told me to prepare to have my door beat on daily. That's cool because it's always awesome to have a Doctor as your neighbor!

This is the garage side of the house that faces the side street. As you can see, they still need to paint one part of the roof. I think the landscaping came out great. The property sales person told me that ever since people saw the garage, they are asking the builder why they couldn't have had theirs built bigger...

Here is a pic of the kitchen, cabinets, and granite countertops. They have already installed the wood flooring but kept it covered while they moved it the appliances and finished up the electrical and plumbing. My wife did a badass job selecting the cabinets, flooring, and counter top. They all look great together. No way, I could've chosen those just looking at pictures. Besides, all I really care about is my "MAN ROOM" (a.k.a. Garage)... As she tells it, the rest of the house is hers.

This is the front that faces the main street coming into the neighborhood. We are the second house coming into the neighborhood and I have a corner lot. The picture is kind of bad because the foreman took it as I was digging in his ass about the big hole they left in the yard when they ripped out their construction sign (you can see the grass scattered to the right of the "Under Contract" sign by the tree. The house looks kind of narrow in this pic but it's actually a nice-sized home for just me, the wife, and the mutt. It's a little over 2200sf.

I will take some pics once everything is nearing completion. Definitely when I finish the garage floor painting. Oh yeah, thanks Jeff for the advice on the garage floor painting. I also need to get up in the attic and complete my first project...creating a Central Wiring Point for my data, voice, and CATV. I hate the job they did on the wiring so I will be doing it the right way!

2000DV4.8 · June 15, 2008

Congrats, looks like it's really coming along nicely.

VMax2007 · June 15, 2008

Looks great!! And just to follow-up on the garage floor painting...I recoated mine with the gray epoxy, but this time I put a coat of the "Professional Grade Clearcoating" on top and I added the Anti-Slip additive and it came out GREAT!!! Floor is way tougher and it looks way nicer with the gloss clearcoat. A couple of weeks ago I was changing oil in my truck and one of the ramps slid while I was driving up it and I heard a "scratch" sound as it did. I thought for sure I had just dug a huge scratch in my nice newly coated floor and to my amazement, the clearcoat only got a light scratch in the surface, it did NOT even penetrate the clearcoat.

I HIGHLY recommend using the Professional Grade Rust-Oleum vs the standard grade stuff and I also HIGHLY recommend clearcoating it afterward. It will be worth the extra time, money and effort. Trust me, I learned it the hard way, don't make the same mistake I made.

Good Luck and remember...preparation is EVERYTHING!!!!

98silvz71 · June 15, 2008

That house is looking great.

dietz4ibanez · June 15, 2008

Conrgratulations house is gorgeous! That closing date will be here before you know it!!!

Darkanion · June 15, 2008

Looking good, Rob! I had been wondering how things were coming along. I'm glad to hear they're closing you at the end of the month. That should make closing quite a bit cheaper! Congrats!

cambo · June 15, 2008

Congrats and it is looking good! Now you can say "Is there a doctor in the house?"

pennzoil29 · June 16, 2008

I'm happy for you and your wife. Congrats again.

GatorFan · June 16, 2008

Thanks a lot fellas. This seems to have taken forever but the date is coming up fast. Jeff, I did see the professional series rustoleum garage floor system at Lowes (on line) so I will definitely go with that for the floor. I will probably pick it up on the 27th and then get started right after we close the next day. We don't plan on moving anything in the house until that next week so it will have plenty of time to dry/cure.

I am trying to figure out what to do with the front and back porch as far as the concrete goes. I really just want to seal it and maybe put something abrasive on the sealer while it is tacky to keep it from being slippery when it rains. My wife does not want me to paint either porch floor so I need some advice from you DIYers.

Thanks,

GatorFan · June 17, 2008

Well yesterday I got a phonecall that pissed me off. It seems the builder gets one last chance to pay me back for being a "concerned buyer." I was told by the closing manager I was given an incorrect date for closing and the girl that gave me this date was new at her job and unaware of the contract stipulations. WTF do I care! They made the mistake not me, and they should pay for it right! According to the contract, (which I read two months ago and couldn't remember $HIT about it) I only have three days to close from the time the occupancy certificate is issued. Anyway, the NEW closing date is now scheduled for July 17th which totally screws our plans but I will have to deal with it because we really like the house. It seems that I will have to pay for utilities for two places now for an additional two weeks which sucks but oh well. I will also have to burn a weeks worth of vacation to try and get things done ahead of schedule because of this new curve ball. They weren't kidding when my in-laws said that buying your first house is one of the most stressful things you will ever go through in life. Well I guess I can look on the bright side and say, "At least I will finally get to put my truck in a garage for the first time in its 8-year life."

Time to roll up my sleeves and get busy for the next few weeks because we have to play catch-up now. There are $hit-loads of stuff we have to do to get ready. I only hope the movers will be dependable this time. The good thing is that I get to follow my stuff straight to the house to off load it. OK, now the is over. I am still happy we are finally in the home-owners club.