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Carey and I drove past our house yesterday. As Google Maps reported, it's 1.7 miles to the Millcreek Mall. Whoo! 😛

The experience wasn't quite what we had thought it would be. We talked about it later in the evening. Neither of us felt much excitement - we drove past it, we looked, and we drove on. There was a car in the driveway and the "for sale" sign was still in the yard. We've only paid about $5,350 so far ($5,000 down + the appraisal fee), so we've yet to plop down the "big chunk" - the $37,000 or so due at closure. Maybe we'll feel differently then.

For me, I know that my own lack of excitement is tempered by the knowledge that I have to move again. I hate moving. To college. Back home. To Florida. Back to PA. The massive interruption in a daily schedule, the stupid expenses, the physical effort - it's all just a big pain, and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm not looking forward to buying all the stupid little things you need. The day I'll be most excited about the house thing? The day we can finally say "ok, we're done moving in" and I can sit on my couch, turn on my TV, and relax for ten minutes.

Perhaps we'll feel differently when there's a SOLD sign on the post in the yard.

I have no idea how anyone could possible think these new Longhorn screenshots look good.

Today, just a day after we had snow on the ground (again!), the Tuesday Night League at Lake View Country Club begins. I'm playing on team #7: "North East Glass" as the "#1 guy."

It's currently windy, 50°, and wet with a very high chance of continued thunderstorms. Fun. Joy. Happiness.

It's odd that I've been more stressed about playing in the league than I have about buying a house. 🙂

Question: Do you believe that Hell, as traditionally described, exists?

My Answer: Hell exists in one's mind.

I'm asking this question because a friend of mine recently told me that there are a lot of religious people who believe that "Hell" as everyone describes it is a myth, a fairy tale designed to teach children that being bad leads to punishment. That the reality is that some sort of "spiritual garden" (i.e. "heaven") is the only place for the afterlife. That all are washed clean (or all of a certain belief, anyway) and that all transcend the digressions of their physical life to exist in eternity in their spiritual life. Or something like that.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

The folks currently living in the home Carey and I bought asked for "15/DAC" or "15 days after close" before possession is turned over. We asked our realtor if that was unusual, and she said "yeah, you don't see it very much, but people often do that because they're not sure they can find a place and move in the time they need to. They usually don't need to use any of the time."

It's not as unusual as I thought, either. Here's a house in a nearby neighborhood, and they're requesting thirty days after close (and $8700 down, for some reason - Carey and I put $5000 down and it was a bit more than the closing costs).

We can also pro-rate the water and electricity bill. My real estate agent is now on vacation in Florida, so, I'll be talking to her in about a week, I guess.

Question: Daniel, in a comment on a previous entry, suggested that given the low mortgage rate, it's better to invest your money than to pay off a mortgage early. Today's question is simply this: what investments safely yield an 8% or higher return, can be easily withdrawn for large purchases (car, etc.), and require little capital to start?

My Answer: I dunno. I'm askin' y'all. 🙂

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Imagine an American man of 30. He has a young family, he's been married for a few years, and he's looking at buying a home very soon to raise his family. He'll change diapers and put money into a college savings account. He'll watch school plays and mow his lawn. He may never own a gun.

He'll do nearly everything that he can to protect his family, but he'll never spend the $300 and the five hours it might take to someday save the lives of his wife and daughter. Seemingly, this man acts as though he believes that the life of someone who would harm his family is more valuable than the lives of his family. This man is ignorant of statistics and studies which show how frequently guns are used in self defense, and how much more frequently unarmed victims who comply with a criminal's requests are raped, injured, or killed.

Is this man is failing in his responsibility to protect his family?

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Carey and I went to sign the mortgage today after first stopping by to sign the contract. It's now about as official as it can get. Just a few steps remain:

1. Get a home inspection (home, pest, radon). Scheduled for 3:30 on Thursday.
2. Get home insurance. Carey and I will call around today.
3. Get the money ready. That's happening soon.
4. Closing is set for May 27, give or a take a little.
5. Wait…
6. Move. Gosh, I hate moving.

The whole process has been pretty stress-free for me. Heck, buying my dog was more stressful. A mortgage payment of barely more than I paid - alone - for rent in Florida just isn't cause for stress, I guess ($1009.04/mo for 30 years and $210k in interest or $1360.47/mo for 15 years for $91k in interest - which do you think we'll choose? :-P).

Finally, Thursday, I should be able to get my own pictures. The inspector takes some (we chose Pillar to Post), so they shouldn't have any problems with us taking some too. We just want to get the colors so we can buy some accessories.

Right, cuz Macs have always been the ones with the funny file naming conventions. Particularly when displaying images in Web browsers. Uhhhh, no.

Nice little slap, there, Adobe, but I'll gladly uncheck the "Mac OS 9" and "Windows" checkboxes (after I found them - what a pain) and leave the "UNIX" box checked.

So here's where I'll be living come June 12, 2005. Right there on that little bend in the street. The "x" marks the location of a picture (see the extended entry) and the black lines mark the land that's ours (Update: this isn't accurate - we're right against the street. Duh.). The black rectangle is roughly where the house sits, though it is just a rectangle here in the picture.

We close on May 27th, but the sellers asked for "15/DAC" which means they get to live there for up to fifteen days after closing. We're paying the mortgage, they're living there. I've heard of "rent-back" but that's usually only an issue if the seller stays for longer than two weeks. I don't mind too much - it's part of the deal - but it kinda sucks to have to wait an "extra" 15 days.

Some pictures from the real estate listing site are in the extended entry, but keep these floor plans in mind:

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Quick update. The couple that owns the house now counter-offered at $192,000 and no washer and dryer (a $3,000 pair or so) and we accepted. Why someone would bother to risk offending someone for a measly thousand bucks is beyond me.

Question: If you weren't always a Mac user, how did you come to be a Mac user?

My Answer: I've always been a Mac user, though for a few months my freshman year of college I used my roommate's PC. Then I bought my own Mac.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

The house Carey and I are interested in came on the market on Monday at $194,900. We saw it on Thursday as part of a five-house tour, though we left off one house that didn't look appealing and cut other visits short after seeing the house we liked.

The house is in a nice little neighborhood but only a few minutes from the Millcreek Mall (which passes for "entertainment" around here :-P). It was built in 1991. We liked it and went back to see it the next day (yesterday) at noon with Carey's mom. We all liked it, and we wrote down some details (the kitchen island has plenty of drawers and cabinets, yes - etc.).

We planned to put in an offer on Tuesday after Carey knew for certain that her job was good - the one she all but locked up a few weeks ago. The house had seen no action other than Carey and I in the first four days on the market, and the homeowner is away, so we thought we might have time.

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Question: If you could write one question of the day for me, with the guarantee that I'll use it if it's usable (and hasn't already been used), what would it be?

My Answer: If you could write one question of the day for me, with the guarantee that I'll use it if it's usable (and hasn't already been used), what would it be?

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Carey and I put an offer in on the house we're interested in. Not the first one, again, but the second one. I'll draw up a floor plan and some other things later.

We'll know by tomorrow at 5pm what the deal is. Wowee!