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| Street View |
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| Just Got the Keys |
It is getting close to Thanksgiving and I have not given an update on my new house. I need to get better about updating my blog. It has been since Memorial Day. The updates tend to be more around holidays. I does take time to create and edit this blog. Maybe if I did shorter updates it would not take as long. On May 27th I signed the closing papers on my house. Of course I had to wait for the bank to sign the papers and then for the title to get recorded at the county before I got the keys. So on June 1st, I got the keys to my house. Longest four days in my life. And then the work began!
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| Side Alley with Air Conditioner Unit |
As I stated in my previous blog the house was a REO and owned by the bank. Before I purchased the home I had an inspection done which gave me a good indication of what work needed to be done. So the first task was to get the HVAC tested. I had a local HVAC company come out and as I suspected the air handler unit needed to be replaced. It was at least 17 years old. For those of us from the midwest I would have called this a furnace. But I was told we don't have furnaces in Sacramento. The temperature here in the winter very seldom falls below freezing. However during the summer it can get into the 100s on a moments notice. The good news was the air conditioner unit on the outside of the house was only two years old. The HVAC contractor also cleaned all the vents and ducts. I am so glad I did this. The house is 33 years old and if you could have seen what they pulled out of the ducts you would be calling to have your cleaned too.
The next big item was the carpets. I decided that the carpets were too damaged (worn and stained) and the previous owner had pets so I had all new carpet installed throughout the house and new linoleum floor in the kitchen. Interesting thing with the linoleum, Lowe's would not remove the existing two layers of flooring and just want to put the new layer down on top the old. Luckily my friend Jesse picked up a scrapper from the hardware store and we removed the old flooring ourselves. Not a fun task.
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| Spare Bedroom with Blinds |
There were no blinds, except for the sliding glass door, so I ordered some nice faux (fake) wood horizontal blinds and had them installed through out the house. The ceiling fans that were in the house were all damaged so in came four new ceiling fans. The old ceiling fans were also not attached to anything but drywall so my handyman Polo got to climb into the attic and install bracing for each fan. Did I mention how hot it gets in Sacramento in the summer! One door from the garage to the house had to be replaced with a fire door and then I also had another door from the garage to the side yard that was damaged and Polo replaced it with a steel door.
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| TV with Security Camera Monitoring |
In the home inspection there were a number of other items that were identified that needed to be corrected. One of the spare bedrooms electric outlets were wired incorrectly. One of my gadget projects was to install an eight camera video security system that I can even monitor remotely with my iPhone or iPad. This along with my Security System should give me half a chance against any theft. I also had a new mailbox installed. The mailbox and the post are made of heavy duty steel and has a drop slot with a lock box. After having mail stolen in 2007 and dealing with the identity fraud that resulted, I hope this mailbox does the job. If not one of the cameras keeps an eye on the mailbox too.
For a house warming gift, my mother bought me a refrigerator from Sears. What a lifesaver, one less big item to buy and it's wonderful. It is a French door refrigerator with a bottom freezer and ice and water in the door for easy access. The next appliances were the washer and dryer. It is so nice to have a full size washer and dryer, the units in the apartment were so small. Another lifesaver was the dining room set. My former roommate, Robert, offered me his dining room set when I moved out. With all the other expenses going on it was nice to not have to buy a dining room set and refridgerator . I still have hopes that Robert will want to move in after the holidays, but we will see. My roommate searches have not turned up any good candidates.
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| Living Room |
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| Dining Room and Kitchen |
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| Front Door Entry Way |
Luckily the inside of the house did not need completely repainted. Friends and I painted three bedrooms, all of the closets and one wall in the dining room / kitchen area. Then on June 24 the moving company picked up my belongings from my apartment and I was moved into the house.
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| Pond |
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| Landscaping outside my bedroom window |
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| Bushes, Tree and Flowers |
One of my favorite aspects of the house is the landscaping. The entire yard has an automatic sprinkler system with a timer. The landscaping was set up with a drip system at one time. I bought two sprinkler timers and re-run plastic tubing to the drip runs. I also had to buy a filter and pump for the pond that was in the yard. I found a good lawn guy who does a good job of keeping the yard cut and shrubs trimmed.
In August I had a housewarming / birthday party at the house. It was Jesse's birthday. There was lots of food and beverages. Even the real estate agent came and she brought tons of stuff for the party and I got some neat gifts. I got a bird feeder. I love watching the birds in the backyard. I also got a cover for my new grill and BBQ utensils. I also got solar lights for the yard.
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| New Queen Sleigh Bed |
It is amazing how much stuff you need in a house compared to an apartment. It does not take long for these little items to add up. As a present to myself I bought a new queen size bedroom set. This also allowed me to fill one of the spare bedrooms with my old bedroom set. Now friends may sleep on a real bed instead of the pull out couch. About a month into living at the house the kitchen stove went out and had to be replaced. I am sure the dishwasher will be next.
I really like the house, I never thought I would be able to get into a house while the kids were in college. I am eating more at home instead of going out and I love parking in a garage. I like not having neighbors on the sides of or below me. The houses are pretty close together but not like an apartment. My friends, Ben and Jesse who live down the street, and I take turns fixing breakfast or dinner on weekends and even sometimes during the week. A special thanks to Ben for spending a number of his days off waiting for a contractor to show up at my house either to install carpet or deliver something. Ben and Jessie helped a big time in getting the house ready.
Well, I leave for my Mom's on Friday to visit her and the kids. While traveling I will work on a Thanksgiving blog with an update on the kids. The week after New Year's the kids are also coming to Sacramento for a week during their Christmas break. So look out for a number of blog updates over the holidays.
Love ya,
Steven
