Waiting

Wednesday's photo was courtesy of my brother R. He used a scope and his cellphone to capture the photo of the hummingbird. I've never had any luck attracting them to this yard, while he has several that visit the feeder he has set up on the verandah.

Things slowed down some after the excitement of Wednesday. However, the refridgerater decided to add to it, developing a leak that was pooling in the bottom freezer. I called an appliance repair company, and they won't be able to come out until Monday (originally Tuesday but I got a call moving up the appointment. I really don't want to have to replace the fridge, but if it cannot be repaired I will have too. As I said to my realtor, mo' money, mo' money.  

I ran out to pick up a few groceries on Thursday, mostly the basics, eggs, bread, and some veg. But, I also needed Drano, because the damned kitchen sink started draining slowly. That fixed it, so no need for a repairman for that issue. 

The afternoon was spend outdoors or in the garage. I deadheaded flowers, watered containers and picked tomatoes. It sounds goofy, but I was happy to empty a couple of bags of yard waste into my new green bin. The pick-up won't happen until the week of Sept. 4, but I still have lots of room in the bin. The dirtiest job was washing down the garage floor - I'd swept it out, but oh my, the dirt that clings to it. I used the push broom to move most of the dirty water out of the garage and onto the driveway. Since the garage door was open, I took the opportunity to sit in the shade off the patio and read for awhile. I needed the break!

On Friday morning, I texted the realtor to ask about the house inspection. He tried to contact the other realtor, but heard nothing back from him. We also discovered that the couple had yet to list their property on MLS. 

I only spent a short time outside, watering the back lawn. Housework took precedence until mid-morning, when I was cleaning out the fridge and realized I had a container of blueberries that needed to be used up. I didn't have enough for a pie, and didn't to make muffins, so I looked up a recipe for a galette. It isn't the prettiest piece of pastry but oh my, does it taste good!

Saturday, we met the realtor at one of three properties we/I chose to view. The first one was the one C liked the best from the photos on the realtor website. It's a smaller house, but as he says he doesn't need anything very big. The main floor measures about 900 square feet and has two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen/dining area, and living room. Off the front door is a lovely deck that has room for a couple of chairs and a table. The basement has been developed with a rec room, two additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and also contains large utility room with the laundry set, furnace, a/c and water heater. The back yard has been xeriscaped and contains a decent sized cement patio, as well as a single car garage. What impressed me, C less so, was the amount of storage in the house. It seemed that there closets and cupboards in nearly every room. Again, something he doesn't need, but this was clearly a family of five living in the home so it is currently being well used. There is some work that can be done, mostly cosmetic, though the windows will need replacing in a few years. We did learn that the shingles are being replaced next week and that would have been an issue that we would have raised in any event.

The second property looked good in the photos, but was a huge disappointment. It was clear that the renovations on the interior had been done by a do-it-yourself-er and not a handy one at that. As the realtor said, "just because you can drive to Rona, doesn't mean you should." The basement looked dangerous with cut-outs in the joists to hold pipes and other boards. A two story, we didn't even make it upstairs to see the bedroom spaces.

The final house was just listed this week. Photos looked pretty good, and the first impression on entering was decent. Though an older house, built in 1945, it had 9 foot ceilings on the main floor. The kitchen had been updated at some point with orange oak cabinets, and the main bathroom had also been updated. But the basement again, was less appealing. There was an unregulated one bedroom suite in the basement, a diy'er bathroom, and a laundry/furnace room that obviously had water issues. Both a fan and a de-humidifier were running while we were there. Again, we didn't bother to look at the garage and back yard. 

The realtor still hasn't heard back from the other realtor, but we know that conditions must be lifted by Wednesday. He assumes they are holding off as they are waiting for confirmation on the financing as they want to port their mortgage to this property. He thinks they'll have an answer by Monday. I can understand that, why pay several hundred dollars for a house inspection if the financing doesn't come through. 

So for the meantime, C won't be making an offer on the first house we viewed, at least until Thursday. While he can afford to go ahead, I want to be in a position to move as well. The dominoes just need to fall in order. Though it's a bit worrying, not knowing what is going on, I'm not in panic mode at this point. Ask me again on Wednesday. :p

Have a great week ahead everyone!