Sunday, January 19, 2020

And Then There Were Three...

I was in my car at 7 am this morning, loaded down with stuff, driving the main drag just as I have for the last three days, thinking for a kid that prides himself on his small footprint this is taking forever.  A mile into the ride the radio breaks from commercial into Billy Joel's classic "Moving Out".  

So ridiculously appropriate.  

Well played universe.  Well played.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Bonus Son told us he was moving into an apartment 2 years ago with some friends we were elated.  It was time for him to be out on his own.  A gigantic step long overdue.

I think it was about 3 months in when I had a feeling it wasn't going to end well.  Just something about the whole situation, living with roommates that were engaged, just screamed instability to me. We decided to discuss options for when the lease was up.  Renting even a one bedroom anywhere within a hour drive was way out of his price point.  Sometimes you could find an in-law or a converted cottage on a month to month lease, but even that was risky and again, way out of his price point.  The more we looked at the options, the more buying became the most solid option.

So last year in January, we started looking.  We looked a A LOT of places.  So many we had to name them all to keep them all straight. While many were simply named "Nope", others included:

The Christmas House.
The Gut Job
The Chickadee House
The Swan Pond Condo
The Neighborhood House
The Beach Cottages
(and everyone's favorite)
The Crime Scene Condo

And after each possibility we were out bid, late to the game, or it was just a few thousand out of reach.  It began to feel like it may never happen.  Over the  months he continued to come back to one complex in town, which happens to be a few miles down the street.  After  looking at 7 units and making offers on three, it finally came down to one.

A small one bedroom apartment on the ground floor with lots of light (much to my intoverted vampire of a bonus son's dismay) in a quiet back building, that had been completely redone.  New paint, new floors, new carpet.  New sink and vanity in the bathroom, and appliancesso new in the kitchen, the cords and handles weren't even attached yet. It had been on the market 2 days.

He made an offer, they countered, and he took it.  The offer included the seller paying closing costs, so it allowed him to put all of his money down on the purchase price, making his payment (including his HOA fee) about $400 less than the current market for one bedrooms.  His HOA, we would later find out, covered trash, snow removal, landscaping, a fully comprehensive insurance policy of in and outside the unit, and heat and hot water which is unheard of around here. His only untility bills would be electric and internet.

The last 6 weeks have been a blur of finances, scanning documents, phone calls, late night emails, writing checks, and waiting. We had a plan for closing which of course all went out the window when he closed two days late.  The storage unit was emptied on his original closing date and we had to drive around with his stuff in our cars for two extra days until the deal was done.  The rest was packed into the garage.  Because of the delay, he and I couldn't get the time off so moving has been done hours at a time, as productively as possible.  The husband was able to get the unit painted.  We talked him out of black walls and into a nice gray in the living room and a navy for the bedroom. Today was the last of it, all the furniture was moved in, placed generally where it was going, before bonus son headed off to work.  We stayed behind and hung pictures, put away pots and pans, threw out trash.  I stocked the kitchen with some staples so when he gets home tonight he can have a bowl of cereal or a PB &J.

The boxes are all still stacked in his closet. They contain stuff from every room in each box, (because how else would a 25 year old pack) so he really is the only one who can do it anyways.  He's making progress in getting rid of things he has no use for as well, which is key for living in 800 square feet. But he's got to take his time with it and process it as he goes.  Tonight he will sleep in his new "big boy bed" as we call it (seriouosly, you can't buy a condo and sleep in a twin size bed), and start his new life on his own.

The dog's a mess.  Everyone's been in and out, stuff moving all around.  Anxiety levels have been at an all time hight for weeks.  In just 14 days we've gone from a house busting at the seams, full of activity, and people to sniff and get belly rubs from, to just the three of us now. He walk options are limited now, poor thing.

Just Me, Hubs, and Youngest.

And yet somehow, I still managed to spend $211 on groceries.


8 comments:

  1. His first home - that's huge!

    It's only the two of us here now but yet, somehow, The Husband still manages to spend far too much on groceries that we most likely don't need.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, we needed it all. Sadly having 2 of the 3 of us gluten free adds a TON to the cost of the bill. Plus Youngest has a thing for fresh produce so we all know how insane that gets.

      It's so weird. Youngest was at a friends all night so it was actually just us last night, and frankly, most of today.

      We might actually have to start liking each other. :)

      Delete
  2. Let me just say, I hate moving. Thankfully my not so tough back prevents me from getting asked to help very often, and the fact that we are just at the outer end of affordablity keep me safe from doing it. I believe, though, there will be at least one more move for us before God collects us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not us. I plan to die here. Well, not actually HERE, but the plan is to live in this house until I can no longer do so. Affordability is also key here, we were lucky to find ANYTHING in his price point. I told a friend in another area of town what he paid and she's like "I can't even get a dog house for that". And his place is FAR from a dog house. :)

      Delete
  3. A big step, moving is hard work and not something I want to do again

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yip. I swear I'm never doing it again.... until of course Youngest and Oldest need help with the process. :)

      Delete
  4. Congrats to bonus son! Hoping he settles in quickly and enjoys his new digs!!! What a whirlwind though to get it all done! I can't imagine all the moving involved and this time of year too! Did the weather cooperate or was it miserably cold and snowing and icy??? I bet you'll spend less in groceries with time as you adjust to being a "party of three."

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The weather cooperated for the most part. Had he closed on Wednesday it would have been perfect. We'd have unloaded the storage unit into the condo instead of into my garage first and then into the condo. Plus we were all off on Wednesday so we were all available and it was 50 and sunny. Because he was working nights and I was working days it got kind of sketchy getting it all there by Sunday, and of course, Friday it was 12 degrees, Saturday a balmy 23, and snow moved in overnight for 3 inches of slushy mess on Sunday.

      But it's done. Well, our part is done. Except Sunday we're mounting the TV on the wall. and THEN our work there will be done. :)

      Delete

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