Well, we moved

First let me say we are all moved into the new house. We are completely free and clear, clean and closed on the old house. I cried like a baby at 11pm Friday night when the last items were removed and we finished vacuuming and cleaning so the new owners could move into a clean home. It was a really good house and except for the apartment complex across the street that was becoming more rundown and us just generally outgrowing the place, we loved it there.

I'm sad to report that we did not have an uneventful closing/move to the new house though. We went to the walk-thru at the new house at 4pm on Thurs evening, and closing was scheduled for 10am Friday morning. We already had a good portion of the old house packed and loaded onto the moving van. When we got out of the car our realtor's face was just white. She told us that aparently the bank had continued to move on the foreclosure of the house even though they had accepted the short sale. Apparently there are two different departments at the bank and the right hand does not know what the left is doing. The seller aparently knew this but did not tell her realtor, so nothing was ever communicated to us and we thought we were smooth sailing since it was less than 24 hrs til closing. Anyway, bottom line was we couldn't close cause the bank did not have a payoff number because the foreclosure attorneys now need to get paid (even though they have accepted an offer before the foreclosure attorneys were in the picture).

We obviously did not want to be bullied into paying these fees just because it was the last minute and we had no where to go. We threatened to get an attorney and sue for breach of contract and basically the seller and the realtors agreed to let us move in under an occupancy agreement where we pay a very small rental fee per day til we can get the thing closed. The quasi-closing was really to set up this agreement and it was a little ugly because the seller, who is the person who is being foreclosed on was there and she was bitter about the whole thing and wanted us to pay more for the rent. We didn't want to pay anything because we felt we already agreed to get a mortgage to pay for the house - why should we ultimately increase our cost to own the house by paying rent until we close and then still pay the agreed price. We only agreed because the amount we are paying is so small that should the bank continue to drag their feet we are getting an awesome deal on living expenses. The seller felt we should pay what it would cost us to rent an extended stay hotel. The realtors all told her too bad - we shouldn't have to pay anything, and that we were getting the house. It wasn't down right hostile, but plenty uncomfortable.

So anyway, we are in, the house is a mess with stuff needing to be unpacked, and we are unsettled and stressed about whether this will all work out. The realtors are all saying it will, probably within the next week - but when I read up on short sales/foreclosures online there are plenty of horror stories that start out sounding like our situation... so we are hoping and praying for the best.

Soooo to completely switch gears and include a little stitching, here is a pic of the first block of the baby afghan I started for my sister. She is expecting her third child in January. I finished this inbetween packing the week before we moved. The afghan is going to be all mother goose nursery ryhmes (sp?).