Susie, I wish you all the very best with all you have going on at once in your life. Are you moving to that house I saw pictures of in the gallery? I hope you really enjoy your new place, though I'm sorry you've had to deal with drama on that front too. Bit surprising to be treated that way by a seller in this market.

In any event, when all is said and done, I hope it is a wonderful thing, and we'll all look forward to seeing the products emanating from your new kitchen!

Susie, I can honestly say that I agree with your seller about the termite treatment. No active infestation, and 'just to be safe"? No, the seller shouldn't have to pay for that. It can simply be a sales technique from the inspector, sorry to say. The seller should be required to right wrongs, correct damage or wear. But not "just to be on the safe side", even in a tough real estate market. Yes, it would be nice, but don't let it bother you. If you get your car serviced and the mechanic says 'well, your tires are just fine, but you might get them replaced 'to be on the safe side', when you know you have perfectly good tires for another 20K miles. It's an up-sell, not a necessity.

Just MHO.

I don't envy you the stress of the move, and add in a scary accident and a mouse! The rest of the news is great, tho!

Susie, so good to hear from you. I think of you every time I hear those Acme "ads" about the strike on the radio or tv.

I have to agree about the termite contract. The inspector is just looking for business.

Thank heavens Amy is okay. I bet she was on Roosevelt Blvd. That place is a death trap. I hate driving there, with all those crazy lane changes.

Anyway, sounds like you are on your way to getting your new house. I'm sorry you were deplayed, since i am sure you are looking forward to getting in.

Are you going to drive back to Phila. to work, or move to a store closer to the new house?

Thanks for the update!

Consider yourself lucky you don't have to have the termite treatment. The stuff they use is persistent and seriously nasty. Would maybe be an acceptable risk if you had an infestation, but if you don't, the best treatment is just prevention. Keep foundation area dry and free of any organic debris. Same for basement. I have a ton of paper stuff in my basement (that's where my office it) so I bought a big dehumidifier and keep it running down there all the time. It makes my electric bill kinda large for just me living in a small house, but makes the basment almost livable! And I think improved the climate of the rest of the house as well. Now if I could just afford one of those roof fans!

Anyway, enjoy your move. This is going to be such an exciting time for you! You're going to have so much fun setting up the new house and getting to know your new neighborhood.

Give Amy a hug for me. Thank G-d she is ok!

Thanks everyone!!

This whole move has been one giant drama but I see the finish line in sight...not gonna dwell on everything that did or could go wrong-it would be a waste of energy.
Today my focus is on making the calls to the utilities to set up shut off times, then I need to call Drews old school to have them get his transcripts in order. They would not get the paperwork together till he was finished with summer classes.

Scott, Yes the pics I posted in the gallery are of the home we purchased. They are still there is anyone cares to take a look. We have a lot of project to do once we get the keys but the first thing will be to tackle that yard!!
I am still kicking around kitchen color ideas. I would like to use the trivet AnnT sent me many years ago in a swap as an inspiration. It is a rich colbalt blue. So as I go about my days I have been collecting ideas to base on that color.

Helene, Thanks for the suggestions. The whole mess has become a sort of "pi$$ing contest" with the sellers agent.
We learned over the weekend that our mortgage company will not accept the termite cert that she weaseled out of them.
So now she is claiming that she knows someone who will do the treatment for $200 and that she and my agent should split the cost.
Why on earth shuld my agent have to dole out cash due to the sellers agent's antics??
In the meantime I have also learned that there are things on the market that I can use once a year around the perimeter of the home to prevent termites and that they are safe to use around humans and pets (just what I have heard-I have not looked into it yet).
The mouse really doesn't bother me...just makes me miss Baby Blu.

Pam, The guy on the radio ads is my shop steward Larry. We have a meeting tomorrow at the spectum. I was at the last one but I am working for this one. I do not know if they are going to call for a strike or not...I do know that both side continue to talk so that is a good sign!!
Yes it was Roosevelt Blvd at Faunce street. The car is fixable but it would cost way more that its value so it has been totalled. Poor kids is still hurting in her chest-prob bruised very deep due to the airbag but I feel like the car did what its supposed to do and keep the driver safe which it did. Now we are out searching for a new car for her.

LPink, Yes I will keep the basement dry....I have been there several times during and after storms and its dry.
I will however take the sellers agents $100 contribution and use it to change out the mulch around the foundation planters to a pea gravel the home inspector suggested and get rid of the wood mulch they threw down last fall!!LOL!!

I am really looking forward to hosting a CF get together once we get ourselves settled in. Keep in mind I am only 10 minutes over the Walt Whitman bridge so I am easy to reach via I76, I95 in Pa and rt130 or 295 in NJ!!

Cheers!
Susie

It's not that unusual for an agent to chip in some money when a deal is in jeopardy. Kevin and I had that happen to us when we were buying our house. BTW, our move dates are very close, and so I feel like a kindred spirit! Anyway, there were multiple bids on our house, and so we bid $1500 over asking price and agreed to pay the $15,000 closing costs ourselves. We had to borrow money from our sister in order to make that offer, but we'll be getting $8,000 back on our income taxes, which we go a long way to paying her back. Well, when inspection came along, I mentioned to the agent that my main concern was that the sewer be completely clear. I had told her that was my primary concern from Day One. The sellers did the termite fumigation and also did a partial clearing of the sewer, once the inspection showed that it had root intrusion. After most of the requested repairs had been done, they sent us an offer telling us what they were not going to repair and included an offer to pay $1400 to finish the repair of the sewer, which was based on a "rough estimate" from the plumber. I told them a rough estimate was not good enough and that I wanted the sewer cleared all the way to the main line in the street. They were already in escrow for their own new house and were not prepared to break the deal. The new sewer (or cleaned and teflon lined sewer) ended up costing almost $7,000, and both my agent and the sellers' agent put up $450 each toward getting the sewer properly fixed. Kevin and I could not have afforded this and felt that we deserved a good sewer, considering how generous our bid was. Since the agents both made over $15,000 commission each on the sale, I don't think the $450 hurt them, since it saved the sale.

So that's my story on agents contributing money to save a sale. Kevin and I were particularly easy clients for our agent, since she only showed us one house! The sellers told us that we now have the best sewer on the block!!

Good luck with your move. Be sure to pack fragile or delicate items yourself. We had a few things broken in the move, but I'm not distraught about it. I was very careful when moving my external hard drives, as they are easy to break.

Lars

Thanks for the insight Lars.

I really thought the Philly house would be the cause of much debate but everything went smooth as can be until 2 weeks ago when the buyers had some finacial problems to address. That seems to be resolved now and everything is going along as planned just a few days late.

The New Jersey house had many issues surrounding the termite infestation from 8 years ago.
The damage to the floor joists and headers was not corrected properly so fixing that will take a big chunck of the $1500 and it was my intention to have it done before we move in with all of our stuff but that was not to be.

The sellers agent on the NJ house has been a real pest....its almost laughable how incompetent she is.
At one point she made it clear that the seller was in no hurry to sell and was quite well off as in not hurting for money....then she turns around and says the seller is broke to the ends were the agent actually made a few mortgage payments for her.
And if we question anything she always snaps that she has 2 other higher offers on the table. (yeah right?)

So I know that settlement should be eventful as my normally mild mannered husband is planning on ripping her a new one so to speak.

As for the move well we are moving ourselves. Most of our clutter is packed away at a storage unit and I have enlisted the help of some kids from work to assist with the heavy lifting....truth be told nothing is really that heavy as all the appliances are staying...its just our furniture which is all pretty small.

I have more calls to make today and I just found out I have been called to JURY DUTY!!! I think they will accuse me as I will not even live in the state by the time I have to go!!

Cheers!
Susie

...is New Jersey close to Philadelphia?

Scott, yes it's just across the Delaware River. Lots of people who work in Philadelphia live in NJ. The bridges are always on the morning traffic report!

Thanks Ded! I wondered if that might be the case-I do know Susie and her family sometimes take a summer trip to Cape May. I asked because I dont' know a whole lot about east coast geography, but I know a lot of it is pretty close knit, as opposed to here where you can drive 60 miles and not even be out of the same metro area much less another state.

Scott, Philadelphia is flanked by the Delaware river to the east. There are 4 bridges within the city of Philadelphia that will place you in New Jersey. As Pam said a lot of people who work in the city live in NJ because its such and easy commute.
You just have to watch the traffic reports to see which bridge is having issues and plan accordingly.

The area of NJ that I am moving to is actually south of Philadelphia but Its right on the river so I am still fairly close to Philly and my new views of the city skyline are glorious!!

New Jersey is very narrow in general....I am no expert but I would say its maybe 80 miles wide at its largest part so its very common for people from Philly to drive to the Jersey shore to vacation. From my house here in the city it only takes a little over and hour when we drive to Atlanic City for a concert or a weekend away. Cape May is at the lowest tip of New Jersey so its a bit of a longer drive. That being said, once we move we'll be about 30 minutes closer to both AC and Cape May!!

I do have excellent news to report...the union and company have agreed to a new contract!! Truth be told I do not have all the details as I had to work last night but from what I have been told it looks like the company gave us a good deal. Even getting .30 per hour bonus retro from Feb 2008 so that will be a nice chunk to get!!

The bad news is I still have not caught the mouse!! I got some traps down now but this little guy is pretty smart and has avoided them!! I really want him out of here before Melissa moves in!!!

Cheers!
Susie

Try baiting the mouse trap with peanut butter . Take a piece of cheese cloth to the trap where the bait goes and smear peanut butter into the cheese cloth. You want the mouse to work for the peanut butter, thereby setting off the trap while he is getting the peanut butter.

Thank you for that info, Susie, and I am happy things are working out on the work front. :-)

I've been told they like anise or licorice (mice that is, not Philadelphians). I have baited my traps with a combo of peanut butter and fennel seeds. Someone told me once to cut open a black jelly bean and use it for the traps.