They Call the Wind Mariah

August 22, 2003 : 10:19 a.m.
How Do You Spell Headache?
N-E-W-H-O-U-S-E

I would have never guessed when we signed the purchase agreement for our new house at the end of JUNE, that it would be the end of AUGUST and we still wouldn't have a closing date.

The house is a forclosure. Or it was a pre-forclosure I should say. Whatever the difference is, I have no idea. But apparently the company that owns the house, Countryside or something, is the problem. They are not going to over-exert themselves just to meet someone else's idea of a timetable, apparently.

Our contract says we will close ON OR BEFORE August 31. They are telling us it WON'T BE BEFORE September 8. Ummm...ok. I guess to some people contracts are just 'guidlines'.

Not to my landlady, though. She's already re-rented my apartment as of Sept. 1, because after all - our lease is up Aug. 31 and we DID say we weren't staying. I can't blame her at all. Which means it's a good thing we added a penalty of $100/day to close past Aug. 31, huh? We'd need that $100/day just to pay to live in a hotel room and feed ourselves for those 8 days. That doesn't even cover the inconvenience of it all, but c'est la vie, right?

There may be some hope to the whole situation though. We may, I stress - MAY - be able to get early posession, which basically means that even without actually closing, we may be able to move in at the end of the month as planned. Therefore not needing to live out of a hotel or find a storage facility. And, that could work out to our advantage, actually.

If we closed at the end of August, our first mortgage payment would be October 1st. If we close even one day into September, our first mortgage payment will be November 1st. That's a whole planned mortgage payment free-and-clear. Now, the smart person inside me would say put it in savings or make an extra payment on the house that first month. But the crazy person inside me, the FUN one, says that the Covered Bridge Festival (a weeklong craft festival that spans 3 towns in Southern Indiana) starts in October and I could do some serious damage. I mean, you can find THE coolest stuff there. Fall and Winter crafts, furniture, and all kinds of cool gifts . And I'll have a new house to decorate, not to mention the Christmas gifts I could knock off my "To Buy" list.

Now, if the chance presents itself, which little person inside me do YOU think I'm going to listen to??