Aftermath....
So here is the big update! Thanks to Maelynn, I realized I may have failed to properly keep you all informed of our whereabouts and the like. BTW, Maelynn, I didn't send a change of address card because I don't have an address for you! My last 2 items have been returned undeliverable.
WE MOVED IN!
Yippeeee! It all worked out. But not without considerable effort, so this will be a long post, with no pictures. Hang in there :)
First, Maracay builds a great house. We have been very impressed with the home and are constantly counting our lucky stars. This is a quality product and we can tell. The few items we felt needed repair or tweeking have been taken care of very promptly. Not all builders are this good - but Maracay did great.
Second, Maracay was very very accommodating in helping us through our loan processing nightmare. What happened?
-We sold our other house. The family who bought it was in the exact same situation we were, a fellow in medicine and unfortunately their quick sale house had fallen through so they offered on our house while stuck in a hotel. They were ready for us to move whenever but no later than July 28, a Friday.
-Oh, you already know this...... you do, you just don't probably know why it impacts us. The subprime mortgage debacle was happening. No, we don't have a subprime loan. We are truly conventional people. But that subprime problem caused a ripple effect and even people with good credit, good jobs, good houses, good deposits were and are being impacted. The increase in the number of houses on the market lowers the value of all of them. And the appraisers jumped or fell with the market in general. Maracay though needed our house to hit on the appraisal as it was one of the 1st 2 stories done, and the big comp for the 3 they sold in the weeks following our close.
-So, as of that Monday before July 28th, we were still wondering whether we were just out our deposit. On Wednesday, Maracay and First Horizon Bank make a sheer miracle happen and we signed papers. Really, it is almost impossible to get things moving that quickly but First Horizon worked with Maracay and it all came together.
-On July 27th, we hired movers and I managed to get the house moved. Eric was working. There was just no other way it could be done. We have put off painting until Spring Break when we can be out of the house again. We did do the kids rooms though - Mason in Retro Robots with grey-blue walls, Aiden in Paleontology with Retro Green walls, Emory in Bubble Gum Pink with a Castle bed acquired from one of Eric's partners.
Third, no small part of this deal working out was due to the intense negotiations and juggling of our real estate agent, Denise Pruitt with Arizona Best Real Estate. This is no shameless plug - this woman worked tirelessly. She acted in our best interest at every turn, taking the brunt of the unpleasantness and making it work out. She kept our buyers informed, our loan folks rolling, and Maracay involved to the very end. WE WOULD NOT BE IN THIS HOUSE WITHOUT HER. I think she is owed a bedroom, at least. Maybe a portion of the pool.
So things are working out. We love the new place. We have lovely neighbors. Our sky is huge and we love to spend the early evening in the pool, watching the sun set. At night, the sky is so dark you can see so many stars it is insane. My Grandma gave us her Chevy Caprice convertible and the kids adore driving around in it with the top down, especially to Cave Creek for Dairy Queen :) Things looked to be falling apart for a while but now it seems they were just falling into place. We are home.
Are you wondering?
We are too. Nope, we are not in the new house yet. The pool is still being finished and looks like they won't be done until the 23rd. To my dismay, they won't have the fence in around the big hole until Wednesday at the earliest - which makes it hard to allow Mason to live nearby. We could conceivably still take possession before it is completed but we are in appraisal hell. Our current difficulties lie in that Eric's entire vacation was blown and we have yet to move. So it looks like we are hiring movers whenever it appears we can finally come to agreement on the value of the house. Hopefully that is sooner than later as we are close to an agreement on selling this house and need to be out before July 27th if it all goes through.
That's the update. We will let you know when the stars align and we have relocated!
Yeah, this leaves a bad taste...
The pool company, that being Blue Wave Pools for those who might have missed it, blew it. We have concrete (which appears to be curing, a process I hear takes 30 days but Blue Wave told us did not). They are absolutely NOT going to hit their deadline despite their repeated reassurances that they could and would. In fact, our designer actually said to me on the phone that she could build the pool in four weeks, no problem. Someone else busted out with the excuse that our permiting took forever because we were a hillside lot... huh? No hill by MY estimation. And to be clear, the approved permit itself lists under "Hillside" a clear "N" Hellooooo - we have a big problem! Maracay wants their money, however since the pool is tied to the value of the house, the loan company has some concerns. Not only is the pool company not getting paid, neither is Maracay - which translates into no keys for us. In the meantime, Eric is on vacation this week and essentially, we may not be able to move during it. So I think that means we have to hire movers.
Ah, the joy of building a house. I now understand the annoyances. Let me offer a suggestion. Write in deadlines into subs contracts..... and ask for a penalty for failure to meet them. Don't expect the general contractor to be on top of the subs..... it didn't happen and Maracay isn't a fly-by-night operation.
And where is Maracay on this? Well, kind enough to admit that this isn't our fault and therefore not charge us. But they can't help it that we have appliances and deliveries scheduled for Tuesday and no place to put things. It is a wait and see game, people. Put those swimsuits away until July 20th at the earliest. Move news as it develops!
So close......
.... we are just SO close to having this done!
This week the carpet went in, the bath bars and the like were installed, the power came on, AC is running, shade screens were put on (which are amazing... they will really help with energy costs in the summer), our soft water and RO water were added. I think the only very noticeable items left are the yard (almost all of it!) and the glass between the shower and bathtub. The landscape people did arrive and build our wall (see below) and start outlining and digging for the irrigation.
Here is basically a picture diary :
Kitchen with POWER ON!
Bathroom mirror, fixture and tilework - before light was available!
Concrete Pond! This went in Friday... they promise it will be ready to PebbleTec on or the day after closing day.
Laundry Room Sink. Right next to Mason's beloved Cupboard Under the Stairs!
RV wall (this is a second wall that encloses our side yard and will keep littles from playing with things stored there - like the AC units and gas lines and such) :
Tile work in master :
17 days
By my count, we are 17 days from finishing this project..... okay, maybe a few more since a handful of BIG things won't be done until we move in. This morning, Troy - the assistant super - said he was calling for the inspection. I ran in there and saw a number of finishing touches done. The laundry room sink is in. The dishwasher is in its hole, though not yet connected. The silestone has been completed and the supports for the extended counter are in (as well as the finishing wall face). They completed the shower - sorta. The shower head from the ceiling was put on a standard curved pipe so the shower head faces the back of the shower. I think the showerhead should be MUCH larger. It is on my list of things to do! The tile medallion isn't done. The power isn't on (Monday if the house passes inspection). The soft water and RO line are still to be installed. The garage doors aren't hooked up. The carpet isn't installed. The shade screens are missing though there are screens on the house. And while they cleaned up the property ('spun it' - covering the pool company's exposed electric lines so that they only conditonally passed the pool inspection), they haven't landscaped at all. I am hopeful that since there isn't much we are getting done (and certainly it isn't exotic), they can be quick about it once they start.
We are doing our first walk-through on July 3rd. And we are closingon July 9th (assuming everything goes as planned). If the pool is done, we are hoping for a pool party on Sunday, the 15th. Pack your swim suits and towels! See ya after noon.
More more more
Like a toddler, I see all these wonderfulchanges but yet I want more..... Now we have rebar in the pool, sinks and toilets and even fixtures. But I see that we are yet missing a big fixture in the master (the second shower head and its control), glass block between the tub (also missing in the master) and shower, dimmer switches, electricity, towel bars, the laundry room sink, shower curtain bars and the proper lights in the baths (they ones there are chrome and we ordered bronzed). Still lots has happened so enjoy the pictures!
POWDER ROOM
POOL HOLE W REBAR
MASTER SINK
MASTER SHOWER
KITCHEN SINK
FIREPLACE
GIRLS BATH
BOYS BATHROOM
BOYS SINKS
THE FINALE - HOUSE WITH DRIVEWAY AND MY CAR IN IT
Cha-cha-changes!
Whoa-nellie! What a week! They started and finished the bathroom tile. It looks really really good. We also had our countertops installed - the baths and the kitchen. And lastly, they started the tile on the floor. I have to admit that it does look good. I still think the braid pattern would have been awesome but I am not at all disappointed by the tile. I like it quite a bit.
I forgot my camera so pics will have to wait. We have to go back so we can evaluate knobs and pulls. I hope to snap a few pics this weekend and update you all, my loyal fans, soon!
