Escrow is in its final days and we should have the keys to our little masonry house by next week. Pushing paperwork around is now the final step before handing over the keys and signing my financial life away…

So far in the process of buying our first home I have learned new words like “REO“, “vesting”, “lien”, and “earnest money”. The process as a whole has been rather effortless. I’ve initialed a lot of papers that say pretty much the same thing over and over, I’ve written lots of checks and transferred weird amounts of cash around. Overall its been less stressful than I predicted, but my patience is wearing thin to get to the good stuff – like, demo and decorating.

Below is the list of “To Do” projects before move in day:

Demo:
Kitchen floors
Bathroom floors 1&2
Built-in desk
Wainscoting in den
Wall heaters (bathroom 1&2 and den)

Fix:
Patch plaster (cracks, holes from heaters, and wainscoting)
2 leaks in roof (porch and garage)

Floors:
Refinish hardwood floors
Lay VCT in kitchen and bathrooms

Paint:
Paint the entire interior including trim bright white

Install:
New front door / back door handles and locks
Shower head in pink bathroom

It looks like we should be moving in after we get the keys in about a year…

I don’t really know how to do most of these things on the list, well except for the destruction and the painting. We will be relying on the kindness of friends and family, as well as the trusty internet to figure most of it out. Luckily spring break is coming up right after we close escrow, so I’ll have 2 weeks to make improvements without worrying about the day job. I’m shooting for move-in day to be the last Saturday of March…hopefully.