After the Housewarming

More work on the lawn this week.  I've finally gotten it manageable again after a much grief with the old lawnmower that was left here.  It needed only a pull cord to run again but needed a lot more to run well.  I am happy to say that we've doubled (at the very least) the service life of that rusty old mower.  I've painted it with both rust paint and truckbed liner (leftovers from my old motorcycle) and swapped out the old air filter and spark plugs with new gear.  A blade sharpening is all that's left to do now and we've got a brand new mower for under $20. 

A few other blips in the closing came to resolution.  We had to purchase title insurance as there was no recent survey of the lot (something along those lines) long story short is another $275 came out of our pockets. A quick oil tank questionnaire for the insurance company was filled out and sent off to the broker and all is good for that part now as well.

I've replaced the security light on our side entrance for an extra theft deterrent for my new motorcycle, and am now a little more confident with light electrical work.  I also was able to label some of the blank breakers on the panel, something that I'll have to finish very soon.

With most of the unpacking behind us and enough walls painted to really make the house feel like home, we had our housewarming party. It was a wonderful success!  Kelly's father brought us his barbecue for the event even though most of the guest list were vegetarians.  We started it around 2pm and it was early enough that people came and went all day without the place ever feeling crowded.  The deck held the weight of the party and it was lively enough not to be boring and not too loud to annoy our tenants or neighbors.

We still have 2 weeks before the first mortgage payment comes out and it will be a pretty big milestones for us.  One we will have to prepare for as I've negotiated a good deal on Kelly's first motorcycle.  It will be a tight squeeze on funds but I'm sure we'll find a way to make it work! And then we'll definitely have a collection of motorcycles!

The best selling feature this house had for me and still does is the natural light.  We have a sunny kitchen in the morning, (so important for a bad morning person like myself) and evening sun on the back patio.  And we have DEER in the backyard!  I thought the previous tenant was pulling my leg on that one but sure enough I witnessed it. We'll make sure the apple cores and such don't go in the greenbin and end up on the edge of our now beautiful property.  Kelly is a little distressed that I enjoy the yard-work so much but it's true when they say "A man's home is his castle and his yard is his kingdom".  It's something I can take care of and with only a little effort on my part, gives me something to be proud of.  It's just another plus of being a homeowner!

Next on the agenda: a sit down with our tenants to discuss business.