Municipal Madness

I dashed down to the new house (after stopping to pick up a friend) to paint the master bedroom and bathroom.  They didn't really need paint, but the color was just too close to the light blue I've been staring at on  the walls of my current bedroom for twelve years.  I'm sick of it, and it doesn't go with the bedding.  I decided on a nice, neutral  beige/tan color with which I'm quite happy, especially now that it's DONE. 

On the way to breakfast the next morning, I stopped at the Post Office to pick up the mail, among which was a letter from our homeowner's association. They were informing me that the Design Committee had provisionally approved my application to have a fence installed, so long as I  provided them with a copy of the permit. I was unaware that any sort of permit was needed for just a fence (and a partial one, at that), so I had to make some inquiries. Said inquiries led me to the local library (of which I am now a member), and then the Planning and Zoning office in the county administration building. The fence permit should have been a quick and dirty transaction, but as we're dealing with a government entity, it was just the opposite.

I discovered that not only had the previous owners of our house neglected to get permits for the shed and the deck on our property, as the new owner, I was somehow responsible for this--despite proof that these structures were on the property prior to purchase.   Three hours and eighty dollars later, I walked out of there with my permits and an application for a dog license.  I dropped the permits off to the HOA and began the long journey home.  As annoying as this experience was, I would actually be surprised if we didn't hit a bump in the road somewhere.  As bumps go,  this one isn't so bad. 

UPDATE:  This bump may turn out to be bigger than I thought.  As part of the permit for the deck, I had to call for an inspection appointment.  Apparently, our deck failed inspection because of a loose railing, steps that aren't perfectly level (which most likely settled over time), and the inspector's inability to see how the deck is attached to the house.  We now have to find out if we can just shrug this off, or whether we actually have to have the necessary repairs done and a re-inspection.  Our realtor, bless her heart, is trying to find out what  we need to do.  

Behind the Green Door

The closing for our new home was last Friday, and it went off with nary a hitch. We were thrilled to finally walk through the (green) door of our new home and start bringing some of our things in and begin taking inventory on the things we would need right away.  Meeting our new neighbors was a pleasure.  They seem to be very friendly and helpful--the gentleman next door even offered to mow our lawn for us until we move down.  We even had our first visitors.  Husband Fixture's coworkers came by to see the house, and it turns out they know the neighbors behind us (who also works at HF's new workplace).

We thoroughly enjoyed our first night in our new home, and fell in love with the house all over again.  I actually began to feel sad at the thought of returning to PA.  Thankfully, we only have about six weeks until it's our permanent home. 

In the meantime, we had a minor panic attack with our current home.  The realtor called to tell us the inspector couldn't get into our house.  Apparently, my mother-in-law left something in the house, and used the lock box to let herself in.  She couldn't figure out how to put the keys back, but instead of asking the kids for help or calling for us, she just took them with her.  Fortunately, the kids were careless and left one of the sliding glass doors on the deck unlocked, so the inspector was able to enter.

Another hitch in the giddy-up occurred on Tuesday afternoon.  I got an email from our realtor confirming an appointment for the appraisal Wednesday, about which I'd received no prior notice.  Of course, I was scheduled to work Wednesday, so we had to scramble to get the house ready..  Naturally, we still haven't heard squat about how the inspection or appraisal actually went.  I suppose if we have to have a sucky realtor, at least it's on the selling end of things. . .