Saturday, August 5, 2017

A Moving Experience




No, I haven’t fallen into the failing septic system out back or collapsed after the umpteenth trip carrying boxes from the old house to the new. We’ve spent the last two weeks in a different dimension.

          We moved into the condo two weeks ago and were without internet or television for the first week, not that it mattered much. Most evenings we spent either unpacking or collapsed on the couch. It would have been nice to be able to zone out with those nice Property Brothers or Chip and Joanna Gaines on HGTV, but staring blankly at the wall worked almost as well. On the plus side, we’ve both lost weight.

          Moving day was memorable – kind of like slamming your hand in the car door.

          The night before the closing, we learned that the bank had made a wee mistake with the paperwork and so it would have to all be re-done. We woke up the next morning still not knowing if the closing would go through. (We later learned that due to a snafu in our lawyer’s IT department, they had no record of receiving the corrected documents on Thursday night.)

          On Friday morning, our movers (who turned out to be the most patient movers in history), Melissa, Ben, and Dave arrived promptly at 8:45.

          We still had no idea if the closing would happen that day.

          The next available truck from the moving company was two weeks away.



          Melissa: “Do you want us to start loading?”

          Us: “Uh. . . .If we don’t close today, could you store our stuff?”

          Melissa: “Sure! But it’ll cost you double.” Checking her link to HQ : “And we won’t be able to take it out of storage until mid-August.”



          I could feel the top of my head silently lifting off. We told them to keep loading.

          We would need to have the keys to our new place by 1:00.

          They loaded while I sat and hyperventilated.

          At 10:45 our house was essentially empty and we’d be sleeping on the floor. 


At last word came that the closing was on. We drove to our lawyer’s office where we signed so many papers that by the end of it I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that I’d deeded my left kidney to charity or that there was a codicil for local winemakers to set up shop in our new basement. 

          Papers signed, back to the house, still no key.

          The key would only be available once the transaction hit the county registry of deeds’ website.

         

          Melissa and company finished and were ready for lunch.

          Melissa, steely-eyed: “We’ll meet you at the condo at 1:00. You’ll have the key, right?”

          Me, smiling falsely and staring evasively over her left shoulder: “Uh, yeah! Sure! Meet you then!”



          My Guy and I jetted over to the realtor’s office to wait for word that the eagle had landed. At 12:45 we still had no key, but someone had to be at the new place when the moving truck arrived.

          I pulled up to the condo – no truck yet. Good, although since the day had progressed to a humid 92 degrees, waiting wasn’t going to be all that pleasant.

          2 minutes later the red behemoth appeared. What to do?

          I walked Melissa around back to show her the porch where they could put the grill.

 I walked her to the front entry where they could place two outdoor chairs.

          Just as I was imagining the team’s enthusiasm for sitting together sweatily in a hot cab for another hour, my phone rang.

 My Guy looked better than the cavalry from those old black and white westerns when he pulled up, key in hand.

11 comments:

  1. You were giving me anxiety just reading this! Phew! Glad it worked out in the end. -Jenn

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  2. My mother loved hip roofs, like your house. So now it's over, and you can spend a month leisurely sorting out several more loads you can't keep. Ain't moving grand!

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    1. Yeah - how can I still be making trips to Salvation Army? I know how - less cupboard and closet space and the necessity for merciless weeding.

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  3. Oh my. Reminds me too much of our similar experience almost exactly one year ago. We waited for filing and the key on pins and needles also. No key, movers to arrive at 1:00. At last we got the key, raced to the house, and waited for the movers, sitting on two beach chairs we had in the car, until 7 pm when they finally arrived. I'm glad it turned out ok for you, too, and you are enjoying condo life. Congrats on your new home!

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    1. My day sounds like a picnic next to yours!

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  4. Yay! Nothing like cutting it close, Marty. I love the story, since it all had a happy ending. :-)

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  5. Aaargh. My anxiety levels would have been through the roof.
    So glad it ended well.
    I suspect you are still tired to the point of exhaustiong, but hope there are smiles too.

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  6. Glad it all worked out. Hope you enjoy your new home.

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  7. Whew! I was holding my breath reading this, I really dislike those touch-and-go moments where you are homeless for an hour, even a few minutes is too long.

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  8. the first house I bought, the old lady needed a month to vacate, move to another state to live with her daughter. I gave it to her so I didn't get the ket right away. the other two houses we bought, we got the key at closing as soon as we signed all the papers, same when we bought the shop, got the key at closing in the title company's office. weird that you had to wait for documents to be uploaded to a website.

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  9. Thank goodness. It's funny how so often these sorts of transactions seem to come right down to the wire, even after endless preparation. So many moving parts, I suppose.

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