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| My cat Barney enjoying a dismantled bookcase. |
Ahem, excuse me, I'm still working through some feelings about this whole thing because it all happened very fast. Tom Petty once sang: "It took all winter to get through the summer." I know exactly what he means.
We put our Ohio house on the market in July on the anniversary (on the exact day) we bought it in 2011. It sold in less than a week, after only being showed four times, which is extremely unusual for the area we lived. The buyers needed to take possession almost immediately so David and I took a whirlwind trip through the Fort Worth suburbs.
We looked at approximately 10-20 houses in one weekend. We put an offer on one that we didn't get. Then the day we flew back to Ohio we looked at four houses that were all sufficient and our Texas agent started at the top of the list. We said goodbye to her and in her southern drawl she said: "Honey, I'm gonna git you a house. Don't you worry. You are gonna have a house!"
When you ask the universe for things the universe delivers. Between the universe and our tenacious agent I got exactly what I wanted and more than I bargained for.
For the sake of time I will list everything that has happened with a brief summary. Then I will write a more in-depth blog about each event if warranted.
Selling the Ohio house/ Buying the Texas house:
The Ohio process was mostly uneventful. The new owners didn't fuss about much and with the exception of a few small snags the transfer was unremarkable.
The Texas house....could have been worse. The owner did not want to do any repairs after inspection. Then they decided to do some. Then the appraisal came in low. No one was happy about that. The owner let us have it at the appraised value and in hindsight that was the right call.
Packing the Ohio house/The movers/ the 21 hour drive:
I have OCD so packing the house and orchestrating the move on site was logistically cake for me. However, David handled hiring transport and that's where things did not go to my liking. My friend Tom flew in and drove me and my cat in my car (The Optima Prime) for 21 hours (basically straight, no lengthy stops) into Texas.
Someone had to drive me because even though I have been in therapy for 6 months, specifically for my driving phobia and General Anxiety Disorder, I could not have driven at all. David stays behind in Ohio. He will live with friends for about two weeks until he can drive out.
Arrival/The AC wire theft:
At 6 AM Tom, the cat, and I arrive at my new home. It's really hot in the house so we turn on the fans and the AC. We are exhausted and I've been delirious for the last 4-5 hours of the trip. The cat started howling and thrashing in his cage after 12 hours. The house is also not as clean as I left the Ohio house. This is the moment I almost start to cry and will continue to fight tears for the next 72 hours.
When we get up after a few hours of sleep the house is still hot 83 degrees and eventually will settle at 87. Tom realizes the AC isn't even working. I contact my agent to see if there was an incomplete job. Tom and I walk outside and that's when we find the AC unit has had its copper wiring ripped from it.
The cat and I spend the night at my Aunt's house 30 minutes away. Tom stays in my house and on Sunday I contact HVAC repair. Tom leaves on Sunday. The police come out to the house and I file a report. I learn from a neighbor the house, while vacant, had been broken into and vandalized. That's why there are faint traces of penises scrawled on the walls of our back bedroom and there are still shards of glass in the carpet.
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| Srsly? Wtf, people. At least they bothered to replace the glass, I guess. |
On Monday I have HVAC and the Internet guy in and out all day. On Monday the city shuts off our water. On Tuesday the movers arrive. I have lost four days of productivity, sleep, and I am stressed out but trying to hold it together.
The Blister Beetle Bite:
On Wednesday I wake up and there is a blister just over a centimeter in circumference on my ankle. I have no idea what has bitten me. What I thought was a mosquito bite has morphed into something grotesque. I am by myself and terrified. Is it poisonous? What do I do? Is it going to get worse? I have no doctor. This isn't an emergency but this blister is worrisome. I "triage" myself and decide to go to a walk-in clinic at a drugstore. There the Nurse Practitioner and I learn what a blister beetle is from her attending physician. She drains it, wraps it, and I am given an antibiotic as a precaution.
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| This photo was taken in bad light to spare you. You're welcome. |
My older brother arrives:
On Thursday my brother arrives from California. He drove out here to keep me company and help. Things get better once he arrives.
We spend the next week slowly moving things around and assessing the house. The house was once a rental and it shows.
Our windows had no screens, the paint they choose is horrible, the floor is peeling linoleum on concrete, cupboards are falling of the hinges, doorknobs are falling off in our hands, the ceiling fans are weakening the ceiling, and the freezer was moldy.
But all of those things are small potatoes considering what I had dealt with already. The way things were escalating I was just waiting for the roof to collapse. I felt like the "This is fine" dog.
Now I have AC, water, Internet, and my blister is healing. My brother is here and David will be here soon. Eventually, we will paint, put rugs on the awful floor, the fixtures will be secured to their surfaces. One day this house will look as nice as our Ohio house. I know it will because I have excellent taste in everything.
For those who TL;DR: Fuck you, Texas for trying and almost succeeding in breaking me. I'll show you how Yankee carpetbaggers do things: right the first time.
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