Closing Day

We are homeowners!

This is a pretty awesome feeling. We finally closed on the house last Wednesday and it’s still setting in. Yes, it took longer than we wanted, but I’m ecstatic. Here’s how closing day went.

The Walkthrough

We did our final walkthrough at 9am the day of closing. We were initially planning to do it the day before, but the upstairs tenant was not available. Getting the first floor apartment cleaned out could have also had to do with it, but that’s just speculation. Especially since when we arrived, there was still junk from inside the house all over the yard and a few things inside. Nevertheless, the difference was amazing. I walked in and I fell in love all over again. I honestly did not realize just how much space there was and we could finally see it without all the tenant’s things everywhere. Walking in again also solidified the fact that this is a good investment and my plan for the house should work (for the most part).

The junk outside was a little worrisome and we weren’t sure if a few things were fixed that were supposed to be. However, towards the end of our walkthrough a clean-up crew arrived to finish cleaning out the house and yard. (A good sign, but we still needed proof it was done by closing later in the afternoon). After a few phone calls with the listing agent, we found the right light switches to check that everything was fixed. Even the elbow joint coming off the furnace was fixed (it was probably required to get the CO). We weren’t expecting that, it was on our list of immediate need repairs, so that was more good news.

Closing Time

After our walkthrough, we had a few errands to run before closing. We picked up a couple of things we wanted to give as a thank you to our realtors (which required 3 different stores, including getting the gift bag). We then stopped back at Jason’s house to drop off his dad and find the insurance invoice that he forgot to bring with him. Then it was off to the bank to get the check for our down payment. We followed that up by picking up a quick lunch before leaving for closing.

The closing process was a lot less hectic than I thought it would be. Maybe it was our lawyer, but it ran smoothly. We arrived about 15 minutes early. When we went into the office, our lawyer had everything set up and ready to go. He went through the papers one by one, explaining each as we went and then has us sign. I believe we were done with that part within half an hour. While waiting for the real estate agents, the sellers, and their lawyer, we discussed the issue with clean-up and hammered out a few others things before they arrived. This was honestly the longest part.

After everyone arrived, the process continued smoothly and was done within 15 minutes. It actually felt kind of anti-climatic. Maybe it was just us building it up in our minds? Or listening to too many stories from other people? Regardless, it was done and we officially own our first home!

Afterwards

Once we got the keys, we headed straight to Home Depot to get the new door knobs and deadbolts. We planned to do this before closing, but the other errands took up too much time and we didn’t want to risk being late. I picked out the door knobs online the day before, an oil rubbed bronze finish that I absolutely love (and I plan to refinish the interior knobs to match). Then, we headed for our new home.

When we got there, the key for the front door didn’t work. Great. Hey, at least there were two more doors that did! Changing a door knob is pretty easy, but changing one in the dark is a bit challenging. Also, mister do-it-yourself didn’t want to watch the video I pulled up for the install (only a 2 minute video). So, the first door knob was a bit of a learning experience. Nonetheless, we eventually had new locks and keys to call ours.

Jason had his union meeting that night as well, so we didn’t really get to celebrate. We will soon though! The next day, we started demo.