New House?! in New Beginnings

I closed on my house yesterday, and I moved (some) of my stuff in today. I’m having movers pick up my bigger pieces of furniture on Wednesday. Before I discuss anything else, I feel compelled to discuss the water slide down the seven circles of Hell I took with the IRS. My mortgage lender needed my tax transcripts for 2013 and 2014. Allegedly, she normally can submit an electronic request and get the necessary items, but this time she only received an cryptic error, so she put the ball in my court.

I went to the IRS website to submit an electronic request, only to find that the system was down. I called to request them fax me the transcripts, which they allegedly did, but I never received them. I called again to request another fax, and the representative couldn’t access the system. She told me I’d have to go to one of the walk-in centers around Atlanta. I went to the closest one in Marietta, and while I was waiting in line, one of the employees gave the lady two spaces ahead of me the last ticket for the day. In other words, she would be the last person to get service. This was at 11:00am, and this office closes at 4:30pm.

I went to the next nearest office in downtown Atlanta. It was a federal building, so I had to comply with some uncomfortable demands from security, but I did it. Once I was in, they were able to print out the transcripts I needed within a few clicks of a mouse in under a minute. Of course, I had to wait over 2 hours before getting served, but what can you do?

Like I mentioned earlier, I moved in today, and it feels…weird. Maybe it’s buyer’s regret. Whatever it is, I just hope I didn’t overextend myself. Condo living was so easy. Now all I can think of is the previous house owners I’ve known who spent their weekends and some weeknights doing maintenance and “improvement” projects while sarcastically commenting on the “joys of home ownership.” I suppose it’s good that my condo sold within 24 hours of the listing going on line. A fellow gave a cash offer above my listing price before he even saw it. That sounds great, and it’s definitely preferable to not being able to sell it, but such eagerness makes me wonder if I’m exchanging something fantastic for something marginally less so. I know, I sound paranoid. I am paranoid. I’m not exactly a lucky person. Whenever a significant change occurs in my life, I find not believing that I’m not going to get clobbered to be difficult. Also, I think my realtor let me list my condo at below market value for the sake of making a quick sale, but I may just choose to believe that’s my paranoia whispering I my ear.

At least it’s not permanent. Homes that were bought can be sold again, and within a year, I’ll be able to pay of my debt and I can more easily reverse what I’ve done. Heck, once I get the payment for my condo, I ‘ll be liquid enough to move back into a condo or a townhouse if a detached house isn’t currently right for me. I have much to be grateful for, so I’m not going to complain.

I am going to complain about the smell, though. The previous owner had an indoor cat, and she didn’t do a very good job keeping the house fresh smelling. I think she even had the carpet cleaned before we closed, but the kennel-like odor remains. I thought some Febreeze would eliminate it, but it only provides a temporary mask. I’m going to scatter some boxes of baking soda in each of the rooms, and I read that an effective way to eliminate pet odors was to mix baking soda and white wine vinegar in a spray bottle, so I’ll try that. I also may stick Glade Plug-in on every floor. The only other fix I know to do is to replace all the carpet, and I really don’t want that for the cost alone. I was kind of wondering if/hoping that I’d be able to attract a woman. Fat chance if my house smells; that’s kind of a turn off. Double fat chance if that smell attaches itself to me; that’s even more of a turn off.

Last updated October 17, 2015