Everything has to start somewhere

Since this is the first entry, here are some basic statistics on the house:

1,428 square feet of finished space + 1,428 square feet of unfinished basement
Attached 2-car garage with separate climate control
Forced air gas heat
Ranch-style, brick with wood siding
Corner lot, facing North, on a circle that is 1 block from major thoroughfare

This is the first week of the house officially being under contract. I sent all the appropriate paperwork into the loan officer to have him send it to the underwriters, and I should hear back from them by the middle/end of next week. As a fail-safe I went to another mortgage lender and they were able to provide me with a Good Faith Estimate so that will do if the other lender rejects my paperwork for some reason. They already gave me a pre-approval and I doubt there will be any issues.

I want interest rates to go back down. Ultimately 1% = appx $80 per month. Last week it was at 4.875; this week it's up to about 5.375 or 5.5 . Yikes! That is a lot of money over a 30-year fixed rate.

Thursday the inspector comes at noon which means I get to go inside and take PHOTOS! The hideous 70s shag pile carpet that is roughly this color will look absolutely radiant in the midday sun.

I am currently following a blog that keeps tabs on an ordinance in Longmont that is under review by the City Council about whether or not to allow residents to keep backyard hens within the city limits. There are a lot of valid arguments both for and against. It looks like the City Council may impose restrictions on the number of hens as well as require permits and fees. I guess that will be effective in weeding out the crazies. The big question is allocation of effective enforcement. The backyard of the house has sufficient room for a chicken coop as well as the garden so I have my fingers crossed that it passes.

A few people came to look at our house this morning and one couple seemed very enthusiastic about it. They are shooting for a move-in date of February 15 which is later than I would like but is better than nothing, and better than February 1. Either way it is probably going to deteriorate into a mad scramble to get everything into storage and clean the place because inevitably that's what always happens.

Random: Yarko found out the oldest blacksmith school in the country is in Santa Fe and still holds courses! Something new and interesting to add to our 2010 agenda.