The Little Things

This inspection thing is taking more time than I thought to get set up. I had to call the gas, electric, and water companies to get things set up for the inspector. The water company charges a $50 fee to "unlock" the meter. The electric company charges a $10 account setup fee, but waived the $100 processing fee since I am a 'valued' customer (thank goodness!). Interestingly, the gas company says they have no record of gas going to the house. To be honest, I have no idea either. I called the inspector and gave him the news and to schedule the appointment. I decide to use the high-priced inspector for several reasons: (1) he comes highly referred, (2) he has 20+ years not only as an inspector but a contractor, carpentar, and several other things, and (3) he says he will go over every detail of the inspection after it is done AND while he is doing it to give me a real life tutorial. I'm sure other inspectors would do the same, but I just have a good feeling about this guy.

So, a $50 unlock fee, a $10 account setup fee, a ~$375 inspection fee (high end - it may be only $300), and a $50 'lock' fee. So the inspection will come out to almost $500 after everything is said and done. But at least I'll have piece of mind.

I also have a meeting today with my loan officer to start the financing end of the deal. He says it should only last 30 mins, but I want to clarify some points he made before about refinancing, so that I am clear on all the 'hidden' fees involved. I also want to ask him who he believes the best investor-friendly insurance companies are - I'll have to get that squared away once I close as I'm sure the lender will require 12 months of hazard coverage (at least).