House #2: Closing Today

Closing

I received word yesterday from my agent that we will indeed be closing today on House #2. She sent the HUD-1 statement to me and I was stunned that the cash I need to bring was about $2,800 less than what I (and my broker on his GFE) figured. After scrutinizing the form, I totally forgot that the seller pays for the property taxes for that portion of the calendar year they owned the property. Duh! So that's where the $2,800 "disappeared". I still accounted for paying the FULL property taxes after I bought it, so this $2,800 bit of news was definately welcome. I emailed my broker to tell him that HUD refunded me 10 of the 15 days I had to pay for an extension, so he only needs to pay me for the 5 days. I haven't heard a peep from him or his crew since that stressful day last week. I just hope this doesn't turn into a debacle of me having to write/call after the closing to get my $125 back from them.

Update: I just got a "peep" out of my broker. He said he won't make the closing, but will meet me next Monday to drop off the check. Hmmmm. I reluctantly agreed (nothing I could really do as he won't be in town until then anyway).

Tenants

In all this running around having to deal with House #2, I've been neglecting the fact that the tenants in House #1 will be leaving soon. Well, I haven't TOTALLY neglected it, but haven't given it enough attention. I got a call from them last night and they said they will be closing on their home tomorrow (Friday). They said they'll use the weekend and the early part of next week to move their stuff out, and would give me a call Sunday or Monday on when we can meet to give me the keys, etc. The lady said she will hire a carpet cleaning company to steam clean the carpets after they move everything out, which I thought was nice.

I know I've said it here more than once, and I'll say it again, these tenants were absolutely wonderful. Besides a couple of HOA complaints, I never received a single complaint from them or about them. The rent was ALWAYS paid ahead of time, and they never experienced any problems with the house (except for a bird trying to build a nest under the eaves, the lady told me).

I told my wife that we should show our appreciation by including a Home Depot or Lowes gift card in the envelope when I send them their security deposit back. I know we made upteen trips to one of those stores when we first moved in our home because we needed picture hanging hardware, tools, etc.