Two Houses

Well, we closed on House #2 yesterday afternoon. It actually went a LOT quicker than when we closed on House #1 - mainly because we didn't have to wait over an hour to start.

I had a couple of questions about the HUD-1 I got answered beforehand, so there weren't any surprises on it at closing. The one issue that came up was the fact that my wife wasn't on the deed. We were told with Hosue #1 that she HAD to be at closing to sign the deed. However, with House #2, they told us that since it was an investment property, she didn't even have to show up at closing. Needless to say we were both a bit miffed, since it takes FOREVER to get all three kiddos dressed and stuf ready to go out with them - not to mention that they were all there now, so they had to endure the closing. I'll know next time. When I got home I realized that the issue was probably how the paperwork was originally filed with HUD. With House #1, I believe my agent at the time specifically told me that my wife had to be put on the deed and the paperwork was filed like that. Not so with House #2. In the future, I think we'll do it like this for now on, so she (and the kiddos) don;t have to go to closing.

Before the closing, I stopped by Lowes and picked up a lockset for each exterior door, so after we closed I could go right to the property and exchange the locks. Like planned, I met my agent at the property right after we closed, and started replacing the locks. The front&back doors each have a deadbolt and knob lock on them, and each of those went in lickity-split. For some odd reason, I had one heckuva time getting the keyed knob on the door to the garage. The bolts seemed to only want to go in halfway. I spent more time on that one lock than the others combined. I finally got one bolt in all the way, but stripped the other trying to get it in. I went ahead and left it like that, since it was the door to the garage anyway. I'll have to replace the bolt first thing when I get over there again. I'll need to buy a lockset for the garage door itself, too.

It's wierd, but when I first walked into the house (after it was ous now), the place looked in worse shape than before. I guess it was my subconscience playing tricks on me. I have more work to do on this property than with House #1, AND I'll be without the services of my wife's parents. They are both working full time once again, and my wife doesn't want to drain them by working on this house, too. That's one of the reasons I'll try to market it "For Sale: As-is".