We're in! Even though the house is not
quite completed, we were able to close on July 2, with most of the major moving happening on July 3.
Just getting to closing was touch-and-go. Our contractor didn't take kindly to being fired and thought he should still be paid most of the remainder of the contract. About two weeks before closing, we received an "Intent to File Lien" for about $18,000. (This is in addition to about $8,000 of our money he still had in his posession.) So lawyers became involved. To make a LOONG story short, we reached a verbal agreement prior to closing, but then he filed the lien anyway. The lien didn't show up on the final title search prior to closing, but it did show up prior to the loan being funded, so everything got held up again. So another round or wrangling ensued, but we finally got it settled, papers have been signed, and we are done!
After months of stress and tension and busting our butts to get it done, we are now taking it a little easier. We still have LOTS of unpacking and tons of little finishing jobs to do (staining woodwork, refinishing doors, touch-up painting, etc.) but we are taking our time and just enjoying being here.
However, just to keep life from becoming TOO sedate and boring, soon after moving in, we were awakened in the middle of the night be strange noises coming from the master bathroom. Upon investigating, we discovered a bat had fallen into the wastebasket and was trying frantically to get out. Not thinking too clearly, we took the the little guy outside and let him fly off on his merry way. It wasn't until the next morning Todd started doing some research and we discovered we should have kept the bat to have it tested for rabies. Apparently, bat bites are often tiny and undetectable, and in situations like this, Centers for Disease Control recommends vaccination. Sooooo, we are currently undergoing the the rabies vaccine series. Fortunately, it's not nearly as awful as it used to be. Only five shots over the course of a month, and the side effects have so far been very mild.
Which brings us to our latest "old house" discovery: we have a colony of bats living in the attic! We've also learned that bats can get through an opening as small as 3/8"! The only viable option for getting rid of them seems to be waiting until fall when they migrate to warmer climates, then sealing the soffits and fascia where they are getting in. When they return next spring, they will hopefully relocate to the bat house we have hanging on a light pole outside.
This however, is not where our story ends it is just the beginning of our life in Our Old House.
