Wednesday, January 2, 2013

And Just Like That

...

We got the property we wanted in Arizona. All we have to do is wait for a clear title and voila...

Snowbirds. (LOL)

It all went down so quickly and has been such a smooth process that I think both the hubby and I are still in a bit of shock. Reality hasn't quite set in.

Now, that being said...there are still some things we are going to have to get straightened away. The realtor we are working with has been very good about informing us of the differences between buying from a homeowner(seller) vs. buying foreclosed property. Apparently in Arizona, there is a law that says when someone buys a foreclosure property, the buyer is legally responsible for having the septic inspected. That means that we are going to be responsible for paying someone to come out, 'locate', dig up, inspect and then pump the septic. Seems incredibly weird that we are forced to actually dig up the septic for inspection...but according to the realtor...it's usually only a few hundred dollars. The other responsibility we will have is to get with the 2 other people on the shared well and find out how that is set up. Some shared well set-ups require a small monthly due to be paid into a community fund and some do not, any repair expenses to the well come out of pocket at the time of necessity. Either way, we will need to get the previous owners removed and ourselves put on as owners. The realtor is working on getting as much information out of the listing agent for the bank as she can and has done some location research on the previous owners. It's hard to say if the previous owners will be helpful...or just bitter. I am optimistic though. The property we have now was a foreclosure and I did meet the previous owner, who was quite helpful about how the waterlines ran on this property and where exactly the septic system was located, so hopefully these people will be kind enough to enlighten us a little bit.

Buying foreclosure properties is not for the faint of heart. The night after the hubby got the winning bid, I woke up in the middle of the night and laid there wondering about a lot of things we didn't actually have time to inquire about...One of the things that hit me was, none of us (me, the hubby or the realtor) can remember if we actually saw an AC unit outside the house. After looking at several properties that day and remembering that every other property HAD an AC unit outside the house, for the life of me, I cannot remember seeing one outside the house we just bought. Is that crazy or what? LOL

Oh well, I don't suspect that will be a huge issue. After all...Our biggest concern was the actual property...the fact that all 3.36 acres are level, rock free, fenced and there is an awesome cinderblock 2-car garage for the hubby and there is water and electricity. Having an actual house on the property is a bonus...and it's not even beat up inside. The one thing that sticks out in my mind about the house is the horrible job that was done putting in a floating laminate floor. Ohh my!! There were huge gaps between the planks where the flooring was not fit together correctly. It was so bad it actually made me giggle. But again...no worries. That laminate crap tears up very easily. Somewhere along the line, the house will have to be re-leveled, as there is a hump in the center of the house and after we get around to having that done, I'll just redo the floors in a little bit of a higher quality flooring. It will remain to be seen exactly how much time we will get to spend down there...

I can tell you...right now...I'm climbing the walls to get out of this snow and cold. Yuck!!

I am a bit worried about how the horses are going to handle the transition at this point. Not knowing exactly how everything was going to play out, I did not start blanketing anything before it got cold and the ponies look like wooly mammoths. I'm a little worried about how they are going to handle rotating climates. :-/ Oh man...there is a LOT to learn yet about being 'mobile with horses'.


12 comments:

Marissa said...

Congratulations!

Thats so exciting!

Always trust your gut, and your gut told you it was totally perfect when you saw it!

Sherry Sikstrom said...

SO exciting, and worrisome I never thought of half the things you mentioned. Guess i am not ready to fly south LOL

Paint Girl said...

I am so happy and excited for you!! That is fantastic. I am sure that in no time you will turn this house into your own!
I am sure you are super excited about getting out of the snow and cold. I loved going to AZ in February every year for that reason. Well, for the reason of rain and cold!!
I am sure your horses will be fine. I know our horses up here adapted just fine when we hauled to AZ but they weren't wooly mammoths either! lol! And it does get cold down there at night!

Laura said...

Argh. blogger ate my comment! Hopefully this doesn't show up twice...

Great news about the buying process being fairly straightforward. I'm sure the septic/AC etc. will all work out without too many hiccups.

I guess you could always clip the horses if they get too hot down there. Not a bad problem to have...lol It would be worth the hassle of clipping to get away from the cold and snow!

Shirley said...

That's pretty exciting! Now the work begins, though.

Allenspark Lodge said...

You have a valid worry about the horses' coats. We experienced that early on in our horse life. It's easy to deal with when you know what you are up against, however, with your racing schedule it could be slightly more complicated.

We moved our horses to a place near Tombstone, AZ in late Sept. (I believe - it was a few years ago) and left them there as we traveled back and forth to CO, helping friends set up a dude ranch. We wanted to bring them home in March on our last trip, but then realized, just before we loaded them up, that they had no winter hair to speak of. We had to make a special trip down in May to bring them home - and that was too early (they got snowed on a lot, even then). We also had to give them time to reaclimate to the altitude. Other than that, they did great!

Congratulations - enjoy being a snowbird!
Bionic Cowgirl

Cut-N-Jump said...

It has been 39 at night and 32 in the mornings at our place. Wooly mamoths should do well here too...

So what oart of the state will you be in?

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

Yeah, CNJ said it. I'm actually blanketing my horses right now and a lot of people are wearing coats. I went out in flip-flops this morning to feed the horses and realized my toes were getting frostbite. No snow where I'm at, but cold enough to snow at night.

At the same time, I noticed the first few flies of the season and ordered a year's supply of Fly Eliminators.

I'd be amazed if the house didn't have AC. I don't know how anyone could survive the summers out here without it. Septic location, inspection and pumping is usually easy as long as the septic company has a detector and you know the general vicinity. It's rare to find a property over 3 acres in my area. You did good.

Mikey said...

So exciting!!! Can't wait!!

Crystal said...

Oh wow! Makes me want to move even more!!! I will be sure listening to how you are figuring stuff out before i get to far ahead in my search!!! Should be fun. Are you gonna take all the ponies with you. I am thinking you will probly have to clip and light blanket but they should acclimatize quickly I would think.

Strawberry Lane said...

How exciting! So glad you found the perfect property. That's the important thing! The AC is probably hiding somewhere. Looking forward to lots of pictures!

in2paints said...

Congratulations! I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to see pictures and I'm sure the horses will love it there!