Today I have a busy schedule. Not at work. I have a meeting at 11am in Auburn with fire and planning. On my side my architect and engineer. And me. I am there to agree to final plans so we can be done with this part of the process. I hate the process and processors. It’s bullshit. I believe there are people in the background of this putting pressure on decision makers. Small town, old boys, usual shit. I am not giving up.
This will not even rise to level of ruining my day.
After the meeting, a better outing. RE agent Kary and I are going on “2nd dates” with four properties. Em and I viewed them last week, this is the second look or date. And you all know that second dates are a little more personal than the first dates. More up close touching and feeling. A much closer look to know if the big third date is warranted. And we all know what the third date is, either full acceptance or permanent rejection. I say consummate. But, there are two sides. Today is a step forward.
I have to be ready to get the hell out of here by 9am. And it’s 825. I am on the way to the shower. It’s time to move.
Side note, anyone want a couple bags of Halloween candy? It’s the good stuff. We did overbuy.
Well I got packed up and headed out by 905. No stops. Direct to the county offices in Auburn. Very nice building but why so nice? Shouldn’t these government offices full of bureaucrats be built inexpensively since our tax dollars pay for it? I think granite in the bathrooms is excessive. And the building dept no less. They deserve Quonset huts and pit toilets.
So, the meeting. Here we go. We had planner Bennett, fireman Ryan, two gals from other planning depts, and the good guys on my team.
Mike, my architect, tried to run his strategy but it did not work. Mostly because fireman Ryan is a complete asshole. He was complete, not part way. For two hours we argued back and forth about code and what’s allowed and grade and all sorts of pointless things. I just want a variance. And these fucking idiots want to discuss end product and all sorts of things that come later in the process. I can’t get there without the variance. What a waste of time. It took an hour and a half to get somewhere where they stated out loud what we need to do to get back to a meeting where we can get the variance approved. I hate these morons.
Finally done at one. Two hours of my life wasted.
I called Kary and let her know I was on the way. We have four houses to see, in detail, by days end. Same four as last weekend. 2nd dates for each. The second time you see a place is different. It’s a different time of day so all looks different. You notice things that were missed the first time around. Probably because you are really looking more earnestly. Walking around in a different direction helps to show things at a different angle. Still not able to see all flaws at this point but you can start to imagine yourself in this new place.
First up is a house that has received an offer today.not pending yet though. After walking through it a second time I know I could live here. But, I have thought on this one for four days. And what I thought on, like the low production well and large lot to take care of and then seeing all the dried up areas on the parcel, all say don’t buy it. Would end up too much work.
Number two is a mini mansion. A vanilla house. Though it is very pretty. I discovered new found parts of the parcel we did not see first time around. That alone makes a very compelling argument to pick it. And I might. It fulfills all that I need, with added out building, though I still find it boring. Too much a tract home.
House the third. My initial favorite. This place has improved in the last four days. It actually looks better inside and out. Last Sunday I felt the yard looked barren. I see now it really isn’t. I like it more. Also, discovered more space on the parcel for additional buildings to store cars and camper. There is road access close by too. A plus. The house is unique inside and in back. They have a beautiful natural swimming hole pool. A big plus. This is still my favorite. Although it is too large.
Last, not least, number four. Emily’s favorite. Like the last house this is very well maintained. I have met the owner twice and she is also meticulous in what she does. The house is well decorated and shows very well too. Owner has a beautiful eye for things. We walked the house and property not missing anything. Strangely, I had failed to notice the outdoor stairs that travel from the garage that is down the hill behind the house, back up to the house. A huge miss. Emily missed it too. Did not ask Kary. This is why the second date. That had been a big problem. The hill is a steep grade. As with the other properties I need another outbuilding. I think. With this one I may not. A positive. We will see. This one is much smaller than number three but may be equal in useable space. Size may not be important.
We finally left. Drove by another place Emily had seen online. Waste of time.
We got back to Kary’s office. Said our goodbyes and I headed for home. Called Emily and have her a quick synopsis. Saved best for home. Had a slow drive to Vacaville. Had to stop at the hardware store for toilet parts. Mine is not flushing. Then to Boudin to get some dinner. Emily was not at home making it. We need to work on that. Got home and ate.
While eating Emily wanted to hear all. I had prepared a grid that had each site and all attributes so I could make notes and the like. I really wanted to just eat dinner. I was outvoted, 1-1. So I explained. Went through all I mentioned above in the same order as I saw them and laid it all out. In the end it was 3rd vs 4th. They both seemed equal. One had an extra thousand sf. It got down to just a couple things. Big house had a pool. Otherwise somewhat equal. Number four was over $100k less than three. One more thing, number four got pulled from the market today and the owner said she would hold it for us. She likes us, esp Emily.
We chose number four. Offer in tomorrow.
That’s my day folks. I never did call the office to tell them I’d be gone. They did not call me. Well trained.
Either way, bedtime is upon us.