Let's start at the beginning. I started a new job. That was the motive behind the move to H-town back in January. This new job includes visiting every far corner of Harris County and all the Republican grassroots organizations possible to promote three different county-wide candidates.
Well, if you are not familiar with Harris County (and 4 months ago I was not) you are in for a surprise. Harris County is 1800 square miles. That is bigger than Rhode Island, people. There are 4.1 million people in that area, which is a greater population than 24 different states. And my goal is to reach as many of those people as I can on behalf of three separate candidates. Ok, ok so a much smaller number than 4.1 million are actually registered voters and then only a percentage (albeit a large percentage) are Republican Primary voters. But the point is, I jumped in the deep end of campaign trail pool. I took the job with no clear Election Day and a lot of ground to cover. I was driving hundreds of miles a week with no real place of my own. (Shout out to the boyfriend and Crazy Witch Aunts for letting me stay with them.)
I can say now, I love the job... not every day, but more often than not, I'm having fun. I've got the clubs down, and a pretty good routine juggling the three different campaigns.
So let's move on... While figuring out the 3rd largest county's republican political atmosphere, I bought a condo. And not only did I buy this fantastic condo, but I also renovated the entire thing from top to bottom in 5 weeks. I was a first time home buyer and a first time renovator. I have never done anything but throw down a deposit and sign a lease. And was the home buying and renovation process an adventure for Sara Marie? Of course.
In the beginning things went flawlessly. I met with my loan officer and at first he seemed ok. It's been a while since I finalized everything and I've done my best to forget the headache that it gave me for 7 solid weeks, but here's the summary:
The loan officer was one of the worst customer service agents I have ever dealt with in any capacity. He lied on several occasions and then made a mistake that, if I had not challenged, it would have cost me 4 thousand dollars. Yah. Then the seller screwed up some paperwork and pushed the entire deal back 10 days. I found out about this error 24 hours before closing. That does not even scrape the surface of all the paperwork mishaps. I signed the total package of papers (which is takes 20 minutes easily without reading any of it) 3 different times...before closing. Add on the final flip and sign through the papers and it was 4. This is just the summary too. I would go in to every detail, but like I said before, I've tried to bury them somewhere deep so they never come up in my mind. The total process took 41 long annoying, painful days.
Then simultaneously were the renovations. Not one mistake was made until literally the last day. In the final walk through we noticed the wrong sink fixture in the bathroom. And not only would they have to order a new one, they would have to remove the granite and cabinet completely to fit the correct one. Fantastic. I thought I was moving in the next day, but with no water in the bathroom things were certainly delayed. When that got settled we realized the new AC unit was not installed. After being told it would be two weeks until a new one could be installed, I lost my mind on the seller's agent. Miraculously I had an AC unit that night. And that was my first night there.
The fixtures in the bathroom were correct and cold air blew through the vents the entire time I unpacked.
And now I'm settled. Not just in the condo, but into the job too. I have my place to call home, a job I enjoy more times than not, and a new mountain bike! But that is for the next post... until then...enjoy the pictures of the condo from start to finish…
I like before and after pictures so I tried to do that throughout. Enjoy!
This is standing in the living room look to the kitchen and front door.
Same view.
Looking down the small hallyway.
Again with paint...
Finished!
looking into the livingroom...
New floors, less junk!
Finished, minus the rug...
Livingroom complete!
Looking into my bedroom...
Purple wall!
Looking into the bathroom...
Finished!
View into the kitchen...
Complete!
And this is just a shot of the little entry area.
So that's the new place. I love it. And when the blinds are installed this week it will be 99% perfect. Hello, there is always room for improvement. Duh.
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