Appraisal

Raise your hand if you knew there were this many hoops to jump through to purchase a home! The latest hoop that I successfully navigated was the home appraisal. The home appraisal is where the bank that's lending me the money ensures that the home is actually worth enough to cover them if I were to fail to pay. From what I understand the appraisal almost always comes in right at the contract price, since being too far off either way raises a lot of flags. Of course, that isn't to say if there is something flag worthy they don't raise a flag.

In more interesting news, I got a visit from my brother and his family. My nephew is stationed in CT although he is supposed to be reployed somewhere else sometime soon. We met in Charlestown (my brother was particularly impressed that people actually say Charles-town instead of charleston, since people in Massachusetts love saying things oddly) and had lunch at the Warren Tavern. Apparently it's been around since before the Revolution. Although considering the low ceilings and how long it took to get a table, I think one visit is enough.

We also went to see Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution. It's quite something that the Constitution is the oldest commisioned ship at sea. I kind of wonder what the oldest ship at sea might be, I forgot to ask on the tour. Apparently the limey's have a commisioned ship that's older but it is permanently dry-docked. I did ask how much of the ship is original, afterall, being in 33 battles, even if you win them all, will take its toll, the answer was 10-15%, apparently the keel and not much else.

Ah... it's good to be back someplace with some history. Although I realize that Boston has nothing on a lot of European cities, it has a distinct edge on just about anywhere in the Americas.

Pictures

I finally got the pictures loaded onto my computer. I uploaded them to flickr. I felt pretty stupid when I figured out how to get the pictures onto my computer. I thought I had to use the cable that I packed, instead I just took the card out of my camera and put it in the little slot on the computer.

The first is a picture of the building from the park across the street. On the left of the building you can see where the elevator was added at some point. My condo will be the second from the top with the balcony and the elevator shaft. The second photo looks back the the park and the Boston skyline.

Here's a picture of the kitchen. All the pretty stainless steel appliances and solid wood cabinetry. Oh, and you can't even see the ceilings because they are 12ft! The doorway you can see on the right goes out to the balcony. Check out the rest of the photos on flickr.

Big Check

So today was the day where I had to write a very big check as a deposit on the condo I'm buying. First I had to sign all the mortgage documents at the broker's which was something on the order of a dozen "sign and date here's". Then I had to print and execute 4 copies of the purchase and sale document, with riders. That meant initialing and signing every page of a 23 page document and then repeating an additional three times. So all told, I probably wrote my initials four score times and my signature another two dozen times.

Phew!

Oh, and the bank that's getting me the loan is pretty obnoxious about things. Well, I guess I can't say they are too obnoxious since they are loaning me a bunch of money at a good rate. Anyway, the annoying factor in this case is that a letter from my company that says I am indeed employed and I am indeed getting the salary I said isn't good enough. So to make a long story short, they want a paystub. The problem is, since I get paid every other week, and I started at the very beginning of a pay cycle, my first paycheck won't come out till next Friday (a little less than three weeks after I started work). So, again trying to be brief and failing, this means the closing is pushed out at least two days.

But, this does mean that my procrastination on arranging for the movers to come is fully justified. Since I was planning on them coming the day I am now likely to be closing. So, sometimes putting things off until tomorrow can work out.

More condo news and some blogging...

I had the home inspection today and it went really well. There were a few really minor things that need to get taken care of, but other than that things are look good. Of course, there is still a lot of things to get done on the legal and finacial side of things. Sometimes it amazes me that people ever buy anything, let alone something as complicated as a condo.

In other news, I finished my first week of work. It was an interesting week. There was, of course, the usual orientation aspects with forms to fill out and policies to learn. Of course, the difference was that I did it all remotely. While I am going to be sitting in the Cambridge office, I am primarily going to be reporting to the Manassas office. This means for HR purposes, I'm virtually a Manassas employee. Depending on who you ask, I'm either a guinea pig or a pioneer.

We also had our monthly Ops review, so I got to see the different projects that are going on in the company, as well as the forecast for the coming year, finacial plans etc. It was a very educational experience, since in my previous work such things were very far removed from my daily efforts.

Finally there was the Open House. The Cambridge office hasn't been open for very long. The actually office space that we are using has been around for only a few months. So there was an open house to invite people in the community (predominately community in the sense of scientific community, students, professors etc) to see the facility and fill them in on what we are doing. It was interesting to see a few of my old professors coming to the open house. I also saw a girl I met at a conference three years ago, and one of my fraternity brothers (he was pledging as I was finished my Master's degree). Most didn't recognize me at first, must be the shaved head.

After work today, I went to the Cambridge Galleria. It's been quite a few years since I've been there, so it has changed, especially the anchor stores. Lechmere is now a Best Buy (at least as memory serves the Best Buy is located where Lechmere used to be). It also seemed a bit smaller and darker, although that could be because of the rain.

Oddly enough, the last time I remember being at the Galleria, must have been the same time of year. As I was walking around, I found it very odd how many people were near my height, and in a few cases taller. It wasn't until I saw a group of such individuals that I remembered the article I had seen, briefly on the subway, that the Head of the Charles Regatta is this weekend. I remember having the same revelation a number of years ago, probably my last fall in Boston. It seems that when people come to town to row, they need to check out the local mall.

Actually, that reminds me of another thought that occured to me. Boston is an incredibly cosmopolitan city. Walking around I hear all sorts of accents and people talking in other languages. San Francisco was much the same, except it seemed to be in pockets with different groups sticking to themselves. There don't entirely blend together in Boston, but there is much more intermingling, at least it seems to me.

Countered and Accepted

I made an offer on a condo yesterday, and last night they countered. The counter was actually what I was thinking might be best. Although at least part of that is because it is a much rounder number than my original offer or the asking price. I really hate prices that end in 9. Like 149 is so much less than 150. Can't we all be grownup about it? Although when the nine is followed by three zeros, it is a much bigger deal than when it is a matter of cents.

I also made arrangements for an inspector to come by the place on Friday morning. I'm going to take the oppurtunity to snap a couple of pictures. I might not post them right away because I want to get closer to having everything as finalized as possible. Actually, now that I think about it, I might not be able to put them up for a while anyway, since I think my cable might be in storage.

The excitement builds!

Made an offer

As the title implies, I made an offer on a condo today. But I'm still waiting for word on whether it got accepted, if there is a counter offer, etc. Even if it is accepted, there is so much to do, getting inspections, going over contracts, mortgages, insurance, etc. But, if all goes smoothly, I should be closing on Halloween.

I'd also like to wish my brother a Happy Birthday!

First day of work

I started work today. Well, I did the orientation and met the other people in the office which I suppose counts as work. I have a little more orientation tomorrow, and then I might start doing real work. Although later this week is some sort of review, and then on Thursday is a big open house.

I noticed something kind of odd today. Everywhere I looked, I thought I recognized people. It took me a little while to realize that I wasn't recognizing the people, but their body language, the way they moved. When I was in college, I learned to recognize the foreign students by the way they dressed, and the way they moved. There was a difference in posture and even a different way of walking. I've come to realize there is a regional accent to body language as well. People in California just don't move the same as people on the east coast.

That could be one of the reasons I immediately felt so comfortable when I came back to Boston. I recognized the people that were around me. Although, some of the body language difference could also simply be the temperature difference. People act differently when the air temperature is in the 40's or low 50's than when it's in the 60's.