It begins

Tony and I met with our amazing mortgage broker, Aaron, this afternoon. Since GM filed for bankruptcy today, the markets got shaky and the mortgage rates went up .25%! Rats. GM, Karma's a bitch! Oh well, the rate is still pretty low and we can see if the rates go down some in the next six weeks until we close.

Then, we drove straight to IKEA to check out bathrooms. We want to get a contractor lined up to start on the inside of the place as soon as we take possession of the property July 15th, so we figure we have to find the contractor and do the design/contract now so they can start in July. Aah!

We liked the designs of the IKEA bathroom fixtures, but aren't sure about the "green" factor and the durability. Most stuff (kitchen stuff) is warrantied for 25 years, so that's good.

Tony also had the sewer line inspected and a buried oil tank inspection today - there's a "belly" in the sewer line, which is disappointing since it was actually replaced in the 1990's. The oil tank is indeed still there, buried 15 inches under the back patio, and -get this - contains 250 gallons of "amber grade" oil from circa 1930's! It needs to be decommissioned (drained & filled with sand, then the lines to the house cut). This costs around $1,000.

Well, that's all for today!