Wow, seems like a lot of heartbreak this season (or maybe heart heaviness). Sorry to hear about but happy that everyone is warm and healthy during this Holiday season.
We,too, got the surprise of our lives for this Holiday Season. In a very UGLY way that has turned into a good and BEAUTIFUL thing. Get a cuppa' and settle back - this one gets long again!
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I received a frantic call from my hubby in late Oct at 4:10 pm on a Wednesday... We'd just gotten served an eviction notice and had to be out by the following Tuesday (we had our youngest daughter, just turned 21 living back w/ us and her stuff stored in our shop; 4 dogs, 3 house kittens - all adopted in June, 2 in/out cats, 2 barn cats, 26 equines, 3 ducks and I've lost count of the number of chickens... all on 8 acres).
We lease our property - but the owner had gone thru foreclosure and we'd followed all the recommendations from our lawyer and from our VA Mortgage Realtor. Per their combined "orders" we didn't purchase the property when it went thru a foreclosure auction at a lower amount then we'd been told it would sell for and much lower then we'd been pre-approved to purchase - instead doing another "lease" contract thru the Mortgage Company and the VA Mortgage Realtor that allowed us to lease it while getting it into shape to pass a VA inspection (wouldn't pass at that time - part of why we didn't purchase it - loan wouldn't work for that as is)... Hmmm. No one in our families' or friends' had heard of such a thing and seems that it has now turned around and "bit us in the rear"...
Larry had already tried calling our lawyer, and the Mortgage rep we deal with as well as the bank - all we got was voicemail! (my thought - were they all in on it???)
I worked late after the phone call, but stopped at one place that stood empty that I'd been eyeing for several months. Turned out, it had just been turned over to the owners grandson and his wife to be... But I got contact info (a good thing!). Our oldest daughter was at our house when I arrived using the internet (hers isn't reliable) and she proceeded to show me what her and our SIL were going to look into purchasing... (didn't work out) - but while we were online, we looked at several other realtor websites and I found several properties that looked promising (we've actually been looking at property off and on for years - every time it just wasn't "right"). Not sure we said anything then - when she left - Larry and I discussed what we would do next - BESIDES freaking out (so unproductive, isn't it??).
So the next day, I went into work and had time before surgery to speak w/ my boss and the office manager. Got the next Monday and Tuesday off from work... On the way from work that day, I went a different way and stopped at a local Realty Office. I was looking for the Realtor that I'd visited with 1 or maybe even 2 years previous (she'd run both of us around to look at several places - none was "quite right" - but at least she understood what we were looking for). She no longer worked there and the only Realtor left working was w/ another couple at that time. So I waited. It was well after hours - yet she then proceeded to pull up the properties I'd thought I'd seen that were promising form the MLS. Couldn't find the one I was describing and for the life of me, I couldn't remember (& was kicking myself for not bringing my printouts w/ me that day) the address(s)... FINALLY, she found the one and then another - both of those were promising, then showed me several more. She listened to what I had to say about our "arrangement" and "circumstances" (was she surprised!)... I wasn't sure if we'd done a contract w/ the previous Realtor nor sure if Larry hadn't already done something, so I took her card and the printouts and headed home to do chores. When I was done and Larry was up (some of you know that he's pretty much a permanent night worker, some don't) to make breakfast (actually he was ill and called in to work for nite off), we visited about the properties. We already had boxes (we'd started moving stuff out to do renovations - 1 room at a time), so we packed - me for only short time - him most of the night. The next day, I called new Realtor back and arranged to go look at properties! We also rented a storage unit and took first large load. 2 of our daughters, our SIL and 2 good friends showed up to help pack. We pulled out w/ the trailer (2nd load), SIL, 2 baby GDs; both daughters' had to go to work - one for swing shift, one for night shift and met the Realtor at the first property. As we pulled up ... Larry looked up at the arched gate and said "THIS IS HOME"....
We looked at it. Not perfect, an older manufactured home w/ some issues (cosmetic, we hoped) some outbuildings - some ok- some EWWWW, some fenced pasture (oooo - about 7 acres - more than currently had all of our critters on, but fenced in only 3' tall field fence and fence posts - just right for our guys to "skewer" themselves on), an above ground pool, lots of junk laying about hiding in the pine straw and LOTS OF FORESTED areas... It felt "right". And it was w/i our price range - if we could get a VA Loan on 21 acres (just 5 years ago - you couldn't - we tried). After all this time - the first one we looked at - really???? We stopped and looked at 2 others. One was less money, the other the same $$ but lots less property. NOPE. We then went to the storage unit and unloaded - in the meantime the daughter working swing shift is changing a flat tire and ended up getting the night off from work due to travel problems and is dropped off by someone else to meet us for dinner. It was a long night - took them home and Larry and I continue packing.
Saturday - everyone + our middle daughter show up to help pack! We meet Realtor to draw up the bid for the property/home - want response by Monday... One friend shows up with an Artic Cat (small bucket tractor thing) and we try using it to pull steel fence posts on the first pasture. Hmm, doesn't work at all. So we do other things to continue working instead. Larry picks up a Farm Jack - and figures out how to use it so that fence posts start coming up. First equipment load goes to friends' house, ponies are shifted around to accommodate taking out fencing (O yes, and then the chasing and fight commences). Good thing we've figured out how to build these hoop coops - as we now need 3 more to house all the chix at our friends' place. SIL is now out of the house and working on that project. In the middle of all of this - I have a vet appointment for coggins and RV - and all 11 ponies that got the RV had varying reactions - way too many SEVERE and 2 days in a row we spend more time hot packing them so that they will eat/drink than doing anything else! No time then for a nervous breakdown - gotta keep moving & we do. Monday arrives and we are still frantically packing. Still nothing official from the lawyer and the original VA Realtor... New realtor calls w/ a counter offer to ours - we counter again and send it off. Another offer comes in - but there's some question as to some things (yep, knew it was too good to be true!)... We did set a closing date of 4 December.
Tuesday morning - finally hear from Lawyer and VA Realtor - both of whom act shocked over the eviction notice and say they can get it straight and we'll keep the original contract... Seems that when we signed that - the eviction notice had been set in motion already via court system and everybody "forgot" about it... Larry and I looked at each other ... "NO, but we need more time to move out"... Got till 20 November to move... Went and talked to that original property owner about leasing some land from them, fencing it for the ponies and moving them in for up to 3 months. "Pastures" would be just glorified, large paddocks - as I would need fence posts and fencing to put up at the new place when everything started falling into place... Yes, got it, but will have to start fencing it soon. Larry and I both had to return to work - full time. The rest of our family and friends' also returned to work - in that 5 days - we'd gotten 90% of the inside of the house and part of the shop packed into storage. Part of the barn, too, but we were finding out just how much stuff we had!
Halloween was a bit subdued - we didn't decorate cuz most of our stuff in storage already. We did a bonfire that included some furniture we knew we weren't taking with us. 2 days earlier, one of the house kittens that I'd rescued in June and had spayed when old enough - died. Maybe she got to the mouse poison? She was given a Viking Burial - at the top of the burn pile and a Eulogy was said before it was lit. Good fire, good food (PIZZA, CHIPS/DIP, CAKE/ICECREAM & SODA - our bonfire staples), family fellowship! No trick - or - treaters - wonder why??? It was the biggest bonfire we'd ever had! Lots of pony whinny's when it blazed up - first bonfire we'd ever done w/o fire marshall arriving, too. that was a surprise!
Continued to pack - amazing how the week(S) flew by. I'd started taking fencing over to the leased place - did we have enough to do it? We started laying it out - and got some of it up... No we didn't have enough. Hmmmm.... Made the areas smaller. On the 15th, in pouring, cold rain, we unloaded not 1 but 2 loads of ponies into 2 different paddocks. Everyone that came to help got fed and got gas money in one way or the other... On the 16th, we moved the last group of ponies - having to keep them tied until we got enough panels and gates up and set... (not all the fencing was down on the main property yet!)... O, yea, did I state that our oldest daughters' NSH had been having breathing issues and when the Cog/RV done we had her checked - she had "heaves" and possibly cancer. She was started w/ a Prednisone/steroid shot and treatment via oral pills that need to be crushed and given 2x daily during all of this too. While dealing w/ the ponies (hot packing), she is still having breathing issues (meds doing nothing?), so we think that maybe not only cancer but cancer spread to lungs? She was in the last batch of ponies to be moved. She'd been moved into the pen w/ our "wild pony" who hasn't been able to be turned out since she tears thru the fencing and can't be caught. They are in portable panels set up in a 70' oblong type round pen. They are moved together and again put in the pen when it's re-built. Feeding is only going to be done 1x daily while out there - so meds changed up. Not sure if that was a problem or not - effective? No effect - a week later she's now losing weight (but weather had also taken a dive first here in the Carolinas, then in the rest of the country as that front dips wayyyy south!). Breathing is no better. Moving? We are frantically moving the last of our stuff on the Nov 20th - no one shows up at the property... ??? It's 1:30 am when Larry and I arrive in our "home" - our room at the Quality Inn... Friday - we both stay quite dead and in our room - except for feeding the ponies. No one returns our calls (again) from the VA Realtor who is supposed to go thru the home and get the keys. I'm fretting - there's "stuff" we could have still moved if they aren't going to have a "presence" to make us stay away or lock us out (not in the house - but in the shop - the rest of the fencing that we ran out of time to get, some little stuff around the place)... Set up the Hotel room as an effieciency apartment w/ our coffee pot, snacks, kitchen type stuff (hmm, packed some of the wrong stuff, kept some of the wrong stuff!). Laundry OK for a bit - W/D was in the last load to go to storage. Dog treats, food, water station set up for them - 3 in our room for the first 2 nights. Then 1 moved over w/ our daughter in room next to us.
Property passes various inspections, but a hang up in the offers... Seems that there WAS a VA appraisal done. And it's much lower than the amount that the owner wants for the property. We make a LAST OFFER - and it is accepted, but the closing date now moved to the 10th of Dec... Then our Realtor wants to redo our financing - going thru a different lender rather than the one we'd been pre-approved w/. This is OK, but means we jump thru more hoops AND we then do another VA appraisal - and I come down sick w/ a nasty cold, some congestion and a cough. NO fever. I'm worried and TIRED... Thanksgiving was ... well not anything like we've EVER had before...
Ponies doing OK, some losing weight (hadn't fed most right away when moved - went a couple of days since the move was upsetting and had gotten new supplier of hay - that's another sob story!). Over one weekend, I built a temporary feed room that housed our small squares of hay for the now 2 shetland ponies, 1 NSH and 1 MH (boarded w/ me) - mostly by myself - though the younger daughter did stop working w/ the wild pony just long enough to help put panels into place in the curve while I braced them. The heavy coughing started while I was doing that and between feeding w/o my feed wagon (packed full of "stuff" and left in other trailer at friends' property) and building - I am laid out that evening w/ exhaustion. Don't get a lot of stuff done...that needed doing.
So, last week the closing set to Dec 19th. Nothing much happening - not over this cold. Keep on, keepin' on.
Someone has already broken two windows at the house we were at (still checking mail - even though we set up a PO box w/ same zip code) and it looks cold/lonely... The folks who took the keys are unhappy w/ "the stuff" we "left" (I'd gone back and gotten most of the rest of the fencing - when I broke the new, heavy duty farm jack, we quit! and cleaned out the barn and the shop) - they had a hard time understanding that what was actually left wasn't ours! sigh... I remember when we did the original lease and 1/2 the barn and all of the shop still had the owners' stuff in it. Took them over 2 years to move it since they'd been transferred out of state, but then they left quite a bit in the shop - it wasn't ours... Trust me, we wanted what was ours!
This morning, the good news - the new appraisal was much higher than the original (we won't have to pay any cash other than closing costs - most of which have already been paid) AND we will be moving the closing up but don't know what day yet!
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Christmas - will be a time of moving and setting up the house we will live the rest of our lives on (well, it's probably mortgaged for the rest of it anyway!). We will be setting up the fencing so that we will be able to drive ponies around the perimeter of the property - some clearing will have to be done. Not sure how/where we will put a barn yet. Not sure how much cash we will have for a while!! Probably no tree or Xmas decorations, but that's ok...
I'm so scroogey this Christmas. I got so mad! I drug all those containers back out to the shed, almost hyperventilating thinking about the damage they may do to my stuff. Everyone is shocked that those dang mice chewed through plastic and duck tape! Oh well nothing I can do about it. I'm not buying a tree for 100 bucks right now. it's not possible. I guess I can wait until after Christmas and see if I can catch a sale.
