What do you mean the kids go back to School next week!

I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by.  The last post I wrote I told you all about how busy we were during our 2 weeks in Florida.  What I don't want to do is leave the impression that our visit was all work and no play!  We did manage to squeeze in some fun. So without a big into a summary of our FUN!

Well I will say that Windsor Palms itself provided tons of fun for the family.  The kids wanted to try out everything. They didn't manage to do that but they did do a lot.  The resort pool was a big attraction. I would have thought with their own pool at home they wouldn't be that interested, but I was wrong.  For Sarah the big draw was other girls. She managed to make a new friend every time we went up there. Both kids had to check out the hot tub, they thought it was to hot, I thought it was amazing! 

Since we knew this would be a working vacation we let the kids have a little fun we might not have done otherwise.  We let them go a little crazy with the arcade games.  Christian had tons of fun racing cars and Sarah found every game that gave a prize, and she wasn't shy if the machine didn't cough up what she was owed. Off she'd run to the concierge to get what was due to her.  There was also ping pong and pool tables but we didn't get to that. 

The next big adventure was booking a movie in the theatre.  The kids poured over the selections and settled on Bolt, the regular version, not the 3D version. Neither of our kids are wild about 3D movies for some reason.  The told the concierge and he put it into the computer for the next day and later that night we looked on the TV at the community channel and there was their movie on the screen! They thought this was great.  So the next morning we headed up and they went to their movie and I headed to the gym.  I managed to squeeze in that one workout.  Not my normal routine but better than nothing at all.

We wanted to try our hands at tennis or basket ball or volley ball but time did not permit.  We saw lots of other people enjoying the amenities though and that is great to see.

I told you about our trip to LEGOLAND so I won't bore you with another recap of that adventure. We also went to Mini golf, the exact name of the one we actually went to is escaping me right now as it wasn't the one we were planning to go to.  The good thing that came out of that miss direction was that they had some baby Alligators and for a mere $3 the kids got to feed them, which was a big hit.

My cousin and his family came to stay for the last few days and it was a great distraction for the kids.  They'd never met these cousins as they live far away so it was fun for them.  And it was great that they weren't complaining about how bored they were.  We had planned to hit Disney, Magic Kingdom to be specific during our second week but we were so busy we didn't think we'd be able to do it. So as a surprise for the kids we extended our trip by a day and booked a night at the Caribbean Beach Resort. 

So we got our tickets (park hopper passes for the first time) and headed to Epcot, met up with Mickey, hung out with Figment (Sarah's favourite) and went to school with Nemo.  We then checked into our hotel, cleaned up, left the car and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.  Toby and I were so tired I think we fell asleep waiting for the bus and on the bus (to and from the parks, we were good if we were moving).  We first headed to New Fantasyland and I must say it is impressive.  We got our fast passes for Under the Sea with Ariel, which was a great ride. The animatronics are pretty impressive.  The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is an immense presence and I can't wait to see it finished. Another first was seeing the Electric Parade at Walt Disney World and seeing Wishes fireworks!  It was an action packed and very long day. 

In the morning we had some breakfast and then let the kids burn of some steam at the pool before the very long drive home.  In addition to all the above fun we also got to meet our Property Managers, John and Elizabeth and our Realtor Shaun. After talking and emailing Shaun for over a year and a half it was great to finally meet!

In the end the kids told us it wasn't the 3rd worst vacation ever, it had moved down and was now the 6th or 7th worst. Next time can only be more fun! Thanks for stopping by. I hope to update the blog with upcoming events in the area and any changes to the property.  Enjoy your long weekend!

Can we Get on with This!

Well I am seriously getting a little bored with this process. The offers we put on those other 2 houses was not much more than a diversion.  I think that everyone is feeling a little frustrated. The seller: she has been paying bills and fixing things (fine by me) for over a year more than she wanted and has been paying lawyers to help navigate this process.  Our Realtor: well he and his team have been working away on a deal that may come to nothing, which means they get....nothing.  Us: frustrated buyers who like to be done with this, and me a Mickey loving blogger who would really like her Disney World fix. Soon, well about now would be good.

I'm trying to look on the bright side.  2 things are on the horizon at the happiest place on earth. Starting on March 6th through May 19 is the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. We've been to this and I find it amazing. All the amazing topiaries are a sight to see. And this year they have an Oz themed play ground. (Next to my love of Mickey Mouse, The Wizard of Oz is my other Fav). I would be happy to take a trip around the world (showcase that is) and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the Festival.

If we didn't make it to this then next on my to do list is still Star Wars Weekends at Disney Hollywood Studios (May 17 - June 9).  Our kids were actually watching something on TV and it was showcasing this event. They were practically jumping around at the idea of riding Star Tours (a not to be missed ride) with some Storm Troopers. I didn't have the heart to tell them that the Storm Troopers were probably on the ride for publicity photos. 

Either of these events would be amazing to attend. The Flower and Garden Festival as a favourite and Star Wars Weekends as a new experience.  If the house falls through I plan to go to Florida anyway (so I told my husband, lol), a little fun in the sun is defiantly in order.

Have a great week and May the Force be with you! (I am such a geek).

I Knew that the Silence meant Something!

So my suspicions were correct. The bank in all it's wisdom has ordered another appraisal of the house. Seriously, if they try and increase the price I'm done! Walking away and not looking back.  The answer should come quickly once they have it so I expect and answer soon, since the appraisal was ordered last week.

This leads me to speculate on the 2 options we have before us.

1. The bank gets the appraisal and tries to come back and ask for money. (not happening if they do)
2. After speaking with our Realtor, it could be that they are getting the appraisal to satisfy a requirement for the file. The appraisals are only good for 90 days and the previous one has most likely expired.

Either way at this point I am Frustrated! Why only now you ask, well I try to be a glass is half full kinda girl. At this point I'm having a hard time keeping up that optimism. If the outcome isn't positive, I won't give up on my dreams of having a place to vacation near Disney, I might just need to wait a little longer. 

That's my update/vent for the day. Happy hump day everyone.

Frustrated!

Frustrated is definitely the word I would use to describe how I feel about this process this week.  It's been weeks since we decided to accept the banks price on the house.  We have some friends going to Florida next month and we're taking bets on who will get there first.  The seller's law firm felt that this go around the process could be as quick as one month, start to finish. I can't see that happening. This week the update, such as it was told us that the lawyer/negotiator was having difficulty with the equator system processing the short sale. What that means, I don't really know. Your guess is as good as mine!

What I can tell you is that another set of friends of ours went to Florida over the holidays and happened to stay with some relatives in the same resort where our home could be. Since it's been almost a year since our offer went in they were gracious enough to stop in (with the help of our amazing Realtor-Shaun Reed) and take a look and some pictures. We've had some brief discussions with them, but I'll tell you more about that later and maybe share a few pictures.

We also got some more information from the seller: new pool pump in the last 3 months-that's a bonus and I think the HVAC unit inside was new in 2004.  Nothing earth shattering but it's something. That's it for my update. I'm hoping the next one will be more exciting. Have a great weekend!

A New Kind of Waiting

Well it's done. We've countered the bank's counter offer. 

It's a new kind of waiting now.  Our Realtor, who incidentally has been great over the last 10 months, spoke with the negotiator this morning. It seems the bank is not giving us only one shot at accepting their counter. So we went in with a counter offer that felt right to us and it gives us room to move one more time if need be.  One of the questions we had was "how long do we have to wait now?", the negotiator appears to think that we should hear back with in a week. Hopefully.  At this point I'll take a week, we've waited this long why not a little longer.

If we can get past this hurdle and the bank accepts our offer, there's only one thing that has to be resolved and it has nothing to do with us.  The Second Bank...although any negotiation with this bank will not affect our offer, it could certainly stop it from happening.  From what I understand the second mortgage holder is not going to let the seller get away without paying them back some money.  This may be the sticking point.  I understand from previous conversations that she-the seller, is willing to pay back something but how much, I don't know.

More waiting, that's what it all comes down to.  We should be used to it by now, but I'm not. So I will continue waiting, and waiting and hope that our answers come sooner rather than later.  Have a great day everyone!

Pardon, You Want to Know What?

I almost fell over when I went to check our e-mail today.  There sitting innocently in the inbox was an e-mail from our Realtor with the subject: Bookings. Hello...we don't have the house, does this mean something, did you forget to tell us something. What is going on? Of course this was all being said in my head, unheard by anyone but me.  What did the e-mail say you ask? Well it was our Realtor passing on that the seller has someone interested in booking the entire month of February,  would we be interested? Uh, yay! Well, yes if we actually own the house. Shaun (our Realtor) did say everyone's hoping we do own it by then. 

Now hold on, we couldn't just say yes, sign us up. We have to consider a few things.  We aren't interested in keeping her property management company, so if the booking is through them then we're out! On the other hand if it is a private booking then sure we'd be interested.  Of course we would have to discuss how to deal with the fees and such upon closing but I don't think that this would be an issue. The final item that we need to clarify though is how much she was planning to charge for this booking. I mean she could book it for $200.00 and we'd make very little, not even enough to cover expenses. Details, details, I passed on our questions to our Realtor and now we just need to wait to hear what comes of it.

My husband tells me that I seemed just a little excited by this interesting news. Maybe I was, a little...I mean why wouldn't I be.  Could this mean that she's heard something that makes her think that things are moving along well. Who knows, I sure don't, although I wish I did.  Let's see what updates come our way next. Thanks for listening to my ramblings about this process.  I would love to just get on with this.  This crazy long process has to come to an end sometime....right?

281 days and counting...

I Don't Mean to Nag.....

Good Morning! We are closing in on 7 months since our offer on the house was accepted.  It is getting harder and harder to be patient.  I can't imagine going through the short sale process if the property was going to be my primary residence but then again if it was an amazing deal it might be worth the pain!
This coming Friday our Short Sale extension expires (again!). Our Realtor is working hard to get this done but there is only so much he can do.  He now has the name of the lawyer that is working for the seller and has been in contact with him. Based on their conversations it sounds that the deal will close soon.
What does soon mean you ask? We asked for that to be clarified as well. Our Realtor hesitantly stated that he thought the lawyer indicated days as opposed to weeks (or months, eek!). So I'm back in prep mode.  I had my insurance quote re quoted (if that makes sense) and rates went down so I've got one positive for this taking so long, woo hoo!  I've also started back getting all the rental documents in order so we are ready to go once renovations are completed. Everything else will have to wait until we get the go ahead.
Fingers crossed that we don't have to sign another extension on Friday (but I won't hold my breath). I have decided to be thorough-a nag-and call or e-mail our Realtor almost daily this week. He says he doesn't mind and considering we've been pretty patient so far I'm not going to feel bad about it.
Have a great day everyone!

And the Waiting Continues!

So today brings the end of another work week for a lot of us. Thank goodness for weekends.  Our vacation home journey continues to move along.  We received another update this week.  The extension of the short sale will go through, giving us another 30 days to wait on the bank. I guess in reality it is more like 60, if you count the 30 days after the extension.  At this point the process seems straight forward enough, but that's only because I've asked enough questions and gotten great answers from our Realtor (Shaun Reed PA, Keller Williams). 

So what's the update you're wondering? Well this is how I understand it.  The seller has basically said that she expects the offer to go through, if we're willing to wait. There is some negotiating that the seller and the bank will have to do in order to settle what is still owed on the home.  And of course we are willing to wait. Windsor Palms Resort is a great community. The house is the model we wanted and why would we walk away from a south facing pool with no neighbours to the rear!

What I think now is that while the whole short sale process is lengthy in time commitment, it will pay when the outcome is what we wanted. I'm still holding out for a closing that gets me to Star Wars weekends but I would put any money on it.  So my plans may need to change a little.  What should we do with the kids that they haven't done on other trips. So many options....

Perhaps we'll spend a day at a Disney water park, Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. Or we could do the Pirates and pals cruise to see the fireworks. Oh what to do! We could even skip Disney this trip (ah on second thought, I don't think I could do that) and check out some other non-theme park activities. Maybe the beach, zip lining, check out the everglades...the options seem endless. I'll get to work on it and update my planning as I find different options.

Have a great weekend everyone!