We Got Keys to Our New Home
Almost two months after we put in our initial offer in on a home, we've finally got keys! But that's getting ahead of myself. In my last post we left off a couple of days before we got keys. After a couple of quiet weeks things ramped up in a big way.
On January 13th we made our way after work to our escrow company which was walking distance from our apartment. We got there around 5PM and spent 30 minutes signing our life away. Because we signed a lot of our documents online over the last couple of weeks there wasn't a ton left to sign. It felt surreal though to be sitting in an escrow company signing our names to documents that were going to have us purchase a house.
After we got done signing everything at the Escrow company we made a beeline to Chase (our bank) and made a wire transfer to the escrow company to pay the remaining balance of our down payment and closing cost. For me that was far more nerve wracking and real then signing any of the paperwork. Seeing the hard work that Jenn and I had put into saving all this money over the last couple of years quickly dissipate from our account was tough. Luckily we both know its going to a great investment.
Once our bank accounts were emptied we both agreed it was time to celebrate. Over the past six months (outside of our Epic Europe Trip) we had completely stopped eating out. So we decided to go and try Cucina Enoteca in Fashion Island. Jenn had gone to the Irvine Spectrum location for work a while back but we'd never tried the Newport Beach location. We both got a glass of red wine (desperately needed). Jenn had a short rib pasta and I had a peperoni and sausage pizza. It was a really good meal. The pizza was one of the best in Orange County (albeit a little pricey) and Jenn's pasta was fantastic. I'm not sure the meal was worth the money but it was perfect for the occasion.
The next day was key day. A day that probably had Jenn and I refresh our Gmail accounts more then any other day before it. We got confirmation at around 9AM that our wire transfer had gone through and received. Throughout the day each piece started to fall in place. At 3PM we got confirmation that everything had cleared and that we were now proud owners of a new home and we could get keys. I ended up meeting our realtor 20 minutes later where I was handed one Ace hardware copy of our door key.
Jenn met me at home a little after 4PM and we made our way to our new home. The excitement in the car (which you will see on our video) was electric. We both were equal parts nervous and excited to experience walking in our own home for the first time.
One of Jenn's requests when we were going through this house purchase experience was to be "carried over the threshold." I of course obliged and it was one of the best moments of my life. We ran around the house and took it all in. After twenty minutes or so it was time to take our first ever home tour.
We spent a couple of hours in the home. I tried to install my Nest thermostat and failed miserably. More on that in a future post. At around 8PM we left the house excited and exhausted. The last two months have been an insane ride but we've loved every minute of it. I'm so proud of what Jenn and I have been able to accomplish over the last couple of years and super excited to move into our new home.
