Erieversible

Our opening offer on the house we are after was rejected.  That was expected.  They’d have been silly to accept that first offer.  They have come back with a counter-offer which we have accepted.  It was a lower counter-offer than we were expecting, and to negotiate further would only be for small change and would probably create bad feeling.  So, we accepted.  Being a weekend, and the weekend after Thanksgiving, it is almost impossible to get things done so it looks like the next set of paperwork in the process will take place on Monday.

We spent Thanksgiving round at family, so we didn’t cook.  yesterday in Wegmans we saw free-range, top notch fresh turkeys at 99c a pound.  So guess what we had for a meal today?  We invited some family round and recreated Thursday.  I used local (US) stuffing.  We’ve got some Paxo stuffing hidden away but I’m saving that for Christmas!

So, slow progress, but progress.  Inch by inch we are moving towards settling in a family home.

So today we made an offer on a house in Clarence, NY.  The process is, of course, totally different in NY to what it is in PA so we are stumbling around in the dark.  Again.  Our agent is very helpful, which is a real bonus.  And we now enter the Thanksgiving holiday, which slows things down.  Lovely.  I don’t expect the offer we made to be accepted, but it wasn’t so low it will get them angry.  A couple of iterations in the haggling process should reach a conclusion everyone is happy with.

Meanwhile the paperwork for the mortgage we want is growing daily.  We only want a small percentage of the purchase price, but we may as well be asking for the moon.  Even with corporate assistance, we can’t magic up a credit history.  Nor can I provide tax returns etc. from the US Government.  And don’t get me started on the 208 disclosure papers that need to be read and signed.  We may need to simply pay cash, live frugally for a few months then get a homeowner’s loan, or whatever they call it.

Still, despite all the whinging, we are making progress.  No chance of being in the house before Christmas, but it is good to see the end of our migration approaching.

And yes, we have been very lucky with the weather this last couple of weeks, shuttling back and forth to Buffalo!

Real Cadbury’s chocolate decorations for the tree.  Paxo stuffing.  Rowntree’s fruit pastilles to add to the kids’ stockings.  Plus maybe an extra roll as my commission.  Soreen malt loaf.  Branston.  Multiple jars!  

Okay, so the Christmas we are planning is not strictly an American one, but while we were in the UK we always tried to introduce US elements of Christmas to the overall family experience.  So it is only fair that Christmas in the US should have British elements.

Back to Buffalo tomorrow to look at a couple of houses that we liked on Monday.  The second visit will be a much more thorough examination.

Meanwhile, a gentleman from the removals firm dropped round today to carry out a survey of the stuff to be moved.  I did warn him beforehand, and it did indeed take a lot less time than he was planning.  The new house, whichever one it turns out to be, is going to feel very empty until we go on a furniture buying spree.

Busy, busy!