Officially a homeowner

As of 5:00 p.m. on June 23rd I became a permanent Philadelphia resident because I now pay property tax. My closing finally went through. I still have mixedfeelings about it. There was so much paper flying around and so many numbers going around that I still haven't quite figured out what happened. A lot of emotions involved as well, which I think I had done a pretty good job of staying calm about other than the frustrations of renting the apartment. I do know that I got a pretty sweet deal and a pretty sweet house. I had a good team of people helping me out that offered a lot of encouragement, council, advice, support and help and want to thank them all very much for making it happen.
Come to Philly! Now there's more to see than just the Liberty Bell (though most people never really go see that anyways) Oh yeah....anyone know how to fix a refrigerator?

No House for Me.....yet!

Booooooh. My mortgage paperwork has been delayed. Though very frustrated because it's going on 11 weeks since I put an offer in, I'm learning that mortgage delays are not uncommon. As my Realtor says, mortgage processors take 48 hour lunch breaks and I am also applying for a city and state home buyers grants, and we all know that city and state employees don't exactly hustle. Luckily my lawyer has already paid for himself by solving a title discrepancy and no one has rented my apartment (another headache on it's own) so I don't have to worry about having to find a transition home. I still hope to close by July1 and have my first BBQ on the 4th. Wish you all could come.