Not Yet? Really!?

No - we are NOT yet in our place. Real Soon Now. We hope.

In hindsight, we were probably being unrealistic in hoping to be in the house by October 15th. A lot of things needed to happen, and they didn't.

Nevertheless, we are almost there. The house is 99+% complete. We've got not only the power turned on, but the water and internet are functional. We even bought and had installed a new washer and a dryer. What a luxury after 3-1/2 years to do laundry without paying for it!

The good news is that, with all the utilities in, we moved our trailer onsite on October 15. We are thrilled to be here. It's quiet and beautiful; being here has quelled a lot of our anxiety and impatience about getting in the house. 

The house is beautiful. Here's what it looks like right now:

Actually, that's not completely accurate. A couple of days ago we painted the garage door the dark brown trim color, but I don't have a pic. (More on that below.) Final grading will bring the driveway up to the bottom of the garage door. 

So, what's holding us back? Our grading contractor. He was originally scheduled to finish our driveway and grading the front of the house the week of October 18. He postponed his work until this week, stating that he's got a bunch of people out with COVID. Of course, this same contractor delayed putting in our septic system because he had a bunch of guys out with COVID! Go figure. Anyhow, I've been told they will finish things up 11/3 and 11/4. We'll see.

Meanwhile, we've taken advantage of the delay, and our proximity, to get a bunch of tasks done inside the house... you know, all the little (and not-so-little) things that you do in a new house. Here's a list of what I can remember:

We installed tile backsplashes in both bathrooms

Added extra towel bars and hooks in both bathrooms

Installed paper towel holders in bathrooms and kitchen

Installed extra clothes rod in MB closet

Build out shelving in hall coat closet

Build out shelving in linen closet

Painted garage door

Install external keypad for garage door opener

Added the shower curtain rod in the guest bathroom.

LOTS of cleaning, with lots more to do.

Pending: 

Install five ceiling fans. Actually, got one done today, so it's four more. 

Figure out the sliding glass doors. They shipped without latches installed. I am sparring with the manufactured home people to get this done, but they are ignoring me. I will probably have to do these myself, since I can't believe the house would pass inspection with exterior doors that don't latch or lock!

We hope that next week we will get the final inspection and, assuming no issues arise, the long-awaited Certificate of Occupancy!