A Frustrating Escrow

Okay..time to fill people in about our more than frustrating escrow process...
not only have we been ready to close escrow since Thanksgiving..but we also moved out of our apartment on nov 30th cause things should have been well taken care of by then...

Heres the update!!!

So.. the VA (vetrans affairs) who were buying the house from... never did a title transfer when they purchased the home from Bank of America prior to us... some how this was missed multiple times by multiple people.. yet wasnt corrected till we went to draw our loan docs. Our loan officer ran the title report noticed the mistake and contacted the escrow officer and selling agent.. they said well work on it and get it corrected give us a few days... well days turned into 2 weeks.. and now it was time to move out of our Alpine apartment.. At this point we were assured its going to be a few more days.. so we went to Derek's parents house thru the weekend...

This was also the weekend his sister Ashley was moving home.. so suprise were all back home lol... Derek, Rheagan the dogs and I stayed in the motorhome since it was only going to be a few days... well 2 weeks later were still in the motorhome and family friends are coming in from out of town and were planned to stay in the motorhome.. so we move ONCE AGAIN... into the house and share a room with Ashley... you got it right.. 11 people and 5 dogs plus daycare in one house!

We then got pushy... AGAIN... (im sure im that annoying client everyone hates to sees name come up in email or on the phone now) and we then got this email

"This morning, we had a conference call with our senior asset manager and title closing manager to get updated.  The transfer of title to VA is estimated to take 60 days.  According to the attorney, this is not a definitive time line but they are doing all they can to push this through.  Almost 6,000 VA properties were transferred over in the last 120 days which has overwhelmed their title closing department.  They have expanded their capacity to speed things up.  The Senior Asset Manager is willing to credit buyer towards closing costs if the buyer wishes to stay under contract and wait this out until we can close escrow.  Again, this is just a best estimate time line at this point.  We'd need to continue extending closing every 20 days until we have clear title.

This has been a long journey for all parties involved and we are doing all we can to get your buyers into their new home, just as soon as title is clear.  We appreciate everyone's patience and work on this.

Connie, please let me know if buyers wish to stay under contract.  "

I was in tears! We have waited long enough already..and if we chose to find another home to buy... we still wouldnt be in for 30-60 days... so weve decided to stick it out! we LOVE  this house...and dont want to not be in it.
 Luckily were staying at my aunts house while she is on vacation for 3 weeks! So were not crammed into on house with everyone.. were having our own christmas and everything is going on as normal.

Please continue to pray that by the first week of January our issues have been resolved and we can move in already!!!!

XOXO-
The Torbetts

The Holidays at the Torbetts

Baking Cookies with Mommy

Visit with HO HO

Jungle Bells with Nana & Papa

Halloween With Titi

Desert Trip

Doggies in Travel

Del Mar Lights

Moving to Grandmas

Mommy & Daddy Black Friday Shopping

Christmas with Yaya before Europe

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2012!!!

Whats happening house wise

Nov 11-
We are currently still in escrow but rounding the corner to the end.. weve given notice at our apartments to be out on the 30th.. and should be closing escrow the week of thanksgiving! As if we already didnt have enough to be thankful for.. getting house keys definitly tops the list!

I've been busy packing our apartment..although i swear things are multiplying rather than disappearing..

Rheagan has been such a great helper and little trooper.. when she complains about me packing something.. even decorations in her room and i tell her "rhea im packing it for you new room..." she says okay !!!

Shes been busy making her list for Santa.. which includes fishies mainly this year! And lots of babies and movies... We have a busy next couple weeks ahead of us...

Painting the new house! Mommy is very proud of the bright pink Rheagan choose for her room :)

But hoping for a successfull and organized move in the next 10ish days !!!

If anyone is a pro painter and wants to join...we'd love to have your help... there will be alcohol and food lol

And we plan to have a house warming BBQ as soon as we get things in... including our new dinning table that my lovely family is buying us!!!!

We are so very blessed to have such an amazing support system and family! Everyone has been more than amazing for us!

Cant wait to share more on Rheagans room decor ive been working on :) So nice to be able to start with a fresh slate and do anything imaginable!

Untill Later

xoxo

The Torbetts

WELCOME HOME!!

Well I think it's about time I did a blog to update on our home search! We went thru endless options..and offers, on places that were not even close to move in ready and condos with no yards but amazing interiors (very high up on our budget) and have finally found the PERFECT HOME!

The Torbett Family will now be residents of Campo, CA!!! We are in escrow for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house in a KB Homes Development..That was just built 3-4 years ago :) We decided to sacrafice a 10-15 minute longer drive each day to be living in a new home in a new family friendly development..not to mention an awesome price we couldnt beat... Now Rheagan and the fur babies will have a yard and 1500 sq ft to run and terrorize :)

We started escrow on Thursday Oct 26 and plan to be in about 30 days later! So thanksgiving weekend we know what we will be doing !!! What an awesome Christmas present to us... never ever did we think we could own something this awesome for our first home...
Heres some interior pics !!!

  Sorry there all coming in sideways lol im not a blog expert yet lol

Kitchen

Hallway from living room towards bedrooms.. that arch goes into master bedroom

Master Bath

Another Kitchen Pic

Entry

Now for all of you who know me.. this house is WAY TOOO WHITE... So there will def be a painting party going on to change that pre-move in :)

I've got so many ideas for bedrooms and house decor.. I will have to save those for more blogs to keep you all interested lol

So how did this whole process go down so quickly? About 3 weeks ago we met our realtors in Campo to check out this house.. and drive by a few others. We wrote an offer before we even saw it..and signed it when they got there. We loved EVERYTHING about this house..and what great shape it was in compared to the other bank homes we had seen. We waited about  a week and finally got word that this home had been given to a conventional offer instead of our Fha loan.. :( Nothing to different to the seller.. but realtors tend to push conventional.. not fair ..especially to people like us buying our first home!

We had already lost the other Campo listing to a cash offer and had thought we would be waiting another 2-3 months for some other listings to go into forclosure that were pre-forclosure at this time...disappointed we decided this was the community we wanted to be in so we decided to wait.

Driving to Palm Springs for Miss Jessicas bachelorette party I got a phone call from my husband who could barely contain his excitement.. he seriously was a little boy in a motorcycle shop (no not a candy store bc my hubby isnt for sweets) ... he told me that the buyers with the conventional loan dropped out of the house... (were guessing they found something else) and the bank called our realtor to get our offer AGAIN immediately before 5pm on friday the 19th.. So the realtor refaxed everything and said the bank had said if we got it in in time it was ours.. of course i was apprehensive and couldnt believe that.

Monday came and went.. and tuesday the realtor calls me and says "well they have sent a counter offer.. they love your offer..BUT (i know always a but) they just wanted to change the escrow days from the 21 day close we offered to on or before dec 27th... why we still dont know lol

So we signed the counter offer and sent it back to the bank...and waited and waited.. Our escrow deposit was dropped at the escrow officers office where he told our realtor.. they have an escrow # for you but i cant give it to you untill the bank initals one thing... errrr more waiting haha not like were not pros at it by now!

But as of yesterday Thursday Oct 25th the bank opened escrow and so did our realtor!! we are just waiting to sign the contract and set up inspections..

We estimate to be moving in Thanksgiving weekend! Perfect what more could we be thankful for :)

Well there is the update you all have been waiting to hear!! Were more than excited and will begin packing and organizing this weekend! As well as trick or treating the new neighborhood on Wednesday with Nana & Papa... Titi and Unkie Brap Brap.. to meet new neighbors and experience our new community! Lots of pictures to follow !!!!

Untill the next update!!!

XOXO,

The Torbetts

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The Frustrations of buying a home!

Ugh... i just want answers already... were still waiting to find out if were home owners of that adorable little house with the red front door! it seems like the seller is messing with us..but the realtor seems to think well know before the weekend!
Ive been going crazy on pinterest with ideas for whatever home i have! I'd love to share them with you guys since obviously we all know I'm crazy about house design :)

Love this...made with random letters and painted different colors

Definitly going to have the love letters above our bed... :)

Mason jar light fixture....DIY... derek and i have loved since we saw on the DIY Network

Must have a "Drop Zone" an area where shoes and bags and extras can get dropped so this Mommy doesnt have stuff everywhere... (the house with red door..has a perfect laundry room area for this)

I love the idea of built in dog kennels..(also in mudd room) for our wrinkle babies.. keeps it looking nice instead of being dog crates randomly in the house (like we have now) so ugly! lol

Now little Miss Rheagan cant expect anything far from a pretty pink & perfect little girls room. Ive got lots of plans for her room...all DIY stuff of course..why else did I spend so much on design school lol

The glitter wall!!!! HGTV says if you mix a gallon of glue with glitter, then paint with it, the glue will dry clear... Bam!! Glitter wall!!

Hers will be pink of course! Do we not know who her mother is lol..sparkle and pink equals perfect!

I absolutly LOVE these tissue paper flower poofs! Also DIY and so perfect for a little girls boutique room...

And what backyard wouldnt be perfect without a playhouse! When I was a little girl my dad built us a playhouse identical to our home... Derek is going to have his work cut out with this one :)

Well theres of course many more projects we have in mind (okay maybe I have in mind..but Hubby will be doing) lol... But i dont want to get too excited till I know our offer has been accepted! So keep crossing those fingers we hear from news this weekend! Then who wants to come help DIY our house lol :)

Juggling being a working mommy & getting fit

I've always struggled with trying to fit a work out in with my busy 40 hours a week job and being a mommy... its tough to find the time for yourself without feeling selfish!
Before my sisters wedding i was doing kettlebell religiously 3-4 times a week, and juggling the rheagan duties.. i was super exhausted but the results were amazing!

Now that ive moved to a job in east county & kettlebell isnt as realistic for me as i would like... (why cody needs an east county gym too) i have joined a gym down here and am going whenever i can. ive found a schedule that gets me in there 4-5 times a week...but is it enough???!!!
mondays- after work
tuesdays- on lunch
wednesdays-before work
thursdays- on lunch
fridays- before work

its a schedule that only allows me 45 minutes- an hour each time. So ive been doing 20-30 mins of cardio on the eliptical or treadmill and then going into their classroom to do kettlebells on my own. Ive found doing 50-100 snatches ( a move where you swing the kettlebell between ur legs then thrust it above ur head in a motion like zipping a jacket up) 50 swings, crunches and turkish get ups has given me quiet a good work out and i leave exhausted.

But since the wedding my nutrition and diet hasnt been the same. I was doing no carbs & no sugar ..
I came within 3 lbs of my goal to loose 38 lbs! and after the wedding i began to allow my self to cheat a little more each day. Before i knew it i wasnt being strict and had gained 8 lbs since the wedding. So now its time to get serious again!

Tips for not snacking on bad things at work:
I make sure to stock my desk & the fridge with only good things..and no cash so i cant go to the vending machine. when im hungry i drink water first to see if its me being bored or actually hungry. heres some things i like to snack on:
apple slices with peanut butter
carrots
avacados with seasoning salt

lunches... if i dont have time to make something ahead of time.. i go out for a salad. quiznos has amazing cobb salads! Other than that... their is plenty of places who have chicken.. or panda express sells panda bowls with veggies and mandrian chicken ...

We've officially put an offer in on House #2... and this one i couldnt be more excited about... The last one we did they counter offered us higher than we were willing to go..but it lead us to a more perfect house for us & totally my style :)

We did our offer Thursday night & are patiently waiting to hear back from the owners :)
I cant wait this house could have so many cute ideas that i have already pinned on Pinterest from just my style :) ill keep you all posted! fingers and toes crossed for us please !!!

The Endless Journey to buy a Home!

Were only about a month into our search for our home... we've seen 2 places so far. #1 we put an offer in on...and they counter offered higher than we were wanting to spend... so last night we viewed condo #2... which i dont think i can settle with a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath..i can just picture the arguements of me and rheagan as she hits 8-10 years old fighting over one full bathroom! lol
So the search continues this weekend :)

I've (ashlee) also decided im going to continue my college education with a Masters Degree in Architecture, and have found some online programs I should be able to do for 36 credits to achieve it and eventually get myself a job in the Design/Architecture field.

Weve been busy keeping little miss rheagan busy as well... our little fish as we call her cant get enough of the pool/ water in general! I think swim lessons are in the near future..without floaties! she is an awesome swimmer with her "bubbles" as rheagan says on!

Many of you may have seen... but weve been getting lots of wedding picture back from Brittney & James wedding! and loving every single one....
it makes me truely realize how far i have come from the beginning of my personal weight loss challenge..which has continued long after the wedding getting me back into the gym! (which is another blog in itself )

Enjoy!!!

Hello Friends & family!

WOW!!! We've come a long way since this picture 2 years ago!!! Ive decided to start a family blog to keep everyone updated on what we have been up to and what new exciting things are in the near future for the Torbetts!
To start off Miss Rheagan is now 2 !!!

And we have added another wrinkle baby to our family... :) Meet Holly we rescued her from the shelter in March and she fits perfect into our family!

We are currently also on the hunt to buy a house! we have been pre-approved and are now hunting for the perfect place! though it seems it may take awhile to get one since everyone is buying! were very happy with how things are going in the Torbett household & hope to be in our first home by the holidays! Stay posted for more family updates :)