We completed the purchase of Home-o-lii, our new home next to Honolii surfing beach! The sale concluded on schedule last Tuesday (Feb 18th), although not without some last-minute craziness. In particular, a few days before closing, we asked our realtor to schedule the final walkthrough to check that all of the old furniture had been removed, that the home had been cleaned, and that there were no new problems. This was clearly specified in the contract, but the sellers told our realtor that we didn’t give them enough advanced notice and that they were prepared to cancel the contract if we were going to insist that they clean before the contracted deadline of 5 days before closing.
I don’t believe we want to print on this family friendly blog the kind of words Dave had about this. However, we agreed to instead accept a walkthrough of the uncleaned house with much of the furniture remaining. Since the sellers were apparently not reading the contract (and had chosen not to use a seller’s agent to help guide them through the process), we asked our realtor to gently remind them that the contract terms said that any furniture remaining on premises after closing would become ours. Happily, they did manage to get rid of almost everything before closing, although they definitely didn’t clean the house in any way. (As a point of reference, the floor was so dirty that Dave—AKA “street feet Dave”—mopped it without even being asked.)
Stuck in limbo
As mentioned in our previous post, we found an interior designer to help us renovate the home. Her name is Kassandra and now that we officially own the home, we were able to sign a contract with her. Her partnering architect, who sometimes surfs at the beach next to our house, will be by this weekend (Mar 1-2) to take measurements so that Kassandra can model the redesign in 3D.
Based on our previous conversation with Kassandra, it was our intention to delay moving into the home until renovations were complete. An empty house would be easier and faster for the construction professionals to work on, saving us time and money in the long term. But for the first night of owning the home, we brought our beach chairs over and sat on the porch to enjoy our new view.
The next day, Dave brought over a table and his laptop and started working from the porch.
A couple days after that, we brought over floor mats and began sleeping at the house.
Over the next few days, Amanda bought a dorm fridge at a garage sale, we brought our microwave from the old house, and Dave brought an increasing amount of office supplies.
Finally, we stopped kidding ourselves and moved our pets over. Bean the dog loved the new place instantly but required some training to not pee on the floor. Kona the cat hates all change but adapted over the course of a few days. Both pets do clearly wish we had more furniture to lay on/under/behind.
The reality is that we absolutely love the new home. The interior design needs all of the help it can get from Kassandra, but the view outside is spectacular and the place as a whole just feels like… home.
Although we’ve moved many of our essentials over, we’re still keeping the bulk of our possessions at the old home. We’re waiting a bit longer to see how the design process goes and what estimated timelines are produced before we make any major decisions.
Aunts, ants, and bugs
Amanda’s mother’s sisters, Jeanne and Loyce, arrived last Wednesday (Feb 19th) for a 10-day visit. They’ve traveled all about Hilo and the nearby countryside, seeing waterfalls, attending a silent movie with us at the Palace Theatre, visiting Amanda at her library, and spending lots of time hanging out with their family here. They also came by the new house one afternoon while Amanda was at work to check out the new digs and watch some whales.
Homophonically related, it’s very important in Hawaii to treat your property for litte fire ants, an invasive species that packs a powerful toxic sting in a miniscule body. The toxin only affects those who are allergic (Dave isn’t; Amandna very much is) but even those not affected are rightfully terrified of these pests: they like to eat eyeballs. They’re a major menace for pet owners, especially older pets that might sleep through the initial stages of a swarming.
Unfortunately, it looks like the new house hasn’t been treated for a long time—certainly months, possibly years, maybe never (little fire ants only arrived on the island about 20 years ago). Within hours of arriving at the new house, both Bean’s and Kona’s food bowls had been swarmed. We treat monthly at our old house and had some spare bait, so Dave began the process of treatment immediately. Ant activity is down massively since then, although we’re still taking precautions as it may take a few months to fully cull the population.
Synonomically related, Amanda and Dave recently went out to eat after a day of home buying stress. A few hours later, we both didn’t feel well. The next evening, we both felt very ill. We both had the symptoms of a stomach bug, with Dave’s progression being a few hours ahead of Amanda’s. We dealt with it, like you do, and were very happy that we were upgrading from a one bathroom home to extra bathrooms. Eventually, we thought it was over. But then it happened again a few days later, and again a few days after that. Other people began to experience it. At this point we don’t know what it is, but we’re tired of it.
A whale tail of a conclusion
We love our new house. Ten days after concluding our purchase, we don’t have a single regret. We are, however, a little stressed by not being able to move in properly and a little distressed by our ongoing stomach ailment. We’re sure both problems will be resolved soon and forgotten soon after that. Until our next blog, enjoy this video of a whale slapping its tail a few hundred yards off of our back porch.
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