12 Hours

Well, today was certainly a mix of highs and lows.

We had our follow-up walkthrough on #44 (our house) and the initial walkthrough on #42 (our rental house). The structural engineer also came by to inspect the foundation on #42, as the home inspection report brought up some concerns.

The certificate of occupancy was also supposed to be issued today (well... actually it was supposed to be issued Tuesday, then Wednesday, but they weren't done) and again today it was not issued. The reason is that two smoke alarms were supposed to be installed, but only one had been, and the stove was not anchored to the wall. The second smoke alarm was actually being wired in today, it just wasn't done when the city inspector came by so it didn't count. 

The good news about the certificate of occupancy is that it is supposed to be issued tomorrow morning around 9am. That is very good news, since we close at 10am! It will certainly be cutting it close, which has us nail-biting a little. We also don't plan to sign anything or hand over any money without that certificate of occupancy, because then we would own a lovely little house we couldn't legally live in. So fingers are crossed that the city inspector shows up as planned and gives us the all-clear!
The tile and floors are finally completely done in both houses, and we were able to get a really good look at them today. I am absolutely in love with this tile, and the gray grout. I think it looks awesome!

The kitchens of both houses are now done. We've ordered simple hardware for the cabinets in #44, and will be doing the same for #42 once we have a closing date and know all is well.

The biggest news of the day was the visit from the structural engineer. That gentleman certainly earned his fee! He was under #42 for ages, in temperatures hovering in the mid-90's (and wearing nice business attire!). He came out as soaked in sweat as if he'd taken a shower in it, and completely covered head to toe in dirt. He was also extremely thorough, and for that we were grateful. There was good news and bad news about the findings. The good news is that it is fixable. The bad news is that the uneven, sinking floors of #42 weren't a harmless quirk of a home built on an older foundation, as the contractor had told us, but were actually because there were no supports underneath much of the center of the home, as well as several downright dangerous supports. One of the 4"x4" supports was balanced on 1/2 of a broken brick, another one was literally balanced on 3 small rocks that were stacked on top of each other. I've never seen anything like it in my life! The fact that the structural engineer referred to it as a "hot mess" under there should tell you all you need to know.
Thankfully, the head contractor today was a man who seems to genuinely care about having things done right, and done well. He was brought onto the project after the foundation work (or lack thereof) had been done, and he was told everything needing repair had been completed. He hadn't been able to fit into the tiny crawl space himself to confirm it, and was just going with what he was told. Without hesitation though, he said they would jack up the house, pour new footers and add new supports, and then pay for the engineer to come back out and recheck the work. That was a huge relief. We would have fought for all of that regardless, but having it volunteered immediately was one less worry for us. He also has a really cute, super sweet dog who is a very good girl.

Our wait, at least on one house, is nearly over. In just 12 hours we will be signing the papers... barring something unforeseen like the city inspector calling in sick or not issuing the certificate of occupancy for some reason. Once that's done, it'll be a very hot and sweaty weekend of moving in the July heat. Wish us luck!