Clueless about home buying.... Seriously considering, but....

Willowy said:

It's a fencing system designed to keep the cats from jumping the regular fence. They have tree guards, too.

http://www.catfence.com/pictures.htm

Click to expand...

Oh I see.  Very nice.  It says it attached to masonry, which I guess means WE could get one, since our fence is made out of concrete blocks.  But in looking at how it attaches, I sure don't see how.  Guess I''ll need to contact them...assuming I can convince DH .  I tried to talk him into getting a Catbitat, and he wouldn't go for it.  And these folks are right here in the same small town as we are, so we could even go see the one they have at their house.  Oh well.

You would probably need a drill with a masonry bit to attach it to a concrete wall. But it's do-able!

So...... Here I am in my new home........ and OMG, I am a MESS
First of all, I LOVE this house - LOVE LOVE LOVE IT
It is absolutely perfect! - Everything about it - this is home, and it was made for me and the kitties - couldn't be better..... THIS home is ME :bigthumb:

Now...... One thing I can say is, Thank goodness I had plenty of money saved up - because when you move to a new home, and so much bigger as it is, $$$ flies, and flies FAST

There are little things and big things, and things that you didn't think about it, and you need to get them all done in order to live in the place.
The washer and Dryer was a big expense.... Then there was the alarm that I had to install and pay in advance..... Then there is a MAJOR issue with my gate - which I already knew there was an issue, what I didn't know was that I would need to fix it otherwise I wouldn't be able to operate it - and that one is a BIIIIIGGGG one. Currently I have to park my car in the driveway, go inside of the house, open the gate from the inside, drive my car into the yard then go into the garage which is located on the back of the house.
The fence needs metal poles in some areas and probably some boards replaced.....
The chimney needs cleaning ASAP - that I already have scheduled for Wed.
Wednesday I have the gardners coming in - they will come in twice/month and do everything..... That is cheap enough, considering I have quite the lot to be taken care of.....
Then I went to turn on the lights on the master bathroom and it went poof! I have no power whatsoever in the master - no lights on the celiing, mirrors, no outlet. I reseted the switch in the main board and it didn't fix, even the main switch..... So I called the home owner's warranty - it is getting done Wednesday.
I did order the cat-fence for the kitties - it was costly considering how big my fence was, but this is something I had already budgeted in the cost of the house - no way I would get a house with a yard and the kitties wouldn't have access to it.
For those curious about cost, here is what came out to be:
I have a 265 ft fence, and a 23ft gate (including the sides)
and I also ordered 3 tree guards.
My total including tax and delivery was $853
I also furnished the guest bedroom so the sitters have a nice place of their own...... The bathrooms had no shower curtains or mats.... That was done too.... Bought a new TV for my room at Walmart, so now I have one for me, the sitter and one in the living room.... Stuff like that. I know some don't like Walmart, but boy, thank Goodness for them! I even saw they have rolls of pet safe window screens, for CHEAP!!! That is going to be my next project....... when I have time


The gate will be my last big expense for a while..... The rest will be little by little. I want to have plenty of reserves in the bank in case something happens...... For now I am fine..... I just want to make sure the house is livable and we all can enjoy it to the fullest, both me and the kitties.

Enough about the $$$$ - now about us. I am overwhelmed. There has been people in and out of here non stop - I am trying to do everything now as I start traveling soon and won't stop for a while.
The kitties were FREAKING OUT. Hiding a lot, and Hope didn't eat for a day or so.
They are all eating well now and beginning to explore. They cry a lot for me, and want me to be on the same room as them, especially at 3am, which is killing me
Luckily they are using the litterboxes like little champs :bigthumb: I amde sure to not clean them for a couple of days, bringing them in dirty to the new house so they would find them easily and know it was THEIRS - it worked like a charm :nod:
Thank Goodness no one is sick, and I hope soon enough they will be playing and enjoying their huge backyard!

I did not bring MacCreamy home yet - The kitties are SO freaked out, I am afraid of making them sick - they need more time to setlle and know this is their home. I will bring him in next week.

Anyways, this is it for now...... Back to unpacking :nod:

It's great to hear you love it and the kitties are eating and starting to explore! :cross: that the gate is fixed soon so that you don't have to go through all that rigmarole and can get the cat fence up, though I suppose the fur kids will have to get completely acclimated inside before you can introduce the great outdoors.

Yay! So glad you got moved and are all doing well!!!  Sounds like a great deal of work, but so worth it for you guys!

About your gate.  Did the owners or agent report it as not working to you before you bought it? If not, you might be able to recover some if not all of the expense to get it fixed.

I can't wait to see photos of your new home once you are all settled in.
 

Yes PICTURES please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Natalie_ca said:

Yay! So glad you got moved and are all doing well!!!  Sounds like a great deal of work, but so worth it for you guys!

About your gate.  Did the owners or agent report it as not working to you before you bought it? If not, you might be able to recover some if not all of the expense to get it fixed.

I can't wait to see photos of your new home once you are all settled in.
 

Click to expand...

Yes, did'n't you have a home inspection done?  Didn't that get reported in the inspection?  OR, will your Home Warranty not cover it?  Glad they will at least cover some of the Master Bedroom issues, huh?

So happy the kids are not sick from the excitement of the move, and are starting to explore now.  And your petsitter has her own room, complete with TV?  Wow.  Aren't you quite the employer .  Are you still near enough that Kelly can come in mainly, or did you have to hire someone else?  (just curious)

On the electrical deal...

You know where your electrical panel is, right?  On it, from what you're saying, you found the tripped breaker and tried to turn it back on.  But, did you turn it completely off first?  You have to move the switch all way to the right before moving it back to the left.

You can give me a call if you want to ask me anything about that.

mrblanche said:

On the electrical deal...

You know where your electrical panel is, right?  On it, from what you're saying, you found the tripped breaker and tried to turn it back on.  But, did you turn it completely off first?  You have to move the switch all way to the right before moving it back to the left.

You can give me a call if you want to ask me anything about that.

Click to expand...

I think she did, but you're right. When the power went off for the a/c at my grandmothers house, we thought we flipped the switch, but when the guy came he like, moved it to the right and then flipped it Harder and the power came right on. Luckily he didn't charge us. XD

On the gate - I had several home inspections and was aware of the issue. I knew I was going to have to fix the gate. The gate DOES open, DOES close, and DOES lock, so essentially, it is operable - it is just a pain in the neck, as I have to open from the inside. It is not deffective - it is just the way it is.

On the electrical - yes, I found the breaker box, I flipped the switch for the master AND the main switch. The entire house is working but the master bathroom is still not working. No big deal, the warranty covers it.

GTG - 3 am, catching a plane at 7....

Sally, My main sitter is Minka now - she lives right by me Kelly will be sitting too.... I need two sitters..... Kelly is farther though. Yep - Minka even has TiVO in her room :bigthumb:

Just noticed this thread.. How exciting!!

I remember buying my first home (as in my first, all on my own) and it was a fantastic time.

The idea of the cats safely having the run of the yard is pretty exciting too.

Well done

I am really glad you have got all your problems sorted out and I wish you luck in your new home.

Yey, I have a working gate! And a door too!
The fence/gate co. Was here all day today. Did several things.... They fixed my Gate so now I can easily open through the outside nothing fancy, but it works!
They also fixed several sessions of the fence, making it firmer- I will have to replace a side eventually; and....... Are almost done installing the cat fence
Kitties have been properly flea treated today and tomorrow they will be able to enjoy a safe and huge yard! How exciting
I will post pictures if any of them ventures out :lol3:

You sound so happy and excited. I love reading your updates!
 

It must be a relief to have that fixed. I can't wait to hear how the kitties react to their first outdoor adventures!

And they did venture out!


Mac loved it, so did Lucky and Bugsy..... who from pearly white became a fluffy brown mess :doh3:

Mac sprayed a ton too :wife:

Bugsy had a funny reaction - he hissed at everyone - the yard ws HIS. But he LOVED it

Hope was soooo shy. She barely stepped out. With time she will enjoy though, I am sure :nod:

Wow....how exciting.  My cats' heads would explode if I suddenly let them explore the back yard.  My Emily would do just what your Hope did.  Leo would be the one hissing and spraying.  I wonder if the smell of other cats who had visited (or previously lived in) the yard set them off.  My Leo is so sensitive to the smell of other animals.  Maybe Mac and Bugsy are too. 

OMG, Aside from the house and gate, bar none the BEST spent money EVER!
The kitties LOVE LOVE LOVE their yard!

Some things amazed me - first was how comfortable they were right off the bat.... aside from Hope, who took a long time to even come outside, and when she came she spent a minute and ran inside :dash:
I am sure she will start enjoying it soon enough :nod:

One thing that was striking, was their drive to escape. The very first thing all three did was to inspect the fence for ways to escape. They didn't try to climb it yet, but they were certainly mearuring how high the jump would be - I think they noticed there was a net in there :nod:

Until I see the fence in action I am not comfortable at all in leting them go out without close supervision. Well, for now I can't anyways as there is a tree that is not protected..... That is being fixed soon.

They LOVED the yard! Lucky and Mac were playing catch all over the yard - mainly Lucky - it was super cute
Bugsy was running around and hunting I don't know what. At first he had a weird reaction - he was hissing at the other kitties.... But then he got better and just had a blast!

He rolled and rolled on the dust and became a brown mess :frusty:

The only hard thing was to bring them back into the house - almost impossible :not: I think these are minor issues though..... I think they will get a ton of exercise and have a load of fun! Hopefully they can go out everyday - that's the goal anyways....

Great video Carolina. I love seeing what good friends Mac and Bugsy are already (touching noses in the yard) and I laughed out loud at Mac spraying. Hope looks so sweet, rubbing her scent all over the door. That's her first step, marking the door.

Lucky looks amazing, look at her waistline!

Most likely once they know they will get back out again regularly, they will start to come when called. Mine do, anyway. When I call them it;s time to come in they all come to the door and line up to wait for me to take their harnesses off.

So happy for you all.

Loved it!   And the boys were sure exploring the boundaries of that fence.