Skipping girl

I think I've skipped two main things that I thought I would experience in life, based on what the standard girl (if there is such a thing) goes through.

1) The Break-Up

Now I thank God that I haven't ever been through one...seriously, it's His grace that has allowed me to dodge this one I think. I know it would be devastating and I give stacks of props to everyone who's been through the break up of any relationship that meant anything to them, and has come out a stronger and better person (as opposed to a twisted and bitter person). I think the thing that would be the most painful is the dashing of all the hope and promise that a relationship has, on top of the obvious losing of someone close to you (though arguably, the situation can be such that that doesn't have to happen).

2) Disposable income ahoy! early 20's stage

Oh my goodness, it just dawned on me that I AM NOT EARLY TWENTIES ANYMORE, ARGH!! Someone tell me HOW this happened. You know, I wouldn't change a thing that has happened in the last 2 and a bit months, but honestly, sometimes I take a step back and ask myself how everything happened so fast. It's like bf and I were going out for 5 years, plodding on nicely then BANG! we got engaged and everything started going on fast forward!

But anyway, we'd talked about getting married and stuff, and so when I started work, I squirrelled away...I think it's something like 83% of my fortnightly pay packet in preparation. As a result, I have probably LESS disposable income now than I had when I was at uni. Combine this with the fact that now I won't be building a nest egg so much as pouring money into a mortgage, it's all a bit depressing.

In other news...

I cannot BELIEVE we bought a house. I have not even ever seen the amout of money we put as a deposit for it before IN MY LIFE. The last two days went something like this:

THURSDAY
8:00AM - bf goes to see the place for the first time. Calls me to tell me he likes it.
9:00AM - I call our solicitor to tell them to stop the strata check on the other place we were thinking of buying.
1:10PM - I hop on a train at lunchtime out to go see the place with my parents. We like it.
3:30PM - I try and call the agent to make an offer. He doesn't pick up.
3:40PM - I try him again. I make the offer, and he tells me that it's too low, that the vendors will only sell for $10K more than what we are offering. I say I'll think about it.
3:45PM - I'm on the phone to bf and my parents (who are our major financiers, along with the Bank. I'm really thankful for their generosity.) My dad tells me to offer $5K more.
3:50PM - I'm back on the phone to the agent and I make the initial offer plus $5K. The agent tries to wheedle another $2K out of me, but I tell him I've drawn the line in the sand. He tells me he'll get back to me.
4:00PM - Agent calls me back. Tells me that the vendor is willing to split the difference and go our initial offer, plus $7.5K. I can't believe we are down to lots of $500 when we're talking about prices in the hundreds of thousands, but whatever. I say I'll get back to him.
4:03PM - I'm back on the phone to my parents. Parents are happy to pay the price, but ask me to get him to round it down to a nice round number.
4:05PM - I'm back on the phone to bf, telling him what my parents think. He says he's fine either way.
4:07PM - I'm back on the phone to the agent, saying that if we can get it at a nice round number, he's got himself a deal. Agent laughs at me quibbling over $500 (hey, I didn't start it!), but says that the vendor would be fine with that and that he'll let me know.
4:10PM - We've had our offer accepted, yay! I send through our details and our solicitor's details so he can get the contract together.
(I then stay at the office til 8PM to do all the work that I was SUPPOSED to be doing instead of being on the phone.)

FRIDAY
9:00AM - I have an email waiting for me from the agent with the contracts, saying that the exchange has to happen TODAY if we don't want him to open the property for inspection on Saturday, so I need a cheque for 10% of the price made out. He says that a copy of the contract has been couriered to my solicitor. He also says that they have commissioned an independent strata check if I want to buy it for $198.
9:02AM - I call bf to see if he has the $$$. He does, but can't get it out, plus he doesn't have a cheque account. I call my parents to see if they have the money - they also aren't sure whether they can get it out.
9:05AM - I call the agent to see if they accept direct deposit, just in case we can't get a cheque. He says he's not sure, but will let me know.
9:10AM - I instruct my solicitor to buy the strata check and have a look through it.
9:15AM - The agent calls me back to say, yes, they can do direct deposit. I explain that we're not sure whether we can get the cheques today, and is there any other way around it? Agent says that the vendor wants an unconditional settlement, so there's no way around it.
9:30AM - Solicitor's secretary calls me and says that I have to ask the strata checkers to release the report to them.
9:32AM - I call the strata checkers - no response. Leave a message.
10:00AM - The strata checkers call me back. Apparently they haven't even prepared the report yet, so there's nothing to buy. The report won't be ready til Monday.
10:10AM - I call the agent. The agent is surprised that the check hasn't been performed. I say I don't want to exchange without at least having done the strata check. He says that he'll see what he can do.
10:15AM - I call the parents and bf to inform them what's happening.
10:20AM - I call the solicitor to tell him what's happening. The secretary says that the solicitor will have a chat with me once he gets the copy couriered to him from the vendor's solicitor.
10:30AM - The agent calls me and says that he might be able to pull some strings with the strata manager since he has some contacts there. He will try and get the information released to me. He also says "I know you don't know me, but I am a VERY HONEST person. You won't find anything wrong in the strata search!!"
10:45AM - Agent calls me to say that he's managed to get the info that I should need and will email it through to me.
11:50AM - I get the email and read through the strata plan and the minutes. Everything looks ok to me.
11:55AM - I call the solicitor. Apparently the vendor's solicitor only got into the office at 11, and hasn't couriered the contract to him.
11:56AM - I call the agent and tell him we haven't got the contract, how can we POSSIBLY exchange this arvo?? He tells me to email through a copy to the solicitor.
11:57AM - I tell the solicitor that I can email a copy to him so he can have a look. He agrees and I email it to him. He also says that he's had a chat with the vendor's solicitor, and that he has to go to court in the afternoon, but he'll do his best to look at the contract.
12:00PM - Iris and I go to have lunch at Aria's Let's Do Lunch deal. The food is divine!
1:15PM - On the way back to the office, I spy 4 missed calls on my phone (oops, I had it on vibrate, and it was on the table...I thought I would have heard it!) I call bf back, and he says that he's spoken to my parents, and essentially we need to be down at the solicitor's office by 4:30 to sign the contracts.
1:30PM - Get back to the office and call my parents. They say that they visited the Bank at lunch and managed to get the cheques. Phew!
1:40PM -I call the solicitor to find out how they are going with the contract. His secretary says that everything is going ok, and could I please call the agent, and inform him that he has to pick up the contract from the vendor's solicitor (Campsie) and deliver it to our solicitor (Hurstville) for exchange.
1:45PM - I call the agent and tell him. It's the first he's heard of any arrangements, and I tell him I think the vendor's solicitor and my solicitor arranged it. He says ok, he'll get his assistant to arrange it all.
2:00PM - I call the agent to confirm that everything is ok. He says he spoke to the vendor's solicitor and that they hadn't arranged anything, but that he would pick everything up and bring it down himself because his assistant was otherwise occupied. He asks me how to get from Artarmon to Campsie to Hurstville and I tell him, hoping that I'm right!
2:05PM - Call my parents to inform them of the plan - they have already dropped the cheques off to the solicitor.
2:15PM - I try and actually do some WORK.
3:15PM - Dash out of the office on a train to Hurstville to sign our lives away.
4:00PM - Reach Hurstville. Bf and I chill out a bit before heading to the solicitor's.
4:30PM - Reach the solicitor's. Sit and wait while the solicitor goes through the contract since he got back from court late.
4:40PM - Agent arrives with the vendor's contracts.
5:00PM - Have a chat with the solicitor; he runs us through the contract. We sign.
5:20PM - Agent comes in and they check everything and exchange the contracts. Everyone shakes hands and congratulations all round.

That's it, and just goes to prove that seriously...I've had the phone essentially attached to my ear the past few days, if not the past week!

I can't believe we bought a house....!!!