She's making a list and checking it twice...

Whoever coined the term "short sale" had it all wrong.  It should be "long sale" or in our case, "as is" sale.  We placed our offer on the home the first week of February.  For months we've been waiting to hear if our offer had been accepted and/or if we would ever make it to a closing.  Knowing that a short sale really means you are getting a fantastic deal on a home but you may have to sink a lot of money into repairs has been nerve wracking.  Once we finally got the call mid June that we would be going to a closing in a few short weeks, the "as is" pressure started to really weigh on us.  In general, I pray a lot but I do try to listen to God as well.  Both my husband and I are firm believers in our Savior and what he has in store for us.  But praying that a natural disaster wasn't waiting for us to deal with once the water and power was turned back on at the "new" home was a request that God must have been tired of hearing from us.  Thankfully, the laundry list of to do items is not terribly long but I must say that I do have a bunch of questions for the sellers for when we finally see them for the first time tomorrow at closing. 

A c.1910 home doesn't come with a lot of owners manuals.  We were stunned to find the manuals for the oven, dishwasher and microwave in one of the kitchen drawers.  There is even a CD that has the regulations of the historical district on it for us to study.  However, the home is completely vacant with the exception of a few boxes of who-knows-what in the mud room and a box of canned goods in the kitchen.  (I cleaned out the pantry of opened dry goods while the inspector was doing his job.) 

Our inspector had several comments in his final report that said "ask seller before closing" or "confirm with seller before closing."  With a short sale, you don't always have access to the seller until they finally come to sign the paperwork at the closing table. 

Those type of things that leave yourself scratching your head have been added to the list of questions that include things like:

• "did you cap the natural gas and if so, when?"
• "did you replace the roof and if so, how old are those shingles?"
• Or one of my favorites, "by the way, there are several missing cabinet drawer fronts missing. Did you install what is there and if so, may we have the company name so we can order some new ones?" 

Hopefully they will be willing to answer them for us.  Part of me wants to ask them what went wrong and if they are doing ok.  I can't imagine being in their shoes.  I wonder if this was their dream house too? I know I won't ask anything of the sort but as much as I am making my list and trying to make sure I have all the bases covered in my one shot to ask it all, I can't help but ponder the thought. 

Almost 12 hours until we close....I guess I should try to sleep.  In our neighborhood, the sound of construction in the background is distracting me from my writing.  There has been a sewer/water main break under the road and the county has torn our neighbor's front lawn to pieces to dig to the bottom of it.  Hopefully the murmur of the generators will lull me to sleep.  I can triple check the list again in the morning.