Welcome to Fraudula

After Dr Choo we saw a place on craigslist - decent price for a 3 bedroom with a den in a much talked about master planned community out East of the highway.

A phone call and I was on my way to see it - Tom stayed back to work and wait for the kids to get off the bus.
Many of these communities are gated and this one as no exception. The guards seemed nice enough and the drive in to the property was beautiful - lots of water, trees, green grass. At a roundabout before the I got to the property there was a fabulous swimming pool and playground. They were similar to the county parks and pools in other places we have lived - complete with fixtures that spray water, slides and lots of new shiny equipment - the kids would LOVE this.

The house is one of the last ones on a loop not far from the pool area.  The realtor is waiting in his car in the driveway. When I get out of the car he rolls down the window and with his cell phone in one hand he says
"It's open - go in and tell me how much you love it! I have to make a few calls!" and quickly rolls up his window.
Weird

I opened the door and saw what seemed like a sea of shiny marble floors, marble pillars and hardwood. The house feels really big and the yard is the biggest one in the neighborhood . . the price they are asking for it is too low for something this big. Something just isn't right.
The house is full of glass - lots of windows and even 2 of the interior walls are glass

you can't see it really well but this entire room is walled in glass

It would certainly be big enough for us and the kids would love the community amenities. The yard care is included in the cost of the rent - it is the cheapest thing we've seen in here by a few hundred dollars a month - something just doesn't add up.
Before I left I gave Tom the address of the property. He looked it up - sure enough the property is in foreclosure - no payments since November of last year.
The realtor walks in just about then -
You love it - don't you!
hmmm. . .
I ask him about the foreclosure proceedings.
Oh yes, the owner wants to be very upfront about that, and we would give you plenty of notice before we show it if it goes to short sale or if you have to vacate the premises.
(seriously?)
This home is owned by Dr ***** he's a friend of mine - gave me a cortizone shot 2 weeks ago! Don't you just love this place?
(Funny, that's not the name on the county tax records or the foreclosure docs we saw online . . )

Yes it certainly is nice - plenty of room. The central vac is nice and the landscaping is beautiful. I ask him a few questions about the HOA rules -
Aww, my policy is don't ask, if its a problem the owner will get a notice from the association and he'll  tell you not to do it anymore. No trampoline though, against renters insurance.
Interesting he's worried more about renters insurance than the fact that he is showing a foreclosing home.
I continue to press about the foreclosure situation.
I manage over 100 properties and over 20 of those owners have been in foreclosure for the past 2 years. They haven't paid a dime to the banks but have been renting them out and pocketing the money for 2 years now! What a deal huh? Banks have lost the paperwork so these people are making out like bandits! Haven't dealt with this bank though, I have no idea how long it will take them. I think you'll be fine for a few months though . . 
This guy is amazing
Hopefully you are picturing him right now - Hawaiian shirt open at the top to reveal a hairy chest and a big chunky gold chain with a cross.  Perfectly coiffed hair and a tan - the only thing this slick willy is missing is that sound you hear on a commercial when the slick spokesperson smiles into the camera and it catches the light just right.
He hands me an application - the home can be ours in a blink
Fabulous! I should introduce him to Dr Choo . . .

Comic Relief

3 houses yesterday -
1st one- 9am, 4 bedroom town house, community pool, lots of stairs but would work and they will take a 9 month lease instead of a year if we want. Keeps us in the same area of town basically, no yard though. Definitely a possibility.

Quick trip out east to meet a Steve from the Dam Ranch - he raises cows, chickens and pigs on pasture and runs a co-op. You pay a small deposit to partially own one or more of the animals, then when they are ready to be taken to the butcher you get whatever part of the animal you pay for (1/8th, 1/4th, etc) we did this in Utah and loved it - best meat we ever had. (Christiansen Hog Heaven if you are interested)
He also sells eggs by the dozen from cage free, free-range chickens - it was a delight to hold a hen again!
He can hardly wait to meet the kids and mentioned there was a rental on 10 acres he heard about on the way back to town.

Cool

On the way back to the kids school I find it - call and sure enough - its available.
80+ year old man from Taiwan owns it -
4 bedroom

you have horse?

no but we would love to raise chickens

how many?

maybe a dozen?
a dozen? on 10 acres you could have 100! 
You have husband?
Yes
He handy?
very
Oh good - he fix up my barn, you have horse! Won't have to mow 10 acres!
*laugh* maybe someday.
You want to see it?   
Yes, of course

Okay, I call you back

Ran to the school to help and have lunch with the kids, in a 20 minute time period while I was

in the library (oh sorry, center of inquiry) he called 3 times:

Sherri?
1 -Dis is Dr Choo - you want to see da house? 2 o'clock okay? You call me back?
2-Sherri?
Dis is Dr Choo - 2 o'clock I come to da house. You have chickens, pigs, what ever you want. Call me.
3-Dis is Dr Choo . . . ;you get there 1st you wait, I get there 1st I wait for you!

We met him at 2
He opened the gate
We followed him down the driveway (he signaled when he turned to park!)
The 10 acres was freshly mowed, stunning - beautiful horses in the property next door (I own, they pay $2200/month to live there and keep 6 horses, ) looked like a nice place next door - hopefully this one will be too.
We spent the next few minutes looking for the key - supposed to be left under the mat by the other renter who mows the lawn and cares for the pool.
No key
There's a window that is unlocked - Okay Tom you can go in that way

Tom hops through the window and unlocks the door
Strange - there is newspaper all over the counters - and Dr Choo casually begins to tuck his slacks into his socks as he invites us to go look around. Old renters said there was a flea problem . . he says casually.
(WHAT?)
We walk through a very small family room and down the hall, check out the old yellow bathroom and begin to feel a strangely painful sensation on our ankles and feet - 
by the time we get back to the kitchen our feet are covered in FLEAS!
You Like?
Um, no - these are kind of a problem
Oh no! Fleas no problem! I have Borac Acid! I spray - they no problem! I use to own hotel, had lots of fleas, we use Borac Acid - they all gone. I still have 1/2 a bottle!
I call right now and we can spray today!  He spends the next several minutes leaving multiple messages for his renter that cares for the place - repeatedly telling him to come and spray borac acid and kill the fleas. He doesn't want kids to get bit by fleas. (what a nice guy)
We're going to go look at the yard . . .   
As soon as we get outside we are stamping our feet, cleaning off our shoes and trying to figure out how to get out of this place as fast as we can.
You think about it - I will spray tonight - you bring kids back tomorrow - you see, no fleas!
I make you great deal! I never met someone from Utah before! The bank says I in foreclosure, but I pay them the money, I don't want to lose this place. I retired Dr, came from Taiwan in '54. Fleas, no problem.
   My phone rings as we are driving home - Sheri? Dis is Dr Choo! My wife bring borac acid to me now, we spray tonight - you come back tomorrow with kids. It be no problem! I never met someone from Utah - I make you great deal! You have 100 chickens, pigs, cows, bees - whatever you want!!

Oh man - gotta love this world we're living in - the Lord certainly MUST have a sense of humor.
  Just wait 'till you see what I saw next.
  

Crossing Over

Not much to report on the housing front - the home in the country turned out to be a big foreclosure mess - owner not having paid a dime on the place since last year and is now divorced and leaving the country with foreclosure proceedings started. Its hard to imagine being that desperate - these people take your deposit, your rental payments go straight to him and one day there's a knock on the door from the sheriff informing you that you have 48 hours to get out because the bank now owns the home.
Your deposits gone, you no longer have a lease and you are out . . . 
FUN? not really
The sad part is the realtors turn a blind eye to it - they just list and market and don't check things out.
Luckily our realtor has shown us how to look the properties up so we don't get caught in a mess like that.
So, we are still looking . . . and looking and looking . . .

That hasn't stopped the rest of life from moving forward - last night, Spencer finally received his arrow of light - the highest award in cub scouting and the only badge that you can continue to wear throughout his scouting career.
Pretty cool!
The scout leader got to paint his face throughout the ceremony =)

not a great shot - but if you look closely you can see the arrow of light on his forehead,

 and paw on his cheek

 

after the arrow of light ceremony they did the cross over ceremony - although he has been in 11-year old scouts for 4 months now, it was so nice to have everything "official"

really, he was happy -

Spencer loved it - I know, hard to believe by the pictures, funny boy - he gets so nervous in front of people and cameras that he forgets to smile =)
They also made him a beautiful plaque - several people in the ward helped put it together - when we finally get the arrow on it I will post a picture, we are still waiting for that to come from his old leaders in UT.
September got to try out Girl Scouts last night as well and loved it - I don't know if we will commit to that as we are still working out Activity Day schedule, but it is nice to have a few things come together for the kids.
Gotta run - going to look at another house and track down a grass-fed farmer.
Looks like Tom is going to be working for both companies for a few more months - 2 here, 3 there (from home), that will be a blessing  to have him around. Nice to be in such demand!
I have some great beach pictures I will post later and hopefully some fun ones of our current neighborhood (think mayberry) and this fabulous place we are living in (bet you can't wait to see!)
until then
cheers!

A little sun . . a little rain . . .

There really isn't anything like living by the beach -
Labor Day weekend would have been much tougher if it weren't for the easy access to sun, water & sand.
We spent Saturday evening and all day Monday camped out at Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.
Before we even set our towels down we met a great family on Saturday who had just moved here from Iowa - their 3 boys (ages 10-15) spent the bulk of the evening teaching our kids how to skim board and we discussed neighborhoods and housing issues in detail with a couple who really new what we are going through.

On a Sunday morning walk we saw the owner of the other home we had offered to lease and he backed out, he just wants us to buy it (which we can't until we sell our home in SLC).  Sunday was a tough one - that house was the one home we had walked into and instantly felt "at home" it really had felt like the right place for us and up until that day our exchanges with him and his realtor had gone well so we were knocked for a loop when he suddenly changed his mind. 

Luckily, Monday was Labor Day and a few families from church invited us to meet them at the beach.

We had so much fun that we didn't get many pictures - but Tom got a few shots of Theo on the skim board he picked up for the kids. The rest of the kids tried it a few times and opted for the boogie boards (good waves that day!) but Theo just kept at it - by the time we left he was better on the skim board than kids twice his age - its much tougher than it looks.  If you look closely you might catch the other kids in the background in the middle of chicken fights with a bunch of kids and dads from church as well.
It was a fun day - started out a bit grey and drizzly and ended up bright and sunny - we all have a bit of sunburn to show for it - we'll be better about reapplying sunscreen from now on.

The kids played so hard on Monday that Tuesday came a bit too early - Ben was so tired when he got out of the car that morning (missed the bus) that he fell and hit his head and knee in the parking lot.  We spent the next 20 minutes in the school clinic  - they have full-time nurses in the schools out here! Once they determined he didn't get a concussion and the knee was properly bandaged he was good to go and happy to have his wheel chair for the rest of the day.  

Spencer got to start scouts on Tuesday evening and they are planning to do his crossover ceremony next Tuesday - Spencer earned his arrow of light back in May and for a variety of unfortunate circumstances was never officially awarded it. Hopefully next week I can post pics of a happy boy finally getting it!

Tom is busily trying to figure out how to finish working for Ernst & Young so he can start his new job here - E&Y is trying hard to keep him on as long as possible so it will be interesting to see how and when all this gets resolved.

We've taken a few drives to different parts of the county as we have been looking for housing and unfortunately are more confused than we were when we started. However; the Lord puts good people into our lives on purpose and some much needed guidance was offered last night that turned the lights back on and restored our hope.  (Thanks Alli)
So with renewed faith we went back at it today - confident that the Lord above will guide and direct us and that we aren't amiss in waiting for the place that feels right, that works and is something we can be excited about.
In the mean time, we are fascinated by the amazing amounts of rain that comes out of the clouds here and we're meeting plenty of nice folks at the laundromat and in all sorts of neighborhoods as we search high and low for the right place to be.

its like a waterfall in the backyard

This is the front yard /moat - can you find the sidewalk?

We have a home to see tomorrow and another on Friday - hopefully one of them will work. 
Cheers & hugs -

Who told them we were coming?

Not long after we got to FL we had to put the utilities in our name in this house, which we did. I went to the city of Palmetto and paid the $175 water deposit - which isn't applied to anything and the only way to get it back is to move out of the state (we are considering this).
Then we called FP&L (Florida Power & Light) and transferred that into our names as well.  We received follow up calls, emails, even access to our bill online.  Then tonight for some strange reason we got this beauty: 

  Apparently they cannot give electric service to anyone with excellent credit - its just too risky.  At least time is on our side - nothing moves quickly here, so hopefully the power will stay on through the holiday weekend until those folks at the power company come back to work and we can get this resolved. 

My sun glasses got smashed about a week ago and I finally got around to grabbing another pair - I  have this thing about only wearing dollar store sun glasses since the more I pay for sun glasses, the faster I lose them - anyway, I saw this dandy pair of rose colored specs and knew they were meant for me. (Let me know if any of you need a pair and I will keep my eyes open)

While we were waiting for the mail, we spent the day trying to convince the transportation department for Manatee County School District  that Spencer's bus wasn't getting him home until 6pm (they get out at 4:35) and they assured us multiple times that his bus would be at the correct stop tonight before 5pm. Sure enough, just before 5 a bus came down the road - it was the bus Spencer rode last week and was moved off of due to over crowding - she stopped just long enough to tell me Spencer's bus was headed out to Parrish! (Think Draper for all you SLC-ites, a good 20 miles away)

Surely those rose colored dandy's were my saving grace as I stood on the corner using my cell phone for 30 minutes while the transportation department verified that Spencer was indeed on his way to Parrish and wouldn't be back until 6pm.  Another 20 minutes on the phone and the poor woman who had to take my calls all day today finally agreed that there was enough room for him on the old bus so he could get home by 5 and on Tuesday he could begin riding it again.  I'm sure it was the glasses -

As for the housing issue, there is a slight glimmer of hope on the horizon - there is a home not too far from where we are now, it is twice the size of this one (amazingly difficult to do here BTW) that has been up for sale for some time. It is the house we would love to buy and by some twist of fate (its the glasses again, surely) we are in active negotiations to rent, until our home in SLC sells.

Kind of crazy, but we have learned a lot from being in this little mess and those lessons are serving us well in this new endeavor. There is still a lot to work out and lots of prayers to be offered and answered - but once you start looking at things through some snazzy eye wear, you realize we have much to learn and even more to be grateful for.

If it works out, pictures will be forth coming. If it doesn't, we will be heading out East (remember the bus issue?) to rent the roomiest place we can find in our price range among the myriad of cookie cutter homes and town houses that sprang up like weeds during the housing boom (and are now foreclosing in record numbers) until our home sells in SLC next spring.

Can hardly wait to see what's next - thank goodness for the beach, rose-colored glasses and prayer.

Challenging Blessings =)

It didn't take very long at all to realize we weren't dealing with someone who had just made a mistake in the square footage of the home. In a matter of a few minutes the deal fell apart this morning and we are now looking for another place to live. 

One of the sweet things about being in the south is the religious mind set of most of the people we have run into.  I am asked regularly which church I belong to (and then I am always invited to give theirs a try ) and everyone who has heard of our situation - and news travels fast in a small town - says "honey (or darlin' or ma'am) things happen for a reason and it'll work out. "

They are all right, about the working out part and certainly we will see the Lord's hand in all of this one day - even if it is to learn a few important lessons . . . and hopefully we will be better, wiser and more understanding from all of this if not a little better at moving furniture and learning to laugh instead of cry.

see ya' later stinky grandma house

We'll post pics when we find a new place to land.
Best to you all -

check out the photo of the trees in the elementary school playground - Theo and I got to take a quick run around the track this morning for runner's club - there's lots of grass, shade and a babbling brook running through the grounds!

Bumpy landing . . .

Hard to believe, but we made it. After what seemed like an eternal wait, Tom got the call and we were on our way to Florida.
We spent a week in early August looking for housing and schools and trying to get things squared away. We went back to Utah on the 12th and had the house packed and the moving truck loaded by the 19th and our cars arriving in Florida the day before we would (thanks to a myriad of angels and miracles who helped us pack, clean and get things moving).
We spent our final few days in Utah saying good-bye to friends and family, tying up loose ends and we flew out early August 21st.
Tom's new boss had some air mattress brought down (by her sweet as sugar parents) for us to sleep on and we were able to get into the home we have under contract so we could get everyone ready for school to start on the following Monday. 

Needless to say (but I'm gonna say it) we were exhausted - but the kids were so excited to start their new schools that we just kept on going.  They all seem to have great teachers, Spencer loves middle school and the kids are making friends each day.  Their enthusiasm has made it easier - having them gone all day long has been hard! I miss them and the day drags - but soon I should be able to help in the classrooms and we will get into a schedule.

The actual moving portion of this adventure has been a bit more trying.  The moving company called after we got here to inform us that our shipment came in 2000 lbs heavier than they had estimated - we nearly choked on the extra costs, but after requesting several audits and talking to everyone we could we just had to tough it out. 
While we had been waiting for our things, Tom was really starting worry about being able to fit in the house.  It just didn't seem as big although the MLS sheets had said it was a little over 2000 square feet. We had downsized quite a bit and figured we could work it out - our Salt Lake home is just over 2600 square feet. Unfortunately, as our belongings began arriving in the home it became pretty apparent that this home was much smaller than our last one and Tom pulled out his measuring tape.  Sure enough, the rough square footage Tom came up with was less than 1500! We called our realtor and he started to checking out the tax records that verified our suspicions, the house is no where near 2000 square feet.

So for now, we have gone back to the sellers with our new information and we are waiting. We have offered the same price per square foot with the new square footage, but we have no idea what will happen from here. We are confident we can get out of the contract since it was all based on the home being 25% bigger, but we aren't certain what to do or where to go . . . if they lower the price significantly, we could possibly stay here, rent a storage unit or build a shed in the back and proceed as we had originally planned. If they won't lower the price or we decide this is just too small then we have to find a new place to go - something we haven't quite figured out yet.

That was Friday, Saturday we figured we would spend the day at the beach, the phone and internet company were due to connect us that morning and afterward we would take off for a much needed break.  Nine hours after he arrived, he finally had us connected, it was 7pm, getting dark and stormy but we headed out anyway - 25 minutes to the beach was better than nothing!

In an attempt to blow off more wiggles and make up for Saturday, we decided  to head out to Emerson Point on Sunday morning before church. Emerson Point is a state park/preserve where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Manatee river. Its only about 5 miles from our house and at the end of beautiful Snead island. Home to tons of crabs, fish and other marine life you can see right up close -

It could be that our heads are full of other things or the heat is getting to us but when we got to the end of the island Tom hopped out of the car and headed up a hill to get a look at the area - you can see the bridge over to St Pete, Anna Maria, everything.  Theo followed him up and so did September. I went back to the car to check on Ben who was changing his shoes and Spencer who was reading. When Ben was ready I asked Spencer to make sure to lock the car and meet us on the trail ahead.

Pretty soon we were all chatting away with the local fishermen and discovering the zillions of crabs and creatures on the island. About 20 minutes later Tom went back to the car to make sure it was locked and suddenly realized he didn't have the keys. 

After retracing our steps and offering some prayers, we realized he had left the keys in the car and we called roadside assistance (thank goodness for that) and spent the next hour waiting  . . .

 and waiting . . .

and waiting some more.

We saw a Mexican family bring in over a dozen good sized blue crabs (we are going to have to learn how to do that!!)

And we found a few treasures.

 Finally our hero arrived and after much supervision (from our boys) and several tries - the car was opened, the keys were found and we were on our way. Nearly an hour late for church and with smiles on our faces, we are starting to realize we have got to take things very slowly here - because nothing good really comes quickly, right?

(For now, I will be posting on this blog, but I am hoping to figure out how to merge my two blogs together - when I do I will let ya'll know)
Until next time - and hopefully with better news!
s