<p>Have to read it in context. Jym said AL will cost “a lot less that Barbara was costing.” And I said, Barbara plus other house-related expenses. All this is a rehash of what several of us said some time ago.</p>
<p>In my experience, delicate items are wrapped to protect them and the mover’s liability. Drawers are removed when pro’s move heavy furniture. Someone else’s experience may differ. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how many voice mails and emails did you send the sr mover in that week?</p>
<p>I suspect, my true friend LF, that you might think I called/emailed the senior management too much. Remember, time is of the essence. The move was predicted for 10/28 and the senior management mover knew that and knew from our first interview that I was anxious for a quote for the work. I emailed him twice asking for a quote, on a Monday and a Friday, I believe. In my own personal “world” I have never not respond asap to an email, but I recognize that is irrelevant concerning others’ behaviors/modus operandi. But perhaps not. I left two voice mails that were not returned. Others may disagree, but this to me is unprofessional. You can always email and/or call back “Sorry, I don’t have an answer yet!” But total silence/being ignored is negligence or perhaps merely happy stupidity. Just recently 1. the “tank tech” company that did the tank inspection emailed me within hours with the results 2. THREE oil tank removal/replacement companies replied to me via email attachments within 24 hours with detailed estimates about tank removal and replacement. 3. Clancy Brothers movers made an appt for me to meet with a representative the very next morning, and after the assessment sent an (expensive, it seemed to me) cost proposal in two hours. When I sent the buyer’s septic report to our septic company, they replied within hours. The Estate Sale Manager answered me within 24 hours when we talked about a date to price the items for sale. </p>
<p>In vivid contrast, but I emphasize, without judgment, the actions with the realtors and attorneys are as slow as molasses. I just now sent the realtor an email asking for an update, reminded her in a respectful way that time was of the essence, and cc’d our lawyer. I am sure I will hear something back from both, tomorrow, Friday. </p>
<p>Wonderful news: Got the report in the mail today that our soil samples were tested and uncontaminated. I will hand-deliver copies of the report to the attorney and realtor tomorrow. </p>
<p>jym626, to confirm your #736, yes, the buyer has a fully-approved mortgage. </p>
<p>Dharma,
Please read the info about the soil test. If things haven’t changed, you should have had the results by now. 3 weeks is to get a spill # removed and you didnt have a spill.</p>
<p>As others have said, mortgages are usually not finalized until the appraisal is complete. Am wondering if he is preapproved, not approved.</p>
<p>Sorry jym626, I must be dim. The cover letter to the soil report says the samples show no contamination. The results came in less than three weeks. We got a spill number immediately. In fact, quite a few oil companies sent us letters offering their services because they must “track” who gets bad tank test results. So sorry if I don’t understand, but today we got the results and they say there is no contamination.</p>
<p>I understand about the appraisal, but my realtor told me the buyer is not preapproved, but approved.</p>
<p>Ok wait-- you had a tank failure so you got a spill number assigned. If you got the soil test report back and its clean, the spill # should be removed. They update their list every Friday. </p>
<p>Your realtor might have misspoken. I dont think you can have an open ended mortgage on an unknown property with no sales contract. That also doesnt make sense.</p>
<p>It is possible to get online quotes for a move via email. If you are stuck, look up local movers on sites with reviews. It requires a specific list of what is to be moved (x # of boxes, each piece of furniture, hanging clothes, etc.). Elder care moving is particularly relevant when the contents of the house that are not going to assisted living require sorting, pricing and an estate sale/disposition of excessive contents. </p>
<p>You may be able to get her stuff sorted to go (less is more, less is more), hire a mover for the piano and her AL stuff now and later empty the house of its contents behind her AL move. Just a thought due to the very short notice. Do be sure to have measurements of her room and not send more than it can handle. She needs extra room to navigate with her walker/wheelchair and extraneous stuff is the enemy. Life for the frail is best simplified. The less she starts with, the easier it will be. If there are specific reasonable requests for things, they can be picked up later. </p>
<p>To get her out of the SNF on Tuesday requires that her furniture and personal effects get to the AL before she does, with time to have basic things set up before she gets there. Then she walks into a room that is “hers”, and comfortable, rather than a disorganized and possibly distressing situation. She will likely be tired and want a place to sit or rest. I hope they will discharge her in the afternoon, so you can follow movers to AL (perhaps with a friend) and get enough in order that she has a functioning room. Don’t over-estimate her capacity to set things up the way she would like (remember her visit to the house). Little stuff can be moved if she requests, but a made bed, with furniture arranged is very powerful. YMMV, but I speak from experience. It was great to have a well lit, attractive space established when my folks arrived at AL, and it didn’t take long (one room each). </p>
<p>All the best with this. I hope the house sale proceeds quickly and you can be out from under ASAP. </p>
<p>Per NY State regulations on movers, at least what I saw, proposals/quotes necessitate a home visit. (I’m not seeing that that these regs apply to interstate only.) Also says no discounts can be applied. And that any proposal is an estimate only. Movers are required to file tariff info with the state and adhere to that. Packing supplies are usually an extra line on the quote- and in my experiences, that means their boxes.</p>
<p>I also looked at a general online quote site and using a studio-sized move (shes only moving minimal stuff, right? sofa, some chairs, table, bed, dresser, and personal) and a local move/short distance, I do see a quote range of $1100-17xx. </p>
<p>“Setting up the room” usually means putting things where you want them- eg, putting the bed together and moving it where you want it, same for dressers, sofa, etc. Ie, not leaving things just inside the doorway for you to arrange. </p>
<p>You could move her light, delicate things yourself- photos, trinkets/chotchkies, the refrig magnet collection,- thus avoiding the hours spent wrapping and save the movers for heavy or unwieldy things.</p>
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<p>Dharma, what travelnut says is very true. I’m sorry it didn’t work out with the senior move manager, so now you’ll need to work with the movers directly to make this happen. You want to do whatever is necessary to make 100% certain that she walks into an apartment that feels calm and comfortable and relaxing right off the bat. </p>
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<p>travelnut is so right about this. If the space is too tight, people tend to catch their walkers on furniture. Also on doorways and walls when moving around corners, too, if there isn’t lots of space to pass. My mother had a terrible time with this. Even in the communal dining room she would snag the legs of other people’s chairs with her rolling walker, when walking between tables to get to her assigned table.</p>
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<p>Right, how can a mortgage be approved when there has been no contract? She must have meant pre-approved. </p>
<p>Banks don’t give mortgages without a contract. I can’t get a mortgage on LasMa’s house, for example, unless I prove to the bank that I have contracted to buy it. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why there is no contract, with contingencies for the oil tank and the financing. What happens when this guy decides not to buy the house?</p>
<p>Agree–believe the broker should continue marketing and try to get some back up offers in hand. She’s not doing the job I would expect and demand for her commisino.</p>
<p>I am happy for you that the soil test was negative, Dharma. </p>
<p>Agree–believe the broker should continue marketing and try to get some back up offers in hand. She’s not doing the job I would expect and demand for her commission.</p>
<p>I agree, HImom. If it were me (and it’s not), I would be close to telling her that if there’s no contract with a week, I want her actively showing the house again.</p>
<p>We keep hearing about this “eager” buyer. He’s not acting like any eager buyer I ever heard of.</p>
<p>The “eager” buyer made an offer Sept. 22. That’s over a month ago. If he is so eager, why don’t you have a signed contract? This has nothing to do with the lawyers; lawyers do not take a month to write a routine real estate contract. Something’s fishy here.</p>
<p>I just thought I’d go ahead and paste in the realtor’s letter of the 17th. I understand “how can you have a pre approved mortgage without a contract?” so perhaps someone can explain this stuff about Homestead Funding:</p>
<p>Dear C</p>
<p>Yes - some questions for me and some for I.</p>
<p>When it comes to the contract, I will be following up with the other attorney to see when the contracts will be returned. Then you will be asked to meet with him and sign for A It is not unusual for this to take a week or more:
Contract from I to Buyer’s attorney
Review by buyer’s attorney
Questions handled between the two attorneys
Meeting with buyer and his attorney to sign
Return of contracts to I
Meeting with you
Then contracts will be complete.</p>
<p>C - we do know about the buyer. It would be easy under your circumstances and all the decisions to be made that you didn’t realize that attached to the offer when we met with A was a pre-approval letter from Homestead Funding showing the buyer’s ability to pay for the home. He will be putting down a deposit of $7,700 when he signs the contract.</p>
<p>The closing date does not revolve around the soil test results. The closing will be scheduled by I when ALL the necessary paperwork including the mortgage approval, title search, soil test, etc. are all ready. Luckily all these things are being processed simultaneously so they should come together about the same time.</p>
<p>Yes - we all realize that time is of the essence - and some things just can’t be rushed. We will all do our best to keep things moving. The buyer is anxious as well.</p>
<p>Hope this clarifies the process.</p>
<p>(end of letter)</p>
<hr>
<p>I got up very early this am and had a reply to my note of last night asking politely for an update from the attorney and realtor. The attorney replied last night that the buyer’s attorney was not returning his phone calls this week and would the realtor please follow up with the buyer’s realtor.</p>
<p>So at 6 am I sent the attorney and the realtor a careful, tactful, but strongly worded letter about how the circumstances compel them, if I could politely advise, to bring this sale to a close asap, and that the contracts be signed at the very earliest possible opportunity</p>
<p>I mentioned in my email how in 1985 when my husband and I bought our first house, the buyer’s attorney included in the contract the words that “time is of the essence” and, in this morning’s email, I urged the pair to make it clear to the buyer’s representatives that in this case, time is of the utmost essence.</p>
<p>jym626, the letter from the oil tank is absolutely clear in stating that the DOE (the appropriate authority, I’m not sure exactly what the name is) says the soil is uncontaminated. The attorney and realtor will get a copy of that letter today and I’m sure fax it to the other parties.</p>
<p>Should I bother to look at whatever site it is to see that the spill results were removed or whatever?</p>
<p>So wish me luck. Hopefully things should start stirring.</p>
<p>Thanks to those who talked about the moving company rules and issues, very helpful. LF, I think it was you who did special research to show that discounts are not possible. So it will be interesting to get the moving agent’s reply to my somewhat odd email.</p>
<p>Your letter says he is preapproved, not approved. And the soil letter should satisfy the mortgage lender (it did in our case) but yes, you want to make sure the spill number is removed and the case closed.</p>
<p>Law-dee, I need coffee. I need to re-read that RE letter- and am presuming “I” is not just the pronoun but an abbreviation for the other agent??<br>
Not sure you can use “time is of the essence” at this point. You’ve let time slide and have no “cya.” But let me re-read.</p>
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[quote]
…attached to the offer when we met with A was a pre-approval letter from Homestead Funding showing the buyer’s ability to pay for the home."</p>
<p>Pre-approval. That is not the same thing as approval. </p>
<p>Approval will take more time but can’t happen without a signed contract. The longer you have to wait for him to sign it, the longer it will take to close.</p>