The First Draw is the Sweetest

Had my first draw inspection today.  Not sure what I was expecting but it was amazingly fast and easy.  (I work 15-20 minutes away and was back in an hour!)

So last week we had our inspections and got the heat turned on (woo hoo).  So the work has started on the finishing.  The insulation and drywall have started.  We picked out tiles this week too.

As far as the 203k process, my GC is working away (two months now) without any payment.  To get payment, you need to submit a Draw Request.  This is completed by the 203k Inspector.  He/she makes sure the work is complete and to code.  They do not pay you for any work not yet completed.  (For example, I have ordered the appliances and Sears is holding off delivering them.  But they are not 'completed' until they are installed.  So even though they are paid for, the bank won't release the money until they are installed.  I am sure some shady investor purchased top shelf appliances, got the check and then put cheap ones in, so now this is the process.)

The initial 203k inspector told us to submit our first Draw Request after we have our permits and are about 1/3 of the way through.  The gas line was the biggest hurdle we had.  Without gas, we had no heat and without heat not much work can get done.  Its been a (depressingly) chilly spring with cold nights so heat was more than a requirement.   If we had submitted our Draw Request earlier a lot of the work would not have been completed enough for the inspector to release the money.

The inspector came through, took some pictures of the progress and filled out the form.  My GC will get his check in about five days.  The check is for about 50 percent of the loan... so further along than 1/3.  I think its made out to both of us but I will be happy when he is paid.

Inspectors pictures:

bathroom

 basement (laundry sink)

 new front door

 bed room (nice trim! ugly paint)

 (furnace!!!)

 (ghost of oil tank)

 (not sure...)

 (spare room closet)

 (bed room closet)

 (trim, baseboards, sawdust)

 (brand new closet!!!)

 (tubby time)

 (insulated kitchen)

All Packed Up and No Where to go...

Quick update, my first mortgage payment was May 1 so rather than pay both mortgage and rent I am temporarily homeless.  My sisters have graciously allowed me in their spare room.  I packed up my apartment (who knew I had that much stuff?) and after a tense moving day, now have a basement that is loaded with boxes.  The movers did not organize it well so I went back today to do some rearranging.  I forgot my camera but will try to get some pictures this week.

The plumber has gotten a lot of work done.  The furnace and water heater are in place and I believe he is waiting on an inspection.  There is a jumble of plumbing pieces in the kitchen... its amazing that he'll get that all together.

The electrician has also done a ton.  He replaced a number of the older outlets and rewired some existing ones.

The carpentry work looks amazing.  The window trim is up.  The old trim wasn't terrible but the old owner painted with the wrong paint.  My GC encouraged me to just redo all the trim.  I am glad I did... something that seemed so minor to me really does make a difference!  The closet in the small room is in.  It looks awesome.  Its fun to see it coming along.

For the 203k, I heard from my mortgage company.  They asked why they hadn't heard from me yet.  Work has to start within 30 days for the loan.  I explained that work had started but for the Draw Request we were only about 10 percent in.  So we wanted to wait for the plumbing inspection to submit the first draw request.  They said this was fine because we were waiting on the gas line.  I checked in again last week just to make sure we are all on the same page.

So things are happening... I will try to get pictures this week.