House hunting
A review of our finances and excellent credit history up to that point revealed that we were indeed ripe for the market. We stopped in at a local real estate firm and inquired.
The Fox and Lazo mortgage rep crunched our numbers, and John would apply for a VA Loan from his two-year service with the PA National Guard. Homeownership was actually within our grasp. I’d been speaking with Trish at work about the idea, and she encouraged our taking this step. She was right—why wait?
So we took the plunge. We got rolling on the loan, and began looking, armed with a certificate of pre-qualification. The Central New Jersey region was not as expensive then, but it would still prove a challenge for us, with roughly $100K to “spend.” We refused to bite off more than a manageable mouthful, as that could very well deep-six us financially. We were doing this ourselves.
“Here We Go” by Portrait
The winter of early 1993 was a blur of our jobs, social life and trekking about in Clara the real estate agent’s compact scouting for reasonably-priced homes. They were a mix of townhouses that felt like apartments, too-small ranches that needed work, too-far Capes that would make our work commute a hassle, and prewar housing so small that the cramped feeling was overwhelming.
In late February, the World Trade Center suffered what was presumed a terrorist attack within its underground garage, causing loss of life and a nationwide anger. Years later, when the WTC was obliterated in an attack, it was linked to the one in ’93.
There was a huge snowstorm in March of that year, and we were comfortably snuggled in our apartment, enjoying our usual snow “survival” rituals. These included rented videos, Monopoly, snacks, hot cocoa and “other” pastimes. Here We Go by Portrait and 93 Till Infinity by Souls of Mischief were popular.
By spring the house search and resulting stress had worn thin, and we decided to shelve it for the summer.
“93 ‘Til Infinity” by Souls Of Mischief
Souls of Mischief – 93 ’til Infinity
That year, the Fresh Ponds Village complex FINALLY got wired for cable TV—so long, rabbit ears. I remember the day I came home from work that summer, putting dinner in the oven and grabbing the new Storer Cable (now Comcast) remote. I flipped through the hundred or so channels available at the time. MTV! Holy cow, what a perk. Party like it’s 1981.
I’d enjoyed cable TV in college, and while living at Dad’s house during my engagement (then a Comcast employee, I had a complimentary account with all channels, Pay-Per-View included). Imagine my befuddlement upon moving into our beautiful apartment, but reverting to the 1970s 13-channel standard! Just ludicrous.
Edmonte’s Way
That year, my cousin Edmund (Edmonte) was in a major motion picture with Al Pacino and Sean Penn; Carlito’s Way (briefly visible at 2:26 in the trailer). He had a modest gangster part, but the character was all him.
Everyone enjoyed when Aunt Gerri brought her homemade macaroni, meatballs and gravy to the crew on the set.
Trivia: Sean Penn got wise with Edmund at one point during filming, and was threatened in no uncertain terms with being stuffed bodily into a nearby garbage can (but not quite as politely).
He was cast in additional movies, including One Tough Cop (1998) with Billy Baldwin. They did okay at the box office. He has done quite fine for himself, with a respectable resume on IMDb. My favorite movie line of Edmund’s: Sometimes, life just kicks ya in de ass. Well said.
There was no doubting that he was typecast, since he fit these parts so well. Unfortunately, Cousin Edmund passed on suddenly in October 2023. It was a huge shock to the family.
All through the summer, we kept the house search on the back burner, checking listings in the paper just to keep informed of our local market. I remember one townhouse in the Dayton Square listing, and we called to see if we could stop by.
It was very nice, priced at $119K (above our self-imposed ceiling). The seller refused to work with Realtors, so we really couldn’t proceed anyway. I liked that townhouse a lot, but it was not to be. (Nearly two decades later, those units are listing around $325K. Astounding.)
By Fall, the house search bug had bitten us again, and we called Clara. I also decided to get a hamster, and named it Harry.
The Perfect Starter Home
One day, Clara showed us a Dayton Square townhouse of a different layout from the one we’d seen, but this one was priced right.
It also had a large, new kitchen, full finished basement with a wet bar, and 2 bedrooms with a loft and loads of closet space.
These townhouses were also “duplexes”, each sharing only one wall and felt more like regular houses.
We knew it was “a lot of house” for the money, considering the shacks we’d seen in our price range, and decided we really liked it.
We brought Dad by to see it, and his take was favorable. With a few thousand we’d saved in the bank (mostly wedding gifts), we had earnest money and closing costs covered. We signed the full-price offer with Clara at our apartment and waited.
After some go-arounds with the sellers’ agent regarding our “small” cache of funds, they realized this was a good solid offer with financing behind us and we meant business.
They signed the acceptance and the wheels were in motion for us to purchase our first house!
On a funny side-note, one day we arrived home to find “Harry” nesting with six or seven little Harries! So while Harry was setting up housekeeping to allow for the new litter, we were dismantling our nest.
“Be Happy” by Mary J. Blige
We brought boxes home from work, and started packing as early as October, for a December closing of escrow.
Our family and friends were excited for us as we took the “next step” in life.
We went to WVU Homecoming the weekend after we signed the offer, dreaming of the pretty townhouse that would soon be ours. John handled calls to the attorney and Clara from our hotel room in Morgantown.
I dealt with the landlord regarding breaking the lease, and it was a headache but I was persistent. I wrote letters and exchanged all sorts of documentation, and assured them that the apartment remained in excellent shape for the next tenants. We also took care of inspection and other formalities.
Though stressful at times, John and I had planning and financing a wedding entirely ourselves to our credit, so we knew we could handle this.
Farewell to our Nana
I turned 27 in November, and the week of Thanksgiving brought sadness. Nana passed away, after a couple of years in a nursing home, and we’d visited her often.
One day, John and I went with Dad to visit Nana at the facility. We found her bed empty, and asked the staff where she was. I’ll never forget the nurse’s reply: “She expired.”
Expired!? Nice way to break it to the family. It must have just happened before we got there. Nana had been an elderly 88, but the news slammed our family nonetheless. She had been such an intricate part of our lives; it was such an empty feeling knowing she wasn’t with us anymore.
I tried to be of support to Dad, whose grief was awful. Nana’s school-aged great-grandchildren were there and I felt bad for them. It is fortunate that they had known their great-grandmother. I took Monday through Wednesday off for the formalities, and a subdued Thanksgiving holiday followed.
Closing and Moving Day
Thursday, December 16 was gray and chilly. We took off from work and signed countless papers at the office of our attorney, Mr. Shamy.
Earlier that afternoon, before the closing formalities, I’d dedicated a song to John on the radio, Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime. He caught it in the car on the way to the attorney’s office and I recorded the dedication.
Afterward, Clara handed over the keys, along with a potted rubber plant as a housewarming gift, and sent us on our way with good wishes following a very smooth transaction. That night we moved the Christmas tree and decorations, our boom box, a bottle of champagne, and a roll of TP. We gleefully found another bottle chilling in the fridge, with a nice note from the sellers, the Kramers.
Our 7½ year residence there began with a twinkling Christmas tree in the window, a bubbly toast, and music as we lay on the carpeted floor, with precious little else in the place. We were psyched, but we also realized the significance of a real estate transaction, and the commitment it entails … and we were up for it.
“Betcha’ll Never Find” by Chantay Savage
Chantay Savage – Betcha’ll Never Find
Back to the apartment that night, we awoke the next day and went to work as usual, our minds brimming with an endless to-do list awaiting us. We ran home after work that evening to begin the moving process, and friends started arriving to help schlep our things the half-mile or so up the road.
The next morning, John’s colleagues brought the large van from work, and friends used their pick-ups and cars. John went out for bagels, and we all set to work again. I packed several loads of breakables in my car, trusty Dino the ’84 Laser XE. That hatchback had come in handy for college and beyond, and was again called to service. Between the apartment and the house, I cleaned like a nut.
We provided food and drinks for our helpers, and persisted well into the evening. We slept in our new bedroom on Saturday night, and I had the bizarre sensation of crashing in “someone else’s house.” Among the disarray, it was a strange but wonderful feeling.
We closed the apartment for the final time a few days later. We gave it the once-over to make sure everything was clean. Then, we stood by the sliding glass doors, gazing out toward the pond.
This was no longer our home, where we started our married life with such joy and anticipation. Though the walls and floors now stood empty, our recollection of our first apartment would always include all the smiles and fun times there. There would soon be new tenants who would fill it with their own memories.
It was bittersweet to close the door, and turn in the keys. Making memories in our new home awaited us.
A Townhouse Christmas
We celebrated Christmas a little over a week later, serving a full turkey dinner and having Dad and my brother over. It was a joyous holiday, in our new house, with presents under the tree and delicious food. The house was fully decorated, and John even got lights on the outside, as both our dads always had.
Dad gave us a new doorbell and dead bolt for the front door for Christmas, the latter of which he installed that evening. The doorbell would be installed in the spring. We also watched some home movies and enjoyed the entire day.
Just days later, we flew down to Florida to visit John’s parents at their condo for a few days. We rang in 1994 as new homeowners!
