I sold my former residence in Scranton.
Ms Rivers and I bought a new house in West Pittston, the place from where I am publishing this very posting.
Initial renovations will be commencing, and there will be much moving of boxes and turning of a house into a home over the next few months.
None of this would have been possible without the help of my partner in crime, Ms Rivers. Collectively, we also had the benefit of working with some great professionals, so I'd like to offer some blog space for some well-deserved thanks.
My Partner
Before thanking anyone else, I have to acknowledge Ms Rivers.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your patience with me in the sale/purchase endeavor.
Thank you for your honesty, intelligence and grace under pressure.
Thank you for your understanding through the parts of this process that were difficult for me, from making the decision to sell through the myriad of other things that come with big life change.
Most of all, thank you for being my partner as we begin this part of our journey together.
Love,
Steve
(One of my favorite Ms Rivers photos)
Selling My House
In selling my property in Scranton I had the benefit of a truly terrific real estate agent, Trish Conway from Century 21 Jack Ruddy Real Estate. Trish was great at offering suggestions, keeping me focused, and answering my questions (sometimes the same ones over and over again). Trish is fanatically great at returning phone calls and staying on top of things. I also really appreciated how creative Trish was in making the final offer for my property work. I can't imagine having the same outcome with an agent other than Trish.
Buying Our Home
In buying a home, Chris and I had the benefit of having the time to really think about what we wanted, over an extended period of time. That noted, no matter how much planning you do, all the rules change once you start actually touring properties. In helping us translate plans into reality, we had the benefit of great search tools and email alerts from Prudential Poggi & Jones real estate. Check them out if you are buying a home in the Wilkes-Barre area. Once the time came to start looking at homes, we connected with Paul Pukatch from Prudential Poggi & Jones. Paul has been patient, available, supportive and has helped keep us on task.
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Well not guns, but you definitely need lawyers and money to make the home sale/ownership thing work. Chris and I had the benefit of two professionals who helped us in the legal and financing departments.
Our lawyer was actually my late mother's attorney, Edward Monsky, from the Scranton firm of Fine, Wyatt and Carey in Scranton. Attorney Monsky handled the legal work for both the sale and the purchase and has also helped write new Wills for both Chris and I over the past few months. Attorney Monsky probably answered the same questions from me about 6 times and was exceptionally calm as I stressed over a mortgage issue dating back to 1992. He also actually made a last minute house call in order to remove an obstacle from our closing. Finally, he's also just a really nice guy...something in all honest that I only rarely said about a lawyer.
In this part of the home equation, I brought the lawyer, but Chris brought the banker. Our banker in this endeavor has been Debbie Saracino from M&T Bank in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Debbie is the very definition of flexible. Countless emails, many faxes, two conference calls, an impromptu application review and throughout it all Debbie was there at every step.
If you need a mortgage or other kinds of home financing stuff, consider contacting Debbie.
Lastly, in coordinating preparations for the house sale and getting ready to move, I needed additional storage space. Fortunately, there is a place in Moosic that more than met my needs: Oak Hill Self Storage. The owner/manger is a terrific guy, and the facility is spotless and secure.
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