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Well, our house is sold, and we have passed all the contingencies, so we are moving towards closing at a rapid pace (end of June). We are getting moving estimates this week and going to get that lined up, and I'm guessing we won't have a new house finalized so I guess the furniture will be stored until we have an address there (or, driving around the Tampa area looking for us..... ). We found a house we really, really like - put in an offer, but because we can never do anything the easy way, it's a short sale.... Seller has accepted the offer, and now it's heading towards the bank. Who knows, right???? We looked at alot of houses, and just really fell in love with this one and decided it was worth the pain of storage, etc to get it. And who knew - ended up on a little pond/lake. Now, you KNOW there are alligators in there somewhere, so I've decided to look at it from a positive perspective. If the dogs are bad, they can swim, if they're good - they stay in the fence..... JUST KIDDING!!!! Today I'm heading over to my favorite nursery (what I'm going to miss most about Northern Virginia) to see if I can hook up with anyone that knows Florida landscaping and if maybe they can recommend someone in the Tampa area. We had a list of requirements, and we stayed true to that list. It eliminated alot of houses, but the ones we looked at were contenders.... and it's got a little bit of land that I can do my landscaping thing on.... After I speak to nursery, I'm going to spend the afternoon finding a place to live for a bit of time near there so I can explore the area while we're working through the process..... Again, not sure why we do this - but moving to Florida in the summer is probably the worst time, but I did come home from the trip and buy new clothes.... My Virginia attire (wear jeans all the time) just isn't going to cut it in Florida..... Now, we're hanging out in our current house - which is pretty empty and echo'y and it just doesn't feel like our house anymore. We feel like we're care takers for the next owner.... . I'm going to put together a little document of people/places that might help the new owner. I have time, and it will be something that I know I sure would have liked to have when I moved in......

Congratulations! Job well done on both fronts.

DH is working in Clearwater and he cannot figure out how these folks wear jeans in all the heat.

I remember when we sold our house in Virginia, the last weeks felt very strange. It was my house, but didn't feel like the same house any longer. I think that helps with making the break.

I hope your agent and the seller's agent in Florida have good experience with short sales. On the timing a lot depends on how well your offer compares to resent sales in the area and if the seller's mortgage company/ies have a BPO in hand that is close to your offer.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Welcome to FL.! Good luck with your move. We have a company called Arrow for our grass and bugs in lawn. very good company. As for plants, you need to buy Fl. plants that can withstand heat and sometimes lack of water. Fl. is humid right now, but come September, you will love it here.We have a pond outback and there are not any alligators.Great fishing though. We also see Eagles now and then.Wishing you all the best on this big move.

CONGRATulatons!!!!!!! Yeah! that is such good news...I know what you mean about 'doing things the hard way', but just maybe THis time all will be smoothhhhhhh as silk.

ENjoy your journey to FLorida!

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Today I'm heading over to my favorite nursery (what I'm going to miss most about Northern Virginia) to see if I can hook up with anyone that knows Florida landscaping and if maybe they can recommend someone in the Tampa area.

You might want to come over to the "General Gardening" board and look at some of 'zone9lady's' pics. I'm pretty sure she could steer you to a good nursery in that area.
She has done all her own landscaping but it is well above most landscaping companies and it is absolutely fantastic! If I remember correctly, she has 78 pots that she waters besides what she has in the ground! So look on the "show us your pots" thread over there & some other "show us" threads.

So, our realtor is definitely experienced with short sales (sadly, I think many realtors are.....), so we have that going for us. FLboy - thanks for the tip, I'm putting them down as something to check into when we get into town.... And I'll definitely check out the gardening threads - I have a whole bunch of pots here in VA (neighbor will be inheriting all of them), but I know that the plants are different in Florida, and I'm starting to do research on what to do - so many options (SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT)... We're messing with moving companies now (have 3 coming over for quotes this week), and I'm working on lining up a rental option for about a month, with the hope that I don't really need it (a girl can dream.........). I'm making lists, and calling everyone I need to here to get lined up in the Tampa area. I have to say - already been to one of the dog parks in Tampa - and they are NICE.... Much nicer than the ones near me, and I thought those were really nice... I'm so excited, and just HOPING things move along with the banks... Idaho - maybe I should ask Wayne to go down and help.... what do you think?????? . I have to say, selling the house was a painful process, but buying one is almost as hard..... Finding that right one......

Debid, Now, you know better than anyone never to depend on Wayne - at least not for any help - although I have it on firm authority that he will be there to kick off the house-warming party as long as the best guest bedroom is reserved for him!

But, as far as helping?

Good luck with finding just the right place - it's out there, you know! But, if it was obvious, someone else would already have bought it! So you still have a really good chance....

debid, just a tip for your movers, tip them as soon as they start to pack you up. We did that because we heard a lot of horror stories, extra charges, missing furniture, etc. We did not have one problem with our company and I had many people use them after us and they loved the company. Allied Movers, but they were out of MA. and FL. I hope you can look into them in VA.

Where will you live til you buy your perfect home? We have been looking into rentals WHen/If we sell...and are finding that there is quite a process to go thru. Fill out contract for background checks, credit checks, etc. Of course, if I were the 'rental owner' I would do the same thing.

Thanks Karen for the nice compliments!

I'm sorry I couldn't recommend a landscaper or garden maintenance company, since we have never used one. The only kind of company we have ever hired are professional tree cutters for the trees too big for DH to handle.

Tampa is only 45 minutes south of us but we are usually 10 to 15 degrees cooler here because of the elevation. There are lots of trees and shrubs that do well in Tampa that freeze here.

I've gotten all my plants from Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, catalogs and the internet.

Good luck with your house hunt!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zone9alady,

Good luck with your upcoming move to FL! We moved to the Tarpon Springs area about 3 years ago and had the same issues with finding a house. We ended up with a short sale too and the process was smooth just took a little longer waiting on the bank. You will love the tropical plants that thrive here!

I am just so excited!!! We've spoken with the person we're going to rent a place from for the next month, and the FIRST thing on my list is to start checking out the nurseries and making my list of what I love, then I'll work down from there (it will start out being a really long list, and I'll work it down....). All those plants I have planted as "annuals" here in Virginia are perennials... Very, very excited.... And for the house, we really didn't want to go the short sale route, but just absolutely fell for this house - our realtor gave us so many choices, and we picked that one, and it actually is worth the pain we're going through now (well, it will be if we actually get it.... ). It will be so different, but we're ready for a change... and I'm ready for quiet... One thing about Northern Virginia, it's never really quiet.... at least not where we live. It's unbelieveably gorgeous (and I am SO going to miss my landscaping which is spectacular) here and Florida is not as lush, but there are so many lovely plants that thrive there..... We're downsizing, but adding a wonderful lanai and pool - so I'm thinking we're just getting better...!!!

Welcome to Florida! I'm a happy Floridian myself and have a slight obsession now with orchids as I never had one living in NY for good reason! lol

Its great to hear things are moving along nicely for you! Please do keep us posted!

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Originally posted by flboy:
debid, just a tip for your movers, tip them as soon as they start to pack you up.

Just for my future reference, how much is the general amount of tip? We have 4 bed house with two family rooms worth of furniture. Would a tip of $200 be about right?

Well - we're a week away from the furniture being carted off by the movers. I'm in the last throes of figuring out what else I want to get rid of before we move. I've done research and have some electricians, pool guys, hairdressers (most important), painters, etc identified to speak to when we get there. I've given all my plants away since the move would kill many, and they're Virginia bred plants and probably wouldn't like the Florida weather, so I'll start all over again (I had many orchids, and am really excited about starting that again....). For the movers, we're actually big tippers, especially considering the nature of the stuff having to be moved. We determine the tip by how many people are there, so we work it out and how they are the two days plays a big part. When we moved down here, I had surgery the day before the move, and couldn't get out of bed - those movers were wonderful, made sure I didn't move around, brought me food (they kind of adopted me to make sure I didn't do too much) - and they got REALLY big tips. They were incredible. This was not the same experience as the unpackers on the Virginia end - who got a normal tip (it was a couple hundred dollars)... I just watch how they handle everything, and go from there.... I've done all the medical stuff I could do before we move (June was NOT a fun month), and I'm knocking out all the pet services now. I'm no longer obsessing about the FL home because I believe it will be approved, and now I want to be able to wait until I get down there to have to worry about it. With the new mandates on times for banks to process short sales, I'm feeling much more comfortable with the process and the times, and now I just want to get to Florida... Also, getting the mail moving forward was huge, and the people up here were not very helpful - but the guy in the Post Office in Florida was amazing!! I started the conversation with him with "Do you have a few minutes, and will you please help me move to Florida?". He laughed, and then helped me out (I will look him up at the Post Office..). Now, we're just hoping for a smooth closing and a calm drive down the Coast......

Debinfl, you are accomplishing lots...the story of how good your movers have been is a wonderful to hear!

Hope you are feeling so much better and that you enjoy the lovely drive down the cost.

And also, ts & ps for a smooth transition to the house you want (HUGssss)

Trying to decipher your abbreviations, CJO. Let's see, ts and ps, thanks and prayers??

Well, prayers and best of luck, too - to both of you.

CJO - you're going to have to be doing this soon, and I had NO idea how many liquids I had (movers don't move those). I found 6 gallons of Febreze (thought I'd bought it, but couldn't ever find it), and yesterday I emptied out the refrigertor and freezer. We're getting there... Also, things we had planned on taking I've started rethinking and have given away a whole bunch more stuff (just kept imagining having to unpack it and find places for it). I think all my furniture is going to fit except 1 really large armoire we had in our bedroom for the TV (with matching side shelves) - don't think that is going to fit anywhere in the new house, but I figure I'll find someone in Florida that wants it - just don't have enough energy to try to find a home for it here..... I had to pull out St Joseph (since I gave all my pots and plants away), so I'm taking that with us in our carry down pile so that he stays with me and hopefully doesn't get upset with me. Also, the new owners have given out the address here since I've received mail for them - and I think that is a very good thing..... I've Round-uped all the weeds, and this house is going to be perfect when they move in. I'm putting together the contact information of good people we've used (landscaper, painter, cleaning, sprinkler systems, etc) as well as good pizza delivery (that was SO hard to find when we first moved in.....). We'll have a little package for them with that information and all the appliance information. Movers come to pack tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll be in Tampa on Saturday!!! Glad Tropical Storm Debby was this past weekend .

Sorry, but Debbie is very much a problem for all of us in the Gulf, hope that your area is spared.

Oh Rker - I wasn't dismissing the severity of the storm - it is actually hitting my friends (who live south of Tampa) and my sister. I'm just saying, because Murphy is my cousin, that it is surprising that I am not moving down there this past weekend, but - again - knowing my timing - it will probably still be hanging around next week, because that sucker is moving slowly (which is bad). My friends called me yesterday and said it was surprising the storm didn't wait, since it seems to be named after me, and they said that the Debby/Debi's were coming in 2 waves. But - I have family in Gulfport, MS and south of New Orleans (as well as Florida), and hurricanes and tropical storms have certainly hit my family hard over the last few decades... I am afraid of two things - hurricanes (been through them - hated it) and alligators.... well, and spiders..... and so we picked Florida to move to. I'm keeping my eye on the weather down there - and I do hope it moves on our soon. I know Florida needed rain - but so much in a short period of time is not helpful. My friends said that the frogs in the marsh behind their house are going nuts and I'm guessing that the gators are moving around as well.... Again - was not minimizing the seriousness of the storm, but was commenting on the timing of a storm named Debby........ Sorry....

Sounds like you are all set for the big move!! Hopefully Debby will have died down by the time you arrive in Tampa. Good luck. And hope you love FL as much as we do!

Thank you! Tarpon Springs - that is SUCH a cool area, and so beautiful..... We're excited, although probably in about 4 hours, my excitement will have diminished some with the packers here.....

Sorry that you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was only referring to the fact that Debbie has not even had a landfall at this time. It bypassed the Panhandle and now is supposed to enter into the more southern area of the Gulf by Wednesday. So therefore more into the area that you are planning on going.
No, I didn't imply that you was in no way minimizing the storm, We just had a flooding couple a week ago. (20" of rain) in the Panhandle. and we had more damage than if the Tropical Strom would have hit us.

That storm was a beaut! We moved here when all the hurricanes hit in 2003. Where we live went through that time of the storms fine but this Debby storm was the one that made me sit up and notice! We have had rain, rain and then more rain. When she was sick of raining on us, the wind started and that was when I worried. This huge screened lanai is not covered by our insurance any longer.I think it is over and I have never seen anything like this storm in 9 years.Our area is fine, but I am so sorry for all who lost their homes and in some areas their yards to huge sink holes.

Hi Debi-

Tampa Bay will greet you with open arms and a new face ..renewed BRIGHT green color of nature!
Wow all that rain was so needed.. however a bit much because we had some flooding of streets and heavy winds. This Tropical Storm Debbie storm REALLY had a big power punch, felt more like a Hurricane than a storm ..and worry for me living on Tampa Bay. Water came over the seawall a bit and delivered a variety of sea life (lol).

But I was out working in the stuff....what's new!

Latest update - still haven't heard anything but have found some good things. First, I just love the area we are trying to buy in. Renting a place about 2 miles from the house turned out really well. I have a new hairdresser (in Tampa), new vet (did lazer surgery on one of my dogs today), new dog groomer, new nail salon (probably only important to women on the site), and have found a landscaper that is going to be awesome! Now, all I need is a house . Also good news - have been looking at mortgage rates, and in some of the banks around here, the rates have dropped quite a bit - we were quoted 3.75%, but we're seeing 3.375% on the same mortage (30 year fixed) from a different bank. Saving money is never a bad thing - right???? . So, we've still got our fingers crossed, still haven't seen anything we like better and we keep exploring the area. Love it, love it, love it....

Deb, glad you are lovin' it! We, too, finally sold/closed and are in FL on the Atlantic side. We're renting a small place and will eventually build.