We are still in the process of buying a second house in Florida. There has been yet more complications. As I blogged about earlier, we had to notify the neighbors about a getting a waiver from the city because our survey showed the house was built over land the city requires for utility use. The normal procedure is that the they send out notice, the city makes an exception, and it is no big deal other than the delay of getting it all done.
The variance notice was suppose to expire this Friday and then it just had to be recorded by the city, which could take up to 2 week, but there was hope it could be done sooner so we could close by the end of the year. We had plans to drive down starting on New Year's Eve and spend the first week of the new year at our new house.
We just heard that the orthopedic surgeon that owns the house next to the house we're trying to buy has made an objection. Some neighborhoods have the Welcome Wagon -- this neighbor wants our house to be bulldozed. Because the fine doctor thinks our shabby house is an eyesore compared to his mansion and is detrimental to his house's value, he is asking the city to require that the house be torn down. That seems reasonable, doesn't it?
The result is that the city council now has to vote on granting the variance, and the earliest it can be scheduled is February 17. We were suppose to have this house before Thanksgiving. Of course, we're worried that something else could go wrong and the bank will not want to extend our contract and the whole deal will fall through. We assume the city will eventually grant the variance, but it has frankly become a huge pain in the ass. We just have to keep our eye on the prize and remember that this will all be worth it when we finally get this house... Won't it?
