Friday, 3/1/2019 – Sunday, 3/3/2019 – First things first…March 1st marks the beginning of my birth month celebration!  To celebrate, we left Central PA at 5am with nearly four inches of snow on the ground to head to a bit south for our first boat shopping trip!

Our first stop was Deltaville, Virginia, where we planned to meet up with our boat broker Spencer Kent with Knot 10 Yacht Sales.  What a place Deltaville was!  To be fair, Spencer told us that there wasn’t much in Deltaville except boats and the coffee shop, and he wasn’t lying!  We arrived in Deltaville, VA around 11am and met up with Spencer to set up the plan for the weekend.  We agreed that Friday (Boat Shopping Round 1) would be spent in Deltaville and Saturday (Boat Shopping Round 2) we would head back to Maryland and check out some more boats.  Josh and I had a few boats that we definitely wanted to see, but Spencer had come up with a few other ideas that we hadn’t even considered.  After returning home on Sunday, to more snow falling, we made the decision to reach out to our broker and let him know that we were ready to make an offer on the Hunter 426DS.  Good lord, is this really happening?!

Monday, 3/4/2019 – Another Monday, another cRaZy day at work.  But, this was not just another Monday!  Today was Josh’s first meeting with West Shore Scuba as an official Dive Master Candidate!  Today was the day we made the offer on our prospective future boat!  After a short discussion with our broker, we submitted our offer.  A few hours later, the seller’s returned a counter offer and we…AGREED!  We now have our future boat UNDER CONTRACT!  We set up a wire transfer for 10% of the agreed upon sale price for the deposit.

Tuesday, 3/5/2019 – Our boat deposit was wired to broker’s escrow account.  Meanwhile, we completed and submitted our boat loan application.

Wednesday, 3/6/2019 – Boat buying was moving right along and our next step was to complete  a “customer information sheet” for our broker’s office.  Much to our surprise, it was time to pick a boat name and a hailing port, which we kind of weren’t ready for.  We got it done, but, after so many years of discussing it, it seemed like it should have been a much easier task!  Josh worked on trying to nail down a date for the survey and sea trial but coordinating the schedules of 5 people across three states provided to be a bit of a challenge.  It all eventually fell into place and we were scheduled for the survey and sea trial for Tuesday, 3/12/2019.

Thursday, 3/7/2019 – We got notification that our boat loan was APPROVED!  WOOHOO!  Onward toward closing!

Saturday, 3/9/2019 – Housework was in full swing, as we were feeling motivated and determined by the impending purchase of our boat.  We took the dog for his annual excitement – his yearly round of shots!  We spent Saturday evening surrounded by family, enjoying a long overdue family dinner in honor of Josh’s mom’s birthday.

Monday, 3/11/2019 – In an exciting turn of events, I turned in my two week notice to my current employer.  I am set to start new job as a Chief Operating Officer on Monday, 3/25/2019.  Might as well load on the changes all at once, right?!

Tuesday, 3/12/2019 – Survey and sea trial day for our prospective new boat!  Despite spending 10+ hours driving in the truck, it was a FANTASTIC day!

Thursday, 3/14/2019 – We spoke to Spencer regarding the survey results and agreed that we would go back to the seller and ask for a $1,500 credit toward our purchase price in order to help us afford the repairs that will be needed to the deck and the starboard side hull.  Since we already have the boat under contract, the absolute worst thing that could happen is that the owner doesn’t want to come off the price.  The best thing that could happen is that we get a reduction of $1,500 on the sale price.  Either way, we’ve got nothing to lose!

Friday, 3/15/2019 – The seller responded to our request for a $1,500 credit and asked if, instead of the $1,500 credit, we would be willing to accept a dinghy and motor. Seeing as though we would be needing to purchase a dinghy and a motor, the concession seemed like it might work out for us pretty well! Josh got the specs for the dinghy and motor and did some research to see what we would be getting. He determined that it was a roll-up dinghy with a propane motor that was pretty much exactly opposite of what he was interested in.  We decided not to take the dinghy and motor, and, instead, take the $1,500 adjustment on the boat’s purchase price.  Spencer was able to help us out with our dinghy and motor situation, though, as he had a line on a 10′ rigid bottom dinghy with an 8hp motor that another one of his customers was interested in selling for $2,000.  Given that things are moving along quickly and quietly, Spencer informed us today that we should anticipate closing on the boat by next Friday, 3/22/2019.  How exciting!

Tuesday, 3/19/2019 – We still hadn’t heard anything about closing on the boat in just a few days, as Spencer had mentioned when we spoke to him last Friday.  I reached out to get a status update and make sure no one was waiting on us for anything that we weren’t aware of.  The response I received was pretty disappointing.  We were informed that while our broker’s agency would love to meet the 3/22/2019 closing date, they weren’t quite sure if that would be able to happen.  Our broker’s agency got the acceptance late Friday and forwarded it to the listing broker and requested the seller documents so that our broker’s agency could do the closing documents.  Although the boat is supposedly owned free and clear (meaning there is no loan on the boat), the listing broker neglected to order an abstract, which would confirm the presence (or lack thereof) of any liens or financial holds against the boat before it becomes ours.  Our broker’s agency ordered a title abstract from the US Coast Guard and is waiting on that to come in.  Once the title abstract is received, they will be able to do the closing documents, and not before then.  The shitty part?  The US Coast Guard works on a 1st in, 1st out basis and processing times are still delayed as a result of when the government was shut down.  Once the abstract is received, we’ll be able to get an idea of when we will be able to close on the boat.  But, until then, there’s nothing we can do, as the listing broker failed to do their part.  Per the US Coast Guard website, they’re currently processing title abstracts that were submitted at the end of February, which means we may be waiting quite some time.  To say we were disappointed is quite an understatement, as it would have worked out perfectly for us to close on Friday and spend this coming weekend on the boat.  But, it is what it is at this point.  We’re really just hoping that we’ll be able to close by the original 4/2/2019 date, as we’ve made arrangements with work and family in order to get the boat moved that weekend.  At the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world and there’s nothing we can do about it so we must accept it as there’s nothing we can do to change it.

Wednesday, 3/20/2019 – The first day of Spring means back to the grind of selling our stuff!  For the first day back at it, we sold three larger items and made $105!  Apparently Facebook made some significant improvements to it’s Marketplace feature which has made it super quick and simple to sell things now.  OH!  And, I finally got my yearly Shamrock shake! 🙂

Thursday, 3/21/2019 – Goodbye, more stuff!

Friday, 3/22/2019 – I traded in my keys, radio, work cell phone and ID badge for a new role with a different agency, beginning Monday, 3/25/2019.  I’m officially UNEMPLOYED for the weekend and preparing start my new gig, as Chief Operating Officer.  And I thought I was going to play it cool and low key for the next year…HA!

Saturday, 3/23/2019 – Sunday, 3/24/2019 – House work.  All weekend.  But, on the bright side, no phone calls in the middle of the night!  We think we’ve finally purchased the last load of trim boards for the house.  HURRAY!  The dog spent the weekend trying to make new friends (who were completely uninterested in his existence) and snoring.

Monday, 3/25/2019 – In a rather stunning development, Josh got a phone call today, asking when we wanted to set up closing for the boat, with a suggested date of Wednesday, 3/27/2019.  Quite confused, Josh inquired about the status of the title abstract, as that’s what we were waiting on.  Apparently, the title abstract came back today, all clear.  So, onward to closing on Wednesday, 3/27/2019!  Just in time for my birthday!  P.S.  I started my new job today, too!  A job in which my new boss has been exceptionally clear that there are no emergencies.  Turning off the lights, locking the door and leaving for the day was a pretty surreal experience!

Tuesday, 3/26/2019 – After not receiving the information necessary in order to finalizing our boat insurance policy and wire the remaining deposit to the broker to be ready for closing tomorrow, Josh called the loan broker.  The loan broker informed Josh that the survey (which had been received by the loan broker’s office on 3/14/2019) was not being accepted by the underwriter.  Plain English – even though we were approved for the loan, the boat wasn’t approved for the loan.  And, we’re not closing on Wednesday, 3/27/2019.  What a rollercoaster of emotions! The loan broker indicated that she would go to another underwriter in order to secure financing, which she feels fairly confident about.  We should know about approval from the second underwriter by Wednesday morning, but, Josh has the loan broker’s number saved and will be reaching out before the close business if we don’t hear anything about a new closing date.  Going into this process and moving through the process, we knew that we would need to change our expectations associated with how and when things got accomplished.  We just didn’t know it would be this soon.

Wednesday, 3/27/2019 – I turned 34 today!  There’s nothing super exciting about turning 34, but, the good news is I’m one year closer to being eligible to run for President.  HAHA!  We celebrated my birthday at dinner with my mom and stepdad, topping the evening off with a slice of amazing peanut butter pie.  YUM!  Also important to mention, my super cool watch gave me a birthday cake for my birthday.  How thoughtful!

We also got an e-mail from our broker in the late evening, requesting our signatures in order to extend the closing date for our boat until Friday, 4/5/2019.  As anyone who knows me can imagine, that did not go over well.  Especially since we had already made arrangements with work, family and friends to move the boat on Friday, 4/5/2019.  Since Josh’s work has pretty much exploded the last few weeks, we decided that I would take the lead in wrapping up the boat closing.  Late in the evening, I reached out to our broker, our broker’s agency and our loan broker to motivate closing on our boat.  We desperately needed to have things in order so that we could spend the coming weekend on the boat to replace the essential safety gear we would need for our trip next weekend.  I really hoped that I wouldn’t have to yell at anyone…

Thursday, 3/28/2019 – Thursday was an absolute insane-o day!  I woke up to find that I had an e-mail from our loan broker, providing the final piece of information necessary for us to finalize our boat insurance and inquiring about our ability to have closing documents notarized whenever they might arrive.  I started making phone calls at 7am, with BoatUS / Geico to finalize the boat insurance.  It turns out that stepping through all the hoops with the insurance company was much more labor intense than I expected and required a significant amount of time, attention and telephone calls.  After a TON of back and forth with providing documents and action plans to remedy the issues mentioned in the survey, we finally secured the insurance policy, late in the afternoon.  Meanwhile, I had received the loan documents that had to be notarized, but, I just started a new job and was the only one in our office, so I couldn’t leave.  Thankfully, one of Josh’s coworkers was kind enough to be a traveling notary for us and helped us in an extreme pinch by coming to my office to notarize the documents.  After a trip to the FedEx store (to priority one-day ship the loan documents) and the UPS drop box (to ship the closing documents to our broker’s agency), the closing process was out of our hands and in the hands of the seller’s broker, the loan broker and our broker’s agency.  We crossed our fingers and desperately hoped that we’d be able to close on the boat before the weekend.

Friday, 3/29/2019 – We waited and waited and waited for the call from someone to tell us that we had closed on the boat.  By 4:15pm, the call had not come.  Despite my attempts at being patient, I caved and called our broker’s agency to see what was happening.  They informed me that the money was in the process of being wired and wouldn’t give me any idea of whether closing would be completed today or not.  Still hopeful, I reached out to our seller’s broker to let her know that we intended to come to Deltaville, VA this weekend if we closed today.  With it being so late in the day, it was a long shot, but I figured I might as well let her know, just in case the stars aligned and magic happened before the close of business (which is conveniently at least 6pm in boat buying and selling world).  I got home around 4:30pm and decided to try to keep my mind off closing, I’d busy myself with house chores.  At 5:01pm, my cell phone rang and it was our seller’s broker.  She said she was able to see the money that had been wired this afternoon, and, as far as she and the seller were concerned, everything was done and we were closed.  And, she said we were welcome to take possession of the boat today!  I immediately called Josh to tell him to get the hell home, called the dog’s kennel to make last-minute arrangements to drop him off and set to setting out the things that I had been squirreling away to take to the boat.  As soon as Josh got home, we loaded the truck, dropped off the dog and got on the road for the 5 hour drive to Deltaville to spend the weekend on our new-to-us boat!  We got to the marina shortly before midnight and after a considerable search (because I completely forgot to ask where in the marina the boat was), we found her and started the next chapter of our lives!

Saturday, 3/30/2019 – Sunday, 3/31/2019 – We spent the weekend in Deltaville, VA, aboard our new boat.  Much more to come about our first weekend aboard coming soon.  For now, just know that it was absolutely everything we hoped it would be!  What a fantastic way to wrap up my 34th birth month!