Meet the Neighbors...

So first off we have an "official" closing date of Wednesday, and I went over to the Loan office today to sign all of the myriad of paperwork. Being as California is so sue happy, there are a lot of disclosures and acknowledgments that make your head spin. One of my past jobs was at a mortgage company, so I actually was familiar with most of the stuff.
After we finished up there, we went up to the house to check out a few things I had forgotten to look at prior. The electrical service was upgraded at some point recently, so I wanted to see if it is big enough to handle a 220 circuit for our dryer, or if I was going to need to buy a gas one. Luckily, its fine. We also did a little digging in the back yard and found what appears to be the remains of a detached wash house. there is a bent water pipe sticking out of the ground and a sewer line, and some bricks an concrete chunks. I will have to go down to the Historical Society an see if there are any insurance maps from the teen and twenties to determine what was where, as those maps would show the locations of outbuildings. it will also answer the question of when the original garage was built - it is now a crumbling foundation thats ready to fall over.
As we were finishing up, we ran into the neighbors in the house behind, and they were so nice and welcoming, and thrilled to hear we were going to be fixing up the house. We chatted for almost and hour, and I am really looking forward to having them next door. It makes me want to get the exterior fixed up quickly, as there house is so nicely kept. They also gave us the background of the previous occupants, who in their words, were a little odd - an older couple who had been there for many years who towards the end had their adult children move in with them, and the house was filled to the rafters with papers and trash. It also turns out the broken windows had been missing for quite some time. After the bank took over, they had to clear out the house with shovels - and I thought it was bad empty! After we talked to them, we snagged a piece of glass putty to take to Home Depot to get a paint match. I am pre-painting all of the replacement window trim ahead of time, so the glass replacement will go faster.