I’ve been wanting to do this drawing and accompanying quote since the first Fantastic Beasts movie came out. YEARS later and I’m finally getting to it. XD It was great for practicing shadows, my lines, and just getting used to all the tools on Rebelle 4.
I’ve really been enjoying my new digital art software, Rebelle 4 (updated since Rebelle 3), and have been practicing on it quite a bit. As I learn the software more, I’m actually starting to enjoy working in Rebelle vs Traditional Pen and Paper MORE (which came as a shock to me) because of all the amazing digital tools that make it easier to make mistakes and fix them quickly. 😉
Here are a few of the things I created while I was practicing with my new tools:
So I’m trying to ‘level up’ my art skills and I’ve been working on shadows and highlights, proportions and just other basic art fundamentals that I never took the time to learn. I have been watching SO MANY art YouTube videos. I can already see a big difference in my drawings. Here are a few things I’ve drawn this week as practice.
Our old home is finally up on Opendoor’s website! And it’s currently listed for $26,000 MORE than they paid us for it. And I don’t care! lol I’m out of that house and so happy with my new home and still very happy to have sold it to them at the price we did. In addition, just because they list it for that amount, doesn’t mean they’ll actually get it – it does seem overpriced for the area.
If you missed the first post about selling to Opendoor, GO HERE.
As far as the updates completed (or not) this is what I noticed from the limited pictures:
And that’s it! I am happy to close this chapter and go enjoy my new house – au revoir old house!
After years of using our old IKEA kitchen table as my desk (you served valiantly table), I finally have a new, real desk with drawers and my daughter gets the old table as her craft table. Here is a tour of my new desk (with only a small amount of clutter removed for pictures).
And that’s all folks! I love my new desk and am enjoying having drawers very much.
I’ve gone through quite a large paradigm shift during the pandemic – I no longer believe in a higher power or afterlife.
Time in the pandemic is strange and bendy, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was about four months after self-isolation began in mid-March 2020. I just turned to my husband and said “I think…I don’t believe in a higher power anymore.” It was not something I agonized over or researched extensively although I think I’ve been inching towards this conclusion for years now.
I’m not sure what caused the final push exactly but I would conjecture that the pandemic laid the truth of the situation out so clearly in front of me that I could no longer ignore it. I’ve never experienced something that was so completely out of my control and endangered my life and the lives of my loved ones on such an ongoing basis. Normally, if I’m in a situation that is dangerous, I’ll leave (I am aware of the privilege here). There is no leaving this pandemic; there is no ignoring it or pretending it will go away if I just live my life and ‘trust god’. The science is clear and unwavering on this.
I think many people, when faced with that lack of control, chose to lean towards their faith and belief in a higher power. For me, it was quite different – I leaned more towards science and released my belief in a higher power. And I would guess that the hordes of people blatantly ignoring the science during a pandemic to go on and endanger others while saying “god will protect us” probably contributed a bit to my choice.
At the same time, I also realized that I no longer believed in many of the pseudosciences I had previously advocated for and enthusiastically partaken in or even studied. When faced with Covid-19, these pseudosciences could do nothing and it was dangerous to think that an unproven herbal supplement would protect me.
These realizations were quite a monumental shift for me and it caused me great anxiety for about two months. Many of the tools that I had used to comfort myself emotionally were gone. I was raised Catholic and was quite devout in high school and early college, even going so far as to attend a Catholic university to study theology while simultaneously becoming a youth minister at my local church. There were even many months that I wondered if I was being ‘called’ to become a nun. Then I realized that the patriarchal and homophobic mentality of the Catholic Church no longer fit for me (the big pedophilia story hadn’t come out yet). So I spent the next many years drifting from one Pagan-esque, New Age idea to the next, even ignorantly dabbling in some cultural appropriation (I’m so sorry) but then eventually settling on the idea of the ‘Divine’ and ‘Energy’ and using tarot cards once in a while. This was my vague belief in the ‘divine’ until…one day, it wasn’t. After the two painful months of adjusting, it was actually incredibly freeing to release this belief that had comforted me over the years.
Then, to my surprise, I realized that, overall, I was actually LESS anxious. Releasing my belief in a higher power and pseudosciences had released an entire layer of worry and stress that I had been carrying around. No longer did I wonder: “Am I doing the ‘right’ thing?” “Is this fulfilling my life’s purpose?” “Is there a dark spirit in that closet or is it just drafty?” “Will holding onto this anger give me cancer?” “Am I on the right ‘path’?” “Should I be getting Reiki treatments?” “Are my dead grandparents’ spirits watching me when I have sex?” I had freed myself from imaginary monsters and ailments and could deal with the world as it was, real and present in front of me, with science by my side. Instead of trying to treat my seasonal allergies with herbs and honey (neither of which have been scientifically proven to help), I took cetirizine hydrochloride (as my doctor had suggested) and found out that I wasn’t actually tired all the time – it was just untreated allergies! And my sinus issues not only never developed into something more serious but went away because I was actually treating my allergies now. And I no longer see “sending healing energy” as a viable response to a crisis or a problem; scientifically proven action is now my go-to response.
So now I’m many months into being an atheist although I’ve only recently embraced the term, preferring agnostic until I was able to accept that I am in, in fact, an atheist. Atheists are a minority in the U.S. and so many people wonder how we find meaning in our lives without a higher power. The truth is, I make my own meaning and I am now free to choose how I want to live my life instead of adhering to what I think a higher power wants me to do. And I feel even MORE compelled to live my life to the fullest and effect positive change in this world. There is no longer this ‘afterlife’ that would allow me to continue living. THIS IS IT. There is no do over for me. There is no extra time with my family in a heavenly abode. There is no ‘more’ and there is no guarantee. Because I no longer believe a higher power is protecting me or my family, I know this life or theirs can be taken away from me at any moment. So I’m living it as best as I can and as fully as I can because I now see clearly that I only get this one shot and I’m sure as science not gonna waste one second of it.
Well, we are finally done selling a house, buying a new house and moving. What a freaking journey.
Now that it’s all behind us, I wanted to write about our experience because I didn’t see a lot of trustworthy reviews online and I thought it might be helpful if we shared our experience. In addition, I just want to make it clear that neither OpenDoor or its partners were aware that I was planning on writing a review so I received no special treatment or anything like that. This is a long post so for those who want the short story:
TL;DR: would I recommend it and would I do it again? I would recommend it for someone who was in a similar situation and yes, I would do it again if I were in these same circumstances. However, if you want to go the iBuyer route, you better be a detail-oriented person who can keep track of a lot of different things and you need to be willing to follow up with people, possibly multiple times.
Now onto the long story:
Our original plan was to sell with our realtor, as we did with our last home. Out of pure curiosity, my husband looked into Zillow Offers months before we were actually going to sell our home. At the same time, I was preparing to sell our home the traditional way with staging and upgrades. So I was in the process of painting all the kitchen cabinets white and packing up some of our things to make the home look less cluttered for staging. I also did quite a bit of work on the yard and we hired someone to replace the ugly linoleum floors in our bathroom with tiles. All of this was occurring from about October 2020-January 2021 (with quite a long break for Christmas).
Our original plan was to get the house on the market in early to mid-March so to say I was feeling the crunch would be an understatement. I was very stressed about all the work that needed to be done to get the house ‘showing ready’ but I was also worried about having to move to an AirBnB for a week as there is no way I could do showings while still living at home with a 5 year old, a 65 lb dog and two cats. In a pandemic nonetheless.
So towards the end of January, we had a home assessment from Zillow Offers scheduled. We had already received their initial offer (not including a repair deduction) and were fairly impressed, but we were certain we could do better with our realtor. Turns out, we were wrong. We thought it best to contact our realtor and see what he thought we could sell the house for (instead of just assuming) and I’m glad we did. His number on what we could sell the house for in it’s current condition (no more upgrades) was significantly less than Zillow’s offer. Even if Zillow came out to see our home and said that we needed over $13,000 in repairs (not likely), Zillow Offers would still have been the better option for us as compared to our realtor’s numbers.
This is how we calculated that: our realtor gave us numbers based on what upgrades we completed – the more money we put into the house, the higher the asking price. Whatever the final asking price was, we subtracted the money we would have to put in because that was going to come out of our pocket. Whereas, Zillow Offers was willing to give us a good price and I wouldn’t have to even finish painting the kitchen cabinets. And the good price was after their estimated fees, closing costs and repair deductions. The night we stayed up until midnight figuring all this out, I cried in relief that I wouldn’t have to get the house ‘show ready’ or do showings or paint another kitchen cabinet.
The following day was our Zillow Offers assessment and we were fairly confident that we were going to choose Zillow over going the traditional route. That morning, as we were getting ready for the day, I told my husband that it was probably a good idea if we look into a couple of other iBuyers, just to see. Almost as if shopping around for a good quote. So that very morning we set about getting offers from Opendoor as well as from Redfin Now. Every single iBuyer, including Zillow Offers, were exceptionally quick on their turnaround.
All in that same day, I had a video call with Opendoor to assess the home, a Zillow Offers representative who came and assessed the inside and outside of our home and I sent Redfin Now photos of the home. We found out later that it was good that it all happened in a small timespan – each iBuyer has different rules but their final offers are only good for so long, usually a few days.
The next day, day 2, Opendoor sent someone to inspect the outside of our home and left a lockbox for our key just in case we went with them.
On day 3, we received our final offers from both Redfin Now and Opendoor. We didn’t receive our final Zillow offer until 3 days later as it was a weekend. Redfin Now’s offer was significantly less than both Zillow Offers and our traditional route. Opendoor, however, was significantly MORE. In addition, Zillow Offers and Opendoor allowed us 60 days to find a new home whereas Redfin Now was only 30 days.
The numbers spoke for themselves: Opendoor was going to give us the most money overall and allowed us 60 days to find a new home. We signed the contract online and it was super easy. Up until this point, Opendoor had been very, hold-your-hand, user friendly. But there were some things in the contract that were not listed anywhere else on the website which was very different from how the offer process was. These are things that come with any home buying contract but are usually handled by your realtor. There is no realtor when selling directly to an iBuyer, so I had to take note of all the specifics in the contract and make sure I completed them. Things such as submitting a Survey of the property, a T-47 Affidavit, Seller’s disclosures, and the subdivision information (a large packet that runs a few hundred dollars). I quickly gathered these documents and submitted them to Opendoor as well as the local title company they were working with.
Now the race to find a new home was on and that opened a whole new can of worms. Thankfully, we had our amazing realtor team to guide us. They helped us buy our first home and then the next and we were so happy that they could help us do that again. I highly recommend them: The Guderyon Team.
So as it turns out, while we were selling and subsequently trying to buy a new home, there was extremely low inventory and it was a seller’s market. We looked at over 200 houses online and 40 houses in-person from February 1st to February 25th. We made 7 different offers, most of them at asking price or significantly above. FINALLY, on February 25th, our offer on a beautiful home was accepted. We were immensely relieved. Most closings take about 30 days so we knew that if we didn’t want to move out and into temporary housing after our 60 days were up, that we’d have to find a home by the end of February. This was one of the most intense and stressful parts of the whole process. And we did have to go above asking price.
So, now looking back on it and knowing the state of the current market, we probably could have gotten close to what Opendoor gave us for our home if we had gone the traditional route. But I would have definitely had to finish the cabinets and do showings and staging and deep cleaning, so Opendoor was still the best route for us. One small note: many of the homes we looked at did not include fridge/washer/dryer for some reason. We contacted Opendoor about that and we were not able to keep our appliances so if you want to keep your appliances, that would be something to bring up with your Experience Partner before you sign the contract.
So, we’ve finally got a house. We contact Opendoor and let them know. Thankfully our ‘Experience Partner’ aka our point of contact with Opendoor was very responsive to our requests for a callback and questions. He had told us countless times during the offer process that the closing date was flexible and that they also had a “Late Checkout” program that would allow us to stay in our home up to 14 days after closing. So we moved our closing date up to allow for at least 3 days before the closing of our new home (to insure we had the funds even though it only takes one business day for Opendoor to transfer the funds). We also went onto our Opendoor account to request about 7 days of “Late Checkout” to allow for our closing of the new home and moving. Turns out, late checkout is NOT the same as a leaseback which often happens on the traditional selling route which is where you essentially ‘rent’ the home back from the new owner for a few days – the cost is equivalent to what the home would be rented for but prorated. That was what we were expecting. That is NOT what Opendoor’s ‘Late Checkout’ offer is – ‘Late Checkout’ is more like staying in your home instead of a hotel. It costs anywhere from $100-$400 PER NIGHT. In addition, Opendoor was going to hold $2,000 from our home sale as a ‘security deposit’ until we completed checkout, and then it would be returned to us. This was a twist and surprise we were not prepared for but we accepted it and promised to look more closely at any future situations like this. If there is any ‘debris’ or extra belongings left behind, there could be delay or a deduction in the return of our security deposit. It is not made clear what exactly constitutes debris.
Two weeks before our scheduled closing date with Opendoor, we had not been contacted by Opendoor or their local title company. No details about time or place or what to bring. So I reached out via email to the local title company while CCing our Opendoor experience partner – no response. 4 business days later, I sent another email – again, no response. The following day, our Opendoor experience partner reached out to see if we have been contacted by the local title office about closing and I informed him that we hadn’t and he said he will stay on top of it.
2 business days later, I received an email from the title office with Preclose documents but still no information about closing. In that email though is a name and accompanying email address for the person who would be handling our closing. I emailed her directly for information and she responded fairly quickly that her assistant would be reaching out. A day or two later, the assistant reaches out but not to me – she only emails my husband who is working full-time from home; I am the one handling most of this. This email exchange happens quite a few times where I email and they respond only to my husband despite us asking for emails to be sent to me or at least have me CCed on them.
So far, it was seeming, that if you want to go the iBuyer route, you better be the kind of person who is willing to follow up. And that continued to prove true – the day before our scheduled closing, I STILL don’t have a time for our closing. I had been emailing the assistant about multiple times.
At the same time, I was discussing with my Opendoor experience partner about what we can or cannot leave behind. We had extra flooring that matched the main floors and the new tile. We also had the paint that matches the exterior of the home and extra garden bricks that matched the current landscaping. Unfortunately, Opendoor did not want us to leave any of this which didn’t make sense to me but whatever. So I gathered all the garden bricks and listed them for free on Nextdoor and they were picked up. Opendoor also said we must maintain the yard while we are at our home but it is unclear what that means – did I need to trim the trees? It was the season for trimming the roses. Or did we need to just mow the grass and edge? None of this was made clear and I was anxious that we would lose our security deposit. There are so many horror stories online of someone trying to sell to an iBuyer and the many good reviews are on the iBuyer website so I was wary of trusting them. Or the review was on a realtor website which I didn’t trust either.
So we finally got a time for our closing and when we arrived, the office staff was very nice and friendly. Turns out, it used to be a one woman operation – and then she got a ton of new clients and was staying at the office until midnight and then was back there again at 5am the next morning. She was able to hire one person (the assistant I was emailing) and was in the process of hiring more people, but she was absolutely swamped. The signing of the closing documents went off without a hitch and then we just had to wait for the funds to be released to us.
Our Opendoor experience partner said that he had only seen it happen once where the funds weren’t released within 24 hours of closing. Well, now he can say twice. The 24 hour mark came and went. There was much emailing that occurred. The next morning, we finally received the funds. THANKFULLY, we did not trust that we would receive the funds within 24 hours and scheduled our two closings (one for selling to Opendoor and one for buying our new home) with a 2 day gap. So we closed on the sale of our old home on a Tuesday and closed on the purchase of our new home on a Friday.
Then came moving day! We moved out and were EXHAUSTED so I went back and cleaned and did digital checkout the following day. Thankfully, we had allocated 2 days for ‘moving’ just in case something happened, and I’m glad we did. Having an extra day added $115 to our late checkout fees, but it was worth it. ALSO, important to note if you go the late checkout route, that you DON’T have until midnight to vacate the home – you only have until 5pm. So if you plan on moving, cleaning, and taking pictures for digital checkout all on the same day, you better get started early because 5pm comes up quickly. Thankfully, I cleaned it, took pictures and was out of there before lunch.
And again, there were no clear instructions on what level of ‘clean’ they wanted – it just said that I didn’t need to do a deep clean, broom swept was fine. So, being the overly cautious person that I am, I probably did more than they required but, in the end, we did receive our $2000 security deposit back. Again, actually receiving the funds took much longer than our Opendoor experience partner said it would, because the funds had to be released from the title company aka the office that was just absolutely swamped.
So, would I recommend it and would I do it again? I would recommend it for someone who was in a similar situation and yes, I would do it again if I were in these same circumstances. Could I have gotten more if I had listed it with my real estate agent because the market at the time was an insane seller’s market? Probably, but I also would have had to finish re-painting the kitchen cabinets, repaint all the walls, landscaping, etc and also do staging with a dog, two cats and a 5 year old. No thanks, I’ll pass.
P.S. I know this post isn’t about buying our new home, but I have to say that Josh and Thalia of the Guderyon Team are absolutely amazing. They were with us every step of the way, went above and beyond and really watched out for us and helped us to get an amazing new home at an amazing price. This is not a sponsored post or anything, they are just really awesome.
P.P.S. Keep an eye out for an UPDATES post to see what Opendoor did to our home after we sold it and for how much more they listed it for. Currently, it’s an ‘exclusive listing’ only on Opendoor for $11,000 more than they bought it for. No pictures yet.
More sketching in Rebelle 3! 🙂 This is my little fox friend who is very happy.
Also, in case you don’t already have the song stuck in your head, you’re welcome. 😉
So this is a somewhat different Sketchbook Snapshot. It’s a digital sketch made with my new digital art tools! 🙂
I tried some new things and I think I’m really starting to get the hang of Rebelle 3 and my graphics drawing tablet. Exciting!
I’ve decided to make watercolor Christmas tags this year. Most of the time for watercolor, I sketch in pencil, go over it in ink and then watercolor over that. For these, I was a little more spontaneous and just went straight for it with the watercolor. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. 🙂
Happy Holidays to you and yours. <3