And finally... the walkthrough

In what seemed like a surreal event after months of delays and waiting- Friday afternoon we were able to walk through our completed apartment at 5th Street Lofts in Long Island City, Queens. Our brand spanking new 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment is finally complete and we examined every inch of it with a representative from the builder (Toll Brothers)- looking for scratches in the floor boards, lose door knobs, wobbly towel racks, holes in window screens, any paint touch-ups needed and working appliances. We're especially looking forward to the washer/dryer and the dishwasher. He was much more meticulous than we were and cited things on our punch list that we didn't think to ask for - like replacing all the wooden floor boards in the kitchen because they were scratched when they put in the big appliances (it was hardly noticeable if you ask me - but hey - knock yourself out), to replacing the window knobs if they were too tight to turn. It was a relief to have someone go through the apartment so meticulously and agree to replace or fix things without even having to ask. A good ending to an arduous process.

Brian was really intent on testing the shower since our current shower leaves a lot to be desired and managed to test it first hand, fully clothed when the shower head which was pointed outwards nailed him when he turned the faucet. The Toll brothers guy commiserated and said that he had done that many times during walk throughs. We have another walk through sometime next week and then a last inspection the morning of our closing scheduled for July 29th! 7 Months late but finally happening.

The mortgage situation is another headache that took a while to straighten out as the economy and mortgage banks in particular are in a downward spiral - somehow we managed to get lucky and lock in a good rate. We decided to wait until after the offspring is born before we move, too hectic to try to do it in August, so we'll move sometime in September. We're in pretty good shape otherwise for her arrival, and one of us in particular really looking forward to her inhabiting her own body.... 34 weeks and counting (the size of a cantalope).