PlanetHolt.com

Welcome to 2011! The month of December was pretty crazy, but I’m happy 2011 is here now. I had a great holiday break, but I’ve started my new position at Deere and recently found out that the offer I put in on a house was accepted.

So first, I am buying a new house as part of my previously-announced relocation to the Des Moines area. I found a house in Johnston, Iowa, that met all my criteria. It’s a new construction, finished shortly before I started looking, which will be a new experience for me.

Since I was house hunting from out of town, I decided to record walk-through videos as I viewed houses with my realtor—mainly to help me remember the details. I think the first day we saw something like fifteen houses, which is way too many to keep straight. As a side benefit, I’ve been able to use the videos to show family and friends prior to putting in the offer, to get feedback from them, and now I can show it to you! The house was a model home for the neighborhood, so the video shows the model furniture, but it will be bare when I take possession.

After about a month of searching, I finally found a house in Bettendorf! After viewing it with my realtor, and again a second time with Mom and Dad (My informal house inspectors… :-)), I made an offer Wednesday, which was accepted that evening.

(More pictures are available in the gallery…)

Today was Freshman Housing Day! This is a big tradition at Harvard, when the freshman find out what House they will belong to for the next three years.

The process begins in early March, when freshmen register their “blocking” and “linking” groups. Basically, you’re allowed to form a group of up to eight people that will all be placed in the same House. Then, you are allowed to “link” with another group of eight, and although you won’t be in the same House, you will be in the same neighborhood.