The House Hunters Thread

[NewEnglandLady]

Audball, I''m so sorry to hear that it didn''t end up working out, BUT I really think that in a year or two, you are going to think this was a blessing in disguise. When you''ve invested emotionally in a house, it''s hard to let it go, but I think in this situation you realize it''s the best thing for both of you. Now S can get his instrument rating and you guys can just focus on saving!

I think it''s a great idea for you to ask if you can have a little leeway on your 60-day notice. 58 days is still a very long notice and it would give you the weekend. I''m bummed that the townhouse you saw this afternoon won''t work, that seemed like the perfect setup. Great size, fenced area, MUCH cheaper. If you can find condos or townhouses aroud you for half the price, I''d rent that in a heartbeat. In my opinion, renting something not-so-great for half the price of renting something nice is a no-brainer. Renting is smart when you''re trying to save, but only if it allows you to save!

Please keep us updated on what you find this weekend! I really think this is going to work out well for you, even if buying a house doesn''t happen as quickly as you would have liked! You guys are being smart!

---------------------------------------------

We found out this weekend that the appraisal was done, so I''ll be getting the report next week. Also, our closing was pushed back from 6/23 to 6/25. 6/25 is a Friday, so that''s fine with me, but it is the last friday before the tax credit expires so I''m worried about our loan getting stuck in underwriting. I''m going to push this process along so that doesn''t happen...

 

[audball]

Date: 4/30/2010 11:31:58 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Audball, I''m so sorry to hear that it didn''t end up working out, BUT I really think that in a year or two, you are going to think this was a blessing in disguise. When you''ve invested emotionally in a house, it''s hard to let it go, but I think in this situation you realize it''s the best thing for both of you. Now S can get his instrument rating and you guys can just focus on saving!


I think it''s a great idea for you to ask if you can have a little leeway on your 60-day notice. 58 days is still a very long notice and it would give you the weekend. I''m bummed that the townhouse you saw this afternoon won''t work, that seemed like the perfect setup. Great size, fenced area, MUCH cheaper. If you can find condos or townhouses aroud you for half the price, I''d rent that in a heartbeat. In my opinion, renting something not-so-great for half the price of renting something nice is a no-brainer. Renting is smart when you''re trying to save, but only if it allows you to save!


Please keep us updated on what you find this weekend! I really think this is going to work out well for you, even if buying a house doesn''t happen as quickly as you would have liked! You guys are being smart!


---------------------------------------------


We found out this weekend that the appraisal was done, so I''ll be getting the report next week. Also, our closing was pushed back from 6/23 to 6/25. 6/25 is a Friday, so that''s fine with me, but it is the last friday before the tax credit expires so I''m worried about our loan getting stuck in underwriting. I''m going to push this process along so that doesn''t happen...

Thanks NEL. I also agree that down the road this is going to feel like a blessing, and so far, we''re doing okay. S was able to get his hours prepaid this morning and the leasing office approved a 3 day grace period so we have until close of business Wednesday. I''ve found 6 places our realtor is going to take us to see that are about $500/mo cheaper than our current place. I hope one of them will work out. Keep us in your thoughts, we need some positive dust!

Glad to hear your appraisal was complete. I hope the report comes back with no major issues. This is our second deal killed by the appraisal so I hope yours is a happier outcome! June 25 is pushing the limit...I really hope your UWs stay on top of things. I''d be on the phone everyday asking for a status update with that kind of small window of error...GL!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

NEL: Sending you dust that the rest of the process goes smoothly and comes out on time! I agree with Audball definitely stay on top of them.

Audball: I am sorry things did not work out in the end..but I am glad you got the extension and have some rental prospects. Sending you dust for finding the perfect place for y''all and saving a bit of cash!! That''s /always/ good!

Well we scheduled our final walkthrough for the day of closing because I just don''t really have time before. That makes me a bit nervous, but it''ll be okay I guess. I have NOT started packing. I have a feeling that week before moving is not going to be relaxing. Oh well.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Arg, mortgage hunting is such a pain. I''m so glad DH is handling it! Haha. Anyways, he decided that we''re switching lenders to get a better rate, and when he told our current lenders they told him he would be out of the money for the appraisal. DH said ok, and then asked for the appraisal...to which the lender went "Oh we can''t since you decided not to use us after all", DH insisted on a receipt and they went "Uh,...we''ll send it to you in a few days when we get in touch with our appraiser".

Uh huh...surrre... I''m pretty positive they haven''t done the appraisal, and are going to do it now and then charge us for it so that they can get paid for that and try to use it to persuade us to stay. Sooo shady!

 

[ts44]

Date: 5/2/2010 9:11:51 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Arg, mortgage hunting is such a pain. I''m so glad DH is handling it! Haha. Anyways, he decided that we''re switching lenders to get a better rate, and when he told our current lenders they told him he would be out of the money for the appraisal. DH said ok, and then asked for the appraisal...to which the lender went ''Oh we can''t since you decided not to use us after all'', DH insisted on a receipt and they went ''Uh,...we''ll send it to you in a few days when we get in touch with our appraiser''.


Uh huh...surrre... I''m pretty positive they haven''t done the appraisal, and are going to do it now and then charge us for it so that they can get paid for that and try to use it to persuade us to stay. Sooo shady!

I think you''re right MTG! He should put his foot down and say if you cannot show me proof the appraisal has been done, immediately, then we will certainly not be paying for you to perform one after the fact!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

MTG, how long ago did you send the check for the appraisal?? It's blatently obvious they haven't done the appraisal yet. I would double check with the sellers' agent, though, he/she would be the first to know if it's been done since they call the sellers' agent first.

So our appraisal came in $100K OVER what we are paying. This house isn't a short sale or foreclosure, the sellers just have to sell it because they are getting divorced.

We still have to sign the addendums to the P&S, however D and I are down in Virginia for the next couple of days (our dog is in surgery right now--I'm a bit of a nervous wreck).

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Good luck to B this week NEL!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Okay friends I am really freaking out..we just got the amount for our closing check and it''s somewhere from $600-800 more than what we were told in our good faith estimate. How is this possible?! We were told it would no more than like $200 off. I called the Loan Officer and she is trying to figure it out. I need dust..we honestly didn''t plan for $800 extra.

 

[rhbgirl24]

Audball: I am sorry you are having to go through all this! HUGS!

As for us, our closing went waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay smooth. In and out in 1.5 hours. We''re all moved in, jst got internet up and running. Now just have to unpack some of the miles of boxes.

Good luck to everyone hunting/closing/waiting or otherwise!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Update: Apparently tons of little things were off that did in fact add up to $800. Part of that being that our house appraised for more than the sale price so the good faith estimate was wrong in that regard. NEL you might want to check on that since you got such an awesome appraisal! The good news is they split the difference with us, so we're back in our comfort zone. Phew. This is emotionally EXHAUSTING. I am going to go relax, eat dinner, then study some more for my next final. Closing is tomorrow at 3:00.

ETA: RHB glad your closing went well and you're moved in!!! Happy unpacking!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Thank you, HH! He''s being a trooper. I think there are very few times in my life where I''ve felt THIS drained. Between the house, the dogs, and how demanding my job is right now I have absolutely nothing left.

rhb, I am so glad your closing went that smoothly!! That is fantastic! And I''m so jealous you are all moved in!!

SarahlovesJS, thank you for the heads up about the closing costs!! I''ll ask our mortgage broker about that! And I''m so sorry to hear about the increased closing costs, but I am very glad they split the difference with you! Good luck with your closing today!!!

 

[rhbgirl24]

Sarah- Good luck at the closing!!!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Thank you everyone! Closing went really smooth, we''re officially home owners!

I did not think this day would come any time soon to be honest, so I am still kind of shocked and happy at the same time. It is pretty emotionally exhausting even though it''s good stress, it reminds me a lot of our wedding just with less time to plan, haha. Anyway good luck to everyone!! Next on the plate for us is packing, moving May 15, then picking up our puppy June 12.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Congrats on the smooth closing SJ!

Well, we''re still having issues switching lenders, but I think we have a rate of 5% locked in with the company we''re switching to. If only the first company would just let us leave! Yeesh.

If all goes well, we close the 27th, so excited!!

 

[ts44]

Good luck to all those closing this month! I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

SarahlovesJS, good luck with the move this weekend!! Are you packing like a mad woman?

Makingthegrade, were you able to switch lenders? You close in just a couple of weeks, so exciting!

Things are relatively quiet here, which makes me worried something might be slipping through the cracks. Our loan is in underwriting now. We ended up not locking in our rate a couple of weeks ago and now I'm glad. We'll be in the 45-day window this week and currently rates are 5.25% (as opposed to the 5.375% we would have locked in). Fingers crossed that rates stay put so we can lock in this week.

I started shopping for homeowners insurance this morning and it's a bit more involved than I thought. Apparently owning an antique throws a monkey wrench in the process since they technically can't "replace" the materials if anything were to happen since it would be so expensive. I'm not worried about it--people insure antiques all the time here, it's just going to take a little longer than I expected.

I promised myself I wouldn't start obsessing about decorating. I'm not even a "decorator" type, but I think I'm having a serious nesting episode. I've spent the past 2 hours looking at antique persian rugs online for the dining area. And I'm obsessing over these platinum-colored silk curtains for the bedroom because I have this image in my head of doing the room in greys. I would actually buy them, but the MB has 5 double windows, so that is a lot of money to spend on window treatments for a room I've seen a handful of times. I guarantee that by the time we move next month I will have bought either a rug or the curtains...most likely both. Six more weeks of obsessing...

We notified our landlord last week that next month would be our last in the house. She was excited for us and is going to start showing the house to new potential tenants. This is actually a good thing because I'm hoping it will motivate D to start organizing his crap. I try to do one small organization project every weekend to help with the move. Soon I need to actually start packing.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Good luck to MTG and NEL!!

I am really overwhelmed with packing. I find myself sitting there staring at the massive amounts of stuff we have trying to sort through it and figure out where to put it. Ugh.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Hehe, luckily I''m moving from a condo so I don''t have too much to pack!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

SarahlovesJS, how did the move go??

MTG, you close in a week! Woohoo! Were you able to switch lenders?

For the past month I have been going through all of my closets/drawers/etc. in order to clean out any "junk", but last weekend was the first packing weekend. I got everything off the walls and now it feels very bare. I''m a meticulous packer--I dust/windex/wash everything before it goes into the box, so it takes me FOREVER to pack. This weekend I''m tackling the guest bedroom, all winter clothing and the office (mostly books). We still have over a month, but we''re going to Hawaii next week, so I only have 4 weekends left to get everything packed.

The loan should be out of underwriting today or Monday. We locked in the rate yesterday (5.125%, much better than the 5.375% I was going to lock in a few weeks ago!)--our mortgage broker told us it''s unfortunate that we''re still a month away from closing because everything is set to go now. We hammered out the homeowners insurance, so the only thing left for me to do is call the utility companies (and finish packing, of course!)

This thread has been very quiet! Are we the only ones buying homes right now?

 

[Steel]

DH and I moved in this week. It is great to have sooooo much space & hot water & heating.

Congrats to all the other home-owners.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I"m closing next week!! And yes, we were able to switch lenders, yay!

I guess the house hunting has been quiet for awhile for many people, maybe because the incentive ended?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

WE CLOSED TODAY!!! Everything went smooth

Well...almost nothing. DH was supposed to have the day off with me so the two of us could celebrate. It took a lot of hassle for me to get the day off, and DH and I were supposed to go out to celebrate after we closed and spend the day together. But DH"s company scheduled interviews that he has to be at so he had to go back to the office. So I''m spending my day off celebrating the house closing on my own.

Sniffle..

Still, yay house!

 

[ts44]

Well I''ve been holding off on posting here because of the transition, but the transition has been taking too long so I''ll just say CONGRATS MTG! That''s great news!

We have decided to put a bid on a house so we''re gathering our data and financials and putting a package together. Trying not to get emotionally invested in it but it''s a beautiful place and I hope it works out!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I''ve been on vacatoin (technically I still am if sitting in an airport counts), but just wanted to say congrats MTG!!! How did the move go??

Good luck with the offer, ts44, let us know how it goes!

 

[ts44]

Here''s a twist. We were doing research on the house we like and discovered that there is a lien on the property for just about 90% of the asking price. I don''t know a lot about liens but I know they have to clear before the property can transfer, correct?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

ts44, are you already working with a real estate attorney? If not, I would probably start looking for one. This is definitely a job for him/her.

Do you know what kind of lien it is? A mortgage lien? Line of credit lien? I am not positive, but I think it might affect your options.

The bottom lines is that the lien has to be paid off before you can buy the home, so the seller needs to come up with the cash. I think there is an option out there where the lender can agree to take a lesser amount for the home and help to pay off the lien, but I think it would be very hard to find a lender who would be willing to do that.

If I were you, I would start interviewing real estate attorneys. You willl need one to review your purchase and sales, anyway, so maybe you already have one. Then I would have him dig deeper into the title and the situation to find out more about the lien and I guess I would either have him contact the sellers or even your broker contact the sellers to find out what they plan to do with the lien. I'm assuming they're planning to pay if off or it would be pointless for them to have their home on the market. Good luck!

ETA: Since the lien is 90% of the asking price, it sounds like this is just their mortgage...

 

[laine]

Date: 6/4/2010 12:09:13 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
If I were you, I would start interviewing real estate attorneys. You willl need one to review your purchase and sales, anyway, so maybe you already have one...

Not to say you shouldn''t have a real estate attorney, but I think some of these specifics may vary by state. I''ve bought a house in two states, and never signed a purchase and sales (at least not by that name). In both cases, the formal offer written up by the real estate agent (using a form) became our sales agreement once we all signed it. I never signed or reviewed any other document until closing when we did all the closing paperwork. There was an attorney involved there, but it was just the one the real estate agent recommended, not really "my" attorney.

 

[ts44]

Date: 6/4/2010 1:29:26 PM
Author: laine

Date: 6/4/2010 12:09:13 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
If I were you, I would start interviewing real estate attorneys. You willl need one to review your purchase and sales, anyway, so maybe you already have one...

Not to say you shouldn''t have a real estate attorney, but I think some of these specifics may vary by state. I''ve bought a house in two states, and never signed a purchase and sales (at least not by that name). In both cases, the formal offer written up by the real estate agent (using a form) became our sales agreement once we all signed it. I never signed or reviewed any other document until closing when we did all the closing paperwork. There was an attorney involved there, but it was just the one the real estate agent recommended, not really ''my'' attorney.

Thanks NEL! - fortunately my dear pappy is a real estate attorney and we''re running everything through him, and he said the same thing as you, it''s probably their mortgage. Our agent is going to find out more info about it but he said right now it''s not concerning to him. We looked up the current owner''s previous residence - 900k home in a real tony neighborhood! Needless to say, the house they''re currently occupying doesn''t even remotely approach that sort of price range, so I wonder if they downsized due to the economy.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

ts44, how fantastic that you have a RE attorney in the family! At this point I wouldn''t be concerned, either. If it was another type of lien it might be an issue, but if it''s just a mortgage, then nothing to worry about!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Did you end up submitting an offer, ts44??