Archive for the ‘The Offer’ Category

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The House with the View


2010
04.05

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Posted in Buying a Home, Contract, Mold, The Offer | No Comments »

Day 2 - Out for blood!

 

Push back. Yeah, that’s what I’m calling it. Let’s see, so much going on, how to jump in… Home inspections.

 

Well, there wasn’t anything major, a few things that needed to be fixed, circa 1970 washing machine that leaks, sump pump that doesn’t work, a baffle that won’t close on the septic system, a skylight that was installed incorrectly, a shower faucet that you can’t turn, a slight mold problem (we all know how I feel about that one), some radon, old termite damage, etc.

 

After a few back and forths with the seller we decided to ask for the health issues to be addressed. Radon, mold, sump pump (if that fails, well… leads to more mold). We waited, no response… and we waited, still nothing. And we waited, the required 5 days. Turns out they have elected not to respond.

 

The sellers, we now know, are elderly. In their 80’s to be exact. And have recently entered an assisted living facility. These people have been the only owners of the house which was built in the 1970’s. So, needless to say… They are just a bit attached. Old sweater syndrome kicking in.

 

What is old sweater syndrome… Well, you give your friend a sweater you no longer like or need, you see it on them and immediately want it back.

 

The sellers think that they got ripped off on the purchase price. Well then, I ask you… Why did they accept our offer? In their minds, it should have sold for more and now they are refusing to budge. Hmmm. I’d like to see them get more for the house once it sits on the market a few more months with radon and mold issues, which they now must disclose. How much do you think people will offer for a totally peach house with spores partying with radon gas? Anyway, they weren’t budging, not even in writing and our deadline was here. Today we have to decide if we want to go forward with them not concedeing to anything, or find the contract null and void and walk away.

 

Well, my friends, I thought about it long and hard. Even slept on it. Skipped doing my morning exercises to do some research and here is what I have concluded. First of all, there is no law stipulating that a seller must fix a radon issue. Quite frankly, I think there should be. Also, it looks like if we walk today we should be able to get our deposit back. We have, however, forked over around $1,300 in inspection costs, which we will have to do again on another house. Locked-in on an interest rate that seems to be rising by the minute. Spent countless hours with Roxie marching around town seeing what’s for sale. And quite frankly there isn’t much out there that compares this house. Actually, if the sellers would watch some of the shows on HGTV they would see, some fresh paint (not peachy) and a few minor updates they probably would have gotten another $40,000 for the house. So, my conclusion, We’re going forward… with the tricks I have in my back pocket.

 

The contract… ahh, The Contract (yes, read this one too, three times.) Here are my favorite “legally binding” highlights:

 

#21 (on my contract) “Condition of Property and Possession” which states the following:

 

“All electrical, heating, air conditioning, plumbing (including well and septic), and any other mechanical systems and related equipment, appliances, and smoke detector(s) included in this Contract shall be in working condition.”

 

Oooo, that covers the broken washing machine, the master bedroom shower handle that doesn’t turn and the sump pump, which happens to be a “plumbing” issue.

 

Also, #18 “Wood Destroying Insect Inspection”:

 

“If there is evidence of present infestation as described above, or if damage caused by present or prior infestation is discovered, Seller, at Seller’s expense, shall repair any damage caused by present or prior infestation and have the present infestation treated by a licensed pest control company.”

 

Ok, we’ll have that “prior infestation” fixed too. Thank you very much.

 

I know you think I’m being a bit of a sore loser here and kinda mean toward the old people. I’m sorry your old. I’m sorry I’m 40, I’m sorry it’s my turn to get a better break. You see, early on we agreed to play nice and pay for the heating oil that was left in the tank and according to the contract… we didn’t have to. Wouldn’t you think they would be kind in return and fix the health issues of the house, that’s all we ever really wanted. I do have cute children who would be inhaling poisonous gas and I would like them to grow as old as you are.

 

So, if I have to fork out more money for remediation, well — I’m going to get my just desserts.

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The Art of Negotiation


2010
03.15

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Posted in Buying a Home, Counter Offer, The Offer | No Comments »

Day 77 - Two weeks to go! Wow! That’s soon!

 

As you know we put an offer in on “the-house-with-the-view”…

 

Our overall objective in this battle of life’s financial snags was to start over in a new house on a economic scale that would allow us to actually save money and maybe be able to someday send our children to college. We feel this is important so they could grow up, get good jobs and when we are old, support their parents. During the house hunting process, our mission was not to find the most fabulous house no matter the cost… we did that last time, but simply to keep our mortgage payment under a certain amount each month. This, my friends in the state of Maryland, in the areas we want to live in, is not an easy thing to accomplish! But it was our goal, and damn it… we feel we deserve it and we were going to achieve it. My husband and I have been screwed over more times lately than most people we know. We think it’s because we are just too nice. Well, we are sick of being nice! We have decided to start being mean! We have pledged to say “NO” more often, fight a bit harder for what we feel is right, and take this world by storm! It’s time things took a turn for the better. Our plan now was to lowball a bunch of offers around town til we got what we wanted.

 

So, “the-house-with-the-view” was listed at, not using real numbers here, so lets just say for argument’s sake… $479,000, and it really needed a loving touch and bit of updating. First of all, the entire house was peach, with the exception of the exterior which was baby shit brown. It need a new kitchen, new bathrooms, and it has never seen an inch of hardwood in it’s life. But it has good bones, a great blank canvas I must say, and of course that view. We offered $419. The comps in the area went both ways. Some were more, some less, depending on the house. We were kind of expecting a counter of about $449, because these people were motivated. We were utterly shocked when the counter came back at $469. What kind of motivation is that? “Just make an offer,” was what their agent had said to ours… So what do we do now?.. This was not the plan I had concocted in my head. AARRGHH! Animosity mounting.

 

We thought about it long and hard and decided… Screw this whole real estate game! I’m not in the mood to play! Games went out of style in my 20’s. I’m now a down to business, just tell me what’s what, 40 year old. So let’s just tell them our final offer… so we did. We told them $430. This number would allow us to keep our mortgage under a certain amount and allow for some minor improvements. Roxie told their agent that was all we could do and it was our final offer. Take it, or leave it. We actually expected them to just say NO. I started scanning the internet for our next conquest. That night we received a phone call from Roxie. She said they had countered again, even though she was clear that it was our final offer. They countered at $450. What seriously! We were convinced it was over and done. There was no way we could keep our monthly bills down with a $450 purchase price. We were considering moving on!

 

We thought about it a while, made some drinks and tried to contemplate different ways to make this happen. I really wasn’t looking forward to spending time looking at more houses. Were they concerned with the property values of the neighborhood? Was that it? Maybe we should say $440 and have them pay closing costs, which would bring us back, in actuality to $430. Our creative juices were flowing.

 

As we were weighing our options, my brother came through the door. We sat down, talked about his new job, his wife, daughter and the daughter he was expecting. Talked a bit of politics regarding the guy my mother single handedly got elected to congress who was now resigning. Then finally, about our house hunting prospects. He joined us in our drunken state as we filled him in. He then told us about my brother-in-law who when buying his current house, which was a foreclosure, went through the same thing… and how he stood his ground with the bank. “I told you… This was all I could afford, quit playing games, accept it or just don’t call me back.” Wow! You know what! He’s right. Screw this! We told them our final was $430, well… our final it shall be! If they don’t take it, and I’m sure they won’t we’ll drag Roxie to another 20 houses, we are getting what we want no matter how long it takes! Stick’n to our Guns!

 

So, we told Roxie $430 was our final and we weren’t budging. Not 30 minutes later she emailed and said “Their agent wants to know if you’ll take $435.”

 

What!?! Really!!!! Whoo, hoo! That’s fantastic!. You see what no one knew, not even Roxie was that $435 was always our top number! Kept that one in the vault. I was flabbergasted! Are you serious? That really worked? You’ve got to be kidding me…

 

Well, we asked for one more day to think about it and take another walk around the house. This time with the in-laws and our contractor, to see if he can pull us out of the peach grove with the budgeted amount of cash. So, we just resubmitted the papers for an offer of $435. Which was what we wanted all along. :) We feel we are getting a great deal for the house and it’s property. And my friends… once I’m done with it, it’s going to be fabulous! Overall, a great investment. High fivin’ myself right now! Slight right turn towards Deservingville up ahead!

 

As we were taking our final pre-purchase tour of the house, my husband filled Roxie in on our little secret of what our final price actually was. Damn him! Can’t keep a secret! Did we loose a little trust in our friend Roxie? Hope not… Hope she just thought us clever, and liked us just a little bit more! Especially because she won’t have to loose her shoes in the snow anymore at mold ridden homes. Now let’s just hope these people sign on the dotted line and not rethink things… That would suck.

 

And I have to say thanks to my brother for sharing, and my brother in-law for sticking to his paintball guns! :)

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Still Waiting


2010
02.17

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Posted in Home Inspection, The Offer | 1 Comment »

Day 51 - 40 to go.

 

Still Waiting… double entendre intended! I feel like this house, the process, the weather, my physicality is just plain lifeless. I’m stuck in a blah blob milieu.

 

The Home Inspection process is turning out to be a long one. The inside of our house has been thoroughly inspected, however, we are still waiting for a “mold test” sample to come back… What exactly will that report state? I’m wondering… Our radon test was fine, we passed. The pest inspection, also fine. But we are being held up because of the snow. AARRGGHH the damn snow! The inspector can’t inspect the exterior of the house with 4 feet of snow on the ground and the roof. The buyers had us sign an addendum to the contract so that they can have an ‘inspection extension’. This is what is said…”Buyer requests an extension of the time frame to inspect roof and exterior components of the property due to weather conditions. Said inspection will be done within seven (7) days of notification by Sellers agent to Buyers agent of the roof being clear of snow.” Well, the way the weather is going that may be well into June. So we’re… Waiting Again!

 

The offer on our foreclosure house is still out there in the foreclosure abyss. No word yet. – Waiting Again!

 

Every day I’m checking out the new listings on-line. Maybe one here, another there, but nothing really worth looking at. I guess everyone is waiting for the snow to melt to list their house. – Waiting Again!

 

This waiting game is making me fat! There is nothing to do but eat and watch the Olympics. Oh well…Go team USA!.. pass the brownies.

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Making an Offer


2010
02.12

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Posted in Foreclosure, The Offer | No Comments »

Day 46 - 45 to go.

 

We were getting ready to submit an offer on the foreclosure house when our agent Roxie sent us this email… “Hi, I just got off the phone with the listing agent for the foreclosure. He said they will not be able to have electric or plumbing working for the FHA inspection. According to your lender, your loan will not be approved without it.”

 

GASP! What did this mean? Was that it? Was it over? It can’t be. You see, we were planning on getting a FHA 203K Rehab loan to fix up the house. We knew it would be subject to an FHA inspection, we just didn’t know the inspector needed working electric and plumbing. What kind of a rehab loan is that?

 

rehabilitate [ree-huh-bil-i-teyt, ree-uh-] -tat-ed, -tat-ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to restore to a condition of good health, ability to work, or the like.

 

Exactly… Rehab, to me, means it is in desperate need of help, nothings working. And in this case, nothing is! So, let me understand this… in order to get a Rehab loan, the house needed to have already been rehabilitated enough to actually have working electricity? I just don’t get it!

 

Depressed and defeated we drank heavily and went to bed.

 

In the morning woke up with new vigor. Nothing like a good nights sleep to clear your head. This whole thing had to be WRONG. We emailed over our concerns to our lender and did a bit of our own research via the internet (what did we ever do without it?) We checked out this site www.fhainfo.com looking for answers:

 

FHA 203K Loan – Eligible Property:

 

To be eligible for the FHA 203k mortgage loan, the property must be a one- to four-family dwelling (it is, ok, check) that has been completed for at least one year (built in the 50’s qualifies, check)… Homes that have been demolished, or will be razed as part of the rehabilitation work, are eligible provided some of the existing foundation system remains in place. (that’s the plan, Stan.)… the rehabilitation funds will only be used for the residential functions of the dwelling and areas used to access the residential part of the property. (Yep!)

 

We dug further… On properties older than 30 years and over $7,500 in rehabilitation costs, the cost estimate must include a contingency reserve. The reserve must be a minimum of ten (10) percent of the cost of rehabilitation; however, the contingency reserve may not exceed twenty (20) percent where major remodeling is contemplated. If utilities were not turned on for inspection, a minimum fifteen (15) percent is required. (Ah HA!) There it is! Right there!

 

We sent this info along to our lender, and lo and behold, she confirmed it! Crisis averted! Moving onward!

 

The next stumbling block, other than the blizzard of 2010, is the fact that the listing agent for the foreclosure doesn’t think the bank will take less than 13% off the listing price. Are they insane! Who would buy this place for that? It is NOT livable. No kitchen (no cabinets, no appliances, even some hook-ups are missing), It’s listed as a 2.5 bath, but really it’s one. I could only find one toilet in the home. I don’t think a hole in the floor qualifies. It’s also listed as a 3 bedroom, but during our inspection of the property the “master” had absolutely no vents. How would we get heat in there? We’d freeze! So, I wouldn’t really consider that a bedroom, plus it didn’t have a floor. But here is our problem… The bank who is handling the foreclosure is in Texas. TEXAS! The house is here in Baltimore. How would the bank even know the condition of the house? Would they fly someone up here to check it out? Not for the price we are offering. I guess we are going to have to rely on the listing agent to communicate our concerns to the bank. If he actually does, will they even care? Not sure… But my money is on NO.

 

Even so, we are going to offer… 42% lower than the asking price. We think it’s fair, it’s basically the cost of the land plus the cost of the garage (which is new) hmmm, priorities I guess…

 

Yesterday we drew up the papers. Geez! Like 40 pages of signatures and initials all to see if the bank will accept our lowball. Seems like a lot don’t you think? Especially when the odds are stacked against us. Roxie is sending it off today! We have heard rumors about how long it takes a bank to get back to you on an offer on a foreclosed home. Apparently, they’re backed up with stacks of foreclosure paperwork. But we have been assured with this property, it might be just a week. Well, we shall see…

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Signed, Sealed, Delivered


2010
01.30

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Posted in The Offer, sold | No Comments »

Day 33 – Are we done?

 

Yes. It is official. We are Under Contract. Our real estate agent, Roxie, came by this morning to pick up the signed contract. As she walked in the door she said to us “I’ve changed the sign out front. It no longer says ‘Open Sunday’ it now says ‘Under Contract!’” Much high five-ing was exchanged… the kids too! We are very excited, relieved, and kind of tired. We sure hope all goes well from here. The official closing date is set for March 29th. Whoo hoo!!

 

I am relieved and kind of surprised. I actually didn’t think it would sell that quickly. The average time on the market for a home these days is 3.5 months. Yeah, we ROCK! Our last house took over 8 months to sell. This house… just one.

 

Our sites are now set on finding a new home. I have a list a mile long (come on, you knew I would) but I have narrowed it down to just a few to start with. Roxie is on the job. She’s going to schedule in some showings next week starting with our number one favorite, which is a foreclosure home. Entering new territory here. I’m not sure how that works, how long it will take, etc. Plus, we haven’t been actually in it yet. (Yes, held true to my convictions on that one. But we are now officially under contract and we can now officially look.) We have driven by a few times. It… is incredibly small. This worries me a bit. Less than a 1/3 of what we are living in now. But we are fascinated by it. Fascinated I tell you! Our hope, if once we see it we like it, is to buy it cheap and finish off the not-there-kitchen (yes, it doesn’t have a kitchen, no cabinets… nothing) and build an addition. Dreamin’ Big again! Even if we did all that it would still be small, but I am ready to down size and be a bit more cozy. I like cozy. And the kids are still at an age where they like to cuddle. Plus it is on a great piece of land with a nice view. I have to admit, I’m juiced! I hope it is what we are dreaming it to be… Well, stay tuned.

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SOLD ?


2010
01.29

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Posted in Home Inspection, The Offer, sold | 1 Comment »

Day 32 – Are we done?

 

The buyers have verbally accepted our counter offer, so I guess, that… is that? We are still waiting for the final papers so I’m not quite sure. Is it strange our agent hasn’t received them yet? Is this normal? Should I be nervous? Oh, I think I’m probably just reading too much into it. Relax, have a martini.

 

Next step: Bring on the inspections! Let’s hope all goes well with them and nothing breaks between now and then.

 

OK… I think it’s time to SHOP! Once we sign those illusive papers, we will be scheduled to close in late March. Yep, we need to find ourselves a place to live… and we haven’t got much time.

 

tick tock my friends… tick tock

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To Counter Or Not To Counter


2010
01.28

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Day 31 – Counter

 

We met with our real estate agent today to discuss our counter offer. It was an emotional conversation. She brought up the fact that if we counter too high our house might just not appraise for that much. Oh yeah, that…

 

Put it this way… The offer was 16.5% lower than what our home appraised for 3 years ago. And I’m actually worried about the appraisal. No appraisal means no loan, which means no buyer. ARRRGHH! The stress! I’m tired and I have a headache. Ok, Roxie… here’s our counter offer… I hope they accept it and I hope it appraises. Everyone pray to the bank Gods!

 

Oh mighty bank Gods please don’t be tightwads
We know that you do rely on comparables nearby
But our house is so much more than those that are next door
So please make our home worthy of your loan
We so desperately need to get past this one milestone

 

And leave this part of our lives in the dust!

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We Got an Offer!!!


2010
01.27

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Day 31 – Ladies and Gentlemen, The Show is on the Road!

 

Holy Cow people we actually got an offer on our house! And not from the “second showing rainy day” buyers, but the couple who came with the “Bowtie” agent! That’s right! Uh huh!

 

Whoo hoo! My husband and I had our moment of euphoria. We did a little dance like giddy school girls and had smiles on our faces a mile wide. Then we took a look at the offer… Well, ok, not bad. It’s a tad low, but overall not bad. At least the people didn’t lowball us! All the stress we were feeling in preparing the house, making it just so, quickly turned into a new kind of anxiety all together… Negotiation Stress!

 

Fear and Loathing in Negotiation: How Anticipatory Stress Affects Bargainers. I have a feeling I’ll be able to write the text book on that one when this process is over.

 

My friends, we have to counter. It’s too low. But what do we counter with? We don’t want to scare them away. For God sakes, don’t scare them away! But it’s too low. If we loose them when will another buyer come along? Could be weeks, months. My smiles and jubilation lasted all of about 10 minutes then turned into a worried grimace. It was 2:45 in the afternoon and I realized I had to get into carpool. My head was swimming the entire way. By the time I reached the school to get my kids not only did I have no recollection of the drive in, but I had developed a migraine. “shhh. No talking on the way home kids… Mommy has a headache.”

 

Earlier in the day I was wondering to myself… Where did everybody go? It was very quiet. What had happened to the swirl of interest? Shouldn’t something be happening? Did the two interested parties go away?.. Was it something I said?.. The waiting was killing me. Alright, I needed to focus on something else… work… kids… the future. We are having another Open House on Sunday I guess I could start cleaning now or do the laundry or something. And just when my mind was tangled up in work my cel phone rang and it was Roxie, our real estate agent, with the news.

 

I am now at a loss. I don’t know what to do with myself. I guess I’ll wait to see what tomorrow brings. Roxie is meeting us at 2:30 to discuss our options. I have a feeling we are in for quite a ride… STAY TUNED!