Posts Tagged ‘Contract’

No Comments

The House with the View


2010
04.05

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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.

No Comments

Moving


2010
03.22

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Buying a Home, Moving | No Comments »

Day 84 - 7 days to go!

 

Well, we finally got a signed contract on the-house-with-the-view. Whew! Now we have to go through all the inspections on that place and try to close on April 15th. Mold inspection tomorrow morning. Whoo, hoo, mold, can’t wait.

 

But my thoughts are not on the new house, it’s focused on getting out of this one. My brain is a struggling through a logistical nightmare of shredded chaos. You see, we are not moving into our new house right away. That would be too easy. Noooo, life has to be difficult. We are temporarily moving in with my in-laws for a few months until we can close on the new house and fix up a bit. My husband hangs his head in shame every time we tell someone this. He looks at the ground, moves his foot back and forth like a child and says… “Yes, I’m 41 and moving back in with my parents, never thought I’d see the day.”

 

So, I ask you, how on earth does one prepare for this? What do you bring to tide a family of four over for a few months? And where do we put all our other stuff? Deep storage, that’s where! We have just witnessed the skillful delivery of 3, 16-foot PODs into my little driveway. The movers are coming on Wednesday to pack us up and stick us in the PODs, well, not us exactly… Then the POD people come and take away all my things and store them somewhere in East-shit-hole Baltimore until we are ready to move into our new house. At which time they will re-deliver them, the movers will show up once again and bring everything into the house. Then… we live out of boxes until I can muster the energy to go through them all and find new places for all my stuff to go. I should be unpacked by Christmas. I’m exhausted just typing it. I need to take a break……… Ok, better. I’m trying to think of all the things we will need through the month of May. Clothes, toys, favorite stuffed animals, valuables, all our food, some pots and pans, hockey, tennis and karate equipment, bikes, tv’s, video games and anything we may need for the new house like cleaning supplies, ladders, tools, paint brushes. My head is swimming again, Ok, I need to lie down.

 

Last night I was up til 11pm with my distraught daughter who was sad, crying and will desperately miss her house… Yeah, honey, me too. Then I woke up at 1:30 am and could not get back to sleep. Thoughts of what needed to still be done flooded my mind. I think I finally fell asleep again sometime after 3:30am. It’s hard to turn off my brain. Believe me, many have tried.

 

This past weekend was spent moving random things to the in-laws and going through the boxes we never unpacked from the last time we moved. We went through the “junk” drawer in the kitchen, old toys, old rugs, old bikes, old papers, until our driveway was covered with stuff we needed to take to the dump. A whole truck load. This was very therapeutic. I feel cleansed!

 

Now, I’ve got to start thinking about getting everything out of this house that is… well, nailed down. Two chandeliers, still have to take those down, a couple of sconces, still up, yeah… can you tell we love doing electrical work? The brass door knocker, some shelving, the shed, lawn furniture, flower pots (I have quite a few of those), my dog who is buried in the backyard. I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not leaving him behind! Besides, he was cremated and is in a box under the dogwood tree. I’m not digging up bones here! And of course… my map.

 

My map, I love my map. It’s a map of the United States and it’s 12 feet long and 8 feet high, yes HUGE! I had a hard time finding another house with a wall that big so it could be rehung. The map was glued to my dining room wall until yesterday. We originally put it up with a big jug of Elmers glue, a paint roller and 3 people. It worked quite well, then we framed it out with some wood trim and got many compliments over the years. I thought taking it down would be really hard, on the contrary it was easy… a bit too easy. The map came down without a hitch because all the glue… stayed on the wall. Oh the wall looks like crap. First, I never painted behind the map, just the wall next to the map, so the wall is two-toned. Add to that the hardened, cloudy, and sharp in parts, Elmers glue. Yes, sharp. I actually sliced my finger on Elmers glue when I was running my hand over the wall. And now there’s blood on there too! We have tried soaking the wall with water, using GooGone, peeling it, hand sanding it, nothing seems to be taking off the glue. I can’t leave a dining room wall completely covered in glue… Can I? No, that would be mean. So we will try to power sand it this afternoon. We’ll see if that works. If not, I may have to test my skills at plastering.

No Comments

Stall Tactics


2010
03.17

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Buying a Home | No Comments »

Day 79 - 12 days to go!

 

Stalling. That’s what these people are doing. Before our last walk-through of “the-house-with-the-view” we had agreed to a purchase price and fully expected that to be, well… that. We resubmitted the paperwork for a purchase price of $435,000, after we got home… Done.

 

There agent actually had the gall to say to us, “Would you do… $442?” Laughable! Yeah, right! Do they want to sell this house or not? Do they actually think one more stroll around puke peach lane would actually make us just want to give these people more money? I truely think they pictured us just tossing bills into the air as we walked around the grounds. “Oh, my God, honey… This house is worth so much more, let’s give them another $7,000.” “NO WAY!,” was all we could say.

 

I feel like they submissively hung their heads mumbling to themselves… “OK, just checking…”

 

But it’s now two days later and still, No Signed Contract. What seems to be the deal? We inquired about the hold up today to find out they had to have their lawyer ‘take a look’. It’s a standard real estate contract… but, OK, whatever floats your boat.

 

Turns out the lawyer has ‘recommended’ that we pay for the heating oil that was recently delivered. All $434.00 dollars worth. Now isn’t that interesting? It just happens to be the almost exact the same number as the purchase price, minus a few zeros. Really? So, they paid their lawyer, I dont’ know… maybe, $500.00 to tell them we should give them $434 for the oil? Sounds, reasonable.

 

Sure, we will pay them for the damn oil, right after we have someone actually measure what’s in the tank… the day before closing, not a month out with them still running the heat. Stall — Stall — Stall. That’s what I’m thinking.

 

Still no contract. Curious… What other amateur magic tricks do you suppose — they feel they have up their sleeve? We, my friends, shall see.

No Comments

Signed, Sealed, Delivered


2010
01.30

Tags: , , , , , ,
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.

1 Comment

SOLD ?


2010
01.29

Tags: , , , , ,
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

1 Comment

Should I Sell Before I Look?


2010
01.19

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Buying a Home, Headaches of Selling Your Home | 1 Comment »

Day 23 – We have 2 new showings: One today at 11:00 and one tomorrow at noon.. Here’s to hoping they are shopping and not just browsing. Clink!

 

As I have mentioned before, we purchased our current home before selling the last one. This might have been the beginning of our downfall. We basically had 3 mortgages for more than half a year. We will NOT be doing that again, and unless you’re swimming in cash I don’t recommend you do it either. So, that leaves me in a predicament I have yet to experience. The “what happens when we sell” predicament.

 

Should I sell my home before looking for the next one? How long will we have to find the next house? Two months? One? Three? And what if there is nothing out there I like? Will we have to rent? Would doing that disrupt my kids even more? What if I can only find something that is ok and not a house I’ll want to live in for a long time? Will we have to go through all of this in another few years? What if the contract on our new home goes south and we have to be out of this house in a week?.. Will we be moving in with my in-laws? Questions, stress and apprehension filled my soul.

 

All that aside, I told myself I wasn’t going to even look for a new place before we were in escrow. But, come on folks, I’m a woman, I love to shop. I basically couldn’t help myself. So, I surfed the internet…

 

I checked out a few real estate websites… Well, if anything it was reassuring! There were actually decent homes out there in nice neighborhoods and within our new “low” price range. I covertly started to make a list. Hold everything… Wait just a minute… Look at THAT house! It is perfect! Everything I want!.. oooo that’s the one!

 

That was it! That was where we were going to call home. I just knew it! I could grow old in that house. It was ideal.

 

My husband and I were driving the kids home from school one day when I said, so there’s this house on the way home, let’s just drive by it just to “check it out”. (Remember, I’m not “looking” yet.) He agreed. He thought it was nice, and then he saw there was a small pond in the side yard. He saw ice hockey at home in his future. Ok, he was in. I couldn’t wait to take a look inside (when we sold our house that is) I started to dream about it, remodeling it and decorating it in my head. Then, one day I went on-line to look at the photos again because I needed to see what wall my yellow painting would work on. Gasp! It was gone! SOLD! Noooo! I was in shock. I began to experience the 5 stages of grief. Denial: It’s still there, maybe if I type in the MLS number again, or check another real estate site. Anger: If my damn house would have sold in the first 10 days that house would have been mine! Bargaining: Maybe I could offer the new owners more money to move. Depression: This sucks! That was my house, my dream home, I’ll never find another one like it, we’ll end up living in a split-level on a cul-de-sac. Acceptance: Alright, it’s gone, it wasn’t meant to be. I’m sure there are others out there. Let’s just click through the websites again… Hey, Wait just a minute… Look at THAT house! It is perfect! Everything I want!.. oooo that’s the one!

 

Seriously… I think I have a problem…