Well, we did find out that Tuesday what House #3 appraised at. Unfortunuately it was $20,000 under our accepted offer and the sellers couldn't afford to sell us the house at the price. House #3 what we loved so much was a "dead deal" as our Realtor put it, so we had to go back out on the house-hunting prowl.
Long story short- we found an amazing house #4, we love it- plenty of room, nothing needs to be done or fixed in it, finished basement with a awesome pool table, etc.... We just got the appraisal back today and it came in exactly at our signed offer so we don't need to worry about that anymore. Just need a home inspection and since the house is only 7 years old, I don't foresee anything crazy to go wrong with that. If everything goes to plan- we will be homeowners on October 31st!! So great to think that the end is in sight!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
::Light Bulb Goes Off::
So I had an epiphany this morning. I’ve realized that since I started working, I’ve updated this dang thing maybe twice. Mostly because after being gone for nearly 12 hours each day, I have absolutely no desire to have to think about what I should write about. But, today the light bulb has gone off- I can update from work. Brilliant. Good use of tax payers dollars I say. Especially since if I wasn’t writing this, I’d just be sitting here waiting for my one meeting that I have today to start (yeah- they don’t give the new people a whole lot to do until we finish all this training. Yet they’re not in a huge hurry to train us…go figure.)
So biggest thing is house update. As you may know, House #1 was a no go- silly ex’s couldn’t get their stuff together. House #2 was looking good- got it for way under the appraised value, a little mold but we were assured that it would be taken care of and we would still close on 31 July. Well, a little mold turned into a lot of mold, but “that’s OK” we were told. The sellers were still going to take care of everything and insured us that we would have a 100% clean, sterile house, it would just take until 31 Aug. Fine, another month in our very very tiny apartment, but its cool- once its done, all will be cool, right? WRONG- like 4 days before we were supposed to close (so like 27 Aug) we get a call. There’s even more wrong with the house. The foundation isn’t properly waterproofed, the sump pump outlet end ups draining right back into the basement, the entire landscaping need to be re-excavated because rain water runs into the house instead of away from it, etc…to the tune of like $30k worth of repairs. Grant it, the sellers were willing to fix it, but by that time enough is enough. There was no way Marshall and I were comfortable moving into a place that had had so much wrong with it. It was like, what else is going to go wrong and unfortunately when we would find out would be after we own it and it would be on our penny. So we backed out of the deal.
After about 2 weeks of looking, we come across House #3- it’s basically perfect. Awesome updated kitchen, big fenced in backyard for Max, it comes with a pool table and riding lawn mower, good area, etc…Seems that every time a house doesn’t work out, a better one comes around- pretty cool how He works like that. So we’re in love with #3. Its pretty competitively priced, so we write a full-price offer; seller’s pay closing- very standard offer. The seller’s come back basically saying they can’t afford to sell the house at its asking price unless we pay full closing. Umm…no- we really don’t have that kind of cash right now, plus it’s a little ridiculous of a counter. So we just considered in a dead deal and move on. But then we get a call- the sellers were able to make things work. Basically because they have to sell otherwise its going to go to short sale and they obviously don’t want that. We strike a deal that makes our bank account and their bank happy, just negotiating closing date right now. So that was hurdle numero uno.
Hurdle numero dos is currently going on: we’re concerned that the house may not appraise high enough because of the lack of comps in the area. Talking to our realtor and some other people that know what they’re talking about, the house is worth what we’re offering, but because just nothing comparable has sold in the area recently, it’s going to be difficult to appraise. If it does come in under what we’re in for, that’s a whole other can of worms because once again, the sellers can’t afford to sell it for less than what we offered. Just gotta trust like we have during this entire ordeal, but it will definitely be a bummer if it doesn’t happen. This was the first house that Marshall came out and was like “I love this house”- so if you can’t tell yet, we REALLY REALLY want it. We’ll hopefully find out by Friday or the following Monday what it appraised for and we’ll go from there…
So biggest thing is house update. As you may know, House #1 was a no go- silly ex’s couldn’t get their stuff together. House #2 was looking good- got it for way under the appraised value, a little mold but we were assured that it would be taken care of and we would still close on 31 July. Well, a little mold turned into a lot of mold, but “that’s OK” we were told. The sellers were still going to take care of everything and insured us that we would have a 100% clean, sterile house, it would just take until 31 Aug. Fine, another month in our very very tiny apartment, but its cool- once its done, all will be cool, right? WRONG- like 4 days before we were supposed to close (so like 27 Aug) we get a call. There’s even more wrong with the house. The foundation isn’t properly waterproofed, the sump pump outlet end ups draining right back into the basement, the entire landscaping need to be re-excavated because rain water runs into the house instead of away from it, etc…to the tune of like $30k worth of repairs. Grant it, the sellers were willing to fix it, but by that time enough is enough. There was no way Marshall and I were comfortable moving into a place that had had so much wrong with it. It was like, what else is going to go wrong and unfortunately when we would find out would be after we own it and it would be on our penny. So we backed out of the deal.
After about 2 weeks of looking, we come across House #3- it’s basically perfect. Awesome updated kitchen, big fenced in backyard for Max, it comes with a pool table and riding lawn mower, good area, etc…Seems that every time a house doesn’t work out, a better one comes around- pretty cool how He works like that. So we’re in love with #3. Its pretty competitively priced, so we write a full-price offer; seller’s pay closing- very standard offer. The seller’s come back basically saying they can’t afford to sell the house at its asking price unless we pay full closing. Umm…no- we really don’t have that kind of cash right now, plus it’s a little ridiculous of a counter. So we just considered in a dead deal and move on. But then we get a call- the sellers were able to make things work. Basically because they have to sell otherwise its going to go to short sale and they obviously don’t want that. We strike a deal that makes our bank account and their bank happy, just negotiating closing date right now. So that was hurdle numero uno.
Hurdle numero dos is currently going on: we’re concerned that the house may not appraise high enough because of the lack of comps in the area. Talking to our realtor and some other people that know what they’re talking about, the house is worth what we’re offering, but because just nothing comparable has sold in the area recently, it’s going to be difficult to appraise. If it does come in under what we’re in for, that’s a whole other can of worms because once again, the sellers can’t afford to sell it for less than what we offered. Just gotta trust like we have during this entire ordeal, but it will definitely be a bummer if it doesn’t happen. This was the first house that Marshall came out and was like “I love this house”- so if you can’t tell yet, we REALLY REALLY want it. We’ll hopefully find out by Friday or the following Monday what it appraised for and we’ll go from there…
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Something Finally Went Our Way!
Last weekend we had our home inspection. Our inspector found a couple of things that would be "deal breakers" if the sellers decided that they didn't want to fix them for one reason or another. So we were a little worried about how our repair requests would be taken. However, they signed off on everything, no questions asked. Which is AMAZING and we were not expecting it at all. But definitely aren't complaining.
We close in a little less than 3 weeks which is ridiculous, and ridiculously awesome
We close in a little less than 3 weeks which is ridiculous, and ridiculously awesome
Friday, July 3, 2009
3 Day Weekend
Yay paid holidays! Today we have the home inspection for the house and then we're heading up to PA to visit some friends for the weekend. Should be a grand ol' time- especially since we don't know a soul here outside of people at work. Will definitely be nice to sit back and catch up with two of my favorite people.
Happy 4th!
Happy 4th!
Friday, June 26, 2009
We have a house!!!
So, short story- we bought a house!!
Long story- Nothing came of the first house that we originally wrote an offer for. So like I mentioned in my previous post, we went searching again. Our Realtor ended up showing us a place that wasn't even 'on our radar' because it was out of our price range. However, it had been on the market for over 200 days and he had some intel that supposedly the sellers were just looking to sell ASAP and if we made a fairly reasonable offer, it probably would be accepted. We end up REALLY liking the place, even more so that the original house. It just 'fit' us better. Made an offer, which unfortunately was countered by the sellers. But we came up a little from our original number and it was accepted!! Woot woot. We close in a little over a month. Crazy!
Casa Buroff
Long story- Nothing came of the first house that we originally wrote an offer for. So like I mentioned in my previous post, we went searching again. Our Realtor ended up showing us a place that wasn't even 'on our radar' because it was out of our price range. However, it had been on the market for over 200 days and he had some intel that supposedly the sellers were just looking to sell ASAP and if we made a fairly reasonable offer, it probably would be accepted. We end up REALLY liking the place, even more so that the original house. It just 'fit' us better. Made an offer, which unfortunately was countered by the sellers. But we came up a little from our original number and it was accepted!! Woot woot. We close in a little over a month. Crazy!
Casa Buroff
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Our Next Step
So we're not giving up hope yet, but we have made plans with our Realtor to go look at other houses this weekend. We're doing our best not to be discouraged about our first attempt at purchasing home. And we keep saying that there of course is a reason why this happened how it did. There are a few houses out there that look promising, I just hope that we don't look at them and constantly compare to the first home but look at it for what it is and how we can make it our place.
But mainly, I'd just like to thank EVERYONE out there that has kept us in their prayers and on their minds. Its been difficult being so far away from all of our friends and family, but knowing that we have such an awesome support system is so amazing. I never thought that after less than a month, I'd be missing the comforts of home so much. Its not like I'm distraught with homesickness, but the little things- Next week my Grandpa is turning 80 and all my uncles and aunts will be in town from everywhere, some of which I haven't seen in over a year and I will be one of the only ones not there, which stinks. Even while away at school the past 4 years, I was only 3 hours away. Now I'll be the one calling in from far away to check in with everyone
I will say the internet has been an awesome way to stay connected. Who would've thought that 4 years ago when I joined Facebook that I'd be using it to catch up on my little cousins growing up or that I'd be writing a blog to keep all my family up-to-date on what's going on in our life. It is nice to be away and starting to make a life for ourselves, but my huge, crazy family is pretty incredible, even if insane at times and that makes it hard to be so far.
So I just want to say that I love you guys, family and friends both- you all rock.
But mainly, I'd just like to thank EVERYONE out there that has kept us in their prayers and on their minds. Its been difficult being so far away from all of our friends and family, but knowing that we have such an awesome support system is so amazing. I never thought that after less than a month, I'd be missing the comforts of home so much. Its not like I'm distraught with homesickness, but the little things- Next week my Grandpa is turning 80 and all my uncles and aunts will be in town from everywhere, some of which I haven't seen in over a year and I will be one of the only ones not there, which stinks. Even while away at school the past 4 years, I was only 3 hours away. Now I'll be the one calling in from far away to check in with everyone
I will say the internet has been an awesome way to stay connected. Who would've thought that 4 years ago when I joined Facebook that I'd be using it to catch up on my little cousins growing up or that I'd be writing a blog to keep all my family up-to-date on what's going on in our life. It is nice to be away and starting to make a life for ourselves, but my huge, crazy family is pretty incredible, even if insane at times and that makes it hard to be so far.
So I just want to say that I love you guys, family and friends both- you all rock.
Monday, June 15, 2009
No Answer Yet
One week later and we still have no word about the house situation. Unfortunately, as much as we LOVE this house, it looks like we may soon have to take our search elsewhere. There are definitely other homes on the market in our price range- but we're just so attached to Glendale. (that's what we refer to the house as it is on Glendale Dr)
So our prayers have changed from "please let us get this house" to "please let us find a house". We're going to meet with our Realtor this week to go hunting and hopefully something screams "I'm Perfect! Buy Me!"
I really need to work on my patience. You'd think after the past few years of having to wait and give my control over to the powers that be (those being God and the Navy) about where Marshall and I would end up living, I'd have this down. But no- I'm still going crazy and just wishing everything would go how I want it to go....
So our prayers have changed from "please let us get this house" to "please let us find a house". We're going to meet with our Realtor this week to go hunting and hopefully something screams "I'm Perfect! Buy Me!"
I really need to work on my patience. You'd think after the past few years of having to wait and give my control over to the powers that be (those being God and the Navy) about where Marshall and I would end up living, I'd have this down. But no- I'm still going crazy and just wishing everything would go how I want it to go....
Staying Positive!
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