House
Sorry for not posting recently, but I have been consumed with house stuff. I'm surprised my boss has been so understanding, hearing me on the phone with realtors, lenders, insurers, contractors, you name it.
I was a little afraid to post about the house I'm going after now. The really cool house that I posted about earlier turned out to be a money pit, and someone made an offer before I did. Had my stupid first agent actually faxed my offer to the listing agent the day I filled out the paperwork, or even been available when I told him I wanted to make an offer, I'd have been stuck with it.
So I guess that's serendipity, but I didn't like the incompetence of that first agent. By the way, he's the same one my landlady is using to sell the house I live in, and he doesn't seem respectful of the fact that people still live here. He's in it for the money, and lacks the empathy required to not be a jerk about thing.
So, I switched to a different realtor, who is also an architect. He seems to have a clue, and was quick to point things out to us, good and bad both. He faxed over my offer right away, so I beat out anyone who might have wanted to be competition. He suggested some good negotiation points, and we ended up offering below what the seller asked (after closing costs).
While the place is cosmetically pretty and well laid out (3 bed, 3 bath!), the inspection found some quirks with it. Including some electrical anomalies, that I want fixed before move in if possible. So I renegotiated with the seller, and got some more money back for repairs.
Then my lender told me about the mountain of paperwork needed for the loan. This was a duh from my girl's perspective, but I haven't been great at keeping track of paperwork and financial documentation. Michelle is well prepared for a 7 year IRS audit, whereas I'm lucky to find last years W2s. I apparently tossed things I wasn't supposed to, but was eventually able to get copies of almost everything I need.
Almost. Keeping copies of my rental records would have involved having rental records to begin with. Since the landlady is a friend of ours, we paid in a mix of checks and cash, and sometimes Michelle paid for both of us, sometimes I paid for both of us. We never thought to bother with receipts, because we assumed our friend wouldn't screw us.
Turns out, a mortgage loan requires 12 months of proof of rent payments on time. Or at least the one my lender is going for, I've heard mixed things from other lenders. So, for anyone planning on eventually buying a house, start saving those things now. One workaround is for a property management company to fill out a Verification of Rent form, so we are trying to do that and call our landlady a property management company. She owns a clothing store, so maybe that's good enough?
Tentative close date is Nov 10, but the rent verification is now time delayed due to my landlady being on vacation overseas. So we shall see if things close when expected. Nov 11-12 is the optimal time for Michelle and I to paint and start the repair work, and Nov 19 is the only time both Michelle and I can move. After that, we cut into Thanksgiving, so we're hoping to get at least the initial big move before then.
I also want to help our roommates/tenants move, and they have scheduling constraints as well. November promises to be a crazy month, I will try to keep people abreast of what I know when I know it. I will make all of this happen come hell or high water.
In other news, my Birthday is Sunday. I plan to be on Orcas Island trying to not think about house stuff.
I was a little afraid to post about the house I'm going after now. The really cool house that I posted about earlier turned out to be a money pit, and someone made an offer before I did. Had my stupid first agent actually faxed my offer to the listing agent the day I filled out the paperwork, or even been available when I told him I wanted to make an offer, I'd have been stuck with it.
So I guess that's serendipity, but I didn't like the incompetence of that first agent. By the way, he's the same one my landlady is using to sell the house I live in, and he doesn't seem respectful of the fact that people still live here. He's in it for the money, and lacks the empathy required to not be a jerk about thing.
So, I switched to a different realtor, who is also an architect. He seems to have a clue, and was quick to point things out to us, good and bad both. He faxed over my offer right away, so I beat out anyone who might have wanted to be competition. He suggested some good negotiation points, and we ended up offering below what the seller asked (after closing costs).
While the place is cosmetically pretty and well laid out (3 bed, 3 bath!), the inspection found some quirks with it. Including some electrical anomalies, that I want fixed before move in if possible. So I renegotiated with the seller, and got some more money back for repairs.
Then my lender told me about the mountain of paperwork needed for the loan. This was a duh from my girl's perspective, but I haven't been great at keeping track of paperwork and financial documentation. Michelle is well prepared for a 7 year IRS audit, whereas I'm lucky to find last years W2s. I apparently tossed things I wasn't supposed to, but was eventually able to get copies of almost everything I need.
Almost. Keeping copies of my rental records would have involved having rental records to begin with. Since the landlady is a friend of ours, we paid in a mix of checks and cash, and sometimes Michelle paid for both of us, sometimes I paid for both of us. We never thought to bother with receipts, because we assumed our friend wouldn't screw us.
Turns out, a mortgage loan requires 12 months of proof of rent payments on time. Or at least the one my lender is going for, I've heard mixed things from other lenders. So, for anyone planning on eventually buying a house, start saving those things now. One workaround is for a property management company to fill out a Verification of Rent form, so we are trying to do that and call our landlady a property management company. She owns a clothing store, so maybe that's good enough?
Tentative close date is Nov 10, but the rent verification is now time delayed due to my landlady being on vacation overseas. So we shall see if things close when expected. Nov 11-12 is the optimal time for Michelle and I to paint and start the repair work, and Nov 19 is the only time both Michelle and I can move. After that, we cut into Thanksgiving, so we're hoping to get at least the initial big move before then.
I also want to help our roommates/tenants move, and they have scheduling constraints as well. November promises to be a crazy month, I will try to keep people abreast of what I know when I know it. I will make all of this happen come hell or high water.
In other news, my Birthday is Sunday. I plan to be on Orcas Island trying to not think about house stuff.