How To Suck All The Fun Out Of House Buying
I guess my e-mail post worked, which is awesome. I will actually be able to post directly from work now.
So let's talk about the nightmare that my home buying has turned into. I've told this story so many times now that I'm sick of it. I was supposed to close last Friday. Noticed on Tuesday or Wednesday that the West Warwick plat map included in the appraisal indicated that almost all of the backyard wasn't actually my property. I asked my Art about it (my agent), who in turn asked the seller's agent, who in turn asked the seller, and came back with the answer "We didn't know.". Followed by a phone call a few hours later, stating that the seller was going to sue, if I didn't close. Normally it's the sellers responsibility to check out everything about the property before the purchase is done, that's why there's inspections, etc. but having a survey done is usually not one of the suggested items. Nobody suggested it to me actually. There was no real reason to. The backyard was fenced in. It lists I own half an acre. The shed and pool are listed and pictured as on the property in the listing, the listing agent said it was mine. So now I'm in a tough spot. My agent and I have spoken to a few attorneys, one of which was the seller's attorney's partner, who Art knew, and presented the situation to him before he revealed that it was his partner who was doing it.. and they have said that the seller taking me to court over this would be absurd, and there's no way they would ever succeed. And there's the possibility that I could counter sue them for all the expenses I paid involving the house - appraisal, inspection, radon test, etc. But that might be even more of a gamble. So now I'm in a bind.. or, at least I was. I've had time to access the situation, and I've convinced myself it's not as bad as I originally thought. The bind is, that if I wanted to back out, if they decided to sue me albeit it being stupid, I would have to hire an attorney. That's thousands of dollars. Considering I only had enough for the down payment... I'd be out pretty much all my savings - and there's a very large chance that I couldn't recoup my legal fees and other expenses - even if I got out of the deal. On the other hand, the lot which the land is on is owned by an LLC out of VA who hasn't touched it in 9 years. It would be incredibly difficult to build on, and they own a number of scattered odd lots across RI and CT. The house itself still has half an acre of land - though over half of it is off to the side, and not really usable. The house itself is still nice. It's still a great neighborhood, in the area I want, with no possibility of neighbors on either side. It's accessed value should still be accurate which is $178K. So I'm still like $30K below accessed value. Compared to the other placed I looked at in the area? This place is still the best, even if someone came in and took my backyard. So which gamble is the least risky? Back out of the deal, possibly be out legal fees, get stuck where I am, throw away money for rent for however long it takes to get another down payment together and find another house with the things I want? Or to buy the house that's still a decent deal with a large chance that the backyard will never be a problem, and if it ever is I can turn around and sell it for equal, if not higher, value? I'm thinking the second option is far better hands down. As it is right now, we extended the closing, and are having a survey done and splitting the $1000 cost. It should be back tomorrow, and I can decide how I want to proceed. If I'm lucky maybe there is some room for negotiation, if not, I still think I'm ok with the choice. Disappointed that it's not quite as sweet as I thought it was, but it's still a good investment, and hopefully I can psych myself up and still be excited about the move. Hell, not having to live out of boxes should be exciting enough. That shit got old fast. So fingers crossed for some good news, and a stress-free move!
So let's talk about the nightmare that my home buying has turned into. I've told this story so many times now that I'm sick of it. I was supposed to close last Friday. Noticed on Tuesday or Wednesday that the West Warwick plat map included in the appraisal indicated that almost all of the backyard wasn't actually my property. I asked my Art about it (my agent), who in turn asked the seller's agent, who in turn asked the seller, and came back with the answer "We didn't know.". Followed by a phone call a few hours later, stating that the seller was going to sue, if I didn't close. Normally it's the sellers responsibility to check out everything about the property before the purchase is done, that's why there's inspections, etc. but having a survey done is usually not one of the suggested items. Nobody suggested it to me actually. There was no real reason to. The backyard was fenced in. It lists I own half an acre. The shed and pool are listed and pictured as on the property in the listing, the listing agent said it was mine. So now I'm in a tough spot. My agent and I have spoken to a few attorneys, one of which was the seller's attorney's partner, who Art knew, and presented the situation to him before he revealed that it was his partner who was doing it.. and they have said that the seller taking me to court over this would be absurd, and there's no way they would ever succeed. And there's the possibility that I could counter sue them for all the expenses I paid involving the house - appraisal, inspection, radon test, etc. But that might be even more of a gamble. So now I'm in a bind.. or, at least I was. I've had time to access the situation, and I've convinced myself it's not as bad as I originally thought. The bind is, that if I wanted to back out, if they decided to sue me albeit it being stupid, I would have to hire an attorney. That's thousands of dollars. Considering I only had enough for the down payment... I'd be out pretty much all my savings - and there's a very large chance that I couldn't recoup my legal fees and other expenses - even if I got out of the deal. On the other hand, the lot which the land is on is owned by an LLC out of VA who hasn't touched it in 9 years. It would be incredibly difficult to build on, and they own a number of scattered odd lots across RI and CT. The house itself still has half an acre of land - though over half of it is off to the side, and not really usable. The house itself is still nice. It's still a great neighborhood, in the area I want, with no possibility of neighbors on either side. It's accessed value should still be accurate which is $178K. So I'm still like $30K below accessed value. Compared to the other placed I looked at in the area? This place is still the best, even if someone came in and took my backyard. So which gamble is the least risky? Back out of the deal, possibly be out legal fees, get stuck where I am, throw away money for rent for however long it takes to get another down payment together and find another house with the things I want? Or to buy the house that's still a decent deal with a large chance that the backyard will never be a problem, and if it ever is I can turn around and sell it for equal, if not higher, value? I'm thinking the second option is far better hands down. As it is right now, we extended the closing, and are having a survey done and splitting the $1000 cost. It should be back tomorrow, and I can decide how I want to proceed. If I'm lucky maybe there is some room for negotiation, if not, I still think I'm ok with the choice. Disappointed that it's not quite as sweet as I thought it was, but it's still a good investment, and hopefully I can psych myself up and still be excited about the move. Hell, not having to live out of boxes should be exciting enough. That shit got old fast. So fingers crossed for some good news, and a stress-free move!