I'm still up north, but more progress has been made!
The termite inspection was relatively painless fortunately. There were a few areas that needed to be treated and a small area of carpenter ants that the inspector said was really minor, but nothing overly expensive.
We sent a list to the seller of what needed to be repaired for the VA loan, things we considered vital to be repaired before we moved in and things that did need to be repaired, but they weren't deal breakers.
It took over a week, but the seller responded and is working on most of the repairs. One they wouldn't fix was a broken oven thermostat for an older model double oven because of the cost versus the oven's value. They use the bottom oven.
After we did some tentative searching without knowing the actual model of the oven, it seems that the older model thermostat units are $150-300. As long as it's disconnected so I don't unintentionally burn the house down, it's fine. We planned on replacing the ovens eventually since they are older.
After these repairs are made, we just need to get it appraised, and then if that goes well, we can close. This whole process has been so stressful.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
10 Eventful Days
I headed back up north on August 6, not knowing what would happen.
The sellers counteroffered with us paying the extra $5,000 on top of the asking price with them paying the closing costs, and we accepted their offer.
The house was inspected on Thursday, and there were some things wrong with it that are concerning, but nothing that's a deal breaker. The worst of it really is that the wood on the base of the back patio is rotting, which could spread to the beams holding it up and then the actual house. We could replace it ourselves with pavers if we have to, and it wouldn't be extremely expensive.
Homeowners insurance is more expensive if you have a pool. I didn't know that. We got numerous quotes of $2000+, but we think we've found a place who will insure it for $1300 a year. I have my fingers crossed on that at least.
All that's left is the termite inspection on Monday, and if that goes well, we have to get it appraised by the VA. Barring any problems with that, the house will be ours at the beginning of October!
The sellers counteroffered with us paying the extra $5,000 on top of the asking price with them paying the closing costs, and we accepted their offer.
The house was inspected on Thursday, and there were some things wrong with it that are concerning, but nothing that's a deal breaker. The worst of it really is that the wood on the base of the back patio is rotting, which could spread to the beams holding it up and then the actual house. We could replace it ourselves with pavers if we have to, and it wouldn't be extremely expensive.
Homeowners insurance is more expensive if you have a pool. I didn't know that. We got numerous quotes of $2000+, but we think we've found a place who will insure it for $1300 a year. I have my fingers crossed on that at least.
All that's left is the termite inspection on Monday, and if that goes well, we have to get it appraised by the VA. Barring any problems with that, the house will be ours at the beginning of October!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Still Waiting...
The realtor contacted us last night and asked us if we'd be willing to close in October, but let the current residents stay until the end of October under a leasing situation because the house they're building will be done then. That's fine with us, since our lease isn't up until November anyway.
We haven't heard back since we sent that response, but it was getting late then. Some people go to bed around 9pm. I suppose we'll hear back today. It sounds promising if they're asking if we'll do that or not, but I'm not going to get my hopes up completely.
We haven't heard back since we sent that response, but it was getting late then. Some people go to bed around 9pm. I suppose we'll hear back today. It sounds promising if they're asking if we'll do that or not, but I'm not going to get my hopes up completely.
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Waiting Game
Our realtor texted us a little bit ago that the seller is reviewing the offer. All we can do now is wait and see what they say. I'm hoping they just accept it. I leave tomorrow evening to go back up north to visit my family, and I'd absolutely love to know either way before I board that plane.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Things Everyone But Us Seems To Know...
I would like to give you some warnings, both for VA loan and for regular loan home buying.
When we started looking for a house after getting approved for the VA loan, we knew about having to pay for inspections (termite per requirement and regular because it's a good idea). We got an estimate as to how much that would be and had twice as much money set aside as it would potentially cost to be safe.
Well, then we learned about earnest money yesterday. It's $1,000 plus another $100 for insurance so you get it back in case things with the house you're in contract with doesn't work out. You get it back anyway when you take possession of the house, but it's still something no one told us about because apparently everyone but us knows about it. Now you do, if you didn't!
That was bad enough, but then we also found out that the VA appraisal that we thought was just included in the loan process is done on our dime, too, out of pocket. I thought it wouldn't be too expensive, but I was wrong to the tune of $500.
We'll be able to make things work, but ugh. I wish someone would have told us about this stuff before yesterday.
When we started looking for a house after getting approved for the VA loan, we knew about having to pay for inspections (termite per requirement and regular because it's a good idea). We got an estimate as to how much that would be and had twice as much money set aside as it would potentially cost to be safe.
Well, then we learned about earnest money yesterday. It's $1,000 plus another $100 for insurance so you get it back in case things with the house you're in contract with doesn't work out. You get it back anyway when you take possession of the house, but it's still something no one told us about because apparently everyone but us knows about it. Now you do, if you didn't!
That was bad enough, but then we also found out that the VA appraisal that we thought was just included in the loan process is done on our dime, too, out of pocket. I thought it wouldn't be too expensive, but I was wrong to the tune of $500.
We'll be able to make things work, but ugh. I wish someone would have told us about this stuff before yesterday.
The Offer
We saw the house in Conroe first yesterday. It was in a nice quiet neighborhood, which we liked, but the house itself was really iffy. It had a few rooms with no flooring, but the thing that made us decide against it was evidence of a bad foundation. The brick was cracked up from the bottom of the house to along the edge of a window.
We headed over to the yellow house in Humble next. It was in great shape, no obvious defects, and we both fell in love with it. After talking it over for a little bit, we made an offer on it yesterday afternoon. We haven't heard back yet, but the realtor said we may not hear back until Monday. I wish I was more patient. I had a dream they just said outright no to us and didn't counteroffer.
We headed over to the yellow house in Humble next. It was in great shape, no obvious defects, and we both fell in love with it. After talking it over for a little bit, we made an offer on it yesterday afternoon. We haven't heard back yet, but the realtor said we may not hear back until Monday. I wish I was more patient. I had a dream they just said outright no to us and didn't counteroffer.
Friday, August 2, 2013
The Questionable Realtor pt 2
We talked to the realtor and asked about the yellow house that hadn't accepted an offer. He said he hadn't talked directly to the agent and that the person he did talk to must have been mistaken. He pointed out that it wouldn't benefit him at all if he didn't show us houses. If we don't buy a house, he doesn't get a commission. After he apologized several times, I decided it wasn't something he'd done on purpose.
We're seeing the yellow house and another home in Conroe tomorrow morning. If the yellow house ends up being something we like, we're going to make an offer on it for what they're asking if they're willing to pay the closing costs. I've grown rather fond of it from looking at the pictures.
Hopefully, tomorrow goes better than Thursday did.
We're seeing the yellow house and another home in Conroe tomorrow morning. If the yellow house ends up being something we like, we're going to make an offer on it for what they're asking if they're willing to pay the closing costs. I've grown rather fond of it from looking at the pictures.
Hopefully, tomorrow goes better than Thursday did.
The Questionable Realtor
We've been using the HAR website for Houston real estate listings. It is usually pretty up to date. We left the two listings from yesterday that the realtor had told us accepted offers on our bookmarks in case someone backed out, since we liked both of them. Well, we checked, and as of right now, both listings are still as active on the market. They're from different real estate companies.
If it wasn't for the fact that the realtor seemed antsy to leave, I would have just shrugged it off. Combined with the fact that he showed up in shorts and a t-shirt and hasn't even acknowledged receiving an email we sent 24 hours ago, we're not sure if he's a full-time, serious realtor.
Ugh.
Edited to add:
He contacted us shortly after I wrote this. Apparently, out of a dozen listings we sent him to check, only 2 are eligible for a VA loan. They have been on the market for 3 and 5 days.
We told him we wanted to see them as soon as possible. We'll find a new realtor if his idea of "soon" is something like Tuesday.
Second Edit:
I called the agents for the two homes he told us were in contract. One was in a 7 day option that may or may not work out. The agent said she honestly wasn't sure either way. The other one had a low-ball offer over a week ago that didn't work out. It's still currently on the market and showing.
I would like an explanation of why he told us that they both had accepted offers and gone into contract, not a 7 day thing or something that didn't pan out over a week ago.
Edited to add:
He contacted us shortly after I wrote this. Apparently, out of a dozen listings we sent him to check, only 2 are eligible for a VA loan. They have been on the market for 3 and 5 days.
We told him we wanted to see them as soon as possible. We'll find a new realtor if his idea of "soon" is something like Tuesday.
Second Edit:
I called the agents for the two homes he told us were in contract. One was in a 7 day option that may or may not work out. The agent said she honestly wasn't sure either way. The other one had a low-ball offer over a week ago that didn't work out. It's still currently on the market and showing.
I would like an explanation of why he told us that they both had accepted offers and gone into contract, not a 7 day thing or something that didn't pan out over a week ago.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
The Butterfly Built-In
I've been looking at IKEA hacks because some of the furniture I'm interested in having is not worth the amount of money it costs at a furniture store. One struck me more than the others -- a vintage style built-in.
I already have a few items I plan to display. It all stems to my butterfly obsession that started back before I was in college. Lepidoptera is full of the most beautiful creatures.
The idea for the built-in started off with the framed butterfly I got at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which I plan to get a couple more of from eBay where they're half the price. I will probably do something with the frames, though. Maybe spray paint them and add some decoration.
I also have owned this book since I was in college and picked it up in the bargain bin for about $3.50.
I picked this up today at Goodwill for 79 cents because I liked the colors and plan to see if I can find a realistic small, cheap butterfly, like the kind people use in crafts, to add to it. Probably take a look around online before hitting up a craft store.
I already have a few items I plan to display. It all stems to my butterfly obsession that started back before I was in college. Lepidoptera is full of the most beautiful creatures.
The idea for the built-in started off with the framed butterfly I got at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which I plan to get a couple more of from eBay where they're half the price. I will probably do something with the frames, though. Maybe spray paint them and add some decoration.
That Could Have Gone Better...
We ventured out to meet our realtor at the first of four houses this morning at 9. We got there at 8:30 after breakfast at Jack in the Box and nervously waited.
From the outside, the house looked fine. However, inside was a completely different story. The first thing we noticed was that the carpets were awful -- stained and damaged. That wasn't a total deal breaker. Then, we spotted water damage on the ceiling and in the utility closet. Even though we knew after that, we weren't getting this particular house, we took an extended look around and found a door that had been previously kicked in and holes in the wall. The realtor also told us that we'd have to bring in a range to put in the empty spot for them to even appraise it. So no.
We drove a couple miles to the next house. It was in better shape. The carpets were pretty bad, and there was some rotting on the wood on the backyard door frame. We'd have to fix those things before the VA would appraise it. It was something worth considering until the realtor checked and found out they already had 15 offers and were taking one very soon. He said that investors tended to snatch up foreclosures at this price and pay in cash, which would be accepted over a VA loan offer.
When we arrived at the third home, the realtor told us that the last two homes had accepted offers this morning so there was nothing to look at. They had been on the market for less than 10 days each. We were pretty down about the whole thing. He put us on an email list to get new listings as they popped up and asked if we could expand our search.
We drove up north to Conroe and liked the area. It would be a 25-30 minute drive to my husband's work, but he works nights so at least it would be less traffic than if he worked a typical day shift. We have until September 15 to go into closing to have a Nov 1 move in date. We found out, though, that we would have a first payment in December if we took possession in October so that's an option as well. Anything from August 16 to September 15 would work for a 45 day contract.
On the way to Conroe, we decided that if we had to, we'd figure something out as far as temporary lodging goes since we can't afford to live in this apartment on a month to month basis. Worst case scenario is that we have to move into one of those monthly rate motels for a little while and put our stuff in storage.
My husband sent me listings in Conroe so I suppose it's time to go over them and try not to get overly attached to any of them.
From the outside, the house looked fine. However, inside was a completely different story. The first thing we noticed was that the carpets were awful -- stained and damaged. That wasn't a total deal breaker. Then, we spotted water damage on the ceiling and in the utility closet. Even though we knew after that, we weren't getting this particular house, we took an extended look around and found a door that had been previously kicked in and holes in the wall. The realtor also told us that we'd have to bring in a range to put in the empty spot for them to even appraise it. So no.
We drove a couple miles to the next house. It was in better shape. The carpets were pretty bad, and there was some rotting on the wood on the backyard door frame. We'd have to fix those things before the VA would appraise it. It was something worth considering until the realtor checked and found out they already had 15 offers and were taking one very soon. He said that investors tended to snatch up foreclosures at this price and pay in cash, which would be accepted over a VA loan offer.
When we arrived at the third home, the realtor told us that the last two homes had accepted offers this morning so there was nothing to look at. They had been on the market for less than 10 days each. We were pretty down about the whole thing. He put us on an email list to get new listings as they popped up and asked if we could expand our search.
We drove up north to Conroe and liked the area. It would be a 25-30 minute drive to my husband's work, but he works nights so at least it would be less traffic than if he worked a typical day shift. We have until September 15 to go into closing to have a Nov 1 move in date. We found out, though, that we would have a first payment in December if we took possession in October so that's an option as well. Anything from August 16 to September 15 would work for a 45 day contract.
On the way to Conroe, we decided that if we had to, we'd figure something out as far as temporary lodging goes since we can't afford to live in this apartment on a month to month basis. Worst case scenario is that we have to move into one of those monthly rate motels for a little while and put our stuff in storage.
My husband sent me listings in Conroe so I suppose it's time to go over them and try not to get overly attached to any of them.
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