New beginnings!

So I guess I didn't keep up on my end of the bargain- it's been a while since I updated! (Time flies.) But this a long entry- so I am sort of making up for my time away! :)

And I do have some news!  After all that looking we finally found a HOUSE!!!  There was a new listing that was actually not a short sale- so surprise surprise it moved MUCH faster.

Our "dream" home is quite like this- definitely no heart cloud- but you get the idea!! 

We looked at this house on a Friday night and we really liked it. We walked in and it was SO nice. Nothing needed to be fix/updated or even painted (we probably will paint- but it will be for fun not because someone thought lime green would be a great bedroom color). This was a new feeling for me- every other house needed some work- maybe not immediately to live in, but to get it to where we wanted our home to be, some changes need to happen!

This is something you need to think about when you see a house. Include the cost of fixing things or upgrading rooms in your list price.  It might be worth spending a little more on a mortgage if you do not have to include remodeling and replacing carpet costs.

This is the case with this home. It is actually listed a little more than we originally wanted to spend- but it is move-in ready, and with the market improving so quickly, to get what we wanted in a house we needed to increase our budget a little bit.

The home has everything we wanted- three bedrooms, two and half baths, a basement and two car garage- plus, bonus, it even has a fenced in backyard!  After we saw the house we took the weekend to think about it, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted it.  I was quickly loosing hope in our short sale offer and kept thinking even if we get the short sale offer accepted- how long will the rest of this process be, what about the inspection, what about the appraisal???

After the weekend we decided to make our offer. We sent it on a Tuesday and by Thursday we had an accepted contract!  (Very different than the short sale process.) We were lucky we didn't miss out on the home, since we had taken the weekend to think it over.  It's just such a big decision though, I'm glad we did wait. When we moved forward we were confident in our decision!

With our accepted contract this started the clock on our inspection period. We gave ourselves 10 days to complete a home inspection (This was enough time to allow us time to do an inspection and then if we need to call in a roofer, electrician, or any other specialists we still had time to get estimates from them.).

The following Tuesday we had our house inspection. We did a full home inspection, termite inspection and a radon test. (Radon is a  cancer causing gas found in some soils and may get into the air in the home).  All the inspections and test came back OK. We had no major issues with the home! We did ask the home owners to make some minor electrical fixes which they agreed to and have actually already been completed.

When you get a home inspection- do not expect the home owner to make any major improvements to the home.  A home inspection is more of a reassurance to the buyer that they know what they are walking into. But the current home owner is not expected to make the home completely new and perfect for the buyer.

So now we are on to the financing and appraisal part of the home buying process.  This is all very exciting and a little nerve racking- I just want to know we are all set and we can move in!  But our closing date is not until July 30th- so we have a while to wait.  This closing date is much longer than an average closing date- but it was the date both the sellers and us (the buyers) agreed upon.  It will give us longer to pack and give our apartment complex notice- so that is a positive.

We are back to a waiting game now- but at least this waiting game has an end date- that will hopefully also be our move in date!

JS

The Long and Winding Road....

We went on a family vacation a few weeks ago- and since we have been waiting to hear anything on the short sale house, for more than a month- you know they are going to need something from us the week we are 700 miles from home.

This is exactly what happened!  I told the listing Realtor- we would be out of town but I would have access to my email and four days into the vacation what do I get- an email! I don't get more than one email a week updating me that we are still waiting and I'm 4 states away and I get an email needing a form filled out, signed, notarized and faxed... and it can't wait until the following Monday.

It's pretty much how real estate works. There is A LOT of waiting and then a real quick rush to get something completed.... then you wait and wait until the next mini-crisis!

Anyway we had an email asking us to complete a Short Sale Affidavit- which is basically a form saying that the seller makes no profit on the sale of the home.  We had to sign it and get it notarized before the bank closed Friday afternoon.  No big deal except- I had no printer, fax or bank with an account anywhere within a 200 mile radius.

But we were up for a challenge!  We were able to print the form at the office we where we were staying.  Getting it notarized was a bit more challenging because no one wants to notarize your form unless you have an account with them.  Luckily, we found one who bent the rules a little for us and notarized our form.  We then just had to fax it back at the office.  We got it done- but it was a bit more challenging to complete than it should have been!

So we get our form back into them- and since then (more than 2 weeks ago)  I have heard nothing!!! Makes me feel like that form totally could have waited three days! (haha)

As this short sale process continues I am understanding more and more why short sales are so frustrating- you just spend so much time not knowing! It can get discouraging.  So all I can say is just keep looking and be certain you are not missing out on anything you may like better.  And just get comfortable because when you put an offer in on a short sale you are in for a long haul!

I'll keep you updated and try to update more frequently- but as I said it's a slow process and so far I know nothing more than I did three weeks ago!

JS

Back in the Game!

First off- I apologize for taking so long to update.  I left you hanging saying we were looking at a house that night- then didn't update for two weeks! So I am very sorry- I know you were all on the edge of your seats!  :)

Anyway- we did go and look at another house and... it was awful!  Well not all of it- the neighborhood was very cute and nicely landscaped and just looked very inviting.  But the house we toured was left in shambles. Not one single room was fully furnished. I thought maybe they were in the process of moving out, but there was dirty laundry scattered about the house.... so I was a bit confused! I was also a little bit upset- because it looked so cute from the outside- but alas, looks can be deceiving!  

Cute home on the outside looks nice and spacious....

but the inside feels like this! 

But aside from the decorating and laundry issues there were cracks in the ceiling and holes in the walls.  And the actual layout of the home made it feel small and almost like an apartment instead of a single family home. So we have elected to just forget about this home!

Actually seeing this home encouraged us to raise the offer on the short sale home we previously offered on (this was the home that was re-listed at the higher price).  We re-submitted our offer and are now awaiting their response once again.  So we are back in a waiting game!

We re-submitted our offer two weeks ago and have gone back to our weekly email updates which so far have told us there is a 1-2 week delay, which we are in the second week of- meaning we should hear something next week. So until next week fingers crossed....

JS

Funny Story...

So we have been waiting for the results of our offer on the short sale home and have been getting these weekly updates that say where our offer stands.  All while we're still looking to see if there is anything else we want to look at... and that has basically been the game for the past 3-4 weeks.

Guess what I found this week while looking at new listings!!!!  The house that we placed an offer on  was listed as a new listing $20,000 higher!

SURPRISE!!! 

A few hours later I received our weekly update saying that we have the opportunity to resubmit our offer at the new asking price. So that's stinks!  :(

This particular house was in the middle of a appraisal dispute when we placed our offer. Now that they have finally settled the dispute the value of the home has increased. This is why it is being re-listed at the higher price.

Well, now the ball is in our court.  We must decide if we want to re-submit the offer at the new asking price or if we want to let this one go and look for a new house.

I'm still not sure what we are going to do.

We are going to look at another house tonight, so we will see how this home stacks up against the one we already  placed an offer on.

Needless to say I'm a little frustrated...but it is all part of the game.  I know we will find a home eventually, it just might not be this one.....or maybe it will.... WHO KNOWS????

I'll keep you posted!

JS

And We're Waiting...

Hey guys- I wish I could write a great update stating how much we have moved forward with our offer..

But unfortunately I can't- I don't want to mislead or lie to you guys!

I know nothing more since my last update.  We are still waiting on rejection, acceptance or a counter   on our offer. This part can  be really frustrating because you are in limbo- and nobody wants to be there in any situation- but 'tis the nature of a short sale.

We just have to continue to wait and weigh our options. We have done everything we can do, and are still looking everyday to see if there are any other houses that we would like to see.  So far nothing can compare to the value of the house we have made the offer on.

So all we can do is hope this isn't a colossal waste of time.  But  we are being smart about this short sale and are continually looking to make sure we are not passing up any other houses we really like.

It's always a balancing act.  How long do you wait, how important is each feature of a home, what are you willing to compromise on? As I said before this whole process can be tricky, but hopefully the end result will be... Home Sweet Home! 

Ready, Set... Wait...

It's the waiting game...

Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

We received a weekly email update on the status of our offer.  It said the average short sale takes 3-5 months to complete.  (I knew this was coming.)

We have been told there is a one week delay on processing our offer while we wait for lender approval or a counter offer. (That's why they say short sales should really be called long sales-haha real estate joke.)

So the choice is up to us since our offer technically expires Tuesday- we can choose to leave our offer in the pool or we can withdraw our offer and look for another house. We can play the game or move on.

We have looked at the houses currently on the market and decided there isn't really anything that we want to look at right now- so we will keep our offer right now and see what we find out next Monday.

The most important thing you can do in this situation is to keep your eye on the market to see if anything else comes available that you want to see.  But if you decide to make an offer on another home be certain you withdraw your first offer.  You DO NOT want to have two accepted offers.  Compare the houses to the house you have your offer in on  and see how they stack up to each other.  If there is a better option you may want to withdraw your offer and avoid the waiting game.

For us right now I guess we are just going to get ready for an intense waiting game!

It's a tricky thing...

Good news!

We saw two houses over the weekend!  We scheduled to see one and went to an open house for another.  Both houses are short sales.  Which could be a really good thing because we can get a really good deal- but from all I have heard they can be a little tricky and quite a headache! (Do I really want to take that on.... the answer is... Sure, why not- I'm all about getting a deal!)

So what exactly is a short sale?  Let me try to explain this in normal terms.  Essentially a short sale is when the bank agrees to sell the property for less then what is owed on the property.  It is a way to avoid foreclosure for the seller and the bank. This means you can get a really good deal on a house but the process is a bit more complicated and slower because more people are involved (buyer, bank and seller).  And I'll let you know what else I find out if we move forward with either of these properties.

Both houses we toured needed a little bit of work- but nothing that I am not willing to take on- a little scrubbing, painting, steam cleaning- these are projects I can handle!

The first house we saw was the open house.  It was attractive, great curb appeal, but small. I think if we choose that house we would only stay there for maybe three years and then move again because we would just run out of room.

We really liked the second house- it has everything we were looking for. It's in an area we like and the neighborhood seemed very family friendly and inviting. It's big enough that we could stay for a while and I would not feel that we need to move to accommodate a growing family.  We decided to put an offer in on this house!!  OMG!!  Super exciting and a little bit scary!

We put an on offer in on this house on Tuesday morning... since this a short sale we gave them a week to respond to the offer- which is much longer than you would give in a conventional offer (24 hours normally).  We haven't heard anything back yet but we will see what happens next week.  Do we continue the hunt or begin the closing process!!!  I will keep you posted....