KanoasDestiny
Well-Known Member
My husband and I want to buy a home, and have been looking for "the one" for some time. We drove by a house in early March, and I told Mark "Eew, I don't like it!" So we looked elsewhere. On May 31st, we were out driving around and I told Mark "let's drive by that place again". The second time we went by, it was like magic. I saw it in a whole new light and I told Mark that I wanted it. Mark called a realtor the next day (June 1st) and we went and viewed the house later that day. We went into the office on the 2nd and put in an offer for $15,000 less than what they were asking!
We figured that since it is in a rural area, it would go "Rural" and we wouldn't have to pay a down payment. HA! On the 5th, our lender called us and told us that because it is a mobile home and it was lived in (for a whole 2 months), FHA wouldn't go rural and that we'd need a 3.5% down. I paniced and we revoked the offer. At that time, I wasn't sure if I'd even have a job the following school year (layoffs), and with going into summer, we didn't have enough money saved up for a down payment (I don't get paid in July or August). But it was heart-breaking, and it kept nagging at me. So we decided to resubmit our offer on June 12th and ask the sellers to pay 6% of the closing costs. On June 18th, our agent called to tell us that the sellers would accept $25,000 less than the asking price but they would only pay 3% of the closing costs. So we counter-offered, asking that they pay 4.5% of the closing. And on the 25th, they agreed to our offer and terms.
The first time we called and talked with our lender (June 3rd), we told him that we kept our savings at home, rather than in a bank. He told us to get our money in the bank ASAP. So we did. So on July 6th, he called and told us that we were going to have a problem because there was no paper trail for the $3,000 that we suddenly put in the bank. He told us not to worry too much, that he would think of something. We had little faith, since he's the one who told us to do it in the first place, and he never mentioned a paper trail (we could have had my mom "gift" us that money if we had known).
On the 20th of July, we opened escrow. But on August 1st, the appraisal came back as $23,000 less than the agreed price. So once again, we had to go back into negotiations with the sellers, to make sure that they'd continue with the sale, rather than backing out of it and waiting for market values to rise. It took them 2 weeks to get back in touch with us, and then they requested a copy of the appraisal, so they could make their decision. It took them over a month to agree to continue with the sale and to return the necessary paperwork, so that we could continue with escrow and the underwriting. In that time, enough time had passed where our lender could use a bank statement showing our last 45 days of activity, rather than the 3 months of normal bank statements that we get in the mail. Then to find out, instead of the 2.5 acres that we were supposed to get, it's only 2.08 because the county took some of the property for roadway.
Escrow should have closed on September 20th, but on September 30th, we found out our lender's underwriter didn't want to finance the house because it is a mobile home in a rural area. Apparently, they thought it was a risky investment. Our agent put us in contact with a bank representative she works with, and on October 5th, we went in and restarted the loan process all over again with him. We had to pay an extra $275, to have the appraisal looked at again by this office. Today, we got a call from our agent saying that the bank doing our loan wanted a well and septic certification done on the property, and that if this doesn't close by the end of this month, then the house goes from a "short sale" to a "foreclosure". And no one wants that to happen. As of now, we'll have to pay $400 for the well cert, and $300 for the septic cert. This $700 along with that extra $275 for the appraisal to be reappraised, is almost an extra $1,000 on top of what we already owe for the down/closing. Not to mention that our 60 day escrow has almost become a 120 day escrow.
Please, I need some words of encouragement! Please remind me that when this is all said and done, and put behind us, this house will be worth it! I feel extremely discouraged right now because it doesn't seem like escrow will ever close! Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake? To pay $400 for the appraisal, along with that $275 and $700...just to not end up getting the place anyway.
*Update on page 2
We figured that since it is in a rural area, it would go "Rural" and we wouldn't have to pay a down payment. HA! On the 5th, our lender called us and told us that because it is a mobile home and it was lived in (for a whole 2 months), FHA wouldn't go rural and that we'd need a 3.5% down. I paniced and we revoked the offer. At that time, I wasn't sure if I'd even have a job the following school year (layoffs), and with going into summer, we didn't have enough money saved up for a down payment (I don't get paid in July or August). But it was heart-breaking, and it kept nagging at me. So we decided to resubmit our offer on June 12th and ask the sellers to pay 6% of the closing costs. On June 18th, our agent called to tell us that the sellers would accept $25,000 less than the asking price but they would only pay 3% of the closing costs. So we counter-offered, asking that they pay 4.5% of the closing. And on the 25th, they agreed to our offer and terms.
The first time we called and talked with our lender (June 3rd), we told him that we kept our savings at home, rather than in a bank. He told us to get our money in the bank ASAP. So we did. So on July 6th, he called and told us that we were going to have a problem because there was no paper trail for the $3,000 that we suddenly put in the bank. He told us not to worry too much, that he would think of something. We had little faith, since he's the one who told us to do it in the first place, and he never mentioned a paper trail (we could have had my mom "gift" us that money if we had known).
On the 20th of July, we opened escrow. But on August 1st, the appraisal came back as $23,000 less than the agreed price. So once again, we had to go back into negotiations with the sellers, to make sure that they'd continue with the sale, rather than backing out of it and waiting for market values to rise. It took them 2 weeks to get back in touch with us, and then they requested a copy of the appraisal, so they could make their decision. It took them over a month to agree to continue with the sale and to return the necessary paperwork, so that we could continue with escrow and the underwriting. In that time, enough time had passed where our lender could use a bank statement showing our last 45 days of activity, rather than the 3 months of normal bank statements that we get in the mail. Then to find out, instead of the 2.5 acres that we were supposed to get, it's only 2.08 because the county took some of the property for roadway.
Escrow should have closed on September 20th, but on September 30th, we found out our lender's underwriter didn't want to finance the house because it is a mobile home in a rural area. Apparently, they thought it was a risky investment. Our agent put us in contact with a bank representative she works with, and on October 5th, we went in and restarted the loan process all over again with him. We had to pay an extra $275, to have the appraisal looked at again by this office. Today, we got a call from our agent saying that the bank doing our loan wanted a well and septic certification done on the property, and that if this doesn't close by the end of this month, then the house goes from a "short sale" to a "foreclosure". And no one wants that to happen. As of now, we'll have to pay $400 for the well cert, and $300 for the septic cert. This $700 along with that extra $275 for the appraisal to be reappraised, is almost an extra $1,000 on top of what we already owe for the down/closing. Not to mention that our 60 day escrow has almost become a 120 day escrow.
Please, I need some words of encouragement! Please remind me that when this is all said and done, and put behind us, this house will be worth it! I feel extremely discouraged right now because it doesn't seem like escrow will ever close! Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake? To pay $400 for the appraisal, along with that $275 and $700...just to not end up getting the place anyway.
*Update on page 2
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