Karen Buys a House

Here is our house buying experience, from beginning to end. (this is quite long)

May 21, 2005
We decided to start looking for some place new to live. Our rent to own turned out to be in a bad neighborhood, needing some major repair and possibly growing molds in the basement.

We began debating neighborhoods and commutes and decided that everyone having a 15 minute commute would be ideal, but under 45 minutes would be survivable for all involved.

June 2, 2005
We stumbled upon the house that would eventually be "the one." We were originally drawn to the size and location, but also fell in love with the concept of 1 level, something that could be important to my health. We decided to try for it. Because of Karen's excellent credit, we were able to get pre-approved for 100% financing at a good interest rate and had an application pending. We decided to drive by the house, since we were in the area anyway. The house was vacant so we were able to get out and look around. We really liked what we saw.

June 5, 2005
We contacted an independent realtor and set an appointment to see the house.

June 6, 2005
We met the realtor, toured the house and found that it was in great shape, well maintained but full of weird household goods. There was a futon, piano, aquarium, collection of drinking glasses, boxes of Christmas decorations and all the assorted equipment needed to raise sheep on the property. We made an offer stipulating that the house be inspected and the stuff had to go. We gave them two days to respond.

June 8, 2005
They've agreed to clean up the property but want a little more then we offered. They're paying all closing costs though so it comes out to be right below where we drew the line, so we're going to accept!

June 9, 2005
We've accepted their counter offer! WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!

June 10, 2005
We've discovered that you can't get 80/20 financing (no money down) on a modular home (and that's what we're buying). You can get FHA though, and pay a low (4%) down payment IF the foundation passes certification. We'll be scheduling normal inspection and the foundation certification soon.

June 11, 2005
Rob and I take Mom by the house. During the tour of the backyard, I step on a nail. It didn't require medical treatment, but it did ruin my day.

June 15, 2005
The house was inspected, the inspector said the house was in good condition with a few exceptions.
1. The garden tub & sink in the master bath aren't attached to the septic tank, they just empty under the house, not into a dry well, just into the crawl space.
2. The sump pump under the house doesn't pump the water out far enough from the house, so it just runs back in. The hose that it pumps the water through is also not level. It crosses over many small hills in the crawl space. It is barely effective. It requires leveling and a longer hose, but the pump is good.
3. The electrical wiring in the crawl space is laying on the ground. It must be tacked to the underside of the floor joists.
4. The small door on the garage has water damage and needs replaced. It's damaged because the down spout for the house empties right there, into the garage and the garage has no gutters, so the run off from the garage roof runs there too. The door needs to be replaced before it damages the door frame and then the garage. The down spout also needs extended and the garage needs gutters.
5. The central air conditioning barely works. This could be because the unit is in severe need of cleaning, or the fact that one of the main ducts is not hooked up. It's there, in the crawl space, but not attached to the vent system. This has to be attached and the ac and furnace serviced and "rejuvenated" by a professional.

They also found a couple minor things. There is 1 outlet that's wired wrong, the wires are reversed and need corrected if it is to be used. Only 1 of the 4 lights in the garage worked, either due to bad bulbs or fixtures, but the wiring was alright. The microwave is missing its door handle and is hard to open and the toilet in the small bathroom has no seat / lid. There is also an obvious patch to on of the walls. It just looks like someone hit the corner with a piece of furniture, but it could be patched better.

So nothing to make us run away screaming, but a few issues that need resolved. We've made a list of demands (I don't know what it's formally called) asking that they repair these things and clean the place up, or we'll rescind our offer.

The inspector also said that the foundation should pass certification, no problem. Water tests from the well will come back in a few days.

Everything looks good on the FHA loan too.

June 17, 2005
They've agreed to most of our demands, the few they refuse are fine by us though, so we're still good to go.

June 19, 2005
Karen takes her parents to see the house.

June 20, 2005
We've signed up for homeowner's insurance. Packing is moving along dismally slow. We're trying to sort as we pack, but not making much progress.

June 26, 2005
My mom calls me, she's been by the house twice in the last 2 days (it's on her way home from work) and have never seen anyone there, nor is any of the stuff gone. She stops by and peeks in the windows and sees that nothing has be removed from inside either.

June 28, 2005
I want to scream, I want to cry, I want to vomit...

We just checked Rob's email and we got bad news from the realtor.

None of the cleaning that we stipulated as part of our offer has been done. NONE of it. There's still personal items, furniture (including a piano) and trash in the house. There's still all manner of stuff in the garage. There are still livestock equipment and huge piles of junk in the back yard.

None of the repairs required by the inspector have been done. NONE of them. The electrical work, the plumbing, the minor repairs to the siding and a couple windows, nothing has been done. The drainage issues that had to be done in order to get the loan approved. All untouched.

The seller also has to come up with $3000 to pay the mortgage off. We were assured by the other realtor that she had a clear title.

The closing has been moved back to 4 PM Thursday, but there's no way we're going to close on these terms.

So back to searching, this was just too good to be true.


June 31, 2005
The day of closing, our realtor really shone through!
When our realtor learned that the seller hadn't done ANYTHING as far as the cleaning and repairs that we had requested and she had agreed to, she went to work on them. They simply agreed to the cleaning and repairs we requested then totally ignored their obligations to carry through.

We threatened to walk away. In fact we were all set to, because our financing wouldn't allow us to go through without arrangements for repairing the drainage and electrical concerns. We were also very concerned that the seller wouldn't be able to come up with the money needed to get the title cleared for sale. Apparently she owed quite a bit more then she though. The seller and her realtor had not co-operated with us at all. After we threatened to walk away, and the bank threatened to foreclose, the seller FINALLY got an electrician and plumber out there, and cleaned the place up. In fact the plumber was there yesterday and they cleaned all the garbage out of the yard today, at 1 PM, we were set to close at 4 PM.

So today at 2 PM we had a walk through. When we got there, our realtor was UNDER THE HOUSE making sure that the drainage issues had been addressed. They had and it was satisfactory. We took a walk through, carefully inspecting things to make sure they had been addressed, including walking the land to be sure that the trash out there was all gone (there are still a couple patches of tall weeds which could have hidden piles of garbage). It was all in good shape, everything except some glasses in the kitchen had been removed.

When we got to the closing, the seller was able to provide us with receipts for all the repairs, and the invoices / notes of the repair people. She had also come up with the money. Our threat combined with the threat by the bank was enough to get her to take this seriously.

We were able to go through with the deal. Which was such a relief. We went into this today sure that we would be headed home "empty handed." Even the realtor warned us that we may want to wait another month or start looking elsewhere, but we were going to try.

So yay WE GOT THE HOUSE!
 

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