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So, it's done, and in the buyer's hands.
Feb. 22nd, 2010 07:18 pmWednesday, I was furious at the bank. The kept pestering me about the loan and about the work I was doing; they wanted the engineer's reports, and the home inspection and *everything*.
Thursday, they laid down the law. No loan, without the money for the repairs being in escrow, prior to closing. I was about $18,000 short, and buying the house has me tapped out. With a loan from my 401(k), I could come up with maybe half... and they were willing to work with me a bit. They're waiving the standard "repairs costs, + 50%" in escrow, but they require at least the total bid figure being there.
There were two choices. Give up, or...
Well.
You know, there's only one thing worse than stringing a seller along, and then, at the last minute, admitting you can't pay for all the repairs, and saying "but if you give me $9,000, I'll do it."
What could possibly be worse than that? Well, how about stringing a seller along and then, at the last minute, backing out of the deal because you're too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for an extra $9,000? They can always say no, but if they think it's in their best interests, they can also say 'yes'.
And hang it all, back when I did our inspection, I knew the repairs would be expensive, so I bumped up their asking price by ten grand. In the end, we screwed up the inspections, and didn't ask for enough money, and I felt stupid, like I'd cheated myself (I had, essentially), but okay, no use whining about it. The house was worth the repairs.
But then the bank said 'no' - they didn't trust my financial ability to get the repairs, not with $18,000 uncovered.
They needed more - a consolidated bid, and an engineer to sign off on it. I had both - and I got them to the bank. Over the weekend, we got the report from the engineer, and the remaining bid. And today, just a short time ago, my agent sent the offer to the seller.
So, where do we stand?
If the seller takes my offer, the net is actually $1,000 *more* than the asking price, less repairs. It's still a good offer, I think - fair for both of us.
But, I can fully sympathize if the seller refuses. What can we do, but but wish them well and hope they find a better buyer?
Thursday, they laid down the law. No loan, without the money for the repairs being in escrow, prior to closing. I was about $18,000 short, and buying the house has me tapped out. With a loan from my 401(k), I could come up with maybe half... and they were willing to work with me a bit. They're waiving the standard "repairs costs, + 50%" in escrow, but they require at least the total bid figure being there.
There were two choices. Give up, or...
Well.
You know, there's only one thing worse than stringing a seller along, and then, at the last minute, admitting you can't pay for all the repairs, and saying "but if you give me $9,000, I'll do it."
What could possibly be worse than that? Well, how about stringing a seller along and then, at the last minute, backing out of the deal because you're too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for an extra $9,000? They can always say no, but if they think it's in their best interests, they can also say 'yes'.
And hang it all, back when I did our inspection, I knew the repairs would be expensive, so I bumped up their asking price by ten grand. In the end, we screwed up the inspections, and didn't ask for enough money, and I felt stupid, like I'd cheated myself (I had, essentially), but okay, no use whining about it. The house was worth the repairs.
But then the bank said 'no' - they didn't trust my financial ability to get the repairs, not with $18,000 uncovered.
They needed more - a consolidated bid, and an engineer to sign off on it. I had both - and I got them to the bank. Over the weekend, we got the report from the engineer, and the remaining bid. And today, just a short time ago, my agent sent the offer to the seller.
So, where do we stand?
If the seller takes my offer, the net is actually $1,000 *more* than the asking price, less repairs. It's still a good offer, I think - fair for both of us.
But, I can fully sympathize if the seller refuses. What can we do, but but wish them well and hope they find a better buyer?
