#househuntersfail
Let's take a minute to talk about this whole house-buying business. Apparently you not only need money for a down payment, and a good credit score but also a significant amount of patience.
Remember back in January/February when I was actually excited about buying a house? Those were the good ole days. These days, I'm just annoyed and frustrated with the whole thing. You might remember that I put an offer on a deceivingly named short-sale property back in February. Back then, there weren't very many properties on the market, and there didn't seem to be many people looking to buy, either. Once all of my paperwork was filled out, I stopped looking at available properties and settled in to practice my patience. In the last 3+ months, I've heard hardly anything from the other side of the deal, and the updates I have received have included (but are not limited to) "BOA SUCKS!" from an apparently legit real estate agent who signs all of his emails "tom-e" and has a comcast.net email address.
Midway through April, my contractual obligation to that property expired, and tom-e didn't ask me to sign any paperwork extending it- which he should have done. Since I wasn't locked in anymore, I looked at what else was available, and looked at a foreclosure property in the same neighborhood that I really liked. It was priced higher, but move-in ready, with hardwood floors, a fireplace and new appliances. My realtor advised me that it was set up to be a multiple-offer situation, so I did some number crunching and research of my own and gave him the number I was comfortable with. He drew up the offer, I filled out all of the necessary paperwork and I waited- a little too hopefully. We got word two days later that they were proceeding with another offer. Apparently in the last 4 months, the market has started to really change. More people are looking for properties and home values have increased a surprising amount.
All of this to say, I'm frustrated. I started the whole process without many expectations and willing to go for almost anything. Now that I've seen something that I really like, it's disappointing to think of settling for anything less. I know this isn't my forever home, and that I'll probably have to make some sacrifices, but ... I don't wanna.
I'm also now in a bit of a time crunch. When my roommate moved out, my rent more than doubled, and I couldn't really justify paying that for very long, so I gave my building my 60-day notice. I have to be out of my current apartment by July 1, and right now, I don't have any idea where I'll be going, or how long it will take for the right property to come my way.
I'm discouraged. The short-sale is still theoretically moving forward, although there doesn't seem to be much actual movement. There isn't really anything else I'm that interested in, and after seeing the other property, I'm not even really that excited about the short-sale anymore. I hate moving and I'm going to have to do it twice in the next few/several months. I'm a type-A control freak and I'm not in control of this situation!
...and I'll stop throwing myself a pity party soon, don't worry.
Remember back in January/February when I was actually excited about buying a house? Those were the good ole days. These days, I'm just annoyed and frustrated with the whole thing. You might remember that I put an offer on a deceivingly named short-sale property back in February. Back then, there weren't very many properties on the market, and there didn't seem to be many people looking to buy, either. Once all of my paperwork was filled out, I stopped looking at available properties and settled in to practice my patience. In the last 3+ months, I've heard hardly anything from the other side of the deal, and the updates I have received have included (but are not limited to) "BOA SUCKS!" from an apparently legit real estate agent who signs all of his emails "tom-e" and has a comcast.net email address.
Midway through April, my contractual obligation to that property expired, and tom-e didn't ask me to sign any paperwork extending it- which he should have done. Since I wasn't locked in anymore, I looked at what else was available, and looked at a foreclosure property in the same neighborhood that I really liked. It was priced higher, but move-in ready, with hardwood floors, a fireplace and new appliances. My realtor advised me that it was set up to be a multiple-offer situation, so I did some number crunching and research of my own and gave him the number I was comfortable with. He drew up the offer, I filled out all of the necessary paperwork and I waited- a little too hopefully. We got word two days later that they were proceeding with another offer. Apparently in the last 4 months, the market has started to really change. More people are looking for properties and home values have increased a surprising amount.
All of this to say, I'm frustrated. I started the whole process without many expectations and willing to go for almost anything. Now that I've seen something that I really like, it's disappointing to think of settling for anything less. I know this isn't my forever home, and that I'll probably have to make some sacrifices, but ... I don't wanna.
I'm also now in a bit of a time crunch. When my roommate moved out, my rent more than doubled, and I couldn't really justify paying that for very long, so I gave my building my 60-day notice. I have to be out of my current apartment by July 1, and right now, I don't have any idea where I'll be going, or how long it will take for the right property to come my way.
I'm discouraged. The short-sale is still theoretically moving forward, although there doesn't seem to be much actual movement. There isn't really anything else I'm that interested in, and after seeing the other property, I'm not even really that excited about the short-sale anymore. I hate moving and I'm going to have to do it twice in the next few/several months. I'm a type-A control freak and I'm not in control of this situation!
...and I'll stop throwing myself a pity party soon, don't worry.
Not what you want to hear but.... Andrew and I actively searched for a year and a half and made over 10 offers. We got the house we are in because we put in an offer within 12 hours of the house going on the market.
ReplyDeleteIt's a long frustrating process.
I know I'm being impatient and that it usually takes a while for the right property to hit the market and for everything to work out- I'm just extra anxious right now because (short-sales are stupid and) I don't know where I'll be living 6 weeks from now :) Guess I'll learn patience one way or another :)
Deleteyou know, the other thing, a lot of realtors don't actually know short sales that well. Our realtor specialized in them and she would always talk about how realtors don't full understand them. She posts on facebook all the ti about how she pushes through short sales in 2 weeks both on the buy and selling side. so maybe see if there is a short sale specialist who can speed the process along
Delete