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I've got money on the tenant trashing/looting the place before move out, if it's not already.
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Mar 17, 2021 22:37
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Mortgage brokers even in normal times are terrible to deal with, right now they're so busy they could care less if you close a loan with them, they have more work than they know what to do with right now.
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Mar 17, 2021 22:39
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Fire that guy (into the sun) also. Just about everyone involved with home transactions are barely-educated unmotivated people. If they were slightly less smart and/or scrupulous they would be working at a used car lot. This goes double for realtors and mortgage brokers. Fortunately they are basically all commodities and easily replaceable. You should dump them at the first whiff of trouble because there's always another buyer agent you can work with, another bank to get a mortgage from and another house available to buy.
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Mar 17, 2021 22:39
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loquacius posted:I sure don't trust any handshake deal between these people any more than I did this morning, I can tell you that much lol at ever trusting a handshake deal in... new jersey real estate
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Mar 17, 2021 22:44
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Motronic posted:Fire that guy (into the sun) also. Just about everyone involved with home transactions are barely-educated unmotivated people. If they were slightly less smart and/or scrupulous they would be working at a used car lot. This goes double for realtors and mortgage brokers. Fortunately they are basically all commodities and easily replaceable. You should dump them at the first whiff of trouble because there's always another buyer agent you can work with, another bank to get a mortgage from and another house available to buy. Just fired him via email and omg, he's so angry and pissy.
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Mar 17, 2021 23:00
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Our lawyer is super excited. He says he and the sellers' lawyer had a long brainstorming session on the phone because neither of them have ever dealt with anything like this in their careers. He actually liked our agent's idea and is willing to try to write up a contract stipulating that (a) we put down a deposit but don't attempt to get a mortgage or do an inspection just yet, (b) if the tenant gets under contract for a condo or vacates the property we move forward from there, and (c) if we find another house that doesn't have other people living in it in the meantime we can just get our deposit back and walk away clean. If they agree to this -- and maybe they will, who the hell else are they gonna sell to if they can't get their tenant out? -- we're good. If not, gently caress this whole situation, we're out. I dunno, it's worth a shot. In particular, the inspection would happen after the tenant vacates, so if she DOES trash the place, it's at least not gonna be on us financially to fix it
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Mar 17, 2021 23:26
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amethystbliss posted:Just fired him via email and omg, he's so angry and pissy. 
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Mar 17, 2021 23:35
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Closed today. The final walk-through revealed some funny problems: seller had agreed to actually hook up the washer and dryer (which hadn't been done by inspection, hurr) but somehow did so in a way that stopped the hot water from working in one shower and the stove gas from working (this is our theory). Got a last minute $2k credit to fix it though. We've been so lucky with this deal that I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, probably when the cable guy drills a hole through the fridge or something tomorrow...
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Mar 17, 2021 23:57
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Uhhhh....best of luck on that $2k credit because there is no way.......
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Mar 18, 2021 00:04
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GunnerJ posted:Closed today. The final walk-through revealed some funny problems: seller had agreed to actually hook up the washer and dryer (which hadn't been done by inspection, hurr) but somehow did so in a way that stopped the hot water from working in one shower and the stove gas from working (this is our theory). Got a last minute $2k credit to fix it though.
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Mar 18, 2021 00:17
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Backstory: On Monday evening, he sent us a bunch of documents with incorrect information (like forms to sign saying we had clear deed to our current home that don't apply because it's a rental, address disclosure forms saying our past residences were owned properties when we've only ever rented and some other minor mistakes). We emailed asking to correct and didn't hear back all day yesterday. Then he emailed us this morning saying "THE LOAN IS JUST SITTING COLLECTING DUST, WHY HAVEN'T YOU SIGNED DISCLOSURES YET, WE NEED TO ACT NOW OR I'LL CANCEL YOUR LOAN!" I called him this morning and was like whoah buddy, we're waiting on you over here. Please answer the questions we emailed you. He was a dick, but answered the questions and corrected the forms. Then he emailed us saying we need to pay the appraisal ASAP to move forward. Husband's original email: "Thanks for all your help. Inspections are happening this week and early next week - I'd like to wait to pay the appraisal fee until after we receive the reports. We expect to have the reports shortly thereafter. Any issues with this? Cheers." Lender's initial response: "Yes serious issues. You are talking about delaying the loan and up to a full week? You would be forcing me to work with a severe handicap to make the closing date on time. I have been down this road many times. The realtors will begin calling and threatening that they will pull the plug, what is wrong with my company why are we not closing on time, what is wrong with me, etc etc . I would really like to avoid that stress if at all possible. Honestly I refuse to work under that pressure. The loan will just sit without the appraisal being paid. I am sorry I can not continue to work on this loan if you are going to wait for a week to pay the appraisal. I understand your position but you have to understand mine. This is your first purchase and this is not mine . I know what is going to happen. So please LMK what you would like to do. " We didn't respond to that and instead spent the afternoon looking at other lenders. Lender's email this afternoon: "Your refusal to pay the appraisal fee will delay this loan AGAIN. If you don't pay the appraisal fee today, I will cancel your loan. I tried calling your wife but she won't answer." Husband: "My wife didn't answer your call because she works full-time and was on the other line. In general, we don't appreciate the tone you have taken with us and the implication that we are the reason the loan has been sitting since Monday. You did not respond to our emails or calls when we needed clarification. I asked an honest question about the appraisal situation and expected a professional response. I don’t think this is a good fit for us and we have decided we will not be working with you on this loan. Best of luck, Husband." Lender: "You asked me if there were issues with this (waiting up to a week to pay for the apprasial) and I said YES and explained why. If you feel this was not professional I would really love to understand how exactly. I have sent this down to my customer advocacy for review. " Us: No response. (five minutes later) Lender: ""Your talking about delaying the loan" ..... I am telling you what is going to happen with your refusal to not pay for the appraisal. Maybe I did not tell you before, about not paying the appraisal. I believe I had already apologized for overlooking the email which caused the 48 hour delay. I was simply being direct and blunt depicting what has already transpired. Where did I blame you for that initial delay?" Us: Husband just sends highlighted screenshot where he said "Your refusal to pay the appraisal fee will delay this loan AGAIN." (one minute later) Lender: "If you DID in fact refuse to pay for the appraisal for a full week .... yes you WOULD of been the cause of the delay. The FULL WEEK delay which I went on to explain the repercussions of the FULL WEEK delay. Where did I blame the initial delay on you exactly ? I absolutely DID NOT blame you, I absolutely IMPLICATED that a refusal to pay the appraisal for a FULL WEEK would endanger the well being of this loan closing on time. you DO realize that even if you had signed the docs on time and we had no delay in the beginning my answer would of been EXACTLY the same. You would of asked me if I had issues with this and I would of said the exact same thing. You asked a question and I gave you a professional answer." (one more minute later) Lender: Sends passive aggressive screenshot of the loan application, with a circle around the word "CANCELLED" Dude, this is not about paying the appraisal fee. We weren't refusing, we were just nicely asking if it's required and you started acting like a total jackass. We have not responded to anything so far, but he keeps frothing.
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Mar 18, 2021 00:18
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SpartanIvy posted:This is either something stupidly simple like the valves being turned off, or horrendously incompetent like cutting the water and gas to the shower/stove to feed the washer/dryer. You're either going to have a very easy $2,000 or spend way more than that figuring it out and fixing it. The stove worked during inspection and the dryer is gas heat, so we're hoping it's just that someone got lazy and cut a corner that can be restored with the tiniest amount of care. There's still the exciting possibility massive hidden bullshit though!
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Mar 18, 2021 00:29
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Yowza, that is one bad lender. I don't think I'd mind too much paying for a pre-inspection appraisal (and your post got me searching back through my records to see if I had), but I'd still expect a modicum of professionalism. In happier news, my closing costs are much lower than I'd expected, so that's nice. I received my Closing Disclosure and got alarmed that it didn't include a credit of my EMD, before realizing this is just a statement of monies paid and where they sit, and loan amounts. I swear I will not be able to relax until we're moved in, and even then I'll probably still have the odd "what if?" thoughts for several weeks after.
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Mar 18, 2021 01:16
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loquacius posted:Update for anyone who was interested in this drama: our intel that the tenant was going to try to buy a condo came from the sellers' agent, but apparently the tenant never actually told the sellers this, Sounds like the sellers agent is lying their rear end off to try and save the deal. Did you get any of that in writing? Get your agent to add an addendum to the offer deal (if you haven't already backed out of the deal) that says seller owes $100/day until the tenant situation is resolved and is no longer closing the deal, maybe citing the fact that you can't get primary home mortgage on a tenant occupied property with no exit date Or just pull the ripcord already. Do you really like this house that much?
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Mar 18, 2021 01:30
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Hadlock posted:Sounds like the sellers agent is lying their rear end off to try and save the deal. Did you get any of that in writing? We do, or at least my wife does, I'm trying to talk her down a little bit. It's been a rough market so far and this is the first house we've found that we've been able to even be competitive in bidding for that hasn't had something glaringly wrong with it (other than the other person currently living there lol). We're also really not looking forward to having to couch-surf after our condo's closing date for an unknown amount of time, but it's basically impossible to get an offer with a sale contingency accepted so we had to sell first I think the lawyer's holding-pattern contract is probably a good idea for now, as it doesn't tie us down but does give us dibs if they get their poo poo sorted out before we find somewhere better. Or it'll backfire in some unknown way, I guess, but I don't think the sellers are competent enough to pull that off
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Mar 18, 2021 01:48
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Maggie Fletcher posted:Yowza, that is one bad lender. I don't think I'd mind too much paying for a pre-inspection appraisal (and your post got me searching back through my records to see if I had), but I'd still expect a modicum of professionalism. Congrats on the closing costs coming in under expected!
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Mar 18, 2021 01:59
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amethystbliss posted:Exactly! It was just a simple question about whether waiting was an option and he's gone off on this ridiculous tirade. We have 5 more emails from him since I last posted and we haven't responded at all since earlier today. Really glad this guy has access to our personal information. 5 more emails seems like a great sign you made the correct decision at least
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Mar 18, 2021 02:05
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Is a horizontal crack alongside the exterior of a slab foundation (no basement) an immediate deal breaker? The cracks 1/16”, maybe slightly thicker in a spot, and it ran for maybe 5 away from the corner. No cracks inside, doors close and latch well, seemed like the foundation was fine otherwise for the age of the house. It’s in a great location and is great otherwise, especially for a hour that’s 60 years old
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Mar 18, 2021 02:53
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Are you on pretty stable soil in that area of san antonio? On a hillside? Is there any rust coming out of the crack? Or maybe it's been recently cleaned. Rebar that's too close to the air will oxidize and cause the concrete in the local area to erode. Either way doesn't sound like an immediate problem, maybe
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Mar 18, 2021 03:04
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gay_crimes posted:Is a horizontal crack alongside the exterior of a slab foundation (no basement) an immediate deal breaker? The cracks 1/16”, maybe slightly thicker in a spot, and it ran for maybe 5 away from the corner. No cracks inside, doors close and latch well, seemed like the foundation was fine otherwise for the age of the house. It’s in a great location and is great otherwise, especially for a hour that’s 60 years old In my novice, inexpert experience, this depends entirely on the age of the house. The one we close on next week was built 140 years ago and, as such, the fact that there were only a couple of cracks is cause for a goddamn parade. We'll get them filled/sealed and painted, but no major cause for concern via our inspector. If the house was built in 2017...less so.
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Mar 18, 2021 03:05
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Hadlock posted:Are you on pretty stable soil in that area of san antonio? On a hillside? This one's near Austin, it's in a slightly hilly area. No rust, I wouldn't bet that it was cleaned either. The house wasn't staged well. I think it's wrapped up in a messy court case and they just want to sell it Mackieman posted:In my novice, inexpert experience, this depends entirely on the age of the house. The one we close on next week was built 140 years ago and, as such, the fact that there were only a couple of cracks is cause for a goddamn parade. We'll get them filled/sealed and painted, but no major cause for concern via our inspector. Built around 1960ish. We googled "horizontal slab foundation crack" and it pulled up foundation repair sites talking about how it's the end of your basement and whatnot and that it's the beginning of complete foundation failure. Some of the pictures were pretty drastic and seemed focused on basements, which isn't a thing here. There may be some nuance between slab on grade foundation vs other types, or perhaps we are doomed if we buy this biceps crimes fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 03:25
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gay_crimes posted:Is a horizontal crack alongside the exterior of a slab foundation (no basement) an immediate deal breaker? The cracks 1/16”, maybe slightly thicker in a spot, and it ran for maybe 5 away from the corner. No cracks inside, doors close and latch well, seemed like the foundation was fine otherwise for the age of the house. It’s in a great location and is great otherwise, especially for a hour that’s 60 years old
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Mar 18, 2021 12:25
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Dik Hz posted:I'd need to see a pic.    
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Mar 18, 2021 14:21
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That looks like facing they put over the cinder blocks so it doesn't look like cinder blocks. I don't think that's structural in any way. But I'm not an expert and would have to defer to those that are.
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Mar 18, 2021 14:44
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gay_crimes posted:The first photo is the beginning of it, it becomes larger running down left, stops at the corner and there isn’t a crack visible on the other side of the foundation That parging. And it's cracked along the blocks/at the top. You need an engineer to qualify that, because it's a bunch of still-hidden bullshit. loquacius posted:this is the first house we've found that we've been able to even be competitive in bidding for that hasn't had something glaringly wrong with it (other than the other person currently living there lol) What does this tell you? Because it tells me you're looking at the wrong houses and/or your budget isn't high enough for what you want. Don't bottom feed. You won't be happy with what you get.
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Mar 18, 2021 14:51
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Talking to two real estate agents on Friday. My focus will be, “How much legwork are you really willing to do given that I live in a different state?” If anyone has suggestions on things to ask for given this specific scenario then I am all ears. The biggest things I can think of are video calling me in for walk throughs and for being physically present during inspections.
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Mar 18, 2021 14:52
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Motronic posted:What does this tell you? I'm inclined to agree here. It sounds like there IS something glaringly wrong with the house, it's uninhabitable (at least by you, for now), and there's a reason you've been able to be competitive on this one. It sucks but you have to be prepared for the possibility that she won't move out, no matter what your lawyer tries to do, and the best you can do is back out unscathed and start over. I get it, I wanted a single family home after so many years of apartments and townhomes, but the money just wasn't there. Once I accepted a townhome, a whole world of places opened up, smaller but not fixers, right in my neighborhood, which was more important to us than the actual house. It'll allow us to save up for a future dream home while building equity in a place that, honestly, we do really love. I think the market is starting to cool, though. Houses in my area are starting to close below asking, when a month ago they were going for 2-300k above. The finished townhouse that we almost bid on is still not pending, and it opened up to offers on Monday. Meanwhile the one we are in escrow on, which is dead center of the nearby comps, had four offers and ours was accepted two hours after we made the offer. I'm not sure if the selling agent on the other house is just being greedy and holding out for higher offers, or if there really isn't much interest, or maybe the listing just hasn't updated yet. Our listing updated on Redfin, MLS, Zillow, etc. as pending on the same day our offer was extended and accepted. I will be keeping an eye on that one, to see how much it ultimately goes for. We were willing to go way over asking to get it, and I'm really glad our realtor talked us into the one we got. It's so easy to get starstruck by good staging and newer finishes.
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Mar 18, 2021 15:49
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I mean, to be fair, when I say "something glaringly wrong" I don't mean that there are cracks in their foundations or termites or something, I mean they don't suit our needs because the bedrooms aren't all on the same floor, or there isn't a natural office space, or the only door into the backyard is IN the office or something like that. Our budget is up to $700K for a three-bed, which seems to be reasonable, and obviously the tenancy situation in this house wasn't advertised since the sellers didn't even know how bad it was until after they'd accepted our offer. Our agent hasn't given us any reason to believe we won't find something that works for us, and it's still quite early in the spring market. We'll explore other (cheaper) towns if too much time passes without striking gold, though.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:36
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Dik Hz posted:That looks like facing they put over the cinder blocks so it doesn't look like cinder blocks. I don't think that's structural in any way. But I'm not an expert and would have to defer to those that are. Yea, it's just normal stuff that many houses have
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Mar 18, 2021 16:55
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gay_crimes posted:This one's near Austin, it's in a slightly hilly area. No rust, I wouldn't bet that it was cleaned either. The house wasn't staged well. I think it's wrapped up in a messy court case and they just want to sell it I used to live in the Austin area and have family and friends that still do, including a house on a hill in Round Rock near the border with Austin that has similar issues to what you describe. To echo Motronic, you're going to want an engineer to look at that because it's entirely possible there is a bunch of other stuff going on.
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Mar 18, 2021 16:57
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vs Dinosaurs posted:Talking to two real estate agents on Friday. My focus will be, “How much legwork are you really willing to do given that I live in a different state?” Not a specific question but you will want a feel for how flexible they can be to accommodate you. It's a lot of work but you really do want someone who is reachable any time or day and can move at a pace for same or next day showings. Video is a must for house tours, but also inspection outbriefs, and you'll want them to be able to go back to a house with a tape measure to grab measurements as you start to have questions, or take specific pictures when a house is in a bad cell zone and you can't see the video feed. You want to be able to reach them at any time and get a response back quick, even if just 'got your text, I'll call you back after xxx.' There's not really unique tech one may have over the other, so let them know how needy you're going to be and see if they push back or act a little wary; I am not comfortable househunting remotely and I let our agent know I didn't believe in it because of everything I like to do and how nitpicky I am and she was quick to say how that want going to be a problem and she was going to make this easy for us, and it's probably been easier than hunting in person because I don't have to actually drive anywhere. Edit: one more thing we do: you miss out on not being there in person is being able to get a feel for the area. Our agent sucks her phone on her car dashboard and gives little neighborhood or major arterie tours for the houses. Probably more important if you have a family of are looking for nightlife, food and shopping, etc. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 17:00
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PageMaster posted:Not a specific question but you will want a feel for how flexible they can be to accommodate you. It's a lot of work but you really do want someone who is reachable any time or day and can move at a pace for same or next day showings. Video is a must for house tours, but also inspection outbriefs, and you'll want them to be able to go back to a house with a tape measure to grab measurements as you start to have questions, or take specific pictures when a house is in a bad cell zone and you can't see the video feed. You want to be able to reach them at any time and get a response back quick, even if just 'got your text, I'll call you back after xxx.' There's not really unique tech one may have over the other, so let them know how needy you're going to be and see if they push back or act skittle wary; I am not comfortable househunting remotely and I let our agent know I didn't believe in it because of everything I like to do and how nitpicky I am and she was quick to say how that want going to be a problem and she was going to make this easy for us, and it's probably been easier than hunting in person because I don't have to actually drive anywhere. This is great advice cause my partner and I may be remote looking for a little bit. Thanks!
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Mar 18, 2021 17:03
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The seller's attorney is taking 4+ business days to respond to our buyer's attorney / inspection review letter. Taking their sweet time is normal I assume? Fishing with other buyer's agents to see if they want to bail on me? I asked for some cash money to help with hardwood floor repair, fixing broken light fixtures, and a home warranty for their old rusty HVAC. There were 4 other offers though so maybe it was not smart to ask for those things. My agent/attorney said those asks were fairly reasonable, hope I didn't screw myself. Inner Light fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 17:38
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PageMaster posted:Response regarding remote purchases Really appreciate the message, thank you! Will focus on these areas during the interviews. The good news is that I’ve spent a significant amount of time in the city, and all the neighborhoods in considering have a consistent feel to them, with the major differences being more logistical.
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Mar 18, 2021 18:03
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PageMaster posted:Not a specific question but you will want a feel for how flexible they can be to accommodate you. It's a lot of work but you really do want someone who is reachable any time or day and can move at a pace for same or next day showings. Video is a must for house tours, but also inspection outbriefs, and you'll want them to be able to go back to a house with a tape measure to grab measurements as you start to have questions, or take specific pictures when a house is in a bad cell zone and you can't see the video feed. You want to be able to reach them at any time and get a response back quick, even if just 'got your text, I'll call you back after xxx.' There's not really unique tech one may have over the other, so let them know how needy you're going to be and see if they push back or act a little wary; I am not comfortable househunting remotely and I let our agent know I didn't believe in it because of everything I like to do and how nitpicky I am and she was quick to say how that want going to be a problem and she was going to make this easy for us, and it's probably been easier than hunting in person because I don't have to actually drive anywhere. Echoing all of these things. We're also buying from a distance. Our realtor has been able to accommodate the time difference, go back and measure things, and tell us his local perspective. We've done many video house tours, but our realtor also went out of his way to record videos of the surrounding neighborhood and streets, local downtown areas, and so on. He responds promptly and has straight up told us when homes we toured were not a good fit, even if they were higher in price than the one we are under contract for. We obviously can't fly out for every home tour but now that poo poo is getting real and we're under contract and inspections have been completed, I'm flying out to see it in person to make a final decision. Maybe it's a bit backwards, but we have 3 kids and 2 dogs and there's not really a good way to do this in a pandemic.
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Mar 18, 2021 18:49
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Back to the farmhouse decorating talk. Is anyone else's wife obsessed with Rae Dunn stuff? I swear to god every single room in my house has something Rae Dunn in it. This stuff (not my house) 
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Mar 18, 2021 21:31
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mattfl posted:Back to the farmhouse decorating talk. Is anyone else's wife obsessed with Rae Dunn stuff? I swear to god every single room in my house has something Rae Dunn in it. No but I'd like to salute this Rae Dunn person for finding such low effort way to part people from their money.
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Mar 18, 2021 22:02
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LOL. Here is a cropped image from the rando Chicago condo that I am purchasing. You are a trend caller my friend. (yes I hate these clear cabinets, I will hate waking up every day to them, but not enough to spend $ on other cabinets or window film) 
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Mar 18, 2021 23:47
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amethystbliss posted:...We obviously can't fly out for every home tour but now that poo poo is getting real and we're under contract and inspections have been completed, I'm flying out to see it in person to make a final decision. Maybe it's a bit backwards, but we have 3 kids and 2 dogs and there's not really a good way to do this in a pandemic. This is super important so definitely do this! We only skipped this because I didn't want to fly into a COVID hot spot on chemo but not seeing the house at all is not a leap of faith I would recommend.
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Mar 19, 2021 00:33
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Inner Light posted:LOL. Here is a cropped image from the rando Chicago condo that I am purchasing. Well hopefully you won't have those mugs. You can replace the doors without changing the base cabinet. Or you could try frosting the glass?
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Mar 19, 2021 00:55
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