In late January, we (wife and I) find a house we like. 1900 square feet, 1.75 acre, a good place to live and have a family while the area appreciates. The seller, however, is also the agent. Bad news? Yes. Originally offered with the house is a new roof. There was hail damage in April of 06, so her insurance is to pay for the new roof and for repairs to ceilings and beams caused by roof leakage. Our offer is contingent upon the roof being done by closing. Closing is Feb 22. This closing date approaches, and around the 15th, we start getting snow and rain and colder temps. This is after a winter full of 50-60 degree days, no precipitation, etc. Great roofing weather. But now the roof can't be put on. We push closing back a week, but we drive by several times and no work is being done on the house, despite 4 dry days with 40+ degree weather. I finally call the contractor who has been promised the work, who says not only can they not get it done by closing, but they can't guarantee it will be done in March. So, we walk out on the deal.
We find a new place. More square footage, a lot less land, but fewer needed improvements. The owners apparently aren't able to make payments anymore, so the bank is starting foreclosure. We offer $100 over the asking price, as we hear we aren't the only ones offering. However, the owners are MIA. Their cell phones have been canceled, the only mailing address belongs to the house we're trying to buy, and the bank isn't sure they can accept the offer since foreclosure just started. So they hem and haw for 3 days, then respond that they can't accept the offer, the owners are nowhere to be found, and there is now a 3rd offer in. We all must wait at least 45 days to hear anything.
On top of all this, our current house (we are renting) is being rented to another tenant starting April 1. Our landlord was nice enough to give us an open lease so we could look for a house to own, and pay month-to-month. He just asked that we let him know when we were getting close. Since we had a set closing date for the 1st house, that seemed close enough. However, since our rental is the nice side of a duplex for a decent price, the first person to view the house wanted it. We weren't expecting him to sign someone to a contract so quickly.
The surprising thing to me isn't all the crap that's gone wrong. Not anymore. It's that when I talk to co-workers and friends, they have horror stories too. Buying a house is a massive pain in the ass.
Cliffs:
- 1st owner/seller promised a roof, couldn't deliver twice, we walked on the deal
- 2nd owners dropped off face of planet, bank can't sell for at least 45 days
- We must be out of rental house by March 31
- Buying a house sucks :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
We find a new place. More square footage, a lot less land, but fewer needed improvements. The owners apparently aren't able to make payments anymore, so the bank is starting foreclosure. We offer $100 over the asking price, as we hear we aren't the only ones offering. However, the owners are MIA. Their cell phones have been canceled, the only mailing address belongs to the house we're trying to buy, and the bank isn't sure they can accept the offer since foreclosure just started. So they hem and haw for 3 days, then respond that they can't accept the offer, the owners are nowhere to be found, and there is now a 3rd offer in. We all must wait at least 45 days to hear anything.
On top of all this, our current house (we are renting) is being rented to another tenant starting April 1. Our landlord was nice enough to give us an open lease so we could look for a house to own, and pay month-to-month. He just asked that we let him know when we were getting close. Since we had a set closing date for the 1st house, that seemed close enough. However, since our rental is the nice side of a duplex for a decent price, the first person to view the house wanted it. We weren't expecting him to sign someone to a contract so quickly.
The surprising thing to me isn't all the crap that's gone wrong. Not anymore. It's that when I talk to co-workers and friends, they have horror stories too. Buying a house is a massive pain in the ass.
Cliffs:
- 1st owner/seller promised a roof, couldn't deliver twice, we walked on the deal
- 2nd owners dropped off face of planet, bank can't sell for at least 45 days
- We must be out of rental house by March 31
- Buying a house sucks :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
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