I am currently renting my Brother-in-Law's house in NY, my wife and I have been in the market for a home for a little while now and we're convinced the ONLY way to get a home (in a DECENT neighborhood) that's a decent size in NY would cost about a 1/2 mil...We don't have that kind of money so we settled on finding something in Jersey (I have friends and family in Jersey).
Just recently, a good friend of mine and his wife got their Realtor licenses for NJ so all the better, we have friends in the business to help us!
Okay, that's a bit of the background, now let's talk about the hell that ensues...
2 Weeks ago, on Sunday we went down to Jersey to look at some places our Realtor friends setup. We saw a bunch and out of all of them there was 1 place that both my wife and I agreed we liked (didn't love it, but did like it). The Seller was asking $239k. Our friends told us that the Seller's place has been on the market for a LONG time and he's ANXIOUS to sell...
To backtrack a moment, our friends told us that there was a NYC Bus that stopped right at the Condo complex (of the place we liked) so that the commute, though a bit long, was easy. Commute is a BIG concern for me, I HATE it! So finding a place with easy commute is IMPORTANT...Hearing that the Bus stops right at the complex made it a good thing...
Back ontrack, we decided that the place is pretty nice and we'd throw a lowball offer at the Seller ($220k was our offer). We expected him to laugh it off, but if he did take it then it was a good enough price to deal with the long commute (still long, but at least it was easy).
The next morning, while I was at work, I had several messages from my friend's Mentor (when you first get your license, they make you work with a 'mentor' for your first few sales before you can go on your own)...The Seller accepted the offer! No haggling either! Wow! We did not expect that! But part of the acceptance was only if we were willing to close QUICKLY.
I'm going to start paraphrasing now, I'd end up writing a book to go through all the details...He accepts the offer. I put in for Pre-Approval ($200 fee). I find out there's no such Bus that comes to the complex!!! I contact my friends and their mentor, and tell them this is a DEAL BREAKER if the commute sucks! The Mentor lady contacts me back, there's a Bus station 2 miles away. This SUCKS, but I've already put in for the Pre-Approve (not to mention getting a really good rate) and gone through a bunch of hassle, so i say lets still do it. We schedule a carpet guy and the home inspector to go to the home to measure for new carpet and inspect the home this passed weekend. The 3-day attorney review period has passed.
Okay, gotta stretch it out again because this is where it gets UGLY...REAL UGLY...
Yesterday (when the carpet guy and inspector were scheduled) we get into town early and so we have enough time to first check out that 2-mile drive to the bus...We get on the road and drive, and drive, and drive! It wasn't 2 miles! It was closer to 10 miles!!! The 2-mile was a hard enough pill to swallow (would have to get a second car, and pay parking, but at least it's only 2 miles and like a 5 minute ride)...But a 10 mile run is a TOTALLY different story! That's AT LEAST a 15minute ordeal (just imagine if there's traffice too!). I can't begin to describe how ANGRY I was! We drive back to the place and the carpet guy and home inspector is there. I tell my friend the deal is OFF!
Remember I said it's already passed the 3-day grace period, and there was a $1,000 deposit involved...At this point in the game, the ONLY way to get out of the deal is if my pre-approval didn't go through or my Lawyer has to talk to their Lawyer and work out something. Well, I called my bank and no way out of the pre-approve (it's pretty much a done deal) and when my Lawyer got back to me (I talked to him and told him to cancel the deal) he informed me that the seller would break the contract...But ONLY if they kept 1/2 the deposit ($500).
So there you have it, I learned a $700 ($500 from deposit, and $200 wasted on pre-approve) lesson through all this...NEVER, NEVER put your trust about IMPORTANT details (like the commute, for me) in other people. I'm EXTREMELY angry with that Mentor that gave that bad info, I made a MAJOR decision (and lost BIG money) based on her giving me that bad info...But I must also accept blame because I didn't verify before moving ahead in the process.
Just recently, a good friend of mine and his wife got their Realtor licenses for NJ so all the better, we have friends in the business to help us!
Okay, that's a bit of the background, now let's talk about the hell that ensues...
2 Weeks ago, on Sunday we went down to Jersey to look at some places our Realtor friends setup. We saw a bunch and out of all of them there was 1 place that both my wife and I agreed we liked (didn't love it, but did like it). The Seller was asking $239k. Our friends told us that the Seller's place has been on the market for a LONG time and he's ANXIOUS to sell...
To backtrack a moment, our friends told us that there was a NYC Bus that stopped right at the Condo complex (of the place we liked) so that the commute, though a bit long, was easy. Commute is a BIG concern for me, I HATE it! So finding a place with easy commute is IMPORTANT...Hearing that the Bus stops right at the complex made it a good thing...
Back ontrack, we decided that the place is pretty nice and we'd throw a lowball offer at the Seller ($220k was our offer). We expected him to laugh it off, but if he did take it then it was a good enough price to deal with the long commute (still long, but at least it was easy).
The next morning, while I was at work, I had several messages from my friend's Mentor (when you first get your license, they make you work with a 'mentor' for your first few sales before you can go on your own)...The Seller accepted the offer! No haggling either! Wow! We did not expect that! But part of the acceptance was only if we were willing to close QUICKLY.
I'm going to start paraphrasing now, I'd end up writing a book to go through all the details...He accepts the offer. I put in for Pre-Approval ($200 fee). I find out there's no such Bus that comes to the complex!!! I contact my friends and their mentor, and tell them this is a DEAL BREAKER if the commute sucks! The Mentor lady contacts me back, there's a Bus station 2 miles away. This SUCKS, but I've already put in for the Pre-Approve (not to mention getting a really good rate) and gone through a bunch of hassle, so i say lets still do it. We schedule a carpet guy and the home inspector to go to the home to measure for new carpet and inspect the home this passed weekend. The 3-day attorney review period has passed.
Okay, gotta stretch it out again because this is where it gets UGLY...REAL UGLY...
Yesterday (when the carpet guy and inspector were scheduled) we get into town early and so we have enough time to first check out that 2-mile drive to the bus...We get on the road and drive, and drive, and drive! It wasn't 2 miles! It was closer to 10 miles!!! The 2-mile was a hard enough pill to swallow (would have to get a second car, and pay parking, but at least it's only 2 miles and like a 5 minute ride)...But a 10 mile run is a TOTALLY different story! That's AT LEAST a 15minute ordeal (just imagine if there's traffice too!). I can't begin to describe how ANGRY I was! We drive back to the place and the carpet guy and home inspector is there. I tell my friend the deal is OFF!
Remember I said it's already passed the 3-day grace period, and there was a $1,000 deposit involved...At this point in the game, the ONLY way to get out of the deal is if my pre-approval didn't go through or my Lawyer has to talk to their Lawyer and work out something. Well, I called my bank and no way out of the pre-approve (it's pretty much a done deal) and when my Lawyer got back to me (I talked to him and told him to cancel the deal) he informed me that the seller would break the contract...But ONLY if they kept 1/2 the deposit ($500).
So there you have it, I learned a $700 ($500 from deposit, and $200 wasted on pre-approve) lesson through all this...NEVER, NEVER put your trust about IMPORTANT details (like the commute, for me) in other people. I'm EXTREMELY angry with that Mentor that gave that bad info, I made a MAJOR decision (and lost BIG money) based on her giving me that bad info...But I must also accept blame because I didn't verify before moving ahead in the process.
