So, it's Saturday, but the week isn't over so let's see where I stand!
Got a copy of the fully signed contract, so we're officially set to close on May 4th.
Mortgage is in process and I've gotten everything I need submitted.
Home inspection went swimmingly (is that the phrase?). Everything is good to go on that front.
My Credit Sesame still hasn't updated from 762.
Same goes with my Credit Karma score at 766.
Final estimated money to be paid by me at closing is $3,483.04 and I have $2,127.60 in savings for that, plus an extra $850 I can pull from other, less important things. Add on top of that the $400 for the loan application fee, and that leaves me with just over $100 I need to gather from here till then, which I think I might already have sitting in my checking account.
Showing posts with label inspection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspection. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Order of Events
A few people have voiced their concern about the order in which things have been done in the process of buying this house. Specifically related to the home inspection and signing the contract. For the most part, they said I should have had the home inspected before I signed the contract to buy the house.
It makes sense that you don't want to commit to buying a house without knowing the house isn't in really bad shape and need a ton of repairs. It's good to know that you'll be buying a quality home.
The thing is, the contract itself stipulated that I had 10 days from the date it was signed that I could cancel it for any reason. That gave me the ability to lock in the home, keeping another from buying it before me, and the time I needed to get the home inspected, making sure that the house was something I actually wanted to buy.
I'm fairly sure this is a common thing, possibly even a state requirement, when buying a house. Everyone I've asked about it at least followed the same procedure as I did, putting in an offer, then having the home inspected after. With the 10 day window at the beginning of the contract to cancel for any reason, I felt confident in signing the contract before having the home professionally inspected.
Now, this is also the reason I was stressing so hard earlier. I only had a 10 day window to figure out everything. I had to know that there wouldn't be any major hurdles to buying the house, and if there were, I'd need to know right away. So I made sure I got all my paperwork into the lender right away, made sure I got the inspection done, made sure I could get insurance. Any one of those things going wrong could have meant I wouldn't be able to close on the house and if it happened after that 10 day window, bad things would happen.
At this point, I'm sure there's going to be more to stress over, there will be more things that pop up that I'll need to deal with. But right now, I've done everything I can do to make sure it all goes as smoothly as possible, and I'll have to deal with anything else as it comes along.
It makes sense that you don't want to commit to buying a house without knowing the house isn't in really bad shape and need a ton of repairs. It's good to know that you'll be buying a quality home.
The thing is, the contract itself stipulated that I had 10 days from the date it was signed that I could cancel it for any reason. That gave me the ability to lock in the home, keeping another from buying it before me, and the time I needed to get the home inspected, making sure that the house was something I actually wanted to buy.
I'm fairly sure this is a common thing, possibly even a state requirement, when buying a house. Everyone I've asked about it at least followed the same procedure as I did, putting in an offer, then having the home inspected after. With the 10 day window at the beginning of the contract to cancel for any reason, I felt confident in signing the contract before having the home professionally inspected.
Now, this is also the reason I was stressing so hard earlier. I only had a 10 day window to figure out everything. I had to know that there wouldn't be any major hurdles to buying the house, and if there were, I'd need to know right away. So I made sure I got all my paperwork into the lender right away, made sure I got the inspection done, made sure I could get insurance. Any one of those things going wrong could have meant I wouldn't be able to close on the house and if it happened after that 10 day window, bad things would happen.
At this point, I'm sure there's going to be more to stress over, there will be more things that pop up that I'll need to deal with. But right now, I've done everything I can do to make sure it all goes as smoothly as possible, and I'll have to deal with anything else as it comes along.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Inspection? CHECK!
Alright, the inspection is complete! The house got a clean bill of health, with some very minor repairs that will need to be done soonish, but nothing pressing and absolutely nothing that be a deal-breaker.
Basically, there's some siding around the chimney that will need to be replaced, just one piece. In the sun room/patio, the windows need to be sealed, the roof needs a good cleaning and so do the gutters. The free-standing carport has a hole in the roof, it's not a big deal, can be patched over temporarily, and shouldn't be too hard to make a permanent fix.
The roof is nearing its lifespan, so I'll have to set aside some money to make sure that can be replaced when the time comes. The inspector didn't find anything wrong with the roof, it's full wood and not plywood, so that's good. He walked around up there and checked it from underneath and found no damage.
The water heater is a bit old, so that will be another cost, luckily replacing that will allow me to upgrade to a decently energy efficient model. Currently it's gas, and I may consider going with something electric, but I'm not ready to research that quite yet.
The heating and air system is a bit older as well, but it tested ok. I have to say I was really impressed with how well the air conditioning unit worked. Even with a door open to the outside, it was able cool the room enough to give me a chill.
There are also a few minor repairs that will need to be done, some sanding of doors and frames, lots of work outside in the yard, fixing lights (most likely just need some new bulbs), and of course the tiling around the floor in the master bath.
One thing to note, as part of the closing on the house, the seller has agreed to pay for 1 year of a home warranty. With the age of the house and some of the main systems, this will give me some peace of mind.
Basically, there's some siding around the chimney that will need to be replaced, just one piece. In the sun room/patio, the windows need to be sealed, the roof needs a good cleaning and so do the gutters. The free-standing carport has a hole in the roof, it's not a big deal, can be patched over temporarily, and shouldn't be too hard to make a permanent fix.
The roof is nearing its lifespan, so I'll have to set aside some money to make sure that can be replaced when the time comes. The inspector didn't find anything wrong with the roof, it's full wood and not plywood, so that's good. He walked around up there and checked it from underneath and found no damage.
The water heater is a bit old, so that will be another cost, luckily replacing that will allow me to upgrade to a decently energy efficient model. Currently it's gas, and I may consider going with something electric, but I'm not ready to research that quite yet.
The heating and air system is a bit older as well, but it tested ok. I have to say I was really impressed with how well the air conditioning unit worked. Even with a door open to the outside, it was able cool the room enough to give me a chill.
There are also a few minor repairs that will need to be done, some sanding of doors and frames, lots of work outside in the yard, fixing lights (most likely just need some new bulbs), and of course the tiling around the floor in the master bath.
One thing to note, as part of the closing on the house, the seller has agreed to pay for 1 year of a home warranty. With the age of the house and some of the main systems, this will give me some peace of mind.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Home inspection is a go!
Got ahold of the home inspector, we have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 4:30. Had to make sure my agent was on-board because they'll have to let us in. Next step is to figure out things I need to inquire about. I think I'll do an update to this post as I find things, but here are a few links I'm using to determine what I need to know:
Questions to ask during home inspection
Home inspection checklist
What to look for during a home inspection
Questions to ask during home inspection
Home inspection checklist
What to look for during a home inspection
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Home inspection
So, I have two inspectors in mind. One is recommended by my parents, he does general contracting work for them. The other is a service recommended by my realtor. It's a little bit of a hard decision because the guy has done some good work for my parents and I plan on seeing what he'll be able to do for me when I need stuff done, but from my reading, you need special licensing to be able to inspect a home for certain things (at least according to this article on about.com). The most important (other than the general home inspection) would be termites. Of course, the only real way I can know is to ask, and I will do that when I call him later today.
The other recommendation (the one from my realtor) is Inspect-All Services. They seem to be a good company, and have good reviews across the internet. Plus they can definitely do the inspections I want. The only problem is, I'm sure they'll be more expensive than my parent's contractor.
In the end though, I'll have to go with whichever I feel will do a better job, no matter the cost. Can you really put a price on peace of mind?
The other recommendation (the one from my realtor) is Inspect-All Services. They seem to be a good company, and have good reviews across the internet. Plus they can definitely do the inspections I want. The only problem is, I'm sure they'll be more expensive than my parent's contractor.
In the end though, I'll have to go with whichever I feel will do a better job, no matter the cost. Can you really put a price on peace of mind?
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