Wow, after a few days of confusion and decision-making, and a few days of being jerked around treated not-so-nicely by the seller, we decided to walk away from the house.
On this last Monday we had the inspection performed on the house. The inspector found a few things that needed to be repaired (the electrical was all messed up, lights and fans not even wired to the switch on the wall, and other things as well), and the termite inspection showed that there were termites in the house.
That same day we heard from our loan officer and found out that in order to get the loan we wanted the seller would have to prove that he'd put $40k into improving the home (he was an investor and had bought the home in December for $70k less than what we would have bought the house for). Turns out that he could only account for $15-30k. So, we couldn't get the loan we wanted, which meant we had to get an FHA loan.
In order to get the FHA loan we needed to push back the closing date 45 days. So, we asked the seller to make the repairs and then change the closing date to May 17. The seller countered and said they would wait until May 17, but they wouldn't make any of the repairs.
This whole time I had a bad feeling about the house and from the moment I heard there were termites I was ready to give up the house. When the seller said that, I immediately said, "Nope. Not going to happen. We can find a different house." So, we told the seller that we would walk away. They countered saying that they had just had an HVAC serviceman out in the last 30 days, but they would do it again and make the repairs, and close on May 17. Sounded like everything was the way we wanted it. Except that we wouldn't be getting the loan we hoped to get, so our monthly payment would be more than we would have liked.
After much deliberation and pondering, we decided that we couldn't trust this seller. First off, he said that there was new flooring in the house, which there definitely was not new carpet installed (it was torn apart and so dirty!). Then, he said that the HVAC had been serviced 30 days ago, but when the inspection was done the inspector couldn't even test one of the two AC units because it was disconnected ... so if it had been serviced within the last 30 days, shouldn't it have been connected? Then, he tried to get away without doing any repairs that really needed to be done. We felt like we'd been jerked around by our buyer in MN, and did not want to be jerked around again.
So, we walked.
Today.
And, we are through. We are going to rent for a few months, see how Jon's job goes (he's in sales now so most of his income is commission and we don't know how much he will end up making), then start looking for homes again. We figure there will always be more homes and we are sure to find the one we really, really want if we are patient enough.
This has been a huge trial, but once we decided to rent I was filled with peace, and maybe more importantly, Jon felt peace. We know this is what we need to do right now, and I am thrilled to have the option to look for a house at our own pace. We felt rushed into buying the house we bought in MN, and we felt rushed to find a house here; and I am so glad we will not feel rushed anymore.
Ah, Peace.
On this last Monday we had the inspection performed on the house. The inspector found a few things that needed to be repaired (the electrical was all messed up, lights and fans not even wired to the switch on the wall, and other things as well), and the termite inspection showed that there were termites in the house.
That same day we heard from our loan officer and found out that in order to get the loan we wanted the seller would have to prove that he'd put $40k into improving the home (he was an investor and had bought the home in December for $70k less than what we would have bought the house for). Turns out that he could only account for $15-30k. So, we couldn't get the loan we wanted, which meant we had to get an FHA loan.
In order to get the FHA loan we needed to push back the closing date 45 days. So, we asked the seller to make the repairs and then change the closing date to May 17. The seller countered and said they would wait until May 17, but they wouldn't make any of the repairs.
This whole time I had a bad feeling about the house and from the moment I heard there were termites I was ready to give up the house. When the seller said that, I immediately said, "Nope. Not going to happen. We can find a different house." So, we told the seller that we would walk away. They countered saying that they had just had an HVAC serviceman out in the last 30 days, but they would do it again and make the repairs, and close on May 17. Sounded like everything was the way we wanted it. Except that we wouldn't be getting the loan we hoped to get, so our monthly payment would be more than we would have liked.
After much deliberation and pondering, we decided that we couldn't trust this seller. First off, he said that there was new flooring in the house, which there definitely was not new carpet installed (it was torn apart and so dirty!). Then, he said that the HVAC had been serviced 30 days ago, but when the inspection was done the inspector couldn't even test one of the two AC units because it was disconnected ... so if it had been serviced within the last 30 days, shouldn't it have been connected? Then, he tried to get away without doing any repairs that really needed to be done. We felt like we'd been jerked around by our buyer in MN, and did not want to be jerked around again.
So, we walked.
Today.
And, we are through. We are going to rent for a few months, see how Jon's job goes (he's in sales now so most of his income is commission and we don't know how much he will end up making), then start looking for homes again. We figure there will always be more homes and we are sure to find the one we really, really want if we are patient enough.
This has been a huge trial, but once we decided to rent I was filled with peace, and maybe more importantly, Jon felt peace. We know this is what we need to do right now, and I am thrilled to have the option to look for a house at our own pace. We felt rushed into buying the house we bought in MN, and we felt rushed to find a house here; and I am so glad we will not feel rushed anymore.
Ah, Peace.
Comments
I hope you find something and can keep that feeling of peace. :)