I think we might need an emergency c-section to bring this house into the world...with forceps...and the vacuum. Please prepare the OR, stat!
Good lord, why is nothing ever simple??? I swear, Tuesday I was freaking out because we were getting ready to close and it was too soon for me. Now it is Friday and we might not even get the house. The ups and downs of the real estate market...I swear, I thought working with suicidal people was stressful. It is nothing compared to the trials of being a realtor/lender. Sheesh.
So, things were going well until yesterday, when our poor little house started experiencing some decels. (for those of you who have had a baby recently, this makes sense. For those of you who haven't, just bear with me). Strap on the O2 mask and start breathing deeply...the appraisal came back too low. My first (naive) thought was, "Great! We get the house for less money!" Except after a conversation with the Whippersnapper, she informed me the sellers would not go that low, and also, we would not qualify for a mortgage at the current purchase price (since the appraised value of the home is less. No bank would agree to this.) So our only option was to come out of pocket $20K, pay that to the seller, in addition to the down payment, closing costs, etc.
In other words...no. There is no way we were going to pay any money out of pocket AND be underwater in the home, right from the start.
I really thought all was lost. If we were to cancel the deal, not only would be out about $1,000 (for the home inspection and appraisal), we ran the risk of losing our earnest money ($5K) AND having to start this miserable process all over again. Boom, crash.
But in the 11th hour, the Whippersnapper saved (and is currently saving) the day. She just called and is 1.) contesting the appraisal, 2.) writing a rebuttal to the appraisal, 3.) will be requesting a field review in the event the rebuttal doesn't work, and 4.) has spoken with the seller's agent who agreed that his clients want to sell the house and are willing to drop the price, but not drop it $20K (what the appraisal came back at.) So, his suggestion was to pay for another appraisal (eek) through a lender the sellers' really trust, and then whatever that came back at, they would sell it to us for that price (again, as long as it was not too low).
Are you with me on this? Very complicated, I know. She had to explain this to me about twelve times, and the only reason I'm writing it out right now is to make sure I have it clear in my mind. The bottom line, per the Whippersnapper: we will actually be paying less for the house than what we originally thought, if the whole deal doesn't fall through. Hooray! That is music to my ears. The bad news: all of this could take another few weeks to sort out. The worst news: it might completely implode all together.
But we're not even going to think about the worst case scenario. (WSC).
I have to give props to the Whippersnapper, who is absolutely living up to her nickname. She was so concerned about extending the due diligence period (and making sure we didn't lose our earnest money) that she came over to our house last night at 8:30pm, with paperwork in hand, to make sure she could file it first thing this morning. I offered her dinner, but she declined (I don't think she eats. Or sleeps. She just works. And works, and works). Seriously, that is quality service.
And, ironically, during the ten minutes she was actually in our home, she managed to get ticketed by our HOA. (there is no street parking allowed, and she had parked in front of our house.) I think this is hysterical; I mean, the meth deal that went down earlier in the day went unpunished, but God forbid she park in front of our house for literally ten minutes. We all laughed and shredded the ticket. Did I mention how happy I will be to leave this neighborhood?
Good lord, why is nothing ever simple??? I swear, Tuesday I was freaking out because we were getting ready to close and it was too soon for me. Now it is Friday and we might not even get the house. The ups and downs of the real estate market...I swear, I thought working with suicidal people was stressful. It is nothing compared to the trials of being a realtor/lender. Sheesh.
So, things were going well until yesterday, when our poor little house started experiencing some decels. (for those of you who have had a baby recently, this makes sense. For those of you who haven't, just bear with me). Strap on the O2 mask and start breathing deeply...the appraisal came back too low. My first (naive) thought was, "Great! We get the house for less money!" Except after a conversation with the Whippersnapper, she informed me the sellers would not go that low, and also, we would not qualify for a mortgage at the current purchase price (since the appraised value of the home is less. No bank would agree to this.) So our only option was to come out of pocket $20K, pay that to the seller, in addition to the down payment, closing costs, etc.
In other words...no. There is no way we were going to pay any money out of pocket AND be underwater in the home, right from the start.
I really thought all was lost. If we were to cancel the deal, not only would be out about $1,000 (for the home inspection and appraisal), we ran the risk of losing our earnest money ($5K) AND having to start this miserable process all over again. Boom, crash.
But in the 11th hour, the Whippersnapper saved (and is currently saving) the day. She just called and is 1.) contesting the appraisal, 2.) writing a rebuttal to the appraisal, 3.) will be requesting a field review in the event the rebuttal doesn't work, and 4.) has spoken with the seller's agent who agreed that his clients want to sell the house and are willing to drop the price, but not drop it $20K (what the appraisal came back at.) So, his suggestion was to pay for another appraisal (eek) through a lender the sellers' really trust, and then whatever that came back at, they would sell it to us for that price (again, as long as it was not too low).
Are you with me on this? Very complicated, I know. She had to explain this to me about twelve times, and the only reason I'm writing it out right now is to make sure I have it clear in my mind. The bottom line, per the Whippersnapper: we will actually be paying less for the house than what we originally thought, if the whole deal doesn't fall through. Hooray! That is music to my ears. The bad news: all of this could take another few weeks to sort out. The worst news: it might completely implode all together.
But we're not even going to think about the worst case scenario. (WSC).
I have to give props to the Whippersnapper, who is absolutely living up to her nickname. She was so concerned about extending the due diligence period (and making sure we didn't lose our earnest money) that she came over to our house last night at 8:30pm, with paperwork in hand, to make sure she could file it first thing this morning. I offered her dinner, but she declined (I don't think she eats. Or sleeps. She just works. And works, and works). Seriously, that is quality service.
And, ironically, during the ten minutes she was actually in our home, she managed to get ticketed by our HOA. (there is no street parking allowed, and she had parked in front of our house.) I think this is hysterical; I mean, the meth deal that went down earlier in the day went unpunished, but God forbid she park in front of our house for literally ten minutes. We all laughed and shredded the ticket. Did I mention how happy I will be to leave this neighborhood?
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