Jeffalo: Buying my First Home: 40 Belle Vu Loop

9/13/2011: Got a Realtor

40 Belle Vu Loop

I get in touch with JoAnn for the first time.

At some point over the next month Zane and I see 40 Belle Vu Loop on Zillow for $149,900. We love the location and drive by to check it out. It is two minutes from the interstate, has an open kitchen, nice back yard, decent neighborhood, but it is too expensive.

11/7/2011: House Price Drop

House price is reduced to $139,900. I contact JoAnn to see the house.

11/13/2011: House Walkthrough

I check out house with JoAnn as well as with some other houses. I don't make a decision yet because I haven't seen many houses and don't want to jump on the first one.

11/22/2011: House Under Contract by Someone Else

Someone else grabs the house. I'm a little disappointed, but it's also expected.

11/29/2011: Miracle? House Back on the Market

House comes back on the market. The buyer had a stroke and no longer wanted the property. Zane and I joke about the house being cursed or that my mom prayed too hard.

12/1/2011: Bid Accepted

Seller accepts our bid for $135,970 (which includes a year warranty). Contracts are signed including the short sale contract, which I later find out states the bank can back out of the contract any time and can change how much they want for the house at their whim.

12/7/2011: Problems Getting the Inspection

We have 10 days after the signing of the contract to get inspections done. This means it has to be done by 12/11. We have to reschedule the home inspection because the seller hasn't turned on the water. We get an extension on the contract in case we're unable to get the inspection before the 11th.

12/9/2011: Inspection Done

House inspection is completed. It costs me $255.

12/21/2011: Contract Accepted with No Repairs

We send a list of repairs needed to the house. The seller is not willing to do repairs. I expect this and accept the contract anyway.

12/21/2011: Order the Appraisal

We tell the lender to go ahead with the appraisal, which costs me $400.

12/23/2011: Seller's Agent Sends the Contract to the Bank to approve

After we've already done the inspection and have the appraisal being scheduled, the Seller's agent finally sends the contract to the bank to approve. We do not find out about this for 5 days.

12/28/2011: Bank Does Not Accept Contract

The seller's agent lets us know that the bank did not accept the contract. This is after she had told JoAnn that the bank had already agreed to it. The bank now wants $145,000, which is $5,100 over their initial listing price and $9030 over what I thought we already agreed on.

We got a response back from the bank. They need to have a net proceed of $132,440. Right now we have a net of $125,160.62. We need a purchase price of $145,000 to get this approved after you back out commissions, title insurance and title fees. In addition they did not approve the home warranty.

Please confirm with your buyer and let me know if we can proceed.

Thanks so much!

- Seller's Agent

We contact our lender and tell them to cancel the appraisal ASAP. Luckily it didn't go through and they, with my approval, hold onto the $400 for when we actually get an appraisal done.

1/2/2012: Seller's Agent Says it's ONLY $5930 More!

Seller says that we’re ONLY $5930 off from what they need to sell the house. They’ll EVEN agree to maybe cutting some of their commission if my agent does the same. They let me know that $5930 is a minimal increase in the monthly amount over a 30 year loan.

You, of course, will get the deposit check of $500 returned to you, I just need to get cancellation signed. Turner Real Estate Group is not responsible for the inspection.

We apologize that the bank did not approve this offer. You did however sign documentation stating that you understand the bank has the final word on whether or not they will approve the contract. We submitted everything as is usually done and the bank at any time has the right to change the terms of what is required.

At this point we are approximately $5930 off from where we need to be. TREG would entertain cutting some commission to make this work, but there would have to have help from the buyers and possibly selling agent as well. If your buyer is able to increase his loan it would only be a minimal increase to him on his monthly note.

We hope we can come to some sort of agreement. If not, we are going to have to put the house back on the market.

Thanks so much!