I haven't posted in a couple weeks, mostly because I didn't want to jinx our progress on our latest bid. We went back for a second visit on this house to see if we could reconsider, since our house hunt seemed to be flailing.
All things considered, it was still a great house that was very well taken care of. The basement wasn't finished, but we could afford ourselves some time to do it in the future. Bedrooms and bathrooms were fine, and we came to a compromise on office space.
And the one hang up, as there is always one with us, the house was listed as a short sale.
While this might've been great a few years ago, the fact is that short sales and foreclosures are anything but convenient or straight-forward. We put in our bid almost two weeks ago. Since then, the former owners have accepted our offer and now we're waiting for their bank to approve. We've given them all of our information, and will be putting down our 1% "good faith" cash on Friday.
But despite our diligence, there is still no guarantee that we'll get the house, or close on it in any timely manner. Short sales can take anywhere from 60 days to 6+ months to close. That's an extended time paying escalated rent in this apartment.
It might really be good faith that this third offer will be the last. There is no other competition on this house, and we are prepared to pay up to list price. Monday (and hopefully the decision) cannot come soon enough.
We've seen 32 houses in a little over a month. That is obscene, compared to the posts I've
read about first-time home buyers. Two bids so far and no luck. I've picked out yet another slew of potentials online today. Please, please let one of them be it.
Picking up where we left off, our highest and best offer was competitive for the market, but not for the law firm that holds the property. They countered with $290,000, which we would not meet. The house was not worth that price, considering the unknown amount of work that it would need to pass inspection. It was a gamble we could not make, regardless of how beautiful the house COULD be.
We saw 6 yesterday. While they all could have worked, none were it. Our lack of particular interest in any of these houses has got us very frustrated and confused. We don't want to settle for any house. We'll be living there for at least 5-8 years, and I'd rather not be hating it once we move in. We have a little bit of time, time enough to where we can still be discerning about where we live.
Back to the drawing board, for what we want and what we will need in our future home.
1) We are no longer factoring in my mother moving in with us. While it is a generous offer, and one that we will offer again, we can't risk our credit or having to make super high payments just to accommodate IF she decides to move.
2) Closet space and openness are a key requirement.
3) Basements aren't a must, but an escalated list price better have one. If one house has a finished basement for $260K, and another has no basement and is listed for $270K, that has to be taken into account.
