I am a big advocate for only using exclamation points once and only when necessary. However, this is very necessary. A new roof would've been a big chunk of funds onto the home renovation loan. Now, we can use those funds for other things around the house.
Another great development: we will not need to install new siding. The current wood siding has some spots that can be remediated, and afterwards, I can repaint it to the clean white that I want. With regular maintenance, the siding will keep up and not detract from the home value.
Our contractor is an FHA-approved contractor. He is familiar with the rules of taking out the type of home renovation loan we are applying for, and has done jobs in the past year compliant with the HUD standards. He was very clear about how the payment process works, and about where our money was going with each project.
On the home loan front, we finally have all of our ducks in a row. Both of our credit reports are on the bright side, and along with the contractor's quote and the upcoming home appraisal, everything is prepared for the loan underwriters.
We will probably not have final contract approval by the proposed July 18th closing date, because of the extensive underwriting process. Since we are using a big bank to finance the loan, the loan underwriting gets passed to another firm, and who knows where it goes from there. Our new (unofficial) closing should be closer to the end of July.
We've put in our notice to our apartment complex, so we have until August 24th to vacate. This gives us a good amount of time (three weeks) between the closing date and our move-in date. The contractor will need to be able to get our renovations done on schedule and then, we will be able to paint before moving in and being able to spend the night. Keeping to that schedule is waxing optimistic, but luckily we don't have that much stuff.
Once we've closed on the house, I will post pictures of the empty space and track the progress of the renovations and ideas for final touches. Also known as the fun part.
As for now, it feels great to know that all your bases are covered. Any worries we had about our loan being denied, or being thrown an unexpected curve ball of that sort, have calmed.
I've definitely envied other homeowners who seem to breeze through this process, but Troy and I know that we've put in the time and have very much earned our new home. Fingers still crossed...
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