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A Housing Sale and Purchase Update–We are Getting Close to a New Home!

I have been hesitant to providing my home sale and purchase since things seem to change daily and I am not sure what is noise and what is actual movement, but since I think my last update was in October I feel like people deserve an update.  If you want to go through the entire history up to this point you can check out:

Re-reading those posts if you told me I would still have an “update” for you (rather than a conclusion) in December I would have called you crazy.  To be completely honest and frank, I have hated the whole process and can’t wait for it all to be over:

  • I didn’t like the games you are forced to play,
  • I didn’t like the emotions involved (Read: The Wife is emotionally tied to houses/deals and then tied my hands in negotiations),
  • I didn’t like  using a buyer’s broker,
  • I didn’t like seller brokers 100% lying to my face when I am not allowed to call them liars,
  • I didn’t like not understanding what is a big deal in terms of the engineer’s report vs what is cover your ass language,
  • I didn’t like being treated like I was buying a budget home when my budget was a half a million dollars,
  • I didn’t like reading the fact that it is going to cost me five digits in fees to close on the home.

Not really sure how to end that list because I am sure I can think of more things I didn’t like or won’t like as we get to closing.  I can’t wait to buy a rental property because there will be zero emotions involved and I can then take my frustrations out!

My Home Sale Update

I blogged that I would be “in contract” in my October 2012 net worth update.  Well, I got into contract.  The contract stipulated that my buyer would have a mortgage commitment by November 1st. They didn’t. Their commitment came in on November 18th.  It is December 5th and they want to close like yesterday.  The problem is that since they waited so long to get a mortgage commitment and since I was so risk adverse I didn’t start my mortgage paperwork until they got their commitment.  Oh yeah I found a house and I am in contract more on that below.

So after some intense and careful negotiations I discovered my buyer’s amazing rate expires on December 10th! So that is why he needs to close ASAP. I think we worked out a deal where I will appease him and close on the 10th but he’ll let me rent the place till the 7th of January which my loan officer says will be enough time (my attorney is not convinced so we’ll see who is right).

What I am trying to avoid is having to move my stuff twice.  Not because of the hassel but because the cost I imagine would be greater than the rental price I am paying on the home.  It does feel weird paying to rent my own house.

My Home Purchase Update

The house we decided to buy was not featured in any of our previous updates.

What I Like About the House

  • Four bedroom colonial home – Things aren’t normally tight in our 2 bedroom condo except when we have visitors staying here.  This past weekend we had the sister in law, her husband and their dog PLUS the in-laws at a nearby hotel all in for my son’s 2nd birthday (which the poor guy got sick for and we had to cancel the party…poor guy! Although he gave everyone his stomach bug so I guess he got the last laugh).  This house is big.
  • It is affordable – With the drop in mortgage rates from when I bought my first house (2007) to now despite my taxes doubling and my home price doubling ($250K to $500K) minus my common charges which are gone ($330) my monthly nut is only increasing $600!
  • School (Harbor Fields) – By ranking lists standards it is a great school district – Ranked #36 in New York State  and #602 nationally.   As one of my buddies said in a half-joking manner if there is a 99% College bound rate it is my fault if my son doesn’t go to college lol.
  • Railroad in semi-walking distance – Would have be MUCH more useful if I was 22 but still could be useful for work purposes one day.
  • I can see The Wife and I raising a family there – This is probably the most important feature (although probably built on everything else).

What I dislike about the House

  • Distance from a Major Highway – It is only 4 miles, but I grew up .25 miles from the Long Island Expressway and currently my backyard is the LIE which makes getting anywhere very quick.  The 4 miles is absolutely out of the range when we first were looking, but such is life.
  • Property Size – A quarter of an acre is a good sized lot where I live, but the houses we were looking at were the same size on half acres so this one feels pretty small.
  • School – As good as it is it is very small.  There is only one elementary, one middle and one HS, if he gets caught in the wrong crowd early on it could be a tough one.
  • Change – Worst thing to not like about it, but I have really loved life for the past 5 years.  So much as changed and where we lived had so much to do with it so to be honest I am scared of this large of a change.

Hopefully my next update will be “we closed.”

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18 COMMENTS

  1. Best of luck. I know how crazy the whole situation gets. It’s a shame it has to be so complex. Just looked up my town’s high school. Dang, you beat me!

    Isn’t it crazy though that $500,000 only gets you so much on Long Island? And then you pay taxes too. Sigh…

    • I think those lists mean so much less than parenting in my opinion, but I think that they provide a nice base standard that kids want to strive to.

      My taxes aren’t bad when I compare them to what my friends pay but they still SUCK at the tune of about 11k/yr.

  2. Congrats on keeping your sanity this long. Good luck with the rest of your process, esp. trying to get the deal done over the holidays. Urgh.

    • Thanks for the luck seems like I am going to need it. I don’t often lose my sanity. It is a positive in most situations and a negative in some. The Wife says I can be an emotional wasteland LOL

  3. We hate moving too and we’ll probably stay here for the next 20 years. It’s a pain to deal with all the real estate people. I don’t think they are earning all that money either. Good luck closing the deal.

    • No the opposite. I could have sold my current home and not be able to move into the new home yet. In that case I would be out a lot of money b/c I would have to move twice but my parents are in the area so I would have to fall back on.

      The original plan was to move in there while we looked it just happened that we found a buyer and a home around the same time.

  4. Wow, I’m exhausted just reading this — best of luck to you! Can’t wait to hear fantastic news next month!

  5. Wow, good luck on closing this! I am actually still terrified of the the concept of buying a house, mostly because the LA market is cutthroat. Congrats on finding such a good buy though, it sounds like an absolutely amazing house and neighborhood (minus the distance to the highway). Hope this works out for you!!

    • Buying a house is scary! I remember going to my first closing at 26 thinking when the HELL did I grow up? Now going to the sale of that same home…I am still thinking when the HELL did I grow up?

  6. Your situation hurts my brain. The wife and I are about to partake in this buying and selling fiasco, so I hope it is not as complex as yours. Luckily we have family in the area with some empty space, but I would only use that as a last resort.

    • My parents had/have plenty of room we just happen to find a place in the midst of selling ours which complicated the hell out of the entire process

  7. Your list of dislikes of the whole process is something I’m not looking forward to whenever my wife and I eventually buy a house. I know we’ll have to deal with it but I just can’t stand having things take at least twice as long as they need to and cost a lot more than they should. Hopefully everything works out quickly.

    • Thanks for the well wishes! I believe everything will work out it is just frustrating as anything with A LOT of money on the line.

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