Well, VA loans accept only 4% of the home price for seller assistance, so $10,600 is the maximum. This was communicated to the seller and the concessions were that he'd up the assistance to the maximum, I took the downstairs shower issue off the 'concern' list, and he's going to have a registered electrician & carpenter work on the issues found during the home inspection. I figure getting another $600 in concessions, and when I pull that shower stall out of the bathroom I can put it up on craigslist or whatever and get $200-$300 for it I'll be happy.
I also received the VA appraisal. There were no 'issues/concerns' noted and they appraised the house for about $40,000 more than I'm buying it for, so that's instant equity plus a GREEN light for things to move ahead.
Many of my friends & family will be coming to help me with this move, and I think its going to end up going quickly and becoming more of a party. (A Good Thing!) I've already started to think of food/drink options.
I am also getting into 'paint mode' since I don't want a lot of furniture/boxes upstairs until I paint, I want to spend some of the week I'm off work priming/painting. Of course, this means picking a palette. I'm thinking of getting peoples opinions while the move is going on. I have a number of colors pictured for some of the rooms, but for the Living Room & Dining...the Rec Room things are still fluid.
To assist in this I've downloaded the Behr Paints app from the Android Market, and also I have played with the Sherman-Williams website Color Visualizer. (this lets you upload photos, and paint them.)
Coming up...time to start looking at shifting electric billing, my Verizon FiOS (scheduling install for the weekend I move!) and starting to line-up the address change.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Concessions?
Well, yesterday I started the ball rolling with getting my insurance agent out to the house to do a look-see and develop an insurance premium for the home. Contacted Mary Kay and she and the agent will coordinate to get out together. I informed the bank and they just need to know who the agent is and the policy number once its been set-up.
I also dropped the apartment termination letter off and next/last month of rent off.
Today, Mary Kay sent me an email letting me know the seller was willing to offer a concession about the downstairs bathroom shower stall. (Was mounted incorrectly, leaked, and wasted space in the small space anyway! I've been reading http://blog.diynetwork.com/tool-tips/2012/01/12/emily-winters-bathroom-renovation-day-3/ and her associated blog www.merrypad.com and well, I think once the house gets painted, organized and all large projects have been done, that I could work on doing this as a project.
Anyway, have to see how this butts up against my closing costs, he can't give me more than I'll be paying for closing, and also Navy Federal is offering $2500 closing costs help as well, it would be kinda funny (and awesome) not to have to pay much. Just have to see.
And yes, I realize that a DIY project is not something lightly to enter, but also I think when I put my mind to something, I can get it done.
I also dropped the apartment termination letter off and next/last month of rent off.
Today, Mary Kay sent me an email letting me know the seller was willing to offer a concession about the downstairs bathroom shower stall. (Was mounted incorrectly, leaked, and wasted space in the small space anyway! I've been reading http://blog.diynetwork.com/tool-tips/2012/01/12/emily-winters-bathroom-renovation-day-3/ and her associated blog www.merrypad.com and well, I think once the house gets painted, organized and all large projects have been done, that I could work on doing this as a project.
Anyway, have to see how this butts up against my closing costs, he can't give me more than I'll be paying for closing, and also Navy Federal is offering $2500 closing costs help as well, it would be kinda funny (and awesome) not to have to pay much. Just have to see.
And yes, I realize that a DIY project is not something lightly to enter, but also I think when I put my mind to something, I can get it done.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Apartment Exit Strategy
The apartments I live in sent me notification of the end-of-lease was coming up in March, offering to extend the lease another year, or going to month-to-month and the associated costs of each, also let me know that written notification would be needed if I was leaving at the end of the Lease.
Found this http://ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com/lease-termination.html at Apartment Ratings.com that, while I've written them before, just puts everything together you should need in writing the letter. I spent some time and wrote up the letter, printed it up and signed it. (Made a copy of course for my records.) I will drop it off later today with my last rent check. I also spent some time at the ratings website and gave them a positive review.
I also started getting responses back from some of my friends about helping me move. Looks like its a go for that, so I took a look at Penske and U-Haul. I've used both before, never having any real issues with both. When I moved down from Delaware I paid for movers and completely filled their 16' truck, plus had like 3-4 car loads of stuff left over. This time I'm looking for something in the 20's range. Penske for the area only had 12', 16' and 26' trucks. The 26' was actually cheaper at $59.95/day + .99 a mile. I'm going to be moving about 70 miles. U-Haul had a wider range of trucks, so I went with a 24' U-Haul for $39.95 plus 1.29/mile, basically both services are going to cost around the same, I went with the basic insurance, two trolley's a few blankets and I think I should have plenty of room without there being a lot of empty space for things to potentially shift around.
Pay last rent at apartments;
Type up lease termination letter;
Arrange moving truck;
Scheduled a week off in March from work.
Hurrah, more things crossed-off, means getting to sleep easier hopefully!
Found this http://ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com/lease-termination.html at Apartment Ratings.com that, while I've written them before, just puts everything together you should need in writing the letter. I spent some time and wrote up the letter, printed it up and signed it. (Made a copy of course for my records.) I will drop it off later today with my last rent check. I also spent some time at the ratings website and gave them a positive review.
I also started getting responses back from some of my friends about helping me move. Looks like its a go for that, so I took a look at Penske and U-Haul. I've used both before, never having any real issues with both. When I moved down from Delaware I paid for movers and completely filled their 16' truck, plus had like 3-4 car loads of stuff left over. This time I'm looking for something in the 20's range. Penske for the area only had 12', 16' and 26' trucks. The 26' was actually cheaper at $59.95/day + .99 a mile. I'm going to be moving about 70 miles. U-Haul had a wider range of trucks, so I went with a 24' U-Haul for $39.95 plus 1.29/mile, basically both services are going to cost around the same, I went with the basic insurance, two trolley's a few blankets and I think I should have plenty of room without there being a lot of empty space for things to potentially shift around.
Hurrah, more things crossed-off, means getting to sleep easier hopefully!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Home Inspection
Last week I had my home inspection, pest inspection, water inspection and because Navy Federal & the VA had their acts together, my VA appraisal all happened on the same day.
My dad came down to visit, so the house was full of people as we explored, dug and I started to learn about this house o'hopefully mine.
The pest inspection revealed some evidence of termites near the house (at some old fencing) so they were going to request a 'termite treatment' be done, (and from what I understand it will be mandatory for VA acceptance.) Everything else looked fine with that. ($65.00 for this.)
The water inspector took some time to show me how the water treatment system worked. (The house is on well water, but does have a public sewer connection.) Most, if not all of the houses in Cape St. Claire require some sort of conditioning, this houses had 'the full system' with salt/conditioner/two iron tanks and aerator. I learned a lot from him and really appreciated the time/effort he spent in giving me a run down on usage of the system. He grabbed his tests and then headed out. ($116.00 for the test.)
VA appraiser had been there for some time already, so I only got a chance to talk with him for a moment, he said he still had to look at the 'comps', I don't think he wanted to give me any word for or against, but he didn't seem to have any major concerns that I could tell. Still waiting to hear back on that...and the cost was $400 but handled by Navy Federal out of my account directly to the VA.
Home inspector was great. Mary Kay says he's a retired architect and he was personable, and appeared knowledgeable. The binder of standards he gave me with his write up is/has/will be helpful as I go through the process of making this property my own. Some concerns that were brought up were that the basement bathroom shower was mounted ~1" off the floor (looked like on 2x4s) and that it leaked when the shower was run. The electrical panel had some double-taps (multiple lines going into a single breaker), an ungrounded plug in the basement, a light out in the kitchen, and that the roof was, while in good condition internally, was at the end of its useful life and would require replacing this year. There was also some wood rot in the downstairs door threshold to the porch. (Cost ~$365.00)
Mary Kay and I talked about what we were going to submit back to the seller as 'needed to be fixed/contingent', and I decided the electric work, and the bathroom / doorway wood rot were of primary concern. The roof replacement I'd rather pay for myself and can be done this Spring. (I wasn't going to ask them to replace a roof in questionable weather of February/March, while trying to keep that March 23rd closing date in mind.) That's going to the seller and we will have to see how they respond.
I was tempted to just have them work on the electrical, I'd pull that shower stall out and fix it up right w/Dave & Meghan's help, make the whole corner a shower instead of worrying about the work being done, but Mary Kay said we'd stipulate licensed contractor work for the electrical/plumbing/carpetry. (She's pretty great, earning her commission...that I don't pay!)
We got the water inspection report back within a day as well, and it passed the extended VA requirements with flying colors. So, that's been sent to Navy Federal and hopefully I should hear back from them on if they need any more required documentation.
Things on the horizon:
a) Contact insurance agent for home insurance;
b) Start getting more boxes from mom & step-dads (I had them store most of the boxes from my move last year.);
c) pack;
d) coordinate friends/family/strangers to help me move the weekend of March 24-25th;
e) yeah, and get a moving truck.
f) hear back about the repairs.
My dad came down to visit, so the house was full of people as we explored, dug and I started to learn about this house o'hopefully mine.
The pest inspection revealed some evidence of termites near the house (at some old fencing) so they were going to request a 'termite treatment' be done, (and from what I understand it will be mandatory for VA acceptance.) Everything else looked fine with that. ($65.00 for this.)
The water inspector took some time to show me how the water treatment system worked. (The house is on well water, but does have a public sewer connection.) Most, if not all of the houses in Cape St. Claire require some sort of conditioning, this houses had 'the full system' with salt/conditioner/two iron tanks and aerator. I learned a lot from him and really appreciated the time/effort he spent in giving me a run down on usage of the system. He grabbed his tests and then headed out. ($116.00 for the test.)
VA appraiser had been there for some time already, so I only got a chance to talk with him for a moment, he said he still had to look at the 'comps', I don't think he wanted to give me any word for or against, but he didn't seem to have any major concerns that I could tell. Still waiting to hear back on that...and the cost was $400 but handled by Navy Federal out of my account directly to the VA.
Home inspector was great. Mary Kay says he's a retired architect and he was personable, and appeared knowledgeable. The binder of standards he gave me with his write up is/has/will be helpful as I go through the process of making this property my own. Some concerns that were brought up were that the basement bathroom shower was mounted ~1" off the floor (looked like on 2x4s) and that it leaked when the shower was run. The electrical panel had some double-taps (multiple lines going into a single breaker), an ungrounded plug in the basement, a light out in the kitchen, and that the roof was, while in good condition internally, was at the end of its useful life and would require replacing this year. There was also some wood rot in the downstairs door threshold to the porch. (Cost ~$365.00)
Mary Kay and I talked about what we were going to submit back to the seller as 'needed to be fixed/contingent', and I decided the electric work, and the bathroom / doorway wood rot were of primary concern. The roof replacement I'd rather pay for myself and can be done this Spring. (I wasn't going to ask them to replace a roof in questionable weather of February/March, while trying to keep that March 23rd closing date in mind.) That's going to the seller and we will have to see how they respond.
I was tempted to just have them work on the electrical, I'd pull that shower stall out and fix it up right w/Dave & Meghan's help, make the whole corner a shower instead of worrying about the work being done, but Mary Kay said we'd stipulate licensed contractor work for the electrical/plumbing/carpetry. (She's pretty great, earning her commission...that I don't pay!)
We got the water inspection report back within a day as well, and it passed the extended VA requirements with flying colors. So, that's been sent to Navy Federal and hopefully I should hear back from them on if they need any more required documentation.
Things on the horizon:
a) Contact insurance agent for home insurance;
b) Start getting more boxes from mom & step-dads (I had them store most of the boxes from my move last year.);
c) pack;
d) coordinate friends/family/strangers to help me move the weekend of March 24-25th;
e) yeah, and get a moving truck.
f) hear back about the repairs.
So, like...a lot of stuff.
Hi. Going to use this blog to help me get my thoughts in order and show my thoughts in purchasing a house, moving in, getting it setup, maintaining it, and the DIY aspect of seeing something you want to improve and doing it. And yes, I'll reveal when I throw in the towel...if that happens.
So, since moving back down to Maryland from Delaware in March 2011 I have known I was going to buy a house. My friends Meghan & Dave (and Rithy & Lauren) both had used Mary Kay Shina www.marykayshina.com as their Realtor, so while I had contacted her when I was moving down to DE, the timing was WAY off for me to even think of finding a house, closing and moving down here within the time-limit I had then (about 2 weeks between my company saying 'yes, you're moving' to 'you need to be there'. So, I've been living in Jessup, MD for the past year, about 3 miles from work.
Around December of 2011 I contacted Mary Kay again and we started talking about when to start searching. I had already throughout the year been using iPad apps such as Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com to take a look at what I liked, what I didn't and regions I could afford. I'm 45, single and a military veteran, while not having much in savings, I also don't have a lot of debt. I contacted my bank (Navy Federal) and had them run some pre-qualification numbers on my income, situation and they said I could afford roughly $420,000. Of course, that was a bit over-the-top in my reckoning, and felt that ~$250k seemed to be a good price point to aim for.
So, about a week into 2012, Mary Kay and I got together with a list of properties in Cape St. Claire that were within my price range. During this time by the way, I had gotten a cold, so we cut the day short and just saw these in Cape St. Claire and dropped the ones in the Arnold, MD. region.
Cape St. Claire was someplace I had passed years and years ago when I used to go visit my grandparents on the Eastern Shore of MD. Wasn't very familiar with it, but Dave & Meghan lived there, their daughter Keely is my god-daughter and being close to them would be a BIG PLUS. (Also, they are knowledgeable DIY'ers.) The area seemed quaint, semi-quiet and being near Annapolis, MD. was close enough to malls, shopping & historical areas that I like to have around.
Okay, so the 3 places I saw that day in January...2 were nominal, and one was just bad. And by the next Monday, the two that were nominal were off-the-market/under contract. So, Mary Kay and I spent much of January and part of February searching houses. Finally, on a Saturday I had extended my reach to Glen Burnie, seen a few places I liked...and there was one house in Cape St. Claire that had been on the market for a while.
Oh, before I forget, by this point, a friend of mine from work's husband and told me about www.franklmls.com which gives a LOT of great information on one website, lets you see more of the MLS pictures available than realtor.com/zillow/trulia did and was up-to-date as part of the MLS system, not requiring someone else to update things like I believe Zillow/Trulia sometimes needs. Highly recommend it, lets you see maps/crime data/pictures/tax rates/and a lot of 'behind the scenes' realtor stuff. I'd say that site enhanced my understanding of the whole process, it was slightly odd to have to search by zip codes, but you could setup searches and expect daily reports, which I really liked. (All this, by just putting in your email, no spam, no calls from realtors, just my email and when I'm done I can just remove my name. Very nice.)
So, houses up in Glen Burnie...made some nice impressions on me...but when I went to the house in Cape St. Claire...I knew it was the place. Split-foyer w/988 sq. ft footprint, 9000 sq. ft yard, backed onto woods, had been recently renovated, new kitchen, new hardwood floors, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, wood-stove insert/fireplace, stone porch and wood deck, for ~$280k. There was one big thing that I think had kept it on the market for over 100 days. No Central Air Conditioning. It uses electric base-board heating units as well. So, the house has no furnace and no cooling except 3 window units.
Well, my mom and my step-father still live in the house I grew up in up in Owings Mills, MD. They had recently (5-6 years ago?) purchased Central A/C for the house, so I knew it could be done for '$5-6k' where my mom said their rancher house was less. (The basement obviously wasn't ducted for A/C since it wasn't needed.) I figure (and still figure...) that I should be able to get A/C in the house and only worry about the 'upper floor'.
So, I talk with my Mary Kay, give her the thumbs up, and contact Navy Federal to start getting pre-approval for a VA Loan. Many reasons I went with a VA Loan:
So, since moving back down to Maryland from Delaware in March 2011 I have known I was going to buy a house. My friends Meghan & Dave (and Rithy & Lauren) both had used Mary Kay Shina www.marykayshina.com as their Realtor, so while I had contacted her when I was moving down to DE, the timing was WAY off for me to even think of finding a house, closing and moving down here within the time-limit I had then (about 2 weeks between my company saying 'yes, you're moving' to 'you need to be there'. So, I've been living in Jessup, MD for the past year, about 3 miles from work.
Around December of 2011 I contacted Mary Kay again and we started talking about when to start searching. I had already throughout the year been using iPad apps such as Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com to take a look at what I liked, what I didn't and regions I could afford. I'm 45, single and a military veteran, while not having much in savings, I also don't have a lot of debt. I contacted my bank (Navy Federal) and had them run some pre-qualification numbers on my income, situation and they said I could afford roughly $420,000. Of course, that was a bit over-the-top in my reckoning, and felt that ~$250k seemed to be a good price point to aim for.
So, about a week into 2012, Mary Kay and I got together with a list of properties in Cape St. Claire that were within my price range. During this time by the way, I had gotten a cold, so we cut the day short and just saw these in Cape St. Claire and dropped the ones in the Arnold, MD. region.
Cape St. Claire was someplace I had passed years and years ago when I used to go visit my grandparents on the Eastern Shore of MD. Wasn't very familiar with it, but Dave & Meghan lived there, their daughter Keely is my god-daughter and being close to them would be a BIG PLUS. (Also, they are knowledgeable DIY'ers.) The area seemed quaint, semi-quiet and being near Annapolis, MD. was close enough to malls, shopping & historical areas that I like to have around.
Okay, so the 3 places I saw that day in January...2 were nominal, and one was just bad. And by the next Monday, the two that were nominal were off-the-market/under contract. So, Mary Kay and I spent much of January and part of February searching houses. Finally, on a Saturday I had extended my reach to Glen Burnie, seen a few places I liked...and there was one house in Cape St. Claire that had been on the market for a while.
Oh, before I forget, by this point, a friend of mine from work's husband and told me about www.franklmls.com which gives a LOT of great information on one website, lets you see more of the MLS pictures available than realtor.com/zillow/trulia did and was up-to-date as part of the MLS system, not requiring someone else to update things like I believe Zillow/Trulia sometimes needs. Highly recommend it, lets you see maps/crime data/pictures/tax rates/and a lot of 'behind the scenes' realtor stuff. I'd say that site enhanced my understanding of the whole process, it was slightly odd to have to search by zip codes, but you could setup searches and expect daily reports, which I really liked. (All this, by just putting in your email, no spam, no calls from realtors, just my email and when I'm done I can just remove my name. Very nice.)
So, houses up in Glen Burnie...made some nice impressions on me...but when I went to the house in Cape St. Claire...I knew it was the place. Split-foyer w/988 sq. ft footprint, 9000 sq. ft yard, backed onto woods, had been recently renovated, new kitchen, new hardwood floors, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, wood-stove insert/fireplace, stone porch and wood deck, for ~$280k. There was one big thing that I think had kept it on the market for over 100 days. No Central Air Conditioning. It uses electric base-board heating units as well. So, the house has no furnace and no cooling except 3 window units.
Well, my mom and my step-father still live in the house I grew up in up in Owings Mills, MD. They had recently (5-6 years ago?) purchased Central A/C for the house, so I knew it could be done for '$5-6k' where my mom said their rancher house was less. (The basement obviously wasn't ducted for A/C since it wasn't needed.) I figure (and still figure...) that I should be able to get A/C in the house and only worry about the 'upper floor'.
So, I talk with my Mary Kay, give her the thumbs up, and contact Navy Federal to start getting pre-approval for a VA Loan. Many reasons I went with a VA Loan:
- No Down Payment Required
- No PMI (Mortgage Insurance)
- Rates are as competitive as non-VA loans.
Navy Federal handled all of the transaction over the phone on a Sunday, even calling me back to get more information (unfortunately I was still sick, so had gone to bed and missed their call.) and by Monday I had a pre-approval letter on its way. I met with Mary Kay at her office that Tuesday, and we signed papers for an offer. (without getting into details, I offered less, plus requested closing costs help.)
By the next day, the seller had replied with a requested increase in sales price but accepted the closing costs help. The increase wasn't bad, and so I said yes...what followed then was a bunch of pdf's, emails and phone calls. Still have the home inspection, the VA appraisal, other inspections and then the bank ordered titling/certfications to do, but I had a signed contract!
So, now the bank offered me some great rates. 3.65%, 3.5% and even 3.375% with various discount points and origination fees. I locked in the 3.5% rate to get the ball rolling and I think I can still re-lock a new rate as long as its offered and within 7 days of my closing.
Oh, closing is scheduled for March 23, 2012.
My apartment lease ends...March 31, 2012. If this all works out, it will save me from having to go month-to-month at the apartment (at an increase of like $200/month on my $1250/month rent already.) As you can see, I already pay pretty much a mortgage payment anyway, and a few hundred dollars more for home insurance/taxes isn't going to break me.
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