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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