finding my home
It’s about time I started getting into my personal home buying process with you guys. I didn’t blog about it as it was going on, because I didn’t want commentary or input. I was nervous about buying a house in this job market, especially since I’m working through a contract instead of as a direct hire with benefits and job security. I also didn’t blog about it because if for some reason the deal went through, I didn’t want to re-live it on the blog. Now it’s all done, so I feel free to share.
My serious hunt started this fall. I got ready in a hurry when I was told that I would be needed on my project for months to come in late October. I figured that if I was going to be able to get a mortgage by being able to show a steady income and job security, I’d better get in where I could fit in before my project ended. So Mister Ant and I started looking again, with the hope of closing before the end of the year.
I had two or three Philadelphia neighborhoods picked out already, based on what I could afford, the number of homicides in/near the neighborhood, the demographics of the neighborhood, and the availability of public transportation, which I use to commute in lieu of paying for monthly parking in the downtown area. I also had a realtor picked out – I “met” her online on a local forum where people in my city talk about local issues. She seemed very knowledgable and I developed a rapport with her over a year before I was even ready to start house-hunting. It was through this realtor that I connected with my mortgage officer, who was excellent at fielding my questions and guiding me through the process.
There were really two facets to this process for me: the first was hunting for a house, and the second was securing a mortgage. It was easier to get a mortgage than to find a house, in my case. I’ll talk about that in my next post, but for now, let’s talk about the house.
Finding My House
We started hunting in November. I told the realtor my price range, desired amenities, and desired neighborhoods. She e-mailed me listings of houses that seemed to match my requirements. Then, I’d pick which of those houses we would see the next time we’d meet up. The realtor, Mister Ant and I would pile into her car and walk through the houses, and we’d compare notes on pros and cons.
We found a house on our first outing that we put an offer on. It involved meeting with the realtor, reading and signing lots of papers, including a contract for sale, signing a deposit check, and then… waiting. I found out on Thanksgiving evening that someone else had their offer accepted by the seller before ours was received. We bid low, expecting to negotiate upward. Maybe if we’d put in a higher bid… I don’t know. Anyway, it was back to the drawing board. We had to emotionally let go of that first house and open our minds again.
It took a few more outings to find other houses we liked. We had to consider a few things. First, some houses needed more updating than others. Secondly, none of them had EVERYTHING we wanted, so we had to figure out what we were willing to do without. For a couple weeks, all I did was look at listings and look forward to outings with the realtor. Sometimes those were frustrating, because you’d go to see a house, and we couldn’t find the realtor box that would give us access. Or the seller wouldn’t be there to let you in.
Our house was one of those. The seller’s realtor didn’t show for the appointment. We moved on to the next house. But after not finding anything else that stood out, we scheduled another visit, at which we actually got past the front door. I honestly didn’t like the house at first, because we had just come from seeing another house that was prettier – everything was neutral clean and perfect - it was just too small and too far from transportation. This house had new, but dirty appliances, cracks in some of the plaster, dark carpet instead of hardwood, and paint colors I hated. But Mister Ant liked it and kept trying to convince me to look past the cosmetics and think about the house itself.
He was right! It had everything we said we wanted when we first started looking – three bedrooms, a modern kitchen, a finished basement, a garage, central air, gas cooking, heat and hot water, a powder room for guests… it even had things I wanted but didn’t think I’d get, like remodeled bathrooms, southern exposure and a porch! We could clean the appliances, fix the plaster, and put up paint. We put in an offer.
Then we almost walked away. Their bottom line was thousands away from what we were willing to pay. They were asking too much. But they had a reason. The realtor informed us that we were dealing with a distressed seller – they really “couldn’t afford” to come down on their price. I was annoyed with the seller – what, we were supposed to spend more than we should for a house so that they could move on with their future? What about our future? Their problem did not have to become ours. To buy at their price would have had us paying more than the market value for the property, which is stupid in this market, where home values are falling and may be for some time.
So, though Mister Ant was really disappointed, we ignored their counteroffer and kept looking for other places. I had given up on the house and had emotionally moved on. Then, at the last minute before our offer expired, the seller came back again. Apparently, we’d called their bluff. The sellers were willing to borrow money from friends and family to make this work so they could move on with their lives. They dropped their price by thousands, gave us the maximum allowable seller’s assist, offered to fix things, and their realtor took a hit on her own commission. Mister Ant and I went on one last disappointing outing looking for some other house, and realized when looking at the other houses that if we were going to buy soon, this house was the one. It stood out as being the best fit for us.
We agreed to the second counter offer and bought the house. With the seller’s concessions and assist, we bought the house right.at. market value. We didn’t mind that so much, because we plan to be here for at least five to seven years while we get out of debt, marry and build our family. That’ll give the house’s value time to recover from this economy before we sell. If this were a two year deal, however, we wouldn’t have bought.
The three weeks between contract and closing felt sooooo long! In the meantime, there was the home inspection, finding homeowner’s insurance (that’s another post altogether), getting mail and utilities switched, and lots and lots of impatient waiting. I remember how I felt when we left the closing table. Mister Ant and I left the realtor’s office holding hands and grinning ear-to-ear after wishing everybody and their mama in that office a Happy New Year! Mister Ant literally jumped for joy on the way to the elevator, and I just kept touching the keys in my pocket, shell shocked by what I’d just done. Our realtor’s office is right near Independence Mall, where all the touristy Philadelphia things are – symbols of the American dream. And as we walked away with keys to our new house in our pocket, we were living that dream. Sounds corny ’cause it is, but it’s no less true.
Thinking back, I still feel good about the purchase. I wish we could have forced the seller to do more to the house, like take all their stuff out and clean the appliances, but otherwise, I expected to make some minor repairs or painting and do some maintenance on any house we bought. Rowhouses in Philly are old. LOL!
Next up: a discussion about the money involved.
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Congrats, that’s awesome you were able to find such a great house! Now the fun part begins with decorating and touching things up. Enjoy!
[...] last post dealt with how I found my house. This post explains how I paid for it. Please note that the links are to explanatory [...]
it’s often said that the person who can walk away from the deal is the one with the power (maybe not verbatim but hopefully you get the gist).
When they say “buyer’s market,” I suppose that’s what they mean.
[...] Finding and Buying My House [Sistah Ant] [...]