The appraisal came in...
...at $500 more than we are paying. And, there were no repairs needed for the FHA loan.
And... five minutes later we received our Loan Confirmation Letter. Which means...
...we are definitely officially buying a house!
Off to design change of address postcards!
Showing posts with label inspection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspection. Show all posts
March 3, 2010
Waiting for the appraisal...
... and waiting, and waiting, and waiting.
The appraisal is also the FHA Inspection, where they can bring up any other safety concerns they may have like hand rails, uneven pavement, chipping paint, etc. This is the last big hurdle for our purchase and, although we don't envision any issues, we are anxious to see the report.
Fingers crossed that it goes smoothly!
The appraisal is also the FHA Inspection, where they can bring up any other safety concerns they may have like hand rails, uneven pavement, chipping paint, etc. This is the last big hurdle for our purchase and, although we don't envision any issues, we are anxious to see the report.
Fingers crossed that it goes smoothly!
February 22, 2010
The roof, the roof, the roof is...
... in great condition!
As of this evening, we will be under contract. Out of the contingency stage and officially moving forward with the purchase. Woo-hoo!
I do want to give some more background on "roofgate", since I didn't know the full story when I wrote the previous blog post. Bear with me.
We are buying a house from a young couple that has lived there for only three years. They have to move by April 15, or else he will lose his job. This basically gives them 5 weeks to buy a house and move before our closing. They want to wait to be under contract before putting an offer in on a house.
Since they are in a hurry, they didn't want to delay the contingency any longer. They had just had the roof inspected three years ago and were confident that it is in sound condition.
Unfortunately, we didn't find out until almost 5 pm on Friday that they were not extending, and our inspector could not get to the house until Monday morning. We worried that this wasn't good enough and we would be forced to buy the house without having the roof inspected. Around 7 pm on Friday, we heard that they agreed to extend it until Monday at midnight, giving us enough time to get an inspector there and extra time for the snow to melt off the roof.
I have no clue what we would have done if the snow hadn't melted enough by now. We probably would have lost the house. No need to worry about that anymore, thank goodness!
As of this evening, we will be under contract. Out of the contingency stage and officially moving forward with the purchase. Woo-hoo!
I do want to give some more background on "roofgate", since I didn't know the full story when I wrote the previous blog post. Bear with me.
We are buying a house from a young couple that has lived there for only three years. They have to move by April 15, or else he will lose his job. This basically gives them 5 weeks to buy a house and move before our closing. They want to wait to be under contract before putting an offer in on a house.
Since they are in a hurry, they didn't want to delay the contingency any longer. They had just had the roof inspected three years ago and were confident that it is in sound condition.
Unfortunately, we didn't find out until almost 5 pm on Friday that they were not extending, and our inspector could not get to the house until Monday morning. We worried that this wasn't good enough and we would be forced to buy the house without having the roof inspected. Around 7 pm on Friday, we heard that they agreed to extend it until Monday at midnight, giving us enough time to get an inspector there and extra time for the snow to melt off the roof.
I have no clue what we would have done if the snow hadn't melted enough by now. We probably would have lost the house. No need to worry about that anymore, thank goodness!
February 19, 2010
When you buy a house during the snow storm...
Major Update: We got an extension until Monday at midnight! Our inspector was not able to see the roof on Saturday, but will be there first thing Monday morning to inspect it.
When your offer gets accepted, you have 15 days of contingency to get the house inspected and get the sellers to agree to make repairs. Sometimes, a seller will extend the contingency for an extra inspection or some additional negotiating time. That is not our case, and it might turn into a problem.
When your offer gets accepted, you have 15 days of contingency to get the house inspected and get the sellers to agree to make repairs. Sometimes, a seller will extend the contingency for an extra inspection or some additional negotiating time. That is not our case, and it might turn into a problem.
As I mentioned in Inspection- Part 1, our inspector was not able to check the roof of our house because it was covered with two-feet of snow. Unfortunately, although the sellers agreed to fix all of the issues found during the inspection, save for replacing the interior door from the kitchen to the garage (we were reaching with that one), they did not agree to extend the contingency period. This means that we don't have additional time to have an inspector check the roof. We have to decide by tomorrow whether to take the house without a proper roof inspection.
what our house looks like now
Yes, the roof is only 10 years old.
Yes, the inspector found no evidence of roof damage when he inspected it from the inside.
Yes, the sellers will fix any issues that arise from the snowmageddon snows.
Yes, our REA thinks the roof looks great.But, can we really buy a house without having a professional give us the thumbs up?
Unfortunately we only have 12 hours to make that decision.
February 17, 2010
The Inspection- Part 2
This morning, our REA met a chimney inspector at the house to see what the damage was to the chimney. I was nervous thinking it would be upwards of $2,000 and end up being a deal-breaker. After just 15 minutes of looking at the fireplace, the chimney sweep determined that all the fireplace and chimney needed was a good cleaning and some mortar repointing. Total cost: $285. W00T!
We decided we are asking the sellers to:
-Make the repairs to the chimney & fireplace
-Have a plumber check the small gas leak (this was in the inspection report but was not mentioned to us during the inspection)
-Have a plumber replace the flexible copper gas line to the dryer
-Have a plumber check and reseal the bathtub fixtures
-Replace the door to the garage with a fire-rater door
-Have an HVAC repairman check the issues with the furnace (this should still be under warranty)
Our REA thinks these repairs will cost the sellers about $750-800 total. Not too bad!
Now lets hope the snow melts and allows our inspector to go back to look at the roof. And that, when the snow melts, it doesn't cause any leaks or cracks.
We decided we are asking the sellers to:
-Make the repairs to the chimney & fireplace
-Have a plumber check the small gas leak (this was in the inspection report but was not mentioned to us during the inspection)
-Have a plumber replace the flexible copper gas line to the dryer
-Have a plumber check and reseal the bathtub fixtures
-Replace the door to the garage with a fire-rater door
-Have an HVAC repairman check the issues with the furnace (this should still be under warranty)
Our REA thinks these repairs will cost the sellers about $750-800 total. Not too bad!
Now lets hope the snow melts and allows our inspector to go back to look at the roof. And that, when the snow melts, it doesn't cause any leaks or cracks.
February 14, 2010
The Inspection - Part 1
This past Saturday was our home inspection. We woke up bright and early and headed out of our still-not-plowed street with our last shred of courage. Worst case scenarios danced in our heads as we pulled in to the flat and snow-cleared street (yay suburbs!).
We arrived late, as has become the norm when E & I travel together, and missed the pest inspector. Thankfully, he gave the house a thumbs up. No evidence or damage from pests. We were in the clear!
We headed to the basement to meet our inspector, Brian, and get the low-down of the electric, water heater, furnace and laundry area. Everything in the basement looked good. There was a tiny bit of dampness on the far corner of the basement, which Brian said would not be a problem at all when finishing the basement.
There was also a cubby hidden by a wood panel that was created by a basement window that got covered with the first-floor addition. Did that make sense? The owners had a piece of cardboard lining it. Brian recommended that we replace that cardboard with blue board, which is mold resistant.
There was a water stain inside the furnace, which Brian said was a small concern. It meant that the seal on the pump was not perfect, but it could be easily fixed by resealing it. He also mentioned that the gas pipe for the dryer was installed incorrectly with a flexible copper pipe. This type of gas line is not up to code, so it needs to be replaced with hard piping with a flexible extension.
We then headed to the first floor and the garage. Brian noticed that the door leading to the garage is a hollow interior door, rather than a fire-grade door. To be up to code (and get an occupancy permit) the door needs to be replaced. There was a bit of water damage in the outside wall of the garage, which he was not concerned about. He also mentioned that the siding around the doors to the yard need to be sealed a little better to prevent water damage.
In the living room, Brian found that the fireplace had some mortar that was cracked or missing. He explained that if it is cracked all the way through, we can have hot ambers leak into the frame of our house and catch it on fire. Scary! He suggested we have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a professional who can let us know the condition of the fireplace. This, to us, was kind of a bigger issue. We'll have to see the full report from the inspector to see what he recommends.
Up in the second floor, we took a look at the bedrooms, attic, closets and bathroom. Brian found that two of the power outlets in the master bedroom were not grounded, but were perfectly safe for two-pronged power cables. He also found that some of the bathtub fixtures were a bit leaky and needed to be resealed, while the sink had a slow drain that could use some Drano.
Snowmageddon made it impossible to take a good look at the driveway and walkways, and cause Brian to be unable to inspect the roof. He did assure us that he had not seen anything inside that would indicate roof damage, and the roof is just 10 years old, but he plans to come back to inspect the roof and walkways once the snow has melted.
Brian took a look at all the windows, which are new; the AC, which is also new; and the outside of the house. He noticed a small crack in the brick facade, which is non-threatening, but he did recommend that we get it resealed to prevent water from finding its way to the inside of the house.
Overall, we thought it went pretty well. We expect the sellers to be relatively reasonable about making all of the small fixes. Most just require some caulk and some sealing. We hope that the new door leading to the garage will not be an issue, or that we at least will get an allowance to fix it.
Our only big concern is the fireplace and chimney. Do we go ahead and pay for a chimney inspection? Will the sellers even agree to fix any issues with it? Will the sellers at least agree to have it cleaned?
E and I are willing to find a middle ground with the chimney, but we just hope the sellers are willing to cover the smaller fixes as well.
We arrived late, as has become the norm when E & I travel together, and missed the pest inspector. Thankfully, he gave the house a thumbs up. No evidence or damage from pests. We were in the clear!
Basement
We headed to the basement to meet our inspector, Brian, and get the low-down of the electric, water heater, furnace and laundry area. Everything in the basement looked good. There was a tiny bit of dampness on the far corner of the basement, which Brian said would not be a problem at all when finishing the basement.
There was also a cubby hidden by a wood panel that was created by a basement window that got covered with the first-floor addition. Did that make sense? The owners had a piece of cardboard lining it. Brian recommended that we replace that cardboard with blue board, which is mold resistant.
There was a water stain inside the furnace, which Brian said was a small concern. It meant that the seal on the pump was not perfect, but it could be easily fixed by resealing it. He also mentioned that the gas pipe for the dryer was installed incorrectly with a flexible copper pipe. This type of gas line is not up to code, so it needs to be replaced with hard piping with a flexible extension.
First Floor
We then headed to the first floor and the garage. Brian noticed that the door leading to the garage is a hollow interior door, rather than a fire-grade door. To be up to code (and get an occupancy permit) the door needs to be replaced. There was a bit of water damage in the outside wall of the garage, which he was not concerned about. He also mentioned that the siding around the doors to the yard need to be sealed a little better to prevent water damage.
In the living room, Brian found that the fireplace had some mortar that was cracked or missing. He explained that if it is cracked all the way through, we can have hot ambers leak into the frame of our house and catch it on fire. Scary! He suggested we have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a professional who can let us know the condition of the fireplace. This, to us, was kind of a bigger issue. We'll have to see the full report from the inspector to see what he recommends.
Second Floor
Up in the second floor, we took a look at the bedrooms, attic, closets and bathroom. Brian found that two of the power outlets in the master bedroom were not grounded, but were perfectly safe for two-pronged power cables. He also found that some of the bathtub fixtures were a bit leaky and needed to be resealed, while the sink had a slow drain that could use some Drano.
Outside
Snowmageddon made it impossible to take a good look at the driveway and walkways, and cause Brian to be unable to inspect the roof. He did assure us that he had not seen anything inside that would indicate roof damage, and the roof is just 10 years old, but he plans to come back to inspect the roof and walkways once the snow has melted.
Brian took a look at all the windows, which are new; the AC, which is also new; and the outside of the house. He noticed a small crack in the brick facade, which is non-threatening, but he did recommend that we get it resealed to prevent water from finding its way to the inside of the house.
Overall
Overall, we thought it went pretty well. We expect the sellers to be relatively reasonable about making all of the small fixes. Most just require some caulk and some sealing. We hope that the new door leading to the garage will not be an issue, or that we at least will get an allowance to fix it.
Our only big concern is the fireplace and chimney. Do we go ahead and pay for a chimney inspection? Will the sellers even agree to fix any issues with it? Will the sellers at least agree to have it cleaned?
E and I are willing to find a middle ground with the chimney, but we just hope the sellers are willing to cover the smaller fixes as well.
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