TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
My husband and I bought a house (actually close tomorrow) but it has been quite a ride getting there. Since I run a business at home as well as have little kids, we decided to try to buy a house, move out, fix this place up a bit and then sell it empty. The fact that we did not have to sell our house to close on a new house made our bid more attractive to the seller, so we chose a closing date a month later. Everything was peachy until standing water was discovered in the crawlspace, and the seller did not want to do anything about it. They were ready to put the house back on the market because we wanted a credit for the cost of trenching and sump installation. My husband is a construction administrator for an architechtural firm so he is a hard-core negotiator, and has plan B, C, D, E, etc. no matter what their response may be to our request(s). We were getting closer and closer to closing, so I felt like I should be packing, but I did not know if we had this house or not until 5 days before closing.
Finally my husband talked the realtor to kick in the cost of the sump work (he reminded her that since we were not working with a realtor the next buyer to come along might have a realtor to share the commission with) in exchange for giving her the contract on the sale of our current home. She promises to get $6K more for it than what we had hoped to sell it for, so that her commission will be covered on our end. She is certain she can do it, and I believe her, because she knows how to create some hype (we got our new house in a bidding war, so the house sold for more than asking). We have since gone 'round and 'round with the seller about accessing the property prior to closing and their desire that we switch the electricity over to our name prior to closing if we want prior access, though we just wanted to get a Polaroid of the kitchen cabinet so we can replace one so our refrigerator will fit. There is also the little issue of our next door neighbor's driveway that is actually over the property line onto our side, so we are negotiating with him about getting the same amount of land in our name in the back yard from his side. This is not all, but it gives you an idea of how touch and go things have been, up until the bitter end. Worth it? Yes! The house is perfect for us (husband can do the sump work, no problem) and was appraised $5K higher than what we are paying, so we go into it with equity, and it is in a great area, exactly where I want to be.
I am naming the house casa dell'affare duro, or house of the hard bargain. You should see my husband buy a car....six hours later the salesman emerges, little stars and birds twirling around his head, and a big grin on my husband's face. BTW, Rick has a dislocated elbow so I am packing our current house by myself! Then we have to deal with fixing up this house and getting it sold to look forward to. Two mortages, goody...
Thanks for taking the time to read this - after tomorrow I will probably not be able to check in for a week or two, but hope to have broadband when I do (YAY!).
Finally my husband talked the realtor to kick in the cost of the sump work (he reminded her that since we were not working with a realtor the next buyer to come along might have a realtor to share the commission with) in exchange for giving her the contract on the sale of our current home. She promises to get $6K more for it than what we had hoped to sell it for, so that her commission will be covered on our end. She is certain she can do it, and I believe her, because she knows how to create some hype (we got our new house in a bidding war, so the house sold for more than asking). We have since gone 'round and 'round with the seller about accessing the property prior to closing and their desire that we switch the electricity over to our name prior to closing if we want prior access, though we just wanted to get a Polaroid of the kitchen cabinet so we can replace one so our refrigerator will fit. There is also the little issue of our next door neighbor's driveway that is actually over the property line onto our side, so we are negotiating with him about getting the same amount of land in our name in the back yard from his side. This is not all, but it gives you an idea of how touch and go things have been, up until the bitter end. Worth it? Yes! The house is perfect for us (husband can do the sump work, no problem) and was appraised $5K higher than what we are paying, so we go into it with equity, and it is in a great area, exactly where I want to be.
I am naming the house casa dell'affare duro, or house of the hard bargain. You should see my husband buy a car....six hours later the salesman emerges, little stars and birds twirling around his head, and a big grin on my husband's face. BTW, Rick has a dislocated elbow so I am packing our current house by myself! Then we have to deal with fixing up this house and getting it sold to look forward to. Two mortages, goody...
Thanks for taking the time to read this - after tomorrow I will probably not be able to check in for a week or two, but hope to have broadband when I do (YAY!).
. Consider yourself lucky you don't have that!!! *chuckle*
