the search for excitement

so, fourth time's a charm, right?

On Thursday I will be venturing out yet again into the Gilbert area to find a house that doesn't cause me, my realtor, my loan officer or my parents to pull our hair out.  Luckily for me, the housing market has continued to tank, and there are about 150 houses in my price range in the Chandler/Gilbert area.  The crazy thing about this is when I first started there were literally 27 houses in my first set of listings.

To spare Jim some additional stress that already comes from working with someone who is as high-maintenance about real estate as I am, I only sent him my top 20 homes.  You see, Jim has to call each of these properties and get "the skinny" on them before we go look; this way, I don't fall in love with a home that I can't have...  To spare myself additional stress, I didn't look at any homes over $115,000 since there were so many.  I also sent Jim an additional 11 homes that were priced under $105,000 to check on, just because the pricing is so unbelievable.  So, out of those 40 homes, hopefully we will have a good selection to go look at on Thursday, and hopefully one of them will fit the bill.

Here are some teaser pictures from some of the homes I like:

So, check in Thursday to see how it went!  Basically I am looking for these 5 main "qualities" in my house: 

1) Large living room/great room

2) Wrap around cabinets in kitchen with an island

3) Walk-in closet in the master

4) Large master bedroom

5) STORAGE

It's been slightly difficult for me to emotionally detach from Wanda and get excited again, but I think I'm ready to do it; besides... as my mother would say, "Wanda is a whore's name!"     =)

things fall apart

...november 22, 2010...
This was the day we were supposed to open escrow.  This was the day that I had been waiting for for 7 months.  And it never happened...

I got a call from Jim as I was leaving work around 6:45pm on this night, and he wasn't calling with good news.  Jim explained that escrow did not open today, and that the bank had made some changes.  He said that the bank had decided to move up the closing date to December 6, and that this was just not possible to close in that amount of time with the type of loan I have.  Basically, the deal was null and void after the 6th, and I'm assuming renegotiations would take place or they would find a new buyer.  I was so disappointed, because I had no idea that they were allowed to do something like this so late in the game.  However, Jim pointed out there was no point to have an inspection and appraisal done and lose out on that money if the deal was not going to go through.

He advised me to start looking again.

I laughed, I cried, I was dumbfounded and angry all at the same time. All this work, by all these people, for nothing...

She was going to be a good house!

this is the week!

...november 15 to november 20, 2010...
On November 15, while I was out to eat with Drew, I got a call from Jim and he left a lengthy message for me that caused me to scream inside the half-empty restaurant.  Jim had said that Chad Alfano had the full contract and approval, and that he was waiting on a re-written acceptance letter from Chase dictating that the seller was not legally obligated for his deficiencies.  Basically, we could move forward.

The next night, I met Tom at Zipps to sign all my loan documents and drink a long-awaited beer!  I was stoked to have gotten this far, and Tom said we were shooting for a closing date of December 15th.  The clock  was ticking...

The next day, I called around for insurance quotes and scheduled a home inspection for the day after Thanksgiving.  On Monday, Tom scheduled my appraisal and Jim informed me that we would be opening escrow.  According to Chad, it was smooth sailing from here...

half a year later...

...october 29 to november 13, 2010...
On this day (which I believe was a Friday) I got a call from Tom letting me know that Webster had finally approved the offer, and we would be hearing next week about a closing date.  At this point, the mortgage company still had to sign off on everything, but it appeared to be optimistic.  But as Tom kept reminding me, it wasn't time to get excited just yet...

On the 4th, we got an extension from the mortgage company until November 29th, which I believe was a tentative closing date by the end of the month.  Panic set in, as things were moving along at a steady rate, and I prepared myself to possibly be out of my parents house by Christmas...  This same weekend, my amazingly fantastic uncle sent me a 30% off entire purchase coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond!  Well, house or no house, I couldn't pass this offer up!  My mom and I went on a 2 hour shopping escapade on the 6th, and I basically robbed the store blind.  I purchased a Calphalon cookware set, a slow cooker, silverware, a Shark vacuum and steamer, a George Foreman grill, a Magic Bullet and the list goes on... all in all, it was pretty awesome!

The next week, it looked more like we would be closing the first or second week of December, as the steady pace started to slow on the paperwork side of things.  Either way, still went and bought my dining room set from Fry's Marketplace =).  There was a 20% off furniture purchase coupon in the paper, and I couldn't help myself!  My parents ended up storing quite a few things for me in November...and regardless of which house I purchased, I would need all of it!

double trouble

...september 25, 2010...
On September 25, with slightly more confidence that I would be in a house by the end of the year, I added two little furballs to my life.  A brother and sister pair from a rescue shelter in Scottsdale joined me, my parents, my brother and two older dogs in our house.

MEET BARKLEY

I'm sweet, affectionate and live up to my name!  I'm taller than my sister, but I let her beat me up every once in a while to make her feel better for being smaller, since I was the first born.  My legs are super long, but they help me get food off the table.

MEET MIA

I'm shy and little, but I'm also scrappy!  I like to be left alone, but I'll cuddle if I'm in the mood.  When I'm playing I can get a little crazy and cause some trouble, but I get away with it 

because I'm cute and fluffy!

they want me to pay WHAT?

...mid September 2010...
After a few weeks of waiting, we finally heard a response from Webster.  Tom called me up and let me know that Chase and Webster were negotiating the offer, and that Webster was wanting more money than Chase was willing to give them.  It came down to the fact that Webster wanted me to pay about $2300 more out of pocket to make up for the money Chase would not give them.

Well, this was just ridiculous to me given that I had been waiting almost 5 months for this, and they refused to tack on the extra money to my purchase price.  Tom didn't sound optimistic that this would be resolved in a timely fashion, and I agreed the banks were being extremely difficult.  Now I was thinking about the tax credit, as well as the possibility that this was not going to work out; if the banks didn't come to an agreement, there would be no deal.

I called Jim and spoke to him about it as well; he told me that he was going to negotiate my out-of-pocket cost cost down from $2300 to $1250.  This was something I could stomach a little bit more...

The wait continued on, but I asked Jim to send me new listings for Gilbert, just to see what was out there.  I hadn't looked in over 5 months, and the market had continued to fall during that time.  Not kidding, there were 123 homes for sale in my price range; it was ridiculous. I had Jim check on one home, because based on the pictures it was the only one that was on the lower end of my price and looked awesome; it already had a few offers on it, so we decided to stick it out with Wanda...

one step closer

...august 24, 2010...
On August 24, we got an approval letter from Chase for my offer.  They had accepted everything, from my $105,000 to all closing costs.  Literally, this was a miracle because we never though in a million years they would accept a purchase price almost $15,000 under the asking price.  The interest rates on mortgages had also dropped immensely, so it was perfect timing for this deal to start going through.

What I didn't necessarily realize, was an approval from Chase did not equal an approval from Webster Bank.  Webster was a small bank on the East coast, which made negotiating with them difficult due to the time change.  I came to hate both banks equally, as we were almost 4 months in and still multiple steps away from closing.

The funny thing about this was, there was no way I was ready for this back in April, or even July.  By August I started to feel that I was emotionally and financially ready to do this on my own...and that was a scary feeling!

a whole lotta waiting

...summer 2010...
A lot of waiting ensued from May to July, and even past summer.  The biggest issue over the summer was my anxiety over the homebuyer's credit.  At the time, it was originally set to expire at the end of June, but luckily it was extended until October, so I was able to breathe for a little longer.

The listing agent for Wanda was Mr. Chad Alfano, and I was skeptical of him after having been given the run-around from Suzette.  We went a while without hearing a peep from Chad, or the bank - which happened to be Chase.  Now originally, I was ecstatic that the bank we were dealing with was not Bank of America, as I had heard all kinds of horror stories about them and their pathological laziness from Jim.  Unfortunately, as it turns out, Chase is not much better.

In July, I took some of my friends over to see the property before we had dinner at Liberty Market.  (Side story: Liberty Market is a place I will definitely frequent if I get this house!) Anyway, we all drove over right before dark and they got to see the beautiful brick neighborhood; however, the back gate had been padlocked, making it almost impossible to get into the backyard to see the house.  Jumping the gate was just out of the question...

As time passed, we discovered that there were two banks ( or lien holders) on the property, which of course further complicated the process....    

breaking and entering

...april 29, 2010...
We received a signed purchase contract on Wanda on April 29, one day before the cut-off for the tax credit!  I was freaking out about this, because we had not gotten this "far" before, so it was a big deal that the deal was moving forward so quickly.

I told a handful of my coworkers about the purchase contract, and they were so excited for me (or they really wanted to get out of the office) that we piled in the car and drove over to the property.  Luckily, I have brave friends, and we were able to get into the house and walk around.  This proved to be great news, because I was able to take my mom and Drew there later in the day!

My mom loved the home as well, but firmly dubbed it "the hole" because of the work it needed haha, and we have fondly referred to Wanda as such ever since...

Things were looking up; and the mental planning began!

falling in love again

...part deux...
We pulled up to Wanda and I instantly loved the neighborhood.  My initial favorite thing about the home was that it was dual brick and stucco on the outside, and looked very different than your traditional Arizona home.

Wanda was a 1400 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  She had a gigantic great room that led right into the kitchen--which had wrap-around counters!  The master bedroom was a good size and the walk-in closet was massive.  The back yard was big enough to fit a pool, and there were no homes behind me.

Now, those were the positives of Wanda, but she needed some serious work.  Wanda needed new flooring/carpet in the entire house; she needed new appliances in the kitchen and laundry room; she needed new toilets and possibly a new shower in the master bathroom; and she had a few cracks in her that were concerning...BUT, it was the perfect house and it had so much potential to be exactly what I wanted it to be.

As I stood inside Wanda with Jim and my father, I debated out loud with them if I would be offering on Wanda or Jasper.  Both homes were asking the same price, but Wanda needed way more work.  I told Jim I didn't think Wanda was worth $119,000 or even $110,000 with the repairs and updating she needed.  I thought about Jasper and its benefits, but I just couldn't pick it over Wanda.  Wanda had a lower HOA fee, was less than 15 minutes from my office and could truly become my home.

Jim and I decided to ultimately offer $105,000 on the property, knowing full well that it would be counter-offered.  He submitted the offer on April 26, 2010, and we prayed he would get a signed purchase contract by the end of the month, since the homebuyer tax credit was coming to an end...it was going to be an interesting week.

third time's a charm

...april 23, 2010...
I saw more of Jim in April than I did my own boyfriend...
With another 6 houses to look at on this day, my dad and I set out to meet up with Jim again.  This would be my third time venturing out into house hunting land, and I was ready to find my perfect home.  I had finally let go of Kent, and was ready to open my mind up to just about anything.  I had Jim extend my listings to include some older homes (built after 1995), and it proved to offer more of a selection.  All of the homes we looked at today were in Gilbert, which I had decided would be the best place for me as opposed to Chandler.

Unbeknown to Jim, there was one home I was particularly interested in seeing this day...but when Jim rattled off the various street names on the list for the day, my house didn't make the cut...

We saw more two-story homes this day, which was not ideally what I was looking for, but the prices were ridiculous.  We saw a house on Jasper, that was in the same neighborhood as Kent.  Jasper was a two-story, 1800 square foot home that was amazing.  It needed to be cleaned and re-carpeted, but other than that it had wood floors and spacious closets and an upgraded master bathroom.  We actually spoke to the owner, and she made me feel really good about the neighbors and the community itself.  It was definitely at the top of the list for the day at $119,000.

We were literally across the street in a different subdivision looking at a house on Spawn, when Jim got a phone call.  Now, I had not shared with him my desire to see the particular house, but when he got off the phone he asked if I would want to squeeze in one more home for the day.  When I asked him which property had come available, he said Wanda.  I, literally, squealed with delight and told him I had really wanted to see it based on the pictures...  We skipped the remaining two homes and went straight to Wanda...

back to the grind

...april 15, 2010...
A week later, Jim and I busted out the Garmin and got back out there.  And yes, I am comparing this situation to having to start dating again after a break-up, because that is pretty much how it felt.

Again, forgive my memory, but I don't remember what we saw this day.  I remember being generally unimpressed, as Kent was now the standard everything was being measured up against.  We did see one house, Nielsen, that was flat-out gorgeous, but was missing 2 of my top necessities...

Nielsen was about 1350 square feet, 2 bedroom (ouch) / 2 bath for $124,900 I believe.  The kitchen was upgraded, the master bedroom was HUGE, the backyard had a fire pit, and there was tile throughout the house.  There was an office off the living room that had no doors, but an option to close off a section for a closet (which is why they listed the property as a three bedroom).  The MAIN thing that I didn't like about this house, was that the living room was tiny, like teeny-tiny and there were not three bedrooms.  I saw Nielsen twice this day before deciding to offer on it, and we went lower at $122,500.  I was already nervous about this house, and felt I was settling...and in hindsight, I was.  Looking back, I have no earthly idea why I put an offer on a home that was THAT expensive without meeting a major requirement--living room!


Long story short, this went quickly, and we got the offer in the next day.  Jim called me almost immediately after submitting it, and said there was another offer on the property as well, and that if I increased my offer to $125, 250, I would definitely out-bid the other offer and most likely get accepted.  Well, I freaked out about this.  I remember driving in my car, crying, because I knew this wasn't my house and I didn't love it enough to even continue with the offer.  I felt terrible, because I knew Jim busted his ass to put the paperwork together, and Tom did the same with my loan documents.  When I told Jim I wasn't going to increase because I just didn't love the house, I knew he was frustrated with me.  But, as Jim always does, he understood.  Tom reassured me as well and told me not to settle, and that  I would find my house.

This was the last time I picked a house just to pick a house...

...april 1 through april 7, 2010...
This week in April was the first of many emotional roller coasters for me in the upcoming months, so hang on for this entry!

By April 1, we had still heard nothing about Kent.  By April 3, Jim had sent me new listings for Chandler and Gilbert, as I had just about had it with miss Suzette.  When I opened the website, Kent was listed twice with two different prices, MLS numbers and pictures.  Jim was in California at this time, and I immediately called him to let him know about this; unfortunately this was a Saturday, and there was not a thing that could be done until Monday...  and again we waited.

On April 5, Jim left messages and sent e-mails to everyone and their mom about this property, and we kept our fingers crossed.  Fannie Mae is notoriously quick in closing short sales, so I knew this whole thing could be over in a matter of days.  The Fannie Mae people got back with Jim quickly, and said that there were multiple offers on the property, and that Suzette had been dealing with several people--despite telling Jim we were the only offer.  Jim and I kept our original offer of $118,500, even though Fannie Mae was now only asking $113,000.  I also decided to drive by Kent and stalk the house on this night, and it would be the last time I saw it...

On April 6, Jim received a call from Fannie Mae that gave him the impression that this was not going to work out; by 5:45pm that night, the tune had changed: I can honestly say I have never received a short voicemail from Jim, but on this night he simply said: "Hey Ash, give me a call when you get this, gotta talk to you about something." I got chills down my spine, but didn't know if they were good or bad.  Jim told me that he had talked to Fannie Mae a third time, and that the agent had asked him if I was going to "owner occupy" the property; and when Jim told him yes, they apparently said "Great! That's what we wanted to hear! We will let you know tomorrow!"  It was time to get excited...

On April 7, Fannie Mae let us know that I would not be living at Kent.  We would later find out the home closed for $116,500, which lead Jim to believe that the buyer took care of closing costs, meaning a cheaper option overall for Fannie Mae.  I had based everything on this house (rookie mistake), and now I was justifying why it wasn't my house... I told myself it was too far from work/friends/family, too high of an HOA, strange layout, poor closet space, small backyard, blah blah blah. 

It would be hard to find something better than Kent.

the axis of evil

...march 25, 2010...
It was around 3 weeks post-submission on Kent that Jim, Tom and myself were introduced to Suzette.  Suzette was the agent who was listing the property, and all initial dealings had to go through her.  I can honestly say that Suzette is probably themost incompetent person I have never had the pleasure of meeting in my life, and thus she resides on my axis of evil.  I must say, the axis of evil is very difficult to break into, and is typically reserved for ex-roommates and especially difficult clients; however, Suzette managed to rise above all and bust into this elite group.

The reason I say this, is because Suzette apparently does not own a phone or know how to operate a computer.  Despite all of Jim's well-intentioned e-mails, Suzette preferred to play solitaire on her laptop at home than return a call or answer an e-mail.  Jim and I frequently joked about slashing her tires on a regular basis...

When we finally did get a response it looked like this:
"I am still working with the bank on the ownership status.
Fannie Mae is supposed to call me tomorrow by noon."

Suzette's e-mail was void of a professional signature, leading me to believe she was at home catching up on The Young and the Restless and eating Twinkies.  Either way, she did get the house transferred over to Fannie Mae, which proved to be even more of a headache than dealing with Suzette.

the first offer

...march 5, 2010...
On my 23rd birthday, I ventured out to look at more houses with Jim and my dad.  This time, we looked in Gilbert, as there was not much available in Chandler that I would have a chance of actually getting in my price range.  I can honestly say, I do not remember much that we looked at on this day, because I only remember one house...Kent.

Kent was about 1350 square feet, 3 bedroom/2 bath short-sale home that was built in 2005.  The asking price was $118,500, which was totally doable, but the HOA fee was $100 a month!!!  Either way, I was ecstatic about this house, especially since it was so new and needed little to no updating AT ALL!  The one downside to it (besides the HOA) was that it was slightly further East than I originally wanted, but I made a decision and put an offer on it anyway!  I offered full asking price...

Two days later, my dad and I took my mom out to the home and "broke in" through the garage (not our fault it was unlocked!) to give my mom an idea of what we had been talking about the last day and a half!  There is no feeling more exciting than walking through a home that could potentially be yours...ALL YOURS, and envisioning what you could turn it into and what it could be.  Little did I know the shenanigans that would ensue...

The offer was submitted on March 8.  By March 25, we had not heard a word.  Then the e-mails began... luckily for me, Jim is the most politely aggressive Realtor in the world...

you smell that? yep, that's urine...

...february 21, 2010...
I met Jim for the first time on this Sunday.  I brought my mom with me for moral support, because Jim had warned me that some of the homes would be "trashed." Little did I know what the word would actually mean...

We met him in Cooper Commons and it was pouring down rain.  The first house we looked at was a home I dubbed La Costa (if you haven't caught on, I use the street names...much easier than saying 'the fourth house we saw...no before the one with the crack in the driveway').  La Costa was beautiful, and at the top of my price range... It would come to be my favorite home of the day.  We saw Waterview, a smoked filled home with holes in various doors that my mother--for some ungodly reason--loved; and we saw a two-story home that she also SWORE was the home we lived in when we first moved here, except it wasn't the same neighborhood or house at all.

We drove to more "central" Chandler, and during this car ride my mother took the opportunity to question Jim about whether he would throw in an extra garage door opener with purchase, if he was aware of current market value, and basically if he even knew what he was doing.  By the end of the drive, they were best friends and she had him cracking up with her comments the rest of the day.

In central Chandler, we found poopy diapers, a sleeping teenager, and Bob who didn't bother to clean his kitchen.  We went through a neighborhood where I refused to even get out of the car to go look at the house, and I'm pretty sure a drug deal went down while we were recalculating Jim's Garmin.  The final house was the true winner of the day...

Sheffield was in a gated neighborhood next to the community pool.  Jim tried to prepare us, but there was really no way to prepare someone for what we saw.  My mom immediately pointed out what looked like a blood splatter on the inside of the front window that could very easily have said "REDRUM" for all I know.  We opened the front door and I'll never forget what came out of Jim's mouth, "You smell that? Yep, that's urine!"  Between the smell, the dog food scattered about, the wedding dress and last month's bills...we had had enough for one day!

"ash, honey, you have no idea..."

...february 16, 2010...
I first talked to Jim pretty quickly after I met with Tom.  He seemed ridiculously nice on the phone, and had sent me listings for Chandler within my price range.  We discussed that my ideal home would be a 3 bedroom, 2 bath one-story home that was built in the last 10 years.  What I loved about Jim right off the bat was that he was so accommodating and patient with me; I really had little knowledge about what I was getting into, as well as what all the acronyms and jargon meant...

***

I had spent the early part of this month looking at houses on various websites, and had found a few in Cooper Commons that I was very interested in... My dad and I drove to look at the ones that I had found, an I instantly fell in love with a house I'll call Teresa.  Granted, I only viewed Teresa through her windows and backyard, but the house was in great shape!  The other home in Cooper Commons was Bell, and was a similar floor plan to Teresa; either way, I was close to my parents and in a good neighborhood...I was ready to start looking!

I told Jim about these two homes, and both popped up on the listings that he sent me.  He warned me up front that 99% of the homes we would look at would be short sales due to my price range.  He said that he would call all the listing agents on the homes I wanted to see before we went to look, so that I don't get my hopes up about a house that was unreachable.  What I didn't realize was the extreme competitive nature of the market, and unfortunately for me I was in no place to be even remotely competitive; my "top" was $125,000, and I couldn't go any higher or I could kiss spending money goodbye.

Jim called the homes on the listing that I was interested in, and told me that out of the 20-something houses he sent me, only 7 were completely available with no offers.  That meant, Teresa and Bell were going to be out of reach, as other people had placed offers on the properties already, getting me into a bidding war if I chose to pursue them...which just was not possible.  We set to meet for the weekend!

money honey

...early february 2010...
I scheduled a meeting with Tom about 2 weeks before my birthday.  I was a little overwhelmed and nervous that start talking about another loan, on top of my grad school loans.  Tom was very patient with me and my millions of questions, and he went over what he thought the best loan options for me were.  Ultimately we decided on an FHA loan, which is a loan that requires only about 3% on the down payment of the home.  I told Tom what I ultimately wanted my monthly payment to be, even though I could "technically" afford more.  We decided a decent price range for me would be looking at homes up to $125,000, and Tom suggested a Realtor for me.

That's when I called Jim...

apartment or house?

...late january 2010...
I had been living with my parents for about 8 months when I decided it was finally time to begin this home buying process.  I had gone back and forth several times about whether I wanted to live in an apartment or attempt to buy a house; ultimately I wanted the experience of living on my own, which is something I had never done before.  I was really leaning towards a house, since I had lived in apartments all through college and graduate school, and with the housing market in the toilet, it was the perfect time to begin the search...

The first person I contacted to begin this journey was my friend Rachael.  Her husband, Tom, is a loan officer, and she had suggested I meet with him to see what I could afford before getting my sights set on a house that was unrealistic financially.  So...that is just what I did!