@dman23 wrote:
@Revelate wrote:Went with the advice here and got a pre-approval slightly higher than list for offer purposes; realtor suggested that was a good course of action when I inquired:
Offer: 837.5K
List: 850K
Pre-approval: 870K
We'll see where it goes. Rates ticked up today, Chase now at 3.87%, guess doesn't make sense to rate shop really till I have the purchase contract.
I'm at the very early stages of researching and doing homework. So far, great information. You mention here about rate shopping. What's to say the pre-approval letter you have from a specific lender guarantees that say, Chase, would give you a mortgage? I'm sure it doesn't and what sorts of inconveniences could this cause? I would assume the purchase contract states how much time you have to get the mortgage before contract is rescinded?
Nothing.
If you fall out of UW with some lender, generally you've got all the documents you need already prepped to go right across the street to some other lender, and can even ask the new lender (or lenders, may want to socialize with a few) if what you got kicked out over is a deal breaker for them.
There's all sorts of slack time built into the process even when we're talking a 30 day closing; I was sitting on my hands a lot but admittedly I turned documentation and requests around same day, and that was worst case (with one exception where I missed a form, whoopsie). I don't know what I would've done with myself on a 60 day closing, but I had the scores, the income, and the assets and work history to be a very simple file.
You have a loan contingency in pretty much every standard state contract, which basically says if you can't secure the loan even at a given rate (which is usually higher than market rate around here though that might vary by locale) you can walk and that's your protection as a buyer from the lender's doing something dumb. Yes there are some time frames likely specified, and that is state specific though in reality I think there's some flexibility in there until the lawyers get involved.
Fact is lenders can get a conventional mortgage underwritten in under 10 days (think mine was something like 4-5 days even at Chase but I was a special case where they had literally everything ahead of time and I'm in a dry funding state so could cut corners a bit), so if push comes to shove it's not that hard to find another lender.
Worst case you can always push closing back some, sellers might not be happy about it, but it's a bird in hand scenario if they really want to start over with another buyer.
@Anonymous wrote:So, I have been out of touch with the group for a while. Got really bummed and disenchanted with the whole process a few weeks ago. So today I am back and I have to say WHEW what a ride! So happy for you. Once I start my whole process with the loans I will start my own thread. At $350000 in the suburb of Oklahoma where I am shopping, you could by a very nice 3000-4000 sq ft home on 1/2 acre or more, and all upper end finishes. All while living in the most desireable school district. With that being said I just knew that your journey had come to a close on the first property but I am a firm believer everything happens for a reason. Congrats, so happy for you!
Had a TIA event on the drive home from work going to the mortgage signing; if I'd gotten the expensive place I wouldn't have been able to walk from that job cold turkey without worrying about the financial impact of it.
Buying the cheap option was absolutely the right thing to do, I'll be better than OK! So far batting 95% in terms of positive experiences in the new place already, which is a higher batting average than my usual moves historically heh.
The struggles are just not knowing what to do now that it's all on me: like realizing when I was moving in some things "you know, if I'm going to have to paint at some point, I should just do that right now." Duh. 
Probably going to wind up replacing washer/dryer, toilets, and dish washer; just not worth the possible flooding event for the latter two and the W/D are just the absolute wrong type for this place... that would've been doable in the original place, but it wouldn't have been /shrug haha.
Congrats on your home purchase! I must say I scratch my head every time I see some of the home prices in Cali and what you get for the money. Love the weather out there!
Cost of living is so much different from my area. Tossing in lot size (130,680 sq ft.) my home at (2649 sq.ft custom built 4 bed/3 bath) in Los Angeles would be over 2 million dollars easy in the current market. Canadian home pricing is even worse! A 2 million dollar home here would be considered a mansion/estate . lol
@Gmood1 wrote:Congrats on your home purchase! I must say I scratch my head every time I see some of the home prices in Cali and what you get for the money. Love the weather out there!
Cost of living is so much different from my area. Tossing in lot size (130,680 sq ft.) my home at (2649 sq.ft custom built 4 bed/3 bath) in Los Angeles would be over 2 million dollars easy in the current market. Canadian home pricing is even worse! A 2 million dollar home here would be considered a mansion/estate . lol
Thanks!
Yeah, and it's just going to get worse short of a massive relandscaping of the economic and political environment. Could still be done though, was talking to a recently single school teacher friend of mine, and with 15 years in and some advanced degrees she's at something like 80K / year; just running the numbers, that + my working from home taking care of kids, could afford that 1.3M house.
But I have more prosaic issues currently; S10 commented at one point of Houzz and others being a massive time sink, and really it's just come to illustrate all the things I don't know other than I know I need to do better decorating wise. Finally realized last night doesn't make sense to try to figure out all the lighting, paint, decor, apparently interior designers have an hourly rate, yo get me started and out of this paralyzed state haha.
Pretty sad, realized I could probably live in a cardboard box and be fine with it, but wanting other folks in my life, ah well, let's pick up something better. Color psychology is an absolutely fascinating subject.
LMAO!! No doubt..the colors and furnishings do wonders for a home! We changed the masterbedroom/bath and baby's room just two months after moving in and the house was brand new. lol
Massive time sink is an understatement! I've lost at least 8 pounds since buying a home last November. That's without any dieting. HGTV became my number one watched channel as I sifted for ideas to use in the home. It is a ongoing project. I don't think it will ever end. It's fun watching something transform while adding your own personal touches.
I'm big on curb appeal, so I spend a massive amount of time in the yard. That's where the 8 pounds lost originates from. lol