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The structural engineer visited today. The place seems to be in rather good shape. Old, to be certain, but in better shape than many new houses. He pointed out areas which would cause concern, notably the absence of issues was what I saw. No cracks near doorways or windows, the plum being fit (except for one small area in the back porch, though it looks to have been built out of plum and it has not changed since). Everything was in order, though he was not 100% (what engineer works that way anyway?).
I had the first furnace man in for a quote today. It was more than I had hoped, but so be it. At $5350, I will have no extra money for a washer and dryer. Well, maybe a dryer? I may have to use some of the incentive to buy money toward one or both the washer and dryer. It looks like some work will need to be done beyond simple installation, but nothing unreasonable. Things just cost more than the last quotes I had heard from other situations.
The electrical inspection was supposed to be happening today. I have not heard how that went, though I suspect it went well. If it did, that is another thing off the list. The last thing remaining, untended due to weather, is painting the trim. My broker's company has asked for extra time, and to allow the closing to go forward, should the weather not be cooperative. It would be a stupid thing to hold up closing for a lackluster paint job rather than allowing us to do it right and close on time, in a timely fashion anyway.
Not much else is happening. I seem to be functioning much better, making appointments well, and such. So, perhaps it is not stress, or not all stress, being the reason I collapse as I do. Right now it is more complicated and higher stress than before. I am invested of time and money on a project which could still fail quite easily. I might be the cause of that failure. I still have a lot to do, so, like I said, not or not completely stress related.
I am exhausted, but in a good way. Sleep well, I know I will. Good night.
My buyer was going to do similar if his lender hadn't gone flaky on him. He would be a few thousand plus a bunch of labor invested into a house that could still fail to close.
ReplyDeleteIt's a stuck-out-neck position to be in. We had drafted an agreement that would not leave me on the hook for any of it if the deal failed, but it fell through before we got to that point.
Best wishes for you, and may there be no more surprises before closing.
Yeah, it's a rough and tumble world in the housing market. Everyone is playing hard ball and no one cares about anything but their own, except for the buyers and sellers, the legitimate ones. I like to think we are among those, and probably then some.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to feel good though, when they try to make us out to be buffoons or liars when they know it's a soft money market and weak economy that is the problem. And bosses who don't want them closing deals. I can't blame them completely, but a little honesty would be good. Charades suck.
I didn't mention what the "ridiculous demands" that they (FHA) made were, that prompted us to ditch the deal. The house was built in 1954 as a 950 s.f. 2 BR bungalow. Over the years the various owners added on to the back and converted the garage into a guest house, for a total of about 1950 s.f. of livable space. Today it has the same square footage as when *I* bought it 14 years ago with an FHA loan. The only major work I did was a kitchen remodel and converting a family room into another bedroom by adding a door and a closet. However today, FHA says that, because they do not see a trail of building permits taken out for the work done (most of it) 15-20 years ago, they will only consider the original 950 s.f. for appraisal purposes. Which, of course, leads to a ridiculously low price.
ReplyDeleteWTF?! It was good enough for FHA 14 years ago and now?
My agent hinted at some all-cash buyers sniffing around late last week. That may be the only option now.
No, you hadn't mentioned it. It sounds like they (FHA) simply did not want the loan to go through more than anything else. Didn't trust the buyers, more than likely. Hard to tell. Maybe it is simply a poison climate for them in any situation.
ReplyDeleteI told the owners about your deal. I think they had thought that maybe FHA might be nicer. I don't know if they believe what I told them, but I think from this and other things, they know the score.
I think he wanted to back out immediately and do nothing. He really almost lost his last best chance for a long time, I would think. They hate it, but I think they know it. If I was not interested in getting it done, this thing would not be happening. Broker is tired, seller is tired, I am tired, though I think, think, the bureaucrats have run out of roadblocks (or the will to use them more harshly).
Should know by Friday.