On March 19, 2014 I sent an email message to our realtor stating I had interest in seeing a house that I discovered online. It was listed as a short sale. After scheduling a showing, our realtor informed us that there was already an offer on it and the seller was no longer accepting showings. I was disappointed ... and continued to search for other houses online.
A few weeks later, in April, our realtor emailed me a link to a house asking if we would have interest in it. When I opened the link, it was the very same house! (he said he thought it looked somewhat familiar) So our realtor decided to look into the situation further:
Yes! After seeing the house, we met with our realtor at his office and decided to write a "second offer" and submit it. We hoped that the seller would give our offer consideration. But the seller didn't even submit the offer to the bank for approval and the house went to auction.
I found out late yesterday that the home is under contract but they haven't heard back from the bank yet on the offer that was already signed by the seller. At this point it is "under contract subject to bank approval." It was supposed to be sold at the Sheriff Sale last month but was postponed. The listing agent said that we could look at it but they won't consider any new offers until the bank answers the offer already in hand. More likely its another one that will go to foreclosure and will be listed later this year by the bank. Would you have time on Friday during the day to check it out?
I began to track the house on the website where Sheriff Sales are listed. It came up for auction on May 26. Keith attended the auction with our realtor to observe what happens in this type of sale. The reserve price for the house was so high (it had 2 mortgages and a bankruptcy against it) that no one purchased it at auction, so the bank bought it back to assume the liens against it.
I continued to track the house...and on August 7 it went into MLS. We scheduled a showing immediately. Another walk-through confirmed to us that we were still interested in purchasing it. We submitted another offer and began to wait. Eventually, they contacted our realtor and countered our offer. We didn't want to lose the house so we accepted their counter offer.
Inspections and appraisals followed. Surprises and unexpected expenses have been uncovered, as can be expected with a foreclosure property. However, we remain on course to close the deal on September 26.
9/22/14
Kind of a discouraging day in the house category. I continue to pack things up for a move in faith...in faith that we will have settlement as planned. It seems the bank (seller) has not done what they said they'd do when we signed the agreements. In order for us to get our mortgage approved, a few issues with the house had to be resolved. Namely, the plumbing must work without leaks and some mold must be cleaned up. The bank has known this for a month. However, nothing has yet been done. Our loan officer says that unless something happens tomorrow, we'll have to push our settlement date into next week. This is a problem! We already have workers and deliveries lined up so that renovations can happen as quickly as possible. LORD, WE NEED A MIRACLE!
9/27/14
The original settlement date has come and gone. We had to sign an addendum to move settlement to Sept 30. This is because the seller (the realty company who is managing the foreclosed property for the Fannie Mae) did not follow through with what was agreed upon. We went to the property last night to determine if anything in fact had been done. It was a very discouraging evening. We spent the first hour discovering more leaks throughout and then on the phone trying to come up with a plan to move forward. We brought the van loaded with drywall, paint and tools. By Monday (Sept 29) we must have addressed 2 issues and have the house ready for the appraiser to come again to verify that all is well so that our mortgage is approved. THEN we can close the deal.
Two things:
1) There must be no evidence of mold. Since the house is advertised as having a finished basement, the areas where mold remediation removed wall board, we must reinstall the drywall and paint it. The problem with this is that we have plans to demolish the whole basement since it is in such poor condition. So what we are required to do is ludicrous!...hang drywall and paint it for the appraiser, only to tear it out again in a couple weeks for our renovation.
2) The water must be turned on in the house so that they can verify the plumbing works. Plumbing had been turned off because the house was winterized; sitting empty for over a year. When they turned the water back on, there were leaks all over the place, damaging areas that were just fine when we put an offer on the house. This damage must also be repaired so the appraiser gives us the go-ahead.
It was obvious the managing realty company was not going to follow through, so along with our realtor, we notified the managing realty company that we are now taking charge! He said, "That's fine with me. Go ahead." (I have some colorful words for this guy but I will refrain.)
Keith spent all day today at the house with the plumbers. More leaks and plumbing problems were found. More drywall has to be repaired from all the water damage. And just to show how incompetent the system is, a man showed up at the property today to winterize it! Fortunately, Keith and the plumbers were there to tell him to leave. He was simply doing his duty; going around to foreclosure properties for Fannie Mae to winterize them before it gets cold again.
So tonight we'll be hanging drywall and painting with hopes that on Monday the appraiser is satisfied. If that happens, on Tuesday we close and demolish all the work we just spent time and money doing.
10/5/14
A lot can happen in one week!!! Last week at this time, we were feeling frustrated and unsure of ourselves. This week we are rejoicing and counting our blessings.
Last weekend, since we were in waiting mode and couldn't work on the house, we had some family time. Our oldest daughter was now overdue in her pregnancy, so we took long walks in the city together to pass time. We also enjoyed a Sunday afternoon football game as a family and took more walks to pass the time. Monday came and we continued to wait...for the baby's arrival AND for word on whether or not the inspector gave approval concerning the mold remediation, and whether the appraiser gave approval for our loan.
Monday evening we were told that things checked out fine, have been given approval and that we should be able to close as hoped on Tuesday, Sept 30.
For some reason, the new baby and new house were tracking together...Baby's due date was Sept 26. We originally tried to have settlement on Oct 10 because we wanted to avoid having it the same time as the baby's arrival. However, that offer was rejected and they said settlement will have to happen on Sept 26 (baby's due date). Since we didn't want to lose the house, we agreed, trusting God for his timing. Sept 25 came and we realized that settlement was not going to happen on the 26th (for the above reasons). It was rescheduled for Sept 30. The baby's due date came and went as well. On Sept 30 we received a phone call in the middle of the night saying that they were on the way to the hospital to have the baby...on the very date of settlement! The very hour we were entering the realtor's office to sign papers on the purchase of the house, we received a text saying, "It's a boy!" Is this a coincident? Who could have predicted or planned this series of events? Crazy and amazing! And we are rejoicing in both!
Settlement was at 11:00am. From 2:30-5:00 that day we were at the house trying to make the most of our time. We tore out all the carpet in the first floor...then went to visit our new grandchild!
Wednesday, 10/1, came and we worked at the house all day to get a good start on demo. The dumpster was there first thing to hold all the trash we would create. Our carpenter was there helping us assess priorities. The roofing company came by to do an estimate. Rooms were measured by our carpet layers. And many more phone calls were made to coordinate various aspects of the project.
I spent most of Thursday, 10/2, at home working on design items...making phone calls to various vendors and choosing paint colors and ordering lighting fixtures. We did more demo at the house in the evening.
On Friday,10/3, Keith worked all day at the house doing demo while I was on grandma duty until later in the afternoon.
10/4/14
Finish-removing-the-kitchen-tile day. Hard work! But we got it done...because on Monday hardwood flooring will be installed. We had several layers of material to deal with; tile and mortar on top of backer board with linoleum stapled and glued to lauan plywood. In other rooms we pulled out more carpet, baseboard and heating grates. In the bathrooms, everything had to be taken back to the studs.
10/6/14
A new empty dumpster arrived. Keith and I met the plumber at 7:15 to sort out what needs to be done. Hardwood flooring installation on the first floor began.
10/7/14
Carpentry and electrical workers showed up. I removed carpet from the 2nd floor while the hardwood flooring on the 1st floor was completed.
10/8/14
Keith and I worked all day. Most of the morning was spent answering design questions that the tradesmen had. A man from a spouting company showed up to give us an estimate for that project. The kitchen was delivered at 10:30 and stacked in the livingroom. The plumbing/HVAC discussion continued.The conclusion was that it would be best to do a total overhaul. The whole system will be replaced.
10/9/14
HVAC workers begin their work. I showed up in the afternoon to give counsel to the electrician in order to stay on schedule and then enjoyed some grandma duties. A sore throat/fever began...went home to the couch for the rest of the day.
10/10/14
Keith and I worked all day at the house. I chose less strenuous tasks due to not feeling 100%. I continued to pull staples and prep spaces for the tradesmen to come through. Wood flooring installation began on the 2nd floor. The septic tank was pumped out. Electrical wiring continues. Tub and showers were installed in the bathrooms. HVAC install work moves along. I moved to the basement to continue demo. There is alot to do here. The walls were studded out and heavy barnboard was nailed on...then they apparently remodeled by simply nailing drywall on top of it and painting everything with a textured white paint. Keith and I spent the last couple hours of the day hauling out trash to the dumpster in the rain.
10/11/14
The carpenter began to create the opening for the new window in the family room. I helped with the kitchen installation. Keith prepped spaces to hang dry wall next week. By 6:00pm, the kitchen cabinets were installed and we cleaned up to go home. Another full dumpster at the end of the week!
10/13/14
They began to hang drywall in the bathrooms, laundry and several other places where ceilings and walls had to be patched. The carpenter continued working on door and window openings. Our plumber began the work of assessing his tasks. Everyone worked around each other and the house was buzzing with craftsmen. We all just kept doing the next thing.
10/14/14
Workers came to make a template for the kitchen countertops. I purchased supplies for laying floor tile. The drywall finishing process began.
10/15/14
New spouting installation began. Carpenter began installing beadboard in the bathrooms and doing finish work in various places as he was able.
10/16/14
Purchased paint today so I'd have it when it was needed. Spouting installation was completed.In the evening, Keith and I began tiling the bathroom floors. Laying sheets of hexagon tiles was more tedious than expected...and then we ran out. I'll have to order more and finish it later. So we moved on the the other bathroom. We had just enough; used leftover tile from the Orange St house. It was about 2:30 in the morning when we finished. But it had to be done so the vanities could be installed tomorrow.
10/17/14
Basement demo continues. Lots of debris to haul out. Keith and my dad borrowed a pick up truck to take copper and metals to the salvage yard. I primed bathrooms to get ready to set the vanities. On the way back from the salvage yard they picked up the bathroom vanities. It took 3 strong men to carry the granite countertops up the stairs...only to discover one was cracked. Plan B...plumbing will have to be installed later. That evening we grouted the tile floors.
10/18/14
The day was given to hauling out more trash. This enable the workers to keeps the project moving ahead. We were able to put the vanities in place; our carpenter worked on a Saturday with us!
10/20/14
Roofers came to patch the spot in the roof where we removed a skylight. They also mended some damaged soffits. Electric was finishing up. We decided to demo the powder room /since the other bathrooms are functioning now. More floor tile to remove.
10/21/14
I picked up the butcher block for the kitchen island. The quartz countertop was installed in the rest of the kitchen. Wood flooring was put in the powder room and finished throughout.
10/22/14
Plumbers set all the fixtures and made sure it all worked. Kitchen appliances were delivered and installed. A township inspector stopped in to make sure everything worked so he could give us an occupancy certificate.
10/23/14
I used the morning to finish packing all kitchen items. At noon I was given the go-ahead by our drywaller that we could move things into the new kitchen. My mother and I loaded the van full and took it to Briarwood. Bekah (and James) joined us. Everything found a home in the new clean kitchen. This will be a big help to not have to worry about it tomorrow on moving day.
10/24/14
I spent the morning packing boxes at Orange St while others arrived to help. At 12:00 a moving truck was rented to begin loading our items. As each room was emptied, my faithful mother swept and cleaned the space. By 4:30 the truck was full and it headed to Briarwood.
More friends showed up to unload the truck. Each box was put in it's respective room and furniture was placed throughout. We were thankful for a garage and basement to put things that had not yet found a permanent home.
After eating a good hot supper (provided by mom) we set to the task of setting up beds and bathrooms. Keith went back to Orange St for 2 more van loads of things that didn't fit in the truck. It was a late night.
10/25/14
More "putting away". Then at 11:00 we went back to Orange St to clean the final rooms and do a final walk through. There were also a few things yet to take back to Briarwood. At noon, the buyers met us there so we could hand over the keys to them. They were also interested in having us tell them more about the house and the renovations we had done.
We left the city house in peace, knowing it was in good hands and ready for our next adventure at the Briarwood house.
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