Yesterday I had my coop board interview. I arrived approximately 30 minutes before the appointment time and waited in the lobby where I met my potential neighbor Petra who was anxiously waiting with her real estate agent. Like me, Petra is a first time home buyer. Petra stated that she was in contract on a two bedroom similar to my apartment with the only exception being the bathroom, hers is pink, mine is blue. Like me Petra was denied a mortgage commitment from HSBC because of concerns that she "works off the books." Petra is paying for her home in cash. She stated that she is ferocious saver. She was so lovely that I was routing for her to get accepted. There was a third person waiting to be interviewed, but she did not engage us in conversation. In fact, she stood at the far end of the lobby with her headphones in her ear and her iphone in her hand. Petra was interviewed first while I waited in the lobby, I logged her absence at 13 minutes. When she returned she was smiling and stated that the board will inform her later if she was accepted but she felt the interview went well. She stated that it was straight forward. So I hoped that I would have a similar experience. Firstly, I did have some anxiety as a walked to the management office and opened the door to the office with the large desk and three women sitting reading the coop packaged that I had completed several months earlier. I relaxed as I sat down. Maybe because one of the board members had a refreshing smile. They asked me about financial matters, such as my job, how long I've been working in my field and of course, how much will I pay back on my student loan. I told them I had recently completed my Masters degree and that my loan was on deferment until January 2015. They somehow seemed reassured by this. I actually thought to myself, wow this interview is going well. They seem satisfied with my responses. However, they wanted more information about the first time homebuyer grant, which I promised to get to them today. All in all, the nerves was not justified. They spoke to me about some of the coop rules, such as there are no pets allowed. Then they asked if I had any questions for them and at first I thought I didn't, but I used that opportunity to clarify some information about my year to date income, which was erroneously listed as my annual income. So what happens now? More waiting. I spoke to my loan officer and my loan has been cleared for closure. But before we get to closing we need to get the coop board approval which we are hoping to receive at the start of next week. I'm hoping that we can get to closing by next Thursday. Wish me luck.
At the end of July, I thought that I had found my dream home. I made an offer. The seller countered. Then I accepted the seller’s counter offer. I was already trying to schedule the home inspection when my realtor, Robert, texted me that the seller wanted to hold off. Well, according to Robert, the seller decided to sell the home to his neighbor’s friend. I was disappointed but then oddly felt relief. As much as I like the home and the area, I was a little worried that the location was a little too isolated. It was close to buses but far away from the train. I was concerned about how I would get to and from work. Robert would still make his commission as he was acting as both the buyer and seller’s agent. Everyone was happy except for me. I then called another former realtor, Louis, and we began looking at properties. We went to an open house on a quiet street, a few blocks away from a subway station and a block from a bus, that was listed below market value. There w...
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