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Showing posts from 2018

House Renovations

Despite closing on my home last month, I haven't yet moved in. When I first made an offer on the house, I did not think that I would begin renovations immediately. I knew the house needed some updates.  But I could live with an outdated, functional kitchen for a while. once the sellers vacated the property, I was finally able to assess the property without their furniture blocking and cover any damages.  I hired a painter who was also a licensed contractor who noticed that all the walls in the house were bulging. The second bedroom where the children slept had a leak which caused the baseboard to rot and the wall to swell. The house was inspected twice and at no time did the inspector report rotting baseboard and leaking in the walls. I was not happy. Would knowing all these things deter me from purchasing this house? probably not.  However, the last thing I expected to do so soon after spending almost ten years of savings on closing cost and a down payment, was start a

I bought a house!

This morning I woke at about 4:00 am and couldn’t return to sleep. I was too happy knowing that in just a few more hours I would get the keys to my new home.   All that was left to do was sign a bunch of papers and this charming home would be mine. Well, I didn’t get the keys to my new home. Last night was the final walk through and to my surprise the sellers were still in the home and hadn’t packed a single thing.   They informed me that they needed more time and that they hired movers who would haul away their belongings on Monday. What? I was trying to be super understanding so I smile and nodded. However, my internal voice was screaming. At the closing, my attorney tld me that I would be compensated for every day that the sellers remained in the home.   On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet the sellers at the home where I will complete another walk through and then will be provided with the keys. Still, I bought a house, a house that I will not have access to for several days.  

Final Walk-through and Closing Scheduled

I am busy. That’s what I keep telling myself. I have a lot going on. I have my 9 to 5, my side hustle, making time for friends and family, trying to get a handle on this new healthy lifestyle of meal planning, finding enough time in the day to work out, checking emails and text messages and writing that screenplay that has been dancing around my head for the greater part of the last twelve years. Oh yes, and I am also in the process of purchasing my first home in Brooklyn. I have a lot on my plate and I have many people and things vying for my time and attention. But that’s not an excuse for neglecting this blog, for not blogging more often than I have been. The truth is my emotions about this house have been so up and down that it literally makes me sick to think about it.   I am excited. I am happy. Being a homeowner is something that I have longed for for ten years. I got really close to purchasing a coop apartment five years ago and did not experience these same emotions.   I

Money, Money, Money

Home-buying can be emotionally draining and stressful process. More than the process of searching for a home, making an offer, waiting for the seller to accept or counter your offer and then applying for a mortgage, I’m finding the financial to be the most stressful of all. For years, I have diligently saved and deprived myself certain luxuries in the hopes that I would someday become a homeowner. But now here I am writing the check for down payment, handing over what took me the greater part of two and a half years to accumulate. And then after that, there is the closing cost which is another huge chunk of change. As we get closer to the closing day, I find myself in a mini-panic. The money that I’m using to pay for my down payment and closing cost could actually afford me a three-bedroom, one bath with a finished basement and back yard in Pennsylvania. I could have bought a home in Pennsylvania for cash! It’s a little vexing that as a first-time home buyer in Brooklyn, NY, my home

I am one step closer to buying my first home

A little over a week ago, the house was appraised for the bank. Today my loan officer informed me that the house appraised at the sale price. I have also satisfied the underwriter’s conditions. My role now is to shop around for Hazard insurance. Which means that we are about two to three weeks away from closing. I am one step closer to buying a home. And it’s a pretty exciting yet overwhelming feeling at the same time. I am happy. This has been a goal of mine for so long that along the way there were many times that I doubted that it would come to fruition.   But I am scarred as all hell.   The amount of responsibility terrifies me. I truly feel that now I am a grown up.

We're in Contract

Last week we completed the home inspection. There were a few concerns such as a leaking faucet and fallen off cabinet doors but nothing that would impede us going forward with the deal. The house appeared to be in good working condition though it is in desperate need of deep cleaning.   My realtor has taken to calling this house a “hot property”, as there continues to be a lot of interest and offers. He was concerned that someone else could swoop in and make a higher offer than mine.   Apparently, there was a prior offer to mine and that deal fell apart after the inspection when the “greedy buyer” wanted to renegotiate the price.   I made my offer at the right time. Also, it was about $10,000 more than the prior offer. My realtor was eager for us to go to contract.   Present at the inspection were myself, my realtor, the inspection, the homeowner and the listing agent. I had asked my mom to come along as well for moral support. Mom did not see the home prior to my making the offe

I found another house

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 were proba

I found a home

After 5 years and countless open houses, I found a home that I want to purchase.   Things have been moving pretty fast since that initial viewing a little over a week ago.   I made an offer. The seller countered my offer. I accepted the counter. In fact, I agreed to all the seller’s terms and conditions and did not even negotiate the closing cost.   All that was left to do is to sign documents. In the meantime, I was decorating the home in my mind. I had picked out paint colors, stained the floors and had even updated the old fashioned bathroom sink and cabinet. It seems that it would all go to plan and by the end of August, I imagined myself accepting the keys to my dream home. My mother was excited. She imagined coming to visit and having afternoon tea. I found a housing inspector and we awaited the seller’s availability for us to inspect the home. But then today, I received an text from my realtor stating that the seller wants to “place things on hold”.   What does that mean?

Making an Offer at First Sight

On Sunday I went to two open houses in one of my ideal neighborhoods (the uncool parts of Brooklyn that are not Cobble Hill, Williamsburg or Bushwick). Both homes were clearly out of my price range but I was curious to see what I could get in a higher price point. Sadly, I realized that even with a larger price bracket, I wouldn’t get a larger, more updated house.   Even at my price point, I can only afford an attached fixer upper in this part of Brooklyn.   If I’m extremely lucky I would get three decent sized bedrooms. I liked house # 1, still, I couldn’t imagine making an offer on this property. It had a lot of pluses. It was a two unit property known more commonly as a Mother/ Daughter. The top floor or first unit had two bedrooms, with a kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom. The second floor had one bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Each unit had its own entrance.   There was even a patio and garage in the back. I liked the layout of the house.   I liked t

House Vs Coop

Initially when I started my home search I was looking for a two-bedroom coop apartment in Brooklyn.  However, for the last few weeks I’ve been looking at houses.  I had no desire to own a house before. I always thought that house ownership would be too much work to maintain and that I was not mentally or physically prepared to deal with all of the responsibilities of house ownership.  Even now, typing this, I’m feeling rather overwhelmed by the idea of shoveling snow.  But I can’t deny that there are a ton of perks of having a house that are simply not available with a coop. For one, there isn’t a coop board to snoop around my finances, ask about my further plans for the property and hurl intrusive questions at me about why I had student loan debt. I guess my shift in thinking began late last year as I started attending more open houses.  I fell in like with the idea of having more space and possible having a tenant to assist me with paying my mortgage each month. I realized that