First Home Style

A few days ago I received a copy of the appraisal of the property. It was 24 pages long. It is a detailed report on the property and includes comparable information about similar properties in the area that have sold recently.  Two of the comparable were in the same building as my apartment, however they had smaller square footage and only one of them had a balcony.  Of the five comparables, my apartment had the largest square footage. I was surprised that the appraisal was so detailed. It even included the floor plan for the apartment. Though we have been referring to the coop as a two bedroom, according to the floor plan, it's actually a one bedroom apartment with a den/dining room. I always thought the layout was a bit odd, but once I read the report, it all made perfect sense.  The balcony is attached to the second bedroom/den and not accessible through the living room. The apartment was built in the 1950's and each room is a throwback to that...

Enjoying a nice cool Sunday here in Brooklyn, thinking that in a matter of weeks I will be in my first place. It’s nice to see a long held goal/dream come to fruition.   I’m feeling grateful and, dear I say it, happy. While my mind is still in home buying mode, it's shifting a bit to home decorating and I’ve been trying to define my style. One thing I realized is that I’m not a "modern" style person. The modern style just seems so cold to me. I like warmth. I like colors. I want to be comfortable. I’ve looking at Google images and what I found is that gray wall colors aren’t so bad. I thought at first that grays were dull but changed my mind once I saw these beautifully decorated spaces.  I love the pop of yellow throughout this home . And the gray sofa is beautiful.   via

My attorney emailed my former HSBC loan officer to notify her that I got a mortgage commitment. I think my attorney was trying to be teasing and show her in a “you did not approve us but someone else did” kind of way.   When I read his email, I laughed and was filled with glee. I was surprise however when the HSBC loan officer responded congratulating me. But most surprising perhaps was the line in her email that read, “Please consider HSBC when you purchase your next home”. Yeah when pigs fly. Of course I did not respond. I also had to contact the community organization that assisted me with a down payment for the coop. My assistance program is set to expire on 9/20/13.   So we needed to act on this really fast. All of this could have been avoided had I not considered HSBC as my lender initially. My HSBC loan officer was incompetent and like I have stated before, she deliberately held up the loan process. But hindsight is 50/50 . Moving forward, today I was informed that...

Today, I got news that I've been waiting for for several months.  I finally got a mortgage commitment letter!  When I got the congratulatory email today there was this sense of I don't know, joy and sadness at the same time. I wanted to scream from the rooftop and then I wanted to cry. I'm excited but past experience has made me extremely cautious. I have always said that I don't want to focus on the negative but there is this part of me that is feeling uncertain and doubtful. A lot has happened over the last several months and it would be heartbreaking to get this far and have to be disappointed. On the other hand, it appears that everything is coming together. Yeah, finally some good news.  We have a tentative closing date of October 1, 2013. But before we get to closing I will need to be interviewed by the coop board. Thankfully I had completed my coop application package in June and the only missing document was the commitment letter, which I imm...

Yesterday I received my mortgage denial letter from HSBC, I wouldn't bore you with the details but basically it cited my student loans as a reason for the denial. Fair enough. I was not angry.  I wasn't disappointed. I guess I just became accustomed to bad news.    And though my loan application is pending with another lender, I've been reflecting on my experiences over the last few months. There have been a lot of lessons learned along this home buying journey. One of those being that buying a home can be extremely stressful. I had a very modest upbringing   and by no means did I grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I grew up seeing my parents and their families working.   W hen they had a goal they created steps to attend that goal. Similarly I have worked hard to achieve my goal of home ownership. Anyone who has really known me over the past five years knows the sacrifices I’ve made to achieve this long held goal of being a homeowner...

I’m feeling extremely anxious.   I’m nervous waiting for a mortgage commitment letter from my new lender.   I guess it’s a case of once bitten twice shy but I can’t shake this feeling. I’ve felt a lot of emotions since I started this home buying journey, but this feeling is very different to any I’ve had before. It’s a type of nervousness that comes with nausea and a slight headache. I’m physically ill thinking about whether or not I will be approved for a mortgage.   And the humidity here in New York isn’t helping either. Yesterday I paid $445 for the property to be appraised (though the appraisal has not yet been scheduled). I also paid $12 for a credit check. Today I fax signed disclosure documents to the lender and now all I have to do is wait.   I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve had a full night’s rest since the first application was denied. My loan officer believes that we will hear something back as soon as this week. My loan offers knows of my history ...

Source: http://dailybail.com/home/hsbc-cartoons.html This wasn’t the type of post that I wanted to write today. I wanted to be very upbeat and happy and tell the world that after reviewing my mortgage application again, my mortgage loan was approved by the underwriter. But unfortunately that isn’t the case. Today, I received an email from my attorney stating that the sellers want to cancel the contract because I haven’t secured a mortgage as yet. I’m disappointed, but I understand. The sellers are eager to have this property sold as much as I’m eager to have it be mine. Now, I’m fearful that I will lose the property that it took several long months to find. No, it’s not perfect. The kitchen and bathroom are outdated but the space, location and view of the Manhattan skyline is incalculable. I have already painted and decorated and planned parties in my mind but it looks as though it wasn’t meant to be. This doesn’t mean that I’m giving up.   I’m still in this fight though I hav...