Gentrified Brooklyn

I know I haven't posted in a while but really there just haven't been much progress to report. We still haven't signed the contract as yet. My attorney continues to be concerned about the cooperative. He's actually reviewing the minutes from the cooperative board meetings tomorrow ( we want to ensure that the cooperative has a plan to increase the money in their reserves). As I've stated sometime ago, I'm disheartened that we haven't closed on a property as yet. I feel that now would be a great time to buy a home in Brooklyn, but I feel that I'm being priced out of the market. Gentrification is a term that's floated around quiet a lot, and it is nice too see a new restaurant, wine bar, yoga studio or gourmet supermarket moving into a neighborhood. However, it's maddening when the original neighborhood occupants can't afford to continue to reside in the area.

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Commitment Letter and Appraisal

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...

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 w...

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...

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