So we submit an offer. Because there are multiple offers, the bank that owns the property comes back asking all parties to submit their "highest and best" offers. So we up our offer a little and submit it. The good news is: the bank rejects the other offer. The bad news is: they counter our offer. So we counter back and forth two or three times until we finally have the house under contract. We think the worst is over. Ha!
We proceed with our loan app, while continuing our due diligence in finding out everything we can about the house. Everything is going along fine until the bank sends their appraiser out. Because the house is uninhabitable, the appraiser refuses to put a value on it, and our loan falls through. The bank tells us that even if we get another appraiser to put a value on the house, their underwriters won't sign off on a loan on this house. In order to preserve our earnest money, we have to withdraw our offer.
Next step: we regroup and decide to inquire at the well-known national bank that both owns the house and that we have our current mortgage with. The worst they can say is no, right? Well, they don't say no. The lender we talk with tells us the problem we had before was that the previous bank tried to write the loan as a residential loan, when it should have been written as a construction loan. They will not only write us the construction loan to bring the house house back to a liveable standard, but will then convert the loan to a permanent mortgage once the renovation is complete. In the meantime, we will work to get our house sold, but can hopefully time it so we can continue to live in our current home until the new house is ready to move into.
The only fly in the ointment at this point is that we no longer have the other house under contract. We go through the process of offers and counteroffers again, and a couple of weeks later, we're under contract again. Hooray!
The summer progresses, school starts again, and our closing date is rapidly approaching. Everything seems to be going great, and then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac implode, and a whole slew of new regulations come down the pike. Our closing date comes, and we still don't have final loan approval. We ask for and get a one-week extension. During that week we learn the bank will no longer underwrite our loan unless we sell our existing home first. Because we had been planning to live there until the renovations were done, we had not been trying all that hard to sell our house. The extended closing date passes, and the house slips from our fingers once again; this time our earnest money goes with it.
At this point, we are both ready to say screw it. But then we realize that we also owe our contracter a substantial sum at this point for the plans that he has drawn up, so we decide to hang in a little longer. As long as the house is still on the market, we will continue to try to sell our house. If the other house sells, we'll pull our house off the market, cut our losses, and stay put. About three weeks later, we have an offer on our house! Now, what?
We call the listing agent of the farm house to tell him, and discover that the tight market has forced him to leave real estate and go back to a more steady line of work. Too bad. He's a nice guy, and he really tried hard for us. We contact the agent that brought us the buyer on our house and ask her to represent us as we try a third time to put the house under contract. Again, there are multiple offers. Again we have to bring our highest and best. And again, we finally prevail. The house is ours again.
There will be a few more bumps in the road, including our lender demanding an extra $10,000 down payment the day before closing. On November 24, nearly six full months after submitting our first offer, we successfully close. Let the renovations begin!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Let the demo begin!
What will be the Master Bedroom. The studs in the foreground are yet to be torn out.
Looking from the kitchen into what will be the den/family room.
From the other end: looking from the den into the kitchen. This space used to be four small rooms. They are being opened up into one large living/kitchen space. For perspective, this space is about 14' x 30', with 10' ceilings.
Second photo: This is looking from what will be the master bath into the master bedroom, and the last photo is the reverse shot, looking from the master bedroom into the master bath.
Looking from the kitchen into what will be the den/family room.
From the other end: looking from the den into the kitchen. This space used to be four small rooms. They are being opened up into one large living/kitchen space. For perspective, this space is about 14' x 30', with 10' ceilings.
Second photo: This is looking from what will be the master bath into the master bedroom, and the last photo is the reverse shot, looking from the master bedroom into the master bath.
More Pre-Demo photos
This is one of the upstairs bedrooms that is going to become two bathrooms. Note the random lavatory in the corner with a yin and yang above it. Hmmmm.
This is the front entry. Nothing major is happening here other than restoring the floor and the woodwork.
Another view of the main stairs. looking into the living and dining rooms beyond.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Pre-Demolition Photos
Here are a few pics of the house as it was before taking a sledgehammer to it . . .
The upstairs hall and linen closet. The room on the right will become a bathroom.
Looking from the Dining Room into the Living Room. The Parlor and Foyer are beyond.
The current bath and a small bedroom. These rooms are being torn out and incorporated into the new kitchen.
The upstairs hall and linen closet. The room on the right will become a bathroom.
Looking from the Dining Room into the Living Room. The Parlor and Foyer are beyond.
The current bath and a small bedroom. These rooms are being torn out and incorporated into the new kitchen.
The attic- this will be a guest room.
The front facade.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
How It All Began
So, it's nearing the end of the school year in May, 2008. We've gotten away from school early (we're both teachers, at the same school) and are driving home, when I (Glen) decide to take a different route. We're driving along a country road when Todd spots a "For Sale" sign at the end of a long driveway, so I pull over. We can see, sitting about half a mile back from the road, a really cool-looking old farmhouse. "Let's go take a look," Todd says. "No, I don't want to go driving into someone's yard without an appointment," I say. "Just drive up the driveway; I want to get a closer look," he says. So I back the car up, and we head up the driveway. By the time we get to the top of the hill, it's pretty obvious the place is deserted, which is all the invitation we need to get out and peek in the windows. Even though it's in pretty bad shape, we can see this house is REALLY cool. "Let's call and find out how much they're asking," Todd says. "What's the point? It's so far out of our price range we can't even afford to stand in the yard," I reply. "I just wanna find out," he says.
So he calls.
It's in foreclosure, and it's CHEAP.
Of course, it's cheap, because it needs a TON of work. But all we can see is the price tag, which we can conceivably afford. We make an appointment to see the inside.
Looking at the inside, reality tries to set in. It needs new plumbing. It needs a new furnace and central air. It needs a kitchen. It needs new bathrooms. It needs a new roof. It needs structural reinforcement to lift up the sagging floors upstairs. It needs new windows. It needs a LOT of TLC.
But there are some upsides: It has loads of character. It has gorgeous woodwork throughout. Underneath all the nasty carpeting, it has vertical grain pine floors that can be beautiful again. It was moved to it's present location in 1978, so the basement/foundation is concrete block and only 30 years old, as is the wiring and the septic system. At the time it was moved, it was sided with steel siding and thoroughly insulated. It sits on 7 acres, on a hilltop with 360 degree views and lots of mature trees. It's 5135 square feet! And we are in love.
Next comes meeting with bankers to find out if it really is feasible. We have an architect look at it to see if it can be saved. We have plumbers and roofers give us estimates. The bankers give us a green light. Now we just have to decide if we are up to the challenge.
In the meantime, the school year ends, but I am taking 40 kids from my school to New York City for five days. While I'm in New York, the listing agent calls Todd to tell him an offer has come in on the property, and if we want to make an offer, we need to do it immediately. So, while my students are listening to the Lorin Maazel and New York Philharmonic perform Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony, I'm standing in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall on my cell phone deciding whether or not to commit a 110 year old house in Colorado.
We decide to go for it. It would be nice if the next line was "the bank accepted our offer and we were in," but that was not to be the case. Had we known it would be another six months before the house was finally ours, and had we known all that would transpire in those six months, we might well have thrown the towel in right then and there. But that is a story I shall save for another post.
So he calls.
It's in foreclosure, and it's CHEAP.
Of course, it's cheap, because it needs a TON of work. But all we can see is the price tag, which we can conceivably afford. We make an appointment to see the inside.
Looking at the inside, reality tries to set in. It needs new plumbing. It needs a new furnace and central air. It needs a kitchen. It needs new bathrooms. It needs a new roof. It needs structural reinforcement to lift up the sagging floors upstairs. It needs new windows. It needs a LOT of TLC.
But there are some upsides: It has loads of character. It has gorgeous woodwork throughout. Underneath all the nasty carpeting, it has vertical grain pine floors that can be beautiful again. It was moved to it's present location in 1978, so the basement/foundation is concrete block and only 30 years old, as is the wiring and the septic system. At the time it was moved, it was sided with steel siding and thoroughly insulated. It sits on 7 acres, on a hilltop with 360 degree views and lots of mature trees. It's 5135 square feet! And we are in love.
Next comes meeting with bankers to find out if it really is feasible. We have an architect look at it to see if it can be saved. We have plumbers and roofers give us estimates. The bankers give us a green light. Now we just have to decide if we are up to the challenge.
In the meantime, the school year ends, but I am taking 40 kids from my school to New York City for five days. While I'm in New York, the listing agent calls Todd to tell him an offer has come in on the property, and if we want to make an offer, we need to do it immediately. So, while my students are listening to the Lorin Maazel and New York Philharmonic perform Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony, I'm standing in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall on my cell phone deciding whether or not to commit a 110 year old house in Colorado.
We decide to go for it. It would be nice if the next line was "the bank accepted our offer and we were in," but that was not to be the case. Had we known it would be another six months before the house was finally ours, and had we known all that would transpire in those six months, we might well have thrown the towel in right then and there. But that is a story I shall save for another post.
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