It worked!

Thanks, everyone, for the crossed fingers/lit candles/good joojoo.  We are over the snag, it would seem.

Our realtor, bless her, had the idea of drafting a cover letter for our next repair request in which she would outline all the things that we could be asking for, but were not.  When we made our offer on the home, we assumed that the house included a functioning dishwasher (it's broken), a functioning disposal (also broken), a standard electrical panel (it's waaay substandard) just to name a few.  We were asking that a few, relatively inexpensive repairs be made.  You know, like moving the disposal switch to somewhere that a toddler couldn't turn it on while mom's hands were in the sink.  That sort of thing.  And they were balking.

Last night, our agent emailed over a beginning draft of the letter.  It was brilliant.  Basically it laid out the fact that we want the house, but we want it to be a safe home.  It said that we understood that the sellers want to minimize their expenses.  It asked that we work together to find a happy medium.  Additionally, it laid out the information that I mentioned above--that we were basically duped about a few things about the home when we agreed upon a price.

Well, apparently when our realtor went to the save the draft, she hit the wrong button.  She sent it instead.  Oops!

But this actually turned out to be a good thing!  Their agent called her today to say that they would DOUBLE the amount of money that they had originally offered toward repairs.  SWEET!

Additionally, we've learned that our loan has been sent to the underwriters.  AND our appraisal came back and it looks good--only a handful of teensy things to be done to pass FHA.  PHEW!

I am so relieved!

Escrow stress

Well, we may have hit a snag. Not that such a thing is unusual for escrow.

Like any smart buyer, we paid out of pocket for a comprehensive home inspection. During the inspection, a number of items were called out as potential hazards. Again, nothing unusual for escrow.

We requested some, but not all, of the safety repairs after we had an electrician come out and estimate the cost of such repairs. In addition, we asked to see a termite report on the property. When our agent noticed that the report failed to call out an area of the property that had suffered some water damage, and therefore possible termite damage, the seller's agent told the termite inspection to disregard the information regarding the water damage. He, the selling agent, even went so far as to tell the termite inspector not to revise the report. In so doing, the selling agent was suggesting FHA fraud. Our agent pointed that out to him and he has since agreed to have the termite report updated.

But that isn't the snag. Well, not all of all it, at least.

The sellers have countered our repair request with some of the most ambiguous language possible. We suspect that this, too, is the work of their agent.

We have decided that the best course of action at this point is to send a cover letter asking for specific language, pointing out our insistence that the property be verified as safe and that necessary repairs either be made, or that money be returned to us. Our agent is going to point out his failure to disclose required information in the MLS for the property, too. In short, we are letting the agent know that we will not be so eager as to ignore the problems with the house.

Both our agent and myself do believe that the sellers are amenable and fair. But we also suspect that as their agent sold them the house, he may be attempting to cover the fact that he had sold them a house that was less safe than they thought.

I do not want to lose this house, but I also do NOT want to pay top dollar for an unsafe property that needs repairs and upgrades. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that their agent will get his act together, that the sellers will agree to our requests (or something similar), and that we will get back on track.

Cross your fingers for us, too, okay?

you know, like you do.

I just found a stash of crumbs in my bra.  I guess Declan was saving that for later.

Ah, motherhood...

Just another day

I am quite grateful that it is only 73 degrees in beautiful Long Beach today. Particularly because I am sitting in my parked car allowing Declan to get as much shut-eye as possible.

a bit of mitosis

I decided that it would be best to focus this blog on my day-to-day life as it pertains to housekeeping, parenting, and the like--particularly as those subjects relate to my attempts to live with an eye toward the deco period.

I also decided that I would therefore want a dedicated blog to my SCA hobbies.  I have created one that you're welcome to follow.

so much to do

Let's talk about timing, shall we?

Apparently mine is atrocious.  Did I mention that I managed to put a bid on a dreamy home exactly when they finally received other offers, thus choosing another offer than mine?  Yeah, I think that I did.

Well, as I've also mentioned, we are in escrow.  Naturally, this would be happening also when we were getting ready for our annual family camping trip.  This past Tuesday, I had to meet the home inspector at our prospective home, pack for camping, fill out escrow paperwork, et cetera.  Wednesday, we left for our trip after a mad, last minute packing frenzy.  Our trusted realtor made arrangements to meet with another inspector that evening and text us with an update as my fella was busy readying our campsite.  Thursday through Sunday, we camped.  We did our best to relax and enjoy the trip, but for me at least there was that nagging sensation that we could missing something important back at home.

Well, I'm home now.  Dirty, tired, a touch dehydrated.  I'm trying to relax a bit as I know that come tomorrow, it's back into the fray of paperwork, phone calls, housework, volunteering, dog/kid wrangling, and so forth.  Phew!!  Thankfully, it should all be worth it.

Escrow checklist

As of yesterday, we have been in escrow for one full week. And what a week it has been! Disclosures, checks, phone calls, emails... We have been busy!

Escrow checklist:

Open escrow account--CHECK
Sign seller disclosure paperwork--CHECK
Sign additional "required by law" paperwork--CHECK
Schedule inspections(s)--CHECK (they're today, actually)
Set up homeowner's insurance--CHECK
Provide underwriters with copy of escrow check--CHECK
Receive perplexing requests for documentation--CHECK
Comply with said request--IN PROCESS
Inspect property--SCHEDULED FOR TODAY
Appraise property--NEEDS FOLLOW UP

In addition to all the fun of escrow, we have our annual family camping trip this week. (Boy, are we awesomely bad at timing or what?!)

Between packing for camping and packing for moving we have managed to box up as little as possible. Whoops.