We put an offer in on a house!

[lucyandroger]

It''s a short sale so even if the seller accepts, it''s going to be a long process! The seller owes almost 200K more than the house is currently worth in this market because he refinanced at the top of the market and took most of his equity out of the house.

We''re reaching up to almost the top of our price range to get this house, but the up-side because it''s a short sale is so high. This could easily be a *forever* house. It''s in our ideal school district, our ideal parrish, decent commute to work, great neighborhood with lots of families, and it''s bigger than we ever thought we could afford in our price range. I''m sooooooooo excited!

 

[Lauren8211]

Awesome Lucy!

Good luck to you on your offer! I hope everything works out and you get a fantastic home at a great price!

 

[trillionaire]

How exciting! I hope everything goes perfectly and you get your dream home!!!


What an exciting step to take!

 

[purselover]

Good luck, I hope you get it!

 

[lucyandroger]

Thanks elledizzy, Trillionaire, and Purselover !!!


My realtor just called and the sellers ACCEPTED !!!!!! They apparently spent all last night pouring over the contract. They think it''s fair and most importantly, something they can convince the banks to accept!

I''m in complete shock because this is the third house we''ve put an offer on and I guess the third one is the charm!!!

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 7/20/2009 11:08:14 AM
Author: lucyandroger
Thanks elledizzy, Trillionaire, and Purselover !!!


My realtor just called and the sellers ACCEPTED !!!!!! They apparently spent all last night pouring over the contract. They think it''s fair and most importantly, something they can convince the banks to accept!

I''m in complete shock because this is the third house we''ve put an offer on and I guess the third one is the charm!!!

Holy crap that was fast!

Congratulations!!!!

Can''t wait to see pics of the new place!

 

[jcrow]

fabulous news! congrats

 

[neatfreak]

Congrats Lucy! The problem is the bank here...they need to accept it and sometimes it can be a months long process. We still have an "accepted" bid in on a house that we are still waiting to hear back on from April! Luckily we are closing on a different house now but sometimes you just never hear back...

Crossing my fingers for you!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/20/2009 11:44:21 AM
Author: neatfreak
Congrats Lucy! The problem is the bank here...they need to accept it and sometimes it can be a months long process. We still have an ''accepted'' bid in on a house that we are still waiting to hear back on from April! Luckily we are closing on a different house now but sometimes you just never hear back...

Crossing my fingers for you!

Thanks neatfreak! This is definitely our biggest concern...the seller used to work in the mortgage/banking industry and has already started negotiating with the banks so we''re hoping that makes it go a little smoother but we''re also prepared for the worst. Initially, we weren''t looking at short sales but then we fell in love with this one and couldn''t pass it up. We do have some flexibility on our end so hopefully we can make it work!

Oh, and congrats on your house!!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/20/2009 11:44:21 AM
Author: neatfreak
Congrats Lucy! The problem is the bank here...they need to accept it and sometimes it can be a months long process. We still have an ''accepted'' bid in on a house that we are still waiting to hear back on from April! Luckily we are closing on a different house now but sometimes you just never hear back...

Crossing my fingers for you!

Congrats! I am with NF here...don''t want to burst your bubble, but the seller has nothing to do with it. It''s the bank. However if the seller has his ducks in a row, they might be able to convince the bank.

Have you found out if the seller has PMI? Because if they do, it is quite possible the bank has no incentive to agree to the short sale.

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/20/2009 11:12:56 AM
Author: elledizzy5

Date: 7/20/2009 11:08:14 AM
Author: lucyandroger
Thanks elledizzy, Trillionaire, and Purselover !!!


My realtor just called and the sellers ACCEPTED !!!!!! They apparently spent all last night pouring over the contract. They think it''s fair and most importantly, something they can convince the banks to accept!

I''m in complete shock because this is the third house we''ve put an offer on and I guess the third one is the charm!!!

Holy crap that was fast!

Congratulations!!!!

Can''t wait to see pics of the new place!

Thanks!

It WAS fast!

The sellers have had previous offers that they turned down and they were really ready to move when they got an acceptable one. They''re at the point where they don''t want to make any more mortgage payments than they have to.

I''ll take a few pics to post at the inspection on Saturday!

PS - Thanks jcrow!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/20/2009 11:54:30 AM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/20/2009 11:44:21 AM
Author: neatfreak
Congrats Lucy! The problem is the bank here...they need to accept it and sometimes it can be a months long process. We still have an ''accepted'' bid in on a house that we are still waiting to hear back on from April! Luckily we are closing on a different house now but sometimes you just never hear back...

Crossing my fingers for you!

Congrats! I am with NF here...don''t want to burst your bubble, but the seller has nothing to do with it. It''s the bank. However if the seller has his ducks in a row, they might be able to convince the bank.

Have you found out if the seller has PMI? Because if they do, it is quite possible the bank has no incentive to agree to the short sale.

Thanks, TGal!...no bubble bursting here...we know it''s not going to be an easy road! The seller has already started negotiations with the banks and has an idea of what they''ll accept so we''ll see how it goes...

I''m not sure about whether the seller has PMI but the banks are willing to negotiate a short sale. Thanks for the heads up, I''m going to ask my realtor about this!

 

[Erinleigh]

Congratulations - **DUST** that everything works out with your dream house!!

 

[Camille]

I'm sure it will all be fine Lucy, with so many homes avail, banks are willing to loose $ome more and do Short sale. Congrats!!!!

 

[ringless]

Very exciting! It will be so nice to be a homeowner! Enjoy!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Definitely get ready for a long haul. My friend''s SS has been going on since January - they have 3 offers in and still no decision from the bank. The last one I did (I''m a realtor) took 7 months from start (presenting the offer to the bank) to close of escrow. It is true, some can go quickly (2-3 months) if all the stars are aligned...meaning everyone is working very aggressively with the bank. Calling the bank every other day, bugging them, etc. It sounds like you are off to a good start with the seller having a background in the mortgage industry. But, the fact that they are still making their payments could mean that they are VERY early on in the process.

Just an FYI, unfortunately the sellers have no say whatsoever in accepting or rejecting an offer. The bank has full control. Also, if they have received other offers, they are obligated to present those to the bank regardless of if they accept them or not or if they consider them appropriate or not - it is not up to them. An offer can still come in after yours, and if it does, it must be presented to the bank.

Sometimes the seller''s agent has some leeway with the bank and they can steer them towards an offer. Sounds like this is what they are doing with yours!!

I hope yours goes quick!! Much *****DUST***** for you for a quick decision from the bank - no counter offer and straight to escrow!!!!!

 

[purelily]

Congratulations! Good luck with purchasing your house!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/20/2009 1:58:26 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Definitely get ready for a long haul. My friend''s SS has been going on since January - they have 3 offers in and still no decision from the bank. The last one I did (I''m a realtor) took 7 months from start (presenting the offer to the bank) to close of escrow. It is true, some can go quickly (2-3 months) if all the stars are aligned...meaning everyone is working very aggressively with the bank. Calling the bank every other day, bugging them, etc. It sounds like you are off to a good start with the seller having a background in the mortgage industry. But, the fact that they are still making their payments could mean that they are VERY early on in the process.

Just an FYI, unfortunately the sellers have no say whatsoever in accepting or rejecting an offer. The bank has full control. Also, if they have received other offers, they are obligated to present those to the bank regardless of if they accept them or not or if they consider them appropriate or not - it is not up to them. An offer can still come in after yours, and if it does, it must be presented to the bank.

Sometimes the seller''s agent has some leeway with the bank and they can steer them towards an offer. Sounds like this is what they are doing with yours!!

I hope yours goes quick!! Much *****DUST***** for you for a quick decision from the bank - no counter offer and straight to escrow!!!!!

Thanks, Rock of Love! We have definitely heard the short sale horror stories but this house is worth it to us and we have some flexibility since we''re local and can go month-to-month on our rental. We have very experienced (20 years plus) realtors on both sides and a very motivated seller so we''re just hoping all the other stars align for us.

We did need the seller to accept the offer so that he could take it to the bank and negotiate with them so that''s why we''re excited that it''s the next step in the process. Our fingers are crossed that there are no other offers that come in after ours.

We appreciate the dust!

 

[lucyandroger]

Thanks Erinleigh, Camille, Ringless, and Purelily!

 

[vip0802]

i can''t believe i missed this thread! congrats lucyandroger! it seems like a dream home and i''m so happy for you!

any thoughts on how you want to decorate?

that''s the most exciting and fun part for me.

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 7/21/2009 3:45:20 AM
Author: vip0802
i can''t believe i missed this thread! congrats lucyandroger! it seems like a dream home and i''m so happy for you!

any thoughts on how you want to decorate?

that''s the most exciting and fun part for me.

Thanks, vip!!!

I agree that decorating is going to be a ton of fun. Even the BF said we need to watch more HGTV

! We''re trying not to get too excited until we hear back from the bank since it''s a short sale but the one thing we know is we''ll be furnishing it slowly, buying quality pieces little by little. The house may look empty for a while!

 

[susied]

Good luck to you! I am six weeks into a contract (on a "normal" home sale) and I am at my wits end. I can''t imagine it dragging on for months. I hope your inspection goes well! PS, if your house is older, it might be worth getting tested for radon. I was never advised to have the test done so by the time I thought of it, I was outside of the timeframe to ask the seller to pay for repairs...and it''s going to cost me $1,300 to install a mitigation system! Try to get as many questions answered as quickly as you can to make sure you are covered.