Posted Friday, August 22, 2008 9:34 AM
We met with a broker yesterday and got our questions answered and got a preapproval done. We we preapproved for 50k more than we thought we would be, but we won't be spending that much. We're going to stick with our original budget unless we find a property that has a basement apartment (or similar) and therefore is an income property. Then we can spend a little bit more.
It was such a relieft to have a solid preapproval so we know for sure what we can spend. It's also a relieft to have our questions answered, but of course, as soon as we left, I thought of about 20 more questions. I think I am still going to talk with one more broker and see what the differences are, but I was happy with the guy we talked to yesterday. My mum and uncle both have mortgage with him and are confident about him and his company, so that makes me feel good about it.
We're going to go to lots of open houses this weekend and try to get in to two different properties that we have our eyes on. I'm so excited now and feeling much more confident about the whole process. Still... I can't wait until it's over and we're getting the keys for our first house! :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Holy Crap! I this what it's supposed to feel like?
Posted Monday, August 25, 2008 9:47 AM
On Saturday we found the perfect house. Good size, huge yard for being in town, all the specs we wanted, awesome area, decorated nicely etc. However, it's about 10k above the max we are willing (and able) to spend and it's going to need a new roof in the next couple of years. But, we instantly fell in love with this house. It's the only one I have walked into and said "yes... this is it." It's also the only one that I don't really have any complaints about or that I see us living in long-term. All the other properties are either not in a great location or there is something rather major I don't like about them so I find myself saying "it's ok... we can make it work for a few years". With this one, we were saying "I want to live there and it could be long-term".
Here's what we considered when talking price for our first offer
-The house is 18 years old and therefore, although they look like they are in great condition now, windows are going to have to start being replaced and the furnace is original so we have to think about that too.
-These people didn't landscape. It's not totally horrible, but the yard needs to be cut, weeded, trimmed, edged, seeded and the back yard will probably need a couple of loads of earth to make it level.
-It will need shingle, probably within the next year
-Pricing of similar housing sold in the last 3 months
We put an offer in yesterday at about 12k below asking. We knew the wouldn't accept it, but we wanted to get the ball rolling to negotiate. They responding with an counter-offer later last night of 1K below asking! Our agent said there is a lot of interest in the house and therefore they aren't budging much on their asking price yet because they want to see what other offers they get.
I was so excited to get the offer in yesterday, but once we were in the process of drafting it etc. I started to panic. I kept thinking that it was out of our price range and we were really going to struggle, that we probably can't buy any house, never mind this one and that I am nuts to be doing this. I kept thinking of ways to get out of it and was relieved when we added the conditional on inspection clause thinking "that's it, that's our out". Everyone keeps saying, its worth the extra money if you love it and see yourself there long-term. "You don't want to lose it for the sake of a couple grand". But what if we can't afford the extra money? PANIC PANIC PANIC We also had to sign a bunch of other paperwork with our agent that I am now thinking we were stupid to sign without asking more questions... but that's a whole other story.
I immediately got a headache and felt extremely nauseous and instead of going to the bbq for my BIL's b-day, I went home and tried to sleep. On the way, I ran over a snake on a back country road and in the rear-view mirror I saw it coil up and then flail into the air in pain and it totally gave me the creeps. I literally shivered. P.S. I'm absolutely 100% terrified of snakes. When I got home I cried and panicked some more and I didn't know what to do. When the seller responded to our offer, I was disappointed (by the low amount they were willling to drop) and relieved at the same time. Everyone says this is a normal way of feeling once you've put in a offer on a house, but I don't like it. I never want to feel like this again. I called Brad and he wanted to respond right away with our own counter-offer, but I told him I needed to sleep on it. He agreed that was ok since they hadn't received any other offers yet. I fought a headache all night and had to force myself to eat. I fell asleep surprisingly easily. I woke up this morning at 5am and took Brad to work. Then I came back home and tried to go back to sleep for a couple hours but my mind was running overtime. I don't know what to do. We have to respond soon and all Brad can say is "what are we going to do?" or "have you decided if/how we're going to respond yet?". I'm gonna punch him pretty soon. Does he have any idea the kind of pressure that puts me under? He's half of this too and I need his input. It pisses me off more than I can explain and it's only getting worse.
Oh, on that note, tomorrow is our 2nd anniversary. Hopefully it's a happy one but with the way I feel right now, I don't know how I'll be able to pull off a romantic dinner when I feel like I could vomit at any second and am furious with the person sitting across from me. I'll guess we'll see how the rest of today day plays out.
On Saturday we found the perfect house. Good size, huge yard for being in town, all the specs we wanted, awesome area, decorated nicely etc. However, it's about 10k above the max we are willing (and able) to spend and it's going to need a new roof in the next couple of years. But, we instantly fell in love with this house. It's the only one I have walked into and said "yes... this is it." It's also the only one that I don't really have any complaints about or that I see us living in long-term. All the other properties are either not in a great location or there is something rather major I don't like about them so I find myself saying "it's ok... we can make it work for a few years". With this one, we were saying "I want to live there and it could be long-term".
Here's what we considered when talking price for our first offer
-The house is 18 years old and therefore, although they look like they are in great condition now, windows are going to have to start being replaced and the furnace is original so we have to think about that too.
-These people didn't landscape. It's not totally horrible, but the yard needs to be cut, weeded, trimmed, edged, seeded and the back yard will probably need a couple of loads of earth to make it level.
-It will need shingle, probably within the next year
-Pricing of similar housing sold in the last 3 months
We put an offer in yesterday at about 12k below asking. We knew the wouldn't accept it, but we wanted to get the ball rolling to negotiate. They responding with an counter-offer later last night of 1K below asking! Our agent said there is a lot of interest in the house and therefore they aren't budging much on their asking price yet because they want to see what other offers they get.
I was so excited to get the offer in yesterday, but once we were in the process of drafting it etc. I started to panic. I kept thinking that it was out of our price range and we were really going to struggle, that we probably can't buy any house, never mind this one and that I am nuts to be doing this. I kept thinking of ways to get out of it and was relieved when we added the conditional on inspection clause thinking "that's it, that's our out". Everyone keeps saying, its worth the extra money if you love it and see yourself there long-term. "You don't want to lose it for the sake of a couple grand". But what if we can't afford the extra money? PANIC PANIC PANIC We also had to sign a bunch of other paperwork with our agent that I am now thinking we were stupid to sign without asking more questions... but that's a whole other story.
I immediately got a headache and felt extremely nauseous and instead of going to the bbq for my BIL's b-day, I went home and tried to sleep. On the way, I ran over a snake on a back country road and in the rear-view mirror I saw it coil up and then flail into the air in pain and it totally gave me the creeps. I literally shivered. P.S. I'm absolutely 100% terrified of snakes. When I got home I cried and panicked some more and I didn't know what to do. When the seller responded to our offer, I was disappointed (by the low amount they were willling to drop) and relieved at the same time. Everyone says this is a normal way of feeling once you've put in a offer on a house, but I don't like it. I never want to feel like this again. I called Brad and he wanted to respond right away with our own counter-offer, but I told him I needed to sleep on it. He agreed that was ok since they hadn't received any other offers yet. I fought a headache all night and had to force myself to eat. I fell asleep surprisingly easily. I woke up this morning at 5am and took Brad to work. Then I came back home and tried to go back to sleep for a couple hours but my mind was running overtime. I don't know what to do. We have to respond soon and all Brad can say is "what are we going to do?" or "have you decided if/how we're going to respond yet?". I'm gonna punch him pretty soon. Does he have any idea the kind of pressure that puts me under? He's half of this too and I need his input. It pisses me off more than I can explain and it's only getting worse.
Oh, on that note, tomorrow is our 2nd anniversary. Hopefully it's a happy one but with the way I feel right now, I don't know how I'll be able to pull off a romantic dinner when I feel like I could vomit at any second and am furious with the person sitting across from me. I'll guess we'll see how the rest of today day plays out.
Now We're Getting Somewhere
Posted Thursday, August 21, 2008 8:48 AM
We FINALLY have an appointment to actually go and see a human being about a mortgage this afternoon. I have to leave work early, but my boss is cool with it. She knows we've been having trouble with this so when I said I could come back when I was done if necessary to make-up the time she just told me not to worry about it and to do what I need to. I'm excited that the ball is finally rolling, but I'm nervous too. What if they won't give us a mortgage? Then what? I've only be at MIL's for two months and I'm going nuts... I need privacy and space and I need DH to myself! I can't stay there long-term. I shouldn't borrow trouble. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.
It's time to start looking for a second job too. I told myself I would pick up a part time gig (which is easy to do because my full-time gig is monday-friday 8-430 and doesn't change) this fall for the winter. Just to get ahead of some credit card debt and help out for the first couple of months we're in a house. It's not fun, but I've done it before and the extra cash is really nice. I'm actually kind-of looking forward to it. I hope I find something cool... like at a book store or something! hmmm... maybe I better not, because I might spend everything I make before I make it home! :)
I'm so excited... I have a good feeling about this afternoon. I hope I can go in and ask intelligent questions so we can make an informed decision about the biggest purchase we'll ever make! Wish me luck!
We FINALLY have an appointment to actually go and see a human being about a mortgage this afternoon. I have to leave work early, but my boss is cool with it. She knows we've been having trouble with this so when I said I could come back when I was done if necessary to make-up the time she just told me not to worry about it and to do what I need to. I'm excited that the ball is finally rolling, but I'm nervous too. What if they won't give us a mortgage? Then what? I've only be at MIL's for two months and I'm going nuts... I need privacy and space and I need DH to myself! I can't stay there long-term. I shouldn't borrow trouble. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.
It's time to start looking for a second job too. I told myself I would pick up a part time gig (which is easy to do because my full-time gig is monday-friday 8-430 and doesn't change) this fall for the winter. Just to get ahead of some credit card debt and help out for the first couple of months we're in a house. It's not fun, but I've done it before and the extra cash is really nice. I'm actually kind-of looking forward to it. I hope I find something cool... like at a book store or something! hmmm... maybe I better not, because I might spend everything I make before I make it home! :)
I'm so excited... I have a good feeling about this afternoon. I hope I can go in and ask intelligent questions so we can make an informed decision about the biggest purchase we'll ever make! Wish me luck!
Frustrated beyong belief.... I give up!
Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:17 PM
I'm gonna cry. I feel so overwhelmed and so frustrated right now.DH and I are trying to get some information about mortgages so that we know exactly what we can afford and can get a pre-approval to start hardcore house shopping. However, we can't get any one who is willing to help us more than to say... fill out this form online and then we'll take it from there. I don't even know what these forms are. The pre-approval forms have mandatory fields for the value of the property you want to purchase and the mortgage amount. I DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS... THAT"S WHAT I WANT TO FIGURE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That and, I'm not necessarily going to want to go with the first person who says "yes, we'll give you a loan" because it may not be the best rate. I just need someone to sit me down and say, ok, your first step is "ba dum" and then if the outcome is "x" your next step is "such and so", if the outcome of step one is "y" then the next step is "yadda yadda". I don't want 1000 hits on my credit score and blah blah. I feel lost. I feel like I'm walking around bling.
DH is NO help at all. He's not a decision maker and knows that I am so he leaves all this stuff to me knowing that I will just do it. I finally broke down a couple of weeks ago and told him that I needed his help with all of this and he said "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say when I call these people". I freaked and said "neither do I!!!!! I'm trying to figure that out just as much as you are! So why should it fall on me." He then tells me that he'll help me. So he starts pulling real-estate listing etc. Well that's great but I already know how to do that. It's the mortgage thing that's the issue. There's no point in house shopping if we can't get a mortgage. So yesterday he calls me at work and says that a mortgage consultant had left a voicemail and that we should set up an appointment with her, but that we should wait until he gets to work because he needs to know his schedule for the week. I agreed, but he just calls me to tell me his schedule instead of just calling her back and setting up an appointment. I just called him and said "did you call Kimberly back or can you?" and he says no because he had to get ready for work. It pisses me off so bad that I either have to do it myself, or MAKE him do it. He doesn't ever have the initiative to do it himself. The man makes me crazy. I'm seriously really pissed off at him right now... more so than I have ever been. This is the largest purchase we'll ever make and he's willing to let it fall on my shoulders.
update: he just called me and said "I can call her if you want". He only did it because he knew I was pissed at the end of our last conversation so I said "I thought you didn't have time" and he says "well I guess I do" in his tiny little I know I'm in s**t voice. So I said yes, to please call her and he then has the balls to say "okay... what do I say to her". My blood immediately started boiling and I said "you know what, I can't do this right now" and hung up. I refuse to fight over the phone while I'm at work and everyone can hear. I just want to shake him and say "are you expecting me to be your mommy and take care of you forever?" Your an adult for god sakes! Think about it for a second and you'll know what you need to ask this woman. Like "hi, I want to buy a house, can you help me with that?" GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! S**t is going to hit the fan tonight. I'm not answering his calls for the rest of the day because I can't handle itl.
I'm gonna cry. I feel so overwhelmed and so frustrated right now.DH and I are trying to get some information about mortgages so that we know exactly what we can afford and can get a pre-approval to start hardcore house shopping. However, we can't get any one who is willing to help us more than to say... fill out this form online and then we'll take it from there. I don't even know what these forms are. The pre-approval forms have mandatory fields for the value of the property you want to purchase and the mortgage amount. I DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS... THAT"S WHAT I WANT TO FIGURE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That and, I'm not necessarily going to want to go with the first person who says "yes, we'll give you a loan" because it may not be the best rate. I just need someone to sit me down and say, ok, your first step is "ba dum" and then if the outcome is "x" your next step is "such and so", if the outcome of step one is "y" then the next step is "yadda yadda". I don't want 1000 hits on my credit score and blah blah. I feel lost. I feel like I'm walking around bling.
DH is NO help at all. He's not a decision maker and knows that I am so he leaves all this stuff to me knowing that I will just do it. I finally broke down a couple of weeks ago and told him that I needed his help with all of this and he said "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say when I call these people". I freaked and said "neither do I!!!!! I'm trying to figure that out just as much as you are! So why should it fall on me." He then tells me that he'll help me. So he starts pulling real-estate listing etc. Well that's great but I already know how to do that. It's the mortgage thing that's the issue. There's no point in house shopping if we can't get a mortgage. So yesterday he calls me at work and says that a mortgage consultant had left a voicemail and that we should set up an appointment with her, but that we should wait until he gets to work because he needs to know his schedule for the week. I agreed, but he just calls me to tell me his schedule instead of just calling her back and setting up an appointment. I just called him and said "did you call Kimberly back or can you?" and he says no because he had to get ready for work. It pisses me off so bad that I either have to do it myself, or MAKE him do it. He doesn't ever have the initiative to do it himself. The man makes me crazy. I'm seriously really pissed off at him right now... more so than I have ever been. This is the largest purchase we'll ever make and he's willing to let it fall on my shoulders.
update: he just called me and said "I can call her if you want". He only did it because he knew I was pissed at the end of our last conversation so I said "I thought you didn't have time" and he says "well I guess I do" in his tiny little I know I'm in s**t voice. So I said yes, to please call her and he then has the balls to say "okay... what do I say to her". My blood immediately started boiling and I said "you know what, I can't do this right now" and hung up. I refuse to fight over the phone while I'm at work and everyone can hear. I just want to shake him and say "are you expecting me to be your mommy and take care of you forever?" Your an adult for god sakes! Think about it for a second and you'll know what you need to ask this woman. Like "hi, I want to buy a house, can you help me with that?" GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! S**t is going to hit the fan tonight. I'm not answering his calls for the rest of the day because I can't handle itl.
Kicking it up a notch
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:25 AM
I think I have blogged a million times about Brad and I trying to lose weight and get healthy. We've been successfull so far (especially Brad), but I've decided after almost a year of the same program it's time to kick it up a notch, at least for myself.
I'm going to start the C25K (Couch to 5K Program). I've always wanted to be a runner and this program seems like a good way to ease myself into it in a healthy way. I was running a little this winter at an indoor track at the gym, but I didn' t have a plan, I was just running until I couldn't run anymore and eventually I fell away from it and didn't want to do it anymore. So, thanks to the H&F board I found this program to help me out. It seems totally doable. It's only 3 days a week, so we can still do our walks on the odd days and it's 20-30 minutes (depending where in the program you are) so it's not adding any time to my existing exercise routine.
It's really crappy weather here today, so I'm going to go to the pool and do an hour of laps tonight. I haven't been to the pool since the winter because I hate to pay to exercise inside when I can excercise for free outside in the summer months. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I LOVE to swim and I'm good at it, so it's easy to stay motivated.
I've also decided to crack down even more on our "diets". And I don't mean that we're on diets, I mean our day-to-day eating. We've done well over the last 11 months on making better choices and it's working for weight loss, but I want to concentrate on healthy choices for more than weight loss now. Example: making sure we get all the necessary servings of fruits/veggies in a day. Making sure we're eating the most benefical veggies or protiens etc. I'm not saying we'll be perfect (because this girl needs her pasta, bread and chocolate) but just making better informed decisions and eating smart with variety.
Tonight for example, I'm super excited because DH is at work so I can have FISH! He hates fish, so this is a rare occassion for me. I'm having lemon salmon, wild rice, steamed asparagus and/or snow peas and a green sald with low fat cheese cubes Can't wait, my mouth is watering thinking about it!
I think I have blogged a million times about Brad and I trying to lose weight and get healthy. We've been successfull so far (especially Brad), but I've decided after almost a year of the same program it's time to kick it up a notch, at least for myself.
I'm going to start the C25K (Couch to 5K Program). I've always wanted to be a runner and this program seems like a good way to ease myself into it in a healthy way. I was running a little this winter at an indoor track at the gym, but I didn' t have a plan, I was just running until I couldn't run anymore and eventually I fell away from it and didn't want to do it anymore. So, thanks to the H&F board I found this program to help me out. It seems totally doable. It's only 3 days a week, so we can still do our walks on the odd days and it's 20-30 minutes (depending where in the program you are) so it's not adding any time to my existing exercise routine.
It's really crappy weather here today, so I'm going to go to the pool and do an hour of laps tonight. I haven't been to the pool since the winter because I hate to pay to exercise inside when I can excercise for free outside in the summer months. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I LOVE to swim and I'm good at it, so it's easy to stay motivated.
I've also decided to crack down even more on our "diets". And I don't mean that we're on diets, I mean our day-to-day eating. We've done well over the last 11 months on making better choices and it's working for weight loss, but I want to concentrate on healthy choices for more than weight loss now. Example: making sure we get all the necessary servings of fruits/veggies in a day. Making sure we're eating the most benefical veggies or protiens etc. I'm not saying we'll be perfect (because this girl needs her pasta, bread and chocolate) but just making better informed decisions and eating smart with variety.
Tonight for example, I'm super excited because DH is at work so I can have FISH! He hates fish, so this is a rare occassion for me. I'm having lemon salmon, wild rice, steamed asparagus and/or snow peas and a green sald with low fat cheese cubes Can't wait, my mouth is watering thinking about it!
What a waste!
Posted Thursday, August 14, 2008 8:17 AM
So last night didn't go quite as planned. I went home and both MIL and BIL were there. I talked with them for a little while and then grabbed a bowl of cereal and 100 calorie bag of crackers and went to our bedroom to read. I didn't want anything to heavy in my stomach when I went to swim and my BIL was using the kitchen to cook a steak dinner so my fish meal was out of the question. I laid down to read and next thing I knew I was waking up and it was 8:10. The swim started at 8:15 and I still didn't know where bathing suit, googles or cap were. I figured, by the time I got everything together, got over there, paid, got changed etc. the swim would be mostly over. I resigned myself to another night of just walking. I cheered myself up by deciding that I would walk and meet DH has he walked home from work (when he works evenings he walks to and from work because he doesn't have time for an actual walk other than that). So I dove back in to my book deciding I would leave at between 9 and 910. Well... I am so in love with the book I am reading right now that I got caught right up and all of a sudden DH was walking into our bedroom and it was 10:25.
Of course by this point I'm not the least bit tired because I'd been napping since 6ish so I kept on reading. When I still couldn't sleep an hour later DH and I got busy, but even that was interuppted by a nasty foot cramp! So, that was the closest thing to exercise I got all day yesterday. :)
What a waste of an evening! Although, any night that I can curl up with a book that I love as much as my current one is a night well spent. Still.... I was really looking forward to my swim. Oh well!!!!
So last night didn't go quite as planned. I went home and both MIL and BIL were there. I talked with them for a little while and then grabbed a bowl of cereal and 100 calorie bag of crackers and went to our bedroom to read. I didn't want anything to heavy in my stomach when I went to swim and my BIL was using the kitchen to cook a steak dinner so my fish meal was out of the question. I laid down to read and next thing I knew I was waking up and it was 8:10. The swim started at 8:15 and I still didn't know where bathing suit, googles or cap were. I figured, by the time I got everything together, got over there, paid, got changed etc. the swim would be mostly over. I resigned myself to another night of just walking. I cheered myself up by deciding that I would walk and meet DH has he walked home from work (when he works evenings he walks to and from work because he doesn't have time for an actual walk other than that). So I dove back in to my book deciding I would leave at between 9 and 910. Well... I am so in love with the book I am reading right now that I got caught right up and all of a sudden DH was walking into our bedroom and it was 10:25.
Of course by this point I'm not the least bit tired because I'd been napping since 6ish so I kept on reading. When I still couldn't sleep an hour later DH and I got busy, but even that was interuppted by a nasty foot cramp! So, that was the closest thing to exercise I got all day yesterday. :)
What a waste of an evening! Although, any night that I can curl up with a book that I love as much as my current one is a night well spent. Still.... I was really looking forward to my swim. Oh well!!!!
Location, location, location
Posted Monday, August 11, 2008 4:12 PM
I went to an open house yesterday. I really liked the house... it's the right # of bedrooms and baths, fenced yard, new windows, renovated kitchen, new a/c, new roof etc. It's two stories with a finished basement. It "looks like a detached" because it's linked with the neighbour only by the basement (which is completely seperate, we just share the foundation hole). Although I would like to be in the country (my little dream house that I posted about before is still for sale and has dropped 8k) this makes more sense as a starter because it's in town, we would not have to purchase a second vehicle right away and would not have the increased expense of gas for two commuters. The best part is it's an AWESOME price. The agent told me yesterday the sellers are really motivated because they have already bought something else and want to be out before the school year starts for their kids.
However, I'm not sure about the area. It's in a part of town that carrys a stigma of... we'll say "lower income people". I would not want my kids to go to school in the area, but at the same time, we're not looking for a house to be in that long-term (since we aren't even TTC yet). There's a really interesting mix in this area of gorgeous high income homes and tiny, not so nice homes one or two streets over. This house that we are looking at sits in no-mans land between two areas. I don't know what to think. I worry about resale value and getting stuck. It's just such a great little home I don't want to pass it up and then regret it. That and I NEED TO GET OUT OF MY MIL's!!!! It's only been 1.5 months and I'm going crazy!!!!!!
I'm torn and really don't know what to do.
I went to an open house yesterday. I really liked the house... it's the right # of bedrooms and baths, fenced yard, new windows, renovated kitchen, new a/c, new roof etc. It's two stories with a finished basement. It "looks like a detached" because it's linked with the neighbour only by the basement (which is completely seperate, we just share the foundation hole). Although I would like to be in the country (my little dream house that I posted about before is still for sale and has dropped 8k) this makes more sense as a starter because it's in town, we would not have to purchase a second vehicle right away and would not have the increased expense of gas for two commuters. The best part is it's an AWESOME price. The agent told me yesterday the sellers are really motivated because they have already bought something else and want to be out before the school year starts for their kids.
However, I'm not sure about the area. It's in a part of town that carrys a stigma of... we'll say "lower income people". I would not want my kids to go to school in the area, but at the same time, we're not looking for a house to be in that long-term (since we aren't even TTC yet). There's a really interesting mix in this area of gorgeous high income homes and tiny, not so nice homes one or two streets over. This house that we are looking at sits in no-mans land between two areas. I don't know what to think. I worry about resale value and getting stuck. It's just such a great little home I don't want to pass it up and then regret it. That and I NEED TO GET OUT OF MY MIL's!!!! It's only been 1.5 months and I'm going crazy!!!!!!
I'm torn and really don't know what to do.
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