<p>Smiling. My SIL sold her house recently and the guy backed out of the deal, then came back the next day and said maybe, let me think about… Brought a friend to show him… Called his Dad who said ‘just buy it!’.</p>
<p>Shaw, I have been wondering how your MIl was doing. That is fantastic that she is doing so well!</p>
<p>I spoke with the 104 year old friend of my Aunt’s yesterday. You would guess by her appearance that this lady is in her 80s. She and my Aunt made a pact to ‘go’ together, and she visited my aunt’s room the other day and they cried since it was obvious that my aunt would precede her. The nurses said they wished that they had a camera, it was such a sweet scene.</p>
<p>awww treetopleaf— that does sound sweet, but glad they didn’t whip out the youtube direct. ;)</p>
<p>I think what you describe about house is correct. we are, i kid you not, about 527 dollars apart. So it is either nervous to buy such a big house (but perfect to raise three kids, I should know) or they really aren’t sure about the financing. All i know is h and i found a house today we really liked and met my criteria for room to do work but good enough i’d be willing to take remodel slow (vs some you wouldn’t dare use kitchen or bathroom). But it was my ideal location with a really good mix of price points right next to one another, so there’s definitely some room to invest. but… at the rate we’re going, and the rate my h moves… unlikely to intersect. What i love about it is it’s kinda ugly right now, but it has really awesome potential and great bones.</p>
<p>Moda - how frustrating! Are they still “sleeping on it?” At that amount, your realtor should just cover it and be done. But, if the buyers are having cold feet, they’ll just use this as an out. Hope it still works out, especially since you’ve found a house you like.</p>
<p>Moda…I have a friend here whose D is selling her home in Atlanta. They recently received an offer $30,000 over asking. They were shocked and excited. Signed the deal and started looking for rentals before they transfer back here to the Cities. They were shocked again on Saturday when the buyer’s realtor frantically called and said she had made a mistake on the offer and the actual offer was $40,000 less than asking!!! The realtor is claiming the mistake was due to a language barrier. They are currently trying to figure out what they can do to remedy the situation. What a ride!</p>
<p>Moda, I wonder if your realtor could ask if these guys really want to get out of buying it but are afraid to do so. Did you accept their previous offer at $527 higher? You could accept the price but withdraw one of the things you had thrown in (e.g., furniture). I find that offering a choice: “We’ll accept X with the furniture or we’ll accept X less $527 but you don’t get to keep the furniture. You choose” tends to help people close. </p>
<p>Hello, all. 81 degrees Saturday, ice storm yesterday, snow day today. The roads are for the most part clear and I hate it when parents say the districts are wimping out by calling off school. The only local district that didn’t cancel school had a school bus careen off the road and 5 were sent to the hospital. Plus, the issue really isn’t the roads but the sidewalks and parking lots. They don’t have the staff to somehow clear off all the ice overnight. The high school parking lots are dangerous enough with all the teen drivers…hundreds of teen drivers together on ice is just too much to contemplate.</p>
<p>Shaw - that’s pretty much what we did. But without all the boring details, i have concluded our realtor lacks common sense and any deductive logic skills. i am not exaggerating one bit. She also doesn’t seem to be able to have a conversation with people. everything is text and spelling grammars. we laid out a choice and she recommended we write it up one way. Dave said, let them choose. She just didn’t get it. i finally gave up talking to her. fortunately, while we are in contract with the agency, her specific name is not mentioned.</p>
<p>Sorry you have to deal with such incompetency, Moda. I am one who of late believes there’s nothing common about common sense 
I watched mch nearly melt down last night after two hours on the phone with Comcast business, which is an oxymoron, over why our fax number has not ported over to our new SIP system. I actually thought at one point I might have to resuscitate him </p>
<p>Though beleaguered, I am delighted with the results of our dual move. Despite the ice damming/water damage, I love the new studio addition at home as well as the downtown suite. I think I am really going to enjoy this set up on several fronts. I’m also going to enjoy the cleaning service I’ve now promised myself to keep all THREE areas in order </p>
<p>Of course, I’ll enjoy it all even more come spring, when I can take a break and eat lunch out on the patio looking at the terrace in bloom or downtown in the bistro below us It will help make up for the long hours and late nights.</p>
<p>Missy, the thought of inexperienced teen drivers on ice is harrowing to me, so Im with you. Mcson is headed to Toronto tomorrow to take his gf and pals to visit a friend for spring break. Since he’s such a late driver with little snow/ice experience under his belt, I’m beside myself wishing he wouldn’t make that drive in this weather, but I can’t exactly forbid it, so I have to just shut up and pray a little. Please send him the safe trip mojo, folks :)</p>
<p>We are experiencing a bit of a warming trend here. It is 4 degrees already this morning rather than -14. Hooray! I hope it continues and we no longer have to deal with the polar vortex. I am so over winter!</p>
<p>D1 had a surprise interview yesterday. A small marketing firm called her and asked if she could come in that day and when she explained she was working a temp job they asked if she could come in after work and interview. They told her not to worry about what she was wearing as they were very casual but thank heavens she was wearing nice black pants, blouse and a blazer. The bad part was she really had no prep time to research the company. She thought it went well but the time frame for filling the position is 3 to 6 months! She has another “informational” interview this morning with another company. As she talked with her supervisor at the temp job about being off for these interviews he told her he would love to have her stay with them if they could get a full time position approved. I think she would love doing that.</p>
<p>D2 is starting to feel the stress of tax season and is feeling tired from the long hours. </p>
<p>Sending safe driving thoughts and prayers to Mcson.
Still sending the house selling mojo to Moda!
eddieo…Has the sun arrived yet?
oregon…how is your D doing with the ex BF situation? We are seeing D1 improve little by little. Time and work has been the best help.</p>
<p>Looks like the D.C. gathering was fun! Wish I was closer. I am envious that you were able to meet up.</p>
<p>Moda, how does the RE agent stay in business without either people skills or logical, deductive skills. There are some RE who are charming, some who intuit people’s needs, and some who have good business sense and probably some who aren’t of the three previous categories. But, I would guess the last group doesn’t stay in business.</p>
<p>honestly, shaw, i have no idea. i just think the whole group, billed as the #1 seller in our area, are kind of bullies. But h just said, No thank you. read a quote that said, ‘The problem with people who say what they mean is that they think everyone else does too.’ That’s our problem. And on the other side, since they don’t seem to say what they mean, they think we don’t either. They’d be wrong. When our agent asked us to kick in money to get them off the fence, h finally said either they sign as it is or the next morning we were moving close date and if they walked and cancelled the pending contract, they would not be welcome to write another. They signed and the appraisal is today. We are definitely lower than we were last year by about 25k and everything we’ve read says the market is stronger. But it is true that our immediate neighbors who’ve sold have benefitted from being transferred or were in desperate straits due to divorce or having rented for a few years after the crash and just happy to be out. so… it is what it is. h is dealing with her now and understood in one conversation what my concern was. She has a good personality and i can see if i was coming from out of town, she’d be good to look at houses with. I think she’s better at buying than selling, because she does seem to side with Buyers easily.</p>
<p>S is going to be subletting a room in a windowless basement in a duplex for a few months. Im not liking it, but not my life. </p>
<p>With all this house talk I’m starting to look at if it would be better for D to try to get a house either through a foreclosure or short sale. Starting to try to do some research as neither H or I know nothing about either. Only thing that I can see so far is she MIGHT be able to get something cheaper in a good location. Anyone have any knowledge of how these things work and is it worth trying to tackle? She would be a first time home owner so no idea if this would be a good move or not. Info gladly received. :)</p>
<p>Moda – glad things have finally been resolved. I really do believe a lot of buyers ask for the moon since the worst that can happen is the answer comes back “no” – but in some cases the answer is “yes.” From the sounds of things, I’m pretty sure my H would have dumped your agent a while ago … he has NO patience for stuff like that. And honestly – your agent should NEVER have asked you to kick in money. </p>
<p>Re: your S’s basement apartment – are there adequate fire exits? Is it a legal apartment? I’m super-sensitive to stuff like that after D almost ended up in a illegal one in Cambridge. (Fortunately she’s MUCH wiser now.) And no windows? I’d totally freak out. Yikes!!!</p>
<p>CB - I agree totally. And had H had to deal with her before two days ago, it is likely he would have replaced her. He would prefer of course, if it was just me, but he learned quickly that no… it’s her. But we are so far into this deal now, we’re just trying to get to the other side. Of course, I had hoped to buy something but now H is waffling on that idea and thinking rent for a year would be good. We have a cat which makes the whole proposition more difficult, and where I’d like to buy they don’t typically have many rentals, especially this time of year. It’s so stressful. </p>
<p>As for S - I voiced all those same concerns. Honestly, every time I ask him questions of any kind he reads me as unsupportive. I said all the same things you did… and more! The owner lives there… temp month to month situation. So S can move out pretty quickly if need be and it’s furnished. He seems to think it will work fine short term and then will look to room with other friends whose leases are coming up and people switching around. </p>
<p>Anyone else listen to the news concerning the changes ahead for the SAT? Sounds like they are trying to level the field for students who can’t afford tutors and prep classes.</p>
<p>Back from vacation, and despite a day and a half of rain (out of 4 days) it was really nice, especially since D joined us. </p>
<p>What wasn’t nice: a drive Saturday morning to the airport in the midst of the worst 12 miles of blizzard I’ve driven through in 20+ years…we didn’t think we were going to make it, and then suddenly it turned from blizzard to merely bad, and then to just yuck. And by afternoon I heard it was all gone. Then we got back to our car about twenty minutes after rain starting turning to sleet and then snow, and had a nasty drive home with an idiot behind us that kept tailgating for no reason, and moments where we could see nothing as passing cars threw up gallons of glop on our windshield. And today it is 60 and sunny. Go figure. My car looks like it took a mud bath beauty treatment. </p>
<p>But, the vacation was very much needed, though now I need a vacation from the vacation, and I’m not going to get it. </p>
<p>Good luck to all who need it on the real estate mojo front. When we sold MIL’s house the buyer’s agent (and the buyer) were strictly observant Orthodox Jews, and we were trying to close by early October…which meant that all sorts of documents needed to be dealt with in September. Which is not-a-good-month-for-doing-business-with-the-Orthodox. Plus, their agent had no spelling skills and terrible grammar, and the minor niceties of noting what entity was actually the seller (a trust, not DH individually) seemed to fly straight over her head. </p>
<p>Hi all. I am feeling better, thank you for asking. Next February we are going somewhere to get in the sun for a vacation. Yes, I loved meeting up with three lovely ladies on Sunday. I hope someday to meet even more of you/us, whatever - you know what I mean.</p>
<p>Arabrab - I fully admit that grammar and spelling issues (to say nothing of no punctuation) are like nails on a chalkboard. </p>
<p>May have found furnished short term situation, for like a month to three. That would buy us time. I seriously need a break. So nervous about hiring movers because just when I think I find a reputable one, I read some heinous review and I just don’t want all my stuff broken.</p>
<p>SAT changes… mostly I gathered they are trying to make the test relevant again. The article sites severe competition by ACT and the move of some schools to make testing optional. Pairing the experience with free and discounted tutoring does not level the playing field in my opinion. The middle always takes the brunt of that one and then it becomes the expectation that every kid has access to tutoring. I just don’t think any of these tests should be about how well you take standardized tests! </p>
<p>S has never taken a class for these things. We did get him a tutor whom he met with three times to go over weak area - which was the English and rules of grammar kind of thing and some test taking stratagies He took a lot of practice sections. And the MCAT he self studied and spent a couple hundred on books and practice tests. Yes, he tests well, but our tax bracket precludes anything free or even reduced - ever. But just willy nilly laying out the cash for that kind of stuff wasn’t always easily done either - the double edged sword of a private education on a public school income maybe. But still, I do sometimes wonder what he COULD have gotten if he had taken a class. But my take on the whole thing is trying to make themselves relevant, and tying in with someone else who wants to fleece those who feel like they HAVE to do it or the trajectory of destiny is forever altered. </p>
<p>RochesterMom, I’m of two minds about foreclosures for new buyers, having been through the process myself. Great for a cash buyer who has either experience or competent pals in the trades. Dealing with Fanny Mae or Freddy Mac is not actually more pleasant or stress free than dealing with any other buyer, except they’re really not motivated to move on anything because in their minds the money’s already written off. And dealing with a short sale is IMHO downright dangerous.</p>
<p>Today, when you see a foreclosure, if its in decent condition and is a FM property, in the first 30 days of the listing they’re not likely to accept anything less than 5% within asking. In 60-90, you might get them down 10%. After that, you can go deeper, but in this market if its still on the market by then, well, there’s something really wrong with it.</p>
<p>Ours had multiple offers within four days of listing and we were beat out initially but were next in line and the first deal fell through…which happens a lot in foreclosures, especially around financing. We had cash on hand, generous debt celing avail, and a pre-approved conventional mortgage.</p>
<p>I had personal friends on multiple inspections ranging across all the trades, including a hydrogeologist. We spent 30k just remedying issues connected to neglect - but in our case, we were able to determine that going in so it was no surprise. Fortunately, the foreclosed family only had the house in their possession for four years and the previous owners had taken good care.</p>
<p>So, those are considerations. For a young couple, it could either be daunting or be an adventure. If they’re a good team, compromise well, are handy and have trusted advisors it could be a great thing. One of my clients who now owns several properties started out buying a foreclosure after college and flipping it, and has done very well for himself. However, he regularly tells people not to buy a foreclosure That’s because the process can be very draining on time and attention!</p>
<p>On the upside, (remember we bought in a down market) the house across the street which isn’t as nice as ours just sold for $100,00 more than we paid. So its possible to create some fast equity. </p>
<p>If your d decides to even look at a foreclosure, make sure she first has a letter of approval for a mortgage so she can act fast, and an inspector at the ready who she trusts. Make sure she also knows that she’d be wise to budget for the unexpected, because on possession, there’s always something.</p>
<p>Our case was about as elaborate as a foreclosure can get because we’re on a property with acreage, outbuildings, a hill, river and pool (with complicated septic and drainage) so I speak from an abundance of caution…AND I wouldn’t trade “the compound” for the world…but this deal could have been a disaster for folks who didn’t know what they were up for </p>