And Then There Was A House
I feel like the Wicked Witch of the East. I was just minding my own business, lording over hoards of frightened munchkins, contemplating how many I would eat for lunch, when KA-BAM!!! A giant, 1300+ square foot house off 50th and Donald surrounded by gorgeous oak trees and located in the most perfect neighborhood ever fell on top of me.
No really, it happened just like that. Or at least, it feels like that. No longer trapped under the house, I am free to roam about and feel good about our purchase. My home-owning friends all told me how fast the home buying process is once it happens. Or I should say, how fast all the wheels of the Home Buying Machine are put into motion. We toured the house on Saturday and offered the same day. We low balled them pretty good and WHOOSH, they accepted. They didn't fight, nit pick, bitch, moan, yell or otherwise go back and forth with us. They just dropped the house squarely in our laps. It was over within 22 hours. We finalized the acceptance papers the following evening and just like that, it was time to get some inspections scheduled.
Many of you know this, but the house is actually an estate left from the previous owner who died in and now haunts the place as a murderous ghost. The family who is now responsible is in one of two (or both) situations: 1) They are well-off enough and don't need to squabble over minutiae regarding the price and/or 2) They just want the whole thing over with. We know this because they aren't even dealing with the property themselves; their lawyer is. They're listing it as "sight unseen" and "as is". Typically, I think of clothing when I see the words "as is". Moreover, I am highly skeptical of said clothing and take the time (if I'm interested at all) to examine every small detail to find out what went horribly wrong to make it "as is". In the housing market, if then inspection turns up something bad, the "as is" clause doesn't exempt the family from fixing it before we take possession. In fact, depending on the repair (which hopefully there will be none), they will be obligated to take care of it before we proceed to live there.
We found out that our Realtor is indeed savvy to the implications of selling a house "sight unseen" and as such, negotiated a warranty on the house with the sellers (basically: You don't want to come and check off things on your own? Fine. Then you're willing to pay for them should they break, right? Right). So far, I know of nobody who had a warranty on their house when they first moved in, especially one purchased by the sellers. There is a long list of things that if they break within the first year of our ownership, the warranty company has to pay for it. This includes the roof, plumbing, electrical system, heating, structural integrity, and on and on. Basically, Robin and I are very much covered for the first year. After that, we can continue the policy if we so choose.
We're in a very happy place right now. We were preparing for a long process of searching and debating. We were braced for negotiations and going back and forth over the price and what the inspection turns up. Not to get all mushy, but it feels as though a wave of good karma is washing over us, making this first time home buying process exciting and joyous.
No really, it happened just like that. Or at least, it feels like that. No longer trapped under the house, I am free to roam about and feel good about our purchase. My home-owning friends all told me how fast the home buying process is once it happens. Or I should say, how fast all the wheels of the Home Buying Machine are put into motion. We toured the house on Saturday and offered the same day. We low balled them pretty good and WHOOSH, they accepted. They didn't fight, nit pick, bitch, moan, yell or otherwise go back and forth with us. They just dropped the house squarely in our laps. It was over within 22 hours. We finalized the acceptance papers the following evening and just like that, it was time to get some inspections scheduled.
Many of you know this, but the house is actually an estate left from the previous owner who died in and now haunts the place as a murderous ghost. The family who is now responsible is in one of two (or both) situations: 1) They are well-off enough and don't need to squabble over minutiae regarding the price and/or 2) They just want the whole thing over with. We know this because they aren't even dealing with the property themselves; their lawyer is. They're listing it as "sight unseen" and "as is". Typically, I think of clothing when I see the words "as is". Moreover, I am highly skeptical of said clothing and take the time (if I'm interested at all) to examine every small detail to find out what went horribly wrong to make it "as is". In the housing market, if then inspection turns up something bad, the "as is" clause doesn't exempt the family from fixing it before we take possession. In fact, depending on the repair (which hopefully there will be none), they will be obligated to take care of it before we proceed to live there.
We found out that our Realtor is indeed savvy to the implications of selling a house "sight unseen" and as such, negotiated a warranty on the house with the sellers (basically: You don't want to come and check off things on your own? Fine. Then you're willing to pay for them should they break, right? Right). So far, I know of nobody who had a warranty on their house when they first moved in, especially one purchased by the sellers. There is a long list of things that if they break within the first year of our ownership, the warranty company has to pay for it. This includes the roof, plumbing, electrical system, heating, structural integrity, and on and on. Basically, Robin and I are very much covered for the first year. After that, we can continue the policy if we so choose.
We're in a very happy place right now. We were preparing for a long process of searching and debating. We were braced for negotiations and going back and forth over the price and what the inspection turns up. Not to get all mushy, but it feels as though a wave of good karma is washing over us, making this first time home buying process exciting and joyous.
posted by Infused Confusion at
10:59 AM
6 Comments:
Oh my gosh, Patrick. That's so exciting!! Yay!!!!
Don't forget to let me know when the housewarming is. I miss you guys. And I still haven't seen Robin since 2005!
By
Copy Editor, At
3:04 PM
And by "low balled," you mean "subtracted the approximate price of a used Chevy Cavalier." You rebels.
Ooh--which begs the question: Do they still make NEW Chevy Cavaliers? And if so, why?
No, but seriously, I'm really happy for you guys. Hooray for dead old ladies!
By
April, At
12:11 AM
(GASP!) How did you know? OMG. April, you have telepathy. When we were thinking about our offer, I said quite clearly, "Robin. I think we should consider subtracting the price of a used Chevy Cavalier from their asking price. Yes, yes a used Chevy Cavalier is JUST the ticket!"
By
Infused Confusion, At
8:11 AM
I did have telepathy, but I got it disconnected when I got my cell phone. I was actually just hiding under the table when you were deciding on an offer, so I was in full view of the low balling. Er--full earshot, that is.
By
April, At
7:43 PM
Sweetie,
The definition of "as-is" is actually opposite of what you say. Since the family is selling it "as-is" they bear no responsibility in fixing anything that comes up in the inspection. Even if they weren't selling "as-is," no seller is ever obligated to make the repairs an inspection suggests.
However, buyers use the inspection as a term of sale and this will give our Realtor room to negotiate a better price due to fixes that might need to be done.
Your also using "sight unseen" in a way which might suggest a different meaning. Buyers can buy a house "sight unseen," meaning they bought the house before ever seeing it in person. However, our sellers are not selling this house "sight unseen;" they have seen it before. A more correct way to articulate it might be that they are selling it without disclosure, meaning that since it is not their house they are unaware of, and thus unable to disclose any of the problems/quirks that the house may or may not have.
By
Anonymous, At
10:10 AM
How is is possible that I could be confused about something? Oh well. It's still exciting.
By
Infused Confusion, At
10:13 AM
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