A long and winding road home
A month ago we put a contract on a house that we fell in love with and we were supposed to be closing on it tomorrow. We had the inspection, no major issues, we scheduled movers, we had the bank’s appraisal, so far everything going in our favor. A week ago the underwriter notes that the bank’s appraiser saw two patched cracks in the living room wall and insisted on an engineer’s report before they’d give us the loan. We all thought that was ridiculous, a waste of money. But the engineer found two issues. First that there is sinking going on in the foundation on one side. A simple fix that doesn’t cost much (in the world of foundation fixes that is, which means under 7k) and that could even be done after we move in. The second issue though suggested a possible plumbing leak that is effecting the foundation. This one is major. Not only to the foundation work but the plumbing work would be in the 10k range. This past week has been one of baited breath and the seller is equally freaked. They poor man had already moved out, left his couches on the corner for trash pick up.
So this morning the plumber made it out and there is definitely some kind of leak going on but instead of under the house, he believes it is between the street and the house. The seller has agreed that he wants this deal done and is going to pay for the plumber to dig it up, find out what’s going on and fix it. He’ll have to fix it before this deal can go through. We suspect that it’s going to be covered under his home owners insurance so it’s not a horrible price for him. Heck, he’s owned the house for 20 years and stands to make a great deal of money from all of this even if he covers the cost to fix the foundation and all this plumbing work.
So another week will go by before we know if this house is going to be ours. In the mean time, this weekend we are researching back up options. One house that we saw in the same neighborhood last month is still on the listings and I’m hoping it may still be an option for us. Our lease isn’t up until the end of July so we aren’t freaking out. Well, not a lot anyway. Staying focused on the positive (thank god for the underwriter that we were so pissed at a week ago!) and having faith in bigger and better.
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Comments
Oh man! My hubby and I have bought 3x and selling for the 3rd time now (I’m so tired of moving!) and I know the ups and downs the process brings. Sometimes you just can’t breathe well until all the papers have been signed in the end. But I’m glad the owner is doing the responsible thing.
Hope it all ends well!
home buying can be so emotional. trust that this is happening for a reason and you guys will end up in the house where you belong soon enough. xo