Dec
7
I Can’t Knock on the Wood Any Louder
December 7, 2007 |
Kind of a schizo day today, as far as much progress on House #2 and reverse progress on House #2. Well, not really regression, but lack of advancement.
We ran into issues today with the appraisal for House #1. Of all the potential roadblocks, this one never entered my mind, as it should easily appraise for $95-$100K, the contract price is for $86,700, and there are plenty of comps from the last year or so, with some even as high $110K-$115K. The property was last listed on the MLS for $78,000 (before they pulled it and tried to rent it, then disgustedly gave up being landlords, selling it to us for $60,000 without re-listing it on the MLS). So yeah, hard to seeany roadblocks today.
So the appraiser was doing his thing today and called our realtor, demanding to know what we had paid for the house. Which seems kind of odd to me, as that’s got little to do with what the current value of the house is, which his job is to make a stab at. Our realtor basically told him to screw off, that it wasn’t listed on the MLS so it’s no one’s business but ours what the purchase price was, that the house had been extensively rehabbed, so the purchase price was pretty much a moot point, etc.
He turned in his appraisal but the lender apparently put a hold on the loan, until we told them what the purchase price is. I do understand that lots of lenders are overly cautious these days of getting burned by straw buyers and related shenanigans, so I suppose the scenario that played out today isn’t that crazy, but still. As far as lessons learned, well, I’m not even sure I would do things differently in retrospect. I think I’d rather have him turn in his appraisal, as he did, without knowing the purchase price, and then have to fess up later and tell the lender as opposed to telling him straight away that we bought it for $60,000 back in March and having that potentially influence his appraisal.
Lots shaking at House #2 today, as our contractor got back over there with his full crew of 3 guys, and the French doors for the master bedroom got installed, the last of the framing for opening up the kitchen to the dining room was finished, and most of the screened in back porch is finished now, as well as other random odds and ends. I need to take some photos over there, as it’s actually starting to look like a house again, and not some Franken-house.
Met with yet another plumbing company, but hopefully these guys are the ones. Still waiting on the bid from them, which’ll obviously play a huge role in deciding whether or not to go with them, but the meeting went very well, and they’re not scared off by working with the existing plumbing, thought all the plans were very reasonable, suggested a few things I hadn’t thought of, etc. So we’ll see.
Barely managing to hold the budget in check, but still successfully defending the fort. I’m pretty certain that the half-bath addition next to the laundry room is also officially dead, as it wouldn’t be quite as easy to add as I thought, so that space may become a closet for the fourth bedroom/office, as well as some extra storage for the laundry room. I also actually overbudgeted for kitchen appliances, fixtures, and hardware, so I gained some ground there too. But it may go back into electrical, as I’m not sure I’m up to tackling all that needs to be done, as I really need to add a few circuits here and there, and I’ve never tackled anything more burly than swapping out outlets and moving existing ones, etc.
Tired tired. Must sleep now.
