On the 31st Day

This is a picture I took back in April and a quick blog I wrote but never posted.

The grass has come in, although it isn't exactly what I'd hoped for.

The picture is a decent indication.  The brown areas do have grass, but it's much more sparse.  Various weeds have popped up too, which I then pulled but that killed some grass too.  Mint plants that were part of the garden from the past fall also started to sprout.  I probably should have done a better job of sifting through the old dirt to remove old plants.  I continue to water the newly planted areas twice a day and hope for better results in the near future. 

That was April.  Today, that grass is full and lush.  In fact, I've come to learn that once temperatures rise, the sun comes out, and we get some rain, the darn grass won't stop growing!  I mow every weekend but I still feel that isn't enough.

I may post later on lawn care tips, but new rule #1 when planting new grass:
Wait until it is decently warm (above 70) with plenty of sunshine.  Newly planted grass will take root and start growing with little effort in no time.  If you do like I did and plant when it is still cool, you'll be out there watering twice a day for weeks, only seeing minimal results and probably second-guessing yourself the whole way.

Busy Weekend

The pace of blog posts has slowed considerably since we closed on our house.  We've been very busy over the past weeks getting settled.

One major impediment to blogging is our lack of internet at home.  We tried to move our Verizon FiOS account from our apartment to the new house, but a technician wasn't available for the install until the end of October.  I was fine dealing with this, but Pamela decided she had enough.  She called around and found that Optimum / Cablevision could do an install today, so we are dropping FiOS.

In the coming weeks, you should see some updates on my status as newly found handy-man.  I bought power tools.  I'm building a small table.  Wish me luck!

Packed

Packing is the worst!

When you move into your first apartment, you might own a bed and a foreman grill.  You guilt your friends with pizza, but you leave out that you have an 8 floor walk-up.

Today, we packed and loaded up a U-Haul truck.  We paid for movers to help us load the truck and it only took 2 hours thanks to them, otherwise, Pamela and I would still be packing. There is something to be said for the quote "The things you own begin to own you" (Fight Club).

The apartment looks spacious without any of our stuff in it!

Here is everything we own, packed into a 14' U-Haul truck.

The Plant We Own Has Begun to Own Us

Update on the Drama
The good news is that the seller has agreed to give us a $750 credit for the dryer, which is the amount we had asked for.

The other news is either a non-event or completely borks the deal.

One of the things we love about our potential new neighborhood is the people.  We actually know several families and they have all told us how it's a neighborhood out of the '50s - everyone knows each other, is friendly, "howdy neighbor" and all that.

Early this morning we got an e-mail from one of the neighbors we know.  He pointed out to us that the drainage pipe in the house's back yard flows into a nearby stream after it crosses another persons back yard.  He said that we'd better make sure we have an easement in the deed and that this wasn't just some verbal agreement to allow us to drain water that way.

I asked my lawyer to check into this - nope, nothing in the deed.  Without this drainage system, we know the backyard would turn into a mud pit and we could imagine the basement would be much more susceptible to flooding.

The complicating factor is that the neighbor whose yard the pipe crosses has sold their house to a developer.  So, if an easement isn't in place, we'd have to negotiate with the developer who may or may not be willing to do so.

The seller works for our local municipality, and our lawyer says he could have filed with the city to allow this drainage connection, which would obviate the need for anything in the deed.  We are hoping this is the case.

If we show up to closing tomorrow and it turns out there was only a verbal agreement, we can't close.  And if we can't get the neighbor or the developer to agree to legally grant us access, we can't close - period.

So the chance of this deal entirely falling apart went from 1% to 25% very quickly.  Again, the seller works for the city and I think it is unlikely that he just built a pipe and never filed for permission with the city.

Lessons Learned

We knew of the drainage system and spoke with the seller about it extensively.  We did not ask him if the pipe was illegal.  We also failed to let our lawyer know about this drainage system.  He would have otherwise known to look for this in the deed.  It was a failure on our part and our agent's part to not connect the dots. 

Tomorrow
We are scheduled for our final walk-through tomorrow at 2pm, then closing at 3pm.  If all goes well, we'll be done signing paperwork at 5:30pm and moving in soon after.  If things don't go well, Pamela, Akina and I are spending at least one more night in a hotel and leaving all our belongings in the U-Haul for another day.

Packing

Akina and Mommy having fun while packing

Update - This is No Fun

It's Friday and we should be cruising into closing.  We've got to finish packing and be out of our apartment on Sunday.  One night in a hotel, then close on Monday.  Not fun, but not terrible.

Things began to fall apart today at around 3pm.

Dealing in Bad Faith
A few weeks ago, the house sustained significant flooding in the basement during Hurricane Irene.  The seller described this as a once in a decade type event, and we also confirmed with neighbors that flooding was unusual.  We were concerned though that the washer, dryer, water heater, and central air equipment might have been damaged.

We were told through the seller's attorney that the water heater was being replaced due to damage, and that the seller had paid for the basement to be pumped, cleaned, and treated so that mold wouldn't grow.

We inquired about the other equipment - we were afraid that it might be damaged or destroyed.  We requested that the seller have all the equipment inspected and pay for repairs if necessary.  The seller's attorney stonewalled us saying that it was their duty to deliver the items in "working order".  We want back and forth, but in the end, unfortunately that's the wording of the contract.

Flash forward to today - my attorney sends along the detailed final closing costs (more on that later) and it includes a $200 credit for the dryer.  He contacted the seller's team, and we find out for the first time that the dryer was destroyed.  We had inquired about the equipment and asked for them to be inspected, but we did not specifically ask what condition they were in.

Such a headache!

In the contract, the seller had included a rider which said if any of the equipment was no longer in working order, we'd get a $200 credit per item.  We included a rider subsequent to theirs, which said all equipment must be delivered in working order and that our rider supersedes theirs in all cases.  Therefore, the seller is obligated to deliver the equipment in working order.

So now we are headed to a standoff.

The dryer, new, cost >$1,000 (it really is a high end machine).  We think $750 is fair compensation, as it is a few years old and I found several listings on the internet for the machine ranging from $750 to $1,000.  The language in the contract is clear that the seller needs to deliver a working machine.  Since that is not an option, we're in a bit of a gray area.

The worst part is that we are heading into this standoff with no leverage.  The seller and his team know that we are out of our apartment and will be staying in a hotel.  The dollar difference is only $550, and it's not worth it for us to refuse to close and burn through the $550 in truck rental and hotel costs in a few days.

I think the seller and his team are clearly acting in bad faith - we inquired about the equipment weeks ago but we first hear about this just before closing.  Their $200 offer is ridiculous given the value of the machine and that we are legally in the right.

I can't say I feel that this is going to work out well for us.

Surprises in Closing Costs
We've discussed what closing costs would be for months with our mortgage broker as we knew we'd be tight on cash.  We found out today that we need to pony up several thousand dollars more on Monday, and there's nothing we can do about it.

The first increase in closing costs is expected - at closing you have to pay for the interest due on the loan for the remainder of the first month.  When we had scheduled closing to be in late September, that total was four or five days worth of interest.  Now that we are closing in the very beginning of October, we owe almost a whole months worth.  The good news, though, is that our first mortgage payment won't be until December.

The second area where we were surprised was in the property taxes due up front.  Property taxes can be collected by a municipality annually, semi-annually, or quarterly.  Our broker assumed it would be quarterly.  At closing, the buyer has to reimburse the seller for the property taxes paid that cover the days, weeks, and months after closing.

In our case, White Plains collects taxes semi-annually, not quarterly, so the two payments are much larger and cover longer periods of time.  We found out today that the seller recently made a payment covering many months ahead, so now we have to reimburse him for that.  There wasn't really a way to know this ahead of time, but the end result is a few thousand dollars due Monday that we weren't expecting.

On To Closing
Our attorney and Realtor are contacting the seller's team over the weekend to try and work something out about this dryer.  They are in the wrong, but we have zero leverage, so we'll see how this plays out.  It will be interesting to see the seller and his attorney face to face on Monday - I'd like to sign the final document then tell them both how I really feel.

Tips to Avoid Being Stuck in a Bind

• Communicate frequently with the seller.  We should have explicitly asked him if anything was no longer in working condition.
• Avoid being forced to close - if we had our apartment for 15 more days, we could threaten to delay or threaten to walk away if they don't settle
• Every time an important date changes, make sure you know how that affects all the closing costs
• Ask the seller or the municipality about taxation policies and due dates

A Break in the Clouds

Our landlord is allowing us to stay in our apartment until Sunday night!

We had requested an extension when we first found out the seller wouldn't close before our lease was up.  Our landlord said that they had already rented our unit to the next tenant, although they wouldn't be moving in that weekend.  We were told that if the preliminary inspection of our apartment went well (no damage that would take time to repair), then we could potentially stay.

Hence, the drywall project (w/Montage!)

Today we were told we could stay until Sunday night.  Now we only need to store our belongings and crash somewhere for one night.

So, here's a big Thank You to the Avalon White Plains - Time Well Spent!

Will Assaulting the Seller Help Closing?

More than two weeks ago, the seller (through his attorney) asked us if we'd be ready to close on Friday, September 23rd as scheduled.  We said "Yes".

We got the "clear to close" on Monday, September 19th, but then the seller said he needs at least 7 days notice to close.  So we said, "Fine, let's do Monday, September 26th".

We next were told the earliest the seller could close would be Monday, October 3rd.  Our rental lease ends on Sept 30th, so this is a problem.  Could we move our belongings into the garage ahead of close, we asked.

Well, we've waited five days and finally were told by the seller's attorney "Well, there might be space in the house for your belongings, but I will advise my client against allowing you to do so because of the liability".

Should we physically assault the seller and his attorney?  (Just a joke!  I bet a lawyer could make a big deal out of this).

Because the seller apparently doesn't care about screwing us over (by the way, he is moving in with his mother 15 miles away, so it isn't like he's waiting on his next home to be ready) we will be moving our belongings into a U-Haul truck on Friday night.  We'll then need to find a place to park it.  Pamela, Akina, and I will then find a dog friendly hotel or stay with a friend until Monday.  We'll go to closing on Monday, and depending on when we get the keys, move in Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Lessons Learned

• If you are up against a deadline (lease ending) leave yourself PLENTY of time.  Besides delays in getting the "clear to close" you could run into a slow moving seller.  Or, perhaps the seller is waiting on their own new house to be ready.
• Put strong penalties into your contract if closing gets delayed due to laziness.  Once you have received "clear to close' make sure there are monetary penalties in place if either side fails to move at a reasonable pace.
• Communicate often.  I would've thought when the seller asked if we'd be ready to close in 2 weeks, that'd be the signal to start the clean up and move out process.  Apparently not.

Addendum
I have a sneaking suspicion that the seller's attorney is behind all of this.  We'll get to closing and the seller will have no idea how much trouble he has caused us.  "Oh, I thought you wanted to close on October 4th.  I was ready to go a week ago!".  That's my hypothesis at the moment at least.

At Least Some Good News

We are still trying to resolve this whole issue about not having a place to move our stuff or stay, we did get some good news.

Our mortgage broker called to let us know we would be getting a lower rate!

We had locked in a 4.5% rate early in our process, although we decided to "sell" 0.25% to the broker who would then fund a large portion of our closing costs.

Our rate now moves down to 4.25% (and that includes the 0.25% we are still selling).

This is great news!  Using the Mortgage Rate Comparison tab, we will now be saving more than $100 per month for the next 30 years.

Eye on the Prize

Almost There!

Disaster Strikes

My first blog post noted that by starting a blog I was jinxing our process.

Today it hit - even though we have been talking about late September as a closing date for some time, today the seller informed us that he wouldn't be ready to move out / close until Monday, October 3rd.

As renters, this creates quite a problem.  Our options at this point:

• Asked our current landlord if we could stay longer - while they have rented our apartment out, that person isn't planning to occupy the apartment until October 10th
• Move our furniture into "our" garage - this may be possible with the seller's permission, although we'll have to then move it out of the garage after we close.  2 moves < 1 move.  We'd also have to find a place to stay for Friday night through Tuesday
• Move our furniture into a moving truck and rent it out until we can move in.  We'd also need to find a place to stay.

Since we can't stay in our apartment, there isn't much point in renting out another unit in our building for a month and pushing back closing.

Lessons learned:

• Communicate early and often with the seller and his lawyer / Realtor - make sure they understand the need to close "on time"
• Perhaps have your lawyer add a "late closing" penalty into the contract
• Try to schedule your closing date for the middle of the month / expect delays.  

On the last point, I was walking our dog this morning and I ran into a woman I know from our building.  She asked how the process was going and I gave her the update.  She said that they once had a similar issue - there were three houses involved and they all needed to close at about the same time.  Owner A was selling and moving into House X, Owner B was selling and moving into A's home, while Owner C was selling and moving into B's home.  Closing needed to be coordinated for the same day.  Needless to say, there were problems and the whole thing was a mess.

So, anyone have a place for Pamela, Akina, and I to live in for a few days?

Cleared to Close!

Those are the three words I've been waiting to hear for the past few weeks.

This means that the mortgage will get funded, and that in about seven days we should be signing a ton of paperwork then getting the keys to move in to our first home!