Still waiting for the refund from the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit sent in the 3rd week of April. We’re approaching week 8.
How can I check the status of my amended return?
You will need to contact our assistance line at (800) 829-1040 to receive information on the processing of your amended return. Amended/corrected returns are processed as quickly as possible. However, it could take 8 to 12 weeks to process an amended return.
Mija called at 10AM on Sunday to let us know the details of the counter offer:
Full list price ($349,950)
Seller pays $8,000 in closing costs, prepaids and reserves
Seller to provide washer/dryer of buyer’s choice from Sears
King County Sewer Capacity Charge buyer’s responsibility
Special financing through the builder’s lender
We had expected the full list price and a decrease in the closing costs, but weren’t sure about the details of the special financing. We gave the new lender a call and were taken aback at the terms being offered: 4.0% 30-year fixed, no loan origination fee, no discount fee and no escrow or title fees. This would bring down our monthly payment nearly $140 per month and would bring closing costs to around $5,700. Our FHA funding fee (also referred to as Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium) would be around $5,900 and would be financed into the loan.
However, due to the difference between the $8,000 offered by the seller and the $5,700 in closing costs, it got us thinking about trying to pay the UFMIP in cash at closing, rather than financing it into the loan. This would result in another positive effect of $24 per month in our payment. We’d pretty much decided on paying the additional $3,500 to get rid of the UFMIP at closing when we decided to ask Mija her thoughts on countering and asking for this to be paid by the seller. She told us that the seller’s agent had let her know that the builder’s lender was willing to pay in closing costs in excess of $8,000 and called to confirm; the seller would cover it!
With one question, we just made $3,500! We added the additional wording to the bottom of the offer and faxed it off with our signatures, we were in mutual acceptance!
We returned to Mija’s office in order to make an offer, taking a brief tour of the surrounding neighborhood before being on our way. Mija had already drafted up the papers by the time we arrived and she began to walk us through the multitude of documents we were going to be signing.
We called Hans to give him a heads up (and found out that Mija had already called him) and sent him the MLS number so he could draw up a couple of scenarios. He quickly returned our call and provided us good news and a suggestion to shoot for the seller to pay all closing costs, prepaids and reserves. The house was listed at $349,950, which we had learned was $30,000 less than its original listing price. We decided to make a very aggressive offer, figuring we had some time to counter back and forth if necessary since the house had been on the market for about 4 months.
The Offer
$339,950
Seller pays $13,350 in closing costs, prepaids and reserves
Seller pays $2,000 for a washer and dryer
Seller pays King County Sewer Capacity Charge
Expiration: March 15, 2009 @ 12:00PM
We were pretty sure that we were going to receive a counter offer, but figured “why not?” We left Windermere and headed back home, full of excitement and anticipation for the next steps.
We arrived at the first place on our list on our second Saturday looking, a townhome close to 107th and Aurora Ave in North Seattle. A couple things jumped out at us when we arrived: there were 2 head-in gravel parking spots near the front entrance rather than street parking and the townhome was detached, no shared walls. We’d looked at the pictures online and hadn’t really been impressed; in fact, we almost didn’t add this place to our list because the listing was written horribly and the pictures weren’t much better.
However, the basic stats were very interesting: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, 1740 square feet. This was by far the largest place we’d seen to date. We walked in the front door and opened the access door to the garage; the 2-car garage. Not only was this place detached, but it also had a 2-car garage! We checked out the downstairs bedroom with its accompanying full bathroom.
Making our way upstairs, we were surprised by the great size of the living room and kitchen. There was an island in the kitchen, dark granite, cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances. A cut-out reading nook expanded the feel of the room and made it feel homey. The gas fireplace and massive pantry were two other big pluses. Without even seeing the top floor, we began to think we’d found “the one”.
When we made it to the floor with the master bedroom, we noticed more storage space and a large laundry room with hookups for side-by-side washer/dryer. The 2nd bedroom was a good size and had its requisite bathroom attached as well. The master bedroom fed into the 5-piece master bathroom. Double sinks, a separate shower and tub and a toilet that was separated by a door. The walk-in closet was right off the bathroom and a skylight shown in from above. It became more and more clear that we wanted this place. We made another sweep of the house, taking everything in, trying to find things we didn’t like about it. There was no fenced yard, and no patio/balcony for a BBQ. Hardly a massive compromise. Could this be it?
We looked at each other and knew we wanted to make an offer.
Time to go looking! We’d been looking online for quite a while, probably seen 90+ houses in our price range with our set of features we’d like to have, but it was time to go look in person. Mija told us that she would setup a half-dozen or so places to look at, giving us the address of the first place for us to meet.
We arrived on Stone Ave about 10 minutes before 10AM on Saturday. Once Mija arrived we took a look inside the first place. It was a pretty standard new build townhome with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, granite counter tops, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances. It was small though, measuring 1,140 square feet. We moved onto the next one.
After another 2 or 3 places, we quickly realized that most townhomes came in the same shape and style with little variation. We found one potential winner on Aurora and 85th that was tucked back away from the busy roads. We liked the location, the finishes and the overall layout. However, it had a couple quirks that could turn into annoyances down the road: 1) a garage courtyard that required our agent to take an 8 point turn to get back out of and 2) no accessible street parking without going up and around the block.
We arrived back at the first place we viewed and parted ways with Mija. It was our plan to take a look online and hit a few places with open houses on Sunday, though Keri ended up sick with the stomach flu. It became clear to us that it may take a while to find the right place given that small modification (e.g. needs vs. wants) may make the difference between a ho-hum place and “the one”.
We decided to take a pro-active approach and identify some potential places to look at the following weekend and pass along the information to Mija. We were set to go look next Saturday.
The all-critical financial piece. Now, typically, this wouldn’t make we nervous. I mean, I know I have a fairly high debt ratio due to the copious amount of student loans I’ve incurred, but beyond that my credit is quite good. However, with the recent shake up in the credit markets and the continued downturn of the financial markets and the economy in general, uncertainty began to creep in.
We’d been reassured by Mija as well as a couple friends that we should be good to go. We arrived at Cobalt Mortgage on Eastlake early and ran into Hans Illingworth in the elevator lobby. What transpired shortly after was a 90 minute meeting diving into the details around interest rates, down payments, FHA vs. conventional, mortgage insurance, tax effects (!) and credit profiles. It was, in short, fantastic.
Hans drafted a starting scenario for us that ended up being above where our top-end was based on our prior estimates and highlighted the positive tax benefit that is gained by itemizing the various housing items (interest, property tax, insurance). With an adjustment to your W4, this translates into real money on a monthly basis, offsetting a portion of your total payment.
As we were getting toward the end of the meeting he made sure to clarify:
People tend to get hung up on the approval part. To be clear: you’re approved.
We’ve now made it over the first hurdle and have a price range that can be passed back to Mija. We contacted her via e-mail when we got home and asked if we could start looking this weekend. Our first viewing is going to be at 10am on Saturday!
We knew we were going to get a house, but tonight made it real. At just about 25 years old, we know that we are going to have a house within the next 3 months. So exciting!
Today, we officially started the process of buying our first home. Through the recommendation of one of my coworkers, we met with Mija Hamilton of Windermere Ballard as a prospective buyer’s agent. The short version: she was fantastic!
Mija met with us for about an hour, walking through the various steps of buying a home and what we can expect as we step through from beginning to end. She gave us a lot of great information and asked us basic questions about what we were looking for, where, etc.
As we stepped through the process, she noted that the first step is the financial step; we needed to become pre-approved. By obtaining a pre-approval up front, we would get an idea of where our needs and wants intersected our means. She had a couple of potential lenders that she suggested we meet with; both of which she had dealt with in the past.
We left the meeting feeling more confident in our understanding of the process and setting a goal to get through our pre-approval by the end of the week. On Tuesday, we met with Hans.