As I was saying in Part 1, there have been a few snags in obtaining the house of my dreams.
First, the house needs some work. When “L” and I actually drove to the home to look at it, there was a man and a woman already in the garage of the house! We were able to determine later on that the garage door is broken which allows people to roam freely through the house. There was also no lock box on the door as is common with homes that are for sale. Basically, anyone could throw a party in there.
The home is being sold as is. With that being said: There are also no appliances in the home. Now, I don't know if they were stolen or if the previous owners just took them with them. Either way, I would need to buy appliances. The backyard needs some work. Basically a lot of shrubbery needs to be cut and maybe even a few trees since the view to the lake is blocked. Also, there are some things still in the house from the owners (some old mattresses, hair products, etc). It needs a little TLC, but not that much. The home is only 4 years old, so it's still considered a new house. I would probably pull up some of the carpets and redo a few things. All in all, those are all things I can live with, but that's not where the biggest challenge has been. It's a great deal considering the price of the home.
When we finally finished looking at the house, after the people who WERE NOT supposed to be there left (SMDH), “L” tried to call the listing agent for the home while we were still on the property. He called him THREE TIMES and he never picked up the phone. The calls went straight to voicemail. We figured maybe they were on vacation due to the Labor Day holiday. “L” left a message and said he would call me when he heard something.
After the Labor day weekend passed, we were expecting to hear something. I went to look at the house on September 4th.
Fast forward two weeks later. After numerous calls by “L”, my sister and my best friend to the listing agent (Yeah. Calling the listing agent when you already have a realtor is against the rules, but I wanted that house), we still had heard nothing. When I got back to GA after the funeral, I decided I was going to keep looking for homes. “L” thought maybe the home was already under contract since no one had called back, and that the listing agent was just really unprofessional in calling back to let us know.
So, the the weekend of September 17th “L” and I go back out to look at houses. We saw a few nice homes, but nothing that really stood out to me. I decided that I wanted to go out and look at the home I loved again. It was still listed online as being available for sale. When I go back in, I fall in love with the home all over again, but even more so this time. When we looked the first time, those people were in the home looking at it as well, so it caused a lot of confusion and I couldn't really get a good look at things. When I looked this second time, it confirmed that I really would like a chance at this house
"L" decided that we should just fax and offer in to the listing agent to see what they say. "L" said that by law, if you fax an offer in, the Realtor must show the offer to the bank. So, "L" wrote up an offer, I signed it and then he faxed it over to them that Monday (which was September 20th). The next day, "L" sends me a text message saying he's received my fax (the offer with my signature on it), and says that he has a meeting near the office of the listing agent for the house. He said he would just drive by there to see what happens. So, "L" goes by and there is an actual office, but no one is there. He leaves his name on the door and keeps it moving. The next day, "L" is sending me a text message about something else, and says that he will call me later. However, about 20 minutes later he calls me and says that the realty company for the home I love has actually called him back!
Apparently, the listing agent for THAT particular house is out of town and can't be reached. I was wondering if maybe he was in jail, but whatever! The realty company DID confirm that the home was still available, they had my offer and that there were no other offers on the home. I'm assuming that's because no one could get in contact with them. They said the listing agent should be back this weekend (that just passed) and would let "L" know.
I was beyond happy. I can't really see why they would reject the offer, but you never know. I offered full listing price and just asked that the closing costs be paid. I can pay the closing costs myself, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask since I'm not trying to give them a low ball offer.
So, I have my fingers crossed right now that things go well and they accept my offer. I went through this earlier this year with another home. I know how things can change, so I'm just making sure that whatever happens with this house is going to be for the best.
I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck!
