Thursday, February 9, 2006

I owe, I owe

The offer-counter offer phase is over. Our counter offer had been accepted and the provisions for repairs had been ironed out. We are on our way to being homeowners again!

 

The next move is to hire an inspector, get the mortgage funded, and shop for insurance. I called our bank this morning and a mortgage loan officer will be sitting with me tomorrow so he can explain the differences in the three mortgage programs they currently have. I have a list of local inspectors and mortgage insurance agents I can call tomorrow after the mortgage-funding meeting.  I am getting so good at this!  Maybe I can parlay these skills into a paying job. LOL. 

 

I was doing our taxes this morning and when I got the news, I abandoned the exciting world of hunting for deductions and embarked on a new and fascinating adventure in the homeownership realm. This might not sound exciting to a lot of people but it does not take a lot to excite me. Anything that requires using my brain cells tickles me pink. Throw in some numbers and negotiations in the mix and I am putty in your hands.

 

One thing I learned from all of this is: if you are buying a home, hire a buyer’s agent.  We did not do this with our first home. We found a home, talked to the seller’s agent who had the listing and negotiated through her. Only in retrospect that we realized that she was the seller’s advocate and so she did everything to get as much from us and she did not have to split her commission with anyone. Hiring a buyer’s agent does not cost you money because the seller has to compensate him/her for her services through the funding proceeds. The way it works is if the agent sold you her listing, she’ll get the whole 6% commission but she only gets 3% if you have your own agent.

 

Hubby and I ticked off the seller’s agent because we hired a buyer’s agent after we asked her to view the house. I made it clear to her that we are going to do that during the showing but it did not really matter. She was ticked because she has to split her commission so I was told, “That was not nice of you to hire a buyer’s agent after I went out of my way to show you the house.” Duh! She’s the seller’s agent she has to show the home to any interested buyer. All I said was, “We are entitled to be represented by someone who does not owe her loyalty to the seller. We just felt that we can negotiate better if we hire someone to look primarily after our best interests.” 

 

At first, we thought the negotiations would not go well because the seller’s agent might dissuade the seller from selling to us or play hardball with the home price. I guess that worry is over now and there are other dragons to slay.

 

Bye for now. I need some time to do a happy dance!!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gotta love the happy dance.  Enjoy it you earned it.  ~ Mike

Anonymous said...

cant wait to see pics CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Yay!  Doing the happy dance with you!

Anonymous said...

This is so exciting for you!!  Happy Dance is good!!   I love to hear you ticked off the lady...it's kind of funny, but I say bravo to you guys for going the smart route!!
You are going to be one busy lady ~~ MOVING!!   :)
Michele

Anonymous said...

best of luck.....roberta

Anonymous said...

HOORAY!! I'll do the happy dance with you. I love hearing about good stuff happening to wonderful people.
Hugs,
Barb- http://journals.aol.com/barbpinion/HEYLETSTALK
        http://journals.aol.com/barbpinion/THERESTOFTHESTORY

Anonymous said...

Oooo, have fun!  New stuff, especially homes can be exciting and provide weeks of things to do.  Hope you post pics!

Tammy
http://LifeLiveItOrMissOut.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oh how nice, it is so exciting the thought of a new home...wonderful way to start a new year....congrats...Sandi

Anonymous said...

How exciting...New home new start,   I'll join you in your happy dance....Ally

Anonymous said...

Great way to start a new year, a new home.  Hope it all goes smoothly and you will be very happy there.  Lol at the though of you and me fighting over Jack, he would steal a heart of stone!
http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/

Anonymous said...

Yes that is the best thing to share with everyone.  I have a Real Estate Lic and it is in active right now due to my  disability, but am hoping to get back out there soon.   I am sure their agent is doing the happy dance right now.  And with your own agent you get many perks that you may not have gotten.   Take care and enjoy your new home!  TerryAnn

Anonymous said...

Wow!  Excellent advice!  Thanks for the home buying tip.  And also that is great news about your son being in the play and the band.  What a proud mommy you must be!! : )  Hugs,
Lisa