I've been silent lately, but alot has happened. My last post was long, so I am going to keep this one short. After all the drama, we finally closed on both houses Monday 3/16. We moved into the new house the next day and have been here almost 2 weeks. We love it. Its huge - so much room, so much storage - everything we ever wanted. My kitchen is amazing and cooking in it is a dream. Jordyn is doing great and adapting to her new surroundings surprisingly well. Everything was going perfectly.
On Thursday I got laid off. 10 days after closing on my house, I lost my job. I am angry, hurt, pissed off, sad, and various other emotions I can't express. This is the 2nd time I have been laid off in 9 years at this company. The first time I felt it was personal. This time I know it was economical. In a team of 14 people, 4 of us were laid off. The company is in the shitter and the economy sucks. It doesn't sting any less, especially since I now have a larger mortgage to pay. My boss and other superiors knew about the move. How do you knowingly make the decision to lay someone off who just bought a new house. Never mind in 9 years I never had a less than perfect review, not a glitch on my HR file. I am furious.
The good news is I get a pretty good severance since I have been there so long. I can take some time to decide what I want to do and update my resume. I am just not looking forward to looking for a new job with the way things are right now. I don't want that stress, and don't want to worry about whether we will be able to afford our new house.
Oh and Jordyn had a stomach bug all week. Nothing like a layoff and some vomit to make you feel good about yourself.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Angry, Angry, Angry. Did I mention I was Angry?
Remember my previous screaming post from Monday? It's still going on. I am still screaming. This has been such a horrible week and the upcoming weekend is not providing much relief. I am supposed to be packing and getting excited about moving into my new beautiful house. Instead I am stressed out, trying to pack and hoping that we will finally close on our current house so we can close on the new one. I am so angry I can't even see straight and hope that typing this will help blow off some steam and make me feel better. I doubt it, but its worth a shot. Buckle up - its going to be a long, bumpy ride.
Everything was going perfectly. We put our house on the market at the end of January and after 2 offers in a week, we had a contract. We found our dream house shortly after and put an offer on it. We found out we qualified for a VA loan which was going to save us tons of money and fees so we were excited to have some cash for our savings to finally start Jordyn's college fund. Inspections were done, utilities switched over, address change with the post office - everything you'd do for a move. Then last Wednesday (the 4th) we got a call from an appraiser who needed to do the appraisal on our home for the new buyers. I was surprised they hadn't done it yet since we were supposed to close the coming Tuesday (the 10th.) The appraiser came and went and that was it. That Thursday I got a call from my realtor that our house didn't appraise for the sales price. We were shocked because we did a good comparative analysis of the neighborhood to get our sales price. The buyers did the same and obviously thought it was a fair price because they made an offer and we had a contract. Both realtors called the buyer's loan officer to request a review and they submitted both of their comps for backup. That evening the buyers came by to do their final walk through of the house and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
On Friday, our realtor called and said the appraiser felt he used good comps and rejected the re-evaluation of the appraisal. Oh, I forgot to mention he was off by $14,000, and he used the wrong sales price as the base value!! Clearly, there was something wrong. Then the buyers decided that the house was only worth what the appraiser said it was worth and unless we lowered our price, they wanted out. I could not believe this was happening. We were a few days away from closing and it seemed like it was all up in the air. First we thought, screw them. We'll get our own appraisal and put the house back on the market. It sold in 7 days last time so we were sure it would sell again. Our realtor spent the weekend getting 3rd party opinions and valuations of our home. What we found out is that no matter what someone else said, our home was now flagged in the system with the value the appraiser gave it, and would stay like that for 90 days. It was basically up to the appraiser and his report was complete. Our realtor then got in touch with the buyer's loan officer - this was Sunday night. They had a mutual friend so they were able to discuss everything. He agreed that the appraisal was way off based on the comps we had, and so did his manager. They were going to try and override the appraiser and up the value on the home themselves. We went to bed feeling hopeful.
Monday morning came and we found out that the bank had no luck - they could not override the appraiser's decision and they asked him one more time to reconsider. Again, he said no. This put us in a tough spot. We had 2 options - lower the price, eat into our profit and sell the house. Or option 2, put it back on the market, get our own appraisal, have 2 mortgages, run the risk of the existing appraisal overriding anything new and coming across the same problem 3 months from now. After taking all the emotion out of it, we decided to take the hit and get rid of the house. In this market, at least we were still making a profit. So we amended the contract, extended a few days and planned for a later in the week close.
The next day (Tuesday), I got a note from the title company of our new house with our settlement statement - what we had to bring to closing on the new house. She called me to discuss further and we set up the closing for Thursday (12th) as planned. Then she asked when we were closing on our current home. I told her it was up in the air - briefly explained there were some issues but they were being worked on. She became very quiet and then told me we needed the settlement statement from our sale in order to purchase the new home. Another roadblock we didn't expect. I called our loan officer and she said they only approved us for a loan based on our sale - they didn't approve it based on 2 mortgages. She said they could do it but it would have to go through underwriting again and could hold it up another week. We knew our house close was in process so we said forget it, and would let them know when our close was scheduled so we could come in to sign the ppwk on the new house. Crisis averted.
Wednesday I got a call from my realtor. As the buyer's loan was going through underwriting with the new price, something was flagged so they had to pull it. They said it was being worked on and would have to go back through underwriting and legal. Still looked OK for Thursday close. Thursday rolls around with no new. Their docs were still with the bank and the title company was just waiting to receive them to prepare the close. We agreed to do a 9am close today (Friday) and a 4pm close on our new home. Late in the day the title company still had not received the docs. We moved from 9am to 2pm. We'd do them back to back which was no problem - theit bank wires the money immediately so their loan would be legit and free us up to buy our home.
This morning I got a phone call that the title company still hadn't received the docs. The title company and both realtors left messages and emails for the loan officer and they never heard back. At almost noon I started to feel like it wasn't going to happen. The buyer went to the bank to hunt down the loan officer to find out wtf was going on, because they were in limbo too. He finally responded that the docs had not yet been sent to the title company and he didn't know what the hold up was, but was still hopeful we could do it today. I wasn't. This was starting to get old. And I had an appointment set up for tomorrow to have the grout on our tile floors sealed. Plus the fridge was supposed to be delivered Monday morning. We were going to spend the weekend bringing little things over and finish packing. I started to feel like my weekend was going to be filled with more stress. Boy was I ever right.
By 4pm there was no news. The title company still hadn't received the docs and we were still in a holding pattern. I started to fear that there was something wrong with their loan, but we confirmed with the bank everything was fine - it was just through the final underwriting and legal approvals. So now, we wait and hope that Monday morning rolls around and we get a call to come in and close on this house. The new house is waiting for us, all our docs are ready to be signed and keys waiting. The new glitch is that N has to work Monday - he can't even take off or call in sick because he is training a rookie. So we have no idea how he is going to be able to sign any of this paperwork. More to worry about.
The good news is that the sales person at the builder feels so bad for us and asked if there was anything she could do. I asked if I can have their builder key to let the guy in to still do my floors and she said yes, and left a key for me to pick up in the morning. So tomorrow morning our floors will be done. We had to call Sears to change the delivery date of the fridge from Monday to Tuesday, and the movers are still scheduled for Tuesday.
If we don't close on our current house on Monday I am seriously going to lose it. I really don't know how much more of this I can take. I just want to be in my new, beautiful house and I can't even get excited about it.
Well, I told you it was going to be a bumpy ride. And as predicted I don't feel any better. In fact, I am still angry. Angry about all of it. The stupid appraiser who didn't take any of our protest or background information into consideration. Angry that the buyer's are getting a freaking steal on this house. Angry at losing $14k for Jordyn's college fund. Angry that I can't relax and be excited about my new house. Angry that I can't sleep and this stress is making me ill - I woke up with a fever yesterday. And really angry at that damn appraiser for starting this whole mess. Did I mention I was angry at the appraiser??
I need a massage. And a drink. And I just need this to all be over.
Everything was going perfectly. We put our house on the market at the end of January and after 2 offers in a week, we had a contract. We found our dream house shortly after and put an offer on it. We found out we qualified for a VA loan which was going to save us tons of money and fees so we were excited to have some cash for our savings to finally start Jordyn's college fund. Inspections were done, utilities switched over, address change with the post office - everything you'd do for a move. Then last Wednesday (the 4th) we got a call from an appraiser who needed to do the appraisal on our home for the new buyers. I was surprised they hadn't done it yet since we were supposed to close the coming Tuesday (the 10th.) The appraiser came and went and that was it. That Thursday I got a call from my realtor that our house didn't appraise for the sales price. We were shocked because we did a good comparative analysis of the neighborhood to get our sales price. The buyers did the same and obviously thought it was a fair price because they made an offer and we had a contract. Both realtors called the buyer's loan officer to request a review and they submitted both of their comps for backup. That evening the buyers came by to do their final walk through of the house and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
On Friday, our realtor called and said the appraiser felt he used good comps and rejected the re-evaluation of the appraisal. Oh, I forgot to mention he was off by $14,000, and he used the wrong sales price as the base value!! Clearly, there was something wrong. Then the buyers decided that the house was only worth what the appraiser said it was worth and unless we lowered our price, they wanted out. I could not believe this was happening. We were a few days away from closing and it seemed like it was all up in the air. First we thought, screw them. We'll get our own appraisal and put the house back on the market. It sold in 7 days last time so we were sure it would sell again. Our realtor spent the weekend getting 3rd party opinions and valuations of our home. What we found out is that no matter what someone else said, our home was now flagged in the system with the value the appraiser gave it, and would stay like that for 90 days. It was basically up to the appraiser and his report was complete. Our realtor then got in touch with the buyer's loan officer - this was Sunday night. They had a mutual friend so they were able to discuss everything. He agreed that the appraisal was way off based on the comps we had, and so did his manager. They were going to try and override the appraiser and up the value on the home themselves. We went to bed feeling hopeful.
Monday morning came and we found out that the bank had no luck - they could not override the appraiser's decision and they asked him one more time to reconsider. Again, he said no. This put us in a tough spot. We had 2 options - lower the price, eat into our profit and sell the house. Or option 2, put it back on the market, get our own appraisal, have 2 mortgages, run the risk of the existing appraisal overriding anything new and coming across the same problem 3 months from now. After taking all the emotion out of it, we decided to take the hit and get rid of the house. In this market, at least we were still making a profit. So we amended the contract, extended a few days and planned for a later in the week close.
The next day (Tuesday), I got a note from the title company of our new house with our settlement statement - what we had to bring to closing on the new house. She called me to discuss further and we set up the closing for Thursday (12th) as planned. Then she asked when we were closing on our current home. I told her it was up in the air - briefly explained there were some issues but they were being worked on. She became very quiet and then told me we needed the settlement statement from our sale in order to purchase the new home. Another roadblock we didn't expect. I called our loan officer and she said they only approved us for a loan based on our sale - they didn't approve it based on 2 mortgages. She said they could do it but it would have to go through underwriting again and could hold it up another week. We knew our house close was in process so we said forget it, and would let them know when our close was scheduled so we could come in to sign the ppwk on the new house. Crisis averted.
Wednesday I got a call from my realtor. As the buyer's loan was going through underwriting with the new price, something was flagged so they had to pull it. They said it was being worked on and would have to go back through underwriting and legal. Still looked OK for Thursday close. Thursday rolls around with no new. Their docs were still with the bank and the title company was just waiting to receive them to prepare the close. We agreed to do a 9am close today (Friday) and a 4pm close on our new home. Late in the day the title company still had not received the docs. We moved from 9am to 2pm. We'd do them back to back which was no problem - theit bank wires the money immediately so their loan would be legit and free us up to buy our home.
This morning I got a phone call that the title company still hadn't received the docs. The title company and both realtors left messages and emails for the loan officer and they never heard back. At almost noon I started to feel like it wasn't going to happen. The buyer went to the bank to hunt down the loan officer to find out wtf was going on, because they were in limbo too. He finally responded that the docs had not yet been sent to the title company and he didn't know what the hold up was, but was still hopeful we could do it today. I wasn't. This was starting to get old. And I had an appointment set up for tomorrow to have the grout on our tile floors sealed. Plus the fridge was supposed to be delivered Monday morning. We were going to spend the weekend bringing little things over and finish packing. I started to feel like my weekend was going to be filled with more stress. Boy was I ever right.
By 4pm there was no news. The title company still hadn't received the docs and we were still in a holding pattern. I started to fear that there was something wrong with their loan, but we confirmed with the bank everything was fine - it was just through the final underwriting and legal approvals. So now, we wait and hope that Monday morning rolls around and we get a call to come in and close on this house. The new house is waiting for us, all our docs are ready to be signed and keys waiting. The new glitch is that N has to work Monday - he can't even take off or call in sick because he is training a rookie. So we have no idea how he is going to be able to sign any of this paperwork. More to worry about.
The good news is that the sales person at the builder feels so bad for us and asked if there was anything she could do. I asked if I can have their builder key to let the guy in to still do my floors and she said yes, and left a key for me to pick up in the morning. So tomorrow morning our floors will be done. We had to call Sears to change the delivery date of the fridge from Monday to Tuesday, and the movers are still scheduled for Tuesday.
If we don't close on our current house on Monday I am seriously going to lose it. I really don't know how much more of this I can take. I just want to be in my new, beautiful house and I can't even get excited about it.
Well, I told you it was going to be a bumpy ride. And as predicted I don't feel any better. In fact, I am still angry. Angry about all of it. The stupid appraiser who didn't take any of our protest or background information into consideration. Angry that the buyer's are getting a freaking steal on this house. Angry at losing $14k for Jordyn's college fund. Angry that I can't relax and be excited about my new house. Angry that I can't sleep and this stress is making me ill - I woke up with a fever yesterday. And really angry at that damn appraiser for starting this whole mess. Did I mention I was angry at the appraiser??
I need a massage. And a drink. And I just need this to all be over.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Frustrated
I want to scream. I NEED to scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
OK I feel better. Not really.
OK I feel better. Not really.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sassy girl
Jordyn has been super fun lately. Smiling, laughing and just being cute. Here is a recent pic of her sitting out in the sun enjoying an afternoon snack. Don't you want to bite her?
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