HPAP Inspection

Last week I met my agent and the HPAP inspector at 'House S' he went over all the details that he had regarding the home purchase and then we did a walk through.
He pointed out minor and major things that I had never noticed, we talked as we walked through about all the potential things that I would like to do to the property. He told me which would be possible and those that would not.
I was hoping to turn the basement into an apartment but he told me there was not enough head room. I said that I wanted to gut both bathrooms and kitchen, I was told that would be a massive chunk into my allotted amount, and that I should settle for one bathroom makeover at this time.

Yesterday I received his write up via mail with all of the work that we discussed and his estimated cost....good grief. It came out over budget but there are things in there that I believe I can cut the cost of by handling them myself. Other than the masonry work and the gutting of the kitchen and bathroom, I'm quite confident that I can handle other issues myself, but I intended to call him to find out more information.
I really thought that the HPAP program would be easier than NACA (www.NACA.org) but it is turning out to be just as challenging in other ways.

I have not been back in contact with 'House C' but upon last check she hadn't received any offers. I know that house doesn't need as much work as 'House S' but i never realized this one needed as much as it did until the inspector came through.

The seller has accepted my offer so once again I am waiting for the bank (for real this time).

My House Requirements

I'm looking for a 3bed 2+ bath single family or town home, with a basement, front and back yard and a porch. Something with an old Victorian or Colonial style look; particularly in an area of Washington DC that has growth potential.

I have been advised, by commercial/real estate agents, that the Trinidad/Ivy City and Anacostia areas of DC are perfect for that type of growth. A number of new housing projects and business projects are taking place in those areas so that's where my focus is. Hopefully in 5yrs my home would have gain a great deal of usable equity.

Because my requirements are so very specific and my financing is so limited I am often missing out on the deals that I want. As much as I want this to be as smooth as Property Virgins or House Hunters, it is not really going that way; but I'm not giving up, I will have my home by December 16th 2011 right on time for graduation.

More houses

I must be the most indecisive person ever!! I saw an AMAZING home today, fully finished brand new appliances the works it was truly amazing....if only it had just a little more room and was in a better neighborhood.
On to the next one. Looked at a home comparable to my back up house which I will call House 'C' and the new one house 'S'. Both homes are short sale homes, both have all the space I am looking for, inside and out.
The problem with house 'C' is that the seller has not accepted my contract as is and is yet to submit it to the bank, whom after 60days may counter. If there counter is reasonable I'll take it!
The problem with house 'S' is that it has some damp issues in the basement which are not typical but because we just had rainfall in Biblical proportions it has caused some damage. AND the home next door is listed significantly higher for the neighborhood and is not a short sale.

Here is the plan, my agent is going to pull the comps (comparable sales) in the neighborhood of house 'S', then we will have an inspector check it out, and then I will make an offer or not. This should take less than a week at that point I can decide whether or not I even want to contact house ' C' again. The work needed on house 'S' cannot exceed $30k as that is all I have available to use under the 203k loan. I didn't feel that the home needed that much work but, I'm no inspector and have no idea what I am looking for.

My agent should get me the comps by tonight and send an email to the inspector so we can move quickly. pray for me.

HGTV's House Hunters contacted me

Dear Kadija,

Thank you for your interest in HGTV’s House Hunters! I would love to hear about you and your upcoming move!

Where do you currently stand in the house hunting process? Just starting out? Narrowed it down to a few? Honed in on “the one?”

House Hunters does not assist in the home buying, selling or search process. We simply document the story of you on the search for your future home.

As far as actual timeframe see below:

We are currently looking for homebuyers who are closing on a property within the next 1 to 2 months. This includes buyers who are actively bidding on a home or newly under contract.

Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Casting Producer
HOUSE HUNTERS

to quote the great John Mcenroe "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS"

Just when I thought everything was coming up roses, the seller of my latest venture and I quote "has been advised by her attorney not to accept my contact because of an addendum in the short sale contract"

The addendum basically states that the seller will not accept any other offers/contracts within a 60 day period of my contract, making mine the exclusive contract. In which time I can complete my inspections etc. It also means that I can not bid on any other places during those 60days.
As the buyer I think this is cool, as the seller she wants as many offers to choose from as possible. However within the month that her house has been listed I am the only person who has bid on it....go figure.

I have decided to take a week to contemplate whether or not I want to remove the addendum. When purchasing his place, my boyfriend had the same clause in his contact and the sellers were more than willing to wait. I don't think I'll be backing down on this one and if it means I loose the home then it just wasn't meant to be.

And now we wait....

This morning I went to view the very last of the houses in the price range and zip code that is on the market currently. It was cute but not what I'm looking for; I asked my agent what happens next for me and here is the breakdown:

1) My offer, which has been accepted by the seller is sent to the bank
2) The bank does their own research based on home sale prices in the area
a) the bank can then accept!
b) or counter offer
3) If the accept, I then move forward with a home inspection and bring HPAP back into the loop
4) I sign the final contact and the house is mine!!

Now, the time between step 1 &2 could take two months or more; and what happens when HPAP comes back into the loop I have no idea, I just pray that it all happens by late October or early November, so that I can have my Graduation/Housewarming party in December.