Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Set Backs and Hydrogen Tanks

When we put our offer in on the short-sale house, we knew it could take a long time for the bank to approve our offer (even though our offer was for the asking price in full), so we took some extra precautions. We wrote into the contract that if April 17th comes and we still had not heard acceptance from the bank, then the contract could be void (unless otherwise extended by us). Needless to say, April 17th came and went, with no word from the bank. We terminated the contract.

Not only could we not take the waiting any longer, we really want a place of our own around the time of the wedding (June 10th... 43 days)! So we started the hunt again. Just as discouragement was about to set in after raising our budget and still not finding what we wanted, we found something.

A two bedroom one bath (quite the difference compaired to the 5 bed 3 bath short-sale) with a partially finished basement, covered porch and big backyard (1/3 an acre in the city)! There's even a doggie door for the girls, and Rob too if he wants to go outside, which he will. The location, which was our favorite part about the short sale, is just as good, even better! This new property is right across the street from the Monon paved trail and actually only two blocks from the short-sale. Still within walking distance from Broadripple Ave.

The timing was great. Had we not offered and waited on the short-sale to fall through, I bet we would've gotten discouraged and either a) settled for something we didnt really love or b) stretched our budget to a stressful point. All that waiting allowed this home to come onto the market (just listed April 6th)! They say everything happens for a reason, right?!

You can tell that the sellers love the property by how well it has been taken care of. They remodeled every room, and did a great job on the kitchen and the bath. They had plans of finishing the basement and putting up a garage when they got sidetracked with a bouncing baby boy. Then came another- but without the space to put him or her, they decided to move. This means we have the opportunity to earn some equity by finishing the basement with an extra bath and bed, and by putting up that garage. Also far less stress as we don't have to worry about things that have to be done, only things we want to do (unlike the short-sale).

One last thing- it's 6k less than the short sale, and there's a seller to cover the closing costs. We sent our paperwork in today and accepted their counter offer. Looks like we'll be moving mid June.

MINT: Everything happens for a reason!