Last Friday was the big day - Kory and I closed on our first home! We are so happy, relieved, and nervous, all at once! Throughout the process of trying to buy this specific house we have learned to postpone our enthusiasm because of all the unexpected twists and turns that we encountered. Kory and I even discussed this on our way to Pittsburgh Friday morning.
S: I wonder if there will be any issues with closing...
K: Probably. There have been problems with everything else.
S: But what else could possibly go wrong?
K: [K gives S the, "You've got to be kidding me!" look.]
Our experience would have surely had high ratings on HGTV's reality shows...
When we got to the house for our final walk through, we snapped a few pictures of the lovely "SOLD" sign and headed to the backyard to map out the fence that we had discussed for weeks - inspired, of course, by Samantha. Is it possible to 'Buyer's Remorse' to set in before you actually buy the house? If so, it did. The steepness of the slope in the backyard was much greater than I had remembered, while the size of the yard was smaller. We didn't have to speak. Somehow we just knew what the other was thinking. Kory, the sweet guy that he is, immediately came to my rescue, putting his own concerns aside, to remind me that it would be okay. Just after we recovered from the "shock" of revisiting the backyard, our real estate agent, Inga, arrived to guide us through our final tour of the house to make sure it was in the condition we expected.
Walking through the house, we turned on every light, tested each appliance, flushed both toilets, and even discovered little details about the house that we'd overlooked previously. Everything in the upstairs looked as we'd remembered it and in some cases better. It was the basement that contained the shocker. Due to some required structural repairs that the seller had to make in order for anyone to get a mortgage for the property, there were massive holes in the drywall. We expected the house to "appear" exactly as it was when we saw it before, prior to the repairs being made. I immediately felt nauseous. Kory and Inga expressed their surprise and as we headed to the car to make our way to the real estate building where the closing would be facilitated, how to proceed with this new knowledge was the topic of conversation. Inga encouraged us to ask for a credit to fix the walls. With all the trouble we have had buying this house, I couldn't help but think, "This is it! ...It's over!... Kory flew here for nothing...." etc. etc.
As we drove to Howard Hanna's corporate office, Inga received a call from the underwriter of the loan. The seller and/or seller's agent had tried to pass off a real estate license number as an electrician's license number when the loan company asked for further details around who did some the required electrical work. I had no idea what this meant for our ability to get a mortgage for this house. I was surprised at the amount of information and detail that the mortgage company required for this type of loan, and at the same time, so relieved that they were the ones questioning the sellers and we didn't have to.
When we arrived at the office, I was ready for a fight. I felt as though we were being played for complete fools. It finally started to feel as though they were taking advantage of the fact that we are first time home buyers and do not know the "rules of negotiation" or more importantly, the laws around real estate. So when we bumped into the seller's agent and he met our concern about the basement walls with, "Enough is enough. We have done more than our part!" it was all I could do to keep myself from tackling the guy and taking out all of my pent of stress and frustration on his face! I did give him a little preview of what I was feeling... luckily Kory and I had agreed that he would handle all of the remaining negotiations or discussions.
With the news that they were still trying to find a LICENCED electrician to take a look at the electrical work and confirm that it was done and done well, Inga, Kory, and I headed across the street to Max&Erma's for a bite to eat and a drink. During our outing, the seller's agent called and Kory was able to negotiate a little bit of a credit for the basement walls - still far less than what it will cost. When we finally got the call that they found an electrician to examine the fixes, we headed back to the office.
To our surprise, the only body in the room we'd reserved was the seller's agent - the jerk we'd met in the parking lot. When we asked where the seller was, the agent said he wouldn't be coming. "He is on the golf course today and doesn't want to be bother." Kory and I agreed that this was terribly disappointing. We were so curious to see what this man that put us through hell looked like! But if I were him, I would be embarrassed to come to the closing with the way he did business.
The tensions were high. The seller's agent (Phil Anthony) was terrible. He was quite rude and often condescending. He showed moments of potential when he almost resembled a compassionate human being, but he was mostly unbearable to interact with. He admitted that the seller was irrational and very cheap. I found this comment particularly amusing because of all the emails Inga forwarded us where he stated, "My seller is very rational!"
Even though the electrician hadn't reported back, we were allowed to start signing the massive stacks of legally binding documentation. A legal intern highlighted each page and paused to answer questions when we had them. Finally, the electrician had some results. He typed them up and faxed them in on letterhead from the real estate agency. This would not work. After several failed attempts to fax in the correct information, and many hours, Phil Anthony called the electrician to talk him through the process of sending in the correct documents and any other requirements. "I promise, Frank, I'll get you alllll kinds of business if you just do this for me!" was all we could hear on our end. I wish I could have heard what was being said on the other end of the line. Maybe, "But Phil, I didn't actually look at it!" or "What are you going to do if we get caught?" Of course, we had no reason to believe the man wasn't a licensed electrician except for the fact that they fraudulently tried to pass off a real estate agent as an electrician earlier. The doubt was further supported when the underwriter revealed that this specific electrician's license number was actually that of a mortgage broker. Oh my gosh! At this point, Kory and I were laughing. We had been waiting to sign 2 final papers for 2.5 hours. It was 6 pm on a Friday afternoon and we were trying to buy a house from a scam artist. Fun.
Finally, the electrician sent in enough documentation (which included a certificate from 1970 stating that he had passed an electrical design course and his liability insurance) to convince the underwriter of the loan that he was legitimate. Knowing that we have my dad's support and skill on our side, I was not at all concerned about whether or not the electrical work had been done - I knew my dad would probably be redoing it anyway. So when our mortgage agent came into the room and gave us the "two thumbs up," I believe I let out a squeal and even shook Kory! I was SOOOOO relieved it was finally over. We had the keys in hand and the house was finally ours and somehow all the grief and emotional angst that we went through to get to that point didn't seem nearly as relevant as the potential our futures now held!
With the keys to our first home in our hands, we headed to the nearest home improvement store to buy our first batch of paint! We ended the night with a grand finale of half priced appetizers at Apple Bees... stuffing our faces with fried food and washing it down with beer seemed like the perfect ending to this crazy ride we've been on since we first laid eyes on what would become our first home!
Warning: This may appear to be us advertising for Phil Anthony or Albert Anthony Real Estate. To the contrary, we advise avoiding this man and this real estate company at all cost... and I'm certain that anyone that has been involved in this purchase would agree. : /
