Update on the home purchase

So a couple weeks ago I wrote that we entered escrow for my husband’s parents’ home.  Since then, we have locked down a 30 year fixed mortgage at 5.875% with a 0.875% origination fee last week.  Looking back, I am so glad that we locked down the rate because a new CNN article states that mortgage rates are heading towards 7% and had the biggest weekly jump in 21 years. Our loan has no prepayment penalty so in the unlikely chance that mortgage rates ever sink significantly again we can always refinance.

Additionally, we also got dozens of disclosures, inspection reports, and the appraisal report.  I think the hubby is getting tired of reading all of these forms that explain to us what we’re getting into.  I find the disclosures very helpful, though.  Even though we are buying the home from someone we trust, we still need to know all the problems and issues the property has. I actually found out a lot of things I didn’t know previously about the house.  The hubby was reading the report and found a few surprises, too, but they were mostly minor.

The appraisal report showed six comparable properties and gave an appraised value range of $514k to $550k and I thought that was a fair estimate for the current market, but the appraiser did note in the report that the market could slip down further due to the tightening of credit and the amount of foreclosures in the area.  In fact one of the comparables he used was a bank owned property and it sold for $520k.   We’re technically purchasing it for quite a bit less than the lowest end of the appraisal so we will have some cushioning for the down market.  The good thing about the appraisal is that our lender should accept that the house is worth a lot more than the loan amount we’re seeking and we will not have  to get mortgage insurance.

Next, I did a lot of research into home insurance, and learned quite a bit about building materials and various natural disaster zones.  For example, the home has a concrete tile roof, which is considered one of the most long lasting roofing materials and some insurance companies actually give a discount for that.  The bad news is that the home is in a zone with high incidences of brush fire so a couple insurance companies actually refused to quote me.   In the end I settled with a policy sold by Nationwide, which offered the best balance of coverage and price.  I got more than ten quotes and the range of prices was from $440 to $1200 for varying amounts of coverage. Interestingly enough, the most expensive policy didn’t really cover more than some of the cheaper policies so I guess  it really pays to shop around when you are purchasing any kind of insurance.

Amidst all of this stock market turmoil, I am actually glad that I have this real estate transaction to focus on right now.  We are hoping to close in less than two weeks, and so far things have been going well.  I haven’t met any unscrupulous loan or real estate agents that some people say caused the current crisis.  The loan agent I dealt with was very straightforward and explained everything.  There were also many disclosures that are required by law that tell you what you are responsible for and that the real estate market doesn’t always go up.  So after going through this process I don’t think it’s fair to blame all the real estate professionals on the ground floor for the current meltdown.  A lot of them are people like you and me making an honest living.   Home buyers are really responsible for their own actions and everyone needs to do their due diligence before making any kind of big purchase or investment.
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