Buying a Home: Step 4 – Escrow Time

Continued from Part 3 – Offer and Counter Offer

The home has been picked, the offer made and accepted. Now we’re in escrow!

In all honesty, I really had no idea what escrow entailed before all this. I had just assumed it was just all a waiting time from the moment an offer is accepted between both parties to the time keys to the house are delivered. Then I found out it was a lot more than that…

Some of the things that is involved in escrow:

• Home inspection – This is when a professional inspector is hired to make sure the house isn’t falling apart.
• Retrofitting – ased upon the inspectors report, buyer and seller negotiate what needs to be fixed by the seller. This is also when termite inspections take place. For our home, there were some minor issues with the heater and plumbing but they were quickly and easily fixed.
• Signup for Home Insurance – Ideally, go with the same company as your auto insurance. This is also a requirement for escrow.
• Appraisal – Another hired professional to make sure your offer is in line with the value of the home. Your final loan approval is dependent on how good the appraisal is.
• Turn in all financial documents – Up-to-date bank statements are needed to complete and finalize the loan documents.
• Sign a whole bunch of documents from the escrow company – Bunch of random things, like Title, vesting, etc.

So right now, we’re in the “quiet” time of escrow, just waiting for documents to finish. Our realtor Gina tells me that the last few days however are crazy, as we need to rush to get paperwork signed and turned in. So some of the things we have to do now are: pack; hire a remodeler (and how we don’t break the bank in the upgrades); paint; and have a baby.

Filed under: Life Stuff , finance, home

Join LinkedIn

If you’re ever deciding which social network to join, if any, you should join LinkedIn. This site, by far, is the most USEFUL social network as the emphasis is more on the “network” than “social.”

LinkedIn essentially works as an online resume. You put in your education, work experience, awards/certifications, groups/chapters, etc. You can also put in “recommendations” to those your are connected with (“friended”) and vice versa! One reason to have a profile and input all your current information is that recruiters are constantly scouring the site for possible matches.

I’ve already been contacted by a couple headhunters with propositions, which I ultimately had to turn away for one reason or another. But it sure is a heck of a lot easier than the standard job search process. Plus, it’s a bit of a confidence booster knowing that someone out there wants you.

And in this economy, I’m sure we can all use the help we can get in landing a [better] job!

If you would like to connect with me, just head on over to my profile.

Filed under: Techie , social

Buying a Home: Step 3 – Offer and Counter Offer

Continued from Part 2 – Picking an Agent/House Hunting

We’ve seen about 30 homes so far. Is that a lot? It doesn’t seem like a lot. But then again, most of the homes haven’t really been…memorable. It’s not the fault of our realtor though. I know she’s doing her best with what we’re working with. In fact, I’m surprised she’s been able to find so many to begin with.

So out of the 30 or so we’ve seen, there were a handful that caught our eye. One was overpriced, another was in short sale, while others needed a lot of work to be “move in ready.” Ultimately, we ended up putting in an offer for one of the over-priced homes. After our realtor pulled a comparative analysis of that home, we ended up putting in an offer that was comparable to the prices of the homes recently sold in the area.

Unfortunately, when we put in our offer, another buyer happened to submit an offer as well, but was much higher than ours. The seller put in their counter-offer, which was…high. We then put in our counter of the counter…and got rejected. Oh well.

I’m actually glad to experience this first home offer rejection. It helps to put things into perspective a little bit and helps us refocus on our real needs. We initially wanted a better home and were willing to forgo neighborhood, but it looks like we’re flipping that around.

But we’ll see what happens. We still have our eye on a couple other homes.

Filed under: Life Stuff , finance, home

Much Ado About Pirates

Pirates have been making headline news lately. The scourge of the seven seas from centuries past still maraud merchant vessels off the Somali coast.

We all heard of the daring rescue of Captain Richard Phillips earlier in the week, where three Navy SEALS fired three shots, killing three pirates. What’s really amazing to me is how these poorly armed, poorly equipped Somali pirates can take over huge tankers. Maybe I’m just not familiar with what goes down on the high seas, but if I were the captain for a super huge oil tanker, I would just scoff at their attempts to attack and just run them over. Maybe it’s just me.

But back to the issue at hand. After the rescue by the US military, the pirates vowed to bump up their pirating ways. I don’t doubt there will be an increase in pirate activity, but how will the world respond?

We have the war on drugs. We have the war on terror. Will we have a war on pirates? That just sounds so funny to me.

Thank goodness ninjas aren’t as much of an annoyance.

Filed under: Current Events , pirates

Buying a Home: Step 2 – Picking an Agent/House Hunting

Continued from Part 1 – Apply for a Loan

So the loan application part is pretty much behind us.  At this moment, I’m trying to finalize between two lenders, having them bid for the lowest fees to get me as a client. 

Today, Rachel and I met with our real estate agents!  I don’t know much about agents, but what I do know is that the best ones are those that are referred by a friend.  So, without much hesitation, we’re going with Mark and Gina Leeper.  We had our initial meeting this morning to discuss the type of home we’re looking for.  Three hours later, they had a few homes to show us! 

So the daunting task of finding the right home begins.  Already, I’m feeling overwhelmed.  We can blow our budget and get a home that has everything we want (within our approved loan amount), but that wouldn’t be that responsible now, would it?  So with our budget, this might take a while.  I’m looking forward to next weekend, when the in-laws will have Sophie for the whole weekend, and Rachel and I can really dig into each showing.

Our house may not be sprawling with granite countertops, or oak wood flooring throughout, or have the most room, but it will be perfect.

Oh, and guess what?  We saw a drughouse today!  It was scary.

Next step: Offer and counter offer.

Filed under: Life Stuff , finance, home

Buying a Home: Step 1 – Apply for a Loan

So the wife and I are finally taking active steps to owning a home.  Ah, yes, the American dream…to own your own property.

It’s been a slow process up to this point but now that we’re finally at the cusp of the biggest purchase of our lives, I know the next couple months will feel like a blur.  Getting your financial documents in order is no easy task.  But thankfully, our loan application process happened to be around the same time as tax season so we had them all prepared ahead of time. 

The scariest part to all this is that we’re applying/purchasing during a recession.  Nowadays, your credit record has to be spotless to get approved.  This was worrisome because when you come this far to actually start the home purchase process (both financially and emotionally), the one thing you DON’T want to hear is that you got denied for a minor flub here or there.  Any/all previous financial mistakes could be costly, so if you’re reading this, get your finances straightened out now!

Well, long story short, we turned in our documents and got approved for a home loan!  This was a bit of a shocker because we got approved in less than 24 hours.  I thought it would have taken at least 5 days for them to review everything.  But I’m not complaining.  In fact, I’m pretty ecstatic to get approved in the first place. 

Like any other new venture, there were lots to learn from this first step (of applying for a loan)…most of them had to do with my own finances.  I realized how I could have saved myself from so much frustration over the years if someone had told me about some of these in advance…

• Having credit cards are not a bad thing.  In fact, you should have credit cards to build credit!  But don’t rely on them for purchases.  If you have to use them, make sure you have the money to pay them off within the month.  (This wasn’t something that I practiced in my early college days)
• There comes a time when having 0 allowances on your W4 is not enough to pay for your income tax.  I always thought setting your W4 to 0 meant that you’ll ALWAYS get something back on your income tax return.  Wrong!  Always use those worksheets to calculate your allowances and/or extra money to be withheld, especially if you get a raise or change jobs. 
• Don’t allow your lifestyle needs to increase with your paycheck, no matter how tempting it might be.  Make it a habit early on to put away money from your paychecks for tithing, savings, retirement, life insurance, etc.  Trust me, it’s a lot easier to start saving when you’re younger than when you’re older with other financial commitments.  (Oh, and if you want to talk to a financial guy to start up life insurance, IRAs, etc, let me know!  I’m really pleased with mine!)
• It’s never too early to start planning for retirement.  Do it now before you regret about it later on in life.  And yes, you will regret it later.

Next step: Picking an agent/house hunting.

Filed under: Life Stuff , finance, home

I Don’t Mean to be Angry

…but I just can’t help it.  There are so many things to be angry about.

Let’s start with the guy who owns the peanut factory. He knowingly let tainted peanut goods into the American food system. Salmonella has led to 9 deaths and hundreds hospitalized.  His company emails revealed that he told employees to “turn them loose”!  Today, before a congressional panel, all he could do was waive the Fifth when asked about his actions.  Man up and take responsibility guy!  You’re going to jail anyway!

Then there’s the (California) state legislature who cares more about their own seats than the residents.  Democrats refused to cut programs, Republicans refused to raise taxes, when the state needs both to get through this economy.  California politics is a complete joke.  I mean, we voted the Terminator as the governor for crying out loud!  The state senate and assembly live in a world bloated by their own political rhetoric rather than to listen to their constituents.  Anyone remember that incident a few years ago when a closed-door Democrat meeting was accidentally sent through the PA system?  The Dems were heard saying they were willing to stalemate the budget process just to make the Repubs look bad.  Ugh.  Sure, there’s the news that the state has now reached a deal for the budget, but it’s too little too late in my eyes.  That’s why I’m so glad Prop 11 passed.  It’s the first step to allow me to vote my local state legislators out of office.  Jenny Oropeza and Karen Bass, I’m looking at you! 

And the bank bailouts!  The original $700b bailout was a hard pill for me to swallow.  I personally would have liked to see them all go under, but that admittedly would have been disastrous for everyone.  The good news is that Obama-and-friends are putting big-time restrictions on companies that accept any new bailout money (ie $500k max executive salary, no bonuses, access to their accounting books, etc).  But get this, now some banks are saying they’re now looking to give BACK the money!  Gee, did they actually think they were going to get a no-strings-attached reward for their screw ups?!?  Their willingness to repay the bailout money further showcases their greed in that they didn’t need to money to begin with.

And then there’s LAUSD/UTLA.  And then there’s stuff at work.  And that gas clerk who just stood there watching me as I tried to pump 87 octane when he knew they were all out!  And the stinking ref’s from tonight’s Lakers game. 

Thank goodness my wife and daughter are able to put a smile on my face.

Filed under: Rants , finance, politics