how it began...
for the last one year, i have been driving around this north western city in the valley with a couple of my friends, aimlessly, looking at houses. going to open houses when none of us really were seriously thinking about buying or selling property. we went to the 'parade of homes' in April. as i looked at the houses, i made mental notes on the paints and decors. on the fixtures and appliances. on landscapes and patios, on the newer trends in design. almost subconsciously, i formed my own opinions on what worked and what didn't. what i could and could not live without.
couple that with the hours i spent glued in front of the telly watching hgtv religiously - learning how to paint, tile and organize/reorganize imaginary spaces. the trip to phoenix in late june added fuel to the fire as we saw the Bdesis in AZ going almost berserk over real estate (33 Bdesis there have gotten real estate licenses in the last few years). the air in phoenix was thick with a barely repressed excitement perhaps not too different from what the prospectors felt a 100 years ago as they made their way out of CA towards Warren or Baker city. History was repeating itself (everything is cyclical?) only this time it wasn't nuggets of gold that men salivated over but imagined multiplying of greenbacks inside their head as new appriasals of neighboring property came out. the calculator had become a best friend and confidante.
in early july, i started to look at MLS listings with care. even picked up a copy of the for-sale-by-owner catalogue that came out on the 1st. in there was a 1600 sft home in columbia village. i went out to see it for a lark. 3 bd, 2 bath and office, rv parking, shop, 2 car garage, cul de sac corner plot, european tile, slate and hardwood floors, wood mantel, corner fireplace, split bedroom plan, bay windows, french windows out to patio from 3 separtae rooms, a fire pit and all-brick BBQ pit in backyard. little used home of single male who was a builder by trade. I had found my home. with a price tag of $176,000 - however - i had to let it go. i was duly crushed.
this minor failure made me do something solid towards my somewhat blurry goal of buying a house. it affirmed the need. i got prequalified for a loan. this way i knew what price range to look at and what to avoid.
i comparison shopped to find a good rate and went with the broker who quoted the lowest - a 5.5% on the 1st 80, a 6.25% - int. only - on the 2nd 15. i was told that an 80-15-5 loan would get rid of the dreaded PMI. it was a big moment when i realised that i did have enough savings for a 5% down on what i qualified for. these are the kind of pleasant surprises that make your day.
on a side note, mortgage rates were around 5.25% for the nation at this time. some of the discrepancy in this rate and the one the lender quotes can be due to individual credit history. plus, state rates are different from the national average.
two other companies quoted 5.7% and 5.8 % on the 1st and 8.75% and 9% on the 2nd respectively. woo hoo - i thought to myself. little did i know i had rejoiced too soon...
the trick with prequalification is that you can't lock a rate until you have an address for a property. so it's anybody's game till you do find one you like. by that time, those who lured you with low rates can quote the same rate as others and you got nowhere to go and whine. things change, rates rise...and all you can do is: suck it up.
the bottom line is - this is a business like any other (and if anything, worse than any other) and nobody's got your back.
couple that with the hours i spent glued in front of the telly watching hgtv religiously - learning how to paint, tile and organize/reorganize imaginary spaces. the trip to phoenix in late june added fuel to the fire as we saw the Bdesis in AZ going almost berserk over real estate (33 Bdesis there have gotten real estate licenses in the last few years). the air in phoenix was thick with a barely repressed excitement perhaps not too different from what the prospectors felt a 100 years ago as they made their way out of CA towards Warren or Baker city. History was repeating itself (everything is cyclical?) only this time it wasn't nuggets of gold that men salivated over but imagined multiplying of greenbacks inside their head as new appriasals of neighboring property came out. the calculator had become a best friend and confidante.
in early july, i started to look at MLS listings with care. even picked up a copy of the for-sale-by-owner catalogue that came out on the 1st. in there was a 1600 sft home in columbia village. i went out to see it for a lark. 3 bd, 2 bath and office, rv parking, shop, 2 car garage, cul de sac corner plot, european tile, slate and hardwood floors, wood mantel, corner fireplace, split bedroom plan, bay windows, french windows out to patio from 3 separtae rooms, a fire pit and all-brick BBQ pit in backyard. little used home of single male who was a builder by trade. I had found my home. with a price tag of $176,000 - however - i had to let it go. i was duly crushed.
this minor failure made me do something solid towards my somewhat blurry goal of buying a house. it affirmed the need. i got prequalified for a loan. this way i knew what price range to look at and what to avoid.
i comparison shopped to find a good rate and went with the broker who quoted the lowest - a 5.5% on the 1st 80, a 6.25% - int. only - on the 2nd 15. i was told that an 80-15-5 loan would get rid of the dreaded PMI. it was a big moment when i realised that i did have enough savings for a 5% down on what i qualified for. these are the kind of pleasant surprises that make your day.
on a side note, mortgage rates were around 5.25% for the nation at this time. some of the discrepancy in this rate and the one the lender quotes can be due to individual credit history. plus, state rates are different from the national average.
two other companies quoted 5.7% and 5.8 % on the 1st and 8.75% and 9% on the 2nd respectively. woo hoo - i thought to myself. little did i know i had rejoiced too soon...
the trick with prequalification is that you can't lock a rate until you have an address for a property. so it's anybody's game till you do find one you like. by that time, those who lured you with low rates can quote the same rate as others and you got nowhere to go and whine. things change, rates rise...and all you can do is: suck it up.
the bottom line is - this is a business like any other (and if anything, worse than any other) and nobody's got your back.
