It seems like it has been quite awhile since my last post in January. A lot has been happening with Geri and I over the past couple of months. We have been looking diligently at real estate all over the Missoula valley trying to find a place of our own that out ‘living’ money can go into and stop throwing it away on rent. We discovered that we needed to be looking at homes in a little higher price range to find what we really wanted and at the same time, watching homes that have been on the market for quite awhile having price adjustments coming down, The sub-prime lending has created a real opportunity for the savvy home buyer in the larger markets across the USA, and this has affected the markets here in Missoula by a small degree. We were aware that waiting and waiting for significant change in our area may not really happen in the time frame that we wanted to wait for, or actually make a large difference in our home search/buying strategy overall. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and listening to the news as well as read about the larger economy issues plaguing larger USA markets out there, we decided to continue plodding along with our real estate agent, looking and assessing possibilities for us.
We found the home we decided to make an offer on about the 1st of February. It is a nice newer dwelling built in 2004 near the Clark Fork River, in the Orchard Homes area of Missoula. The home is in a subdivision called Renae Court Subdivision. Jared Langley and Eric Patenaude of P&L Homes/Development teamed up to bring a neighborhood to the Orchard Homes area. Just North of Caras Nursery, down Short St. to Renea Court, you’ll find a comfortable loop street with a lot of well built homes.
We found 2807 Renae Court available through one of several Multiple Listing Services that send listings to us via email. Geri and I purse through these listings on a daily basis and decide which ones may hold some potential for us to view directly. Geri and I discovered early on that the house hunting endeavors were easy for us as we were looking at potential properties with similar designs and use in mind. We developed our wants together, our desires together and our strategy together.
When we reviewed this Renae Court listing together, I was not able to view the property with Geri and the agent on the day selected as I was working at the University of Montana bookstore that day. I could not get time off at that point as staffing for the bookstore during Spring RUSH was critical. Geri was impressed with the home so I scheduled a time to go and view the property on one of Geri’s workdays. I was impressed with the home as well and especially the largess of the oversized garage. I was a little disappointed that there was no basement to create a hobby room in, but we will find a suitable area, or areas for this when the time is right. The garage is insulated and sheet rocked throughout, and can be subdivided for space and heating.
We wrote an offer to buy on the 2nd of February for $188,500 against the sale price of $209,000. That offer was countered with $205,000. We countered that with $192,500 and was told that the seller would not counter that as they would not come down below $205,000. We were then told that there were other interested parties that were scheduled to view the property so Geri and I decided to rewrite the offer for $202,500 and not so much for closing costs (we asked the seller to pay up to $4000) at $3000. The sellers accepted this offer so away we go…!!!!
We were having a little trouble deciding which way to go for a loan as I was unemployed and Geri was working almost a full time shift. We had taken a HomeWORD class some time ago to prepare for home purchase. This class was offered to those folks preparing for home ownership and was a great learning experience, over and above what we had learned on our own. We learned about Montana Board of Housing financing that was to our advantage in several area. This is the type of loan for which we decided to apply.
We have had the property inspected and got a great report from our inspector with only a few minor items that needed addressing by the sellers prior to ordering an appraisal.
Geri and I were able to go with the inspector as he did his thorough and meticulous work. He explained so much to us about the property and its care, as well as providing us with a complete inspection report in a well laid out binder, on CD and online.
Happy Valentines Day!!!!
Geri and I had discussed our costs of health care, and since I have been unemployed since last November, I was eligible for COBRA health care coverage for my previous employer. Well, it took a long time for COOBRA election paperwork to get sent to me, and the employer actually changed health care provider in that interim. Geri suggested she get me added to her health care plan with the hospital she works for. Their requirement was that we be married. They told her that they would also accept a Certificate of Common Law Marriage as well, so that is what we decided to do.
We decided several weeks ago that Valentines day would be a good day to get married… on paper anyway. She had to work the day/evening before, so I got her a real nice card and a dozen roses. I these together on our table for her as a surprise for her arrival at home. On Valentines day, I treated her to a massage at a local health club, then we went to the hospital to complete the notarized paperwork for our common law marriage. We had made reservations at on of the local restaurants that was offering special Valentines day buffet, and we arrived there around 4 PM. We had a large seafood with prime rib buffet dinner, complete with cheesecake dessert. It was scrumptious…!!!! We got home early and just cuddled on the couch for the rest of the evening.
We found the home we decided to make an offer on about the 1st of February. It is a nice newer dwelling built in 2004 near the Clark Fork River, in the Orchard Homes area of Missoula. The home is in a subdivision called Renae Court Subdivision. Jared Langley and Eric Patenaude of P&L Homes/Development teamed up to bring a neighborhood to the Orchard Homes area. Just North of Caras Nursery, down Short St. to Renea Court, you’ll find a comfortable loop street with a lot of well built homes.
We found 2807 Renae Court available through one of several Multiple Listing Services that send listings to us via email. Geri and I purse through these listings on a daily basis and decide which ones may hold some potential for us to view directly. Geri and I discovered early on that the house hunting endeavors were easy for us as we were looking at potential properties with similar designs and use in mind. We developed our wants together, our desires together and our strategy together.
When we reviewed this Renae Court listing together, I was not able to view the property with Geri and the agent on the day selected as I was working at the University of Montana bookstore that day. I could not get time off at that point as staffing for the bookstore during Spring RUSH was critical. Geri was impressed with the home so I scheduled a time to go and view the property on one of Geri’s workdays. I was impressed with the home as well and especially the largess of the oversized garage. I was a little disappointed that there was no basement to create a hobby room in, but we will find a suitable area, or areas for this when the time is right. The garage is insulated and sheet rocked throughout, and can be subdivided for space and heating.
We wrote an offer to buy on the 2nd of February for $188,500 against the sale price of $209,000. That offer was countered with $205,000. We countered that with $192,500 and was told that the seller would not counter that as they would not come down below $205,000. We were then told that there were other interested parties that were scheduled to view the property so Geri and I decided to rewrite the offer for $202,500 and not so much for closing costs (we asked the seller to pay up to $4000) at $3000. The sellers accepted this offer so away we go…!!!!
We were having a little trouble deciding which way to go for a loan as I was unemployed and Geri was working almost a full time shift. We had taken a HomeWORD class some time ago to prepare for home purchase. This class was offered to those folks preparing for home ownership and was a great learning experience, over and above what we had learned on our own. We learned about Montana Board of Housing financing that was to our advantage in several area. This is the type of loan for which we decided to apply.
We have had the property inspected and got a great report from our inspector with only a few minor items that needed addressing by the sellers prior to ordering an appraisal.
Geri and I were able to go with the inspector as he did his thorough and meticulous work. He explained so much to us about the property and its care, as well as providing us with a complete inspection report in a well laid out binder, on CD and online.
Happy Valentines Day!!!!
Geri and I had discussed our costs of health care, and since I have been unemployed since last November, I was eligible for COBRA health care coverage for my previous employer. Well, it took a long time for COOBRA election paperwork to get sent to me, and the employer actually changed health care provider in that interim. Geri suggested she get me added to her health care plan with the hospital she works for. Their requirement was that we be married. They told her that they would also accept a Certificate of Common Law Marriage as well, so that is what we decided to do.
We decided several weeks ago that Valentines day would be a good day to get married… on paper anyway. She had to work the day/evening before, so I got her a real nice card and a dozen roses. I these together on our table for her as a surprise for her arrival at home. On Valentines day, I treated her to a massage at a local health club, then we went to the hospital to complete the notarized paperwork for our common law marriage. We had made reservations at on of the local restaurants that was offering special Valentines day buffet, and we arrived there around 4 PM. We had a large seafood with prime rib buffet dinner, complete with cheesecake dessert. It was scrumptious…!!!! We got home early and just cuddled on the couch for the rest of the evening.
We are really looking forward to getting into our own home by the end of March. It will be a lot of work getting all our stuff moved to the new place, then cleaning this rental from top to bottom as we leave. We have $1000 tied up in security deposit with this place (yea, I know it is a lot of $$) and it has not been working for us at all as the landlord will not pay any interest on that money, and I am sure they invested it into an interest baring account.
Early next week we should have an answer back from the sellers on what and when they will have fixed the issues that we wrote on the disclosure statement.
Stay tuned for further developments!!!
Don & Geri
Early next week we should have an answer back from the sellers on what and when they will have fixed the issues that we wrote on the disclosure statement.
Stay tuned for further developments!!!
Don & Geri
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