Last time I wrote about buying a home was in the beginning of this month. My husband, Doug, and I had put an offer in for our perfect (foreclosure) home. I didn’t want to blog about it until I was certain we would get it. We have been searching all of spring and summer. Once we found this home we knew it was “the one.” But, the whole time we were looking, bidding, and then going through the bidding war I was never certain we would get it. We put in $12,000 over asking price because we REALLY wanted this home.
When they accepted our offer over everyone else’s we were ECSTATIC! We finally found our home – and now it looks like we will be getting it. Our realtor, Debbie Bishop, warned us not to get too excited, too quick. So I waited as patiently as I could … and with all that time that continued to pass and all of the other steps we needed before we could even think about closing (they found a water leak that took weeks to fix. Because it took weeks to fix we had to extend our locked in rate.)
I began to lose hope we would actually be able to get this home. I don’t know why I was so pessimistic because my hubby was confident that after we go through all of the steps it takes when buying a home, it would be ours. I wasn’t as confident so I waited until almost all of the logistics were checked off before sharing the great news via my blog (I was too excited not to share on social media – so whoever follows me on FB, Insta, Twitter, and Snap definitely already knew about it!) 😛 But anyway, On September 5th, I blogged about our offer being accepted. By September 13th, it seemed like a done deal. We were supposed to close on September 20th and everything was smooth sailing … until one week before closing.
Buying A Home
Yep, one week before closing we get a call from the title people (who happen to be my sister in law’s mom, Lynda. Debbie our realtor is my mother in law’s best friend. I guess you can say we are ‘keeping it in the family.’ 😛 ). Lynda said they found a lien out against the house. . . . . . . Where is the biggest, saddest, most surprised emoji when you need it??? To say we were shocked would be an understatement. My mother in law (SUPER HELPFUL) and our realtor (AMAZING) had already gone to the town’s office to make sure there wasn’t a lien out against it. When they searched nothing came back. I guess the town hadn’t searched hard enough because sure enough, there is a lien out on the home.
The Struggle is Real
So, unless we wanted to wait months and months for the banks to sort this mess out, we would have to cancel our offer and go look for another home. And, that is just what we are doing now. We are super bummed that we lost that house. It was really so perfect for us. But, I am staying more optimistic this time around. I am certain we will find another PERFECT home at the right price for us to start our family! …But no joke, we may have to move in with my in-laws while we search because we told our landlord we’d be out October 1st. YIKES!
Have you ever had this type of disaster while buying a home? Please share any tips/advice/success stories!
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Jamie Otis
40 comments
Hi Jamie,
The two scariest words when shopping for a home is short sale and foreclosure. My husband and I wanted to move as my mother had passed and my dad needed care. My sister was having him at her place but the fit was off. My dad was in a wheel chair.
I was motivated to get a house ASAP. We found one we liked and made an offer. It was accepted and began a yearlong game of what now? Every month it was something new. This was a short sale that house lingo for anything but short. They jerked us around with the bank not approving and we had to up the price. This is about 6 years ago and I have tried to get around remembering all the garbage they pulled.
I would look at websites for hours as I learned even with a realtor it does not hurt to hunt as well as the good places are snapped up quick. As we were still being jerked around with the other house we continued to look at listings. I saw one I really thought a better match for us. One story and no stairs for my dad. The one we had the offer on was a two story that barely met our needs as it had a small bedroom and bath downstairs. I asked my realtor and he advised not to go after it because it had a first and a second and they had none of the money worked out yet. About 5 months later I saw the same house on computer listings. I asked if it was still a no go? He said to go out and take a look. I sent my hubby as I couldn’t get away and after a year of looking at homes. We knew what we wanted after so many we didn’t. My hubby got my signature and his to our realtor to put our bid on it. The very next day the house we had been thru the ringer for finally said yes. What to do? We went out to see the one that was our first choice(not really as we had been out bid on a few). A year wear and tear had not done good things for it. We found out we were one of 3 on the house we had just put a bid on. We decided to take a chance and see if we were chosen. It did our hearts good after being held in limbo for a year to tell our agent to pull the bid on the house that was the bane of our existence for over a year. Worked out. We got the one story and it was so much more what we needed.
Everything always does happen for a reason. It’s just going through that “everything” that is so hard! I am so happy it all worked out for you! 🙂
Hey Jamie, I think you would be better off with a brick ranch home. Brick homes are way less trouble and if you plan on growing old in the same home, you will not want stairs. Even being young, stairs are the worst…hard to vacuum, people fall down ten especially children (which I definitely see in your future). Just my help from my end, ha! I am maciblue on instagram and the one who donated to Kristen Bell’s charity in your son’s name. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers for a bright future. Y’all are doing so great and have come so far…look at you a television host and perfect at it, if I may add!
Thanks so much Teresita! 🙂 Thank you SO much for donating to that charity in honor of our sweet Johnathan. That means a lot to us. xoxo
I feel your pain Jamie. We were supposed to have closing today actually on our house on a lake. Our offer was accepted in July. The house is part of a private club and you must be approved by this club as a member in order to purchase a home there. There is an investigations committee of 5 people who interviewed us and called our references. We were highly recommended for membership. We then had to wait for the Board Meeting for the Board of Directors to formally accept us. The meeting was postponed twice. We then got word that it was looking like they were not going to approve us because our brother in law who is a member had done something many years ago, before he was even our brother in law, to cause several of the board members to vote against us due to our connection to him. We were blindsided. We went to the Board Meeting where they held a secret vote in front of us, and the results were 6 no and 5 yes. We are the first people in over 38 years to ever be denied after being recommended by the investigations committee. We have no legal recourse since this is a private club and can deny membership for any reason. Needless to say, we are very very disappointed and angry. We have had to cancel so many plans, return furniture, etc. It’s very upsetting to have your plans fall through! I hope you and Doug have better luck next time!!
Oh geesh … that sounds like a club you don’t want to be a part of anyway. You probably lucked out in the end. Good luck home shopping in the future.
We dealt with a lien on our home too during the buying process and boy, it sure was stressful. Just the word lien doesn’t sound good. We had everything lined up… offer accepted, inspection complete, closing date ready, and then somewhere along the way someone found a lien. It took a few weeks to get resolved and our closing date got pushed out, but it got resolved and we closed on the house just a few weeks past the expected date. We’ve been in the house for 3 years now and love it! Buying a house is quite a process! We found a house we loved and were bummed when we found out it was pending. We ended up finding our house and it’s right down the street from our good friends, which has been awesome! Life works in mysterious ways sometimes! Best of luck to you and Doug! My husband and I have been bug fans and supporters of you guys from day 1 and we’re still rooting for you!
“When one door closes another will open” … we are living by this motto these days. xoxo
We are in a similar boat with the water leak. We bought a home and were told the moldy carpet was from anow aquarium leak right before the tenants moved out. Turned out to be a leak at the bath tub knows PLUS the tenants had flooded the bathroom and there was mold under the bathroom tile floors, linen closet carpet, and entry way laminate along with walls on all sides. We paid cash for the home so we couldn’t back out, but we have to move into an unfinished home because we gave notice to our landlord and there is someone waiting to move in.
Oh my goodness! I hope things turn out better for you soon! Good luck! xoxo
I just got the keys to my new house. It was supposed to close August 1st, but it kept getting pushed back and sent to different departments. I think I had about 4 different closing dates. It was a nightmare. All I can say is be patient and it will work out the way it’s supposed to . I know that sucks to hear, but it’s true.
CONGRATS! Enjoy your new home (finally) 😛 xoxox
We had been looking at a couple different houses that we thought were just perfect! Once we were financially in the spot to put in an offer one had sold and there was a contract on the other, and one had been for sale for a year! Anyway, I was so bummed but another house came along and we have been in it for just over a year now. I can’t imagine being anywhere else!! Best of luck finding just the right home!
YAY! Congrats Amie! 🙂
I am so sorry you are having a rough year but you and Doug are strong and together you can make it through and find your home – I can share my story with you in 2006 we decided to move to the West Coast of Florida we found a home in a great neighborhood and used all our savings to put a down payment our offer was accepted but we had issues with finding out our interest rate and monthly payment very frustrating we gave our notice to our landlords had a closing date packed and was ready to go still the night before we demanded the rate and payment amount and found out it was going to be $2700 a month for a 1956 3/2 I was devastated there was no way we could afford that but we were told if we backed out we would loose all our money needless to say my husband panicked and we went through with the closing after struggling for 3 Years we lost it to Foreclosure I can tell you that this has effected me till this day so please take your time and do it right follow your instincts wish you all the best
I am so sorry to hear about this, Gina. I hope you’re recovering now. Thanks for sharing this with us. xoxo
We put in close to 10 offers before one was accepted! And then the appraisal fell through 🙁 We are in a crazy market right now, Denver, where housing prices are increasing every minute it seems! We decided to buy a townhome instead as they weren’t in such high demand, and then we sold in less than a year for a huge profit, where we were finally able to get into our dream home! If we had gone with the house with the appraisal issue, we wouldn’t be in this amazing home right now! Which I truly love more than any other home we looked at!
CONGRATS .. what a great way to save some money/earn some money quickly. Good work!
We have been living with my in laws for two weeks so we can close on our home on Wednesday. There was a two week gap and we lost two homes prior to this. It is heart breaking. Hang in there. ❤️
Good luck with the in-laws and CONGRATS on closing on your home!!! 🙂
I’m so sorry, it’s such a stressful time buying your first home. When we bought ours the closing week it was on and off 5 times. I’m sure an even more amazing home will come along. Hugs from England
Thank Vicky! Sending love to you all the way in England! 🙂
Ugh, been there! My hubby and I found our ‘perfect house’ twice and lost them both. Third time was a charm for us, and it is far more perfect than we could have ever imagined. It surpasses the first two by a long shot! When we put in our offer for #3 we were sent back a multiple counter offer which scared us. But we came in with our strongest offer and a “love letter” to the owners. The sellers wanted a little bit longer of a closing date, and since we didn’t resign our lease, we moved in with my parents. It was worth it! We closed on August 1st and we absolutely love our home.
Even when it seems hopeless there is something out there for you. You would be amazed at how many dream homes are out there. Just remember when you come in strong, you’ve really done all you could. So don’t get too discouraged if that one doesn’t work out! It’s hard to hear all that encouraging crap when you’re stuck in the middle of it. But I know soon enough you’ll be in your dream home giving other people the same advice… It’s worth the wait! Wishing you lots of luck!! ❤️
Thanks Cassondra! xoxo
Jamie, being a realtor this does happen more often than not. However, I must tell you what I tell my clients, when a home is for you everything will fall into place. The possibility is still there if the bank can clear up the lien. I had shown my oldest son a home which he and his wife loved. It was a foreclosure and there were about 5 offers. My son was offer #3. He was devastated. I told him don’t give up if this house is for you the deal will fall thru and it will be yours (banking on offer #2 giving up and finding a new home). I continued to follow up every week for 3 weeks to make sure the original transaction was going well. 1 month later, the selling agent said the bank got fed up with the original buyers due to all their demands and the bank cancelled the deal. Since I had been faithfully following up every week, they completely skipped #2 and accepted my sons offer. We closed in 45 days and 6 years later he is very happy with the house. I knew in my heart this house was for him, so you and Doug don’t give up, If this house is for you, it will be yours. Good Luck.
Thank you, Aris! xoxo 🙂
this actually happened to my husband and myself last year! we were suppose to go to settlement the next day on the house we were selling so we had everything packed up and on the uhaul, we got the phone call for the new house saying the owners had a loan modification done and if we wanted to move forward we’d have to pay the penalty of them selling the home breaking the terms of the loan modification. essentially if we didn’t we’d be homeless so we did. we’ve been in the new house for a year and love it so much. buying a home is a stressful process but once it’s finished it’s the best thing ever!
xoxox
Oh Jamie, I’m so sorry to hear about your home! Buying a home is such a rewarding and equally, stressful thing to do! I put an offer on a home that was a “short sale”- the step before a foreclosure. They accepted my offer, and I waited…..and waited……and waited some more. 6+ months went by with no movement and I was forced to move on. But my advice is this for you and Doug- that wasn’t your house. The right house will come along and every star aligns, and everything works out the way it’s supposed to. I found my dream home just one month later and have lived in it for 2 years this month! The best things are worth the wait- and listen, I used to HATE when people said that to me….but its true. I promise. 🙂 Best of luck!
Haha, it’s so true. It’s so annoying to hear “everything happens for a reason” but yet it’s so true. Thanks for sharing, Diane! xoxo
Bless your heart! I actually am a mortgage lender in Tennessee, and unfortunately I’ve seen this happen so many times on foreclosures. It could turn out to be a tax lien, insurance or judgment or just about anything in between. That’s one of the cons of buying a foreclosure sometimes. The bank gets in a hurry to get it off their books and they somehow miss things that are super important. You will find the perfect home!! Just keep being positive and trusting your realtor. Best wishes!!
Thanks Rhonda! 🙂 xoxo
We looked for 5 years for a home in the neighborhood of our kids’ schools. The problem was that crossing the city line meant paying 100k more for a home–and they were mostly smaller and older than the home we had. We finally found one about the same size as ours, but with a bigger living room, which was a must as we have frequent guests.
The selling realtor said that there was already a contingency offer on it, but that the buyers hadn’t made any of the deadlines in the contract. The owner met us and wanted us to buy the house, so we put in our offer and it was accepted. The next day, the realtor told us that the contingency buyers had threatened to sue not only him and the owner, but us as well! Needless to say, we quickly withdrew our offer. We were very angry with the realtor for leading us down that path. However, we now were pre-qualified with a loan amount and determined to keep looking.
Whenever we went to visit that house, we would see a house up the street that looked newer and quite big. We would joke about it–“could you imagine buying THAT house?” A few days after withdrawing our offer, we drove by the house we couldn’t get–I guess to say a final goodbye. Lo and behold, the big house up the street had a For Sale sign in front. We raced home to look it up online & called the number on the sign. Although it was listed for 80k more than our loan amount, we went to look. Tada—it was a short sale. I submitted our offer, thinking the bank would never accept it–but on hubby’s birthday our offer was accepted. Within 6 months we had 80k in equity. Turns out, it’s one of the few houses in our metro area with a full basement (we live where tornado warnings happen regularly). The yard is 3x as big as the first house. It also was built by the architect/interior designer of one of the most famous homes in the USA, for his family’s personal use. It’s not new, or fancy, but it has plenty of room for our family plus three enormous dogs, and the living room holds as many people as we want. 🙂
The obvious take-away is that while we thought the first house was IT, God had a better plan! Proverbs 16:9
It’ll happen! Keep believing!
WOW, that is incredible! I wish you could add photos to comments because now I want to see your home! 🙂 Congrats and thanks for sharing!
Oh, that’s disappointing. Sorry it fell through. I wonder if your landlord would be gracious and with you considering the unfortunate circumstances?
They’ve been awesome and let us extend until November, but I feel bad for giving them such wish-washy dates of leaving knowing that they will want to get another family in without delay.
Jamie, this EXACT same thing happened to a friend of mine a little over 2 years ago, a contractor had done some work on my friend’s dream house and unless my friend wanted to pay the $64k lien, it was back to searching for a house to call their own. The story had a happy ending, they found an even better, bigger home within their budget and are bow expecting baby #2 this Christmas and love the home they chose. Good luck in your search, cannot wait to hear how it all works out for you and Doug, because I know it will!
Thanks for sharing this success story. I love reading this because it gives me hope! Congrats to your friend! xoxo