A Very Yummy Find..

While we waited for Harry's appointment with Lenscrafters at the Northridge Mall we went in search of some lunch. We found a new place that neither of us had ever heard of Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill.

It sounded good as we both love a good steak. It was a nice atmosphere and they started off with some very yummy rolls. When then ordered BBQ Chicken Breasts and grilled baked beans for me and Steak and mash potatoes for Harry... OMG it was some of the best BBQ I have ever had. The chicken and beans were wonderful. Harry really seemed to be liking is steak and mash potatoes. Of course the meal was a bit expensive and we couldn't do it everyday but man what a find it was worth every penny... we can't wait to go back.

Eye Sight

Today Harry informed me that he has been having vision issue the past few months. I was not too happy that he waited so long to tell me. So we went to lencrafters to have his eye sight checked. There was a slight difference in one eye of .25 improvement. So he decided to get new lenses, but they were having a $100 off sale so he picked out some frames as well and got a whole new pair of glasses. I think I need to be next as my glasses sometimes give me a headache.. if it's not one thing its something else.

Locked and Loaded

After talking it over with Harry we both really love the house so we went for the FHA loan with BofA. We had to decide if we were going to use points or not. With an FHA loan you already have 1.25 points but we could go higher and get a lower interest rate. Again Harry and I talked and decided that we would go with 3.375 points which would add an additional $9,271.97 to our closing costs of $4774.00 for a total of $14045.97 in closing costs but it drops our annual interest rate to 4.875%. We did the math and it will take us 4 years and 1 month to break even but then after that every payment will be saving $187 in interest every month. Another thing about FHA loans is that home owner taxes and insurance are built into your monthly payment. With conventional loans you can opt not to include them and pay them bi-annually. So with our house payment, mortgage insurance, home owner insurance and taxes our monthly housing payment will be $2,054.20 a month, but will include everything for the house. And in 4 years 1 month we lose $113 a month dropping our payments down to $1941.20 for the remaining 25 years.

So we started the process of our loan, I'm sure I'll be approved. Next up are well, septic tank and house inspections and then appraisal. And if all goes well the house will be our at the end of July. I'll keep you posted.

On the Road Again

Well after yesterdays little panic attack, today seems to be going better. Been on the phone and computer dealing with finanacing this manufactured home. Got a hold of our BofA loan rep and she informed me that BofA can do a loan for a manufactured home but it's not a conventional one. Instead it's something called FHA Loan. In short it's the same kind of loan as a conventional one except you have to pay mortgage insurance regardless of the amount you put down. The good news is you only pay for five years and then you can drop it. So if we go this route will be paying roughly $10,000 more dollars then we would with a conventional loan which we will not get if we want this house.

The other option that Marie came up with was to do several loans, she found someone who will loan our a large chunk of the money but not all. So we would have to find a second person to loan the rest of the money and of course a second home loan always has a higher percentage rate.

Need to talk with Harry but I think we are going with the FHA loan... I'll keep you posted.

A Bump in the Road

Today I contacted the loan officer within our Realtor's company to see what kind of deal she could give us, maybe something better then BofA. Well a few hours later after talking to her she called me along with our Realtor Mary and said we have a snag. I thought.. OH NO.. Marie (the loan officer) pulled the title of our potential house and noticed that it's listed as a Mobil Home. And in H.U.D. (Housing Urban Development) it is listed as a Manufactured home on a permanent foundation. Which means the house was built elsewhere and brought to that location.

Well come to find out that in today's scary mortgage times banks and loan companies are not giving loans for Manufactured homes. So we are now scrambling to find someone who will finance us and this house. We have an inspection set for Wednesday and we don't want to pay $1000 to inspect a home that we will not be able to finance. I have a call into our my BofA rep to find out if BofA will finance us with this manufactured home. And Maire is searching high and low for someone.. keep you fingers crossed.. we may lose this home. :(

So it begins...

So far today I have received several emails from my Mary, our Realtor that I had to print out, sign and fax back to her. I sent out our 3% check to the escrow company. Mary has set up an appointment with our house inspector, well inspector and septic tank inspector for next Wednesday June 3rd. Going to cost us about $1000 for all the inspections but it's well worth the money. Have to contact BofA, who I initial got my pre-approval loan through and see what the current rate is, then I have to contact another loan company and see if I can get a better deal. It's alot of work but I know in the end will have a beautiful house waiting for us....

....the adventure continues.

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

At 3:01 today Harry and I became Home Owners. I got a call from Mary our Realtor and the first thing she said was Congratulations. My mouth dropped open and I said.. you're kidding me. The home owners accepted your offer. There were not counter offers other then instead of the 45 day escrow that we requested they asked for a 60 day escrow which is even better for us since we still have four months under our current lease. So Harry and I are now home owners.. of course we still have a lot to do, inspections and appraisals but if all goes well in about two months we will official own the house. Both Harry and I were stunned with the news. After the phone call we went back to watching TV with stupid grins on our faces, every once in a while I'd poke him and say, "We're home owners" and they we laugh.

Let's hope for a smooth escrow.. I'll keep you posted.

BTW you can see more pictures of the house here.

No Word.. well kind of

Got a text from our Realtor today letting us know that the home owners and their realtor were getting together tomorrow to go over our offer.. so we wait.