Dec 23, 2014

Coming up roses?

The strong contender mentioned in the last post is currently off the list. We made an offer, they made a half-ass counteroffer, we made a new offer, they refused to counter it, we made a sweetheart offer and were told it had gone under contract right before they received our sweetheart offer.

I'm not entirely sure I believe that. The seller is using a family member as the listing agent, and I have strong suspicions that he hasn't been entirely forthcoming with them about our offers. Beyond that, I am starting to suspect the house has some serious hidden issues that they either are trying to keep hidden or just denying. To wit: they are one-hundred-percent adamant that the (nearly worn-out) roof will not be replaced prior to closing.

So we walked away. We've started hitting listings again. There are a few new places we're liking, and we'll be doing drive-by looks to check out neighborhoods and curb appeal before setting up showings.

We have accepted the fact that an HOA may just be unavoidable. We have some geographic restrictions (my job requires it unless I can get the golden-ticket waiver; highly unlikely), and beyond that are ... shall we say "social restrictions"? A lot of the city is not a place I want to live, let alone contemplate starting and raising a family. The trick now is to find an HOA that has tolerable restrictions.

I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason. It's a tough row to hoe sometimes, and there have been some seriously stressful moments days weeks months over the last two years of job hunting, moving, house selling, job hunting again... but overall? I'm in a far better place than I was two or three years ago. I have the support of a great family, both at home and afar, and we're going to make it all work out.

3 comments:

Bubblehead Les. said...

As a Big Fan of the Mike Holmes "Holmes Inspection" TV Series out of Canada, I would never buy a House that would not let MY Home Inspector into. Though a good one will cost as much as a Glock, the last time we went Home Shopping, it saved us from purchasing a Lemon that was Condemned a couple of years later and torn down.

And as for the HOAs and other Nanny-State Crap that seems to be Prevalent nowadays, at least you can go to the Gun Safe, pull out an AR, and know that you aren't considered a "Enemy of the State" like where you used to live.

Merry Christmas!

Old NFO said...

Good luck and Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

Jay G said...

Z,

The trick is to find a tolerable HOA. We ran into the same conundrum moving to NoVA. EVERYWHERE is an HOA. The trick is to find one that's reasonable, which I believe we did.

We're supposed to keep our lawn trimmed to less than 6", which we do; we're supposed to keep it weed-free (which we don't, really, and they don't say anything). The "No-RV" clause stinks, but there's really no place to put one, and it would be a big inconvenience on the street.

Talk to the people in any neighborhood you're thinking of moving. They'll most likely let you know if the HOA folks are reasonable or petty dictators.