Conditionally Approved?

I received an e-mail from the lender yesterday stating that we were "Conditionally Approved" for our home loan! Yay?

So, we have some extra documents to send in to the lender before they can 'Unconditionally Approve' us for the 203k loan. I've already had to submit months of Checking and Savings account statements, a Roth IRA statement, three forms of I.D., two years tax returns, multiple W2s, and about three letters of explanation to clarify transactions being seen in my account statements (I was unemployed for a while after the AF...nothing weird).

Since I got access to the house I have been in and out non-stop. I can't wait to start knocking out the drywall and getting down to the barebones. I pulled back a bit of the drywall in the kitchen area and I am very happy to say that there is wood planking in every wall!

"Brian, what do you mean by 'wood planking'?" I mean this ---> http://www.muracadesign.com/images/uploads/desiretoinspire.net.jpg , but it's in all of the walls and it's in GREAT condition! 

Also, I pulled back a bit of the vinyl siding today and found out that we actually DO have clapboard siding, and it is in great condition (from what I could see). I hope it has the old timey tapered/sloping foundation... ---> http://kidderdragon.blogspot.com/2011/07/siding-progress.html

So, yeah, looking forward to finding out what other little goodies (no whammies, no whammies) we have to discover.

Termite inspection is tomorrow and our general contractor is coming by on Saturday to draw up the final contract/bid with us...FINALLY!

Also, we were able to bump up our closing date from the end of March to March 6th! Yay!

Bye Bye Money, Hello Waiting Game

Since the last post we've handed over our earnest money, an option fee, and our loan origination fee. The title company has completed the title review (all clear), we've had our inspection with the HUD inspector, and yesterday I met with our lender to complete and compile the enormous amount of paperwork to be presented to the underwriters.

Now it's mainly up to the lender and the underwriters to determine how much moo-lah we get for the renovation of our new house. Apparently this process consists of the lender speaking to realtors in the area and finding comparable properties in the vicinity that were renovated and recently sold. Whatever the average price for those homes are selling for will determine how much money we get. Well, that along with the appraisal...with which we don't expect to have any issues.

So, while were waiting for the lender and underwriters to do their job, our task is to begin rounding up contractor bids. Along with this comes the first truly stressful part for us as a couple; we have to decide what we want our home to look like. Chrome or polished nickel fixtures? Dark or light wood stain for the floors? Granite or Quartz countertop? Keep this wall or tear it down? Pray for us (me)...

P.S. The seller gave me the combo for the lock box! Yay!

Contract Completed

Welp, today we got our contract offer back from the seller. Our intial offer was $95,000, he countered with $100,000 and today we both agreed on $97,500, with us paying all closing costs.

BACKSTORY: We have been planning on buying this house since July (7 months), but due to me leaving the Air Force, and the subsequent job hunt, we couldn't get the financial backing to make it happen. Now that I am happily employed again, we finally have the means and the house was luckily still available. I say "luckily" because the area we bought the home in is one of San Antonio's new area's of revitalization. Which is funny because it's the neighborhood in which I grew up.

Our mortgage financing with this home is through Wells Fargo, due to the fact that NO ONE else will do FHA 203k loans. The FHA 203k loan is specialized to assist folks who want to purchase homes that need a bit of renovation. The total loan amount given to the homebuyer is not only based on the value price of the home, but also based on the appraisal estimate of the house AFTER renovation! Pretty cool. What's even more cool is that the program seems to take more than just the house itself into account, it takes into account the MARKET VALUE. According to the valuation procedures outlined by HUD, "To determine the estimate of market value after rehabilitation in any neighborhood, the appraiser must give full consideration to neighborhood improvements that are proposed and in progress through government action and/or organized community effort. In areas undergoing rehabilitation or revitalization, either with public or private funds, the value estimate must use market data from similar areas, including those that have been revitalized, as would be done in any other appraisal." 

Excellent! The community has recently been flooded with initial revitalization efforts from public (City of San Antonio, U.S. Dept of HUD, etc) AND private sources (Alamo Ale Microbrewery is being built three blocks away...yum, beer).

So, now that we're done with the contract, we have to deal with the bank and get rolling with the appraisals...which apparently is the prolonged period of this process. :(

In the meantime, why don't we start thinking about the features and improvements we need and want before we sit down with a contractor? :)

Intro

I'm 29 and she's 26, and we just bought our first home together. 

It's a 1925 Craftsman style home in my old neighborhood on San Antonio's Eastside. 

We have no clue what we are doing, nor what we are getting ourselves into, so, we thought we would share the 'fun' of our experience.