Today we signed on the dotted line and officially became homeowners again. It was days late because we were supposed to close on October 21st, but items in the paperwork kept being nitpicked and reworked. The mortgage industry (specifically an underwriter in our case) is very cautious these days and their ducks in a row had to have military precision. The dollars short is actually a very good thing – everything came in lower than the good faith estimate. This is due in part to the estimate being on the high side so we’d be ready for a worst-case scenario.
House buying is a harrying process and having good people working with you makes a world of difference. Our first home buying experience included an inexperienced real estate agent and an efficient but indifferent mortgage company. This time around, we had a wonderful duo of women helping make the process a little less painful.
Heather Rose of Acadia Lending was our mortgage broker. Along with being one of my sister’s good friends and a genuinely sweet person, Heather is one hell of a mortgage broker. She worked hard to get us the lowest rate with a local lender and referred us to a local insurance agent when automated services had me tearing my hair out. She kept after the paperwork and those processing it. She explained all the little hang ups and technicalities we experienced and tried to keep our hassle to a minimum when possible. Aside from all that, she also set us up with Laura when I asked her for a “non-salesman” style agent that would listen to our needs.
Laura Fleischer of Re/Max Coastal is a buyer’s agent who did a fantastic job giving us the straight scoop. As a bonus, she’s a dog lover, so she understood how our dogs played into our requirements for a house. Our offer was chosen over a competing offer and I have no doubt that Laura’s excellent guidance made it happen. She knew how to breakdown the value of what we were getting so we would be comfortable with our decision – getting twice the house and twice the mortgage from our last experience was a big step up and Laura made the change more comfortable.
You would think that after waiting so long, we’d have at least one picture to share. Last time we bought a house, we charged straight up State St. and were taking pictures and ripping down drywall before the ink was dry. This time, we had a hurricane to contend with, so we opted for a quiet dinner and some paint shopping at Lowes. We haven’t even been to our house yet, but CMP says the power is out anyways.
Stay tuned for more fun soon… I’ve got 6 sample paint cans that will be ready when the power comes back on.