All Forum Posts by: Sean Link

If you are a software developer, I recommend hledger.
https://hledger.org/

Quote from @Brad S.:

1) Why did you pay to fix ANYTHING prior to closing?  You are essentially investing money into someone else's property at that point. While this may happen in very rare and specific circumstances, this is highly unadvisable! If the deal does not go through for some reason, it is an uphill battle getting anything back. Those expenses are usually paid by the seller, and then you can agree to settle the cost in an addendum, etc. But, the house isn't yours to put money in until the transaction is closed. Hopefully, your agent was steering you in the right direction during the process.

2) Unfortunately, that is the nature of the loan business. Sometimes there is a lot of effort for no reward. I appreciate your ethical responsibility to be upfront, but they could've also asked you if you were looking into other options, but they probably knew that was the case anyway, due to your immediate need. They made the choice to try and compete for your business, but you can keep them in mind for future loan needs. But, your first priority was to get the loan and you could've always chosen to compensate them somehow, but that is pretty unusual.  I also used to do loans many moons ago, so I definitely understand.

I needed to fix the egress windows anyway to get my rentals license. The way I saw it, I was getting the seller to pitch in on a cost that I would already need to eat. I also think that because I did this, the seller was more understanding when I needed to extend the contract multiple times. May have even been wheat kept the deal together. I kinda agree that the decision may have been a little questionable. In the end it worked out though and I did get a slightly better deal.

Every potential lender I approached unanimously agreed that my initial appraisal was a disaster, which led to the necessity of ordering another one. I even paid extra for expedited service, as I had already requested two extensions on our contract from the seller. Regrettably, the second appraisal did not arrive as promised, forcing me to ask the seller for yet another contract amendment.

Throughout this process, I felt powerless, largely at the mercy of appraisers. When the second appraisal finally arrived, it contained errors that needed to be corrected by the appraiser, leading to more delays and anxious anticipation as I awaited the corrected information before another looming deadline.

Fortunately, the seller showed understanding and patience, recognizing that the need for extensions was due to factors beyond my control. I was also extremely fortunate to have an outstanding realtor. He seemed to maintain a positive relationship with the seller's representatives and managed to communicate effectively that the delays were due to circumstances outside of our control.

Eventually, we managed to close on the property. I'm now the proud owner of my first house hack. Reflecting on the entire experience, despite facing numerous hurdles, I feel a sense of pride. I believe I maintained my composure and persevered to the very end.

After I paid 75% of the expense to fix the egress windows, my lender backed out of the deal for another detail that was mentioned in the appraisal. I frantically reached out to 4 mortgage brokers and 1 bank. Amidst my own panic, I forgot to mention to one of the brokers that I was in negotiation with other lenders. That broker ended up pulling an all nighter to find me another lender and I ended up going with the bank to ultimately service my loan. I felt bad that I wasted the brokers time and wish I had been more transparent.

During the appraisal process, the appraiser raised health and safety concerns regarding my property. Notably, they pointed out the lack of an egress window for an above-ground room, which they considered a health and safety issue. This feedback left me perplexed for several reasons:

1. I was under the impression that an appraiser's role was to establish a dollar value for the property, not to provide safety assessments. I believed that was the purpose of hiring an inspector.
   
2. I found it odd that the property was criticized for not having egress windows in an upstairs bedroom. To be clear, the room did have windows, just not ones large enough for a firefighter to fit through.

My lender informed me that despite the lack of egress windows, they could still approve the loan if the issue was addressed. In the end, I covered 75% of the costs associated with installing the egress windows. In retrospect, I wish I had heeded my realtor's advice and attempted to negotiate a 50/50 split for the expenses to rectify the egress window issue."

I recently closed on my first deal and wanted to share some insights from the experience. When I submitted my offer and it was accepted, the property went under contract. This signified that the seller and I had entered a legal agreement with obligations to fulfill by specified deadlines. One of my responsibilities as the buyer was to conduct an 'inspection objection'. This was my chance during the contract process to highlight any issues with the property, allowing me to request either repairs or seller credits for problematic items.

For this process, I had a 5-day window. By the third day, I had organized for an inspector to assess the property, and I had the report in my hands by day 4. This report indicated two areas of concern that necessitated further investigation by licensed professionals: an electrician and an HVAC specialist.

I managed to have an electrician inspect the property before the inspection objection deadline. However, I was unable to do the same with the HVAC specialist. As it turned out, there was an HVAC problem that was quoted at $15,000 to fix.

In retrospect, I wish I had negotiated for a longer inspection objection period when we first went under contract, or been more proactive about scheduling the initial inspection on the first or second day."

Just want to say that it looks like the laws for ADUs are in the process of changing for the better in the Denver area. See the following...

https://denvergov.org/Governme...

https://denvergov.org/files/as...

There is a tentative hearing an final vote at
Denver City Council Public Hearing
5:30 p.m., Monday, June 5, 2023

I hope some people from bigger pockets have signed up to speak. I would do it myself but will be out of town for personal matters.

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Look for a house with a wider driveway.  Where I am, most houses have a driveway wide enough for two cars (and a double garage).

 I was hoping to explore some creative ways to improve the parking situation. I have seen a lot of good properties except for the parking. It would be nice if I could increase the number of properties that would be considered a good deal if I could solve this problem.

Still looking for my first house hack. One variable that has been problematic when searching for properties is the amount of parking available. Has anyone ran into this issue? Did anyone decide to increase the size of the driveway? If you did, what material did you decide to go with and would you do it again? I am considering gravel because it is cheap but thought it might be smart to ask in case there are other variables that I am not considering.

Lesson learned. Most realtors are helping families buy their forever home. When picking a realtor, it is very helpful if they have a lot of experience helping others achieve goals similar to your own.