Zambeezy Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Well...I didn't love the house. The basement has 7' ceilings, which I know aren't necessary abnormal but I felt cramped down there (even though I'm only 5'8"). Also, it didn't really have a "master bedroom". It was just a normal bedroom, with a normal closet, and no master bathroom (shared bathroom between the two bedrooms on the main floor). Lots of good things about it, especially the location, but overall I just don't think it's worth the price (it's my max budget). I looked at a house last week and it's been stuck in my mind since I toured it. It's a bit further West, so a longer ride to work and no restaurants/bars/shopping around that I would want to go to...but it's so nice! Three-car garage, great master bed/bath, nice living room and kitchen, nice deck out back. Small backyard, but apart from the deck I don't think I'll be using much of it on a regular basis, so that's not really an issue for me. It's across from an elementary school but there are buildings between the house and the playground, so I don't expect the noise to be bad. It's about 1/2 mile from the lightrail station too, so that's convenient for days I don't want to bike to work. I've decided to put an offer down on this house. I think it's fairly priced, apparently the owners are moving for work and not because they don't like the house, and it checks almost all the boxes for me. It does have an HOA (which I really don't like), but it's only $33/month and I think they take care of the grounds maintenance and the neighborhood looks like it's kept very nice, so hopefully it isn't too invasive. We'll see how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 HOA's aren't always the devil (but can be). Just make sure to go over the CCR's thoroughly before committing to anything. Ours used to be a bit unpleasant, but that was because of the president. He was pretty much insufferable, and noone wanted to get involved with anything (including me) because he did what he wanted to do. He finally saw the light and bowed out after about 10 years, still lives in the neighborhood but doesn't even come to meetings anymore. New president and now all the sudden everyone's getting involved again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, mjeff87 said: HOA's aren't always the devil (but can be). Just make sure to go over the CCR's thoroughly before committing to anything. Ours used to be a bit unpleasant, but that was because of the president. He was pretty much insufferable, and noone wanted to get involved with anything (including me) because he did what he wanted to do. He finally saw the light and bowed out after about 10 years, still lives in the neighborhood but doesn't even come to meetings anymore. New president and now all the sudden everyone's getting involved again. Sounds like the HOA in my parents' neighborhood. President is a real POS and my parents are in a unique position where legally they aren't required to join the HOA but they still live in the neighborhood that the HOA covers (HOA was created post-execution and there is no documentation stating the house was subject to it, since it didn't exist when they began the process of buying it). The HOA prez hates this and tries to force them to comply with HOA rules, which they mostly do because they aren't jerks, but they won't pay dues or go to meetings or anything until the prez steps down. Hearing their stories has made me wary of buying a house with an HOA but like you said, I'm sure they aren't all bad. This one seems minimal in both fee and oversight. I see people parking RVs in their driveway, so it doesn't appear to be one of those "Thou shalt always park thine automobile in thine garage" HOAs. Hopefully they just keep the clutter down, keep the landscaping decent, and keep the streetlights operational. I'm pretty excited about this one. Really hope it works out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 I lived in a neighborhood with an HOA once. Never again. They're hit and miss. But any good HOA can get taken over by control freaks. I am specifically avoiding HOA neighborhoods because I don't trust them. And while Highlands Ranch is close to work, they are pretty bad there for what I want to do. So I'll go somewhere else and not bother them and they won't bother me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 36 minutes ago, derf said: I lived in a neighborhood with an HOA once. Never again. They're hit and miss. But any good HOA can get taken over by control freaks. I am specifically avoiding HOA neighborhoods because I don't trust them. And while Highlands Ranch is close to work, they are pretty bad there for what I want to do. So I'll go somewhere else and not bother them and they won't bother me. Highlands ranch is the worst HOA ever, seriously people have horror stories of dealing with them. Beyond Highlands Ranch just sucking the HOA is a nightmare. I would get letters about my weeds being too tall, if I didn't have my snow shoveled the days of I would get a letter, if the grass wasn't the right height would get a letter, trashcans or weird things on the side of the house in sight I would get a letter, paint started to peel got a letter saying we would need to touch up or repaint. Best one was literally days after we sold our house they sent a letter saying the fence was no longer up to code and had to be replaced. On the flip side when I lived in Englewood no HOA but there where some house that needed to be burnt down because people just didn't give a F. 2 hours ago, Zambeezy said: I'm pretty excited about this one. Really hope it works out! Where is that one located at? I would honestly say living close to the light rail is a great option BUT it has some downsides. When I was going to school at Metro I lived up the street for it so it made getting downtown awesome. Just easy and convenient much rather buy a pass then deal with parking. Biggest downside and it's been a while since I rode it was the bums. They would just get on and go wherever. I believe they've cracked down on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said: Highlands ranch is the worst HOA ever, seriously people have horror stories of dealing with them. Beyond Highlands Ranch just sucking the HOA is a nightmare. I would get letters about my weeds being too tall, if I didn't have my snow shoveled the days of I would get a letter, if the grass wasn't the right height would get a letter, trashcans or weird things on the side of the house in sight I would get a letter, paint started to peel got a letter saying we would need to touch up or repaint. Best one was literally days after we sold our house they sent a letter saying the fence was no longer up to code and had to be replaced. On the flip side when I lived in Englewood no HOA but there where some house that needed to be burnt down because people just didn't give a F. Where is that one located at? I would honestly say living close to the light rail is a great option BUT it has some downsides. When I was going to school at Metro I lived up the street for it so it made getting downtown awesome. Just easy and convenient much rather buy a pass then deal with parking. Biggest downside and it's been a while since I rode it was the bums. They would just get on and go wherever. I believe they've cracked down on it When I got the letter with a picture showing that my grass was 1/4" longer than was allowed, I knew it was time to leave. I'm not going to pay people who have nothing better to do than to nitpick stupid rules. Sure, you run the risk of having "that neighbor" if you don't have your HOA to keep them in check but honestly I'd rather have those neighbors than live in Stepford hell. I work down at the south end of Wadsworth so I'm looking basically south of 285 and west of I-25. I've seen a number of houses go by that were decent candidates in nice neighborhoods. I'm going to start my serious search this weekend. We'll see what I can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 So... they just had a big all-hands meeting. The upshot is that it's likely my office will be moving to the south end of the DTC. That changes the equation just a little... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 I got the house! Had my offer accepted this evening. I was sitting there wondering if I should have offered more and thinking how mad I would be if someone outbid me by a mere 5k and I got the call saying they liked my offer the most! March 9 is the anticipated closing date (sellers wanted longer, which is fine because my apartment lease isn't up until the end of June anyway). Will call my preferred inspector tomorrow, send the earnest money in, and start rolling on homeowner's insurance quotes. I'm stoked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Can you send me your inspector's contact info? I'm going to need a good one. Oh, and congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 I'm think I'm going to use this guy. Read through his sample reports and he seems very thorough. Definitely don't want to go with the cheapest option here (although on a 2004 build, probably not going to find anything particularly nasty...but better safe than sorry with this cheap insurance). NACHI and infrared certified, seems to be a straight shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 HOAs are indeed the devil if you're an "old car" enthusiast. heck, my regular ol' city in Michigan kept taking me to court over my trucks (I won every case and had a free lawyer so it was both irritating and entertaining ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Congratulations on the accepted offer Stock 1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Alright party at Zambeezys! Derf check out older centennial. Like mineral to belleview and sanre fe to Colorado. There are a few of the older neighborhoods that are pretty nice and don't have HOAs. Plus a few have RV parking or at least a decent driveway for wrenching. Yellaheep who I got my MJ from lives of broadway and mineral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 43 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said: Alright party at Zambeezys! Derf check out older centennial. Like mineral to belleview and sanre fe to Colorado. There are a few of the older neighborhoods that are pretty nice and don't have HOAs. Plus a few have RV parking or at least a decent driveway for wrenching. Yellaheep who I got my MJ from lives of broadway and mineral. I'll look there. But someone at work brought up a good point. We could be moved back to Waterton. So I'm going to try to split the difference between the two places. Basically north of Highlands Ranch is my target. But if something great pops up outside there I can be flexible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 36 minutes ago, derf said: I'll look there. But someone at work brought up a good point. We could be moved back to Waterton. So I'm going to try to split the difference between the two places. Basically north of Highlands Ranch is my target. But if something great pops up outside there I can be flexible. Ok well just don't dip over into Douglass county. Water and taxes are expensive comparatively to jeffco and Arapahoe county. I dig the Columbia area. We where going to move there before we moved up the hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 Man, the wins just keep on coming! Talked to my mortgage adviser today and rates have improved since I got pre-approved so I'm eligible for the same rate (3.625%) on a 30 year fixed, but now will get just over $2,000 in lender credits! That'll cover the washer and dryer purchases and maybe have a little more for a nice celebration dinner with the girlfriend! I did the math on loan amortization over 30 years, comparing 3.5% (would have to pay points to get this, about $1,500) to 3.625% and it's less than $15,000 difference over the life of the mortgage. I'll definitely be paying it off early, so the difference will be even less in reality. I was expecting a greater distance for the principal but I guess it is only 1/8 of a percent. Gladly locked in my rate today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Inspection scheduled for this morning and sewer scope tomorrow morning. With it being built in 2004, I don't expect anything major to turn up on either report but you never know, especially since the sellers have several young children who might have flushed god knows what down the toilet! Will be happy to have this done and hopefully fairly issue-free so we can keep moving through the closing. The only thing I haven't quite decided on is Owner's Title Insurance. It'll be about $2k (so the unexpected mortgage lender credits would cover it) but being a 15-year-old house that's only exchanged hands once before, I have a hard time believing there are title issues that won't be found in the due diligence that is being performed pre-closing or that there are outstanding liens or claims that have been created in this brief 15 year period. $2k is not a lot compared to the purchase price of the house but I don't think that's the right way to look at it; $2k is a lot of money. I'll do some more research but I'd welcome any opinions on the topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Your lender will likely demand title insurance, simply so they can sell the loan later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, johnj92131 said: Your lender will likely demand title insurance, simply so they can sell the loan later. True for Lender's Title Insurance. I'm referring to Owner's Title Insurance, which is a separate product and 4x the cost of the Lender's policy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Yeah that's a rip, we had it but it was $700. I'm trying to remember if it was shopable service or part of the lender fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Pics of the 3 car garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Smokeyyank said: Yeah that's a rip, we had it but it was $700. I'm trying to remember if it was shopable service or part of the lender fees. Yeah Lender's Title Insurance is $550 and is shoppable. Owner's is also shoppable but I'm definitely leaning against getting it at this ten seconds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 49 minutes ago, 87Chief said: Pics of the 3 car garage Absolutely will post as soon as I can get some. I'm so excited for it haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 Got the inspection report today. Overall didn't see anything that would make me want to nuke the deal but there are a few things I want to get addressed (cracked window in basement that I guess I didn't see during tour, slight leak in sink plumbing, slightly leaky dishwasher, things like that). I'm not going to be the annoying buyer that asked for a 4-page list of repairs but I am going to ask for several things while pointing out the many other items that I'm not asking to be repaired, as I can do those myself or I don't believe they are safety/longevity issues (failed hermetic seal on a few windows, for example). Should get the results of the sewer scope today, hoping that goes well for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambeezy Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Been awhile since I updated, but thankfully not much has happened in the past week. Sent the inspection objection to the sellers and asked for a those items to be fixed. They agreed without complaint and will be using licensed tradesmen for the jobs, providing receipts at closing. Couldn't really ask for a smoother deal on that. Sewer scope was apparently the "most boring" the inspector had seen, which is great! It was perfectly clean, which I mostly expected from a 15-year-old house, but you never know with kids flushing who knows what down the toilet... HOA docs came in and although I generally dislike HOAs on principle, this one seems incredibly well-run and non-invasive. The only things that irked me were the rules around parking oversized vehicles in the driveway (boats, RVs, etc.) and needing to only work on vehicles in the garage (no maintenance on driveway). Shouldn't be an issue with the 3-car setup but still, it's my house and I want it now! (JG Wentworth is a genius for that bit). I read the minutes from the two previous annual meetings and they discussed lowering HOA fees...I've never heard of that happening! Typically I feel like it's increased fees and attempts to increase control but this HOA seems to be minimal and focused on solely preserving home value, not power grabs and flexing. Don't really expect it to be an issue, so we're moving forward! Appraisal should be coming back this week and I don't expect any issues there. After that, all that's left is to finish the underwriting process (should be no issues there; loan is significantly less than I was approved for) and get to closing! Pretty dang excited, although I'm still more than a month away. Need to figure out what I'm doing with moving out of my apartment and asking my landlord if he'll consider posting the unit for rent and if he gets a taker, cutting me loose early. He's been a great guy and very easy to work with so I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for it, but then again I did sign a contract saying I'd pay through June so I'll absolutely honor that without issue if he says no. Not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Ready to get moved in and more importantly, get the MJ up here from Oklahoma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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