orgopeach_IHB
New member
What I hope to bring out of this post is not a "yea I bought a home" declaration. I encountered some twist and turns along the path and would like to share it with all.
INTRO
Like Mazzy, I recently bought a home. My fiance and I are getting married in September, and there was some personal reasons to buy now. We had been looking since December of 2008. Realtor #1 was too passive. He actually lost some of our sensitive financial information at one point to turn into mortgage broker but eventually found it - ugh very uneasy with that. Realtor #3 didn't respond to emails or phone calls very well. Realtor #4 was a friend's friend but felt like she had that same realtor fast sell mentality. So what am I missing... Realtor #2.
I've been visiting this site on and off but Realtor #2 was what pushed me onto this site further. Using Realtor #2 as a dual agent (search post in general real estate forum on dual agent), I put an offer on a house in Northpark. No matter I recently learned the home eventually sold for the same price, the realization that dual agency (after learning about it on this site) had potential (note the word potential) for problem put me at unease. After researching on this site more, I learned the realtor had not educated me on all my options as a buyer to negotiate. Whether or not it was a good - ~$345 a sq foot in Northpark, I did not want to wager the bet especially on such a large purchase (btw, used to be a very active Slickdeals guy). I backed out of the deal. During the course of my ordeal, I met USCTrojanman (PM him or me if you want his info).
He knew what he was talking about - unlike other realtors almost blindly following the sales propoganda of the various realtors associations. He wasn't pushy. We did search around with USCTrojanman but the houses we saw were all across the board - a lot of maybes. We actually saw a house in Northwood that illegally built a bedroom in a 2-door garage.
THE BID
Like Mazzy, we accidentally found a property in Columbus Grove and were in escrow within a matter of days. At a little over 300 a square foot, this home drove people in like flies. There were 5 or 6 offers on the house and from the listing agent heavy traffic (~300 people one day) during open house. Somehow we won the bid based price, strong credit, and the sellers liked our profession (?, we are accountants). A FCB with a higher price actually came after we put in escrow and called every day to the listing agent to check if we feel out. I truly believe this listing agent was honest btw, and I keep in touch with her outside of the transaction. She wasn't aggressive but she really did bring the inherent qualities of the house passively.
THE LOAN
When we bid, we had a commitment letter from Wells Fargo. It took nearly a month prior to get this commitment letter, and actually the loan officer was a friend's friend. What happened after escrow is that Wells asked for a lot more information. Due to my own circumstances, I could not provide my information in time. I started to freak but my parent's had a friend that was a loan officer at BoA. She promised us two weeks from start to finish. I'll caveat to say she was not very responsive from day to day but she delivered. I'd consider her the black ops of the loan history world to be used only in dire circumstance (PM me if you absolutely need her).
THE ESCROW
Meanwhile we had to deal with the escrow company. The seller chose this company - Granite Escrow. The officer we dealt with at this company is the pinnacle of unresponsiveness. Yes, maybe the market is getting hot and you (Mr. Escrow Officer) have a lot to do. However, when I call or leave email, just respond and say you are busy. What I got was no response at all. At one point, I had to go to the office and sit there until his admin gave me the information. I tried calling to have them fax or email to me but I never got a response. When I was at the office, this guy never even showed his face, so I have no idea what he looks like (PM me if you want his name to avoid him). Furthermore, I felt his company charged a considerable bit ~1800 each for buyer and seller. Boiling it down to nuts and bolts, the job of the escrow agent is to communicate between seller and buyer parties. He gets paid to communicate, so where is my Hello? Even the BoA loan officer and my insurance agent (co-workers's mom - 2nd to best rate among all home insurance I called, best value however - PM if you want her name too) said he was unresponsive. In the end, there wasn't much we could do. We were a captive consumer of the escrow company. We closed two Fridays ago and are still waiting for our refund from escrow. A question to all IHBs, how can we address or give feedback to this escrow company in a meaningful way? What would you have done if you were still in escrow?
THE CLOSE
So we closed two Fridays ago. We moved in fast but have a good bit of work to do. We decided to upgrade to hardwood on 1st floor, carpet on second, paint the whole house, and buy furnitures - all while planning for a wedding nearly a month a way. USCTrojanMan is great realtor and a good friend now. Not only does he helped us during the process but he helped us after close for upgrade ideas and places to get the upgrade items for cheaper. His father is installing our hardwood. Trojan's dad is old school - a perfectionist and stickler for quality. While I am working in the house, he tells me stories of the old times. My fiance's friend's friend did the carpet upstairs. While the carpet was ok, I almost wish Trojan's knew carpet. There are some minor imperfections with how they installed the base board that Trojan's dad would have done perfectly.
Btw, the HOA is a bit strict here. If you park overnight, you need to call the parking security otherwise you get a ticket or towed. There is a $200 application fee if you want to change your front or back yard landscape.
RECAP
1. Wells Fargo officer - high rates, too much documentation, friend's friend was responsive though and kept me up to date on how the rates were each day, possible if you have a large account at this bank may be able to get better rates
2. BoA officer - black ops, low rates, minimal documentation
3. <strong>USCTrojanman</strong> - excellent buyer realtor, realistic negotiator, MBA, almost a CPA, knows real estate market well
4. Realtors #1,2,3,4 - run of the mill realtors
5. Trojan's dad - old school Polish perfection hardwood master
6. Granite Escrow - trans-fattiness of the transaction, do little work and rack in fees
INTRO
Like Mazzy, I recently bought a home. My fiance and I are getting married in September, and there was some personal reasons to buy now. We had been looking since December of 2008. Realtor #1 was too passive. He actually lost some of our sensitive financial information at one point to turn into mortgage broker but eventually found it - ugh very uneasy with that. Realtor #3 didn't respond to emails or phone calls very well. Realtor #4 was a friend's friend but felt like she had that same realtor fast sell mentality. So what am I missing... Realtor #2.
I've been visiting this site on and off but Realtor #2 was what pushed me onto this site further. Using Realtor #2 as a dual agent (search post in general real estate forum on dual agent), I put an offer on a house in Northpark. No matter I recently learned the home eventually sold for the same price, the realization that dual agency (after learning about it on this site) had potential (note the word potential) for problem put me at unease. After researching on this site more, I learned the realtor had not educated me on all my options as a buyer to negotiate. Whether or not it was a good - ~$345 a sq foot in Northpark, I did not want to wager the bet especially on such a large purchase (btw, used to be a very active Slickdeals guy). I backed out of the deal. During the course of my ordeal, I met USCTrojanman (PM him or me if you want his info).
He knew what he was talking about - unlike other realtors almost blindly following the sales propoganda of the various realtors associations. He wasn't pushy. We did search around with USCTrojanman but the houses we saw were all across the board - a lot of maybes. We actually saw a house in Northwood that illegally built a bedroom in a 2-door garage.
THE BID
Like Mazzy, we accidentally found a property in Columbus Grove and were in escrow within a matter of days. At a little over 300 a square foot, this home drove people in like flies. There were 5 or 6 offers on the house and from the listing agent heavy traffic (~300 people one day) during open house. Somehow we won the bid based price, strong credit, and the sellers liked our profession (?, we are accountants). A FCB with a higher price actually came after we put in escrow and called every day to the listing agent to check if we feel out. I truly believe this listing agent was honest btw, and I keep in touch with her outside of the transaction. She wasn't aggressive but she really did bring the inherent qualities of the house passively.
THE LOAN
When we bid, we had a commitment letter from Wells Fargo. It took nearly a month prior to get this commitment letter, and actually the loan officer was a friend's friend. What happened after escrow is that Wells asked for a lot more information. Due to my own circumstances, I could not provide my information in time. I started to freak but my parent's had a friend that was a loan officer at BoA. She promised us two weeks from start to finish. I'll caveat to say she was not very responsive from day to day but she delivered. I'd consider her the black ops of the loan history world to be used only in dire circumstance (PM me if you absolutely need her).
THE ESCROW
Meanwhile we had to deal with the escrow company. The seller chose this company - Granite Escrow. The officer we dealt with at this company is the pinnacle of unresponsiveness. Yes, maybe the market is getting hot and you (Mr. Escrow Officer) have a lot to do. However, when I call or leave email, just respond and say you are busy. What I got was no response at all. At one point, I had to go to the office and sit there until his admin gave me the information. I tried calling to have them fax or email to me but I never got a response. When I was at the office, this guy never even showed his face, so I have no idea what he looks like (PM me if you want his name to avoid him). Furthermore, I felt his company charged a considerable bit ~1800 each for buyer and seller. Boiling it down to nuts and bolts, the job of the escrow agent is to communicate between seller and buyer parties. He gets paid to communicate, so where is my Hello? Even the BoA loan officer and my insurance agent (co-workers's mom - 2nd to best rate among all home insurance I called, best value however - PM if you want her name too) said he was unresponsive. In the end, there wasn't much we could do. We were a captive consumer of the escrow company. We closed two Fridays ago and are still waiting for our refund from escrow. A question to all IHBs, how can we address or give feedback to this escrow company in a meaningful way? What would you have done if you were still in escrow?
THE CLOSE
So we closed two Fridays ago. We moved in fast but have a good bit of work to do. We decided to upgrade to hardwood on 1st floor, carpet on second, paint the whole house, and buy furnitures - all while planning for a wedding nearly a month a way. USCTrojanMan is great realtor and a good friend now. Not only does he helped us during the process but he helped us after close for upgrade ideas and places to get the upgrade items for cheaper. His father is installing our hardwood. Trojan's dad is old school - a perfectionist and stickler for quality. While I am working in the house, he tells me stories of the old times. My fiance's friend's friend did the carpet upstairs. While the carpet was ok, I almost wish Trojan's knew carpet. There are some minor imperfections with how they installed the base board that Trojan's dad would have done perfectly.
Btw, the HOA is a bit strict here. If you park overnight, you need to call the parking security otherwise you get a ticket or towed. There is a $200 application fee if you want to change your front or back yard landscape.
RECAP
1. Wells Fargo officer - high rates, too much documentation, friend's friend was responsive though and kept me up to date on how the rates were each day, possible if you have a large account at this bank may be able to get better rates
2. BoA officer - black ops, low rates, minimal documentation
3. <strong>USCTrojanman</strong> - excellent buyer realtor, realistic negotiator, MBA, almost a CPA, knows real estate market well
4. Realtors #1,2,3,4 - run of the mill realtors
5. Trojan's dad - old school Polish perfection hardwood master
6. Granite Escrow - trans-fattiness of the transaction, do little work and rack in fees
