Skip to main content

WE DID IT! Closed in 25 days in LA

Just wanted to share my story over the last month of viewing and closing on a property in LA through the pandemic.

We started this journey about 3 years ago viewing neighborhoods, checking out open houses, and just kicking tires - not serious about it but slowly saving our money for when the opportunity was there.

We knew we'd probably be in south LA (Leimert Park, View Park) or far east (Highland Park, Eagle Rock) due to really enjoying the areas and what the neighborhoods offer. They are also a little cheaper compared to the rest of LA because South Central is the hood slowly being gentrified, and the east side is really far for anyone who needs to commute to the west.

We viewed our first house on April 2nd in Leimert Park and loved it. It was exactly what we needed, and the price was right - $677k.

I was so certain on this place, I told my wife we should put an offer in right away. She wanted to see a few more. We pushed our agent to show us 8 houses the next day so we could confidently make a decision.

And guess what? First house was right. Beginner's luck I guess. We put in an offer at asking and I think the pandemic situation was already started to panic sellers and buyers, so it got accepted right away + a $6k credit for appliances. We were stunned. Everyone warned us that we'd get our hearts broken over and over again in this real estate market since it's the hottest in the country and you always hear stories of people buying in cash etc. So thankful we were able to avoid it. We put in another offer on a much more expensive place, just to see what would happen - and we were immediately outbid. No biggie. I didn't want it, but did it for my wife to see the reality of real estate out here.

We started with Movement Mortgage as our lender which was a total shitshow. They weren't a great option for me, having a 699 credit rating and carrying credit card debt. Their origination fees were out of this world and customer service was kind of crappy. I recently changed my name in marriage and their underwriters gave me a lot of trouble for it. It almost looked like it wouldn't go through and we'd need to wait. I also couldn't justify the extra $12k in origination fees. Total bs.

We couldn't risk this falling through, so we tried another lender at the same time, Better Mortgage. They were absolutely amazing. No issues with the name change, and a better rate with low origination fees. We got a 3.875% rate, a $2,500 kickback from AMEX and free appraisal. Thanks to Reddit for that tip!

Viewing homes during COVID was weird, but we were luckily able to avoid the busy open houses so that's a plus. Dealing with Escrow and signing all the title stuff in-person was a funny experience, sitting at the furthest end of a corporate board room table with someone who hadn't seen a customer in 4 weeks.

Oh, the best part - the appraisal came in at $700K so #instantequity is very exciting. I can't believe I have the keys and the place is ours! WOOHOO!

submitted by /u/sidneyxcrosby
[link] [comments]

source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/gamr7u/we_did_it_closed_in_25_days_in_la/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aren't comps/CMAs useless with buyer credits at close happening now?

I'm looking into buying a new construction townhouse in my HCOL US city. I'm seeing builders offering interest rate buydowns worth $20k-$60k on $800k homes (rather than just lowering prices) in order to keep their comps high for their other units, now that buyer demand has been declining. I asked my agent about these, and he said these buydowns aren't even the full story: buyers can write all kinds of other credits into an offer, like their closing costs, prepaid sewer fees, etc. Apparently cash buyers can just write in a "buyer credit at close" for any amount in their offer. So a new townhouse that appeared to sell for $800k in the MLS might have actually been a cash offer with a $100k+ buyer credit at close, meaning the buyer only spent $700k or less in total, but to the rest of the world they can only see the $800k! So that made me realize I can't trust comps/CMAs for other new construction townhouses. The sales prices could be way lower than they appear
1 comment
Read more

Fast Rising HOA Fees on NYC Condo, No Budget Provided

My wife and I are first time homeowners and could use some advice on a situation we've been having with our management company and Board. We bought a condo in Brooklyn two years ago, and since then our HOA fees have climbed dramatically. In August of last year, our fees were increased by ~30% and just yesterday we received notice that this new figure would be increased by 16% as of June 1st. The by-laws for our building state that ten days before such a change goes into effect, the Board must provide unit owners with the itemized budget upon which the new numbers were based. This didn't happen last year, and when I asked the management company about it, they just kept vaguely insisting the Board had done due diligence. After I kept pressing, they finally sent a budget that was several years old, so obviously not the one that the new numbers were based on. When I asked the management company for contact information for the Board to get further clarification, I was told that th
Post a Comment
Read more

How to create fidelity investments current bank statement for lender during escrow

I transferred a certain amount to my bank account to complete the minimum down payment required. The bank wants a current statement of the transaction. Unfortunately, fidelity only does quarterly statements so a December statement is not available and we are due to close next week. I called fidelity and they they can only provide a letter but the bank said that won’t suffice. Any way I can find or make one of my own that has my account number/name along with all the recent month’s activities? submitted by /u/bodaciousbeans [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/zmnnqo/how_to_create_fidelity_investments_current_bank/
Post a Comment
Read more