Once Boo wife and I decided to buy the land and build we also decided that it would be best for us, from a financial standpoint, to sell our condo before we started to build. It was, and still is, a tough housing market and as always, Condo's seem to take an especially hard hit during times like this. However, it would be very tough for us to pay 2 mortgages if we started building and we weren't able to sell our condo.
Our Realtor suggested we get someone to help us 'stage our home'. For those of you unfamiliar with home staging you can find more info here. I really have to give Boo Wife a lot of credit here as she took the suggestions to heart and really changed the whole feel of the house with just a few simple additions and a lot of de-cluttering. She also kept the house in shape for all the showings and open house events we had.
Unfortunately, for us, we knew we were going to take a loss on the condo but we were anxious to sell so we priced it accordingly.
The first few months there seemed to be some interest but most of the people wanted to rent the condo with an option to buy. Unfortunately this is NOT where I wanted to be, I just didn't want to take the chance. As the summer wore on the news became more and more depressing. Some condos in our development had been on the market for over one year, those that did sell were sold substantially below their original cost. It was also difficult to live the 'minimalist approach' necessary to stage a home. This was even more difficult with a one year old child, who was almost ready to start walking, and a 60 lb Labrador Retriever who sheds like there is no tomorrow, oh and lets not forget the cat. The constant cleaning, vacuuming, and picking up was keeping us both busy.
Towards the end of August we had our first 'serious' offer. I have serious in quotes because the buyer was low balling the hell out of me AND the buyer wanted us out of the condo at the end of August. So, we had about a week to finalize a deal, find movers, find a new place to live, and pack up our Condo!? Seriously?! I am still not sure what his plan was since in order to sell we the would also need a local inspection, a bank appraisal, and his own inspection.
Anyway, we went back and forth for a few days and finally agreed on a selling price and that we would be out of the Condo and close at the end of September. Boo wife found a great rental in a great neighborhood close by that was pet friendly. No easy task as some of the house rentals on the market were in pretty nasty shape. Once again I have to give Boo Wife a lot of credit as she did a lot of the footwork in finding a rental as well as the bulk of the packing. We also had at least three trips to the Goodwill, donating clothes and misc items. Some things we were able to give to friends and family. Bottom line, we were out of our Condo and in our rental by mid September.
As we approached the last week in September I had made all the calls to the utility companies for final readings and am getting ready to close when I get a call from our Realtor that the 'buyer' wants to delay closing until the end of October. Seriously!? WTF. His Realtor was saying how busy he was, job, travel, personal issues, etc.
So now here I am in the exact situation I didn't want to be in. Responsible for our rental payment AND my mortgage payment AND double utilities. To make matters even more frustrating I was getting calls twice a week because he was bringing in contractors and decorators into the Condo. Not that I had a problem with that per se but when we would go back there would always be several lights and fans left on, and I'm still paying the electric bill. I really wanted to charge the 'buyer' some sort of rent each time he went in but I kept hearing things like, "oh don't piss him off because he'll walk away from the deal".
The problem was that at one point I was so pissed with all the antics that I was actually willing to forgo the sale and move back. This was especially true after we found out that the reason the closing date changed was not related to work, or travel, but rather he had not turned in some simple paperwork to his loan officer.
Things get even uglier as the end of October rolls around and I haven't heard form the Title Company about when the closing time is. As it happens they have not received some of the paper work they need due to some oversight as well. As my stomach continues to ball up and I take my extra proton pump inhibitor I begin to wonder if the Condo wouldn't have been such a bad place to raise a family.
Our closing day, Monday October 26, 2009 comes and goes without a word. I come into work the next day and get a call from the Title Co at 9:30 am telling me that the paperwork will be signed at a location 45 minutes away at 11:30am. Both me and Boo Wife are at work, which leaves me one hour and 15 minutes to change my entire work schedule, contact my wife and have her change her entire work schedule and make the drive to sign the paper work. Unfortunately there was no way we could do this. Oh, no problem, said the 'nice' lady at the Title agency, we can have an agent come to your home tonight to sign the paper work. "Oh!", great I thought, "Lets do that".
"Yes, that will be a $150.00 charge that you will have to pay when he comes out". She stated nonchalantly.
Arrggghhh! So the closing date I had previously set aside is canceled, through no fault of my own. Then, they give me a total of 75 minutes to change mine and my wife's entire work schedule to drive to a location 45 minutes away and I get charged for this!?!
Now, I am at the point where I just want to get all this over and done with. Nobody at this POS Title Company really cares at this point and they just ignore my calls and e-mails. If you ever have any dealings or are asked to deal with Title Source based out of Michigan, I would suggest that you avoid them at all costs.
The only satisfying part of this whole adventure, and I know how spiteful this sounds, but I couldn't help but laugh a little inside when I heard this. Our contract stated that the buyer could not take possession of the property until the Title was transferred. Apparently in Michigan, the signing of the paperwork is enough and the POS Title company did not file the paperwork even after they had it. This led to a lot of frantic calls from the buyer to the POS Title Company, who finally filed the paperwork on Friday afternoon. Friday night I dropped of the key, checked the place one last time, turned out all the lights and left my Condo for good.
So, in summary,
The Good:
-we sold our condo in about 4 months.
-we were one step closer to getting a new house built.
-we have great neighbors and a small yard at our temporary home.
The Bad:
-sold at about 18% below my original cost.
-lost another month of mortgage and utility payments because the buyer, who originally wanted to be in the condo in August, was to 'busy' to get his paper work in.
The Ugly:
-Don't ever deal with Title Source.
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