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At the time I lived in a 3BR apartment with two roommates. We all had ideas of buying a place, either individually or collectively. Nobody was real certain on what we could afford, and where we could afford it.
I was working in Houston at the time, traveling back to Chicago weekly at best. I really didn't want to pay monthly rent when I was there for only a few days a month. My existing lease ended at the end of September 2003, so I knew I needed to make a decision before it was too late and I was either without a Chicago home, or paying rent for a place I didn't stay.
I decided in June that it was time to buy. What next?
I had talked to a mortgage broker in the past, but lost his number along the way. I decided to look at Lending Tree to see what was offered. I completed their forms, got several mortgage offers, talked to some of them about the terms, then remembered that an old friend was a broker, and called him instead. Wise choice as it was nice working with someone that I knew.
Also from Lending Tree I was referred to a real estate agent. I picked from 2 that were listed, and got a gift certificate for doing so [note to readers: I will give you the same gift certificate if you use me as your agent]. A few days later, the agent called me and set up a time to meet with her. We filled out some forms, and I gave her the initial criteria that I had in my mind.
In deciding what I wanted, my initial criteria was simple; "I want a 2BR condo that I can use to store my stuff while I am out of town". Basically a very expensive storage unit with tax incentives. I later decided that I wanted an area that was geared towards appreciation. You know the type of area I am talking about. The area that is just starting to have alot of new construction and condo conversions. One that isn't quite as nice as where you were renting, but could be there in a couple years.
Since I was rarely in Chicago at the time, I put my price range quite a bit lower than what my pre-qualification letter had indicated I could afford. I was self employed consultant at the time, so I didn't want to get into a position where I couldn't afford the monthly payment if I didn't work for 3 months. I wasn't looking for my dream home, or even the home before my dream home. I also didn't want my mortgage to become a burden.
My agent sent me off with her assistant on three seperate occassions to look at condos. For some reason, the viewing list changed from the time I left the office until the time I started looking. To this day I am not sure what happened, maybe I was just forgetful. To be honest, there were a few that shouldn't have been on the list. It didn't waste too much time, but my agent should have caught it.
After looking at several condos, I decided on one that I liked over the others. Condo conversion, close to the brown line, last one in the building, fairly priced. My agent went with me for the final viewing. This was the second time I had seen her.
I put in an offer at list price, and asked for all the upgrades. A little back and forth on the closing and the offer was accepted. Closing in a very quick 45 days was pressing for them to complete the build out.
My agent provided a number for a real estate attorney to use. I didn't have one already, so this was quite helpful. The attorney did an outstanding job! She was very thorough in what she did, and was always ready to explain some things to me that I didn't know at the time.
Since the unit was new construction and came with a warranty, I passed on the home inspection. I did a final walk through, and noted several things on my punch list that needed to be fixed. Mostly touch up items.
Some of these items were fixed before closing. Others were fixed over time. I had spent quite a bit of time trying to get in touch with the people that were supposed to complete my unit. I wish my agent (or at least her assistant) would have helped out with this and followed up with them. A real estate agent's job does not end at closing.
My agent's assistant attended the closing for about an hour, then had to leave early. About a week later, I received a gift card for $25 from my agent, and a congratulatory note. I still get "just listed" cards in the mail from her today, and I think I might have received a Christmas card.
My home appraised for quite a bit more than I paid in September 2003 (whose hasn't), so I definitely got what I wanted out of my first home purchase. I am currently looking for my next home, most likely a fixer-upper in another up and coming area. Since I will function as the buyer's agent this time around, I guarantee I will get 100% attention. |
