Our Realtor, the Pit Bull

After the general inspection, our realtor recommended we set up a bunch more inspections to get bids for the work the general inspector recommended we have done on the property: electrical, plumbing, heating, roofing, and structural/retrofit. She immediately got on the phone, and the electrical and heating guys were there within the hour. They both independently described her as the pit bull of East Bay real estate--when she calls, they know they better get there pronto.
The electrical guys explained that the old knob and tube wiring in the basement has been disturbed so many times that it is fragile, brittle, and in need of being ripped out and replaced. Fine with me--knob and tube scares the heck out of me. I'd replace all of it, but I also have no desire to take the house down to the studs. Bid: $900.
The heater guy joked with us that he didn't go to college and has a "real job" that requires sliding around in the mud under houses. Is it that obvious Mr. EBB and I aren't tradespeople? I'm good with a wrench.... Anyway, the furnace and water heater are both past their useful lives. Bid: $4625. I'm actually really excited to have that work done because we'll be able to replace the systems with much more efficient, energy-saving and earth-friendly ones. Going from a 60% efficient furnace to a 95% efficient furnace will cut our heating bills too.
The money is adding up here, and it's freaking both of us out a bit. Since this house is at the top of our price range, we're probably going to have to dip into the banks of Parents EBB and Parents Mr. EBB for some serious loans. I hate doing that, but at least we'll be able to pay them back very quickly once my $$ job starts in November.

In$$$$pection

Today was inspection day. I took a lot of pictures. (Some of these are from the website though.)
The exterior is stucco and is a pretty classic California Bungalow profile.

The neighbor's driveway. You can also see where they capped off the brick chimney and replaced it--less aesthetic; way more earthquake-proof.

Our driveway and Mr. EBB with a gigantic bougainvillea.

The living room. I love the built-in bookcases and the hardwood floors. The sellers replaced all the windows and wood frames with much more efficient vinyl. I'm glad, but I would have left the wood in the front ones. Oh well.

The dining room. (I hate chair covers. Gah. So glad I rented chairs for the wedding.) Love the light fixture and the built-in china cabinet.

The kitchen and eat-in nook. The sellers did the granite upgrades and refinished cabinetry about two years ago. I'm psyched to put in a stainless steel backsplash and some really nice cabinet hardware! (The fridge and a pantry cabinet are against an opposite wall.)
As you walk back from the kitchen you come to this "landing" area that leads down to the family room or up to the two added bedrooms. This is where we'd eventually put a piano.

The family room is part of an addition. The sellers finished it about five years ago. I love how they put in some of the Craftsman details in the woodworking on the bannister going down the stairs and in the molding (no pictures, sorry). This room is huge--I have no idea what we're going to do with all the space. It's perfect for a flat panel and our sofas, and I guess we could put a ping pong table or pool or something in the other half of the room. There's lots of closet space under the stairs too.

And here's the master bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom has so. much. closet space. I love it. Not such a fan of the carpeting or wall color, but cosmetics are cosmetics. I also like the updated master bath. I'd like a different vanity though....I hate vanities where you can't put down a hairbrush or makeup. I totally forgot to take a picture of the main bathroom, but you're not really missing much. It's functional but needs serious updating.


And finally the backyard. The decking is made from recycled material--it'll last for ages without rot worries. I'd eventually like to jackhammer up that concrete and put down sod. The neighbor's overhanging tree is a concern--apparently the sellers just chopped off branches ten years ago and haven't touched it since. I think I'd ask the neighbors first!
I'm excited to see that sun--vegetable garden going in, stage left.

The furniture is all the stager's--our agent said that it's fun for her to see the same furniture show up at different houses.

I cannot stress how important an inspection is, especially if you're buying an older home--but even if you're buying a newer home! Mr. EBB and I are highly risk-averse people, and while I love surprises for Christmas and my birthday, I do not want the surprise after purchasing of finding out that the roof is in bad shape or the steps are about to fall down.
Our inspector spent almost four hours with us. We walked all around the property and poked into every nook and cranny. I was very pleased to find that I could stand up in the crawl space--I was the only one. :) We ran the dishwasher (no water leaking--that's good!), we turned on the furnace (loud!--not good), and tested the water pressure (uh...weak. very weak).
Even the "not good" things that we learned are good to know, because now we can use them as ammunition to negotiate with the sellers for credits at closing, or even a lower purchase price. While the sellers have done a lot of good maintenance on the inside of the house, we learned they haven't done such a good job with some of the major systems. The house needs a new furnace, a new water heater, new piping, and new wiring. That ain't cheap, and Mr. EBB isn't going to shell out for the maintenance the sellers deferred. Not when the headline of the Chronicle yesterday was "Bay Area home prices hit record low."

Acceptance

We have a house. Our offer was accepted without a counter. We sign the paperwork and deliver the earnest money tonight.
So. Overwhelmed.

Mr. EBB is thrilled on one hand, but terrified on the other, as of course I am too. He's the financial professional in the household, and I know he's going to be watching like a hawk the fed's moves on Freddie and Fannie this week. I guess the benefits of buying in a downmarket still carry quite a lot of risk.

In which I feel like a bad person!

Gah, I put my foot in my mouth!

(Don't worry, there's a happy ending.)

Mr. EBB went out for a run--we've both been so stressed over housebuying that we've both been working out a lot. As he was coming back, I heard him saying, "that's okay, thanks for the update. Bye [Realtor]." He hangs up, and I said, "NOW what ridiculous thing do those sellers want?" Mr. EBB laughed a bit and said I should take that back before he told me. Uh oh. Apparently, the sellers' new home has a pool, and they were out by the pool discussing our offer. The husband of the seller was getting out of the pool and he slipped, doubled over in pain, and had to be taken to the hospital. !!! So obviously they won't be responding to our offer until tomorrow, and their agent hoped we'd understand and not press the 10pm expiration.

I feel really bad about assuming the worst. I've been so focused on interest rates and furnaces and neighborhoods--health is so much more important. Our agent said the hospital didn't think it was a heart attack, but still. Priorities, priorities.

Does this mean the house is bad luck? I hope not--I'm starting to want it more and more.

Or is it???!

Our agent called this afternoon to tell us that the other bidders were going to put in an offer at $735k. She said if we want it, if we go in at $736 or 737, we'd almost certainly get it. After some tough thinking and a stop at the neighborhood's coffee shop, we decided to just go for it. We like the house, the size is great, the elementary school is actually quite good, and we could see ourselves living there for at least 10 years. The offer expires at 10pm tonight, so the sellers don't have much time to think it over either.
And of course, that will be the most we'll pay. If we get it, we'll see what the inspection turns up--the roof seems pretty good, but I have a feeling the furnace and water heater are desperately in need of an upgrade.

And that's that.

Well that didn't go very well.

We bid. The sellers hemmed and hawed. They countered at $10k under asking. We said no dice--we're not budging on the money. Their agent thought she had the husband convinced, and then the wife wanted to hold out. Finally, they said only at their price; we said only at ours = it's done. ::sigh::

It'd be one thing if we were looking at a $10k difference and it wasn't the top of our budget. If we could go back and bid another $10k on the first house we lost, I think we'd do it in a heartbeat, but that house was also $80k less than what we bid on this one. (Yes, I realize that there are places in this country where $80k itself would buy you a house. That's not where we live, and we're not planning to move to Iowa anytime soon.)

I think the sellers just can't get over that it's not 2005 or 2006 anymore. They probably saw some of their neighbors sell for $800k or more, and they think they should be getting that or close to it. It. ain't. gonna. happen. Not from us, and not from any other buyer either (unless the buyer is very, very foolish).

Mr. EBB is despondent. It's odd--neither of us have ever faced much disappointment in our lives up until now. I'm finding that he does not deal with problems like this very well--he withdraws, which is the opposite of how I deal. Obviously we've had arguments before, but this is the first time an outside force has caused a problem for us. I hope I'll be able to help him through this!

And we're bidding!

We enjoyed the neighborhood--dinner was tasty, and there's a good variety of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the house. I'm okay with the size--I guess bigger is better than smaller for a starter home, right? We wouldn't have to move even if we have two kids until they got a bit bigger.

Our agent advised a bid of $20k or even $25k under the listing. She ran the comps, and it would be a good deal but still a fair price. Mr. EBB ran the numbers, and $20k under is the max I feel comfortable with, so we're just going to start there and if they counter....tough. I really can't imagine they'd do the same thing twice. They've already moved out, and carrying this mortgage plus the staging costs can't be fun.

Cross your fingers!