I'm Chia Wald and this is my blog. Here is where I share my thoughts and my art. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn't. That's life... and that's me. 
To me, John Mellencamp’s song, Little Pink Houses, has always been about dreams that didn’t pan out quite right.
Lots of drama this week so I figure I’ll give you all an update on The Boy’s home purchase. It hasn’t been all arts and crafts around here.
When the house was listed it not only had a price but an announcement that the buyer would receive 4% back for their closing costs. This is what was written into the offer contract and what was accepted. You can tell that I’m leading up to a big BUT, can’t you? You are such smart readers and you have gotten to know me so well. Ah, but I am straying from the story…
I think it was last Thursday that the first estimate of settlement amounts was sent to The Boy. Right off the bat you could see problems. There were seller expenses placed in the buyers column and amounts were all wrong. The most obvious amount that was wrong was the amount the sellers were paying toward closing costs. It didn’t even come close to the promised 4%. Phone calls were made and the numbers were reworked. Somewhere along the way the words “You can’t get blood from a turnip” were muttered. Turns out that the selling price didn’t provide enough money to cover the 4% back and the sellers didn’t have any money to pay to it. I’m not sure what changes they made but it involved shifting items around, giving the buyer’s agent less than the listing agent and, deducting a sizable sum from each of the agents commissions. In the end The Boy would be paying just a small amount more than he had anticipated, small enough to be acceptable to him.
Today was the signing. Here in AZ you sign all the paperwork and then wait. Hopefully you only have to wait a day or two while the paperwork gets delivered to the lending bank and the funds are dispersed. At that point the escrow company files the deed and the house has officially closed and you can get the keys. Another thing I miss about CT. In CT you show up at a lawyer’s office, sign the papers and pay any amounts due, then walk out the door with your keys. Nice and clean.
I told The Boy he needed a walk though before the final signing so he could make sure they hadn’t destroyed the property or stolen the stove since he had made the offer. The walk through actually took place after the signing but before he paid them any money. Since he hadn’t seen the final settlement figures until the signing he was going to have to go to his bank later and have his funds wired to the escrow company.
OK, pop quiz to see just how well you know me. What am I leading up to here? Any guesses? Read on…
They walk in the house and see that it is dirty and has a lot of garbage in it but what really matters is that they see the sellers have stolen the stove! Hey, can I call them or what? Buyer’s agent gets on the phone and calls listing agent. Listing agent is there in 10 minutes to see for himself. He seems embarrassed and upset not only about the missing stove but the mess. He says, “I told them they had to leave the stove” in a way that makes it seem as if this had been a sticky point all along. Then he asks what color the stove was and says to give him till 4pm to see what he can do. 4pm came and went and we don’t know what if anything he will do.
More disturbing to me is the fact that the sellers have already moved to California and the house can’t close till they sign a few more papers. Now tell me, if you were getting zero from the sale (this was a short sale) and you had just stolen an appliance, would you be easy to find and eager to sign documents and fax them back?
So the little pink house is sitting empty. Dirty, but empty. Tomorrow the utilities will be turned on and The Boy will be responsible for the cost. Who knows when this will close and he will get the keys. Hopefully before he has to move out of his apartment and into my garage and guest room.
Stumble it!
8 responses so far ↓
1 Wendy // Oct 6, 2009 at 10:23 am
Unbelievable…no wait , this sounds all together too familir to my own dealings with real estate a couple of years ago. Apparently math skills aren’t required, and contracts are pure fantasy in their world. They should at least replace the stove with a top of the line model of his choice.
2 Suzanne // Oct 6, 2009 at 11:59 am
They bank should of had the sellers sign a power of attorney before they moved. It is amazing all of the problems that can come up at closings. When we first saw our house it looked fine and you could not smell anything bad. On the final walk through the day of closing we found damage to flooring that we hadn’t seen & the house smelled like animal pee. It cost us $1000 to get the carpet cleaned just to get rid of the smell.
3 Kim Johnson // Oct 6, 2009 at 6:33 pm
It’s never easy, is it Chia?
4 chia // Oct 6, 2009 at 10:38 pm
We are all on the same page here
Every time we have bought or sold there has been drama and upset. It’s amazing that so many people actually make it through the process.
This evening his agent called to say the lending bank suddenly decided there were things wrong with the house that had to be fixed before they would release the money. Why they waited till now is a bit of a mystery. There was a drippy faucet, some trim boards that needed repair, small stuff that we had planned on fixing after The Boy got the house. So we met his agent down there and then were met by her handy man. All the repairs were made and hopefully they will satisfy the bank. There still isn’t a stove in the house, even though the selling agent said this afternoon it would be there by 4pm. At this point it will be less expensive to buy a new stove than to walk away from the sale. Oh, and the selling bank changed their mind about paying for a warranty today (what’s the point in a CONTRACT?) so the title company just shifted the expense to The Boy’s column which would mean he owes more and the bank will receive more money that they are suppose to. His agent is working on that one to get some of the other closing costs shifted back to the seller. With the agents both facing deductions to their pay, the bank should not be getting more than they agreed to accept. I’m starting to think the title company does not employ an accountant because they don’t seem to understand balance sheet math.
5 Judy B. // Oct 7, 2009 at 8:12 am
Fuzzy math comes to mind! This is horrible!!!! Someone owes The Boy a stove! Someone owes The Boy a clean house. All contracts say “broom clean” and that doesn’t mean garbage bags, etc. AND he is owed that warranty from the bank.
I would have both agents on the carpet for this boondoogle. So what if their commissions are being depleted! Too flippin’ bad! This is obviously sloppy work and they should be held accountable! If they work for a realty firm then a talk with their bosses would be a good idea. The bank is acting stupid, too. Wouldn’t be BofA would it? This makes me fume!
Oh, and just where in California are the sellers headed?? They can’t possibly afford anything out there. Oh wait! I’m wrong! The lenders will probably be more than happy to lend this couple more money to buy another home they can’t afford.
David and I never had a problem with any buy/sell transaction. But then, we were not in this upside down market of today.
6 chia // Oct 7, 2009 at 11:02 am
Hi Judy, I alternate between being amazed at the stupidity and being angry. Don’t know where in CA and I won’t share our suspicions because I don’t want to sound anti illegal immigrant or anything like that. Ha. Did learn that another house on the street is owned by their relatives so for all we know the stove is there and that’s why the agent keeps thinking it will suddenly show up back in place. Note to self, set land speed records for how fast you can get the locks changed after closing! I’m guessing that is why they were able to find them so quickly to get signatures yesterday. The story we got is that the men have gone to CA and the women were still here to sell the house. Lots of shady things to think about.
I think the reason we always had drama is that we always found ourselves having to sell in a buyers market and buy in a seller’s market. In the end things work out and life goes on so I keep trying to help The Boy stay balanced. Actually that is a laugh because he is much more patient than I am. Keeping his eye on the prize, he knows that after a lot of elbow grease and TLC this house will be lovely.
7 chia // Oct 8, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Things are moving along. They finally reworked the settlement numbers so that The Boy isn’t paying any extra and is getting the warranty. The repairs were enough to pass the final inspections. The selling agent managed to get a stove in the house, not as nice as the original but not a shabby one either. The money has been sent in by The Boy and now he is waiting for the title company to close the deal and call to tell him he can get the key. This part of the adventure is almost over. Yay!
8 Jolene // Oct 8, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Just checking in…. so sorry this wonderful adventure of a lifetime is turning out to be just the opposite. Even if you get it settled and you are happy, I think you owe the rest of the buyers/sellers, a letter to the Ariz Real Estate Commissioner. Maybe even a copy to the State’s Atty General.
The only way they can keep doing such screw ups, is because no one turns them in. In CT. you don’t get into such hassles, as people know they’d be in big trouble, lose their license etc. for some of these shinnegans… Just the stove swap with the other family member is illegal, in most places. Good luck on the turning the ugly duckling into a Swan… but please consider sending those letters….. even a letter to the editor if you get mad enough! ha.
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