Snafu with New Home Purchase

[h***@oddkarma.com]

Went to the title company on Friday to sign the settlement papers (house
closes on Tuesday the 26th).

I found out there is a discrepency between the builder/seller's price, and
the price the lender has (Chase). The builder's sales price is $5,000
higher than what Chase has. Why? Because of my upgrades.

The builder included the upgrades into the purchase price of the house. I
am told (by the builder) that this is something they are required to do by
law. I thought I could pay for this out of pocket.

The title company says we cannot proceed until Chase is satisfied. And
Chase wants one of two things: 1) The builder lower the price back to the
original price, minus upgrades or 2) They redraw the loan to reflect the
$5,000 difference.

That was yesterday.

As of today - The builder will not lower the price. They say they have to
by law. Chase is redrawing the papers, but there is one more person who
needs to review the papers, and she will not be able to process it until
Monday.

So best case scenario, everything gets processed Monday morning and the
house is funded by lunchtime.

Worst case scenario, everything gets processed by Tuesday, and we have to
file for some sort of special appointment with the county of Santa Clara
to have the purchase recorded.

Absolute worst case scenario. Loan gets denied because Chase is being a
jackass.

I've already called the builder and let them know what's going on, and
that there may be a delay. There is a $500/day penalty.

I've contacted the Broker I am working with, and she is pressuring Chase
to turn this around asap.

I've contacted my Real Estate agent, who says there is nothing more she
can do, and that the best thing to do is just keep pressure on the Lender
(Chase) and the Builder to give me a grace period.

I honestly had no idea that buying upgrades would increase the selling
price. In hindsight it makes sense, but it never occured to me. I put a
lot of the blame on myself as a result. Right now I just want to get this
resolved, but there's not much I can do.

So I'll probably go refrigerator shopping.

Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated.

[Bob Nielsen]

Post by h***@oddkarma.com
Went to the title company on Friday to sign the settlement papers (house
closes on Tuesday the 26th).
I found out there is a discrepency between the builder/seller's price, and
the price the lender has (Chase). The builder's sales price is $5,000
higher than what Chase has. Why? Because of my upgrades.
The builder included the upgrades into the purchase price of the house. I
am told (by the builder) that this is something they are required to do by
law. I thought I could pay for this out of pocket.
The title company says we cannot proceed until Chase is satisfied. And
Chase wants one of two things: 1) The builder lower the price back to the
original price, minus upgrades or 2) They redraw the loan to reflect the
$5,000 difference.
That was yesterday.
As of today - The builder will not lower the price. They say they have to
by law. Chase is redrawing the papers, but there is one more person who
needs to review the papers, and she will not be able to process it until
Monday.
So best case scenario, everything gets processed Monday morning and the
house is funded by lunchtime.
Worst case scenario, everything gets processed by Tuesday, and we have to
file for some sort of special appointment with the county of Santa Clara
to have the purchase recorded.
Absolute worst case scenario. Loan gets denied because Chase is being a
jackass.
I've already called the builder and let them know what's going on, and
that there may be a delay. There is a $500/day penalty.
I've contacted the Broker I am working with, and she is pressuring Chase
to turn this around asap.
I've contacted my Real Estate agent, who says there is nothing more she
can do, and that the best thing to do is just keep pressure on the Lender
(Chase) and the Builder to give me a grace period.
I honestly had no idea that buying upgrades would increase the selling
price. In hindsight it makes sense, but it never occured to me. I put a
lot of the blame on myself as a result. Right now I just want to get this
resolved, but there's not much I can do.
So I'll probably go refrigerator shopping.
Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated.

Typical bullsh** by lenders. When I bought my first house in 1963, the
lender wanted to have their own escrow office handle things and I said
o.k. I signed the papers and sent in my down payment on time, the real
estate agent gave me the keys and I moved in. I called the escrow folks a
week later asking why I hadn't received any paperwork. They said they
were understaffed and hadn't actually closed the purchase yet. The seller
was even more unhappy than I was, of course.

The house I sold in Tucson was part of a planned-unit-development (similar
to condos). The fire insurance was a blanket policy for the whole
development which was handled through the homeowners association. The
buyer's loan almost fell through because the lender insisted on an
individual policy for the house. It took a letter from the home office of
the insurance company to finally satisfy them (on the day of closing, of
course).

Something always seems to hiccup in real estate transactions.

Couldn't they simply rewrite your escrow to show that you increased your
down payment by the same amount as the price increase?

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 11:36:49 -0700, Bob Nielsen
<***@removethis.oz.net> wrote:

[snip]

Post by Bob Nielsen
Couldn't they simply rewrite your escrow to show that you increased your
down payment by the same amount as the price increase?

That's a _really_ good idea!

Or tell Chase you'll go elsewhere ;-)

...Jim Thompson

[h***@oddkarma.com]

Post by Jim Thompson
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 11:36:49 -0700, Bob Nielsen
[snip]

Post by Bob Nielsen
Couldn't they simply rewrite your escrow to show that you increased your
down payment by the same amount as the price increase?

That's a _really_ good idea!

I offered, but I am told that won't have any impact. It'll just show as
a credit. However it will not lower the sales price.

[Jim Thompson]

Post by h***@oddkarma.com

Post by Jim Thompson
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 11:36:49 -0700, Bob Nielsen
[snip]

Post by Bob Nielsen
Couldn't they simply rewrite your escrow to show that you increased your
down payment by the same amount as the price increase?

That's a _really_ good idea!

I offered, but I am told that won't have any impact. It'll just show as
a credit. However it will not lower the sales price.

Why should Chase care about the sales price? Seems to me their only
concern should be the amount financed versus the value of the
property.

...Jim Thompson

[Blair P. Houghton]

Post by Jim Thompson
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 11:36:49 -0700, Bob Nielsen

Post by Bob Nielsen
Couldn't they simply rewrite your escrow to show that you increased your
down payment by the same amount as the price increase?

That's a _really_ good idea!
Or tell Chase you'll go elsewhere ;-)

Hard to do. They've begun buying "elsewhere" en masse.

--Blair
"Your piggybank may be a subsidiary by now."

[James J. Lippard]

My advice would be get out of the deal and rent until after the housing
bubble has popped rather than buying at or near the peak.

http://thehousingbubble2.blogspot.com/

I hope you're not using an interest-only rider on an adjustable rate
mortgage.

Post by h***@oddkarma.com
Absolute worst case scenario. Loan gets denied because Chase is being a
jackass.
I've already called the builder and let them know what's going on, and
that there may be a delay. There is a $500/day penalty.
I've contacted the Broker I am working with, and she is pressuring Chase
to turn this around asap.
I've contacted my Real Estate agent, who says there is nothing more she
can do, and that the best thing to do is just keep pressure on the Lender
(Chase) and the Builder to give me a grace period.
I honestly had no idea that buying upgrades would increase the selling
price. In hindsight it makes sense, but it never occured to me. I put a
lot of the blame on myself as a result. Right now I just want to get this
resolved, but there's not much I can do.
So I'll probably go refrigerator shopping.
Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jim Thompson]

On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 18:16:24 +0000 (UTC), ***@oddkarma.com wrote:

[snip]

Post by h***@oddkarma.com
Worst case scenario, everything gets processed by Tuesday, and we have to
file for some sort of special appointment with the county of Santa Clara
to have the purchase recorded.

That's California for you. In AZ the escrow agent takes care of all
that.

Post by h***@oddkarma.com
Absolute worst case scenario. Loan gets denied because Chase is being a
jackass.
I've already called the builder and let them know what's going on, and
that there may be a delay. There is a $500/day penalty.

[snip]

Just tell Chase you're going to go to Countrywide. I got a
magnificent re-fi from them a year ago, fixed 5.8%!

...Jim Thompson

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:52:36 -0700, Jim Thompson
<***@example.com> wrote:

[snip]

Post by Jim Thompson
Just tell Chase you're going to go to Countrywide. I got a
magnificent re-fi from them a year ago, fixed 5.8%!
...Jim Thompson

TYPO! Make that 5.58%!

...Jim Thompson

[Dennis M. O'Connor]

Post by Jim Thompson
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:52:36 -0700, Jim Thompson

Post by Jim Thompson
Just tell Chase you're going to go to Countrywide. I got a
magnificent re-fi from them a year ago, fixed 5.8%!

TYPO! Make that 5.58%!

That could be good, and it sure ain't bad :-).
Rates vary depending on the length and LTV of the mortgage.
We got 5.125 on our <80% loan-to-value 15-year conventional
about a year and a half ago. No points, of course.
--
Dennis M. O'Connor

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:50:29 -0700, "Dennis M. O'Connor"

Post by Dennis M. O'Connor

Post by Jim Thompson
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:52:36 -0700, Jim Thompson

Post by Jim Thompson
Just tell Chase you're going to go to Countrywide. I got a
magnificent re-fi from them a year ago, fixed 5.8%!

TYPO! Make that 5.58%!

That could be good, and it sure ain't bad :-).
Rates vary depending on the length and LTV of the mortgage.
We got 5.125 on our <80% loan-to-value 15-year conventional
about a year and a half ago. No points, of course.

Mine's 30 year, right at 80% a year ago. In the past year we've seen
30%+ increases in valuation.

...Jim Thompson

[Sidne Gail Ward]

Post by h***@oddkarma.com
Went to the title company on Friday to sign the settlement papers (house
closes on Tuesday the 26th).

Forget about *your* problems.

I can't believe you're buying a house and you didn't tell ME!!!

I'm supposed to be informed about these things.... How can I ghostwrite
your autobiography if you don't let me know what you're doing?

BTW, Happy (late) Birthday!

Sidne

[h***@oddkarma.com]

Post by Sidne Gail Ward
Forget about *your* problems.
I can't believe you're buying a house and you didn't tell ME!!!

Well I did tell you. But the restraining order makes it very hard for me
to call you or break into your house at night.

You didn't get the smoke signals?