The time has arrived! We are finally buying a home! We are excited, anxious, exhausted, and suddenly realizing how much we need to do to get ready. I am budgeting and decluttering like I have never done before, which is awesome for our family, but maybe a bit stressful for the local donation center.
We are buying with a 30-year fixed rate VA-backed mortgage through a local lender. He has been awesome, and when we are done, we will share all the details about who we use as our real estate agent, lender, insurance, and everything else we can think of to share.
*We are first-time home buyers, not experts in real estate, VA loans, or financing. We simply want to share our experience with others who are nervously making a similar leap in a challenging market.*
Things I didn’t know before going into this process:
- People waive home inspections ALL THE TIME because the market is not on the side of the buyers. We did not know people do this, and we have been given the option to waive it when we put in offers. We just cannot in good conscience put this kind of money into something that is going to be a money pit- or even worse- a danger to our children.
- Closing costs are not just due at the end, so make sure you have it saved early. Things like inspections and earnest money will usually be due within the first few days of your offer being accepted.
- The VA has some requirements before your loan can be approved: If you are on a well, the water must be tested for bacteria, and the home must be evaluated for wood-infesting pests (carpenter bees, termites, etc). The cost for each of these varies by the company doing the work and where you live. Our area is generally pretty expensive, and our costs definitely reflect that. We paid $845 for our home inspection with the added well and pest testing.
- A VA-approved appraiser will also come look at the home to assess value. This fee is due up front, and at the time of our purchase it was $600. The appraiser will have 10 business days from the date the appraisal was ordered to complete it and return the report.
- Because Chris has a disability rating from the VA, we will not have to pay the VA funding fee, which is an enormous blessing because the remaining closing costs are expensive enough as it is!
THE HOME SEARCH
Our family went to see a lovely home on just under 4 acres in late April. It was just 7 minutes from my parents, next to a ranch, had plenty of space in the home, but it wasn’t as much land as we’ve been hoping for. We put in an offer that night, with some wiggle room over the asking price, and the only contingencies were an inspection (something I’m just not willing to skip for this level of investment) and any testing and approvals required by the VA. The next morning, we found out the sellers of the first home declined our offer. Someone came in at $40,000 over the asking price with no contingencies, and it was just more than we were willing to spend when we were already sacrificing valuable acreage. It was a tough hit, but we kept moving, trusting that this is all about God’s perfect will for us, not ours.
Another try
The next day, we went to see another home in an area we’ve been watching for a while. Several homes have been listed on this road, and although those homes weren’t quite what we were looking for, we felt like this was the area in which we should settle. We LOVED the home. It has 12.5 acres, 2 fenced pastures, a shed, a barn (both of which need work, but it is something we can build on over time). It does not have a basement, which was a huge con for me, but it checked so many boxes, we decided this was worth sacrificing that. The home itself is quite a bit smaller than our current home, but gorgeous, and we have a vision for ways to make it fit our growing family even better.
But then…
We planned to put in an offer that night, until we discovered some pretty intense HOA-level covenants on the land. The 12.5 acres we were planning to purchase and turn into our first homestead came with restrictions which said we could have horses, but no other animals. Horses aren’t providing us with food or milk, so that wouldn’t work. One of the other covenants said that we could not build any structures, which would mean no workshop, no greenhouse, and no shed. The covenants carried with the land, not the owners who put them in place 25 years ago, so there was nothing Chris and I could do. I assumed this was the real reason the home had not sold up until this point, rather than the dreamy hope that it was waiting for us. We decided to keep trusting in God’s will and walked away. My heart sank a bit, but we knew it was the right call. The right house was just around the corner, maybe we needed a bit more time.
Another chance?
An hour later, our real estate agent called Chris, saying, “I can fix it! I can fix it!” Wait, what? We already decided to move on, what on earth could be fixed?! But she was so excited, we had to hear her out. It turns out that the covenants were put in place when the land was first subdivided into 2 family lots. The 14-acre lot behind us has the same rules, and the person who moved there in 2020 has been trying to get rid of them. The seller of the home we have our eye on contacted that other homeowner, and they decided that they will remove all covenants except the one that states that we cannot use it for commercial purposes (not a problem, because that isn’t in our plans). We put in an offer after all, with contingencies that the covenants have to be legally abolished with the county. We also need inspections and VA appraisal, with the right to walk away if things come up. They accepted it and if all goes as planned, our closing date is June 5- the day before our “churchiversary” (when we had our marriage convalidated by the Catholic Church).
Now What?
Since our offer was accepted, we had to get started on the loan approval, homeowners insurance selection, and inspections. Our loan was approved in less than 10 days, which is really impressive to me. Choosing a homeowners insurance was a bit more confusing and complicated than we anticipated, but we think we chose well. Next, Chris and our real estate agent attended the inspection. Chris said he followed the inspector around like a puppy so he knows what we’re dealing with. The inspector found very few issues, which Chris can fix on his own, or with help from my little brother. It’s nice to have a plumber in the family). The only deal breaker was the well water inspection failed: they found bacterial contamination. The sellers have agreed to remediate this immediately, and we are moving forward. We have faith that it will be completed properly and with a clear follow-up test.
Please pray for us through this process, and I promise to keep you updated on this rollercoaster as things happen.
Our Lady Undoer of Knots, Pray for Us.
