Mortgage Monday: Scanning The Market

Every once in a while I go on some of the real estate websites to see if there is anything new on the market in our area and how much people are asking for those properties. In one regard this is simply a habit that started a few years ago when we were still in the process of finding our first house. Now it is more of just trying to see what the market is doing around us now that we have found that place to call home. In some ways what I am seeing is kind of surprising but at the same time it is an expected trend that I started to see develop during those initial months of searching years ago.

When we first saw our home come on the market we knew that we had a tremendous opportunity right in front of us and we moved fast. It was meant to be as earlier in the week a deal that we had on another property fell through. Since the day we signed the last of the mountain of papers and accrued a new mountain of debt, I have watched the market slowly rise and the inventory evaporate. While much of this can be attributed to the season, it isn’t the whole story as this particular market did not react the same way in previous years.

Now there is nothing on the market and prices continue to climb even faster than I had expected based on the market evaluation just prior to settlement. Heck, in a matter of months it may get to the point where we would have been priced out of the market had we not found our home when we did. It has been a great feeling seeing the hard numbers both for the obvious financial security but also because it shows that we were right in selecting the growing community in which we now live.   

And that second half of the equation is the most important part for me as we are not in this for the financial gain… we purchased our home for the permanence and potential of never having to move again. This is now our home and our community and we were lucky to have found this property when we did because I don’t know where we would have ended up had we waited for another year. As I watch the market continue to develop and rise, I doubt that we would have been able to find the space, the land, or the price that we did when we found this house.

New Project For A New Year

One of the ancillary benefits of being a mason and knowing most of the brothers at the lodge is that, over the years, I have gotten to know most of the professions, occupations, skills, and connections that can be found among the brethren. This past year, especially over the last six months, I have leveraged that knowledge and called upon my fellow brothers for their assistance and I have been tremendously happy with the experiences that I have had thus far. Heck, I don’t think that our real estate search or estate planning would have gone as smoothly had we used anyone else.

The hard work that my fellow masons have put forth on those personal projects is why I made a point to stand at our last stated meeting of the year and make their assistance and talent known. We are here to help one another. Sometimes it is in a direct manner serving as a realtor or attorney, sometimes it is about giving advice which I have done from time to time, and other times it is simply making the expertise known to the lodge or introducing brothers to one another who may not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

It was with this last concept in mind that I decided to start a new project for the coming year. Of course, I got the idea approved and made sure my assistant was on board as he will be doing the bulk of the work. It is a rather simple endeavor which is to pull together a lodge business directory which we will make available, physical and digital copies, to all the brothers of the lodge. This way when any of us are in need of a service or advice we know who to call. Unlike the general listings in the Yellow Pages, we know for certain that we can trust the person on the other end of the conversation and that they truly have our best interests at heart.

And I’m not even done trying to find brothers with which I can entrust some personal projects (mainly house work). I am in touch with a few other brothers to take care of some finishing work that needs to be done and I am looking forward to endorsing them as I have done for other brothers in the past. So, my advice to other brothers reading this post (or anyone involved in any kind of organization for that matter) is to take the time and get to know everyone and pull a similar directory together to share among the members of the lodge. After all, you never know when you might be in need of a brother’s help, aid, or assistance.

Moving Quotes And Changing Plans

For the past week I have been busy not only prepping for settlement day (which has been pretty smooth thanks to those at the bank and our realtor) but also preparing for moving day which has been a little move involved. Having received quotes from about a half dozen companies in the area, it is amazing to see the difference in how the prices are calculated. While not as expensive as I had originally expected, it is still not a cheap proposition especially when you ask them how much it would cost to have the company pack up your belongings as well.

The range of prices that I received was rather staggering starting at the low end at $700 all the way up to a ten times multiple of that initial figure. Surprisingly the economic company that we used for our last transition, Two Men and a Truck, was the most expensive (by a wide margin) because of the fact that we are moving just outside of their ‘service area’. In the end, we didn’t go with the least expensive but rather the company that seemed the most inclusive, had the appointment available for tomorrow, and was reasonably priced (still on the much lower end of the range).

However, nothing ever goes as smoothly as it should and that was definitely proven about a week and a half ago when I got a call in the early evening which changed our plans. Who called? The realtor representing our current landlord… he wanted to start showing the townhouse in a couple of days. Keep in mind that we gave notice with our September rent check so he could have coordinated this whole process months ago.

Having not packed much of anything at that point I quickly rejected his proposal pushing the earliest possible day to this past Sunday also adding the reminder that we have a 9 month old and he will have to be flexible in scheduling appointments. What realtor in their right mind calls a tenant and asks to begin showing the apartment in a couple of days?

So, since then I have been packing the house deep into the night and making friends with the sales people at Staples, Home Depot, and Lowes. With an evening to go there are only a few more boxes left that need to be packed, the bathrooms and kitchen have been cleaned, and we are, for the most part, ready to move on down the road in the morning. One more night with the preamble coming to an end and the real story beginning tomorrow.

House Hunting Update

Since my wife and I first started looking at houses (both online and in person) we have seen all different kinds of properties. Actually, maybe not all different kinds but a diverse range of quality, various prices (all within our pre-qualified range), and built at different times. It has been an experience and an education throughout. While there are a few things that now have on our checklist when walking through a property, I will say that this process has been a heck of a lot easier having a great realtor working for us (who just so happens to also be a brother).   

I guess the first thing that has been driven home again and again for us is that price doesn’t mean quality. Some of the houses that we walked through which were at the top of our range had some great features but there were a number of things that left a lot to be desired. At the same time, those houses well below our max budget may not have had some of the fantastic features but they were generally solid all around. So far all a higher price has meant is that the highlights will be there but they will also accentuate the shortfalls.

In many of those instances with the higher priced homes the biggest issue was found in the basement. This is why you must always look in the basement and study the walls of the foundation and the structure surrounding you in all six directions. There were a few houses that we considered putting offers in after having walked through the house but that thought quickly evaporated once we saw the large cracks and chunks missing from the foundation walls (and these houses were only 10-15 years old).

It just goes to show that you have to always look beyond the façade. Not considering the basic structure and foundation of the house but also looking past unfortunate paint selections and minor things that can be fixed within a couple hours over the weekend. While the former will prevent you from making the mistake of buying, the latter may prevent you from making the mistake of walking away.

However, the most important thing that we are constantly reminding ourselves during this long process is that just because it is a nice property doesn’t mean it is the right house for us. We have seen many properties both physically and virtually that would be great fits for people we know but they would never be something that we could call home. It is a long process that requires patience and persistence. And, in the end, I keep saying to myself that right now these are just houses. When we find the right one and move in then it will be a home.

Mil Spec Is Not Always Best!

That title will have some firearms enthusiasts writing long responses about the fact that I must be full of it. All of their words penned before they even read this sentence. But, unbeknownst to those raging individuals, this post has nothing to do with firearms beyond the brief mentions in this paragraph.

Mil Spec in this instance stands for ‘Mother-In-Law Specifications’. Having a MIL as a realtor and looking for an apartment can either be a valuable asset in our search to find a new place to live or it can be a challenge. While I don’t anticipate any problems in the process there is always the possibility but I guess you can say that about any realtor.

My wife and I have our list of what we want in an apartment and it really isn’t complicated. However, it is the gray area that usually determines the final outcome. I guess, for me, it comes down to treating my MIL as a realtor and, in this instance, setting aside the fact that we are part of the same extended family. There is a particular saying about opinions which will not be repeated at this time. Sometimes the opinion of a family member (weighted based on how closely you are related of course) makes a difference but there are other decisions that have to be made differently.

As a realtor, I will take her suggestions but once it goes beyond that and there is an attempt to add extra weight to those opinion, that is when we could run into some problems. It is for this reason that I have stated quite clearly, and I am now repeating, that I have no qualms about changing realtors during this process. I definitely know, and have them saved in my phone, other realtors in the area who would be happy to help.

That may seem cold to some but it allows for the separation of what needs to be done and the relationships I have with family members. I have done this my whole life and, up to this point, it has kept my professional life out of my family life (for the most part). Another thing to keep in mind is that this is more for the protection of my family as I am a different person when it comes to work in comparison to my personal family life. Some may use a certain unpleasant descriptor at times similar to donkey cave.

So, while there is nothing really wrong with Mil Spec, sometimes it is not the best option. You have to find what is right for you and what fits your needs. After all, Mil Spec represents one person, one view, and one way of doing things among a plethora of potential options.