shout out...

412 has closed (& is mine all mine!).  i couldn't have done it without an awesome team so here are some shout outs to them:

michael garden, city space realtor &  proponent of the viaduct greene - since the beginning of my 'perfect house' search,  michael was patient with me even though i kept cancelling meetings with him because i am such a busy person (joke.. mostly, because i wasn't in a hurry).  finally, when 412 came around, michael realized i was serious.  he always provided great suggestions & kept calm throughout this process.

joel slutsky & kelly thomas of homestead funding - wow!  that sums those 2 up!  communication, which is key to efficiency & getting things done, is just one of their strong points.  i know i had to be a pain in the butt at times, questioning & challenging joel about things that he has been doing for years (type a personality), but he entertained my questions & provided great explanations.  as for kelly thomas, she may be similar to me, striving to get things done...no time for screw ups but she maintains a calm demeanor which helped me when i wanted to scream. and they did all of this from albany, ny...technology.

paul janaitis, 203k specialist - paul knows how to work the 203k process efficiently.  you read about him in my previous post, enters the 203k specialist, but he knows his sh**.  he was a key component in closing & will continue to be so as we rehab.  

francine d'elia wirshching, cltp, of community first abstract - francine's role was the title insurance agent brought on by michael garden.  michael couldn't have suggested a better person for this fast-paced closing.  francine possessed the stamina & resilience to keep the process moving forward.  she accommodated the last minute closing ( & i mean last minute...finally decided at 12pm to close @ 3:30 today).  

joe palmer, contractor - yes, i have a contractor! even though joe was (& still is) unfamiliar with the 203k process, he came on board (probably against his better judgement) because i nagged him but i hope because he trusts me & knows what a great project 412 will be.  a friend suggested palmer contractors to me when i needed to replace my roof & he did an brilliant job.  you'll witness first hand his craftsmanship in future blogs.

joanne meenan deely of meenan allstate insurance agency - i called joanne at 1pm today for home insurance for closing (because i wasn't told i needed it until then) & she had proof of insurance to my mortgage company by 2pm...the deadline for all docs to clear.  maybe it helped that she is my neighbor but i think she would have done this for anyone in my situation.  customer service is how businesses survive.

michael palmer, designer - i've worked with michael for over 8 years at Studio Agoos Lovera & knew he was the perfect match to be my designer.  he is professional & is enthusiastic about his profession.  i can't wait to hear his ideas for the house (that are within budget).

last but not least, my family - reds (my dad) who co-signed for me.  the poor guy had no clue what was going on but would do anything for his little girl.  my brother, bill heenan, my inspiration.  he was the one who had the great ideas of making this possible and never lets me down.  finally, his girlfriend, diane zemko, who was scrambling getting signatures (re-signatures when my dad signs his name wrong) & fed-ex'ing documents in a last minute scurry.

thanks to all above for all of your help!  if anyone needs a realtor, mortgage company, 203k specialist,  title insurance agent, contractor, insurance agent, designer...you can find them above.  you can't have my family.

now the fun begins...

more unicorn chasing...

...closing is still not scheduled...could be tomorrow or thursday.  what is missing?  the appraisal!  it has been promised for the last 2 days which is annoying because the rest of the team kicked a** getting their stuff in and i have no control over the appraiser because i didn't hire him...ugh.  i can keep complaining or share with you the other reasons why i'm trying to buy 412. 

i have lived in fishtown since i was in my 20s (a long time ago)...right down the street on wildey at 218, before johnny brenda's was bought by the standard tap.  then i bought 619.  and now i hope 412 becomes mine.  my friends joke that i want to be 'queen of wildey.'  

the riverside appeals to me...it's not as busy and congested as the heart of fishtown.  smack in the middle of delaware ave & girard ave providing easy access to the river & highway.  a short stroll to the never-ending gastropubs & eateries popping up, such as kraftwork,  lloyd whiskey bar, milk crate cafe, to name a few.

another positive feature of the location of 412 is the cross street of columbia ave being rejuvenated as the columbia ave connector .  i think this is huge for fishtown...all of the i95 underpasses are neglected and dark and scary.  i just hope it won't end at columbia ave.

via naked philly

via naked philly

the never-ending mortgage closing...

ugh, i am mentally exhausted from trying to close on 412. just when you think you are almost finished submitting documentation, another 5 documents are needed.  

since my last post, the closing has been pushed to july 31, one day later which isn't bad at all.  today was supposed to be the deadline for the outstanding docs but, luckily, my mortgage loan processor was able to get an extension until 12 noon tomorrow.  

i don't want to bore you with my complaining so i will share a few pics of inspiration that are pulling me through...









& just because I had to...

back to the 203k process...

the last two weeks have been a race to get all of the documents needed for closing submitted to the mortgage lender, homestead funding.  looking back, the majority of the documents related to a normal mortgage closing process...bank statements, income verification, etc.  

the 203k portion of the loan did add another layer.  an estimate of the construction costs needed to be submitted.  this is where i left off before (enters the 203k specialist).  the other items included a contractor agreement providing proof of license & insurance, property condition disclosure statement,  fha amendatory clause & real estate certification, an identity of interest form signed by the 203k consultant, & last but not least, the appraiser needed drawings showing any structural changes of the house.  the appraiser verifies that the property will 'appraise' for the total amount of the mortgage (purchase price + construction costs) once the work is completed.  

closing is july 30th (i did receive the mortgage commitment from homestead this past friday...perfect way to end the work week).  

all of the above items need to be submitted to the lender by this friday, july 26th (2 more days!).  as of today, almost all of the 2nd paragraph is outstanding minus the drawings and construction cost estimate (needs to be signed).

luckily for me, i didn't have to bid the project which has saved a lot of time.  the contractor (to be named later) i asked to be involved said yes...thankfully!...because he did exceptional work at my current house.  however, he didn't have experience with the 203k process and has been a bit hesitant with submitting estimates until he gained a level of comfort (understandable).  conversations were had today and i think we are all back on track.  paul, 203k, told me his loan doc package will be sent tomorrow.  

keep your fingers crossed...

chasing unicorns...

i believe in fate...because i had it happen a few times to me. 412 is another time. i have been eyeing this house for a long time. it was listed with a sub par real estate firm for almost a year before the sellers switched to century 21. although the prior firm never posted pics of the interior, my gut instinct told me this was my next house (& because every fixer upper for sale had no character). i had the same feeling of my current abode. 

the first time i saw the spiral stair pic, i knew i had to have this house. i wasn't in the best financial condition to buy this house (coming out of a recession for the past 3 years), but i knew i had to make it happen somehow, especially with interest rates at record lows. long story short, when the sellers accepted my offer (which was surprising), i had to write a check for the deposit, but...i had no checks left, heading to the shore in a 1/2 hour, it was a saturday & the banks were closed. i was panicking & began nervously looking through old check books just in case i may have missed an unused check & miraculously there was one lone check...fate. 

yesterday, when i met the designer at the house, we were brainstorming about the bathroom and what do i see hanging on the wall but a framed picture of a unicorn. unicorns are an inside joke with one of my best friends because she knew how much i loved them when i was young...they were on my bedspreads, pictures on the wall, school folders...they were my hello kitty. i know it sounds bizarre but seeing this picture, once again, confirms that 412 was meant to be mine.

more before pics...

why was this exterior material ever invented?

alleyway

back stair

throughout the house

stairway to heaven

the grand stair

the bathroom for this big house

they didn't like to center

 

eventual roof deck?

scary basement

doodling with the designer...

tonight was the night to explore the possibilities of 412.  michael palmer, designer from my previous firm SAL, previously took measurements of 412 and put them into cad/revit (i have no clue).  he printed the drawings and we brainstormed.  he sketched as we kept the ideas flowing.  

we:   moved the bathroom to the 2nd fl. rear bedroom; added a bathroom to the 3rd floor guest bedroom, skylights in the stairway and the 2nd floor bedroom/office to bring in light...i love natural light!; moved the door in the kitchen to make room for cabinetry (as big as this house is, the kitchen is small but i'm not a cook so it doesn't bother me); added a powder room on the 1st floor (for reds, my dad). 

palmer (mike, that is) really wants to demolish the back stair (oh yes, there is a servant stair that i have yet to post pictures).  and that middle bedroom that you need to walk through...i used to have one in the 1st house i rented with dave haas & it was his bedroom.  dave, any suggestions?

now, i hope that all of these changes are feasible and within budget.

3rd floor

2nd floor

1st floor

free tree please!

i applied for a sidewalk tree for 412 today from philly tree people (www.phillytreepeople.org)...i was hoping to get in on the fall planting schedule but i'm on the spring list which probably works better considering the demo work that needs to be done probably requires a dumpster.

i strongly recommend fellow fishtown'ers & port richmond'ers get their free trees for their sidewalks!  no longer do they plant trees with intrusive roots that eventually cause punctures in gas lines.  these are bare root trees that flower beautifully and provide shade & protection during the seasons along with all of the other many advantages!

who wouldn't want to look out their window at this beauty...

inspiration glimpse...

because the 203k process is boring, here is a glimpse of inspiration pics for 412...

bathroom

rear facade

kitchen

concrete floors

enters the 203k specialist...

my mortgage guy, joel slutsky, sent me a list of 203k specialists.  paul jainitis was the 3rd person i called on the list (the other's phone #'s were out of order...not surprised).  of course,  i was put off at first because  he answered 'hello' & i was expecting 'paul jainitis, 203k specialist'...(my friends will understand).  anyway, he was very nice and explained his role in the process.  paul gave me advice before i hired him and also jumped through hoops to move this process forward.

paul's role as a 203k specialist is to protect the buyer and the mortgage company (or gov't b/c it is fha backed...not sure).  in simplicity, he keeps the contractor honest.  i met paul last week at 412 on a hot humid evening (perfect day for walking through 412 that hasn't been occupied in years and closed windows...ugh!).

he begins by asking me what i want do with the front of the house and it continues for each room...'hardwood or tile?, sheet rock, plaster, or exposed brick?, move the door?, add windows?'....i felt as though i was on a reality show that designs your house in an episode!

paul had some good ideas & although i wasn't sure about details of certain rooms, he assured me what was decided that day wasn't set in stone...phew!

for those really interested in the 203k process, paul takes the info from the walk-thru and creates a bid sheet.  he estimates the costs of the work and then he gives the same sheet without pricing to the contractor who then fills in his estimates.  this is where 412 is now....stay tuned for results.

inspections

obviously, i didn't need your normal house inspection telling me that i need a new roof, plumbing, electricity, etc.  however, i did get a few people's opinions before going forward.  thankfully, mark shearman (great guy who rehabs houses in fishtown/kensington), walked through the house with me before i decided on my offer price and he did this at the last minute...thank-you mark!  

after confirmation from a few people in the 'know,' i made my offer (won't bore you with the details) and it was accepted.  working in the architectural field for a few years and making costly mistakes on my current house, i knew i had to do this one right.  the first person i hired after my offer was accepted was a structural engineer, amy rivera from rivera structural design. my previous firm, studio agoos lovera (www.agooslovera.com) worked with amy on numerous residential projects.  amy knew the urgency of my situation (because i only had a limited time to rescind my offer if the structural inspection was dire) and she turned around the report in less than a week!  results:  nothing major!!... that i didn't already know except for the front facade bellowing a bit which i negotiated later with the sellers.  

the last inspection, my realtor, michael garden, stressed i should do...termite inspection.  i was under the impression of how much damage can termites do especially when a good portion of the house was being demo'd.  i gave in & the termite consultant (need to get his name), also rushed to do an inspection on the last day allowed for contingencies... $85 and no termites....totally worth it for the peace of mind.

203k fha construction mortgage

203k overview

because 412 is a total fixer upper, i decided to apply for a 203k fha construction mortgage.  these mortgages have 2 parts:  (1) amount to purchase the property and (2) amount to rehab the property.  it is a tedious process but if you don't have the cash lying around (as I don't), it is worth it.  i used a similar loan, phila loan (http://www.philaloan.com) (which i also recommend), to rehab my kitchen in my current house.  

here is a website that explains the advantages & disadvantages of the 203k loan:

http://www.mortgage101.com/article/fha-203k-rehab-loan-adv-disadv

my 203k team:

realtor:  michael garden from city space (http://michaelgarden.com)

mortgage lender:  joel slutsky from homestead funding (http://www.homesteadfunding.com)

203k specialist:  paul janaitis (http://203kphilly.com)

designer:  michael palmer 

contractor:  palmer contractors

i started this process around may 29th by first applying to wells fargo for the 203k loan.  i wasn't impressed with them so i asked my brother, bill heenan, real estate agent, (http://www.billheenan.com) if he knew of any mortgage companies that specialized in 203k mortgages and he put me in touch with homestead funding.  joel contacted me and he got the process moving.   going forward, although i'm 1/2 way through the process, i will try my best to recap each day as a separate post.

before pics

entryway - before

master stair - before

living room - before

fireplace - before

living room 2 - before

dining room - before

kitchen - before

2nd fl master bedroom - before

2nd fl middle bedroom - before

2nd fl rear bedroom - before

3rd fl bedroom - before

yard - before