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...

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.

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.