Buying a Condo, Looking for Additional Perks... (Hoboken: sale, mortgage)

[Tam27]

Hello,

I'm in the process of purchasing my 1st condo. My offer has been accepted, contract has been signed, and I've been pre-approved for 100% financing...very exciting stuff!

I'm getting this place for a very good price ($43K less than the original listing price). And the seller has agreed to pay $5K toward my closing costs.

The thing is, the mortgage company will only let the seller pay a little less than $4K at closing. This leaves me with about $1K that I would still like to get from the seller.

Does anyone know of any additional credits that I can request from the seller to make up for this $1000? It would be great if that could be put toward my 1st year of condo fees etc. The seller is very motivated, so I'm definitely in the driver's seat. Thus, I'd like to get as many discounts/credits as I can. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[CuCullin]

I've seen it where some of the monies gets left off the HUD. However, this is unlikely (and potentially risky - mortgage companies don't like not getting their info).

Ask instead about a price adjustment to make up the difference. If you get additional perks, you're going to raise your price - and its not a dollar for dollar seller contribution adjustment. In other words, mortgage companies have a percentage they allow - lets say its 5% in your case. So for every $100k, you can get $5k from the seller. To get $1k more from the seller, your purchasing price would have to go up $20k! Which, btw, may make you ineligible.

[kimchee]

How about asking to keep any appliances or furniture that would make up the difference? Ie. the gas grill, the entertainment unit, dining set, drapes, etc.!

That bank/lender shouldn't be able to block the owner from giving you those types of stuff.

Great negotiation on the lower price, btw!

[Tam27]

Originally Posted by kimchee

How about asking to keep any appliances or furniture that would make up the difference? Ie. the gas grill, the entertainment unit, dining set, drapes, etc.!

That bank/lender shouldn't be able to block the owner from giving you those types of stuff.

Great negotiation on the lower price, btw!

[SIZE=3]I've already asked for the seller to leave the refrigerator and microwave. Anything else I'm not really interested in, since I'd like to do "my own thing" with the place. I just received some great advice (I think). I was told that I could ask for the full 5K credit at closing, but have the 1K deducted from the mortgage amount. The remaining 4K will fall within the 3% maximum, and I'll have may $1000! I'll just need to get the seller to agree...This lady is going to want to strangle me at closing lol. [/SIZE]

[emanon]

You should consider yourself very lucky. You got the place for a good price plus 4k in closing costs but that's not enough for you. You are lucky to have found such an agreeable seller. So your buying a condo and you don't even want to put up 1k of your own money. How cheap can you get?

E

[DowntownJerseyCity]

Originally Posted by emanon

You should consider yourself very lucky. You got the place for a good price plus 4k in closing costs but that's not enough for you. You are lucky to have found such an agreeable seller. So your buying a condo and you don't even want to put up 1k of your own money. How cheap can you get?

E

Thank God someone beat me to this comment. 1K in the grand scheme of things is peanuts.

[Tam27]

Originally Posted by HobokenGuy

Thank God someone beat me to this comment. 1K in the grand scheme of things is peanuts.

Yes, my realtor just got done yelling at me , and truth be told, I'm not going to make a big deal of $1000 BUT, we still haven't done an inspection or appraisal so the actual value of the condo could be at or (God forbid) a little below my offer. Or there could be "unseen" repairs that I'll need to make. In that case, I need to look out for myself and I'd much rather be "cheap" and have an extra $1000 of the seller's money in my pocket, than be "nice"...Sorry. I'll see what happens after the inspection and appraisal. If everything checks out, I will NOT make a big deal out of it.

[joe moving]

Don't let people make you feel bad, especially your realtor. They just want you to close so they can get paid. It is YOUR money and if the seller agreed to it in writing, you should get it.

What about knocking the money off of the asking price or? Instead of paying closing costs can they give you a check after the transaction?

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by joe moving

Don't let people make you feel bad, especially your realtor. They just want you to close so they can get paid. It is YOUR money and if the seller agreed to it in writing, you should get it.

What about knocking the money off of the asking price or? Instead of paying closing costs can they give you a check after the transaction?

Signing a mortgage agreement & taking mortgage money based on a certain sale price and then taking money back unreported after the closing will be considered, by most banks & in most locations, mortgage fraud. I recommend against it.
I'd suggest holding on at the moment. You've gotten agreement to keep all the stuff in the house that you want. You've gotten a price that you like. Wait for the inspection to be completed, make sure there isn't anything that you don't know about. Ask them to put the extra $1,000 into an escrow account so that you can wait until summer to make sure the air conditioning is working properly. Have your attorney word the escrow agreement so that you have the option to use the money not just for repair, but even if you feel the system needs to be updated or upgraded.

[Tam27]

Originally Posted by joe moving

Don't let people make you feel bad, especially your realtor. They just want you to close so they can get paid. It is YOUR money and if the seller agreed to it in writing, you should get it.

What about knocking the money off of the asking price or? Instead of paying closing costs can they give you a check after the transaction?

This is exactly what I proposed to my realtor. But she's like..."You can't get money towards closing AND ask the seller to write you a check". Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it, since the total cost will still end up being $5K. Not to mention that the word "can't" is never an option for me. I'll see how this plays out.