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The realtor we went with is my cousin who has been doing this for 15+ years (working with family is the first step to failure, I know, but I wanted to avoid family drama). I thought she would look out for me.
We did read the contract and that's why I asked for clarification, because I didn't see the specific wording. She reread the pre-approval letter and said it was written correctly, so we signed. I felt like we did everything on our end by double checking--but obviously not. This is our first time buying a home and we didn't know at the time where exactly all the wording was supposed to appear. Only now after going through it line by line by line did I see where the wording *should* have been.
There are financing and inspection contingencies in the contract. The inspection was near perfect (repairs ~$500), so what's left is financing. Although I haven't asked explicitly, the LO basically said we'll just have to roll that extra $3K into the loan amount, which is what we were trying to avoid in the first place. He, therefore, is still willing and able to do the financing, so I don't think that would be an out.
The pre-approval letter that we submitted with our offer also says we have approval for $40K higher than what we are purchasing this home for, so we can't really say that the extra $3K is over and above our ability.
As for what the other $3K is for, it is basically what would normally be considered to be traditional buyers' closing costs--origination fee and some other stuff. It is an FHA loan and he's spelling out/itemizing what all the fees are specifically, so I'm assuming it is acceptable.
Basically, what was supposed to happen was we would offer full price on the home with all closing costs to be paid by seller. We love the home and were going to make another more "traditional" offer, but the day we decided to do that, its price was reduced by 15%. At that price, we knew it would go fast and we didn't want to lose it. So, we offered full price w/ closing paid by seller. Anyway, yes I signed and ultimately it is my fault. Fine. Understood.
Back to my original question: is there anything I can do now?
Last edited by redhed831; 12-19-2011 at 01:45 PM..
So, when I applied/got approved for our mortgage, the LO said he wanted the contract written up so that the seller would pay their traditional closing costs as well as $3K in additional closing fees...if the sellers didn't like it, they could counter. In the pre-approval letter he re-stated the way he wanted the contract written.
Well, my realtor didn't write the contract that way even though I pointed it out to her and wanted to make sure that's how it was written. She said, "Oh yeah, it's written correctly." Well, my LO called and said it was not written that way at all, and we have to pay the difference.
So, now the contract is signed and we are out $3,000 in up front costs, plus the additional amount we are going to have to roll into the loan because that 3K that is going into closing costs is decreasing the amount available for our down payment. I want to f'n scream!!
Is there anything I can do/request to fix this????
- 3k IS 3k when you break down all the math it can only count once. The seller most likely looked at their bottom dollar so in the end if they covered closing cost of 3k they most likely came up 3k on bottom price.
Shame on your agent for not communicating with the lender to get it right, esp. if it stops you from getting the home, and shame on your lender for suggesting if you have enough to close to get it from the sellers. Sellers can be more stubborn negotiating price when they find out you NEED them in order to close.
3k IS 3k when you break down all the math it can only count once. The seller most likely looked at their bottom dollar so in the end if they covered closing cost of 3k they most likely came up 3k on bottom price.
I have no idea what you just said.
Quote:
Shame on your agent for not communicating with the lender to get it right, esp. if it stops you from getting the home, and shame on your lender for suggesting if you have enough to close to get it from the sellers. Sellers can be more stubborn negotiating price when they find out you NEED them in order to close.
Can't blame the seller for not wanting to give up 3000 dollars.
Ok, so I think we have beat this person up enough on reading what they sign. They said they pointed it out to the agent and the agent reassured them that it was written correctly. To me, that means they did read it, and then took the professional's word that it was done correctly.
Here are your options at this point.
1. If you have a contingency that will let you out of the contract, like financing or inspection, you can back out, and either make a new offer on this home at $3000 higher with closing costs built in, or move on to a different house.
2. You could ask the seller to pay your closing costs if you come up on the price by $3000, and just write up an addendum making that change (assuming the house has the cushion to appraise at $3000 higher)
3. You could ask your agent to come up with it, since they told you it was in the contract after you pointed out that it wasn't, but since it is your cousin, that is going to cause hard feelings. Maybe see if they will split the difference with you.
4. You could eat the cost, and pay the closing costs yourself.
Is getting out of the deal what you want to do? I don't think you will get the seller to lower the price so the only other thing to do would be to try to get out of it and do you want to?
Ok, so I think we have beat this person up enough on reading what they sign. They said they pointed it out to the agent and the agent reassured them that it was written correctly. To me, that means they did read it, and then took the professional's word that it was done correctly.
Here are your options at this point.
1. If you have a contingency that will let you out of the contract, like financing or inspection, you can back out, and either make a new offer on this home at $3000 higher with closing costs built in, or move on to a different house.
2. You could ask the seller to pay your closing costs if you come up on the price by $3000, and just write up an addendum making that change (assuming the house has the cushion to appraise at $3000 higher)
3. You could ask your agent to come up with it, since they told you it was in the contract after you pointed out that it wasn't, but since it is your cousin, that is going to cause hard feelings. Maybe see if they will split the difference with you.
4. You could eat the cost, and pay the closing costs yourself.
5. ??? What other options am I missing?
As it is written now, she will be doing 2 here on your list. Number 1 might still be possible. Even if the inspection is near perfect you can still find repairs to ask for. And the lender could still deny the loan if there hasn't been a final approval yet. It may be that the OP wants to buy the house and feels it's worth the extra 3 grand and doesn't want to cancel. Her closing gift better be a good one.
... Number 1 might still be possible. Even if the inspection is near perfect you can still find repairs to ask for. ..
Depends on the contract. In ours, doesn't matter if inspection is perfect, you can still cancel for any reason within the contingency period.
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