Am I being too stubborn?

Question

Ok, so we found the house, THE ONE! I see us there, and when I see something, I usually will do everything in my power to make it happen, because I feel it's meant to be.

Well this house is a foreclosure and a pain in the *** one at that. The thing is the listing is through Countrywide. We have already been approved through Wells Fargo. In order to put an offer in for a Countrywide property, you have to be pre-approved with Countrywide. Whether or not you use them, you still have to be pre-approved with Countrywide. Stupid! But it is their rule. So, anywho.......we got denied. Our issue is Guy's student loans. They are not showing on his credit report as being paid, even though he has been paying $140 a month now for 6 months. So I emailed the guy back from Countrywide asking what we can do next and told him I am not ready to give up. So, he sent me an email and asked for all the student loan information and all of our recent paychecks and w2's, so I sent it to him and they are gonna re-submit the information and try to get a pre-approval.

Great

But now I talked with the realtor and she thinks it's gonna be too much of a hassle because of this plus repairs (broken window, recarpeting of one room, a kitchen sink), and we should give up. Problem is, I am not giving up. Call me stubborn, but this is the house I want, and I am gonna do everything in my power to get it. Now I am kinda pissed off at our realtor because instead of standing by our sides, I feel like she is trying to take the easy way out and I don't like it.

If we do all this and get denied........great. Then at least I know we did everything we could do, and it just wasn't meant to be. But I think that it IS meant to be, and I would hate to just give up on something I want....actually I am not gonna give up on something I want.

Am I being unreasonable? I need an honest opinion on this.

Answer 1

I don't think you are being unreasonable at all. Even if you don't get approved by Countrywide (again), you will have the experience and all necessary paperwork concerning the student loans for next time. If you really want this house, I say go for it! Something smells fishy with your real estate agent, though.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

If it turns out that you don't get the house, it may be a blessing in disguise.

On a foreclosure, the bank doesn't have to submit a transfer disclosure statement (TDS). A TDS is required for all non-foreclosure transactions and it's a signed affidavit from the seller that lists everything he knows about the condition of the property (what conveys, what works or not, any pending legal issues, even whether he has knowledge of a neighbor planning on putting up a second story that will affect your view). If, after the deal goes through, you find out that there's something wrong with the property that wasn't disclosed, you can then sue the seller and his agent for non-disclosure and compensation for your loss to fix the problem (or, in the case of losing your view, compensation for the reduction in your property value).

Since the bank doesn't have to submit a TDS on that foreclosure, you really don't know what all is possibly wrong with the property. And, it could end up having hidden structural or other issues that could drag the property value down or it can become a money pit (requiring constant expensive repairs). And you would have no recourse.

The last thing you want to do when looking at properties is to get too attached to one before escrow closes, because you never know what can happen to make a property fall out of escrow. Besides, you were able to find this one. What makes you think you won't be able to find another one just as good or better? It may even hit the market tomorrow. You never know.

Go ahead and follow through with Countrywide on this property, if you really want it. But, if it doesn't happen, it wasn't meant to be.

Answer 3

Go for it...it sounds like you are in love with the house and who cares about the realtor - she is not the one doing the leg work.

Keep in close touch with the loan officer from Countrywide and try to work with him to head off any further problems, rather than trying to react to stuff.  You might also want to check with Countrywide just to see what type of interest rates you can get - maybe it will be lower and you can save some money.

Answer 4

To follow up with what a poster above said, I would make any pending contract subject to an inspection of the home (which you will have to pay for).  Most banks expect this and well accept it--provided you don't expect them to make any improvements as they won't.  At least that way you will really know what you're getting into and whether it's worth it or not.  My wife and I just bought a foreclosure and let me tell you it is definitely a PITA.  The banks aren't very good at paperwork, and are in no hurry to get anything done.  We muddled through it and closed about a month after we were supposed to, and love the house.  It's definitely worth it, just be prepared for a lot of frustration on the way...

Answer 5

I don’t think either of you are wrong.

Your agent’s job isn’t to be your best friend and tell you everything you want to hear. Their job is to advise you and I think your agent was really just trying to say “Hey, have you thought about what this will all entail?” Not just the repairs, but the notorious feet dragging of banks in these sales.  

Also consider that she’s not going to get paid unless this deal closes. If you’d really walked away, all of the work she’s done to this point has been for free.  How is that the easy way out?

You did the right thing for you. You didn’t have to agree with what the agent said, and you asked her to proceed with the transaction. Which she apparently did so I don’t see what’s to be upset about. She voiced her opinion, but when you didn’t agree, she did what you wanted.