I have formally offered $110,000 for the condo. My agent has already talked with the seller's agent, and he tells me that she has a history of being reluctant to lower her price. (She had it on the market last year for six months and then took it off, even though she had a cash offer that was only $5K short of her price). The condo is listed at $133,000 and I was hoping the counter offer would be $120,000, but that might not happen. My agent thinks it will likely be $128,000. C'est la vie.
My agent also told me that I would need $10,000 in earnest money, which surprised me. I will get $9,000 back, but I am still surprised. It seems like that last time I bought a house I only had to have $1,000. I do have it, but just barely. The other bad surprise was the dip in the stock market. I now barely have the $60,000 for the down payment, and as I recall, TIAA-CREF (which is holding the funds) will withhold a portion to go toward taxes, so unless the market goes up again, I can't get $60K in hand right now. Since I don't have to withdraw it until the deal is accepted, I am going to sit tight and hope it goes back up.
When I first stepped into this, I had $65,000 in stock as well as $10,000 in savings, so I thought that offering a $60K down payment was reasonable. I'm a little bummed.
In other news, I went to a long-awaited appointment this morning to see a uro-gynecologist. I want to get a surgery called TVT which will put my personal plumbing back in order. I tentatively scheduled it for August, but first I have to have "pelvic floor" physical therapy and pass a "urodynamic" test in July. More appointments, more waiting.
Yesterday I was scheduled for a professional meeting downtown. I decided to drive rather than take the train. Wrong decision! I didn't read the directions carefully enough and went to the wrong campus. By the time I figured that out, and found the right place, I was already way late and couldn't find parking. When I finally found a parking place I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to use the parking meter. In frustration, I just left and sent my regrets. I feel like such an idiot! And I wasted a lot of gas for nothing. AND I noticed that the train station was very close to the correct destination.
My $300 challenge is now down to $154. I bought breakfast at the medical center and had to pay for parking in the garage.
Put in my offer
May 17th, 2012 at 05:10 pm
May 17th, 2012 at 05:19 pm 1337275159
May 18th, 2012 at 02:07 am 1337306873
May 18th, 2012 at 03:02 am 1337310151
May 18th, 2012 at 08:46 pm 1337373982
Your trip to your meeting sounds like something I would do! How frustrating.