For those of you who remember (or better yet, for those who even care), we were selling our house here in Oregon to move to Arizona. Having never sold a house before, I was fortunate enough to be in a buyers market. We bought our home in Oregon for 235k in 2016, and sold in on April 10th, 2020 for 350k. So I would say we made out quite nicely.
Of course we had to deal with some seriously stupid buyers who I was unwilling to bend-over backwards for (only because this is a buyers market and we had multiple offers). That deal fell through, and we took the backup offer, which was actually better. Unfortunately the backup buyers were so picky that their list of repairs including changing out a burnt lightbulb over the kitchen sink, and vacuuming out the dryer ducts
(among other petty things).
Needless to say, I sucked it up and took care of everything, because the COVID-19 thing hit right during the middle of closing, and I didn't want to risk losing the deal.
Well, we ended up selling the house successfully, and I feel like maybe it happened right in the nick of time as well, since there is no telling how this COVID-19 economy collapse will affect the real estate market.
Anyhow, we're now in a tiny apartment for 1-2 months while we find a house in Arizona. You may recall that we had two other homes in Arizona we really liked. The first one fell through due to some serious issues with the home inspection and about 40-50k worth of estimated repairs. The second one fell through on my end, because apparently while my mortgage broker thought I might be able to get approved for a new home while I already owned a home, that didn't quite work out due to income.
So, now we are in a much better situation. I have 20% down, no contingency, home paid off, and we're good to go. From my understanding, everything should work out great this time around.
It didn't take more than a few days before we found our new home, and I feel like maybe everything happened for a reason, because we like this one better than all the others:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5486-W-Montebello-Way-Florence-AZ-85132/121924480_zpid/
We made an offer, they accepted, and we are now in the 10-day inspection period.
It had been on the market for 54 days, which is highly unusual in Arizona. Come to find out it was because the roof is a solar roof, and whoever buys the home has to take over the solar lease, which still has 16 years left on it.
They provided me with a copy of the solar lease addendum, and it is $221 a month for the next 16 years.
While that sounds like a lot, I made them provide me with their electricity bills from May to September (peak months in Arizona), and they are only paying $20-$28 per month during the hottest period of the year.
I talked to my realtor and a number of others I know in Arizona, and they said given the size of the home (3369 sq/ft), that's actually a very good cost for an electric bill during Summer months.
In the end I may end up saving a small amount over a traditional electric setup, but I shouldn't end up losing anything.
Anyhow, here's to hoping this deal works out. If all goes as planned, we are supposed to close May 10th, but we told the sellers we are flexible, since they still need to move out (the husband is a Mesa police officer).
I can't help but feeling like everything that happened, happened for a reason, and that we are here and now because of what I'd like to refer to as "blessings in disguise".
Of course we had to deal with some seriously stupid buyers who I was unwilling to bend-over backwards for (only because this is a buyers market and we had multiple offers). That deal fell through, and we took the backup offer, which was actually better. Unfortunately the backup buyers were so picky that their list of repairs including changing out a burnt lightbulb over the kitchen sink, and vacuuming out the dryer ducts
(among other petty things).Needless to say, I sucked it up and took care of everything, because the COVID-19 thing hit right during the middle of closing, and I didn't want to risk losing the deal.
Well, we ended up selling the house successfully, and I feel like maybe it happened right in the nick of time as well, since there is no telling how this COVID-19 economy collapse will affect the real estate market.
Anyhow, we're now in a tiny apartment for 1-2 months while we find a house in Arizona. You may recall that we had two other homes in Arizona we really liked. The first one fell through due to some serious issues with the home inspection and about 40-50k worth of estimated repairs. The second one fell through on my end, because apparently while my mortgage broker thought I might be able to get approved for a new home while I already owned a home, that didn't quite work out due to income.
So, now we are in a much better situation. I have 20% down, no contingency, home paid off, and we're good to go. From my understanding, everything should work out great this time around.
It didn't take more than a few days before we found our new home, and I feel like maybe everything happened for a reason, because we like this one better than all the others:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5486-W-Montebello-Way-Florence-AZ-85132/121924480_zpid/
We made an offer, they accepted, and we are now in the 10-day inspection period.
It had been on the market for 54 days, which is highly unusual in Arizona. Come to find out it was because the roof is a solar roof, and whoever buys the home has to take over the solar lease, which still has 16 years left on it.
They provided me with a copy of the solar lease addendum, and it is $221 a month for the next 16 years.
While that sounds like a lot, I made them provide me with their electricity bills from May to September (peak months in Arizona), and they are only paying $20-$28 per month during the hottest period of the year.
I talked to my realtor and a number of others I know in Arizona, and they said given the size of the home (3369 sq/ft), that's actually a very good cost for an electric bill during Summer months.
In the end I may end up saving a small amount over a traditional electric setup, but I shouldn't end up losing anything.
Anyhow, here's to hoping this deal works out. If all goes as planned, we are supposed to close May 10th, but we told the sellers we are flexible, since they still need to move out (the husband is a Mesa police officer).
I can't help but feeling like everything that happened, happened for a reason, and that we are here and now because of what I'd like to refer to as "blessings in disguise".
