Brokers...
sigh... spent an hour with the broker and the home builder (the OWNER of homebuilding company) on Monday, got steered towards a smaller lot than what we looked at (the one we want is $55k, couldn't get a straight answer when I asked how for the smaller lot we were being steered to, and was told by the homebuilder that he could build a 1300-sq.ft. home like we needed (there is a minimum home size set by the group of sellers) and he could keep it within our budget "No problem. 1300-sq.ft., single story, 2-car garage, and we might even be able to throw in a couple of upgrades for you for free.".
The broker says he'll have to have a 3-D rendering of what the house will look like on the property so he can try and convince the sellers to "reduce the price of the lot to make it fit within our budget.", which I thought was weird, since the house the builder will build meets the minimum size requirement.
I told them how much we have in cash to apply towards down payments, permits & fees, and the maximum amount we were previously approved for through Chase for a home loan (a home valued at $160k), but that we wanted to keep $10k of our nestegg back to pay for appliances (about $4500) and have a few thousand left over for any home emergencies that might pop up over the next few years.
So I told them both several times that $150k is our maximum budget for the land and house.
Homebuilder says several times to me and to the broker that he can build the house and keep it in our budget, no problems.
So the wife calls the broker today to ask about the home loan's interest rate, because the broker said the sellers are handling the financing and the loan would be through the sellers and would be like a Conventional Home Loan or FHA loan.
The broker says no, the sellers aren't issuing the loan, what they're doing is building a home on the lot under contract with the buyer, and when the home is built we get our loan through our bank (Chase) to finish the deal.
And he says he steered us towards the smaller property because he thought it was the only one the sellers would possibly consider reducing the price of the land to make it fit in our budget.
Even though it will be in our budget to buy the lot we video'd if the builder can build a 1300-sq.ft. home on to keep it all in our $150k-ish budget whhich he assured both me and the broker that he can do it easily.
But the broker was telling my wife that he didn't think the sellers would go for a house smaller than 1300-sq.ft. being built on the lots.
Even though the builder told him several times he could easily build us a 1300-sq.ft. home on the lots and keep it in out budget.
So the wife told him to verify with the builder that he could do it, because if he can, there will be nothing stopping us from getting it done.
That would be $55k for the larger lot that we video'd, and between $85k and $90k for the building of the house, which the builder told both of us several times that he can do it.
Sigh... so I have no clue as to what's going on anymore.
The builder was very clear about it.
I was very clear about it.
But the broker must have been out to lunch during our meeting, because he had all the info wrong.
He asks the wife, "So, if I recall, you have $50k or $60k to put down?"
No, she tells him we have $40k in cash and would be using part of that as a 20% down payment so we can avoid paying the extra money on mortgage insurance.
The broker says most people only pay $12k to 15k down payment (20% down on a $150k home is $30k, which we have and are expecting to pay for a down).
Sigh again.
It seems like the builder and I were the only 2 of the 3 who were actually "there" at the meeting....
Not exactly konfidence inspiring.
Didn't I say something yesterday about how whenever I relate good news about something , the kibosh gets put on it? (seems to be my lot in life)
I probably should have kept my mouth shut again....
I hope this can get straightened out before it's too late.
I going to take a nap.