Merry Christmas

So there you are, my little angel overlooking the impending blessed event. Contrary to what one recipient of a photo card with the same image thought, it is an Angel's Robe, not a Chef's Outfit. Would you believe it was one of my Church's pastors that made that error?

The fourth time is a charm.

When we did finally crossed the threshold at the title company we knew we were close. It was only one half hour later that we were homeowners again, or more correctly, owned another home. Were there any more issues in this sordid journey? Ones that the first three attempts at closing had not seen resolved? Yes, but small ones. The HUD (Closing Statement or Settlement Sheet) had a few errors, that not I, but our attorney caught. Having an extra set of eyes comes in very handy. Especially eyes that are not occupied worrying about everything and trying to envision what the home will look like after all the work, blood, sweat and tears. Usually I play that role, the objective, experienced, level headed one. This time around I played the confident but pensive buyer.

Are those real?

People talk about internet scams all the time. I am a little surprised that so many people fall for them. Some folks I know are reluctant to use fantastic resources like Craig's List for fear that someone will take advantage of them. Here is a scammer/spammer email for your enjoyment.

Hello I came across the posted advert of the {House/Appartment} in which am indeed interested in renting,Am 34yrs old and a graduate of fine and creative art from the university of North London Pls email me with thebelow details below if is still available: The full conditions and descritption of the place for rent? The address of the place? The month rent fee? Are utilities costs included? If they are not, figure out how much they typically cost. Total amount needed for Move - In /deposit? Will you take a certified cashiers cheque for payment pls? The pictures of the place? What is the ideal or proper time /date Move in will be best suitable? So kindly get back to me asap. Thanks.

My understanding is they will request a bank account number or produce a bad check for over the amount and ask for change. So there it is, the internet is not so scary any more.

Closing... Take 3

Enough said. I accompanied the building inspector as she cast her glance at 201 Dunning the day of the anticipated 3rd attempt at closing. I tried every little trick in the book but call her pretty to make things go smoothly. She was able to find fault none the less. All of the issues she is bringing attention to are ones I am aware of and plan to address, only I want to do them on my time line. The seller, with whom the building inspectors are far too familiar, stood by and bit his lip. In the Bassett neighborhood you can get a $60,000 forgivable loan from the city to do what I am doing. On the East Side you'll be lucky if they let the slum-lord, absentee landlord sell it to you.

Beauty and the Geek

The National Association of Realtors is mourning a horrible blow to what until now has been a spotless public image. The undoubtedly least intelligent competitor on the CW's reality television show "Beauty and the Geek", after being asked if the show had inspired any of the "Beauties" back to school, shared that she was going to take her Realtor exam. Isn't my job hard enough already?

Closing... Take 2

Tomorrow we will try to close again on 201 Dunning. It was an hour before the last attempt we learned that the building inspector had filed grievances with the city attorney and the current owners were being criminally charged with non-compliance to city building codes. There has been a handyman working away for most of the days since then. I was aware of and even accepting of the issues the home had but unwilling to accept the unwanted attention of the building inspector.

There were a few things wrong here. 1. There is language in the real estate condition report relating to repairs or assessments mandated by a municipality. The condition report was not correct. 2. These repairs had gone past due, making them criminal violations rather than simple deferred maintenance.

If you fear that a property you are buying may have outstanding violations, you can go to the office of the building inspector or speak to the inspector for that area on the phone. We did both and can now measure success, one violation at a time.