House Hunters: Rowan Co

Here is a sampling of the listings that Monica sent us Wednesday morning.  I reviewed them just slightly before leaving work and Jason must have looked over them at some point because he was ready to discuss the options by Wednesday night.

Our parameters: close to I-85 North in Rowan Co and around $140K.

MLS #: R51613A (Active)    List Price: $109,000 607 WHITEHEAD AVENUE SOUTH Spencer, NC 28159

Additional Photos

TYPE & STYLE: One Story ACREAGE RANGE: Less than 1 acre BEDROOMS: 3 FULL BATHS: 2 HALF BATHS: 0 APX YEAR BUILT: 2001 APX SQFT TOTAL HLA (ABOVE GRADE): 1364 APX SQFT BSMT-FIN (BELOW GRADE): 0 APX SQFT RANGE (TOTAL FINISHED HLA): 1,300-1,400

TOWNHOUSE/CONDO #:     SUBDIVISION: NONE IN CITY LIMITS: Yes AREA: Area 4: 85S to 70W ZONING: R8-Single Family ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: NORTH ROWAN MIDDLE SCHOOL: NORTH ROWAN HIGH SCHOOL: NORTH ROWAN

LOT DIMENSIONS:     LOT: 16 SECTION:     BOOK: 911 PAGE: 862 APX ACREAGE: 0.22 ROAD FRONTAGE:     TAX MAP: 033 PARCEL: 423 TAX VALUE: 101638 ASSOC FEE:     ASSOCIATION FEE PAID:     HOA/MANAGEMENT COMPANY NAME/CONTACT INFO:     LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Concrete Drive, Inside City Limits ROAD MAINTENANCE: City

Level: Dimensions: Level: Dimensions: Great Room: M 15'2x18'6 Living Room: - Den: - Dining Room: M 11'4x9'10 Breakfast Room: - Kitchen: M 16'6x11'4 Master Bedroom: M 13x12'1 Bedroom 2: M 12'4x10'2 Bedroom 3: - Bedroom 4: - Bedroom 5: - Rec Room: - None -

APX SQFT BSMT-UNFIN: 0 APX ROOF AGE: 9 INTERIOR FEATURES: Ceiling Fans, Security System, Walk-in Closet(s), Master Bedroom Main Level, Tile Floors, Inside Laundry, Great Room, Washer/Dryer Connection EXTERIOR FEATURES: Storm Doors, Double Pane Windows, Level Lot, Satellite Dish MISCELLANEOUS: None RESTRICTIONS: None

CONSTRUCTION: Vinyl Siding FOUNDATION/BSMT: Crawl Space ROOF: Shingle-Composition HEATING SYSTEM: Gas Forced Air AIR CONDITIONING: Central Electric WATER/SEWER: City/Public Water, City/Public Sewer

WATER HEATER: Electric ATTIC: Access Only GARAGE/CARPORT: None-Garage, None-Carport FIREPLACES: None PORCH: Patio APPLIANCES: Dishwasher, Range, Self Cleaning Oven UTILITIES: Electricity, Gas, Public Water Available, Public Sewer Available

REMARKS: This charming house has been kept in excellent condition with updates that include tile floors in both bathrooms, ceiling fans in all bedrooms and parquet wood floors in foyer and great room. Motivated sellers---show and bring all offers!!! DIRECTIONS: North Main St. to Spencer, Left on 7th St., Right on Whitehead Ave, home on the left. SELLERS� SUBAGENT: 3 BUYER BROKER FEE: 3

Office Name: WILLIAM R KENNEDY REALTY (#:38)

This one was in the city limits so it pretty much was out of the question right away.  It was in our price range though and it was in our area.  7 of the other listings that she sent to us were also in the city limits.  There was a listing that was outside of city limits and as a foreclosure, was priced at only $67,000, so it was well within our price range.

MLS #: R53211A (Active)    List Price: $67,000 5155 LONG FERRY ROAD Salisbury, NC 28146

Additional Photos

TYPE & STYLE: One Story ACREAGE RANGE: Less than 1 acre BEDROOMS: 3 FULL BATHS: 1 HALF BATHS: 0 APX YEAR BUILT: 1980 APX SQFT TOTAL HLA (ABOVE GRADE): 1200 APX SQFT BSMT-FIN (BELOW GRADE): 0 APX SQFT RANGE (TOTAL FINISHED HLA): 1,200-1,300

TOWNHOUSE/CONDO #:     SUBDIVISION: NONE IN CITY LIMITS: No AREA: Area 2: 85N to 52E ZONING: R ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: HANFORD DOLE MIDDLE SCHOOL: NORTH ROWAN HIGH SCHOOL: NORTH ROWAN

LOT DIMENSIONS: 124X227X124X224 LOT: 3 SECTION:     BOOK: 647 PAGE: 300 APX ACREAGE: 0.65 ROAD FRONTAGE: 124 TAX MAP: 611 PARCEL: 021 TAX VALUE: 88514 ASSOC FEE:     ASSOCIATION FEE PAID:     HOA/MANAGEMENT COMPANY NAME/CONTACT INFO:     LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Gravel Drive ROAD MAINTENANCE: State

Level: Dimensions: Level: Dimensions: Great Room: - . Living Room: M 15'2X18'7 Den: - . Dining Room: M 10'3X8'2 Breakfast Room: - . Kitchen: M 11'X8'2 Master Bedroom: M 11'10X11'10 Bedroom 2: M 11'10X11'10 Bedroom 3: M 11'9X9'3 Bedroom 4: - . Bedroom 5: - . Rec Room: - . Deck M 12''X24'

APX SQFT BSMT-UNFIN: 0 APX ROOF AGE: 8 years INTERIOR FEATURES: Ceiling Fans, Inside Laundry EXTERIOR FEATURES: Storm Doors, Private Yard, Level Lot, Workshop MISCELLANEOUS: Vacant RESTRICTIONS: Covenants and Restrictions, None

CONSTRUCTION: Brick Veneer FOUNDATION/BSMT: Crawl Space ROOF: Shingle-Composition HEATING SYSTEM: Electric Heat Pump AIR CONDITIONING: Central Electric WATER/SEWER: Private Well, Septic Tank

WATER HEATER: Electric ATTIC: Access Only GARAGE/CARPORT: None-Carport FIREPLACES: None PORCH: Front, Deck APPLIANCES: Range UTILITIES: Electricity

REMARKS: Located near High Roack Lake! Compact home with comfort in mind. Almost level lot with large workshop on the back. Electric heat pump was purchased several years ago and the water heater is almost new. Home needs some TLC, Carpet,paint and update the bath and you are ready to move in. Laundry hook up is on the end of the kitchen. Large pantry in kitchen. Priced well below tax value! Home will be sold AS IS. DIRECTIONS: Take I-85 to exit 81- turn east toward High Rock lake. The home is 4.4 miles on the right. SELLERS� SUBAGENT: 3.0 BUYER BROKER FEE: 3.0

Office Name: BETTY S GRUBB REALTY (#:77)

Because it was on Long Ferry Rd, we were much more interested in this property.  It was only 1 bathroom though, so we were missing our 2^nd bath, which could be a pretty big deal breaker.  But at that price in our area, we were willing to take a look.

Monica sent us plenty more listings to look at but nothing seemed to really peek our interest right off.  

Jason had also found a property that was very interesting.  And by interesting, I honestly think Jason saw the clouds open, the sun shine down and heard angels start to sing “ahhhhhh” in a very operatic gospel voice. 

image via Pinterest

So I guess you want to see it huh? I mean to the future hubs, it was pretty amazing, right?

Listing Details

List Price: $127,777 Subdivision: NONE Bedrooms: 3 Full Baths: 2 Half Baths: 0 Type & Style: Double-wide Mobile Area: Area 2: 85N to 52E MLS Number: 53322 Apx Acreage: 10.5 (Biggest selling point ever) Master Bedroom Level: M Construction: Vinyl Siding Heating System: Electric Heat Pump Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport Lot Dimensions: 300 x 1400 Apx Year Built: 2000

Apx SqFt Total HLA (above grade): 1904 Master Bedroom Dimensions: 13'3 x 13'2 Elementary School: NORTH ROWAN Middle School: NORTH ROWAN High School: NORTH ROWAN Foundation/Bsmt: Crawl Space Roof:   Air Conditioning: Central Electric Water Heater: Electric Water/Sewer: Private Well, Septic Tank Porch: Front, Deck Exterior Features: Storm Doors, Double Pane Windows, Private Yard, Wooded Lot Miscellaneous: Other-See Remarks

Well it’s a double wide, and I’ve never lived in a mobile home, but Jason has.  I have nothing against a manufactured home, but there is a bit of a stigma about living in one.  It seems big and very well kept up though, and I feel like I’ve seen double wides in the past that didn’t look like mobile homes at all, so maybe that’s what we could do with this one.

Oh my God! Is that a garden tub?  Yuck!!  How much water would it take to fill that thing up?  Who uses those these days?  Where is my shower?  And what is up the purple counter tops?  Hmmm…

Okay, so like I said, I don’t have a problem with a double wide home if we can make it look like it’s not a double wide.  How would we do that?  Well you see those strips that run down the wall, they gotta go!  The door with the wind grate?  It’s gotta go.  The faux wood wainscoting, it’s gotta go.  Big room though huh?

Wow! Is that a bright pink bedroom or what?  We will definitely have to paint that.  

Awwww…how cute is that nursery?  And to be able to fit a crib and a changing table in a room and still have lots of space around them means this is a pretty big bedroom too.  And I don’t think that we would be having babies right away after moving, so that room would need to be painted too.  And those wall strips removed.  Why do they do that?  Anybody? Anybody have an answer?

Oh my goodness! Is that a mud room? Holy moly, maybe I could warm up to this idea of living in a manufactured home.

It has a porch.  It's smallish looking, but that's ok too.  I had a small porch at my house that I lived in before Jason and I lived together

aww...what a cute walk way.  it looks like my kind of diy project, but hey, gotta start somewhere

wow! that is a long driveway and looking at this picture, I have no idea where the road to civilization in comparison to the house is, but i don't care.  Jason was in love.

just the back of the house.  looks clean enough

whoa! that is a lot of land.  awesome!!!  

Jason and I were already thinking long term for this house.  We could live here for a couple of years, get the house paid off and probably still save the money to put down a deposit on a construction loan.  We could then build our dream house and then use the double wide as a rental.  

And.....on top of all of that, Jason was SURE that he would be able to look at deer from his back porch, which would have been a huge bonus

Also, since Jason may or may not work for a company that helps with cutting down trees, he was already seeing the pines coming down and making some moo-lah off the land!

Cha-Ching!!  

Ok, so stay tuned as this house looks very appealing!

Meeting part deux

So I know it’s been a while since I was last able to post and there is a lot to catch up on.  Many of you already know the end result.  But I’ve never been the type of person to jump to the last chapter in a book just to find out what happened, so I’m not going to let you do that either.

Unfortunately due to my hectic life over the last two weeks, I wasn’t able to write as soon as things happened and I apologize that I will be leaving out something.  I know that someone said something funny or alarming along the way that I was sure I was going to tell everyone about, but alas….time has flown by and this is the only time I have had to sit down and blog and my memory very well may escape me.

In the last post, I forgot to mention that we asked SunTrust if they had “preferred” realtors and/or suggestions for who we should work with.  We don’t know any realtors in the area that we were really wanting to work with.  (Our landlord is a realtor and a great guy and I really hated not wanting to use him, but he always seems so busy and over the past 16 months he’s promised numerous times to finish painting the rent house and that hasn’t happened yet.  So deep down, I think I was concerned about his level of interest.)  SunTrust gave us a card for Monica Poole.  I don’t mind actually mentioning her name in this post as she’s a wonderful realtor and as you’ll see in upcoming segments, she has been more than helpful and we couldn’t have asked for better!  Feel free to use her and or Google her, she’s great! 

I decided to go ahead and call Monica Wednesday morning while I was at work and let her know what price range we were looking at and where our search should be focused but that after the second meeting, I would be able to offer her more.

While at work, I perused the listings and found a couple that were interesting and sent them on to Jason.

Our next step in the house buying process was to meet with our second bank, Citizens South.  I had for-warned Jason that the lady we were meeting with was a talker!  And by talker…I mean T-A-L-K-E-R!!  When I initially called to set up the meeting, it was difficult to get in a word edge wise short of “we want to buy a house.”  I think the warning helped him..as he’s not much for meeting with talkers.  Personally, I think it’s because Jason is a bit of a talker himself when he wants to be.  Shhhh… don’t tell him I said that ; -)

image via pinterest

The first impression wasn’t stellar as our meeting was scheduled for 4:30 but the Citizens South (C-S for short) made it a point to let me know she would be expecting us anywhere between 4:00 and 4:15.  Yay, we’re doomed to be late before we even start.  Any who, because she made the point that we were to be there early, I rushed home from work, quickly changed clothes and miraculously we arrived at exactly 4:15. Whew!  Guess who was on the phone and made us wait?  You guessed it, C-S lady.  We didn’t get into her office until 4:45.  It kinda sucked, but I don’t like to judge.  It was probably a really important phone call.  Know what I’m saying?  Jason didn’t.  He did not approve. 

image via Lillan G via Pinterest

After the initial introductions, we made our way to our seats across from what has to be one of the biggest desks I’ve ever sat behind in my life.  I imagine kindergarten aged children would have been less intimidated sitting in the principal’s office.  That’s how big this thing was.

First things first according to C-S lady was that we needed to be prequalified together.  Well duh!  While I wasn’t crazy about our credit getting run again, she assured us that the credit reporting companies understand when banks check your credit frequently as they know you are shopping for a mortgage.  While I understand that, what if we had not been approved/pre-qualified for a loan?  Wouldn’t that check still hit your credit and could conceivably do damage to same?  Hmm…fishy.

But we gave her our information and were told yet again that we were in great shape.  She asked about our monthly bills and our savings.  Did you know that banks are SHOCKED at the notion that you don’t have a car payment?  Believe me, it’s true. They honestly give you a look, like Que? What you say? I no understand?  Are you speaking English?

So, to make a long story short (too late, I know), we were advised that the USDA loan would be perfect for us!  Okay, cool, we like the sounds of that.  We ended up telling C-S how much we were currently spending in rent and that we were comfortable at that amount.  C-S lady told us we could spend more.  Thanks, but no thanks C-S lady.  We have old cars, government jobs with no year-end bonuses and would like to save for a wedding.  Our current payment is plenty, thank you very much.

image via icanhazcheezburger

C-S consented and ultimately decided that somehow, our moms and dads raised us right and that we were smart for not getting in over our heads.  Isn’t that how the economy ended up in this mess in the first place?  People spending more than they should, buying houses that weren’t in their price ranges?  Yea, I think I may have heard that somewhere (or everywhere). 

Now, don’t get me wrong, C-S may have talked a lot, but she was also a really good saleswoman.  I won’t lie, I’m pretty gullible and soaked it all in.  She seemed extremely knowledgeable about the government backed loans, both the USDA loan and the FHA loan.  (FHA requires 3% down and you can live anywhere you want).   She ultimately suggested that we go with the USDA loan, just like SunTrust did.  But said there was nothing wrong with the FHA loan if decided to live in the city.

Just to check about the foreclosure house again, we also asked C-S lady about it and her thoughts.  I think those bankers must talk when we’re not around, because she said the same thing about the foreclosure home that SunTrust did.  No can do…shucks!  Oh well, we’ll deal.

So after an hour and a half (yea, you read that right), we were walking out with a prequalification letter that better represented buying a house on our combined income.  At least we had a starting point for our house search.  And now we could really house search.  Yay!!!!  I hope Monica is ready, ‘cause we sure are!