Maria is a registered nurse who with a 9 year old son. Her Mom and Dad lives with her on a 2 bedroom apartment in Fremont renting for $2,100/month. She was given a letter before her lease expired to an increase to $2,600.
With her as the sole income earner, she only had $40,000 budget to purchase a 2 bedroom condo. After making several offers, she realized that her budget of $350,000 we could not find a decent location close to her job and school. She worked full time form 7-7pm and it was very hard to preview homes with her.
We finally made an offer on a 2 Bedroom condo that I found was just getting back in the market because the buyer was turned down few days prior close of escrow. The lender conditioned a $6,500 termite and repairs the buyer fall short on the pre-approved loan.
After notifying Maria and discussing a strategy, we were able to get our offer accepted. However, because we had to use an FHA loan, the lender requires all Section 1 repairs cleared. We reviewed the existing termite report and requested the inspector to come out and show us the infested areas. This showed that most of the repairs were from the exterior of the condo unit which is the responsibility of the Home Owners Association.
After further investigation and interviews with a couple of newly moved owners, we were able to find out that the whole building had a Section 1 repair due for the next scheduled maintenance. Researching and finding out the Property Management and HOA Officers, we were able to get an acknowledgement for the HOA that these Section 1 repairs were their responsibility. Maria was able to free that repair budget saving her $4000.
Because she was a first time home buyer, the senior loan officer was able to qualify her for a grant to cover $7000 of her closing costs.
Altogether, Maria was able to save $9,500 and found the condo unit close to her work, school and stores Mom and Dad can walk to. Plus they had an underground 2 car garage space for $495,000 with market value when we closed at $520,000.
