Thursday, January 19, 2012

The BIG Bad

Just after the holidays I told you all that the BIG BAD happened, but I didn't fill you in.  I was waiting until we had a resolution before spilling this story.  Thankfully, it has a happy ending!  This will be our new house at the end of the month!!!!  We're moving to Franklin, Tennessee (just south of Nashville).  Get ready for lots of pictures and a crazy story.

(kitchen)

We toured this house in May of 2011 while it was still under construction.  It's a new home in a new development.  We fell totally in love with it and wished we could buy it right then!  We decided we would build new using the builder of this home.  We never thought this house would stay on the market.  

(view from kitchen into breakfast nook/backyard)

In November, our relator sent us an email stating the builder had completed the house and was lowering the price during the winter season by $30,000!!!!  Holy cow!  So we started thinking, we should just buy it now and save ourselves the hassle of building a house from scratch!  We got pre-approval from USAA and thought it was meant to be.  We were all set to close on the 29th of December.

(more kitchen pics--the granite is a dark green)

When we got the loan paperwork from USAA I noticed a mistake in my husband's employment history. They had typed that he worked at his second job for 5 years, but he's only been working there 5 months. I corrected this mistake in my first conversation with our loan officer.  Just so you guys understand, my hubby is a physician in the military, but he moonlights at civilian hospitals for extra money.  He has a job lined up in the Nashville area already with a signed contract.

(view from the living room to the front door)

The weeks pass and we are constantly having to come up with some document or bank statement from USAA, but everything seems routine.  No problems or issues.

(eeek! my 5 burner gas stove!)

I talk to the loan officer regularly to make sure everything is going ok and they don't need anything more from us.  Then, we leave for Christmas vacation to my in-laws in Missouri and we plan to stop in Nashville on the way back to close on the house.  I talk to the loan officer a few more times since we're getting close and the title company still doesn't have USAA's closing info and money required.  Two days before closing USAA says they need some other doc from us and we send it.  Never does USAA express any problems or concerns.  They just say, "the underwriter wants X".  The day before the closing USAA leaves another message requesting some other document.  I email it to them that night (we were on the road to Nashville when they called).  

(patio, it's not completed yet in this pic)

The day of closing I still haven't heard from them and we're supposed to do the final walk through on the house.  I call only to find out they did not approve our loan!  WTF?!?!?!?  To say I was pissed is putting it mildly.  Apparently, since hubby has only been working at the part time job for 5 MONTHS they can't use that income.  They can't use his future income because he will be an independent contractor.  They are only able to use his military income--which isn't enough to qualify us for the house.  THEY TELL ME THEY SHOULD NEVER HAVE PRE-APPROVED US!

(living room/fire place/built-ins)

Had the pre-approval department entered in the information correctly we would have never been pre-approved!  While normally this would be upsetting, you wouldn't be losing any money.  However, we had the builders do custom work on the home after we got the preapproval and put $20,000 down for those improvements.  We will not be getting that money back.

(view from stairs into living room/backyard)

Now comes the very long process of us trying to get a loan, because USAA's right, with the new mortgage rules, no one will give us a loan!  This is particularly crazy to me since we are able to put 20% down on this house and we both have credit scores in the 800s.  Nutsy cuckoo!

(dining room/front porch)

In the end, we find we can get a "Doctor's Loan" with a few banks, but the closing date has to be within 60 days of his contract start date.  Sigh.  We were not looking forward to convincing the builder to wait to close on this house in April!  Oh, and we have to pay $90 per DAY for every day we push back the closing of the house!

(my sewing room!)

At the last minute, right before the builder was going to give us their decision on delaying until April, we found a bank that can do the loan at the end of the month.  HOORAY!  We got our confirmation letter (meaning the underwriter has approved our loan, not just pre-approval) yesterday. To say we are relieved is an understatement!  This is our dream home and we were heart broken when we thought we couldn't get it!  Needless to say, I'm still supremely pissed off at USAA for their mistakes and how they handled them---like not informing us there was a problem, EVER.  A customer should not have to call the day of closing to find out something is wrong!  I'm in the process now of having them compensate us for the fee we will have to pay for moving the closing date.  Fun times!  Here are a few more pics, drama free! :)

(where my fabric will go)


(master bedroom)

(master bedroom looking into master bath)

(master bath)

(shower)

(tub with cool tile work)

\
(master closet)


(hubby's man cave at top of the stairs)
There are three more bedrooms, two bath rooms, and another bonus area upstairs which will be the boys' playroom.  I just figured you all were tired of pictures now so I'm summarizing the upstairs.

So that's our BIG BAD story with our happy ending!  We can't wait to move!

31 comments:

Cherie said...

SOOOO happy that this has a happy ending!

Anonymous said...

Seriously happy this worked out for you! This house is GORGEOUS!!!! And your sewing room! Amazing!!!

Katie B said...

I'm so glad it worked out! The house is beautiful. I can't imagine how stressful that must've been!

Anonymous said...

I am sooo overly stoked for you!!! That is complete bull-kaka that you had to endure all that. But a happy ending is WELL worth the effort. It's a gorgeous HOME (not a house). You guys are going to be so happy there! Congrats!!!

Wendy said...

So happy for you guys! Good luck with the move and all that packing!

honeyguide said...

It was a long road but looks to be well worth the wait. It's gorgeous!

Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah said...

WE went through the EXACT same thing in buying our current house. EXACT on almost all points except with Chase. But so happy to hear it all worked out!!! And so jealous you guys are almost done with this military...HUH...stuff.

sukie said...

OMG loan companies should know that buying a house is one of the most stressful times in someone's life. They should NOT be making it hard on you especially if you crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's.

Your dream house is beautiful. CONGRATS!!

Tracey Jacobsen said...

the house is so freaking beautiful... I'm SO glad it worked out in the end... but think of all the fabric that could have been bought with $90/day!

Jen said...

Oh my word, what a crazy hassle the USAA gave you!!! I'm thrilled to hear everything has been resolved; it was meant to be!! It's absolutely gorgeous (and I do hope you share more photos)!!!

Kritta22 said...

Amazing house!!!! Where's my room? Lol

I'm so glad things worked out now instead of April!

Congrats!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Phew - I am so glad it worked out - it's a beautiful house and room for me to move in too!!!

(My word verification is 'failepic'!!!!!)

sew and so much more said...

Oh Kelly! I'm so sorry you had to go through all that but VERY happy you'll end up with the house. We too are looking at houses and have already battled with USAA here on our end. I thinking it won't be to our advantage to deal with them at all. Too bad...they used to be such a great company to work with.

Katy Cameron said...

Oh wow, that house is amazing, so glad it worked out for you in the end :o)

A very similar thing happened to me when I was a student buying my first flat (it was very cheap, and much cheaper to pay a mortgage than renting). It turned out the company didn't do loans on building conversions (the building had originally been the 'labour exchange' which was where labourers in things like building, plumbing etc went for work, but was converted in the '80's to flats). Again, they should never have lead us on, because it had been clear from the outset it was a conversion (it even said so in the real estate description!), and I was also having to do this from a distance, as I was at home with my parents working for the summer. I then had to find another mortgage provider that would do a mortgage for a student as well, but thankfully I got my flat too (still live in it in fact!)

Unknown said...

I bet you wholeheartedly breathe a sigh of relief when you finally get the keys in your hands! It is such a beautiful house, and looks so pretty from the outside too! I think its crying out for an aqua coloured front door haha!

Morgane @ Bear,Dolly and Moi said...

Oh I hear you, we had also a terrible time with USAA, lots of promises that everything was fine and on schedule, with me calling them 3 times a week to find out the week end before signing that there were problems. that they needed more paperworks....
We went to the closing table not knowing if we had the money...it ended up working out, but I promised myself to never do business with them ever again (it was our second time getting a loan with them!)
I am glad you are able to get "your " house, it looks beautiful.

Darcy said...

I won't add a rant here but this story makes me feel ILL - what a shameful way to conduct business with you. So sorry you had to go through that at all let alone at the holidays but glad it has a happy ending. The house looks gorgeous!

Karen P. said...

So happy it all worked out int the end!! The house is A.Mazing!!!!

Kelly said...

wow - that is quite the story! our realtor here in crestview warned us of USAA before we decided to go with them. she said that lately, they've just had lots of problems with them, and we did have a few, but nothing major like you. when we bought our first house back in 2003, the market was a different thing altogether, and closed on the house using USAA without any problems. the house is absolutely beautiful! and once you move in, you'll forget about all this mess!

Lee said...

Okay, I think I'm officially in love with your house! It's gorgeous, Kelly! So glad it all worked out. How stressful.

Natalia from Piece N Quilt said...

Wow! That sucks and is great all at the same time! It's a beautiful home and will be so nice to get moved into! :)

Angela said...

I working hard at not having house envy! lol Ours will get there but we have so much work to do!

You know our story but I'm not sure I could have handled yours. Crazy!

Meghan said...

Congratulations!!!

So sorry about your experience with USAA sadly we had a horrible time with them as well in 2009 when we bought our home. We did not get our closing documents until 3 hours after business hours (on the day we were supposed to close) lots of money miscaculated. It was horrible. But I am glad you got your dream home in the end!!!

Jackie's Stitches said...

So glad it all worked out! Your new home is beautiful! I love that it's new but the exterior has a lot of vintage type charm. I'm in the mortgage business and there has always been a requirement for most programs to have a 2 year history of working a 2nd job. While USAA may have a pre-approval department, that does not explain how the loan officer put you in a program you didn't qualify for and why he used the income on your application. The loan officer is required to know the guidelines!

FlourishingPalms said...

Goodness! What a closing headache - err, nightmare! It's enough to put anyone off of home-buying, isn't it? But how wonderful to know it's working out in the end. Your home is absolutely gorgeous, and it looks like you'll have lots of space to grow and enjoy. I don't envy you moving day, or even settling in, but do have a great experience. After everything you've already been through, I think you deserve it!

Dionysia said...

Hi.. here in Australia it is no where no so complex to get a loan.we dont have to bother with our credit score or what ever it is that you quote ... gee, i would very much fight for some compensation and a LETTER OF APOLOGY from the person who did the mistake in the FIRST place.. please post the rest of the pictures..i want bored at looking!!
House looks wonderful.. gee your homes are a great price compared to Adelaide, where i live. We should be buying some of your foreclosures and then renting the house back to the original owner. a two way benefit.. seriously, i have thought of doing this, but your story of "THE LOAN FROM HELL"kinda puts me off.. wonder if we borrow $$ from usa or here to do this??? anyone can let me know where to start... thanks

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh- gorgeous home!!! Congrats!

Jess said...

Wow! I'm swooning over the kitchen and built in bookcases... congratulations!

Tennjenny said...

Hi, Kelly, I just came over from Sew Mama Sew. I'm in Franklin and also collecting dust on my law degree (seven years of dust now). You are going to die when you see our LQS, if you haven't already. This house is so beautiful, and I'm thrilled for you. Franklin is a fantastic place!

Anonymous said...

I think mortgage companies are generally a PITA! I'm so glad things worked out for you and you got your dream home! It's gorgeous! Looking forward to seeing the beautiful work you'll create in that new sewing room!

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