A bit off topic but I know there are many people here with mortgage/new construction experience. Hoping someone will be able to help. We are currently building our first home. When we first applied we were given the option of locking in for 3 months at 6.75 or 4 months at 7% with option of floating down within one month of closing. We chose to lock in for 4 months so we could be sure that our house would be completed prior to the lock expiring. Anyway, the lender won't allow us to float down until she is sure that closing will occur within one month of the float down. The realtor is telling us(won't give us a number for the builder) that our home should be ready mid-late September. Since she is saying it could be ready as early as mid-September shouldn't we be able to float down now??? I'm just really anxious to lock in because the VA rates are 6.175 or something like that today. ALSO, for those that have had a house built: at what stage in the building did they say that your home would be ready in a month?? Right now I believe they have completed rough-ins and are waiting for the inspection so that they can do the insulation. Is it likely that our home will actually be completed next month??? Or do we still have a long way to go. Oh and we have all the windows,doors, roof..etc. NO siding yet though... Thanks in advance for any help....
I can't answer the question about the mortgage, but I can tell you about the house... I'm currently building my first home also. I had my pre-drywall meeting ooh, about three weeks ago. They had up the siding (for the most part) and the brick front, windows, outside doors. I went by today, and they have painted, all cabinets are in, the hardwood is down, all toilets and sinks are in, as well as the lighting fixtures. The only thing they have left inside is touch-ups, the foyer light, and the carpet. Outside they have landscaping. They should be done by the end of August. Based on that information, I'd say it's possible that your house could be done by the middle of September. It depends on how the subcontractors are and how you are on the final walkthrough. Are you having a pre-drywall meeting?
Thanks Sweetnsas! No..we are not scheduled to have a pre-drywall meeting. :-( The next time we will be allowed in the house is supposed to be at the walk-through at the end. I know you must be soooo excited! Wow...Good luck at closing. Thanks again!
cf- I am a bit concerned about some of the things that you are saying... WHY won't your realtor give you the number to YOUR builder? Tell her that she is working for you and to give you the damn number. Second, is this deal set in stone? Is this home being built for you based on a legal contract?
Re: Mortgage rate dropping/construc Ohnostuck, Thank you so much for your response. Yes..it is true that the agent or the corporate office for the real estate agency will not give me the number to the builder. Then when I tried to call information to get the number they say they don't have a number listed??? The corporate office said to contact the agent to find out anything about our construction. It is all very frustrating. Oh and also they will not allow us to go in the house since they have the doors locked. Even though the contract says that we are allowed to go there with representatives of the seller. She did not even offer us that. She said that she does not have keys to the home..only the builder. And that the reason they do this is so that people with homes that are not completed don't keep coming by asking for the keys... This is a rather large subdivision (some parts have been there for over 5 years). We spoke to many of the owners and they love the area but I just feel so uncomfortable when we can't even contact the builder to ask questions. Oh and when I did a search on the web nothing comes up. Oh and yes we have a signed contract by us date June 1st. The builder accepted the contract a couple of days later.... Oh and the agent I'm referring to is the agent in the model at the neighborhood. I guess she represents the builder and not us. Or would she be consider a dual agent????
Re: Mortgage rate dropping/construc Perhaps you can call your city or village hall and ask them. I work in the building Dept for my village and from looking at the file we usually can have a pretty good idea of when the house should be finished. A lot of this also depends on the inspectors. When they inspect something if it is not done right they will 'ding' it, and then it has to be re-inspected after the problem is fixed. This is of course if the city or village has good inspectors and care how the outcome of the house is. With good inspectors it may take longer but worth it in the long run. Sometimes an inspection can get dinged several times before being approved, and this may just be one kind of inspection, e.g. base, rough, electrical, plumbing, insulation, ect. ect. Sandie
Re: Mortgage rate dropping/construc OH NO! You do not have a buyers agent? Is this your first home? If you do not have one already I suggest that you get a good real estate lawyer to help you out at closing etc. You should NEVER EVER buy a house without a buyers agent. The only time I would EVER consider doing so would be with a FSBO home and you better bet your booty that I would have my attorney help me. Get your contract out and tell that woman that you DEMAND to get the telephone number of the builder and ltell her that you have a signed contract that states you may do a walk through at any time you please, Tell her that it looks like she better get her key. Y ou are making one of the biggest investments of your life and you should be able to get in contact with the person you are wanting to deal with. When speaking to the builder I would be SURE to express my discust with their agent. On your Purchase Agreement it SHOULD have a name address and telephone number of the company that you bought the home from. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT WAIT TILL THE DAY BEFORE YOU CLOSE TO DO THE WALK THROUGH.
Re: Mortgage rate dropping/construc No, I do not have a buyer's agent. And yes this is our first home. We really should have thought about getting an agent prior to signing that contract. We just walked in there picked a lot and signed the papers. Now I know that was a big mistake..... Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. I'm waiting for the mortgage company to open this morning. I'm going to see if I can get the loan officer to call the builder again(she did at the very beginning of the process back in June) AND give me the telephone number of the builder. If that does not work, then I guess I will have to look for a good real estate lawyer. Maybe he can explain what my rights are and show them that I'm serious. I will let you all know what the lender says this morning.....Thanks again!
Re: Mortgage rate dropping/construc OhNo is right....I guess I didn't really read all of your message. No one should buy a home without having an agent who work for them (ie. buyers agent). Also, I would be truly leary of any builder who will not allow me to come by the home anytime I want to do whatever I want! You should also get your own inspector! DO NOT LET THEM GO TO DRYWALL WITHOUT YOU HAVING IT INSPECTED!!! I realize there are county inspectors, etc, however, how do you do the phone jacks and cable outlets are where you want them? How do you know they put insulation behind the tub? Not to mention, some county inspectors are in builders pockets (i.e. they get homes to pass inspection that really DO NOT pass, technically). Again, I am very leary of all people in the housing industry due to my previous experience, but before I started this journey, I purchased a wonderful book called, "Your New House". It is very detailed about the entire process of building and tells you who you need on your team. If you signed a contract that says you can't go by the house...then you probably can't, but I would do whatever I could go get by there and monitor the progress. Not only do I go by my house every two days, but I've been there to catch them before they made boo-boos (not putting in my gas lines) to right after, so they could correct (put in black marble fireplace surround instead of beige). I also have pictures - inside and out, from day one, so I have a great set of pictures for my photo album to document my experience. I walk the property and go right in all the time. At this point, the house is NEVER locked. Once they get it 100% complete, I'm sure they will lock it to protect it. I went by and started talking to the builder's agent first. I even put down the lot deposit and picked the model but I did NOT sign a contract before I had an agent. We even negotiated $2k off the price, which is something I probably wouldn't have been able to do. If you are uncomfortable - you need to do whatever you have to do to ease your discomfort. My suggestion would also be to get an attorney. This is a major, major investment - not to be taken lightly.
