commitment...but not really

i am looking at my last posting and have to laugh...was it really march 31 when i made the offer on the condo?! well, i got it, after a FOUR MONTH struggle, but then i am typically drawn to a good challenge (check out the men i've dated. :). i officially sign papers this friday. however, it's a "sure thing" according to all parties involved (including the lender), so i already have the keys, am in the process of cleaning the place, ordered the energy star appliances (using my new home depot credit card :), bought my CFLs, bought a dining room table, etc...ah, the joys of homeownership.

now, you may be wondering why this process took so long! for starters, the condo is a short sale, and the realtor warned me right off the bat that this was going to take a while. turns out the "counter" process did not take much time at all...my offer was pretty much in line with what the bank was hoping for. the beast was securing the loan! i applied for a 5% down conventional. my prequal reflected that, everything seemed peachy, blah blah blah. when the time came to actually apply for the loan, Fannie and Freddie decided to require a minimum 10% downpayment for condos in "declining markets." phoenix is there. huh?! i could swing that, but i would not be left with enough to do the fun home improvement projects i was so looking forward to. also, in the process of calling lenders, i learned that a number of them required even MORE than 10% down in maricopa county (wells fargo wanted 35%!!!). this all led my very creative realtor to move in another direction. she decided to get the condo "spot approved," or rather, since the complex is not fha-approved, she would apply to have that single unit fha-approved, which would allow me to purchase the condo with a mere 3.5% down (yes, even that went up from 3%...this housing market is jacked, let me tell you!). it took a while, but everything panned out and i got the fha loan...and i still have a nice savings to play with.

lots of work, but the timing of my entry into the real estate market was impeccable, for a few reasons:

1) i get Obama's $8,000 tax credit, ON TOP of all the wonderful mortgage tax rebates
2) hud is planning to do away with fha spot approvals in a matter of months (and rather streamline the process for a complex to get approval)
3) i just got my raise/bonus last week (yeah, how much does my company rock? no layoffs and still passing out increases in salary...sweet!)
4) places are CHEAP!!! it's a good time to buy
5) basically, everything is on sale, including appliances and flooring
6) my current residence is going into foreclosure (which i learned a mere month after moving in...these phoenix landlords are scum), so i've been a sitting duck for six months, waiting for the place to be auctioned off, resulting in my eviction notice...this whole situation is a story in itself

now, is this condo purchase really commitment? you tell me. at my purchase price, i will be paying LESS for mortgage, insurance, taxes, and hoa than i currently pay in rent...not including maintenance costs, of course. if i decide to ditch town and head for Colorado in a couple of years, i can rent it out and profit $200 to $300 per month. i could actually do that now. this purchase is a no-brainer in my opinion.

and in the spirit of Karen's home improvement blog, i will try to dedicate space on this blog to my projects...starting with the cleaning, so stay tuned...