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So it looks like my first shot at homeownership is done. While I feel the house would have been great for me, as things progressed, it felt like my realtor didn't have my best interests in mind. First, when I decided what my initial offer was going to be, she questioned it as being too low, which I knew it was but I was looking for bargaining room. Next, she said it would probably take some time before word would come back in regards to a counter offer as well as court acceptance. See, the house is under a guardianship because the little old lady that used to live there is in a home now. In any case, I was ready to wait about a week or so before any word would come back and that the process would take some time. I was ready for this, it's what she prepared me for. Yesterday, I get one urgent email after another leading up to a text message saying I have to call her back as soon as possible. There was a counter offer made as well as another offer on the table from another party and boy, oh, boy if I didn't move now I might miss out on the house.
The emails contained cost sheets to show what I was looking at in regards to money needed and what my payments would be. Compared to stuff I'd reviewed from the bank, the total she came up with and the monthly payments were more than what I wanted to spend. The cost would have left me what my friend Beth called "House Poor" which I defined as eating ramen every night without a chair to sit on. Not my ideal situation.
When I finally called my realtor up during my lunch break, I mentioned that it all seemed a little high and she basically told me that's just how it was. I mentioned some stuff I'd pulled from my book on VA loans about certain costs they won't let me pay for which she had no idea what I was talking about. In the end, I didn't feel comfortable with the house and I don't feel comfortable with my realtor. Now, I'm on the search for a realtor who has at least closed on a property that involved a VA loan. It'd be really specially if they closed on multiple VA loans. Anyway, I'm seeing this as a lesson learned and an opportunity to find something better.
Next step: contact the bank and see if they have any realtors they like to deal with and contact the VA to see if there's a list of realtors they keep on hand...
...till the next...
~M |
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Saturday I'm going to look at my first house with a realtor. It's a nice little one story with two bedrooms, a garage, a nice little yard, and a porch. From what I've seen online, it looks like it could be a very good candidate for me. Then again, this is the only one I've had the desire to see. The move I've been looking into things, I begin to wonder how long it'll be before I realize buying a house isn't designed for someone looking for what I have in mind. Then, I'll just wind up settling with an apartment. In any case, we'll see where this goes...
...till the next...
M |
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There's been no posting here mainly because there's been no progress in finding a home. I found a few very good candidates online and am slowly making contact with realtors to check these places out. I also went out and picked up a book about the VA loan I'm going to be using to get a home.
The thing about the VA loan is that it seems I'm entirely dependent on finding a loan agent that has experience it to get the most out of it. In other words, I could wind up not getting the full benefit of the loan because the agent isn't up on his VA knowledge and here's my thing with that. The VA loan is an entitlement, it's a great big "thank you" from the country for military service. If such is the case, why does it sound so hard to get the full benefit of it? Shouldn't something like this be as easy as possible to work out and get the full benefit of? Shouldn't I be able to walk into a bank, say I want to buy such and such house (mind you this is after a price is agreed on and what not), and then not have to worry if I'm going to need to pay thousands or dollars or not depending on who is managing my loan?
That's my rant about the whole thing. Now maybe I can get on to doing my LowBrowMedia blog...
...till the next...
M |
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It's been a while and not much has happened in my search for a place to call home. Around the time I made my first post, a house presented itself nearby to where I'm currently staying. One story, one and a half baths, a full basement, a backyard... just what I've been looking for. From the pictures that I saw online it seemed an ideal place for me at a steal of a price. I called up the realtor and set up an appointment to see the house that Sunday.
Saturday morning, my friend Beth went with me to scope the place out ahead of time. We made our way to place I had only seen online and at night (I did try to get a look at it one night when I came home from work) and did our snooping about. Looking at the property from the front of the house made me believe this just could be it. Peering in the windows there was a hardwood floor that needed refinishing and a bedroom that, from the crayon drawings on the wall, had belonged to a child. Nothing major, nothing that couldn't be turned around and made fantastic. Then we went around to the backyard.
As we made our way down the slope along the side of the house down to the backyard, we noticed that the feeling of the earth changed dramatically in only a few feet. It went from solid to feeling like a wet sponge underfoot, interesting since it hadn't recently rained very hard. At the bottom of the slope, there was a manhole and over towards where the yard ended and the nearby country club began was a drainage pipe. We went over to the backdoor of the house which was also the basement door. Looking at the windows on either side revealed a line where flood waters had come in and submerged the basement. Through the windows I could see a layer of mud coating the floor along with tree debris littering the place. No wonder the price was so low.
The house had been on the market for a year and once I told Beth that she figured the house was probably caught up in the damaging storms from last summer. The house had been foreclosed on by the VA, I figured the previous owner was a vet and passed away leaving the mortgage unpaid. More than likely, after the house flooded, they packed up and just gave up the place. Anyway, I'm still keeping an eye out and hopefully something great will present itself. At least this will allow me to save up some money and pay off some bills. Take care and be well...
...till the next...
M |
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Hey! It's me... blogging!
Anyway, I had my first day of yesterday in a month since I started working. I grabbed my friend of interest from here in Pittsburgh and went up to State College Sunday night on a whim. We had a night of karaoke craziness at The Brewery and then I showed him around town and introduced him to my friends. I missed a few people but that's what I get for not calling ahead. Hey, I was being spontaneous!
This morning I dragged myself out of bed earlier than normal so I could stop off my bank's branch office near where I work in Fox Chapel to see about getting a home loan. I had decided a few weeks back that I was tired of renting and never took advantage of the VA home loan. It was something I knew I could get but never bothered because the idea of buying a home seemed daunting to me. It encroached on this romantic idea I had of myself being a weary wanderer, having not lived anywhere for longer than five years since leaving home for the Navy when I was 18. That romance is pretty much over and I find myself liking the idea of having a base of operations as it were, a home.
I sat down with Joel, the assistant manager at the bank. He was a nice enough guy, married, probably younger than me, and nervous that he had forgotten to wish his wife a happy birthday this morning before heading out to work. Yesterday was his first holiday off since having switched branches. Apparently not all banks are closed on bank holidays. Joel explained to me that he wasn't a loan officer but that we could at least get the process started by filling out some standard paperwork. After that, a loan advisor by the name of Jeff would be contacting me, someone I was assured was familiar with doing VA home loans and if there was something he didn't know, there was a building of professionals that he could speak with about any issue.
Joel drew up the papers and explained that they were standard forms to protect my privacy as well as outlining some of what I would be getting into. Basically it was an authorization to allow the mortgage company to communicate with the bank, which owns them. The other document was a disclosure statement letting me know that there are indeed fees and the like involved with purchasing a home. My understanding of the VA home loan however is that any fees and costs incurred by me would be added to the loan and so I would not be out any money at the end of the process. We'll see how all of that works out.
So now I'm sitting here in a cafe in a bookstore thinking about what kind of house I want and where I want to live. My ideal is a one story home, nothing too fancy or big. Maybe three bedrooms, one for me, one for an office, and another as a guest room. I'd also rather not spend more than $90,000 and would like to live in either the Penn Hills area, where I'm currently staying, or in Monroeville. However, finding out how much I can get will ultimately decide where I end up looking and living.
I still see the whole process as being somewhat daunting, the numbers, the percentages, the money. I'm hoping this is something that can work out for me. I'm hoping I don't chicken out at the last minute and just rent an apartment. After all, I would like to buy a copy of Rock Band at some point in my life...
...take care and be well...
M |
| » Blogging |
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Hey everyone. For that handful of you that don't follow me on facebook, I've started blogging with LowBrowMedia at: http://lowbrowmedia.blogspot.com/
Mar. 12th, 2009 @ 08:48 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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The first SIX (6) people to respond to this post will get something made by me. It will be about or tailored to those six who respond first.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
-- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
-- What I create will be just for you.
-- It'll be done this year.
-- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a mix tape. It may be fic, or a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
-- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!
Jan. 20th, 2009 @ 09:03 am
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| » Anyone have free legal advice? |
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Because I need it.
Some of you might be familiar with the drama that is going on with my ex-roommate while others are blissfully ignorant. Let me sum this up as much as possible so as not to bore anyone...
When I moved out of Executive House Apartments, my then roommate still owed close to $700 in back rent. After the cleaning and other miscellaneous costs were taken out of the security deposit, that sum was cut to just under $600. I kept telling him he needed to take care of this with Executive House and he kept saying that he would. Well, he never did and what happens when you don't pay your rent? They send it on to a collection agency. Since we had a shared but separate lease, both of our names were forwarded on to collections. Guess who has been the only person to talk with them? If you guessed me, you are correct!
After talking with them a month ago and getting the owner, who has been really great during this whole process, to give me a month to try and get my ex-roomie to pay up, I spoke with him today and found out that there still has been no communication from him. So I paid the company some money to keep this from going on my credit report. This bought me a month to try and get this guy to pay up, which I don't think he's going to do.
Do any of you, dear readers, have any experience in such matters? If so, is there any chance that I could recover money from this guy by taking him to court or am I just looking at a financial screw over?
...till the next...
M
Nov. 19th, 2008 @ 07:14 pm
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| » Why would you do this? |
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New dad secretly names baby Sarah McCain Palin
Associated Press
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — A new father has secretly named his baby girl Sarah McCain Palin after the Republican ticket for president and vice president.
Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton put that name on the documents for the girl's birth certificate, ignoring the name Ava Grace, which he and his wife had picked earlier.
"I don't think she believes me yet," he told the Kingsport Times-News earlier this week. "It's going to take some more convincing."
Ciptak, a blood bank employee for the American Red Cross, said he named his third child after John McCain and Sarah Palin to "to get the word out" about the campaign.
"I took one for the cause," he said. "I can't give a lot of financial support for the (McCain/Palin) campaign. I do have a sign up in my yard, but I can do very little."
Oct. 16th, 2008 @ 07:25 pm
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| » Humor |
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Oct. 14th, 2008 @ 07:41 pm
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| » Why do I feel like I'm the last to know? |
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Okay, so I know most of the people that read my blog and whose blogs I read are more internet savvy than I. They're more in touch with what cool things are going on out there and with the world in general. So I have to ask you all why none of you showed me this little gem from a Swedish group that competed with this song in last year's Eurovision contest:
This needs to be turned into either the opening or closing song or both for a Broadway musical!
...till the next...
M
Aug. 26th, 2008 @ 03:11 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Lots of nothing going on at work so I figured I'd throw some words at the internet.
I have to be completely out of my old place at Executive House by Sunday. I got most of my books out of there on Monday. Now it's just a matter of getting the odds and ends out. A couple of Rubbermaid bins and some time should do the trick.
Not sure what else to report on. Things are uneventful.
M
Jul. 16th, 2008 @ 07:55 pm
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| » Update |
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As promised internets, here is your update. I'm not entirely sure what to put in here though. Over the past few years, I've posted less and less and most of the time it was me going on about not posting. Then I would ask the people who read this what I should post. To that end, I always wind up never doing any of what they recommend and instead continue to try and figure out what I want this blog to be. I'm done with that. We'll see what I can throw at the wall. For now, let's answer the question, "What has Magus been up to?"
A few weeks back I moved into the new place out on North Oak Lane. It's just caddy corner behind Denny's, which we lovingly refer to as the third kitchen. So far everyone is getting along well. Drew and Scotty have made the downstairs their own and I like to think Craig and I have done somewhat the same with the upstairs. Not that we're restricting ourselves to sections of the house but those are just the spaces we occupy primarily.
The place has enough space too that we all have enough breathing room where we're not tripping over one another and if need be we can get away without having to leave the house. I've been used to the apartment model of having to lock myself away in my room to get away if need be. In the case of my last apartment, I'm glad my roommate was never around because the space would have been too tight for two people to comfortably exist there.
Speaking of my old roommate, there's drama on that end. He has failed to pay his share of the rent for the past couple of months and has amassed quite a debt to the nice people at Executive House. He doesn't return any of their calls or my messages asking him to pay up. Now the property is talking about taking us to court, our lease being a joint one and separate. I can only hope that Lisa, the nice lady in the rental office, would vouch for me as the one that always paid his share on time.
Work is, well, work. I really don't want to bitch about it in any great length here since I feel I do enough of that offline. I need to find something else. There is nowhere for me to go here and as the cost of living goes up, they do little to make adjustments for that here. In fact, the new pay system they put in place not long ago actually made our paychecks smaller. Also, did I mention that our benefits went up? Well, they did.
I've been meaning to get over to DuBois to visit with Vic, Nicki, and their new baby. It's been so long since I've seen him. I saw him more regularly when I would come back to visit from Los Angeles than I do now.
And in entertainment, I've been playing Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I'd do a full review but I'd rather wait until I'm done with it. This is the first Metal Gear game I've played since Metal Gear for the NES. I should have owned a PlayStation for this series alone. However, I do understand that the game has received some negative press for the one thing that I think is its strongest point, the narrative [read: long cut scenes]. I plan on acquiring the other titles in the series and taking part in the stuff they're talking about.
Okay, that's about it. At some point here in the near future, I'd like to have a pot luck at the house or something. We'll see what develops and how I can overcome my own laziness in these things. Take care and be well...
...till the next...
M
Jul. 2nd, 2008 @ 07:43 pm
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| » Hey internets! |
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An update is coming.
Jun. 26th, 2008 @ 06:55 pm
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| » Adventures in AIM |
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It's been... awhile since I last posted and this isn't even a real post. I was so thoroughly amused at what came through my AIM window, I thought I would share.
[17:18] roscoebonner74: Hey magus_psu
[17:18] magus_psu: Hello.
[17:18] roscoebonner74: kdmkkHey there magus_psupvmvu
[17:18] magus_psu: To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?
[17:18] roscoebonner74: gucbbU remember me?pufcpi think we went to high school togetheruchxx
[17:18] magus_psu: We may have.
[17:18] roscoebonner74: bilapit's me Andrea!xkqbc
[17:18] magus_psu: HOLY SHIT!
[17:18] roscoebonner74: Ujxoeldont remember? Check out my pic on thisgrnxwadultmwhtisingles site http:// X%58%58%61dul%74%66%75n%34%75%2ec%6fm cqdwb
[17:18] magus_psu: Not Andrea!
[17:18] roscoebonner74: Remember now? i have a pic on this wrcggadultxkljdsigles site http:// %73up%65ra%64u%6c%74da%74in%67%2e%63o%6d wrjpz
[17:18] magus_psu: ADULT SINGLES?
[17:18] roscoebonner74: need a hint?jujos http:// %6fn%65ni%74ea%64%75lt%64at%69%6e%67.co%6d i have a profile on thisaamvtsingles site xekxz
[17:18] magus_psu: HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
[17:18] roscoebonner74: Uiqllqdont remember? Check out my pic on thisksblnadultigrmysingles site http:// %67u%61r%61%6e%74e%65%64s%65x4u%2ec%6fm sivgi
[17:19] magus_psu: I'm-a get me some of that!
[17:19] roscoebonner74: need a hint?ofdtb http:// %6de%67a%61dultdat%69%6eg4%75%2e%63%6f%6d i have a profile on thisiycczsingles site asefm
[17:19] magus_psu: Whee!
[17:19] roscoebonner74: need a hint?rcjgi http:// gua%72an%74%65%65da%64ultPe%72s%6f%6e%61l%73.com i have a profile on thisqxxjrsingles site lmjbb
Jun. 11th, 2008 @ 05:22 pm
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| » Dream |
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I dreamed that I was a drummer in The Polyphonice Spree. I have no idea where we were playing but I remember being very happy. I don't know how to play the drums...
...till the next...
M
Feb. 26th, 2008 @ 07:15 pm
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| » I haven't forgotten about LiveJournal... |
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Yet.
I'm sitting downtown at Webster's, listening to Brian Eno, and just sort of... existing. Nothing all that exciting has been going on outside of nor inside my head save for the usual crap. Last night's karaoke was bittersweet for me. I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while and I sang some new songs.
I've been feeling very out of it lately too and I really can't go into the whys and wherefores. I'll just say that I'm feeling disconnected. Then again, I've been trying to figure just when I've felt connected lately.
At work I've been put in charge of the Radical Review Conceptual Team. I get to organize the meetings and make sure things stay on track. I'd talk about it more but I know how work is when it comes to talking about stuff like this in public forums. Company secrets and all that.
Anyway, I'm still working on making this a habit. It would seem that changing old habits into different ones is just as hard as eliminating an old habit all together. Take care and be well...
...till the next...
M
Feb. 25th, 2008 @ 08:00 pm
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| » I have crossed oceans of time to find you... |
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I'm watching Bram Stoker's Dracula as a sort of Valentine's Day thing. I could have watched Brokeback but there's something about a knight of God renouncing his faith and becoming an undying monster for the one he loves that touches me.
Thank you, everyone, who helped make this a particularly special day for me. I love you all and I know you love me...
...till the next...
M
Feb. 15th, 2008 @ 01:07 am
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maguspsu's journal