Stress

[judecorp]

This whole house-buying thing is really getting to me. It seems like every day I find out about some new hitch or worse, some new expense. $500 here and $1000 there doesn't seem like so much when you're talking about the expense of a house, but when I am dropping pretty much a major majority of the money I own on housing us, the little bits add up and I start having to configure in my head: Do I buy title insurance or a washing machine? Can I afford X or do I need a sofa? I just want to cry all the time.

Thankfully the closing is on Monday and one way or another it will be over. But I am NOT thrilled with the process. I don't like that the lawyer e-mails Jen without CCing me. And I don't like that we're supposed to make a decision about title insurance and yet no one has mentioned such a thing before. And I don't like that I am paying HUGE sums of money and yet it is not enough, there is more money to be paid and then there needs to be some furniture and a washer/dryer and the furnace repair and wallpaper removed and the dishwasher installed and the homeowners insurance pre-paid for a year (that was the other day's surprise) and on and on and on.

It's far too much for me.

Comments

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Huh. We seem to be having a very different experience so far. Our realtor, knowing that we are first-time buyers has been extra careful to explain what we need, when we will need it, and to let us know about all the components before they come up. You might want to have a discussion with your realtor and explain your frustration to him or her and ask that they change their behavior to be more careful of what you don't know yet.

Mind you, this is all talking out my hat since we aren't as far down the road as you yet, It just seems like the things you mentioned in this post are all things that we've already discussed with our realtor which says to me that perhaps your realtor isn't being as informative as they should given that you don't know what to expect. I guess this all boils down to a comparison of relative experience hopefully offering you some perspective?

[hoo.livejournal.com]

Title insurance is usually mandatory for the mortgage, and its optional for you as owners. I chose to pay the extra and cover myself as well as the bank.

Paying up front for the insurance surprised me too. Then the insurance agent surpassed himself, he took two checks (flood insurance also gets paid ahead), cashed one, lost the other, and didn't credit my account for either.

The final surprise expense will probably show up in a year or two, whenever the town changes the valuation of the house to reflect what you paid for it, and ups the real estate tax. Mine went up 50% after I'd lived here for 15 months.

[iansha.livejournal.com]

We had the same situation... it seemed like 100 here or 300 there. Every day, it was "this will cost this much"... oh, and "you need to have this before closing and it costs this much".

On and on ad infinitum.

Then when you close, it's ... deposit for this, hook up that, transfer this, etc.

Ours has slowed considerably, but it's still trickling. House buying is big bucks!

[carina-s.livejournal.com]

House buying is a pain. I only got part of it because Scott hadn't asked me to marry him yet so it was his house buying experience. It seems a lot worse when you're forking over the money.

[rachelmichellek.livejournal.com]

you could just get all your appliances from freecycle like i do, and save that expense.

Welcome to the wonderful world of home-ownership!...

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry to read the stress you're going through. My bestfriend termed this "Homeowner's anxiety" when she went through it. She actually even went to a counselor to help her (she had reached quite a level of depression, albiet she also had a list of external stresses adding to her concerns) and she came out of it on top of things, it'll just take some time. It's such a new ballgame you're playing now, no longer having someone else responsible when the water heater goes out on you, etc. I hope the road ahead of you smooths down some. Best Wishes with your new lovely little home.

Oh yeah, I'm a friend of Sudrin's, hope you don't mind my two cents, your entry just rang so familiar when I saw it.

[(Anonymous)]

awwwwwwwwww if you go to Nashua, stop by my Mom's work and give her a hug for me. Then go to my house in Hollis and see my Dady, too...okay? -hugs- It will work out. Sarah Aubry

[skreeky]

My understanding of title insurance is that if it turns out there's something wrong with the title and you don't really own the house - example, the people that sold it to you didn't own it, or the people that sold it to them didn't own it, or it turns out that some long-lost relative of the deceased prior owner turns up, or there was a lein on the property that no one told you about, or WHATEVER - you get back what you paid for the house instead of losing everything.

This is extremely rare, but does happen. You see it in "News of the Weird" it's that rare.

[grrlpower.livejournal.com]

wow,you have SOOOO much going on right now! Everything you've been wanting for so long is all coming together at once!

Imagine how amazing it will be to look back at this time, everything going on and seeing how well you handled it! ;) Ha, just keep waiting til its all over!

Good luck and congrats about it all!!!