BK001
03-17-2016, 05:42 PM
DH will not permit me to use the F word. F as in FLORIDA! He claims I have “jinxed” our closing by saying things such as “oh this is the last time we will (fill in the blanks) in Brooklyn or by saying goodbye to the lady at Costco, the dry cleaner, the neighbors and any stranger I happen to be standing near at the bank, the post office, the drug store. Too late I learned to keep my thoughts to myself such as maybe we’ll be in TV for Christmas, For New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, then Groundhogs’s Day, the Ides of March, St. Patrick’s? Nope. Well maybe April Fool’s Day.
The decluttering has been painless, the packing a breeze, choosing the mover – no problem, creating the checklists, etc., etc. All easy peasy. The trauma, the stress the most unpleasant transaction I have ever experienced is the actual sale of our home. Seriously. We’ve been under contract since early September and it looks like it may be a couple of more weeks. And this with an all cash buyer! Sigh. Sure in the mood to use an F word right about now. And the worst part of all is that the delays have all been due to problems on OUR side – not the buyer’s.
We have lived in our home for 25 years. We refinanced 3 times. First time to tap into equity for major home improvements. Second and Third time to take advantage of lower mortgage rates.
1. We bought a two family house with 4 garages from an estate. Buyer’s Title Company claimed they could not locate the death certificate of the decedent. Sounds ridiculous but that’s what they said. Eventually resolved.
2. Title Co. then said there was no Certificate of Occupancy filed on the house. Add to this, the Title Company said they could find no official document to show that it is what is known as a “legal” two family. (An important distinction). I researched – got tax bills, water bills, old appraisals, an affidavit from a neighbor, the original advertised for sale listing that we had responded to and a kitchen sink full of soft proof that the house, in fact, was a 2-family when we bought it. (Thank God my years in an office have helped me to be highly organized and never to throw out any kind of personal business documents). Armed with this proof, I camped out at the Department of Buildings to get a Letter of No Objection – which is what they issue for houses that were built before C of O’s were required.
Our lawyer, the real estate broker and Title Co all said it was a miracle that I managed to get it in a couple of weeks – normally takes months! Too long a story to explain how but among other things, I pleaded, I cajoled, I wept, I got it done.
3. One of our refi’s about 10 years ago was with Staten Island Bank. Two months later the mortgage was sold to Chase. Unfortunately (and of course unbeknownst to us) neither bank filed either a satisfaction of mortgage or assignment of mortgage so technically, according to NYC records we have our current open mortgage with Chase and another open mortgage with Staten Island Bank. It does not show up on our credit report nor has anyone looked for payment but it is still on record. One would think it easy to get fixed. Think again.
4. On our cash out refi we had what is known as a CEMA closing. (Consolidated Extension and Modification Agreement). The purpose is to pay mortgage tax only on the new money and avoid having to pay duplicate taxes on the original or old mortgage money thus saving thousands of dollars in mortgage tax. Bank of America royally screwed up on the recording of this transaction by “satisfying” the mortgage and then a year or two later filing an assignment. This mistake cost us a little over $6,000 in taxes. (I did fight it and after about a year I got Bank of America to reimburse us the full amount – but that too is another story). However the title chain is screwed up and we had no way of knowing that they did not fix it.
5. Buyer refuses to close until we can deliver the house vacant. I served notice to our tenants. The apartment is vacant, 2 garages are vacant but the tenant that rents the other 2 garages has been with us over 20 years. He uses the garages for storage and has 7 collectible motor cycles. He had been unable to find a place to rent. Public storage will not allow gasoline fueled machinery in their facility. Buyer has no interest in continuing to rent to him even at a premium. Sadly his mother passed away although fortuitously he came into enough money so that he could buy an appropriate dwelling for his needs. So we had to wait for him to find a place, get a mortgage, and essentially go through the whole closing process himself. We are waiting for his closing date and move so that we can then schedule ours!
Of course with all these problems I can't help but wonder how the hell were we able to buy this house and refinance 3 times without any of these issues being raised? Where was our title company, the bank's lawyers, etc. etc. Go figure.
Maybe my DH is right. Reminds me of a joke. A man is on his death bed with his wife at his side. He looks at her and says “Molly we’ve been married for 50 years and you’ve always stuck by me. When I fell off the ladder and broke my leg, you were there. When my business went bankrupt, you were there. When I had my first heart attack, Molly, you were there. When I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer, you were there. And now that I’m dying you are here. You know Molly, I think you’re a f@%#*^g jinx.”
The decluttering has been painless, the packing a breeze, choosing the mover – no problem, creating the checklists, etc., etc. All easy peasy. The trauma, the stress the most unpleasant transaction I have ever experienced is the actual sale of our home. Seriously. We’ve been under contract since early September and it looks like it may be a couple of more weeks. And this with an all cash buyer! Sigh. Sure in the mood to use an F word right about now. And the worst part of all is that the delays have all been due to problems on OUR side – not the buyer’s.
We have lived in our home for 25 years. We refinanced 3 times. First time to tap into equity for major home improvements. Second and Third time to take advantage of lower mortgage rates.
1. We bought a two family house with 4 garages from an estate. Buyer’s Title Company claimed they could not locate the death certificate of the decedent. Sounds ridiculous but that’s what they said. Eventually resolved.
2. Title Co. then said there was no Certificate of Occupancy filed on the house. Add to this, the Title Company said they could find no official document to show that it is what is known as a “legal” two family. (An important distinction). I researched – got tax bills, water bills, old appraisals, an affidavit from a neighbor, the original advertised for sale listing that we had responded to and a kitchen sink full of soft proof that the house, in fact, was a 2-family when we bought it. (Thank God my years in an office have helped me to be highly organized and never to throw out any kind of personal business documents). Armed with this proof, I camped out at the Department of Buildings to get a Letter of No Objection – which is what they issue for houses that were built before C of O’s were required.
Our lawyer, the real estate broker and Title Co all said it was a miracle that I managed to get it in a couple of weeks – normally takes months! Too long a story to explain how but among other things, I pleaded, I cajoled, I wept, I got it done.
3. One of our refi’s about 10 years ago was with Staten Island Bank. Two months later the mortgage was sold to Chase. Unfortunately (and of course unbeknownst to us) neither bank filed either a satisfaction of mortgage or assignment of mortgage so technically, according to NYC records we have our current open mortgage with Chase and another open mortgage with Staten Island Bank. It does not show up on our credit report nor has anyone looked for payment but it is still on record. One would think it easy to get fixed. Think again.
4. On our cash out refi we had what is known as a CEMA closing. (Consolidated Extension and Modification Agreement). The purpose is to pay mortgage tax only on the new money and avoid having to pay duplicate taxes on the original or old mortgage money thus saving thousands of dollars in mortgage tax. Bank of America royally screwed up on the recording of this transaction by “satisfying” the mortgage and then a year or two later filing an assignment. This mistake cost us a little over $6,000 in taxes. (I did fight it and after about a year I got Bank of America to reimburse us the full amount – but that too is another story). However the title chain is screwed up and we had no way of knowing that they did not fix it.
5. Buyer refuses to close until we can deliver the house vacant. I served notice to our tenants. The apartment is vacant, 2 garages are vacant but the tenant that rents the other 2 garages has been with us over 20 years. He uses the garages for storage and has 7 collectible motor cycles. He had been unable to find a place to rent. Public storage will not allow gasoline fueled machinery in their facility. Buyer has no interest in continuing to rent to him even at a premium. Sadly his mother passed away although fortuitously he came into enough money so that he could buy an appropriate dwelling for his needs. So we had to wait for him to find a place, get a mortgage, and essentially go through the whole closing process himself. We are waiting for his closing date and move so that we can then schedule ours!
Of course with all these problems I can't help but wonder how the hell were we able to buy this house and refinance 3 times without any of these issues being raised? Where was our title company, the bank's lawyers, etc. etc. Go figure.
Maybe my DH is right. Reminds me of a joke. A man is on his death bed with his wife at his side. He looks at her and says “Molly we’ve been married for 50 years and you’ve always stuck by me. When I fell off the ladder and broke my leg, you were there. When my business went bankrupt, you were there. When I had my first heart attack, Molly, you were there. When I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer, you were there. And now that I’m dying you are here. You know Molly, I think you’re a f@%#*^g jinx.”