Once again we are waiting. This time we are waiting to hear back from our loan officer to see exactly how the FHA process works and if jumping into a house that needs repair will be worth it. We both love this house, but we are definitely going to walk away if the FHA won’t approve the loan. Throwing away our money just doesn’t seem like an appealing idea.
I started digging around a bit yesterday while waiting for a response. I researched a bit more on FHA loans, requirements and procedure. In the process, I found what could be a dream loan for us. According to hud.gov, we might be able to apply for a 203(k) loan which covers the loan AND the cost of some repairs if we buy a “fixer-upper.” The loan definitely sounds appealing- we work to create a proposal of the work we want to do on the house and then the loan closes for the cost of the house and the cost of repairs. We know this house is going to need a bit of work if we get it, so this seems like a great way to get the repairs done without paying for everything out of pocket or dealing with taking out another loan. To read more about the 203(k) loan, click HERE.
The only concern is whether or not Chase will consider the 203(k) loan. While we know Chase works with FHA loans in general, it appears that not all lenders participate with this particular loan. We will have a better understanding of our options once we talk with our loan officer. Then we can get back over to Grace Street and really check out the house, especially to determine if the basement mold was a one time think or something we would be constantly fighting. We really hope that we can credit the leak to shut off utilities or some other non-returning issue. It would be wonderful to move one step further to finding a place to call home.
