Saturday, September 09, 2006

Oy, oy, oy

OK, let me explain. I just called a real estate person and asked about buying a house. She's planning to call me back, and get my info in a bit to run my credit.

You see, there's this house, about four blocks away from where we rent now. It's a bungalow, on a big bit of land (for the burbs), with a creek out back, and back in the winter, a friend of mine was looking at buying it. She didn't get it, and bought a place in San Pablo, we all moved on.

Now, eight months later, it's up for sale again, and they're asking for no money down. (Why might be a good question...), but anyway, I called the real estate person, and she's gonna call me back this evening, and get info for credit check.

My credit is fairly lousy, I think, lots of late credit card payments and the like. Of course, I always pay off in the short run--no one has ever had to seize my car or garnish my wages--and I ALWAYS pay my rent on time.

("You have no car to seize," whispers the fella in my ear. So what?)

I don't want to be shamed by the real estate lady. And also, what if I CAN buy a house? That's a terrifying thought. Aren't I financially entangled enough? But also, wouldn't it be nice to have my rent going toward something of mine, and wouldn't it be nice to be able to dig up the back yard for vegetables, and paint the bedroom a nice color? But they said something about coming over to MY HOUSE. Maybe I could visit their office instead? I don't want to let real estate people in. My living room is messy.

I feel a trifle queasy.

3 comments:

Eliyahu said...

well, they may not have an office, either. don't forget the on-going maintenance that the landlord will no longer do for you, new homeowner! now is a great time to buy if you can get a steal of a deal. otherwise, the conventional wisdom sees lower prices in the relatively near future. also, you can certainly work with a mortgage broker of your own choosing, and probably have more leverage over the deal. also, you can get your own credit report for free -- but the credit score costs $. ask the realtor or mortgage broker for a complete copy of the report, as well. send me an email if i haven't confused you enough. mozel tov?

Anonymous said...

With a creek out back?
Check the liquification maps. Depending where a place is, that can greatly lower the desirability of a home.
http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/sfgeo/liquefaction/susceptibility.html

BBJ said...

'Creek' is an overstatement. 'With a trickle of water running through the backyard', might be better. It's not what Hank Williams would have called a crick. Thanks for the suggestion, though, will definately check.

I think they have an office, actually, but not sure if it's close. We'll see what happens. She may call back tonight and tell me there's just no way. In which case, I'll find out what I need to know, and try again sometime. This really just came up because I liked the place when I saw it last time.

We'll see.