Buying A Home
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Going from Renting to Buying.. advice please.

Hello nesties,

Long time lurker, first time poster. My hubs and I are ready to take the plunge and buy our own home. We are MORE than ready, lol. I just feel that at this stage of our life I no longer want to feel like I am "living under someone's thumb."

We had been looking at houses as our year lease on the house we are renting was ending, and well we didn't time things correctly so now we had to make the decision to sign another year much to my dismay. We tried to see if our landlords would have been willing to work with us and do a 6 month term and we told them we were house hunting. They refused, which I knew was probably what was going to happen. So they told us pretty much either you sign the year, or be gone by Sept 15th. We have pets and even finding another rental in that time was out of the question, and we don't have family we could stay with so we went ahead and signed because having a roof over your head is important, even if the circumstances are less than desirable.

They sent us a letter saying that we now have to inform them whenever we put an offer in on a house.

I don't like this, and I don't think it's fair. We already had put in a few offers that were not accepted, and we even had an offer that was accepted on a house that the FHA kicked. (If that hadn't happened we would have been closing Aug 23rd!) So I am kind of worried about having to tell them whenever we put in an offer. What if we have another situation where 2 weeks after the offer was accepted the FHA decline the house? What if they put our rental on the market in that time period? I just don't think that is fair. We weren't going to screw them. We were going to give them 60 days notice (obviously at lease end), meaning if we had to pay a month's rent when were are not in the house we have no problem doing so. I just think that as long as we give them adequate notice why do we have to keep in constant communication with them with every single detail of our house hunt? As if it's not stressful enough trying to communicate with our realtor and our loan officer, now I have to let them know every single detail.
I feel like I have no privacy or rights renting from them.

I could compromise with this and I have no problem telling them that we offered on a house it was accepted, AFTER all the inspections have been completed and everything looked good. I think I could live with that.
Does that seem fair?

Re: Going from Renting to Buying.. advice please.

  • Oh and also, what would be a good timeline for us to start looking again. Our new lease is up Aug 6th, 2014.
    Should we start 6 months out? 7 months out? It makes it hard because we were already informed that they would insist on yet another year in 2014.
  • It REALLY depends on the housing market in your area. We started looking when we still had 5 months left on our lease, and we ended up finding a house super fast (and closed on it within a month), so now we are paying 3 months rent (till the lease ends) and paying for the house as well. 

    Are you sure it's for putting in an offer and not for when an offer is accepted? I definitely think it's unfair in that case. Offers aren't guarantees. We put in an offer and it took us like 3 weeks before we finally came to an agreement on price and even then we almost lost the house because the appraisal came back at $5,000 less, luckily the seller agreed to meet the appraisal and we got the house! So even if your offer is accepted, it's still iffy! 

  • I understand why your landlords want to know your status with offers since they have to fill the rental once you leave and don't want to go without tenants.

    BUT, is this actually legal for them to do in your state? As far as I'm concerned, they have absolutely no right to know what you're doing in your life with your finances.

    This is why they should have breaking lease clauses in their rental agreement before they take in new renters! Their rental terms should spell this out specifically right happens if renters break a lease prior to the rental term being up.

     

     

  • Yeah, it's tough to probably say when we should resume searching. We have been looking for 2 months, and 2 weeks of that we had a house in contingent status that the FHA eventually kicked.

    I'd hate to have to pay for much more than 3 months of rent after we buy the house. (We pay $800 a month in rent)

    And I do understand why they want to know. I feel like I have a parole officer sometimes, lol. It's really hard as they live right across the street from us. *sigh*
  • It is hard to gauge how soon you need to start looking.  I started looking Jan of last year.  I found my house in a month and I closed in May.  So it took me about 5 months to close from starting.  Good luck in your hunt!
  • Yea, there's no reason why you guys can't start looking again. It took my H & I a year to find something we liked, then took about a month and half to close once we made our offer. But every market is different. I understand the landlord not wanting to leave the rental property empty, but it seems a bit extreme for them to expect you to tell them about every single offer you make. I would check your lease to see what the terms are in case you do find something and have to break the lease early, and I would also maybe ask a lawyer to see if what they are doing is even legal.
  • ohpagrlohpagrl member
    10 Comments First Anniversary
    edited August 2013
    If you aren't intending on breaking the lease, you don't need to inform them of anything! You do need to time it so you are out on time next year. 

    So, if you are looking next year, and start the process to close say in August, you give your notice that you aren't renewing your lease. Just as if you found a different place to rent. Beyond the fact that you aren't renewing, your landlord isn't entitled to any more information. 

    You close in late August (for example), take the next couple weeks moving, cleaning the old house, and return your key 9/14/14.  Good luck in finding a new home :)

  • I am a landlord...ironically who have tenants looking to buy a house...and I am shocked to hear your story.  I would NEVER expect my tenants to tell me every time they just put in an offer on a house.  I also think that is really crappy they won't let you go month-to-month considering the situation.  I mean, generally speaking, it takes just as long to find a new tenant one year from now as it does six months from now or whatever.  My tenants initially signed a 6-month lease that automatically switches to month-to-month after that, which is where they currently are.  When they told me they had started looking, I basically told them I would just require a 30-day notice, like in the lease, but that I would appreciate the heads up when they went under contract and when they knew their closing date.  Don't require it!  Just appreciate it.

  •  I also think that is really crappy they won't let you go month-to-month considering the situation.  I mean, generally speaking, it takes just as long to find a new tenant one year from now as it does six months from now or whatever. 

    This depends on where you live. My area has very harsh winters so it is hard to sell a home or lease a unit in the winter. I wouldn't let a tenant go month to month if that meant they would be moving in winter because I would be hard pressed to get someone new in there.
  • Unless you signed something in your lease renewal that you would give them notice every time you put in an offer, I don't think they're legally entitled to ask for that information. (And if they did make you sign something saying that, shame on them!)

    That said, it's really hard to determine when you should start looking. Perhaps your realtor would have a good idea, as they should know the market and how easy (or hard) it will be to find something within yours and your husband's specifications. On the bright side, perhaps in the meantime you can save more money for your house, donate old clothes to charity, and window shop new furniture/appliance/decor with your husband. :)
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