Closer to Decision Time Then We Were Last Week

Well, we are through the first hurdle of qualifying for the loan. While that was more a formality then anything else as I did plenty of confirmation before we bought the property, its still an important part of the process. With the general financial health of both individuals and banks, nothing is a certainty anymore.

We are now on to the appraisal portion of the bank's obligatory work. The process now moves to the architect and appraiser to establish as projected value for the home when its finished. This will determine if our budget meets that value. If the two are equal, then we should have a deal, and we will just need to move through the process of closing the loan to be ready to go. If the appraised value comes up short of the projected budget, then we will have to asses how far, and if there are costs that can be pared to get close, or if we are going to have to sit things out for a half year or more. This would be done to let property values settle, or to come up with more money to help finance the deal. This is the spot that I have been most concerned about from the very beginning, as its quite subjective and very difficult to asses in this market.

Nevertheless, they will be doing this either way, and once they are done in a week or so probably a little more), we will know what our options are, and where we are going. This will also be the time that we will be ready to knock the house down. If the demo permit happens to come through earlier then the appraisal, then I think we will most likely bring the house down either way so we can go if the bank gives us the green light.

We took the two trees out of the back of the yard, and its a nice preview to the demolition that is coming. I am going to take a few more pictures this week to refresh everyone's memory, and so that the progress will have a good benchmark to start from.

Either way, in 2 weeks, we will either have a piece of empty land, or we will have a piece of empty land with a BIG hole in it.

I am hoping for the latter, its more fun.