Day 6- attorney provision letter and list of repairs letter

Today we sent our sellers the attorney provision letter. The usual mumbo jumbo.. like if your $300,000 offer actually appraises at $295,000; the lesser of the 2 prices is what the purchase price would actually be. Also, if we default on our closing, the only damages the sellers would earn would be our earnest $. Stuff like that.  Hopefully they agree to all those legal provisions...

and... our home inspection repairs and action items.

Buying a house in Chicagoland is a gamble. Some areas are old, established and offer an amazing location and convenient (i.e. Oak Park). Some areas have their good and bad parts but have amazing schools nonetheless (i.e. Schaumburg). Some areas are old and new, are a great area to raise a family, but are still developing (i.e. Naperville). So here we are taking another risk on a house. Let's hope this risk pays off 20 years from now.

Our list of repairs include having a foundation/structural engineer come out and review the foundation. Also, a HVAC contractor to repair/replace the AC, furnace, and humidifier. Finally, the radon mitigation system needs to be updated to current guidelines (installing sight glass). To top it off we asked for a $1,500 credit to be used for repairs we would make to other outlying issues brought up in our home inspection report, from BrickKickers. So out went the letter, lets hope the sellers comply! :fingers crossed:   :)

I bought a townhouse when I was 24 years old. Did some cosmetic improvements throughout the years and replaced appliances as they broke down. My 20% down payment also flushed down the toilet from 2007- the sale in 2012. So, I'm a little jaded about real estate. Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes... so I'm hoping that this home is not another bad decision.

Dave and I without a doubt love this location. Due to the location (location, location) factor, we feel we are buying a good neighborhood versus an overpriced house. We passed on the short sale in the house because we felt that its $35,000 difference was just too big of a risk. This house cost $35,000 more but its location was better (on a court, and walking distance to the playground and huge park) and we preferred the finished basement and overall layout/flow and deck/3seasons room compared to a patio. I also liked this fire place better than the last house. Dave and I are suckers for a colonial layout where a kitchen opens up to an eat in area which opens up into a family room with fireplace/hearth. We've seen a lot of homes and we are hoping we aren't grabbing at straws with this house.

The house needs a lot of updating: the kitchen and all bathrooms are original. The roof will need to be replaced within 10 years. The furnace and AC and sump pumps also will need to be replaced within 10 years. The driveway will need to be redone and the front walkway/apron as well.  Most of the windows have already been updated but a handful of the ones downstairs in the back of the house are original so those will need to be replaced. The house is in desperate need of a good tree trimming and arborist ( we may need to take down a stately oak). We definitely see a great vision for the backyard which could include demolishing a tree, deck, and 3 seasons room... and replacing it with a 4 seasons room (little bit bigger) and kicking out the deck so it wraps around towards the North side of the house.. and the deck could open up to the yard and we'd put in a fire pit. I think it'd be cool as our kids get older and have sleepovers and stuff :) We'll see. Thank goodness we've done our due diligence as buyers. Now it's just a waiting game to see if our sellers will comply.... or ... we walk and we are back to the drawing board.