the skinny

So we put a bid in on a house over a month ago. Like so many houses in LA it was a foreclosure, and was owned by a bank. We had two inspectors look at it before we put the offer in, then waited. The floor is seriously screwed, requiring 17k worth of foundation work as well as new flooring on top of it, and pretty much every appliance needs to be updated. Pretty standard actually for what we've been looking at in our price range, and while it needs work you can easily see it being a great home in less than a year or two. Not a house to "flip," just a house that needs some TLC (or HGTV).

The bank responded at the last possible moment with idiotic terms: a price drop less than 10k (remember that 17k worth of foundation work?) and no credits. Not even closing costs. The Bank? In Pennsylvania, and they've never even actually seen the house. We walked, and it actually felt great.

Cut to a week ago, when the house is re-listed at a thousand dollars below our original asking price. Two more rounds of negotiating, and the bank accepted our offer. There's still no credits, but we got the price down far enough where we can pretend they exist.

On Monday Escrow (ESCROW?) starts, inspections are made, and we have 17 days to say "see ya later suckers" without losing a penny. If all goes off without a hitch, and some rennovations are made, we're living in a new 3 bed/2.5 bath by Christmas.

Astonishing, really.