The negotiations begin

This property will be Eric and my 3rd bank-owned or HUD house purchase within the last 7 years.  You might think we enjoy this...but the purchase process is NOT for the faint of heart.

We placed our first bid at the end of January.  2 agonizing days later, we had a counter from the bank.  We had gone in pretty low--almost 95k under asking price--but knowing no one else was looking at it (or wanted the headache) we figured we'd try.

Getting excited (and nervous) we took the counter and we were fine with that.  We were still getting it 80k under asking.

Dave was scheduled to come out for an inspection and we started holding our breath.  He uncovered a fair amount of concerns, though nothing 'deal-breaking' for us; however, it was enough to open up negotiations with the bank again.

We countered another 20k down from the accepted bank counter.  They countered us a day later and we accepted (again) and then we waited.  And waited, and waited--and after 2 agonizing weeks, countless sleepless nights, and worry, we FINALLY got our singed contract back--now, under what our original bid even was--with the bank agreeing to give us more leeway for repairs.

Pretty much EVERY person we had out at the house, who asked about the bank process, was pretty impressed with our negotiating and end price--and so were we.