A shining beacon of optimism....wait, what's that?

I can't believe I'm actually going to type this right now but we can't really be jinxed much more than we already are...

We have a buyer.

We found out last night that we might be getting an offer on the condo. Seriously.

Margot the Agent called us last night with the almost good news. Last week we had a woman come in (by herself, I think) and love the place. But, when we didn't hear anything after a few days, we figured she either found someplace better, or just like the others, couldn't get a loan without FHA.

Turns out, we didn't hear from her because she was aware of the non-FHA thing and was trying to find another program to help her buy without 20% down. Her agent (who has shot to stardom level with this discovery) found a program called Mass Housing Program (check it out here) that allows for 1.5% or 3% down with the right qualifications.

FHA is a federal program, and MHP is the Massachusetts version. It's not as well known and not all banks will accept it, but New Agent not only found a buyer who qualified for MHP, but found a bank that will accept it as well! New Agent is a rock star.

This woman had everything right on paper: decent income, good savings, high credit score, low debt, but just didn't have 20% down. No kidding, she's a first time buyer. This is not a unique situation, a majority of first time, well-qualified buyers are the same as her. That's why there are programs like FHA and Mass Housing, to help out those that just need a little push.

Last night, Margot the Agent called us again and asked for a breakdown of the monthly heat/gas/electic for the past year to pass along to the soon-to-be owner. I assume that's a really good sign. If she's already budgeting to live there, she must want to make an offer, right? (pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease).

Margot said we should know within a few days. New Agent is on vacation in CA but is reachable by phone and has promised to stay in touch. (***random side note, New Agent is the step mom of a friend of mine from HS and the mother-in-law of a co-worker/friend who also happens to live across the street from us....And, she and Margot the Agent worked together for years. crazy small world)

I guess all we're waiting for now is this new person to decide if she really wants to make an offer. Our bills aren't that much per month (it's a small place!) so I hope that wasn't the tipping point.

Oh, and the offer needs to be something we can accept. We are listing for very close to what we owe on the mortgage, so anything under (plus commissions and closing costs) is out of pocket for us. We were very reasonable in our listing choice so her offer should be close. If it's not, we will counter, but if we can't get it to within a reasonable amount that doesn't cause us to throw all our savings into getting the heck out of this stupid complex, then we have to say no. But, at least now we know about MHP and St. Mary's and can direct future buyers to look into using that program and bank.

haha, I can't wait until the snobby condo board hears that people can buy through a low-moderate income housing program. They are going to be so mad that they can't block that like they are blocking FHA!!