Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

If you noticed that I didn't create any blog entries from last Wednesday until today, you may have remembered that I've been moving. Yes, it happened. We closed on both houses (the sale of our old and the purchase of our new) on Tuesday last week. We moved on Wednesday.

The move itself was long and painful, but we did it in just under 24 hours. Thanks to Dan and Chris for their Herculean efforts to make it happen. Without them, it wouldn't have. (At least not under 24 hours!)

So, here's what I've learned about selling and buying a house (in no particular order):

First, you need to have a dedicated real estate agent. Coordinating the sale of a house with the purchase of another house is not a simple task. There's a mountain of paperwork that has to be completed and there are so many tasks to finish before any moving can happen. I don't know why anyone would want to take on all the additional stress of managing that stuff in the midst of the stress of getting financing, lining up the move and all the other related moving stuff. When I say that you need a dedicated agent, I really mean that. Don't run out and list your house with your second cousin's spouse who just got their real estate license so they can make some additional money to supplement the income from their live bait shop. If the agent you hire doesn't know the right paperwork and the right procedures and doesn't have good connections for inspectors, appraisers, lenders, title companies, etc., you'll be doing a lot of work yourself. Don't waste your time. Just hire someone who knows their job. Hire Justin Cook if you live in the Phoenix area. You won't be disappointed. Justin was there when our first appraisal came in low and made sure it was corrected. He jumped through hoops to make sure that the buyers of our previous home closed on time and he was even there for us after we moved into our new home and needed immediate warranty repairs on one of our air conditioning units. You can't afford not to hire Justin. And if you don't currently live in Phoenix, move here. Justin can help!

Second, you need a great mortgage lender. I absolutely, positively, completely and fully recommend Quicken Loans. This is the second loan I have completed with them and I have referred two friends to them in the past. They have amazing customer service and they get the job done quickly. My first loan with QuickenLoans was a HELOC. Start to finish, it took 10 calendar days to have a check in hand. For a conventional loan on our new house, we started about a month ago. We had approval for a loan within days and we were fully underwritten by the time we made an offer on our new house. Being underwritten was the key to us getting the house we wanted as there was another offer already on the home, but the other potential buyers were approved but not underwritten. The customer service experience with QuickenLoans is exceptional. Two people were assigned to our account that we could call or email at any time. Every time I contacted either person, I received a response within an hour (at the very longest). If everyone that works at QuickenLoans is as good as Dina and Fallon, QuickenLoans is sure to excel.

Third, you need the support of good title companies. You probably won't deal with them directly very much, but it's a good thing to know who they are and what they do. You may not choose the title companies that you work with, but definitely get to know the people that will be supporting your move. They are the final word on when your house actually becomes your house. And they are the final word on when you receive any funds from the sale of a house, so you should definitely know who they are and have their phone numbers on hand to make sure that you know all the things you need to know. Again, I was lucky enough to work with two great companies and two great people. Thanks to Melissa at Grand Canyon Title and Teresa at the Talon Group for making this happen!

Finally, you will need help moving. I don't know what to tell you there. We tried Starving Students, but that was a nightmare. They couldn't guarantee a time of arrival or give us a real estimate of costs, so we decided not to use them. We opted for the U-Haul option and did the moving ourselves. Thanks to Dennon, Moises, Ryan, Bryan, Spencer and Jack and Lenore. Again, special thanks to Dan and Chris who put in a full day's work each.

When I get some time, I have a good short story about moving an entertainment center that will definitely make the list.