Beach Condo Update

I have some exciting news. I have the cash on hand to fund the down payment for a beach condo. Half of it is in cash and the other half is in my portfolio. Moreover, I’ve been pre-qualified for my desired purchase price. I was concerned about not being pre-approved, but my mortgage broker assured me she ran the numbers and she’s never had anyone not be pre-approved after she pre-qualifies them. So, I don’t have anything to worry about. That’s a great track record. But, let’s take a deeper dive into this beach condo update.

Bonus

I finally got my $40k bonus check. After accounting for taxes and combined with my other savings, and my dividend portfolio, I now have enough to fund the down payment.

If I purchase the condo for the maximum purchase price, I may not have enough for closing costs (I still might) and so I’m exploring the possibility of rolling the closing costs into the mortgage, having the seller pay for the closing costs, or purchasing less of a condo to pay for the closing costs in cash.

The bonus was nice, but I don’t anticipate getting another bonus any time soon. So, I figure I’d make the most of it and use it for real estate investing.

Mortgage Broker News

One of the mortgage brokers I’ve been working with gave me some good news. I might be able to purchase the condo with less money down than I was anticipating. I’ve been planning for the worst-case scenario but depending on the condo, I might be able to put less money down. That would, of course, translate into a more expensive mortgage, but it may not be necessary to tap into my dividend portfolio, or if I do, just a little bit.

I don’t want to get too excited though. I still have to find a condo that works and I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. So, I’m still preparing for the worst, although I’m also hoping for the best.

What Could Go Wrong With Buying A Beach Condo?

Because half of my down-payment is in the stock market, it’s possible that as soon as I am ready for it, there might be a crash in the market. If so, the value of my portfolio would be reduced. In fact, I may be forced to sell at a loss or delay my plans to purchase the condo.

I am unwilling to sell the stocks now because there’s no guarantee I’m going to find a beach condo I like that meets my criteria. As I’m not wealthy, I would like to find a beach condo that cash flows and I gather that’s going to be very hard to do.

Another thing that could go wrong is that there is some kind of hiccup in the mortgage pre-approval process. I don’t anticipate that at all, but it’s possible.

Finally, there’s the possibility of hurricanes ruining my plans to buy a beach condo, as well as the possibility (if not probability) of me not finding something that fits my buying criteria.

We shall see.

Conclusion

I just want to get this update out there. I am about one month away or so before I put my first offer on a condo. Until then, I will save and save and save. The contributions to my dividend portfolio have been SIGNIFICANTLY reduced!

Stay tuned. My next update on this topic may very well be the fact that an offer I put on a condo was accepted.

Until then, let me know your thoughts by commenting below.