Hello!

We finally closed on our home and received HAP funds at closing last week!  It was an amazing feeling as we sold the house in July of last year and had been making up the difference we weren't getting from rent, so we were nearing our financial limit. 

Anyway, feel free to ask me any questions about our experience and how the closing, etc. went. 

Also, wanted to let ya'll know that even though HAP couldn't tell us exactly which closing costs they covered (we went back and forth for weeks on this trying to figure out why we had to still pay $1K above and beyond what HAP gave us toward closing costs, even once we took out buyer's costs)... We did find out the hard way (after it was already written into our contract with buyer) that they do NOT pay buyer's closing costs, nor do they pay things like home warranties, etc. that may be written into the contract to appease the buyer.  So, just a craniums-up that you may want to avoid adding these into your contract if you're expecting to have them paid. 

We bought our house in March 08 and we got orders three months later. So they told us there was no way to sell our house so we put it up for rent. We have been renting it out for the past two years and we just recieved a letter saying that since we are renting it out that they are raising our taxes. So they trippled our taxes which brought our house payment way up  and we can't afford it. We can't put it up for sale cause we have tenants that  signed a contract so we have to pay over 400.00 dollars out of our pockets every month to make up for the difference.

So I have know idea what to do cause we can't afford to put it up for sale and then pay those full payments till someone buys it and its hard to pay the 400 dollars now. If theres any advice that anyone has please let me know.

Nichole,

My apologies for a slow reply.  Curious which state you are in and which military installation you are near.   I have never heard of a tax increase based on whether the home was rented or not, but given the "financial state of many states and counties," it doesn't surprise me.

I would start by calling writing the assessor's office that originated the tax increase and ask them to be specific about the authority that allows them to arbitrarily increase taxes on rental properties.  I would then write, better yet call,  the elected officals in that county who set policy, indicate your circumstances, and query them on what can be done.  I am very skeptical this can be done and you may have a legitimate legal case if they won't work with you.   I would likewise write your national Congressmen / Senators.   You can find the addresses and a pre-written letter on the home page (upper left) of this web site.   And better yet, I would call them.  You may want to check with your installation legal services to see if they can offer any advice. 

I hope this helps.  Please let us all know what state, county, installation this involves. 

Joe Gladden, VR SAM

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I don't think there is a consisent answer to your questions.  I have heard (on this site) of it taking several months.  I recommend you asked the sellers to facilitate a call between you and their HAP counselor to get the "best guess" direct from the person with the file.  They may not have the exact answer, but you would at least get the best info available.   Joe Gladden

 We actually have an offer on our house, but the buyers are asking for monies towards their closing costs. I called HAP and they pretty much have no definition of allowable closing costs. What state did you sell your house in? My realtor says that those kinds of costs are customary in our region. Just curious as to what region you're in. This whole process is nerve wrecking and I can't wait until it's finished!! Thanks

We are trying to buy a HAP home.  Who typically pays for the closing cost ?  Would it be us the buyer or the seller???  Please give us some tips on how to save money.  They are asking for 154,000 but here are some stuff needed to be fixed like paint, carpet, and vinyl.  Would it be ok to ask them to lower the price??? We are first time buyer and we are open to all the suggestions that you all my have thanks.