sperly
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| 04/24/2007 5:04 PM |
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My girlfriend and I went to contract on a unit at Solara a few weeks ago. Prior to signing the papwerwork, we received a good faith estimate from their preferred lender, Community Mortgage Funding (CMF). As the closing costs were high, we rejected the estimate. Several days later, CMF came back with an estimate that was much more favorable, but hadn't been approved by the credit union. We informed CMF and Solara that if the loan could be approved, we would promptly sign the contract to purchase. The next day, CMF told us that the loan was approved so we went ahead and signed the contract with Solara, listing CMF as our broker.
Two weeks later, I contacted the mortgage broker to make sure things were progressing. Much to my surprise, he said that something had come up that he had been meaning to discuss with me. He went on to say that in order to get the loan, that we would have to pay an additional point (~$5,000) in broker's fees! At this point, I was quite shocked, as I was sure we had agreed to the terms of the loan and even had a printed good faith estimate to prove it.
Unfortunately, the contract that we signed with Solara doesn't allow the buyer to switch mortgage companies once they are listed on the contract. Therefore, we will either have to pay the extra $5K or back out of the contract and risk losing our $12K deposit. It's a lose-lose situation for us, but a win-win for Solara. It's difficult to point the blame squarely on Solara since it was their lender that tried to rip us off...however, he IS their preferred lender and they ARE business partners.
Anyway, I just thought I would let the community know what sort of shady sales practices are out there. Before signing a contract with Solara, or with any developer, make sure there is some protection for the buyer. The contract that we signed is extremely one-sided. We probably should have pressed for some addenda. Oh well...live and learn.
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Jon
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| 04/24/2007 6:20 PM |
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What were the compelling reasons for you to buy at Solara with your girlfriend? How long are you planning to live there? I'm assuming that since both of you are buying together, you're planning to get married eventually, and perhaps move to a different conjugal home.
Just curious on what made you take the plunge at Solora vs. other resale properties.
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sperly
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| 04/24/2007 6:25 PM |
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I just recieved an update and it turns out that they are letting us walk away from the contract without penalties! Glad they are doing the right thing!
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coco
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| 04/24/2007 6:28 PM |
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| They probably let you walk because their sales are slow and they will have to go rental, which would mean giving back any deposits they've accepted anyway. |
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sperly
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| 04/24/2007 6:29 PM |
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Jon, we thought that Solara was priced really well compared to other properties in the area and that the overall quality was above average. Also, they offer the price protection plan that I mentioned in a previous post. We had looked at lots of resale properties, as well as new construction, and Solara just felt right. We're bummed it didn't work out, but happy that they have agreed to return our deposit without penalty.
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Anonymous
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| 04/24/2007 6:42 PM |
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Hopefully your post in this forum helped get this problem solved so quickly. Outing poor business practices in a public forum is the best way to get a problem like that solved. I imagine people are reading these messages here. I'm interesting in Solara but at a distance and I really appreciate any comments on the project.
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swimjet
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| 04/24/2007 9:03 PM |
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| Yes, thanks for the posts. I visited Solara, liked some of the units but am watching to see what happens in 07. Your posts are invaluable. |
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Jon
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| 04/24/2007 9:40 PM |
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| I've been tell people about SDlookup. I think few know about his site. This is a great site for buyers and sellers, I think. |
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KAT
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| 04/25/2007 10:38 AM |
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| Those idiots let a sale slip away from them for only $5,000? Wow! |
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sperly
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| 04/25/2007 10:51 AM |
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I'm not trying to bash on Solara. They probably let us go easily because they had a lot of interest in that particular unit.
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Smith
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| 04/25/2007 11:29 AM |
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Sperly,
What were the specs on the unit? |
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sperly
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| 04/25/2007 11:37 AM |
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It's the L floorplan on the 7th floor. You can find the specs on their website.
In order to see over the parking garage across the street, you must be on the 6th floor or higher. However, the 6th floor is where the model units are and they won't be selling those for a while. The 8th floor is the penthouse and the prices are 60% higher than the 7th floor. So, at least for the L floorplan, the 7th floor is the logical choice. Being less than $30K more than the 5th floor, which doesn't have a view, makes it a no-brainer.
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coral
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| 04/25/2007 12:55 PM |
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| If it's a no-brainer, why did $5,000 cause you to walk? Was that enough to put it out of making fundamental sense? Will you rent instead? |
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sperly
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| 04/25/2007 1:45 PM |
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Well, we were fed up w/ the whole situation and didn't want any more surprises. It was mostly an emotional decision. We just had a terrible feeling about it.
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downtown
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| 04/25/2007 2:10 PM |
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| i read on someone's blog that only 3 units sold at solara. |
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