Had the worst week ever trying to refi my investment property in Austin

I bought this duplex in Austin back in 2021 and thought I'd refinance to drop the rate. Bro, my lender asked for 8 different documents over 3 weeks including a rent roll I had to fix twice because of a typo. Then they hit me with a notice of value that was $40k less than what I bought it for. I spent like 4 hours on hold with the title company just to find out there was a lien from 2019 that some contractor filed. It took another 2 weeks to get that cleared up and by then rates went up 0.25%. Has anyone else dealt with a surprise lien holding things up like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_patricia19d ago

My buddy had this exact same thing happen on his rental in San Antonio last year. He found out a contractor he fired in 2020 had filed a lien for work he didn't even finish. Took him three months and a lawyer to get it sorted because the contractor moved out of state. By the time it was cleared up, his rate lock had expired and he had to pay an extra point. Said he'd rather deal with a leaky roof than another title search.

henderson.wesley19d ago

Dang, that sounds like the universe was trying to tell you something with that lien. A surprise contractor lien from 2019 is like finding out your ex still has your Netflix password and is using it. You spent all that time on hold just to learn some random guy from three years ago decided your property was his personal piggy bank. And then rates went up just to rub salt in the wound. Classic homeownership, where every step forward feels like two steps back into a pile of paperwork.

morgan.logan6d ago

Oh man, tell me about it... I once had a title search turn up a lien from a plumber I hired to fix a toilet in 2017. The guy never finished the job and I still paid him, but somehow he filed a lien saying I owed him for "materials." It was for like 400 bucks and it took me four months to untangle because the guy's business had folded and he was living in another state. Meanwhile my rate lock expired and I ended up paying an extra half point, which is basically the universe charging me interest on my own stupidity for ever hiring that guy in the first place. I swear, buying a house is like signing up for a scavenger hunt where all the prizes are headaches...