Conference 7.286::digital

    I had excellent luck with the home-buying program back in the
    November-February timeframe.  They did exactly what they said they
    would.
    
    As you probably know, the way the price is established is to get
    three appraisals and average them (throw away the lowest
    if it is more than n% different, I think).  Two of the three appraisals
    were within $1000 of each other, and in my opinion, they were
    significantly higher (5000?) than I could have gotten on the open
    market at that time of year.  The third was more in line with what
    I would expect.  Nonetheless, I got the average price.  Just for
    the hell of it, I also listed the house and sure enough, I did not
    get any offers at or greater than the appraised price.
    
    BTW, you get to pick the 3 appraisers from a list given you by the
    home-buying company.  You might ask around to see if there are any
    appraisers which are considered to be high or low.
    
    The stated objective of the home-buying setup is to offer a price
    which is neither low nor high, but within the range that you are
    likely to get on the open market.  I believe they exceeded that
    for me.

    Burns

    I used the DEC relocation home-buying service twice: both times
    were in the Maynard-Worcester area and both were more than five
    years ago.  So the information may be dated and not in your area.
    However, I was very happy with them both times: they did the same
    for me as they did for Burns.
    
    I have casually heard some people who have used them in the past
    year or so, also in the Maynard area.  Their reactions were also
    positive--in fact, I've never heard anyone complain about the
    home-buying program.

    Well, here's a complaint:
    
    Last December we sold our house through one of the buying services. The
    buying service does NOT buy your house.   Instead, they "manage" the
    property from the point you turn it over to them, through the selling
    and closing to the new buyer.   During this process, your mortgage is
    still outstanding; the buying service makes the payments on your
    behalf.   They do not "assume" your mortgage. 
    
    The buying service was CONSISTENTLY late with payments.   We received
    late notices for all of the time that they were trying to sell. (The
    housing market in Colorado Springs was very soft (buyer's market).)
    Individuals at the mortgage company was aware that we were no longer
    responsible for the property, but the computer wasn't.  After three
    (or 4) late payment notices, one missed by almost two months, we
    started to get worried.   Home Equity did send a letter to the mortgage
    company (after they sold the property) saying they were responsible,
    but we were still worried about the possibility of damage to the
    credit rating.   I still plan on pulling a credit report some day
    soon to see what happened. 
    

    re .3
    
    If the service does not actually buy your house, how does that affect
    you (the seller) from getting access to your equity?  Do you have
    to wait until the house is actually sold (through closing), or do
    they get you the money up front?
    
    re .1, .2
    
    I'm glad to hear of some positive results.  The only reference I
    had previously was from a friend who was offered about $5K less
    for his house than he had paid for it 2 years earlier, and that
    was in a rapidly growing area of California!
    
    -paul

    Re: .4:   The buying service advances your equity.   One of the
    things they get early on is a statement of the status of your mortgage.
    They deduct the advance from the proceeds.   Note you don't get
    all of your equity.   It's something like $1000 short.   They give
    you all but the $1000 when you sign the contract, and the remainder
    when you vacate.

	We used the Home-Buying service last year, even after we had a
	buyer for our house.  It gets a bit complicated, but roughly,
	due to paperwork, it turned out that we were to close on our
	new house in Massachusetts before we could close on our old
	house in Vermont.  In stepped the Home-Buying service.  They,
	in effect, advanced us the amount we were to sell our old house
	for, minus $1,000.  That allowed us to close and move into our
	new house.  Once the old house was sold, the Home-Buying service
	gave us the outstanding $1,000, as well as re-imbursements on
	such items as the cost of the Heating Oil still in the old house,
	some tax rebates, etc.

	There was a LOT of paperwork to wade through.  I suggest you get
	very friendly with a Notary Public, as there will be MANY forms
	to sign.  In some cases, we had an attorney double-check things
	for us, as we were uncertain about a point or two.  The service
	took the time to explain things, made changes when we suggested
	them and even sent us some things to amuse my two daughters.

	I would highly recommend the service again.

							-Steve

    
    We recently moved from the Washington D.C. area to New Hampshire
    and had a very satisfactory experience with Home Equity.  They
    were always pleasant, patient, and turned our whole, slightly
    complicated deal around in about 3 weeks.  Our appraisals came
    in just $500 below what we were able to sell the house for on the
    open market.  This allowed us to be firm in negotiating with the
    perspective buyer, when she tried to talk us down and generally
    give us the run around we were able to stand firm and say 'hey
    we got a 3rd party company behind us, if you don't want the place
    as is for this price then take a walk'.  My advice would be to get
    the appraisals done as quickly as possible to find out where you
    stand and in the mean time list your home.
    
    We took the list of appraisers, called them all and selected those
    who could do the appraisals the soonest.  Originally we did this
    because I was starting my new position in 4 weeks, but as it turned
    out it was a good negotiating tool.  In addition Home Equity has
    several incentive programs which help to attract buyers to your
    house.  We were able to offer 3K in closing cost help to our buyer.
    That really catches peoples' eyes on a listing.
    
    In short, there is no reason not to go with the home buying program,
    it serves as a safety backup while you try to get all you can for
    your place on the open market.
    
    jeff

    p.s. Read the relo guide and home equity's package several times
         so you don't make any costly mistakes.  Biggest thing initially
         is when you list your home with a broker be sure to include
         the specified clause in your listing contract, which states
         you reserve the right to sell to the 3rd party and in that
         case your broker gets no commission.
    

    I should comment on the time line because it can be critical if
    you have a number of things that have to work out right:
    
    1. Get appraisals and possibly things like termite inspection
    
    		1 week or so
    
    2. Get offer from equity company
    
    		60 days or less
    
    3. Accept offer
    
    		1 week or so
    
    4. Get money (your equity - $1000, approx)

    		No more than 60 days
    
    5. Move out

    
    Note that when you ask the equity company to do the appraisals,
    you start a (approx) 4 month clock ticking.   And when you accept
    the offer and get the money, you cancel the 4 month clock and start
    a two month clock.
    
    Burns    

There's one small problem.

We also just relocated from Washington area to NH.  (like rats from
a sinking ship ....)

We had a buyer lined up and had a pre-settlement occupancy agreement
signed with them and also with the sellers of our NH house.  I called
about the home buying service so we could get the equity advance
as mentioned previously; but DEC would not touch it because "renters
are involved."  It did not seem to matter that the "renters" were
the future buyers of the home.  Ended up having to get a bridge loan
from a private source; DEC won't pay the interest on it either.

Frank

Question:
Does Digital or Homequity have any objection to dealing with condo units?
(Does the development have to be "approved"?)

Background:
I'm currently living in half of a two-family house.  Each half is officially
a condominium unit;  therefore, all the nice legal statements in the master
deed about "51% of the owners" mean simply both of the owners.

The people who did the conversion did not get the development approved by
the FHA, since it's so small.  We were reminded of this by the lender when
we refinanced our mortgage, but they were satisfied by being given a copy
of the master deed.

Bob Leigh

    I relocated in May, 1985 and sold my condo in North Carolina to
    Home Equity.  Had absolutely no problems, no one ever questioned
    the fact that it was a condo, and the deal went through without
    a hiccup.
    
    The policy is written so that a normal condominium is treated just
    like a single-family home, but a co-op is not eligible at all for
    home purchase.  I'm not sure about all the legal differences between
    condo and co-op.
    
    							Pat

        
    My fiance recently relocated to Littleton, MA.  We put our house
    on the market with Century-21 for $n.  Our broker brought us a 
    buyer in 9 days who offered us our asking price.  :-)
    
    About 1 hour ago, we received our initial, verbal backup offer 
    from Homequity, and it was a mere $400. less than our buyers' 
    offer.  Needless to say, we're quite pleased.
    
    So far, the Homequity people (the two counselors assigned to us, 
    in particular), have been most helpful.  On top of that, they are 
    extremely cordial and friendly and we both look forward to speaking 
    with them on the phone.  Even the written correspondance we have
    received from them has an upbeat, friendly tone about it.
    
    We have no way of knowing what lies ahead, since we're right in
    the middle of the whole process, but from what we've seen so far,
    we're confident that having opted to go through Homequity will
    turn out to be one of the smartest things we've done, relocation-wise.

    Just to re-iterate some things already discussed here --
    
    Homequity will advance us 95% of THEIR offer to us so we can close 
    on our new home (in Leominster) and move out of our home in CT.
    When we vacate the CT house, they will give us the remaining 5% of
    THEIR offer.  Then, when they ultimately close with our buyers, 
    we will receive the difference.
    
    We will also receive $1,000. from Homequity for providing them
    with a qualified buyer.  By providing them with a buyer, Homequity
    will not have to market the house, and will not have to maintain
    the property as long as they probably would have to if they took it 
    over from us outright with no buyer lined up.
    
    /donna rosenthal
        

    When did the $1000 for a qualified buyer deal get started? When
    we moved in 84, there either was no such thing or they sure didn't
    tell us about it.  We had our house sold in three days for asking
    price too. Long before we ever got involved.
    
    I don't want to go into detail about our experience with Homequity,
    but suffice it to say, the woman we dealt with was nearly the most
    bumbling idiot of a real estate and relocation agent I've ever come
    in contact with or heard of.  It was a disaster from start to finish
     and the money it cost digital was plainly a ripoff.  We finally
    survived it, but barely.
    
    jack

How does one go about challenging the list of prerequisite "repairs" that
Homequity demands before they will make me a formal offer for my house?

I've been offered a job in Massachusetts, and I requested a
"pre-appraisal".  I own half of a two-family house in New Jersey,
and two-family houses are fairly rare in this town, so it's difficult to
predict how much the house would sell for.

As soon as Homequity heard that the house was 75 years old, they said
they'd need to do a structural inspection.  They have made no attempt at
making an "as-is" appraisal, although Digital's booklet describing the
program says that they will do so.  Instead, based on that inspection,
they've come up with a list of 18 items they want changed or repaired.

Some are major upgrades that we hadn't intended to do yet.  Some are
ridiculously minor and need to be done before showing the house to
potential buyers anyway.  Some are the result of misinterpreting the
inspection report ("Some interior doors removed" -- what are we supposed
to do, install modern doors to fill all the openings between rooms?)

The worst is a request to remove all the asbestos insulation that's
wrapped around the heating pipes in the basement.  The structural
inspector sent by Homequity recommended covering it up, but Homequity
says they insist on having it removed.  My wife has chronic asthma;
for health reasons alone, I really don't want to arrange to have the
asbestos removed while we're still living in the house.

I feel that Homequity does not understand old houses.  We've been in the
house three years, we've barely scratched the surface of what we would
change, yet Homequity wants a bunch of piddly garbage, plus some massive
changes, to be done within 30 days of making me a verbal offer.

What recourse do I have, other than dumping Homequity's offer and selling
the house on my own?  Doing that will be even more expensive and will drag
out the relocation process considerably.

Bob

    Unfortunately for you, asbestos has become a real hot button in
    the country of late.
    
    We did your business through Equitable rather than Homequity a year
    ago.  They required that we have a termite treatment.  However,
    they gave us the choice of having it done ourselves, or just deducting
    the cost from our equity and they have it done after we move out.
    Contact your <whatever cutsey name they call them...Homequity
    salesperson> and see what s/he can do for you.
    
    Burns
    

    My husband and I just relocated and used Homequity.  The whole thing
    was a nightmare, culminated by one of the most horrifying experiences
    I've ever been through.  Throughout the entire process, our Homequity
    "counselor" failed to return phone calls, sat on paperwork for weeks
    before ever reading it, missed the time frames outlined in P&P,
    and generally displayed total incompetence.
    
    Night before last came the kicker.  We sold the house in Tennessee to a
    buyer who was to assume a non-qualifying FHA loan.  That means he could
    pay the equity and take up payments without going through the
    qualification process, an entirely legal way to assume an FHA loan.  We
    "assigned the sale" to Homequity because it was required in order to be
    eligible for the incentives Digital is offering these days.  Homequity
    approved all the terms of the sale. 
    
    Homequity went ahead and paid us appraisal-price-less-$1000, as
    advertised, no hitches.  We thought everything was fine.  The sale
    was scheduled to close July 10, after which time we'd get the
    difference between the sale price and Homequity's appraisal price.
    Since the sale was about to close, my husband called the realtor
    in Tennessee night before last, just to be sure everything was OK.
    The realtor was very upset, and informed us that he had just learned
    that Homequity had PAID OFF THE FHA MORTGAGE, due to a paperwork
    error (read that incompetence).  When he called Homequity the next
    day, the counselor even used the word NEGLIGENCE in her description
    of what happened!
        
    We are left with our signature on a contract that legally commits
    us to provide our buyer with a non-qualifying FHA mortgage at a
    certain interest rate.  And there is no mortgage to assume.  Homequity
    is falling on their swords, admitting they made a terrible mistake,
    and assuring us they are "trying to correct it".  But when we ask
    HOW they plan to correct it, we get no answer.  They cannot possibly
    find our buyer a NEW mortgage for which he does not have to qualify.
    To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing.  If there is,
    I'd like to contact the lending institution about some swampland
    I have for sale. (^:
    
    Corporate relocation has been really good to us throughout the entire
    nightmare.  We escalated the incompetence to them again and again
    throughout the process, and each time they got results.  Now the
    manager of home purchase has taken personal ownership of this and
    is working it as best she possibly can.  However, we are EXTREMELY
    concerned about our legal liabilities since OUR name is on that
    contract.  We have been unable to get an answer to date from Digital's
    legal people.  I get the distinct impression they don't know, and
    the uncomfortable feeling we are a "first".
    
    My husband and I have agreed what we've gone through was not worth the
    $4,000 worth of incentives.  Next time we'll just sell ourselves,
    not assign the sale to Homequity, and forfeit the $4K and the
    nightmare.  In the meantime, today is Tuesday and the sale is scheduled
    to close on Friday and we have no answer as to how Homequity plans
    to make it happen. 
    
    							Pat
    
    P.S.    Moral of the story:  stay where you are.  I plan to die of
            old age in Dallas.

    P.P.S.  See the note entitled "relocation blues" for the REST OF
            THE STORY: the three-ring-circus they call Bekins and how
            they destroyed our antique furniture -- after all, it was
            just "old stuff", right??
    our antique 

    All may not be lost!
    
    Homequity has an associate company (perhaps another subsidiary?)
    called USMC which is a mortgage company.  So they actually might
    be able to match the FHA loan if you apply enough pressure, though
    they clearly won't want to do so.
    
    Good luck.
    
    -  David (Twice used Homequity, twice had nightmares though not as bad
              as yours, and about to subject myself to it a third time...!) 

	In addition to the comment in .17, remember to consult your own
	lawyer.  Between now and Friday, not much can happen, I suppose,
	but if you can somehow make it clear to all parties that after
	Friday real damages start accruing, they might understand the
	urgency.  It might cost Homequity or Digital a few thousand
	dollars to clear it up quickly, but if damages are compensated
	several months down the road, the money gets interesting.

	I don't know who Homequity is, but if I were one of their
	stockholders, I'd be interested in how to avoid costs arising
	from the situation you describe.  Also, I'm not happy about the
	costs to Digital arising from imposition upon one of our
	employees --  maybe Homequity doesn't need us...

	By the way, where's the money?  You said Homequity paid you
	appraisal less $1000.  I suppose you mean they _said_ they
	would, but instead paid off the mortgage.  Where did they get
	the money to do that?  Homequity has cleared a mortgage lien
	on your house, but you haven't closed yet.  You still own the
	house.  Don't they still owe you what they said they'd pay
	you?

	Have the buyers given anyone any money?  Can you collect from
	the buyers, to sell them your equity, and leave Homequity trying
	to replace the lien they cleared?

	David is right, in .17, about Homequity's matching the terms
	of the FHA loan.  Tell them this is the cheapest way out.
	Then again, if they cleared your old FHA lien out of the
	goodness of their hearts, collect what they still owe you, and
	thank them for being such nice people.

	Regards, Robert.

	Some more thoughts on .18...

	If Homequity discharged your old FHA lien, either you own
	all of the house, unencumbered, or you own part, and Homequity
	owns the rest.  Ask your lawyer what the law says; I'm not a
	lawyer, so I certainly don't know.

	So, in my opinion...

	On Friday, you can sell your part to the buyers.  You, Homequity,
	and the buyers have to decide what to do with the other part.
	If Homequity owns the other part, it's their problem; if you
	own the other part, who cares about Homequity?  The real question
	is "Who owns that other part?"  Does anyone have a right to
	encumber the property with a new lien now?

	At the closing, make sure you are paid, and that there remain
	no liens that could interfere with transferring ownership.
	In other words, when the bank or whoever says they'll mail you
	your check, or you can visit their office on Monday to get your
	check, tell them they will deliver to you a certified check
	or cash, on the spot.  I've seen this done.  Tell them, now,
	that you will not sign over the deed until you know they have
	your money ready to hand to you.  They can drive down the street
	to get a certified check while you wait.

	Consult your lawyer.  A lawyer's fee is efficient tuition.

	Regards, Robert.

    A few years ago I got into extreme financial difficulity and stopped
    paying my mortgage payment. After a couple of months of non-payments
    I was surprized not to get the normal nasty late notices. I wrote
    the company a letter explaining my troubles and telling them what
    I intended to do about it. They wrote me back a nice letter thanking
    me and telling me that I was not behind on my payments. Needless
    to say I was very happy to hear this but since I hadn't written
    them any checks I asked them to tell me who was paying my payments.
    
    Guess what, they had been recieving checks from Homequity. To make
    a long story short I finally found out that another DEC employee
    had been relocating and had my same mortgage company and a similar
    name had Homequity had gotten the accounts screwed up and was paying
    mine instead of his. While this seemed very nice of them it really
    fouled things up and of course left the other employee in another
    mess not of his making. I decided then if I ever relocated I would
    never deal with Homequity.
    
    					Dick

    RE: .18, .19
    
    I don't think you quite understand the way the home purchase program
    works when the employee sells his house himself.  It's no wonder,
    since it's EXTREMELY complicated and involves mountains of paperwork
    that only a Philadelphia lawyer could understand.  Here's how it
    works (in simple terms):
    
    H.E. gets appraisers to look at the house and arrives at an offer
    price.  They then make the employee an offer on the house, based
    on the appraisal values.  That offer is made in writing, and is
    in the form of a contract similar to what you'd see pass between
    a normal seller and buyer.  Employee signs that contract & returns
    it to H.E.
    
    The employee executes a contract with his buyer.  H.E. reviews the
    contract and tells the employee it's OK.  Employee then signs that
    contract also.
    
    Contract number 1 between H.E. and the employee gets executed. H.E.
    pays the employee their offer price less $1,000.  H.E. now owns the
    house, lock, stock, and barrel.  At this point, employee is out of the
    loop. 
    
    H.E. then closes with the employee's buyer.  When that closing takes
    place, H.E. pays the employee the difference between the actual
    sales price and what they've already paid him, plus the $1,000 that
    was held out.
    
    At this point in our situation, H.E. owns the house in Tennessee.  But
    OUR name is on the contract of sale, committing that WE will provide
    the buyer with an FHA loan to assume.  Hence my questions about who
    bears the legal liability. 
    
    An update:  got a message from the counselor at H.E. this afternoon
    that a Fed'X package was going out today to us.  Under normal
    circumstances, no more paperwork would be required so I'm real
    interested to see what's in that package.  I'll know tomorrow!
    
    							Pat
    
    P.S.  If anyone's getting ready to relocate and is interested in
    knowing the name of the counselor who did this to us (so you can
    avoid him/her like the plague) send VAXmail.

    Well, we received a Fed'X package today from H.E. and lo and behold
    it contained -- da da -- our money!!!!  Well, all our money except
    for the $1,000 Digital incentive which they PROMISE is coming under
    separate cover.
    
    Thank God for Corporate Relocation!  Those folks, specifically the
    Home Purchase Manager, took complete ownership of this immediately,
    and are following it through to conclusion.  She involved corporate
    legal to ensure we were not liable, and worked with H.E. to figure
    out how to handle it.
    
    What they are doing is providing the buyer a mortgage identical to the
    one in the contract, through their subsidiary mortgage company. This
    only after making the buyer some totally ridiculous offers, like 2
    percentage points over what the FHA loan would have been. Being an
    intelligent fellow, he turned down their first three offers and held
    out for what's in the contract.  Closing will be delayed but will take
    place.  And even if it hadn't, we would have incurred no liability.  It
    seems that buried in the contract we signed with H.E. was a clause that
    "indemnified" us whatever that means. 
    
    Well, just wanted to let everyone know how it came out.  I shudder to
    think what Digital pays that company to make it's employees' lives
    miserable (tho' Digital's sincere intent is to make things EASIER).  At
    any rate, we're apparently out of the woods.  Next hurdle is the
    insurance claim.  But that's another note...  (^: 
    
    							Pat

    Just so that it is not all gloom and doom ... We have just completed
    an international relocation from England, with Homequity in England
    playing a similar role to HE in the US. Although it is not a process
    that I would go through for fun the deal did complete with no major
    problems. Our contact at Homequity was very helpful throughout,
    although he did have a tendency to be a bit over optimistic about
    the speed of the process.
    
    Tim

    I've just signed up for the Home Buying program and they gave me
    a list of seven appraisers to choose from.  I've never heard of
    any of them, of course, and was wondering if anyone has had any
    negative/positive experiences with any of them:
    
    Appraisal Associates, Canton/Wellesley
    Malcolm Buchanen, N. Attleboro
    Hugh Kelley, Wellesley
    Property Valuations Ltd., Melrose
    Diane Mello, Stoughton
    Ross Cooke, Lexington
    Ken McDonough, Sherborn
    
    In the absense of any other information, I guess I'll pick the two
    closest to Brookline, but I'd like other input, if possible.
    

    You might check the REAL_ESTATE notes file, it's full of
    sharks--er--real estate brokers.  When I was in your
    situation I asked a friend who was a realtor for advice.
    She suggested Ross Cooke, who was fine.

    I've relocated twice, the first time the appraisals varied by
    $1000.  The second time they were exactly the same.  My
    feeling would be that it really doesn't matter which one
    you choose.

    
    I just went through a major hassle while selling our current house.
    We had two full price offers ($125K) for our house. We were within
    a week of closing when we're told the appraisal came in at 115K!
    
    We went through tremendous grief to talk the lender into another
    appraisal while at the same time the buyers started talking to a
    second lender, who also ordered an appraisal.
    
    The second lender's appraisal came in at $118K. We're starting
    to sweat bullets...
    
    Then the first lender's second appraisal comes in - $125K! We're
    settleing Wednesday for 125...
    
    I guess the moral is - if your first appraisal comes in low - try,
    try again!
    
    -Ray
    

    Re .24:
    
    	Deb,
    		If you have the time (about 1 week) get a market analysis
    done by your local ( and I do mean someone who knows your neighborhood)
    realtor.  They will provide you with a list of houses that have
    sold in your area comparable to yours.  This way , when the appraisers
    come to your house, YOU can give them the most advantageous comps.
    It has been our experience that appraisers do not know the ins and
    outs of neighborhoods, and therefore do not always use accurate
    comps.

    I AM GOING THROUGH HOME EQUITY RIGHT NOW AND AM VERY DISCUSTED AT
    THEM. FIRST THEY TELL ME THAT ALL I NEED IS A TERMITE AND RADON
    INSPECTION. WHEN IT COMES TIME TO MAKE THE OFFER I AM NOW TOLD THAT
    I NEED A STRUCTURAL INSPECTION. I ASKED WHY THEY WAITED SO LONG
    ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TIME TO MAKE THE OFFER. THE REPLY WAS 
    "WE MADE A MISTAKE". THE RESULT IS NOW I HAVE TO PUSH BACK MY CLOSING
    DATE AND I AM LEFT OUT TO DRY AND STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WILL
    GET FOR MY HOUSE. THIS IS HORRIBLE AND I AM TRULY DISCUSTED. I HAD
    NOW CODE VIOLATIONS BUT THEY THROW IN THIS TERM SAFETY AS
    JUSTIFICATION ON WHY I NEED TO GET THESE REPAIRS. MY CONCERN IS
    ARE PEOPLE IN DIGITAL AREA LEVELS AWARE OF THE PAINSTAKING PROBLEMS
    THAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH. I DON'T MIND MAKING THE REPAIRS BUT I
    WAS TOLD THIS SO LATE. SO I GUESS I WILL MAKING THE REPAIRS. IF
    THIS EVER COMES UP AGAIN I WILL THINK TWICE...
    
    
    PURNELL
    

    Please don't write in all capital letters, it is considered SHOUTING.

    Sorry about the caps did not realize it was shouting. Just received
    a brief mail message on that. This was not my intent to shout..
    
    Regards
    Purnell
    

    Pernell,  if Home Equity is giving you a hassle, call your Digital
    Relocation person (one should have been assigned to you).  When
    I went through relocation almost 5 years ago, I found it went pretty
    smooth.  When I did run into a problem, I called Digital Relo, they
    called Home Equity and got everything solved immediately.
    
    Just try not to loose your temper with the DEC person.  But do let
    them know you need action NOW.  And if they're not helpful - elevate!
    
    Good luck
    Nanci

    I did do that and Corp relo said regardless I had to do the repairs.
    The most that I would get out of them is that they will be monitoring
    H.E. Besides I will still have to make the repairs anyway. Thanks
    for the suggestion.
    

   I called Relo when I had a problem with a structural inspection.  Seems
   that the Inspection firm wanted a waiver signed stating that they were
   not responsible for the contents of the report and that as such, could
   not be sued for oversight..., real confidence builder.  To avoid another
   inspection, I called Relo and arrangements were made.  Those people are
   great.
   
   Larry
   
   But the cassette tape was a joke.

    re .33

    My experience is that Corporate Relocation will *not* negotiate
    with individual employees, other than reaffirming their policy
    that the repairs must be done.  Get your incoming manager involved,
    and have him or her negotiate for you.  Start with the fact that
    in your case, the third party company made an error, and is asking
    you to suffer a financial loss because of it.
    
    You're not the only employee who's been put in this situation.
    
    In my opinion, the PP&P policy on relocations -- specifically the
    section on third-party home purchases -- is deceptive and should be
    rewritten.  The policy implies that the inspection is just a formality:
    
    	"The property must meet any criteria for sale that is dictated
         by local law or custom. ... the employee will provide evidence
         in writing from a local city/town inspector that the home meets
         the city/town local building codes and zoning requirements."

    However, the third party company has enormous leeway in interpreting
    the inspector's report and demanding repairs that the open market does
    not usually require and that do not concern building codes and zoning
    laws.
    
    Corporate Relocation apparently backs the third-party company when
    there is a question, unless they are pushed very hard for a realistic
    reaction.  Either performing the repairs or negotiating with Digital
    and the third party company prolongs the relocation process and costs
    the employee time and money.
    
    Of course, the policy states that the third party program exists to
    "provide assistance to the transferring homeowner in selling his/her
    home".  It even lists as advantages of the program:
    
      o Be able to sell the old home at the appraised market value,
        at or prior to the time of the move.

      o Avoid the inconvenience, worry and distraction of selling
        the old home.

      o Obtain equity money at an early date to avoid the necessity
        of borrowing for a down payment on the new home.
    
    Well... would anyone like to help me understand how to get a PP&P
    policy changed? 
    
    It's been just about two years since I got caught in the repair
    situation.  It's no credit to Digital that the employee is still
    automatically getting the short end of the stick, even though (as
    in KYOA::DAVISP's case) the third party company obviously made the
    error.
    
    Bob Leigh    


    

        If you want to get the policy changed, you probably should start
        by talking to the Domestic Relocation Policy Manager, listed in
        the Digital Telephone Directory (under Personnel Department --
        Corporate) at being at CFO2-3/C18, DTN 251-1369.  You've done a
        good job of identifying the problems with the way the policy is
        implemented, but I doubt very much that the person responsible
        for the policy reads this conference.
        
        Tom

.29> I AM GOING THROUGH HOME EQUITY RIGHT NOW AND AM VERY DISCUSTED AT
.29> THEM.

    I'm not going to take this down a rat hole, but, my last (and I
    *do* mean l-a-s-t) experience with Home Equity was indeed my last.
    
    During my last relocation, August '88, when I called personnel
    to get the process started, I told them that if I had to use Home
    Equity I would *not* use the DECrelo program.  Fact of the matter
    is, I would not have even relocated had I been forced to use Home
    Equity.  They assigned Merrill Lynch Realty Relocation to me...it
    was like dealing in another world...they were absolutely fantastic.
    The only complaint that I could possibly register was that they
    kept bugging me with phone calls to see if everything was going
    well, was I satisfied, did I have any questions, etc....
    
    Totally different story with Home Equity in 1981 - I questioned
    their ability to use the phone system.  I was having an enormous
    amount of trouble getting my $80,000 equity check out of them and
    I was sitting on top of a "swing loan" with interest rates that
    would blow your mind...(remember the interest rates in '81?).  Finally
    told them that the next phone call would be from my attorney, and,
    I meant every word of it....the check arrived via Federal Express
    the next day.

    Any more? Off-line...
    
    Jerry Beeler

    
    
    For what it's worth: I moved from Texas to Mass in Nov of 86.
    Home Equity (Mary Quinn, rep.)  was VERY good. They went the 'extra
    mile' for me and I wound up with more money than I expected.
    
    Digital Relo in Concord handled some problems with the insurance
    company and movers that, while it took several months to iron out,
    
    were setteled to my satisfaction.
    
    Some good some bad. Seems like life.

    re .38 
    
    I had Mary Quinn also. I used HomEquity twice within a 3 year period
    andf found that, if I advised them of the importance of a timely
    payment, they were great. 
    
    They arranged for everything necessary on the home sellings, offered
    fair market value for both homes and got me the money in time for
    what I needed.
    
    If I had to sell on my own I would have been a basket case. HomEquity
    took all the hassle out of two tough moves.
    
    The only suggestion I have to make HomEquity better would be to
    get them to use an 800 number.
    
    Rich
    

    I moved in '86 and used Homequity to great satisfaction.  My wife
    was still in Mass. and I was in Ill. and we needed a lot of papers
    to get sent back and forth for both our signatures.  My vote is
    YEA.
    
    I suppose it's like with cars: if you get a lemon, no one can convince
    you they're any good at all; if you have a good experience, you
    can't understand how anybody could complain.

    When I was in Colorado Springs, H.E. was a dirty word.  Of course,
    I'd think it better if Digital warned potential transferee's that
    they're moving to a lemon area to be *very* careful about buying.
    
    I found out the hard way, there's nothing more expensive than
    a great buy on a $50,000 house.  Living in Seattle, garages
    cost that much.
    

    I once relocated with Home Equity and I was satisfied.  Just recently
    I was considering moving and DEC assigned Meryl Lynch to handle
    my relocation which turned out to be one source of major stress
    and frustration.
    
    First problem - I signed up for the preliminary appraisal, thinking
    it would be quicker.  WRONG!  Six weeks later I got my offer.  I
    had to have all the inspectors in.  The termite, Radon, Water, and
    Septic plus the two appraisers who knew nothing about my area.
    
    Second problem - The appraisal figure was $20K to $30K below what
    my independent appraiser, who knew the area, said.
    
    Third problem - I could not appeal the offer because it was a
    preliminary appraisal.  So I asked what would have been done
    differently if it were not a preliminary but was a Home Purchase
    appraisal.  The answer was "nothing", but I had to have personal
    send a letter to Meryl Lynch so they could enter me into the Home
    Purchase Program.
    
    Forth problem - Now What?  I'm entered into the HPP now what do
    I do?  I called Corp. Relo.  They told me to take it up with Meryl
    Lynch that they don't get involved.
    
    Fifth problem - I send in my documentation for the appeal and wait,
    and wait, and wait somemore.  The DEC policy says I can appeal but
    it doesn't specify how soon Meryl Lynch has to get back to me, and
    Corp Relo doesn't get involved, so I wait somemore.  In the mean
    time my potential new boss is getting frustrated with me, my potential
    old boss is getting frustrated with me, I'm frustrated, my wife
    and kids are frustrated.  Finally I called Meryl Lynch after a couple
    of weeks of calling every other day.
    
    Sixth problem - Not a nickle more.  And DEC Relo doesn't get involved.
    I had a strong case, nobody from DEC disagreed with me, but nobody
    would get involved with me.
    
    Seventh problem - Seattle happens to be one of the fastest growing
    cities in the country.  It is a sellers market Seattle and a buyers
    market in MA.

    I'm just about finished selling my house in Littleton, Mass., using
    Merrill Lynch (as a result of some earlier notes in this topic).

    I moved to Colorado on June 2.  The week before that, all the
    inspectors came in, so I knew what had to be done to the house as soon
    as I moved out. During June, all the fixups got done.  I held the
    appraisers off until the fix-up work was done because they are required
    to appraise the house "as is". But the first two appraisers got in at
    the beginning of July.  The results were:

    1st appraiser (Avery Associates, Acton, MA):	$171K
    2nd appraiser (Taylor Associates, Acton, MA):	$152K

    	Since these differ by more than 5%,

    3rd appraiser (Malcolm Buchanan, Acton, MA):	$147K

    	The resulting average is $156,667, and that is the offer
    	Merrill Lynch made me.

    Part of the difficulty is that the house is a lake-house, and there
    aren't many comparables.  All three appraisers used EXACTLY THE SAME
    comparables yet came up with such divergent results.  I don't
    understand that yet.

    Merrill Lynch also had a local real estate agent do an appraisal,
    and they came up with $159.9.

    My real estate agent (Bonnie Goldman, of Forsyth Realty in Acton,
    whom I highly recommend) appraised the house at $179.9.

    Bonnie put the house on the market for $189K.  The first offer of $140K
    I rejected out of hand. Then, with my Merrill Lynch offer in hand so I
    knew what the bottom limit would be, and therefore what to hold out for
    on offers, Bonnie came up with a buyer for $175K.  This was the first
    outside reasonable offer, and given the Merrill Lynch much-lower offer,
    and considering all the appraisals, I took it. It might be possible to
    get more, but the interest on $175K comes to something like $1K/month,
    so holding out has some obvious downsides.

    Well, I didn't accept right away. I counter offered for $178K and the
    $3K rebate which Merrill Lynch pays; same result to the buyer. That
    offer was accepted, and I think I have now sold the house. It's hanging
    on the buyer getting his mortgage approved, which doesn't seem to be
    a problem.

    Merrill Lynch has been very reasonable; the only difficulty was getting
    the appraised values, and Merrill Lynch did follow the Digital rules. I
    just don't like the rules: no appraisal results before all are in and
    the offer is made.

    Forsyth Realty has been very good, and were very cooperative in getting
    people to help make the necessary repairs, like a new roof, and
    replacing the basement support columns, and some new flooring, all of
    which was reasonable.

    I don't think 1989 was a good year to sell the house, but then I get
    that back again, given the depressed housing market in Colorado
    Springs.

    I still have no explanation for the divergent appraisal results.

    And final closure hasn't occurred, and I don't have my money yet, but
    things are looking good.

    I believe that appraisals should be offered as a "perk" on both
    ends.  If DEC offered an appraisal on the buying end many of us
    would not be buying a house at a cost higher than market.  In this
    way perhaps the appraisal on the selling end would not be so far
    off.  No real estate agent would tell you that you are overpaying.
    It is their commission at risk.
    
    

Appraisals tend to be accurate in areas where the market is flat.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, they are grossly low since the
market here is appreciating at a rapid rate.  As an example, last
September, My house would of fetched $170K but an appraisal
came in at $155K.  My neighbors house sold last month for $234K
and one around the corner is up for $249K.  Now in areas where
the market is falling, such as Houston or Salt Lake City, I might
expect to see the appraisals come in high.  I wouldn't  expect too
much from appraisals.

Larry