Archive for the ‘Home Buyers’ Category
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Home Buyers
First time home buyers are often lost when it comes to the various details of purchasing a new home, so some important services could get missed if you don’t educate yourself. One such service is a home warranty. Buying a home is expensive, likely to be the largest purchase of your lifetime, so it is important to protect your investment. A home warranty is a bit like an insurance policy, only it is purchased at the time of sale and it provides a more limited kind of coverage. The warranty pays for repair and replacement of household problems, generally at least for the first year of ownership, with the possibility of extension. Getting your home serviced simply involves calling the company that services your warranty, they will hire a repair person and charge you a per service fee, generally less than $100.00.
Generally speaking, every home should have a warranty when it is purchased. If possible, you may be able to get the original owner to pay for the cost, as it ensures you will not be calling them if something breaks. The coverage provided is sufficient for most small issues around the house, but they do not cover accidents, code violations, improper maintenance and installation, and any damage that is outside of usual wear and tear. This means that you will still need a regular insurance policy for your home. As well, the more expensive appliances in your home won’t be covered, as well as outdoor pools and other outdoors items.
In the end, it would be a mistake to not take a home warranty. Filing warranty claims won’t affect insurance rates, and will only cost you a small fee per service. This benefit alone is enough to justify picking one up, and the fact that you can generally get a seller to pay for it means it isn’t even going to cost you anything! Home warranties provide an important service you’d be making a mistake if you passed by.
Posted: July 8th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
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Home Buyers
Purchasing a home comes with many potential costs and problems, so when you are in the process of closing, it is important not to skimp on one of the most important parts of the home buying process: hiring a home inspector to examine the house for serious flaws. A full inspection is very thorough, and many contracts guarantee that their results are accurate; giving you recourse if an inspector missed something. While it might seem like you would notice common problems, it is essential to have a professional set of eyes examining for serious problems in advanced.
Inspections aren’t even that expensive in the scheme of things, the up-front cost of a few hundred dollars won’t seem like much if they discover serious problems that could have easily cost you thousands of dollars. It is always important to have a thorough investigation done by an independent inspector, so even if you are required to submit to an inspection for your loan, have someone give the house a second look.
Inspectors can also provide you with estimates of what repairs would cost, allowing you to factor these numbers into negotiations over the value of the home, as most home owners will eat the cost of serious repairs in order to close a sale. Just be sure to ask the inspector thorough questions and have them look over the entire home. By following these steps you can easily avoid running into major problems while in the process of buying a home.
Posted: June 16th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
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Home Buyers,
Real Estate Investment
Purchasing a home is a serious commitment, and going into the process it is important to look for items that add fundamental value to a home. By focusing on these features you will find a home with a more sustainable value, even in times of weak markets. There are any number of factors that one could include in a list, but some of the most important are the lot a home is on, the surrounding neighborhood, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garages, fireplaces, and just about any other amenities that are fixtures in the home. Floors and windows are also helpful, although they are easy to replace, new ones will retain their value for a long time.
When looking at a home, first examine the surrounding area. Location is always extremely important, if a block appears dirty, run down, unsafe, or otherwise deters buyers, you are starting at a disadvantage when showing the home to buyers. Buy in up and coming or already established neighborhoods, this will ensure the surroundings of the home enhance its value. The lot the home is on is also important, remember more land is almost always better, but make sure landscaping is kept up to date; otherwise the home will appear run down. A driveway and garage add substantial value, especially in areas where parking is scarce. Inside the home itself, fixtures are key, look for homes with more bedrooms, and especially more bathrooms, this number is fixed, and more is generally better. The kitchen is easily one of the most important rooms, so look for a large room, preferably with new counters, although these can be replaced to increase the value of a home, as well as up to date appliances. Finally extra features like fireplaces, hot tubs, pools, etc. provide a small benefit to the value of a home, but only if it is something the buyer thinks they will use. Be leery of paying too much extra for these features.
Of course every home is different, and every real estate market has its quirks, so you can’t be sure what people will be looking for in the future. Thankfully things like garages, bedrooms, and kitchens are always in demand, so when buying a home focus on these fundamental features to ensure both long and short-term retention of value.
Posted: June 16th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
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Home Buyers
When purchasing a foreclosed home, a lot of buyers expect the process to be simple and a guaranteed way to make money. Unfortunately, there are a lot more nuances to the value of a foreclosed home, and in many cases buying a foreclosure can come with endless headaches. So just what are the up and down sides to purchasing a foreclosure? It depends on what stage of foreclosure the house is in.
If the original owner is still living in the home and has missed payments, but is trying to sell as quickly as possible, there are numerous advantages. The reality of this type of purchase is that you are going to get the house below market value, perhaps substantially so. But there is a problem here, if the market value of the home has fallen below the purchase price, then the seller may not be able to make back what they purchased the home for, which means the sell price may need to be approved by the bank. Still, overall the advantages for this type of purchase are high, the seller will often cover your closing costs, you will be able to get inspections done, making it only slightly more complicated than a normal purchase with a significant price incentive. You will, unfortunately, still have to wait for the individual to move out. If the property is being short-sold, you will also have to deal with processing time for the bank to approve the sale, which is all the more difficult with the increased number of these homes on the market.
Buying foreclosed properties themselves is somewhat more complicated. Your purchase will have to be made in cash at the auction, which helps reduce the number of people interested in such properties, but which is a challenge for someone without access to the capital. Buying at auction or after comes with a number of other problems, homes are sold as-is and the price does not include repairs. The paperwork can be a major problem, and the bank won’t be able to give you any history of problems with the home. Of course, you are generally getting the home at as low a price as possible, but don’t expect the house to be so cheap as to be worth the trouble, only a small portion of foreclosures are worth taking the added risk.
Posted: May 16th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
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