Why
rent when you CAN buy? As a renter/tenant,
you're making your
landlord a nice little nest egg for his/her retirement by paying
his/her mortgage FOR him/her!
Much ado is being
made in the news today that the banks aren't lending
money and that no one is able to secure a mortgage. Once
again, not ONE of my clients has been turned down for a mortgage during
this
entire last year! Banks ARE
lending money and chances are
you can own
your own home for the same amount that you're paying in rent.
With interest rates at historical lows right now, it's a great
time to secure that mortgage and purchase your OWN home!
*This is the second in a series
of articles to get you started on your way to taking pride in
homeownership.
5
Questions to Ask about Your Potential New Home:
1. How long
has this home been on the market? You want to
have a feel for the length of time that a particular property has been
on the market AS WELL AS competing homes and recent
sales in that particular neighborhood. For example, if the
home that you love is priced at $250K and has been on the market for 6
months and other homes have sold in the $220K price range, and
in 2-3 months, this will put up the preverbial 'red flag' that this
home is over priced.
2. How
motivated is the Seller? Oftentimes
a tell-tell sign of a motivated Seller is a vacant home--they've found
another love and moved on or they're short-selling or in foreclosure
and have moved on. Vacant or not, understanding the Seller's
motivation is a powerful negotiating tool that you'll want to be
equiped with upon the initiation of the negotiating process.
3. Have there been or are there
currently any Offers on the table? Knowing
this 'small tidbit' of information is very important--more so in a
booming market but, as recently as last week, I was in a bidding war on
a property! The knowledge of another Offer currently on the
table can help you decide whether or not you DO want to participate in
a bidding war--you may not want to because buyers generally wind up
paying more than if theirs was the only
Offer on the table.
4. Has the Seller reduced the
price? This
information can be helpful in assessing whether or not the Seller is
willing to negotiate--if they've ridden out the market for the last
year with the same price, chances are they're not going to negotiate
with you. Either they're unreasonable, ill-informed about the
market or simply cannot go any lower without having to come to the
Closing table with money instead of walking from Closing WITH money in
hand. If they've consistently lowered the price, you're generally
working with a Seller who understands the market and is willing to
negotiate.
5. What personal items remain with
the property? In the state of North
Carolina, personal property can hold no value on a Closing
Statement--meaning that if you include the the armoir and TV in the den
on the Contract Offer, the monetary value will not be reflected in the
price of the home. An appraiser is not going to be able to
calculate the value of personal items when performing the appraisal.
Charlotte NC First Time Homebuyer Handbook,
Part I
Calculate
whether buying IS the best financial option for you by
utilizing this “
Buy vs. Rent” calculator.
Should you
be ready to buy before the series is complete, please don't hesitate to
phone or email me for the remainder of the information to get you well
on your way to homeownership!
Don't know what your credit
score is? Read this.
About
the author:
Debe
Maxwell is a
Charlotte
Residential Real Estate Broker, Certified Neighborhood
& Relocation Specialist, ABR & e-PRO who can assist you
with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in the
Charlotte NC Metro Area.
If you're relocating to or from any other area of the
country, Debe connects you with any member of her team of relocation
professionals in your destination or exit city of choice. The
destination service is of no cost to you!
The
Maxwell House Group's quality service guarantee puts this
team far ahead of the competition; providing unsurpassed customer
service is their #1 priority! Debe Maxwell -- Helen Adams
Realty -- 704.491.3310
Copyright© 2009
By Debe Maxwell, All Rights Reserved...**First Time Homebuyer Handbook,
Part II: 5 Questions to Ask about Your Potential Home**
Disclaimer:
All information provided by this author is strictly an
opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from
several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of
researching this article and may be time sensitive.
*
Central A/C
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