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
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
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