I asked this question on my Facebook profile last week:
What FAQ’s do you think first time home buyers have?
Here are some of the questions that were asked:
Q: Is a pest inspection a good idea?
A: YES! Absolutely! Especially if there are any traces or evidence of pests or wood destroying insects. Bob Jackson of Jackson Pest Management charges a fee of $65 for a pest inspection. Have you ever seen what termites can do to a home?
GET A PEST INSPECTION! Money well spent.
Q: Should I have a home inspection?
A: ABSOLUTELY 100% YES YES YES!!! You and I can walk through a house and visually see things that are wrong with it. It’s easy to see that the garage door is broken or the window is missing or the shingles on the roof are curling up. How about all the things we can’t see?
How do we know that all the plumbing works or that the electric system is up to date with no defects? What may look like a simple crack in the wall to us may end up being a major foundation issue.
We highly recommend a home inspection for ALL of our Buyers. A good home inspector will find the things wrong that sometimes we can’t by simply looking at them. The inspector will get on the roof, up in the attic, down in the crawl space and will test the electricity, the plumbing, the dishwasher, and on and on.
I would say that the cost of a home inspection varies on the size and age of the home, but usually will run you $250-500, and the inspector usually asks for payment at the inspection.
Q: Why is location important when buying a home?
A: We have all heard the saying that the most important thing about real estate is: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!
A lot of people look for a home that is in a certain school district. I have a lot of clients that ONLY want Southwest Allen County Schools or Northwest Allen County Schools.
I have other clients that want to live in the country and have others that want to live in the city, but with at least an acre or two of land with the property.
Then I have 1 client that doesn’t care what part of Fort Wayne the home is in, as long as it has 6 bedrooms.
Location is important or many reasons. Are you close to work, to schools, to shopping, to what’s important to you? Are you in an area that is growing and the value may increase over the years or are you in an area that is going nowhere but down? Is there a golf course in your back yard or a cemetery? Is your home on top of a rolling hill or at the bottom of the hill and in a flood zone?
All of these things are important for resale down the road.
Q: What is a Home Owners Warranty and should I have one when I buy my home?
A home warranty is a warranty that covers many different items in the home. A few of them are the heating system, plumbing system, electrical system, hot water heater, roof leak repair, central air conditioning, heat pumps and attic fans… to name a few!
The cost for a home warranty is normally $350-450 with a $50-150 deductible per incident. Obviously the cost varies between the different warranties. A lot of the time when we make an offer on a home with our Buyer we will ask for the Seller to provide and pay for the home warranty.
We highly recommend for our Buyers to obtain a Home Warranty, especially if they are first time home buyers. A $100 deductible is a lot less than a new water heater. 
Well there it is, round 1 of FAQ’s. Soon we will be starting a weekly video blog of FAQ’s and whatever else we decide to talk about. Should be FUN!!!
If you would like to buy or sell a home in Fort Wayne Indiana or in the surrounding communities, please call us at 260-704-0842, email us at ChristiansenTeam@gmail.com, or you may want to visit our website for more specific information on the communities we service.
Relocating to Fort Wayne? Contact us to see how we can help!
Want to know a little more about us? Check out our Facebook fan page HERE or GOOGLE US!!
Fort Wayne Realtors Jared and Amanda Christiansen
The Christiansen Team
WE work, YOU win!!
Comments(2)