Tips and to dos before you buy a newly constructed house

Buying a newly constructed house or pre-construction house is really exciting and enticing that most of the people are willing to just jump into signing the contract right away. Doing this will mostly lead to disappointments, unexpected and unanticipated costs, worst may lead to termination of the agreement and legal issues. So if you are a buyer looking to buy a newly constructed house or pre-construction house, do yourself favor and read the following tips and to dos before you sign the agreement for you dream house.

 

Get a Real Estate Agent

– hire a Real Estate professional who has experience in new construction properties and has no ties to the builder/seller. You need this person to represent you and your best interest as buyer throughout the transaction. This agent will help you draft the best offer you can give the builder/seller; legal confidante and helps you understand the clauses, fine prints and everything on the contract to ensure that all your rights as buyer are well taken care of.

 

 

Research

 

– About the builder, the surrounding area and neighborhood. Research on testimonials, feedback online about the builder/seller, at least you have a pretty good idea on how they take care of their customers, bear in mind that you will get feedback from customers, so it will be a mix of satisfied and unsatisfied customers. For you to be able to use them wisely, any concerns or not so good feedback, make sure cover it on your purchase agreement. About the surrounding area and neighborhood, you may want to know any planned development on the surrounding area, any traffic planning, development of neighborhood parcel, new establishments, etc.

Everything should be in writing

– make sure that everything you have talked about and agreed upon are in writing. Don’t sign the contract immediately, make sure you read all the fine prints, clauses, ask for your agent’s help in making sure that all the agreements, concessions, contingencies, dates, timelines are clearly stated on the contract to ensure that you will not have any issues throughout and after the sales transaction. It is better to be sure than sorry.

 

Know what is included and what isn’t

 

– Most of the finished homes or model houses looks picture perfect and it definitely adds to the excitement of the buyer quickly jump into the deal. Just always have in mind that what you see there doesn’t mean that’s what you are going to get when you get the deal since model houses are a mix of standard materials and fixtures as well as upgrades and add-ons so don’t get too excited to sign the deal and be disappointed later on. Ask the builder what are the things included on the deal, the standard inclusions as well as the upgrades and add-ons so if you really want your home to be just like that, and you will not be surprise of the additional costs.

Also for home warranty, make sure you have a very clear agreement and understanding on what is covered and what isn’t, time of coverage and who to contact once you need assistance on the warranty. It is better to know and be fully aware of all these now for your own protection.

 

Get a Home Inspection

– Not because it is a newly constructed house, means it doesn’t need a home inspection. Remember you and your family will be living inside this house so you need to have the peace of mind that everything will be safe for you and your family not just now but in the long run. Hire a professional who will be able to inspect the house, the quality of materials used as well as check for potential future issues, at least as early as now, you may need to request for repairs if need be.

Doing the list above just saved you a lot of future headaches and money. Just like in everything else in life, don’t be overly excited to do things that you overlook the details, make sure that you think about it, plan head and always make sure that it is worth your time and effort. It is not just another investment, or project it is your home that we are talking about so you may want to get your hard earned money’s worth. I believe you are now equipped and ready to get into the deal for your new home! 🙂

Tips before buying a historic home

House hunting? Do you love vintage designs? Do you love history and looking and considering of buying a historic home or a house within a historic area? I really can’t blame you; historic houses have this beauty and charm added to it. Plus the historical value and significance of it, feels like it is really a great investment but wait you may want to check and go through the following tips before sealing the deal so you fully know and understand what you’re getting yourself into.

First let’s define historic home, here’s what Wikipedia says.

“A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as “historic.” Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be in recognizably the same form as when it became historic. Third is a requirement that either an event of historical importance happened at the site, or that a person of historical significance was associated with the site, or that the building itself is important for its architecture or interior.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_house

Here are several things you may want to know and make sure you understand before buying a historic home.

Know what you can and can’t do to the house

–  Historic homes have strict home rehabilitation guidelines that its homeowners should follow. Carefully study and have a full understanding of these guidelines imposed by local/state laws on owners of historic structures. You may have remodeling/expansion plans that you will not be able to fulfill. You may repair things but not rebuild or replace. You need to know what you can and cannot do on the house you re eyeing to buy. Unlike any regular house, you can’t just change the house, the interior design, paint or what not, remember since it is a historic home, your goal is to preserve it.

Hire a professional home inspector

 

– Since these are old houses that we are talking about, we definitely need to have a professional home inspector who specializes on old structures to thoroughly check on it. Make sure that there are no serious structural problems, as well as the house meets safety and health standards like mold, asbestos, lead paint tests. You are investing in this property so more that the historic and aesthetic value of it, you have to make sure it is safe of your family to live in it.

Ask local contractors for an estimate of how much it will cost you in repairs and restorations

– Get price estimates from contractors regarding all necessary repair work. If ever you need to replace something based on the guidelines it has to be the same construction material that you will use, hence this may be an additional expense you need to anticipate. You may also need to secure a special permit in renovating the place since the government and other historical organizations are making sure that we preserve the home’s true nature and original construction.

So once you are done with list above, your expectations are clear. You are ready to decide whether you will buy a historic home or not. Happy Hunting!

 

 

Listing Photos Matter

Photos have very essential role in marketing and advertising products or services. It is a means of targeting the people’s interest in getting to know more about your product, making them curious about it, getting your fancy to buy it. It is your visual weapon in making the market feel your product or services exist. But not using its full potential can also do your business more harm than good. It can be a double edge sword if your photos do not reflect the kind of product you want your market to see, so be careful and make sure that you use photos to your advantage.

We live in an era of digital world, everything is fast paced and digital even selling and marketing products, this include house in the real estate industry. Unlike before if you want to do house hunting, potential buyers would really invest time in dropping by and personally checking out the property but due to time constraints, most of the buyers now would go house hunting online and would just give efforts in checking the property further once it is in their short list or already got their interest and their fancy.

How do we capture their fancy… through your Listing Photos!

By having great photos of the property, you are making your online presence in digital marketing. Potential buyers will be able to see the property, highlight the best part of the house, and even see detailed designs and the condition of each part of the house without exerting much time and effort in the early stage of house hunting.

Great photos will give you competitive edge on the property you are selling; it will attract and get the interest of more potential buyers. Getting the buyers’ interest in checking out the property is something that your photos can do, once they check on the photos, buyers would know if they would want to know more about the property or not. Furthermore it will create traffic to your websites, or hype on your advertised property whether they are potential buyers or not, it help on your marketing strategy.

Here’s one story of how listing photos affected the period of time the property was on the market.

The property was on the market for eight months and when a real estate photographer Harry Lim re-photographed the property it was sold in eight days. Same house, same rooms and furniture but notice the difference on the photos.  Check this link and be amazed on how the photos made the difference: https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelwmiller/these-photos-show-just-how-much-real-estate-photography-matt?utm_term=.hrOk76elN#

See how it made the difference; imagine being in the market for several months and being sold in just couple of days is one of the major effects of photos on marketing this property. So let’s make sure that we are on top of our game in using photos as our main marketing weapon, use the best photos of the house, proper lighting, good angle, great gears, get professional help if you must since it is really a good investment in showing the world the best photographs of your property.

 

Enjoy the benefits of home warranty

A home warranty is a contract that covers costly home repairs and replacements due to normal wear and tear usually for a period of one year. The price and its coverage widely vary so homeowners should make sure that they choose the home warranty that fits their needs.

Home warranties cover your basic home system and appliances, repairs and replacements of these systems/appliances are covered given that they are working properly when you get into the contract and also given that the reason for the breakdown is wear and tear.

Home warranty companies give a variety of Home warranty plans, prices and even add-on options so it is best that you truly understands the coverage and all the clauses in the contract so you will be able to get your money’s worth and maximize the benefits of home warranty.

 

Here’s a list of some benefits of home warranty.

Peace of mind

– You can relax, be stress free and just gain peace of mind knowing that once the unexpected happens like break down of your systems or appliance, you got it covered. It is like an investment that you made to ensure that your home will have a well-functioning system and appliance every time.

For example, your air conditioning just suddenly stop and needs replacement, your home warranty vendor company will be happy to replace it for you as long as it is part of the coverage plan of your home warranty. Just call them and they will be the ones to ensure that you will have a new functioning air conditioning on your home in no time. Isn’t that amazing?

 

Save Save Save!

– Time, Energy and Money.

Save time and energy, in case you need repairs or replacements, no need to search for companies who will do it for you. Just call your home warranty company and they will fix or replace it in no time as long as it is covered in your contract.

Money – instead of you shelling out a huge amount of money on repairs, worse on replacements. you will not even need to give a dime, your appliance or home system will be fix or repairs with no cost so long as it is part of the coverage plan. No unexpected repair or replacements cost, no hassle on your budget. 🙂

 

Attracts more buyers

– If you’re selling your home, it attracts more buyers since they will be able to have  peace of mind if something bad went wrong on the home system or any appliance, there is no need to worry since it it covered of the warranty contract. It adds value to the home you are selling.

Avoid Delays in selling your home

– selling your home turnaround time varies, sometimes it’s fast but there are times that it is slow too. That is just for the listing time, you also need to consider the time the selling process itself, 15, 30 45 days, depends. But let’s say that during that period something went wrong… something broke down and it will definitely cause delay and hassles in the entire transaction but if you have home warranty, it will be just a call away from your vendor company and they will take care of the situation in no time so long as it is covered in your contract.

I have written down “…as long as it is covered in your contract.” several times already, that is because it want to reiterate its importance. Make sure that you know and understand the contract, what is covered, what is not. It will save all the parties involved a lot of hassle and you will be able to maximize the very reason why you get the home warranty, to gain peace of mind and save time, energy and money once that unexpected happens.

Let’s learn more about loan pre-approval

First let’s check the meaning of it. Based on Wikipedia this is the meaning of PRE-APPROVAL-

 

 “People interested in buying a house can often approach a lender, who will check their credit history and verify their income, and then can provide assurances they would be able to get a loan up to a certain amount. This pre approval can then help a buyer find a home that is within their loan amount range. Buyers can ask for a letter of pre-approval from the lender, and when shopping for a home can have possibly an advantage over others because they can show the seller that they are more likely to be able to buy the house. Often real estate agents prefer to work with a buyer who has a pre-approval as it demonstrates that they are well-qualified to receive financing and are serious about buying a home. A pre-approval is based on the documentation the borrower supplies at the time of application, and any actual eligibility to receive the pre-approved loan depends on the terms and conditions of the pre-approval and ability to secure the loan before the pre-approval expires. ” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-approval

Remember in the Real Estate world, when you are buying a property you have different financing terms to use, cash or loan. Most of the time people tend to use the latter in financing their dream to buy their new home. Hence Pre-Approval is very important in the Real Estate process. It is the way you can convince the seller of the property that you are capable of providing the financial aspect of the sale. That is how we see it on the borrower’s side.

 

On the lender side, here’s how it goes. Prior to helping anyone with buying their dream house, they need to do several things, checking the information of the borrower, their financial history, credit report and score and other financial information to check if they will qualify and pass their guidelines in providing grant to their loan request. This is to ensure that the person has the ability to pay them back, there are even times that borrowers may need a co-maker or even a co-lateral just to be approved for the loan for the lender’s assurance that they will be able to get their money back plus the interest and other fees, after all it is the nature of their business.

Once you have a pre-approval letter from your lender, you already have a pretty good idea of how much you can get to finance your house hunt; this can help in filtering the number of houses as your options. You already have a price range of the house that you are looking for. Also some sellers may ask for a copy of pre-approval letter together with your offer so that they are secured that you are a serious buyer and has the means to get to the closing of the transaction.

Remember, especially in a transaction with multiple offers, you have to make sure that your offer stands out and having a pre-approval letter is plus for you.

That’s why my tip for you if you are looking into buying a property, before getting your mind so much into house hunting, secure a pre-approval first. Trust me it will save you, time and energy even heartache, ha-ha! Happy House Hunting!

Home-buying process

Buying a new home? I understand that this event is really exciting and can make you very impulsive when it comes to decisions and all. But we don’t want to ruin your life’s milestone just because of a single mistake of being unaware of the process. So here is the home buying process you might want to check on first before getting your new house.

Buyer searches for a property through various portals
-First of course you will look for houses, designs, sizes, location, neighborhood, prices. You can check different portals in looking for your new home. It’s like doing a window shopping; take your time in checking different houses, the more options you have the better. Then get into a shortlist of the houses that you liked best, from that list you will move to the next step of filtering which is the best for you until you came up with your best choice.
Buyer gets a loan pre-approval or obtains proof of funds

-Now that you already know which house to buy, get a loan approval if you are going to use mortgage or just obtain proof of funds for Cash payment. This will be needed in the process of buying your new home so secure these documents from your financial institution.
Buyer gets a buyer’s agent to represent them and assist in offers

– Now you need to get an agent who will represent you throughout the whole process. This person will not only help you with all the leg work but will also provide you legal advice, walk you through laws and legal documents that are necessary in the process, and help you draft your offer on the house that you want to buy. Also part of his responsibility is to make sure that your rights as a home buyer are secured and the standard processes and procedures are followed.

 
Respective agents will exchange offers and /or counter offers
– After much Marketing effort, we expect buyer’s offers to come in. There could be just one or multiple buyer’s offer for a property. It is the seller’s agent duty to gather them and submit it to the seller for review and approval. We can technically call this the negotiation phase, wherein the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent are in communication and discussion through offers and counteroffers. The price, conditions, requests, timelines are discussed until the buyer and seller come into an agreement.

Purchase agreement is signed Escrow phase begins

– Once the contract has been signed by the seller and all parties involved in the transaction, it is called the contract ratification. Escrow Phase begins. This is the process in which documents are being kept by a third party administrator and is held until the closing of the transaction. The turnaround time for this phase depends on how the buyer will pay for the property.
The mode of payment that you will use will determine the turnaround time you will have in the escrow phase.
Cash – 15 days
Loan – 30 days
Renovation Loan – 45 days
Escrow closes once a new deed is recorded in the buyer’s name
– This is the end of the sale process. There are a lot of events before we can finally close the transaction. Exchange of keys, all financial terms and obligations are settled- to the seller, the agents
(buyer’s and seller’s), the Escrow Company, and all the other vendors and the deed or the title is now under the name of the new owner.

On your way to your new home

Buying your first home is one of the major milestones in one’s life; it can be very exciting at the same time it can be bit scary too. Just like any another first time, it is memorable and we have to make sure that it will be one of the best moments in your life.
Finally deciding to buy your first house is not something that you can just think of out of the blue. This decision needs planning and a lot of thinking, there is no turning back once you get into it so you have to make you that you are 101% ready and prepared.

Here are some things that may help in your preparation for your new home
Am I financially ready for it?

In buying your first house, it is not just the purchase price of the house that you need to pay off, there are a lot of other fees and charges that will arise throughout the transaction, better make sure you are ready for it.
Also save and prepare the Earnest Money Deposit and save for the down payment.
– Do you have enough cash for it, if not? How will you plan to pay the house, mortgage? are your credit ratings and debt-to-income numbers good. Once you get your mortgage approved, how much will it take on your monthly payable?
– Will you be the only one paying for it? Or you have a partner or spouse who will help?
– You may need to consider the utility bills that will come with your new house – electric, water, gas, cable and maintenance. All these will also go to your monthly payable.

Am I physically and emotionally ready?

– Having your own home will definitely change a lot in your life. You are on your own now; you set the house rules now at the same time you are responsible with everything that you need to do in the house. All the household chores, cleaning, designing, security and maintenance. And are you ready to wake up without the breakfast prepared by mommy or the car wash bonding time with daddy?

What are your plans?

– Do you want to live on the place or just buy it for investment?
– Do you see yourself living in that house in the next 5 to 10 years?
– Do you plan to have an additional member of the family in the next 2 years?

What do you want?

– Are you looking for a particular style of house or anything that catches your fancy during tours?
– Any preferred number of rooms/ baths?
– What type of neighborhood do you want?
– Do you want your place near a school, mall, church, etc.?

What do you know about the it?

– Do you know anything about the process of buying a house, or anything about the property itself? Don’t worry; all you need is good buyer’s agent who will help you throughout the process. Tell your agent what you are looking for, what are your plans, and your financial capacity. Your agent will be your guide from looking for your first house, drafting your offer, all the legal advice and leg work until the time that you already have the key to your new home.

Take time to think and answer all these questions. Just like in any action in our lives, those that are well planned, invested with time and effort will turn out to be the one of the best decisions and life changing moments in our lives.