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Home Buying Tips

Home Loans and Mortgages:

It is a good idea, before selecting a home that you like, to be sure about the kind of home that you can afford. The price of the house isnt the only thing you will need to spend on there are several other factors, such a loans, mortgages, surveys, interest rates and so on. Before you decide what kind of home you want, it is advisable to get a professional opinion on what kind of home you can want! While this may be a bit of a damper on your initial enthusiasm, believe us when we say it will save you a great deal of heartache and unnecessary worry later on, when theres a lot less to think about.

Steps to owning a custom home

Youve decided you want a home thats exclusively yours. A home thats quite unlike any other in the neighborhood. A home that caters to your unique needs, desires and aspirations. Good for you! A custom home is like a beautiful jewel that is crafted and embellished just for youa home that bears your signature and identity.

Building a custom home from scratch is an exciting and tiring task. It involves making some really big decisions right from selecting the lot to selecting the colors of the floor tiles. Some decisions may be up your alley, for others you better leave it to the professionals. A custom home requires endless hours of painstaking research and meticulous planning.

Here are the steps you must take before you walk into the custom home of your dreams.

Selecting the land:

First, select the neighborhood where you want to buy the land. Find out if it has easy access to schools, colleges, hospitals, entertainment zones and other key areas. To select a lot of land that would house your dream custom home, keep in mind the following points. Sometimes, you may just fall in love with a lot. At other times, you may find a lot conveniently located (closer to your workplace or to your favorite fishing spot) and hence, choose to build your dream custom home there.

While buying a lot, research the civic guidelines and environment considerations in the area, especially if youre buying a waterfront lot or a plot close to nature. It is better to buy a lot through a builder or a realtor, as he would have adequate background knowledge of the area.

Identify the professionals.

Even though it may be your vision and your ideas that are translated into a custom home, you still need professionals to help you through the nitty-grittys of the home building process. You would need an architect or building designer who can formulate your ideas into a floor plan and then a built-up structure.

The other more viable alternative is to go in for a professional builder, who would provide you with one-stop services, ranging from site selection, approvals, floorplans to construction and finishing. You just tell them what you want, and they would build it for you. But take care while choosing a builder. Check-out his credentials, previous work experience and verify his ability to conceptualize, design and construct a custom home. Also discuss your financial considerations in detail with the builder.

During the construction process

You may wonder what your responsibilities are, once the floor plans are approved and the construction begins. Well, your work during this stage includes monitoring the process, giving valuable inputs to the builder and ensuring that the construction goes on smoothly without any hitch.

You will be asked to select products like the floor tiles, the color of the kitchen cabinets, the colors of the walls, the door designs etc. Be sure to select on schedule to prevent unnecessary delay in delivery
Visit the site regularly and put forth your queries and suggestions to the builder. After all, you probably will build a custom home only once in a lifetime.
Watch the budget. Make sure the construction goes on within the pre-ordained budget. You dont want to pay a mint more, do you?
Monitor the release of your home loan amount during each stage of the construction process, to ensure that the builder has kept his promises
Be flexible. A home construction is a complex process and involves several hands. A few things may not go as you have expected. Just shrug them if you can. After all, its the big picture that counts, isnt it?

Follow these steps, and youll move into your new custom home in no time, at all. Apart from the luxury of an exclusive home, you will enjoy the satisfaction of building a home from scratch, just the way you wanted it.

Things to consider when buying a new home

A home is probably one of the biggest investments youll ever make in this lifetime. A home is also a place where you and your family will spend most part of their lives. So, the big decision to buy a new home is not one to be taken on impulse. You should zero in on your dream home after carefully identifying what you want your new home to be. Thorough research of the real estate market in the area in which you are going to buy your new home also helps a great deal.

Money matters come first:

First and foremost, decide on the budget. Everybody would love to live in a palace or a plush, upscale villaonly a few can afford it. But that doesnt mean you cannot find yourself a nice, cozy corner of your own in this planet. Plan on your budget to see what kind of a home you can buy. How much can you pay upfront? You should be able to pay 20% of the home purchase amount or you should opt for Private Mortgage Insurance, which again would increase your mortgage amount. While deciding on the budget, always keep a back-up for any unexpected expenses that might crop up during the final stages of the home buying process.

Choosing the right kind of a home:

Once you have money matters under control, consider what this new home would mean to you. Is it going to be a place where you plan to raise kids? Then, you might want to consider a single family home with several bedrooms and a pool. Are you single and looking to live near your workplace? A luxury condo in the middle of the city would suit you just fine. Are you thinking of earning an additional income through rent? Then, go in for a duplex or a triplex home, where you can stay in one floor and rent out the others.

Are you thinking of retiring to a warm, sunny place? You can choose from the several active adult communities in places like Dallas, TX. These communities offer safety, convenience and above all the support and company of people with similar interests. Or are you buying a second homeas an investment or as a winter home? From beachfront homes to golf course homes to nature trails and RV homesthe options are limitless. Choose a home where your whole family has something to enjoy, like a waterfront home, where you can fish, your children can swim and collect shells and your wife can sunbathe for hours. Also, you can rent out such homes when you dont occupy them.

Zero in on a good location:

Location is key to deciding on a new home. If you have young children, find out if there are good schools and playgrounds in the area? Are you retiring to better climes? First, go for a small vacation to see if the weather suits you. Find out about the medical facilities in the area. Is the new home close to your workplace? If it is a winter home, then, find out if it is close enough to the beach or to the fishing hotspots. Is it located in a very noisy localityyou dont want to scream during conversations, do you? Are you too secluded to get help in case of any emergency? Consider all these factors before you decide on a new home.

The builders credentials:

The builders credentials and his reliability factor matters a whole lot while deciding on a new home. Check-out his previous projects and meet up with his former clients to understand his outlook towards the construction process and post-possession maintenance issues.

Buy it if you love it:

The most important criteria in deciding on a new home is that you and your family must fall in love with ityou should feel absolutely comfortable and be completely at peace in your new home.

Consider these points while buying a new home. And of course, dont forget to research through the internet about the location, the builders and the entire home buying process!

How to purchase your dream house without a glitch - Questions and Tips.

Buying or selling a house can be a life changing decision. We are here to simplify the process by providing you with pointers that will help in your ability to make a successful decision. We will answer questions about home inspection, negotiating prices, qualifications of the builder or estate agent and also go over the steps that are necessary in finding your perfect home and closing the deal.

1. The process of buying a house.

Costs involved
Applying for a loan
Finding a realtor
Getting the disclosure
Home inspection
Signing the contract

2. What to expect from a home inspection
3. Questions you must ask your real estate agent.
4. Questions you must ask your builder.

1. Buying a House:

The following simple steps will help you to find and purchase the house you desire. They will take you through the process of applying for a loan, finding a real estate agent, making an offer etc.

1. Afford your house

Generally it can be seen that you can afford a house that is three times your annual income: if your income is $50,000 you can afford a $150,000 house and so on.

You will have to make a cash down payment of 3-20% of the purchase price. The bigger your down payment the lower your interest rate and consequently lower your monthly payments which will enable you to pay off your loan faster.

You are also expected to pay 1-8% of the purchase price as a closing cost. You can add this amount to your mortgage if you need the cash.

Lastly but most importantly is the miscellaneous costs you will have to endure which include everything from the application fee for the loan, the fee for the appraisal, for the credit report etc.

2. Applying for a loan

Applying for a loan

You can get apply for a loan from the loan officer at your bank, an online lender, an online mortgage broker or a local mortgage broker.

You will have to fill out an application with details about your financial status and employment history.

You may have to submit documents like your income tax returns or a pay slip.

They will also run a credit check on you (for a small fee).

Consider the interest rate you’ll be paying on the loan in addition to the amount of money the lender is willing to give you.

Consider more than one offer as the rates and amounts vary from lender to lender.

The interest rate may be a fixed-rate mortgage where the interest rate stays constant over the life of the mortgage of if the rate is low it could be an adjustable-rate mortgage wherein the rate changes over the life of the mortgage.

If you have qualified for the loan the lender will give you a Pre-Qual letter stating it.

3. Hire a realtor

The realtor is paid 3% of the purchase price of the house by the seller.

He has a database of all the houses for sale listed by other realtors which makes it easy to find your house.

He can give you a professional opinion of how much the house is worth. (This may not always work because the higher the purchase price the higher is the agents commission.)

The realtor will not tell you about houses that are ‘For sale by Owner’ (FSBO) unless he is getting a commission and sometimes even then he may not because he may not want to take the trouble to find out.

4. Getting the Sellers disclosure report

This is a detailed list of all the problems and defects that the house has in the area of structure that the Seller is aware of.

The disclosure must also list any lead paint or other lead items that he is aware of in lieu of lead hazards in building materials.

if you find a problem with the house once you move in you cannot prove that the seller was aware of it and intentionally kept it hidden so hire a professional to inspect the house.

5. Making an offer

Only if there is a good chance that you want to buy the house must you make an offer.

The realtor can guide you on how much to quote.

Don’t forget to consider how much loan you are going to get.

Take into consideration how much the house is actually worth.

Most importantly keep in mind how much you want the house.

6. The contract

A purchase offer is followed through by signing a contract and paying earnest money.

Earnest money may be a sum of 500$ or 1000$ to show your interest in the house.

If the Seller accepts your offer you can go ahead and get the house inspected and appraised.

The Seller will also have to take the house off the market.

If you pay an option fee directly to the seller you can walk away from the contract on detection that the condition of the house is very bad within 2 weeks.

After the option period you will lose your earnest money.

If you do choose to buy the house your option fee will be added to the purchase amount.

Your contract must allow you to walk away in the event that serious damages are found or ensure that the Seller will repair the damages.

7. Inspection

After signing the contract and paying the earnest money you can hire a professional to inspect the condition of the house and appraise it thereafter.

You can also do a termite inspection.

If significant damage is found you can walk away if you’ve paid the option fee or ask the Seller to lower the price and help with the repairs.

8. Negotiate final terms with the lender

The lender sends an appraiser to find out how much the house is worth and if it is priced right.

The lender also sends a surveyor to survey the property. This will be a part of your closing costs.

Select an agent to handle your homeowners insurance. The lender will add this amount to your monthly mortgage payment.

9. Closing

This is when the Seller signs all the papers and money is exchanged.

You will have to carry a bank cheque for the down payment and if you’re closing amount was not added to your mortgage you must carry a cheque for that as well.

2. Negotiating the Price

Complete the offer to purchase form with the amount you want based on the loan amount you can get. This offer cannot be changed unless the seller has not yet signed it.
The purchase offer is presented to the seller by your agent.
The assessed value of the house (by the local governments for tax purpose) will give you an idea of the market value.
Consider the cost of necessary repairs.
A seller whose house has been on the market for a long time will consider accepting a lower price.
If you are not satisfied with the results of a professional inspection of the house you may revise your purchase offer.
Never submit an offer to buy a house after seeing it only once, return for another visit preferably after it has rained or snowed to give you more grounds to negotiate.

3. Important Questions to a Real Estate Agent

How many buyers have you had in the last 6 months?
What is your commission? Do you have hourly rates?
Do you have a list of home inspectors, insurance agents and reputable lenders for me to consider?
Will we have a written contract of your fees?
How will you help me to save money and protect me as a buyer?
What is your marketing plan or strategy to fulfill my needs?
Will I be competing against other buyers?
Can I see some of your references?
Will you be giving me copies of the purchasing agreement, disclosure etc?
What kind of guarantee do you offer?
What is your average time to go from listed to sold?
How many buyers and sellers are you currently working with?

4. Important Questions to a Builder

What is your contractor license number?
Where can I see samples of your work?
What other jobs have you got at the moment?
Who will supervise the work?
Do you have proper insurance?
How much deposit do you need?
Do you have a financing plan established?
Are there options in the floor plan to add or remove a room?
How much customizing can be done?
Are there any additional fees?
What sort of contract will be used?
When are progress payments to be made?
Do you have a warranty program?
Does the price include landscaping?
What are the estimated taxes on the property?
Are grocery stores and schools and hospitals convenient and satisfactory?
Are facilities like police, fire etc close?
Are there any major development plans in this area over the next few years?
When can you start the work and how long will you take?
What happens if the work is defective?
Who cleans the site?

On the whole you must be aware of your rights and the options available to you which purchasing or selling property or a house. Know that it is a criminal offence for an estate agent to give you misleading information about the features of a house. Shop around for the best deals for a mortgage yourself as the agent is eventually working for the Seller who pays his commission. Be sure you understand all the clauses of your contract before you sign it, take legal assistance if need be. Ensure that there is an option either to walk away in the event that the house is found to be in bad shape after an inspection or have the Seller repair the damages or lower the price of the property. Do not be influenced by what the Seller or the agent is saying as they are looking out for their own profit. Buy the house on your terms so that you are happy with your purchase.