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Before You Buy A House – Top 10 Tips
1. Pre-qualify for a mortgage. Now you know how much house you can afford before you start looking. This will narrow your search and keep you "real" and not disappointed on houses you can’t afford.
2. Find a good neighborhood. Know the school...
Buying your first home: a guide
So, you're about to take that first step up the property ladder
and buy your first home. It's an exciting time - but probably a
little confusing, too. There's so much to think about, and when
you're a first-timer on the property scene, it can be...
Costa Rica Real Estate & Living - 124 Tips & Traps
New York City is not for everyone and neither is Costa Rica.
Over the last 46 years, I have lived in ten different countries, visited thirteen others and now consider Costa Rica as home. However after visiting you may feel different…
Some...
Good Faith Deposit – Real Estate Transactions
In a real estate transaction, a touchy issue is how much trust the seller has in a buyer. The existence of a good faith deposit helps put a seller at rest.
Good Faith Deposit
If you are selling your home, condominium or other real estate, you...
Why buying home is a good idea
The Best Investment As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region. Five percent may not seem like...
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The Best Time to Inspect - Part 2
Amazing as it may seem, homes inspected prior to going on the market have two very significant attributes:
1. They sell faster than homes not inspected until the buyer has made an offer.
2. They sell closer to the asking price than homes not inspected until the buyer has made an offer.
Why the heck does that happen?
When the buyer makes an offer, there is an assumption made by the buyer, reasonable or not, that there is nothing wrong with the home! If there was something wrong with the home that the seller knew about, but did not disclose, shame on them, it is about to cost them money. Most often, though, the items that come up on the inspection by the buyer were unknown to the seller. Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise! And we've already established that surprise is not good in real estate. So how is it that the inspection for the seller makes the buyer pay more for the home and do it in less time?
Let us create an example of a 20-year-old home that has a fair market value of $100,000, just to make the math easy. That value assumes that nothing is wrong with the home. When the buyer has the home inspected it is with the assumption that anything discovered to be wrong will be corrected by the seller or a price concession will be made.
Now, let's consider that the buyers inspection revealed the need for a new roof, several plumbing leaks, and the need for replacement of three exterior doors. When these discoveries are made by the buyer's inspection, the clock is running and running fast. These items need to be corrected before the sale can be completed. This time crunch puts the seller at a disadvantage when dealing with the contractors. When time
is critical, you have fewer choices and the costs go up. Additionally, the buyer often wants to have input on who does what work.
This situation is always tense and expensive. It can be avoided!
Let us now assume that the inspection result occurs, but it is for the seller as the home goes onto the market. The seller is now in control. Armed with a clear picture of what is wrong, the seller can choose to shop calmly for the best value in repair contractors, offer a credit at closing or adjust the sales price to reflect the diminished value. They can even make the necessary repairs, then increase the price of the home to reflect the increased value!
No matter the choices made, the seller, on the seller's time frame, makes them. This actually makes for a neater, simpler buying decision for the buyer. The buyer knows better what condition the home is in and knows what issues to base the initial offer on. The buyer will still in most cases get the home inspected, but this is a breeze. It is rare that any additional items of significance arise.
The pre-listing inspection puts deal killing at the lowest risk. Most often, it makes for an awesome deal-closing tool!
Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.
About the Author
Wally Conway is President of Florida HomePro Inspections, and has recently written a book entitled "Secrets of the Happy Home Inspector", available at GoHomePro.com. As a speaker, writer, and instructor, Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit WallyConway.com for more information!
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