The Collaborative Knowledge Article and Video Project about Buying and Selling a Home. With your writings, edits and uploads we can help people successfully complete what is probably the largest transaction in their lives, and avoid making costly mistakes. Both agents and consumers, we need your help to build this free resource.
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Buyers Guide
Here are seven simple reasons why this is the best time to buy a new home in several decades.
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Real estate is full of specific terms that are not used in any other field or aspect of life. When looking at real estate ads or speaking with a real estate agent, we often hear these terms and don’t know what they mean. This is a helpful glossary of some common real estate terms to help you better understand.
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Escrow is not a word most people see and use every day. It's a rather complicated term, because it can be used to mean several different things.
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A qualified mortgage consultant can help you boost your credit scores.
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Many people have the misconception that they can purchase a home with no money.
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Strategizing to purchase a home is based on facts- the real estate market, the seller’s needs, and the property at hand- rather than your own personal style of negotiating.
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Finding Home Listings
Not too long ago, the only way to find homes for sale was through real estate agents and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
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A warranty is a kind of insurance in case there are flaws in your home after it is sold. When it comes to buying homes, you get what you pay for.
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How to Buy Your First Home…the Easy Way!
Avoid the 10 Most Common, Painful, Frustrating
Mistakes First Time Home Buyers Make
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Explanation of Buyer’s Expenses
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Closing normally follows a reasonably well-outlined path from the time you sign your purchase agreement to the time the transaction is finally closed. Here are the typical steps along that path:
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On the day that you close a real estate transaction, you will have to pay for a number of services provided by various companies and people during escrow. This payment is called closing or settlement costs. It is useful to know some facts about closing costs before you go to close your transaction.
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Finding your Maximum House Price
When deciding to buy a home, your first mission should be to consult a lender and find out the maximum loan you can get. This loan will establish the ceiling on real estate prices for the buyer. There are plenty of calculators that can help figure this out.
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Do you enjoy maintaining your home, as well as paying the mortgage and property taxes?
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In buying a house, it is good to know your borrowing power, in other words, how expensive of a house you can afford.
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The “American Dream” is to own a new home, and in all honesty, your wife wants to be in a new home, which means you need to move into a new home.
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With the recent incident of the stock market going down, the realty market in most places has become a buyer’s market, not a seller’s market.
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So you have found out how much you can afford and how much you will have to pay back. Now it is time to find out where to spend your loan.
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It can be hard to remain objective when investing in such a large purchase, such as a home.
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The perfect home, the one that you imagine in your mind, is a great image. However, it is an image that is not all that simple to create.
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Have you ever heard the expression, “Don’t do your grocery shopping while you are hungry?”
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What is around your future home? Are there restaurants you like? Are there playgrounds nearby to take your kids?
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No matter how much foresight you have, there is almost always a moment, after you have moved into your new house, where you realize something you had never noticed before. It might be a plug that does not work or it might be that you need to replace the pipes in the guest bathroom because for some reason, no matter what you try, the sink still fills up with water.
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The conflict of whether to stay and fix up your home, or sell and move is whether you are comfortable with where you are or want to deal with the hassles of selling and buying.
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Ads and commercials make it sound easy to buy foreclosures and fixer-uppers.
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The true moment of closing is when you become the final, legal owner of your new home. How the closing is handled depends on the region you live in and local customs. It may sound simple to simply pass the deed from seller to buyer, but the process is much more complicated in reality.
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When the time comes to close, you will be given a stack of paperwork which shows the line by line of every fee you encounter during your real estate purchase. Remember, these costs are in addition to your minus escrow money and down payment. And be forewarned, these costs will ad up to 3 to 5% of your total purchase.
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It may seem as though you cannot buy a home after you have gone bankrupt, but this is not true. You can buy a home. In fact it may be to your best interest to buy a home because those who have experienced bankruptcy are actually encouraged to build credit by taking on debt.
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• Types of ownership, not types of dwelling
• Plusses and Negatives to condominium/PUD ownership
• Ownership rights spelled out in CC and Rs
• CC and Rs should be studied prior to purchase
• Consult an attorney for any questions regarding CC and Rs
• Extreme difficult to affect any change to CC and Rs
• Homeowner’s assessments cover common costs and reserves
• Failure to pay could result in late fees, or even foreclosure
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• Closing costs cover a number of fees involved in the transaction
• An estimate will be provided when you submit your loan application
• Should be paid with a cashier’s check
• Nearly all lenders require title insurance
• Title insurance protects your ownership of real property
• The lender and owner will each receive title insurance
• Rules for paying Title Costs vary from county to county
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• The Escrow holder is a neutral party in the transaction who insures the sale takes place in a fair manner agreeable to both sides
• Meant to certify conditions of sale have been met before money is exchanged
• The Escrow holder follows instructions of parties in transaction
• Closing can proceed once all conditions have been met
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• The form of ownership determines later rights
• Most common ways:
• Sole Ownership
• Co-Ownership
• As a corporation
• As a partnership
• Trustees to a trust
• Limited liability companies
• Real estate professionals are not allowed to advise because this is considered legal advice, so ask an attorney if you need advice
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• Covers repairs for mechanical systems and built-in appliances not covered by homeowner’s insurance
• Benefits sellers: selling point, no hassles after house is sold
• Benefits buyers: provides security for purchase
• Price varies widely based on what is covered
• Buyer usually pays for home warranty insurance
• Shop around to find the best coverage for the best price
• Be sure that the premium has been paid before you take possession of the property
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• An escrow agent is a neutral third party who oversees closing
• Closing begins with signing of sales agreement and ends when ownership changes
• Escrow is called “settlement” or “closing” in some states
• Closing costs vary
• Rules for who pays vary from county to county
• Budget for closing costs
• Shop around for the best escrow service deals
• Be attentive to the closing details laid out in your purchase agreement
• Closing costs have to be paid immediately with a certified cashier’s check
• Bring an ID to closing
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