Buying and Selling Tips

Use the folowing tips on buying and selling real estate before you make your next transaction.

Closing Your Real Estate Transaction

Occasionally the closing date will be jeopardized just days prior to settlement. Arrange a 60-day locked-in interest rate at application time. Homeownership is the largest single investment you will most likely make during your life. It's in your best interest to be educated. Pay close attention to every detail and you will win at the real estate game. Your Real Estate Agent's responsibility is to make sure you succeed by avoiding the top sixteen errors purchasers most commonly fall prey to. After all, your Real Estate Agent's reputation depends on referrals generated from 100% client satisfaction!

Here's a list of the costs you can expect when closing your loan:
Mortgage fees
Administrative fees
Application fees
Appraisal fees
Survey fees
Loan origination fees
PMI
Points
Title Insurance
Credit report cost
Future interest payments, depending on the loan terms
Title fees
Title transfer fees
Recording fees
Additional state or local taxes (could include property taxes)
Insurance
Homeowner's insurance
Flood insurance, if required by law
Other professional fees
Attorney fees
Escrow company fees
Closing company fees
Key Closing Documents You'll Receive

HUD-1 Settlement Sheet
This itemizes the services provided and the charges to the buyer and the seller. You should be allowed to review this form shortly before your closing meeting so you know your closing costs in advance.

Truth-in-Lending (TIL) Disclosure
You should be mailed your initial TIL disclosure within three business days of applying for a home loan. It outlines the costs of your loan and discloses the annual percentage rate (APR) and other terms of the loan, including the finance charge, the amount financed, the payment amount and the total payments required. Since it's possible that the APR calculated at the time of your loan application will change a little before closing, your lender is required to give you the final version of your TIL disclosure at or prior to the closing meeting.

Deed of Trust or Mortgage (also known as the Security Instrument)
These documents convey a lien in your property as security for repayment of your home loan. (This means that if you default on your loan, your lender has the right to foreclose your ownership interest and take possession of the property.)

The Note
The mortgage (or promissory) note represents your promise to pay the lender according to the agreed terms. It includes the dates on which your home loan payments must be made and the location to which payments must be sent.

Looking for Structural Defects

Consider an independent home inspection. Careful examination by a professional will remove all doubt! Is that tiny crack in the foundation a repair nightmare or merely settlement? Are the walls infested with termites? Does your budget have room for thousands of dollars in reconstruction costs? For a few hundred dollars you can obtain an extensive inspection report that will point you to any structural defects in the building. Ascertain the cost of repairs prior to entering into a binding contract. Write your purchase contract subject to a satisfactory home inspection so you can renegotiate if the repairs are beyond your current budget. Or opt for another home more suitable to your needs.

Yard Maintenance

The thought of your own swimming pool, the manicured lawns, or the beautiful English garden in full bloom. It's lovely to look at, but do you want to spend the time required to keep everything in top working order? Do you have the funds required to hire a full-time landscape architect? In some cases, you may be better suited for townhouse living where yard maintenance is part of the contract, and the local recreation center offers swimming and exercise programs tailored to your lifestyle needs.

Overlooking Schools and Children

A critical error you can make it to forget about the needs of your children. Is your new home close enough for the children to walk to their new school, is there bus service just down the street, does the school offer academics suitable to your children's needs, or is it right next door and you've reached a point in your life where you would prefer quiet solitude?

Caught up in the passion of your new home, it is easy to overlook and undermine these questions. After six months of taxiing your children to and from school, you may find yourself experiencing the need for more freedom. By graduation, your children may find that had they attended another secondary school, the university prerequisites would have been fulfilled. You may thoroughly enjoy sitting alone in your private backyard only to find recess noise and the school's outdoor gym activities hamper your need for solitude. Determine the answers with your Real Estate Agent before signing on the dotted line!