Buying a Home

Disclosures From the Seller Although you have toured the property, looked at the walls and ceiling, turned on the faucets and played with the light switches, you have not lived in it. The seller has years of knowledge about his or her home and there may be some things you…

Writing an Offer to Purchase Real Estate Once you find the home you want to buy, the next step is to write an offer - which is not as easy as it sounds. Your offer is the first step toward negotiating a sales contract with the seller. Since this is just the beginning of…

Stable Monthly Housing Costs When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an…

How Property Condition Affects Your Offer Since you have toured the property you are interested in, you should know how it compares to the general neighborhood. All you have to do is put the home in one of three categories - average, above average, or below average. When…

Recession and Expansion There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and they buy new homes. Then, for one reason or another, the economy…

When Income Grows and You Want to Buy "Stuff" When an individual's income starts growing and they manage to set aside some savings, they commonly experience what may be considered an innate instinct of modern civilized mankind. The desire to spend money. Since North…

You and the Seller Must Agree Buying a home does not occur in a vacuum, involving only you and the seller. There are all kinds of people and services involved behind the scenes to make it happen. Since some of these services affect both you and the seller, there will have…

Determining Your Offer Price When you prepare an offer to purchase a home, you already know the seller's asking price. But what price are you going to offer and how do you come up with that figure? Determining your offer price is a three-step process. First, you look at…

Most buyers do not have enough cash available to buy a home, so they need to obtain a mortgage to finance the purchase. Since you will probably make your purchase contingent upon obtaining a mortgage, the seller has the right to be informed of your financing plans in order…

Extra Costs to the Seller If you are obtaining a VA or FHA loan in order to finance your purchase, you must include that information in your offer. This is because government loans place additional financial and performance obligations on the seller. Non-Allowable Fees…

Don't Move Money Around When a lender reviews your loan package for approval, one of the things they are concerned about is the source of funds for your down payment and closing costs. Most likely, you will be asked to provide statements for the last two or three months on…