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Home Buying Tips


	Terria Judge, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Garden City KS

Buying an old house or a new house

10 steps to buying a home

Estimating the cost of building a home

View new home listings online at http://terriajudge.com/featuredlistings.html

Should you buy old or new?

You are looking to buy a home. You don't know whether a new home or an older home is good for you. Which is best for you?

Whether a brand new home or one that has been broken in is best for you depends on your preferences. A homebuilder will tell you that you need a new home. Real estate agents will tell you an existing home is the best way to go.

Both are right. Both new homes and existing homes have a lot of pros and cons. You have to determine what you want.

Let's look at the disadvantages and advantages to buying a new home. A new home will cost more, but you are getting what you pay for. While a new home will be much more expensive than a 20-year old home, you are getting a lot more amenities.

A new home will have newer features. New homes usually have more square footage and more bathrooms. New homes are usually wired to accommodate multiple telephone lines for your communication and computer needs. These needs weren't around 20 years ago.

You can pick and chose what features you want in a new home - you aren't fixing someone's bad decorating decisions.

But keep in mind, you are paying for it. If money is tight, or you want more home for your money, you should look to an existing home. There are advantages and disadvantages here as well.

Existing homes usually have all of the appliances already in place, so you don't have to go shopping for refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers and freezers. Often, an existing home has been updated to give the feel of a newer home. Landscaping and décor has already been added. If it fits your tastes, you have little work to do.

The purchase price is much less than for new homes. There can be a character and charm to an older home, and neighborhood, that is very different from a new development. Neighbors know each other and there is a community feeling already in place.

You can also negotiate the price more of an existing home. But you have to expect an older home to require more maintenance. There will be problems due to older appliances. You will have to look at the age of the roof and carpeting. You have to consider that there will be hidden problems that are waiting to pop up once you move in.

Either way, buying a new home or an existing home can be very rewarding. Each takes a lot of research and shopping around. Each will have surprises and rewards. You have to consider that no matter if you buy new or old, you will have to improve it over time to keep it at current market standards. Buying a new home gives you a home that you have picked out that is ready to move into. You could save money and buy a fixer upper. This can be rewarding in knowing you've done it yourself.

It all depends on your preferences. Shop around and decide what matters most to you. It can be exciting either way.

About the Author

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

10 Easy Steps for Home Buyers

1. Loan Pre-Approval- When buying a home financing is imperative. Loan to value ratios range from 75% to 95% in conventional loans. The more of a deposit that is put down and the better your credit score, the lower the interest rate and more favorable terms you will receive with your loan. (Call Riverside Home Loans, Inc. Ask for Mary Ellen Troilo 321-726-0570, email Maryellen@riversideloans.net )
a. Credit Problems and Credit Repair- When creditors look to lend you money the first thing they look at is your FICO credit score. This score is based on credit account status such as total amount of money lent to you, balance of accounts, payment history, inquires, collections, liens, and judgments. If there are collection accounts or a negative account status, we can help you. Collection accounts can be negotiated at 70-80 cents on the dollar. Late accounts can be paid up. High credit balances can be paid down to 50%. No credit history, get a pre-paid credit card. Each credit analysis is unique and takes a unique approach to increasing your credit score.
b. Approved Credit- If you can get a pre-approval letter than the question becomes for how much? This will help you decide what price range you will be looking in. The pre-approval letter is very important. Attached to an offer, it makes the offer much more compelling and serious. It means that financing won't be a problem when buying the prospective house.
c. Income, Asset, and Liability Verification- This step digs a little deeper into your financial capabilities of buying a home. The lender will look at previous year's tax returns, pay stubs or bank statements, verify assets, double check liabilities and debt to income ratios, finalize the loan and give you a letter of intent.

2. Finding a House- The house hunting process can be efficient and effective if you know what you want. (Call John Steven Blincoe II, L.L.C. at Dan Lambdin Real Estate, ask for Steven Blincoe 863-242-9977 or through www.BlincoeRealEstate.com )
a. Determining Where You Want to Live- The area in which you live is usually based on the location where you work, the price range and type of home, the distance from the amenities you wish to visit, and the type of schools in the area you would like your children to attend.
b. Deciding What You want and Need in a House- The most popular house is a three bedroom, two bath property. This style of house has a master bedroom and bath. A bedroom and bathroom for children or guests. Then a third room for an office or a second child. This type of house is the safest investment, but not the only type of house. Every house is unique. Each household's needs and wants in a property are unique. The more you can narrow down what you want in a house the easier it is to find the house you are looking for.

3. Making an Offer- When you find the house you like, making an offer is the next step. The offer is in written form. The offer consists of the sale price, deposit upon signing, deposit upon approval of inspection, amount of financing, and contingencies of the contract. Once the offer is submitted the seller can accept or counteroffer at a more suitable price. You can accept this offer or counter again until all the contingencies are agreed upon.

4. Acceptance- This is when the buyer and seller have come to a meeting of the minds on the contract for purchase. Also known as the effective date, this is when the clock starts ticking toward the closing date.

5. Inspection and Inspection Date- The inspection is done by a licensed inspector. The inspector looks at the plumbing, electrical, and visible aspects of the property. Making notes and taking pictures of all the possible problems with the property. Once the inspection takes place and everything is up to par, then the final deposit is put into escrow.

6. Appraisal and Survey- If you are getting financing for the property, the bank or lending institution will order an appraisal and survey of the property, to see what they are collateralizing their loan to you with. When everything is agreeable then the next step is closing.

7. Obtaining Insurance- You will have to insure your home in order to buy it. The only time you would not have to do that, is if you buy a house in cash. If a bank or mortgage company is lending you the money to buy the home, they will require a limited amount of insurance. The easiest way to get insurance is to go to the provider company that insures your car. Hazard insurance premiums might be due at closing.

8. Closing and Closing Date- The closing date is set forth in the contract. On this date the rest of the down payment is due, along with the financed money from your lender. The closing will usually take place at a title company of the seller's choice. This is where you take possession of the property, and take away the keys.
Some times the owners need some time to move out or a tenant needs to finish their lease in the home. In this case a rent back would be in order. A separate addendum from the for sale contract would be used. A rent back simply means you own the property but the old owner or tenant is renting it from you for a set period of time (1 week, 1month etc.)

9. Filing for Homestead Exemption- Usually the first home you buy will be your primary residence. In the state of Florida your primary residence is exempt for an amount of $25,000. This means the county property appraiser's office will subtract $25,000 from the taxable value of your property: to determine how much you will owe in the upcoming property tax year. The taxable value will most likely be lower than the market value in which you paid for the property. This is a good thing, because the amount of taxes you pay is based on this assessed value. In order to obtain homestead exemption you must take your warranty deed to the county tax collector's office and file for exemption. You will receive your warranty deed from the title company when you close, but it is not uncommon to receive it in the mail a few weeks after closing.

10. Enjoy Your House- Please Remember to invite your real estate agent to the house warming party, and call him when you sell your house or buy another piece of property for investment, vacation, or commercial use in the state of Florida.

About the Author

written by John Steven Blincoe of Dan Lambdin Real Estate
for listings visit www.BlincoeRealEstate.com

How to Estimate Home Building Costs

There are many factors that go into home building costs and it can be huge task to even come out with an estimate.

The quickest way to estimate home building costs is to find similar houses in the area that has the same overall look and size of one that you want to build. Then take the selling price, minus the cost of the land and you will have a rough and quick estimate of the construction cost. This is, of course not an exact science, but by following this basic rule you will be able to get a rough estimate.

If the house that you are comparing with was built a few years ago, then you should factor in the appreciation cost due to increase in the cost of labor and materials at between 2 to 5% per annum.

Home building costs can be further influence by the interior feature of the home. Let's say you want a completely furnished basement and the house than you are using as a reference does not. You should factor this into the cost estimate. A little here and there can add up to thousands of dollars.

Another way is to seek the help of a construction company. If you show them the type of house that you are interested in they should be able to respond to you with a quick estimate. Usually, due to expertise and experience, their estimate can be quite close to the actual building cost.

What if the house that you plan to build is different from what is available in your vicinity? Here is a tip. Go online and type in the terms 'home plans' or 'house plans'. You will find many sites that offer thousands of house plans. You can search by type, size, number of rooms etc and for a small price you can download the blueprint. Then ask your friendly construction company to give you an estimate.

Yet another way is to use home building kits. Again go online and type in 'home building kits'. There are many companies offering home building kits than contains everything (except labor) that you need to build a house. Then ask your construction company to quote for labor charges. Labor charges constitute a significant portion of the cost of building your own home and if you have the expertise, using a home building kit and building it yourself can reduce your estimate significantly. No matter how precise or detail oriented you are in the planning stages, you must keep in that there may be an unexpected cost overrun. It is a safe practice to put away about 10 or even 15 % for contingency to ensure that you have the money to cover any overrun.

Home building costs can often times be very difficult to pinpoint. But if you use some of the methods described above, and by being precise and detail oriented, you will be able to come up with a very close estimate on your home building costs.