Buying a home is an exciting time. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement when viewing a potential new home and forget to notice the details that may be deal-breakers (or at least things that should be addressed in the inspection). Keep an eye out for these common issues that could spell trouble for your new home down the road.
1. Look for signs of roof damage. As soon as you arrive, check out the roof. Does it look new, stable, and in good repair? Are there missing shingles or obvious sagging areas? A new roof will save you money on insurance rates and is better equipped to stand up to severe weather in the long run.
2. Look past the paint job. Everyone has different preferences for their home decor. If a room is painted a color that makes you cringe, look past it and focus on the structural aspects of the home. Look for aging appliances, loose wires, missing fixtures, and structural damage. You can always change the color of the walls, but these issues will cause you headaches long after that garish yellow is gone.
3. Consider the climate. When viewing a house, if it looks old and drafty, it probably is. Old homes have their charm, but they can also come with tons of heating and cooling issues. HVAC systems are expensive to repair and replace, so get all the information you can about the current system and heating/cooling costs.
4. Determine your must-haves. This is a good one to decide ahead of time, before you even set foot in the potential home. Are you willing to replace old windows? Don’t want to deal with...
Buying a new home is exciting. It’s easy to get swept up in the novelty of the situation, and you’re likely just as eager to get moved in as the sellers are to have the house sold. It may be tempting to waive the home inspection to speed up the process. However, home inspections are a critical part of the home-buying process and waiving them could cost you thousands more dollars in the long run.
Here are five great reasons to have a home inspection before you buy:
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
If the home you’re buying was built recently, you may feel like a home inspection is a waste of time and money. No matter the age of the home, there can be costly troubles unknown to the average buyer. Calling in a licensed home inspector may reveal defects that were not seen during a showing.
Save Money
Home inspections may range from $300-$1200. That’s a good chunk of change, but it’s less than the untold thousands you’ll pay if you need to rewire the entire house or install new plumbing lines.
Contract Contingency and Seller’s Repairs
Often, home inspections reveal defects that the seller isn't even aware of, such as a leaky plumbing connection or a broken roof shingle. The inspection helps buyers make sure repairs are completed before money is exchanged. In our area, it is common for the purchase contract to be contingent on the home inspection and agreed upon repairs. This ensures you are buying a safe home that is free of defects that may adversely impact the value.
Know What You’re Buying
In the end, the most important reason to have a home...
The 2016 Spring and Summer home purchasing season will look dramatically different than previous years. Over a decade has passed since the Louisville Metro area has experienced a sellers’ market. This dialog will help buyers in preparing an offer that a seller may accept; and hopefully avoid situations in which sellers are insulted by offers from buyers with unrealistically high expectations.
What is a sellers’ market?
A sellers real estate market represents conditions in which inventory is low, and demand from buyers is high. Simply put, there are more buyers than houses to purchase. Conversely, this is different than a buyers’ market, in which inventory is high and demand from buyers is very low (too many homes on the market).
Remember your high school economics classes? This is the basic principle of supply and demand.
Key Differences
The critical difference between buyers' and sellers' markets lies in bargaining power. In a seller's market, the seller has more negotiating power due to low supply, while the opposite is true in a buyer's economy. During a seller's market, it's unlikely that buyers will find homes below list price or with concessions such as damage repair or closing costs paid by the seller. In short, most of the factors affecting the housing market swing in favor...
Although the public perception is that the Real Estate Market slows down in October, in Southern Indiana our market remains strong. We at Compass Realtors are a full service Real Estate Brokerage and "Your Guide in Real Estate"! Call our top notch Agents and Brokers today at 502-641-5091.
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