Resources
Home Schooling - Benefits And Disadvantages
By Nic Haffner
There are more than one reason why more and more parents choose home schooling instead of the traditional schools; the benefit of home schooling is when your child is able to succeed in life and you Read more...
|
Resources
How to start a call center for your home business
By Patricia Stevens
The trend nowadays is for people to work at home, even in their pajamas. Some people start work even before they have breakfast. But these are the lucky few, who were able to find their ideal home Read more...
|
Resources
Are You Better off Selling Your Home or Simply Renovating It?
By Gavin Edwards
The home improvements, which can add more value to your home, will be always the key search of every thoughtful person, who plans for home improvement. Home improvements are often considered as Read more...
|
|
#Welcome to
Home Buyers Boot Camp real estate listings buyers guides - your comprehensive real estate company resource.
Below, you'll find extensive information
on leading real estate company articles and products to help you on your
way to success.
Are You Ready For The Home Inspector?
By Edward McCarthy
There was a time not too long ago when buyers rarely requested one. Just five years ago the Chicago metropolitan area had only 200-300 inspectors, while today the figure is 3,000 and growing. The combination of ever-increasing consumer awareness and soaring real estate prices, has made today's buyer now more than ever, proceed with caution before committing to the purchase of their dream home. It is estimated that 60% of all real estate transactions involve a inspection as part of the offer to purchase agreement. Although some sellers are now beginning to hire an inspector and fix the property before it goes on the market, this is still rare. It is almost always the buyer that hires the inspector. The buyer makes a written offer to purchase the with a clause that the written offer is contingent upon a inspection (usually within three business days) and that all major repairs recommended by the inspector are corrected (usually by the seller) prior to closing. Many sellers will lower the selling price instead of fixing the home. Sound's nice and easy right?
Sometimes this is where the problems begin and can be tough to resolve.
This is how it works. The inspector prepares a written report for their client (buyer) that discloses maintenance related issues and any necessary repairs deemed necessary based on the knowledge and experience of the inspector.
Anything from broken door knobs to hazardous conditions that need immediate attention like gas leaks, detached exhaust vents and other potential serious situations. If there are expensive repairs needed, the attorney's representing the two parties may be able to iron out an agreement where the expensive repair costs are divided equally and the buyer bears responsibility for all minor and maintenance related issues. This is just one of many possible settlement scenarios. It should also be noted that the buyer sometimes just walks away from the deal and looks for another home. As you can imagine, sellers now are beginning to refuse offers that have an inspection clause in the agreement. This does not mean sellers can do as they wish. By law, sellers must disclose in writing to the buyer any known property defects that they're aware of. Failure to disclose known problems almost always comes back to bite them in the future.
Home inspections are here to stay.
Many real estate experts agree that in the very near future all lenders will require a inspection before lending money on the subject property. This of course is in addition to the long time mandatory appraisal.
Best advice for sellers?
Don't neglect maintenance issues! Gutter missing from a downspout? It may be no big deal now, but it will be in a few years when the foundation cracks from water damage. Tree branches scraping your roof? That may cut the life expectancy of the shingles in half.
Don't neglect old components! Is the hot water heater 20 years old? Replace it. Have your furnace inspected twice a year. Is it too old? Replace it. The bottom line is you need to be pro-active. It's your so take care of it. Then someday when the inspector knocks on the door you can smile and let him in.
Edward McCarthy is a freelance real estate marketing consultant, licensed home inspector, and owner of SellByOwnerListings.com, a value based sell your own home advertising service.
|
|
We strive to provide only quality articles, so
if there is a specific topic related to home that
you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time.
And again, thank you to those contributing daily
to our real estate company website.
|
