Southwest Florida Real Estate Blog Your FIRST Time-continued
| Your FIRST Time-continued |
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| Written by Greg Snow |
| Wednesday, 18 February 2009 15:48 |
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You have gotton pre-qualified or pre-approved (sellers love this), have interviewed and determined a local skilled realtor will best help you find your home, and the agent has scheduled several properties to show you. Having just read the national and local papers(www.usatoday.com and www.newspress.com) you feel great having discovered the President signed in law a bill on Tuesday that will give you an $8000 tax credit (or 10% of the value, which ever is less) for a first time buyer on their 2008 or 2009 income taxes. Gotta live there for at least three years and there are some income restrictions, but this is a refundable credit. Now, you are really smiling at the prospect of low interest rates, lots of affordable priced homes, and a tax credit on top. Unless you memory is photograhic, 5-6 homes a day is tops to see. If your agent has determined accurately what you want, it may be less, or not. This is the really fun part for you. Have a recorder to take pictures(if permissible) and jot down notes or questions. Our Lee County marketplace had alot of inventory, however that has been steadily disappearing recently.Let us imagine your faces light up, and a little voice in your head is going..this is the one...this is the one..., have your realtor prepare a contract for offer and purchase. Go over the entire contract and be comfortable and familiar with the language. Our local contracts have many versions and if you do not understand something, have a professional review it. I find if I review the entire contract and disclosures with customers or clients, and leave offer price until near the end, it helps the first time buyer understand a bit what the seller's duties and responsibilites are. A home inspection by a certified inspector is always of high importance. Some considerations in preparing the contract. The binder, escrow, or good faith money can be a difference maker. Most sellers will perceive a larger than usual amount indicates a serious offer. Date of closing is often a deciding factor for one or both of the parties, and some flexibility has saved many a deal. Appraisals are always a question of value and sometimes subjective approach. Many a good Realtor knows if the property should appraise or not. Some of our government loans won't allow the buyer to pay for certain costs, and need to be conveyed to the seller at earliest point , hopefully before all signatures have been collected. Some properties will require flood insurance for a loan. Unpaid liens on sewer, water or roads must be addressed, Clear and marketable title has to be conveyed. Some hownowner associations have dues and approval for purchase required. Your real estate agent has plenty of work to do to get you to the clsoing table. To be continued... |
Lee County Real Estate News
