How to Look for Malibu Land

At the closing, you and the sellers — along with your real estate agents — will meet in a conference room to sign the largest stack of papers you’ve ever seen. Expect to spend at least an hour or more at your closing. For a smooth closing, come prepared. Make sure you have your lawyer present to double-check all your documents. His or her job is to ensure that you understand each form you are signing, and there are many of them. The closing itself will be run by a closing agent, a neutral third party in the purchase. When you leave, you will have a mortgage, a title, and the keys to your new home.

Since the real estate agent’s commission (usually 5 to 7 percent) is higher when the price is higher, it is in the agent’s interest to secure the highest sales price. Keep this in mind if you contact a real estate agent directly regarding a specific home that you find online. Your agent is working to sell the house. While the agent may be a perfectly decent and ethical individual, the simple fact is that he or she is not working for you.

If not, look for someone who is certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors. Are there any cracks in the walls or floor that might indicate structural problems? If you are getting an FHA or VA loan, you will also have to have an additional inspection. Foundation: If there is a basement or crawl space, are there signs of water damage? This means that if the inspection turns up something like a really bad termite infestation or cracks in the foundation, you can back out of the contract, or you can have the seller repair the problem to your satisfaction. Your purchase offer should be contingent on the results of the professional inspection.

In fact, he or she is bound by contract to try to get the best deal for the seller. Another thing to understand is that most real estate agents work for a specific agency. For him, it simply makes the most financial and business sense. If you call up George from Howard Hanna and ask him to show you some properties, he’ll likely show you homes that he’s listing first, then homes that other Howard Hanna agents are listing.

Still, we wanted to make sure we didn’t end up like the millions of Americans who were swept up in the housing boom and now faced foreclosure. Jacobe, Dennis. Gallup. “U.S. Homeownership Hits Decade Low.” April 26, 2012 (Accessed Sept. After a whirlwind of forms and signatures and very large checks, we had a house. It was a humbling experience, but it enabled us to house hunt with confidence, knowing that we could actually afford these bedrooms and basements and backyards. Even better, we had a home. The fear of a bad mortgage forced us to sit down and draw up our first 100 percent honest and realistic family budget. RealtyTrac. “National Real Estate Trends” (Accessed Sept.

Are they rated for the amount of square footage they are heating? Electrical: Do there appear to be any electrical problems or code violations? Do windows and doors function properly? With the inspection behind you, the next step is to lock in the terms of your mortgage. Interior: Are the floors level? If the inspection report is clean, it’s time to get ready for the big day: the closing. Do the appliances in the kitchen function properly? This report will be your ammunition if you need to renegotiate the purchase contract to include repairs. Is there any evidence of leaks or mildew in the bathrooms? The inspector will provide you with a printed report showing everything that passed and the (hopefully) few things that didn’t.