Top 7 Questions I Am Asked By Homebuyers

1) Q: Should I get pre-approved by a lender before I start looking for a home?
A: Absolutely. Many real estate agents will not take you to look at properties without a  pre-approval letter. They want to know you are ready and able to purchase before they invest their time and money into showing homes. But more importantly, you want to be ready to make an offer when you find your perfect dream house. The market is hot right now and  nothing hurts like loosing the perfect house because it takes a few days to get pre-approved.

2) Q: How much home can I afford?
A: A lender can tell you the maximum amount you can qualify for with their institution. You may also find it helpful to use an online calculator to determine your payment. Please keep in mind, the payment may change with interest rates. Interest rates can not be locked until you find a home and start the loan process. Also keep in mind that just because you are qualified for a certain amount doesn't mean you need to spend that much. Find a price point that makes you comfortable and stick with it. Make sure you have enough left over to still enjoy time out with friends and family.

3) Q: Can I get an inspection of the home?
A: Yes, Yes, Yes! There are many types of inspections that you can choose from. I highly recommend that buyers hire a professional inspector. Much as we love our dads, uncles and aunts, they should not be our inspectors unless they are a licensed. One of the most overlooked inspections is the septic inspection. If your home has a septic, you should get it inspected. Not having it done, can be a both a smelly and expensive mistake

4) Q: I see on Zillow that a house is foreclosed. Why isn't it listed for sale?
A: The short version is that when a home is foreclosed upon, it doesn't usually get put up for sale right away. Banks and investors put the homes for sale when they are ready. It can sometimes take years for the property to become available. So the short short version is you most likely shouldn't wait around hoping it will come on the market.

5) Q: How much money do I need to buy a home?
A: This can be a very complicated question. It will depend on the type of loan program you choose. The old standard of needing to put 20% down is long gone. Depending on the type of loan program, you may only need 0%, 3.5%, 5%, 10%, 20%, etc. It will also depend on whether or not it is your primary home or an investment property. I recommend that you speak with several lenders to find the program that works best for you. In addition, there are special programs that help some buyers with down payment and closing costs assistance. Closing costs can be requested from the seller. However, the seller has the right to decline to do so. When many homes are going into a multiple offer situation, this can be a deal killer. Your lender is required by law to provide you with a Good Faith Estimate of closing costs within 3 days of loan application so you will know what these costs are long before the closing day.

6) Q: I just put in an offer. Now what happens?
A: Well there are 4 different responses you may get from a seller. 1) They accept offer as is. 2) They counter your offer. This counter may change the price, inspection period, or other items in the  contract. 3) They decline your offer. 4) They ignore your offer.

Acceptance and counter are the more common responses from a seller. Declined offers and ignored offers are less common. From my experience, ignored and declined offers usually are foreclosed homes or the seller was upset by what they felt was a low-ball offer. Remember folks, sellers usually lived in the home and can take those low ball offers personally. I have heard more than one buyer say well lets start really low and work our way up from there. I strongly recommend if you like the home to come in a reasonable offer price.

7) Q: What is an Ernest Money Deposit?
A: An EMD is money which is put into a escrow account to show the seriousness of the buyer. Remember, the seller is taking the home off the market while the buyer does inspections, etc. They want to make sure the buyer is really planning on purchasing the home. If the buyer defaults on the terms of the contract. The seller may keep the earnest money deposit.

If you have any specific questions you would like answered, please email me at Louisa.Sims@floridamoves.com.