TIPS FOR BUYERS FROM MY IDAHO HOME, LLC.
1. Discuss with your partner or spouse what
it is you’re looking for before starting to look at
properties. Make a list of “must have” features
together, then discuss what else you would like but can live
without. After you have looked at several properties, re-evaluate
your criteria. Sometimes your priorities will have shifted
or you will have added new ones.
2. Determine realistically how much you can
afford before you start looking. Lenders will usually pre-qualify
you for free. This will save time and save unnecessary disappointment
for everyone.
3. Don’t sign a contract with an agent
that locks you into looking with him or her, or guarantees
them a commission eve if you find the property yourself. Specify
instead, that a commission will be paid only if you buy a
property shown to you by that agent. This will allow you to
look with others, and also at properties being sold by the
owner, at your own convenience.
4. Don’t bring an agent with you to look
at properties being sold by the owner, and don’t bring
them into the process when it’s time to negotiate the
contract unless you are prepared to pay their commission through
a higher sale price or out of your own pocket. You might risk
losing the opportunity to purchase the house.
5. If you find the house you want before you
sell your property, and the seller is reluctant to sign a
contract with the contingency that you sell your home first,
you may draw up a contract that allows the seller to continue
marketing and advertising the property, yet gives you the
“right of first refusal” should they receive another
offer. You will be notified immediately if the seller has
another offer, and you will have another opportunity to purchase.
6. Remember that if you sell your home before
finding another, you will be legally bound to sell once the
contract is signed. So if necessary, include a provision making
the contract contingent on finding suitable housing. Otherwise
you may find it necessary to find a house under pressure or
rent housing after the closing.
7. It is important to be respectful to the sellers
when presenting an offer. Don’t criticize the property
in the hope of reducing the price. You may insult the sellers,
who may decide not to accept your offer or even make a counteroffer.
8. If you feel the property is overpriced but
the seller won’t budge, make your offer contingent on
the property appraising for the selling price or higher.
9. Include a walk-through inspection of the
property as a contingency shortly before the closing. At that
time the sellers’ furniture is apt to be removed, making
it easier to discover defects that might have been obscured
by wall coverings, etc. This will also enable you to determine
whether repairs agreed to be done by seller have in fact been
performed. It is easier to request compensation for necessary
work before the house is sold than afterwards.
10. A property disclosure statement is required
to be furnished to you within three days after the final contract
is signed. However, you may ask the sellers to provide you
with the statement before you make on offer. Remember that
if you list your property with an agent, it is still you who
are required to be truthful in reporting the condition of
the property. It is recommended that any major deficiencies
in the home be reported to the buyer regardless of the form
required to be used.
11. Your offer should expire within a few days,
or less, so the seller will not have time to “shop the
bid” among other interested parties, or to accept another
offer. Don’t make the offer expire at midnight unless
you plan to be awake at that time, as the response may come
in at or just before that deadline.
12. It is generally desirable to make your offer
contingent on the property passing a professional home inspection.
This is also an excellent way to learn what is required to
maintain your future home. We will be glad to refer you to
home inspectors who can assist you.
13. Put everything in writing. What is
included, and what is excluded, and what contingencies must
be satisfied before you are obligated to purchase. These and
all other conditions and details of the sell should be spelled
out in your contract.
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