Home Insurance

First drive by the properties you are interested in to save yourself some time. If you do not like what you see, do not even bother to make an appointment for a viewing.

Next, check out the property, you want to look for any water damage especially in the basement and the ceilings. Look for any repairs that appear to have been made recently. Bring a screw driver with you (I am not joking). You will want to gently press the screw driver into any visible two by fours or other beams to make sure they are not rotten or in the process of rotting. The screw driver will make a dent very easily or may even a whole if rotting is present. Forget that property and move onto the next property.

The registry of deeds and/or assesors office is a good place to make a visit as well. Some states have the information you will be looking for on their website which you can research from the privacy of your home. You will want to look for what the house is assessed at, this gives you a good idea of what the true worth of the property is before you haggle with the seller.

The buyer and seller bargain with respect to the buyer's asking price. Once a mutual agreement is reached on the amount for the house. Both parties sign the purchase and sales agreement. You will be required to put down a deposit on the property. Next you hire a home inspector, if you are going through the sellers real estate agent they often provide you with names of home inspection companies. My suggestion to you would be to open the yellow pages or on the web and find your own home inspector. Call at least three to four of them to get their rates and what type of guarantee they offer if something that was inspected has not lasted for the time they quoted. You will want to go with an inspector that offers such a guarantee if possible.

In addition, read the purchase and sales agreement thourouly and make sure it contains a clause that you have the option to sever the purchase and sales agreement upon receiving the home inspection results. This way you do not loose your initial deposit.

If there are several repairs that are necessary or termite infestation, you have the right to renegotiate the purchase price. The seller can either make the repairs or an estimate for the repairs can be optained and deducted the purchase price. If the seller does not wish to come to an agreement with respect to any necessary repairs you have the option to terminate the purchase agreement without loosing your deposit.

While all of these steps are taking place your credit is being run if you were not pre-approved before you started house hunting. Next, the application for the loan and the purchase and sales agreement and any other necessary documents are sent to the underwritting department who has the final say whether the financial institution will grant the buyer the financing for the property.

Also, a title company and/or attorney will run a title search to make sure there are no leins against the property or any other parties who own interest in the title. You want to have a clean and/or clear title. If the title is not clear/clean you also have the option to terminate the purchase and sales agreement without loosing your deposit.

Finally, a closing date is set. You will be required to obtain an insurance binder from the insurance company that you have chosen to obtain home insurance through. The seller, buyer, possibly the sellers real estate agent, the lending institutions representative and attorney meet so that you can sign 100's of documents (it seems), the saying is that you are signing your life away.

Yeah, the deal is closed and you now have become a homeowner. Congratulations.

I hope this information provided enough detail with respect to your question. If you have any further questions, please feel free to send me an email and I will clarify the details and/or any additional questions you may have. I wish you luck on your house hunting endeavor.

Just a FYI there are other things that you will want to research before making your final decision. Some examples are, if you have children or are planning to have children you will want to research the school district. Visit the property (not the inside) and observe the amount of traffic (is it a busy street or a quiet street?). Realtors tend to show the property when they know the street is quiet, that is part of their job. You want to make sure you are not located in a flood zone. In addition, it is wise to research the crime rate and other related information.

Best wises.