Do's and Don'ts

Do’s and Don’ts while in the Process of Buying a Home

Do:

1. - Pay all your bills (including car payments) on time.  A late payment during the process can impact your FICO score and can put your Mortgage approval in jeopardy.

 Provide your loan officer and your real Estate Broker with all documents requested in a timely manner.   Delays can have negative repercussions in your interest rate or in other fields of your process.

2- Always hire Legal Advice.  Remember that Real Estate Agents can not represent you Legally. They are not Lawyers.

Shop around for the most convenient option:  Location, communication skills, dedication and knowledge of the Real Estate Industry is what you should look in an Attorney., without ignoring the fees.

3.- Always have a home Inspection.  Don’t feel pressure to waive this clause.  Be present at the home inspection and be always aware of the Inspector recommendations and opinions. You will learn a lot about your new home.

4. - Be always aware of deadlines, like:

     a.- Deadline to execute PS

     b.- Deadline to produce a Mortgage Commitment

     c. - deadline for Title transfer (closing). 

You, your Lawyer and your Real Estate Agent must work together to keep these dates under control, so your Purchase is always active. If you do not comply with these dates, the Purchase and sale Agreement will be invalid, and you can lose the house and possibly your deposit.

Don’ts

1.- Do not make significant purchases during the time you are in the buying process. This will affect your qualification ratios and your Mortgage may be decline if you exceed some limits.

2.- Banks will lend you  an average amount, which monthly payment will not exceed 40% of your Net income.  That is Gross earnings mines debt payments.

If you add new debt such as car payments or new credit cards or personal loans, the lender will have to recalculate the ratios, and the pre-approval given to you may not be honored now, because of the new debt.

3.- Do not waive your right to a Home Inspection. Normal eyes will not see some structural issues.

Professional Inspectors are paid to look into potential damaging defects and you have the right to know before you make the biggest investment of your life.

4. - Do not purchase a Home without Legal Advice. Especially if the seller has an Attorney. It will be the best money invested in this process.

5.- Do not consider a Home Inspection as a tool to bring the price down. It is not why home Inspections are made.   This is the main reason why buyers are losing properties and later they regret their position.

Home Inspections are a tool to discover defects that may affect your investment. Any unknown defect or unseen condition discovered by Home Inspector, can be negotiated. But properties are priced based on current condition.  All visible upgrades needed or repairs that are evident are already consider into the Selling price. (wear and tear).

6. - 3 days before the closing, please, meet your Attorney and go over the numbers the lender prepare for the closing. That is, how much money you need to bring to the closing table.

You do not want to go to the closing table ignoring why you have to bring that amount to the table.

That way, the closing will be smooth and fast.

7.- Change the utilities to your name and make the necessary address  changes in the Post Office, so you do not miss any mail in this transition.

By following this tips, your home buying process will be smoother and stress free.

Pedro Cordano