Home inspections are an important part of the home buying process. The consumer needs to be sure they aren’t getting into a home that’s a real problem with major issues. It’s also important to note that it’s very common for an inspector to find many things that need to be addressed. Many items are very simple and should not be any cause for alarm. It’s important you have a Realtor on your side to help guide you through the process and let you know what may be a real cause for concern and what’s not worth losing a home over while negotiating repairs.
Below is a top 10 list put together by one of our local home inspectors…….
1) Termites
2) Wood Rot & Trim Damage
3) Moisture in the crawl space- Drainage Issues
4) Roofing Problems
5) HVAC Problems- clogged CDL line, etc
6) Windows- Broken seal, painted shut
7) Garage Doors- auto reverse, etc
Electrical Problems- Aluminum wiring-open grounds
9) Plumbing Problems- Disimilar metals, etc
10) Structural Issues- suppport piers, etc
Archive for the ‘Charlotte Real Estate Blog’ Category
Home Tax Credit Funds now delayed because of scams
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Plan on filing for a Home Tax Credit? Don’t plan on spending the money quickly!
You can now expect delays of up to four months to receive your money. Because of scams, the IRS is now requiring new forms with letters of home purchase proof that must be mailed in when filing your taxes (meaning NO E-Filing). Whether you are ammending 2008 returns or filing 2009, if you purchsed after Nov 6th, these are the new guidelines. The IRS started sending back amended returns asking for proof. You can’t really blame them however…….it’s people scamming the system who are at fault.
Possibly Tax Credit Extended and now includes Everyone!
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Great News! Senate Voted yesterday to exend the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit to June 1st (meaning a purchase agreement would need to be in place by April 3oth, 2010). They have also voted to give existing home owners a $6,500 tax credit to expire on the same date.
The House is supposed to vote on it today…….hopefully it passes and improves the housing market.
Effective July 30th- New federal rule protects loan applicants
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009New federal rule makes several changes lenders are required to adhere to when making a loan application. They must give applicant estimated mortgage costs disclosures within three days of loan application and cannot charge any application fees to consumer until they have received those disclosures. Go to this link to see full article and description of all changes.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-fi-harney19-2009jul19,0,1179820.story
Foreclosure Prevention Part 2
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009The NC Realtors Association and three partners recently launched a new website that helps homeowners possibly facing foreclosure to receive free counseling assistance at no charge. It’s called “Fight NC Foreclosure” and you can get there by goint to http://fightncforeclosure.org/main.html
Foreclosure Prevention Hotline!
Saturday, April 18th, 2009Beware of predators……..many are going through financial struggles and not sure where to turn or what to do and are making poor choices or being taken advantage of.
Please do this first……The Attorneys General’s Office and the Commissioner of Banks have established a hotline for consumers facing foreclosure. Consumers may call the HOPE Hotline toll-free at 888-995-HOPE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for free counseling on options to avoid foreclosure. The hotline will connect callers with non-profit housing and credit counselors in their local community who can advise the homeowner about various options such as modifying their loan, selling or refinancing their home, or arranging a repayment plan with the lender to satisfy over time any arrearage.
What is a loan modification under Obama’s plan?
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Zillow did a good article spelling out the new plan and who is eligible. You can see the article by going to http://www.zillow.com/loan-modification/
They also give you a link to the official government site where you can go through a series of questions for eligibility purposes. That link is: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/
Rates have dropped again!
Friday, March 20th, 2009New revised First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit…The Details!
Monday, February 23rd, 2009Tired of Paying Rent? It’s official!…The new revision was signed last week. Take note first time homebuyers……..this is YOUR time to jump into the market!
A. Tax Credit is increased to $8,000
B. The income limits remain the same ($75,000 for an individual; $150,000 for a couple).
C. First Time homebuyers and Principal Residences only.
D. Tax credit is available until December 1st (previously it expired on July 1st).
E. Waiver of recapture (i.e. no repayment requirement) for properties purchased in 2009 prior to December 1st
- The provision is retroactive to purchases made on or after January 1, 2009.
- Recapture section does not apply to properties sold in first three years.
F. Waiver of prohibition on financing by mortgage revenue bonds is included.
There has never been an easier, better time to buy a home. Call me and ask about my rent buster program……I may be able to help you out of your lease.
Should you Refinance?
Sunday, February 8th, 2009With all the buzz on current low interest rates, this is a hot question! Well, I’m here to give you an answer you won’t find in the mainstream press nor will you hear about it from mortgage lenders. But the truth is…NO, you probably shouldn’t refinance. There’s a much better solution!
Now, before I tell you what it is, let me just say there are some exceptions to consider. If you are under major financial stress, and your only solution is to lower the mortgage payment to get you through the month, then I would probably recommend you refinance. By that same token, if you have a balloon payment or an adjustable rate mortgage that is heading in a direction of financial hardship, then again….I would go ahead and recommend you refinance.
However, if you are already in a fixed rate program (or an adjustable you can live with), there is an exceedingly better way to reduce the interest payed on your mortgage. What’s more, you can pay off the home is as little as 1/3 to 1/2 of the time.
Studies have shown that most people who refinance their mortgage choose not to reduce their term (and even if they did, I would still wager that there’s a better way). In addition, a large percentage of people move every five to seven years therefore starting the process all over paying all that up-front interest again and again. As a result, they typically end up paying more interest (whether it be the same house or different houses) than they would have had they just left things alone. And even if they did stay in the same home for a long period of time, they would have done much better had they known about this better method to the interest madness.
Introducing the The Money Merge Account program with United First Financial. As a Real Estate Consultant, I’ve done a lot of research on this topic, and it’s by far the best program I’ve come across in the financial world. Though challenging to explain, the program in essence acts as a financial software wizard which computes in real time the fastest way to zero based on your own personal income and expense budget. Run by math engines, it takes the simple banking concept of money leveraging and interest cancellation, and utilizes it to it’s full potential to achieve maximum results in the quickest amount of time. It literally knows the optimum amount and optimum time to shift or transfer funds to strategically payoff all your debts with the greatest amount of savings! The financial dashboard works as a guide only…You are always in control of your money! In reality, it’s all about the math! And it works! Even your best accountant would be hard-pressed trying to compute and track all the variables and algorithms associated within the inner workings of this system. You could never achieve the same kind of results trying to accomplish this on your own….if so, I would have done it. It’s also very user friendly and automatically adjusts to any changes that occur in your monthly budget.
If you’d like more information on the product, click on the above link. Yes, I am an independent agent for the company, but it’s a side venture I really don’t spend a lot of time on (too busy with my Real Estate Business). I became a rep only as an after thought because of my own success with the program. I cut my own mortgage term in half, and remember, I did it without refinancing, without increasing my monthly mortgage payments, and with little to no change in my personal lifestyle. I’m currently on track to save over 125K in future mortgage interest. I encourage everyone to take a look at this…it’s a phenomenal program.