After years of trying unsuccessfully to list my home on my own, I finally realized that I needed some serious help. I began looking for a great real estate agent who could help me out, and after interviewing a few professionals I found someone that was really in tune with what I needed. They sat down with me to talk about my needs and worked hard to help me to identify different homes that could work for my family. I wanted to make a blog all about selecting the perfect agent to work with during your house hunt. Check out this blog for great tips on choosing agents.
-
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Residential Land Transactions 28 September 2023
-
Reasons To Sell Your Home For Cash 21 March 2023
Choosing Qualified Real Estate Agents
Beware Of These Pre-Closing Snafus
Savannah Marshall
Buying a single family home is a multi-part process, and signing the agreement to purchase is a big milestone in that process. It would be a mistake, however, to relax and let your guard down before you are actually handed those keys. Read on and learn how you can avoid some problems that can happen to less-informed home buyers.
The Locked In Rate Expires
In most cases, you felt extremely fortunate to get a low financing rate for your home purchase, but those rates almost always come with an expiration date. When you are provided this time limit, it is expected that you will be able to close on your home in a timely manner. Often these rates are good for about 60-90 days, which should be plenty of time to deal with home issues, appraisals, inspections, and the like.
If your date is approaching and you are still dealing with issues, you should speak to your real estate agent as soon as possible. Some potential problems during this period include:
1. Scheduling issues with the closing participants.
2. Contingencies on the home contract have not been resolved.
3. Contingencies on the home contract turned up more problems, and the repair is taking longer than anticipated. For example, a termite inspection is a common contingency. If the inspection found damage to the home's structure, repairs might take longer than planned.
4. Problems with the title search turn up discrepancies with ownership history.
5. There is pending legal action on the property lines. For example, a survey of the property found that a neighbor's fence is encroaching on the property.
Your credit suffers a hit
Your home loan approval likely provoked a great feeling of relief, but you should understand that your credit will be under close scrutiny for a few more weeks. All the way up until your closing date, your lending situation is vulnerable. Be wise with your spending and credit use, since your approval is based on certain factors that must not change. Be sure not to:
1. Be late paying a bill; late payments will lower your credit score, and your finance rate is based on your score.
2. Add more debt by opening a new account or getting another loan. Again, your debt load was previously evaluated carefully, so adding more debt may lead to problems.
3. Apply for more credit, which could lower your credit score. Hard credit inquiries often bring down a score, and in the case of auto loans your credit could be checked by several different auto loan lenders before you even have the chance to realize what's happening.
4. Change jobs or quit your job.
5. Remove money from your savings account or make any large purchases.
Work closely with your real estate agent as your closing date gets near and be prepared for these snafus.
Share