larger deposit of an additional $20,000. They ran her in circles until the seller told her, through the real estate agent, that the deal was over if she didn’t find another solution. Luckily, the seller’s real estate agent referred her to another lender and was able to help her to obtain another loan (although at a higher interest) much more quickly. It turned out the first lender was a scammer. In another case: Ron and Jenna planned to upgrade to a new home. After a long search, they found it — or so they thought. A bright and colorful kitchen, open living and dining areas, three bathrooms, high ceilings, a fireplace, and even a covered porch made the home seem perfect. They were especially thrilled that the price was only $335,000. That was a steal. They signed the contract and were in the house more than a month later. Less than six months later, the horror story began to unfold. Jenna was cleaning one of the bathrooms when she noticed tiny little ants with wings. Following Ron’s advice, she called the exterminator. When he arrived, he delivered the first blow — these winged ants were termites. The exterminator went under the house to assess the damage. He found that the floor under the bathroom was not only completely infested but also the other two bathrooms, and the infestation was spreading to more of the house. The total to repair this problem came to over $12,000! That’s a huge amount of money to invest in a house unexpectedly you’ve lived in for less than six months. THE KEY LESSON IS: KNOW THE HOUSE YOU ARE GOING TO PURCHASE Take the time to educate yourself, and a good real estate agent should help you move forward in the right direction and connect you with other experts to help avoid these pitfalls. Getting a home inspection is important, but it’s still not a guarantee that everything works as it should. Inspectors can miss some problems and things could work during the
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