Toi Holliday - COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUYING A HOME

sellers are not obligated to fix, repair or offer buyer credits.

#6. Ask for Title Search and Insurance

Title insurance is needed to eliminate the potential of loss by third-party ownership on the property that you’re buying. Title insurance protects real estate owners and lenders against loss or damage due to liens, encumbrances, or defects in the title. Each title insurance policy is subject to specific terms, conditions, and exclusions. Auto and homeowner’s insurance protect against potential future events, and is paid for with monthly or annual premiums. A title insurance policy insures against past events for a one-time premium paid at the close of the escrow. Title defects include another person claiming an ownership interest, improperly recorded documents, fraud, forgery, liens, encroachments, easements, and other items specified in the insurance policy.

#7. Conduct a Home Appraisal

A home appraisal determines the estimated market value of your soon-to-be property. The appraiser evaluates it based on general condition, geographic location, proximity to objects of interest, value of the nearby houses, recent sales, and neighborhood growth and potential, among other factors. Mortgage lenders use this information to make sure the amount you borrow is supported by the home’s value. There’s always a risk of a low appraisal. In that case, the lender won’t go through with the transaction at that price. The seller might adjust the sale price accordingly but also might not. Appraisal value isn’t a binding figure — what the seller sells for and the buyer pays determines the sale price. The situation might be that you negotiated a deal with the seller for a price

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