When you look at your potentially new home, you’ll want to check and see if you can fit your furniture in the way you want. A lot of homes these days are configured so that the furniture will only fit in one position. Often times, this leaves a television or other device in a weird location, sometimes making your furniture nearly impossible to fit through the doors. This is surely something to bear in mind, as you certainly don’t want to have to buy entirely new furniture.

You’ll also want to be sure that you get the right home for yourself and your family. Even though you may be a young couple now, you may want to get a house with enough room in case you decide to have kids later on down the road. If you don’t get a big enough house and end up having to move, you’ll find that moving with kids is a hard task indeed. If you have babies when you move, you’ll find moving to be even more difficult.

Once your children start to leave home, you may want to look into getting a smaller house. The choice is entirely up to you, and what will work the best for your needs. Anytime you purchase a house though, you’ll want to think about the size of your new home and consider the future needs of your family as well. This way, you’ll have everything covered for years to come and won’t have to look into getting a new home.

You may also want to look at any extras as well. Things like a pool and a hot tub may be a great thing to have, although you should look into the money that regular maintenance will cost you as well. There are a lot of things that may be great to have along with your home, although you should always look at long term costs before you purchase.

Location is also something you’ll need to consider as well. Some prefer to live out in the country, while others prefer the city life. Some prefer to be close to stores and such, while others prefer to be miles and miles away. The location of a home is very important, and in most cases will have a big impact on the price. Living in the city will cost quite a bit of money, although a home out in the country can cost just as much if there is a lot of land included with the property.

Whenever you decide to buy a house, there is a lot of things that you’ll need to consider. Buying a home is no easy feat, with a lot of things you’ll need to decide on. If you give yourself enough time and plan out your budget and the type of home you want, you’ll have plenty of time to make that very important decision. You never want to rush the process, as you could end up with a home that is less than perfect. If you take your time and look at several different houses, you’ll end up in your dream home before you know it. For a buyer’s guide go to: Buying A Home Guide

What is important in closing on a property is to keep in mind the preferences of the other party making sure that everything is done in mutual agreement, and in writing. This avoids future conflicts.

During the closing, the buyer and the seller should work on the same set of standards with minor changes based on their positions.

The buyer and the seller must meet with their respective agents. The buyer does most of the work at this time. Both parties should follow the lead of their agents in order to avoid confusion as each party will have to sign lots of documents. Despite the voluminous documents, it would be wise to go over them carefully before you sign. It would be very easy to make a mistake that could cost you a lot in the future.

The next thing is for the buyer and the seller to pay their closing costs, which is always bigger on the part of the buyer because it includes any down payment.

The last step is when the seller gives the key to the buyer. This closes the deal and the transaction is finished.

It is a good practice not to hesitate to ask questions whenever you are in doubt, or when you feel like there is a need to clarify some points. This is true whether you are a buyer or a seller. Make sure that everything is clear before you leave any meeting to avoid problems in the future. For a look at a buyers guide go to:  Guide To Buying A Home

Sales contracts are binding legal documents, and regardless of your knowledge and understand of legal jargon, you can be held accountable for the terms of a sales contract whether you understood them when you signed on the dotted line or not. I know this idea can be daunting – and to a certain extent it should – but the most important thing is that you take steps to ensure that everything in your sales contract is factual and completely accurate before you sign.

What Is In a Sales Contract?

Your sales contract will include several key pieces of information, each of which is vital to the sales process. In order to better educate you, I have compiled this list of items that are common to most sales contracts:

* Legal Description – The first and most crucial part of any sales contract is a thorough and accurate description of the proposed property. This is used by local government to identify the exact boundaries of the property in question. Even in the rare case when there is a change in the street address, the legal description cannot be changed unless a portion of the property is sold.

* Sales Price – It goes without saying that the sales contract must include the agreed upon sales price. The price and payment portion of the contract should include details such as the escrow amount, the down payment amount, mortgage loan information and earnest money deposit. Any eventualities should be included as well.

* Closing Details – The closing is the day when the purchaser and the seller meet to finalize all of the paperwork and complete the sale of the property. A closing agent (usually a lawyer) will most likely handle these details. The sales contract should also contain the location, date and time of the closing.

* Miscellaneous Inclusions and Exclusions – Should the seller agree to leave specific items (such as appliances or furniture), this should be included in the sales contract. Also detailed should be any items that will not be included in the sale.

* Warranty Information – Any warranties (warranties on equipment, etc.) should be detailed in the sales contract, along with dates and descriptions.

* Testing Certification – In most cases, such things as wells, septic tanks, termite and pest inspections on the property must pass inspection before a sale can be completed. The sales contract should specify the details of these items and whose responsibility it will be to pay for the inspections and any necessary repairs.

* Date of Possession – The precise date that the purchaser will take possession of the home. This date can be at any time before or at the closing or even after the closing.

* Expiration Date of Offer – The contract should include an expiration date for the offer, by which time the seller must respond with either an acceptance, rejection or counter offer.

* Arbitration Agreement – Not necessary, but an arbitration agreement is most often included to allow for mediation of any disagreements to take place outside of the legal system.

* Interim Property Insurance – The property must be insured at all times, and the sales contract should have details about who is responsible for maintaining the property insurance prior to the closing date.

Working closely with your real estate agent, who will most likely handle the preparation of your offer, will alleviate most of the issues some purchasers may have with the process of preparing a sales contract. Real estate agents are experts in negotiating such specific details as are necessary and will be instrumental throughout the process. For a buyer’s guide go to:  Buying Your Home

First Time Home Buyer Mistakes… and How to Avoid Them

First Time Home Buyer Mistake #1 – Buying too fast.

Nobody will argue that buying a home for the first time is extremely exhilarating. Unfortunately, this excitement may cause you to rush the buying process and thus make too many costly mistakes. For instance, it’s quite easy to be mesmerized by the features of any one home because the thought of ‘owning’ it is invigorating. The downfall, is that you may end up with a house that doesn’t suit you in the long run.

Prevent this by keeping your options open. See as many homes as you can before committing to THE one.

First Time Home Buyer Mistake #2 – Chasing the ‘dream home’.

Although it’s not wise to rush the home buying process, it’s also foolish to keep holding out on houses you see because you want the ‘dream home’. Remember that for each house you say ‘no’ to, a buyer is right behind you who may want to snatch it up. In the end, your search for that ‘dream house’ will never end.

First Time Home Buyer Mistake #3 – Stretching your budget to its limits.

Again, because the prospect of owning one’s first home is so exciting, many throw caution to the wind and buy a house that frankly, they can hardly afford. The result is that the mortgage payments are so high there’s hardly any disposable income left. And what good will a big, beautiful house do if you can’t furnish it well, or worse, if you find yourself trying to scrimp on basic things like food and clothing just to meet mortgage payments?

First Time Home Buyer Mistake #4 – Not getting pre-approved for a mortgage.

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is good for you in two ways: firstly, you get to realize just how much house you can really afford as well as how much monthly mortgage payments will be, and secondly, pre-approval means you’re prepared, organized, and ‘ready to buy’. The latter makes you a good candidate for home sellers should you find yourself in competition with others for buying the house.

First Time Home Buyer Mistake #5 – Not shopping around for the best mortgage deal.

It’s important to compare mortgage offers from different lenders. If you do your homework, it’s not impossible to end up with hundreds of dollars in savings monthly in mortgage payments.

Buying a house for the first time is thrilling. Prevent it from becoming a nightmare by avoiding the first time home buyer mistakes we’ve outlined above. For a guide for buying your first home go to: Buying Your First Home

A down market is the perfect time to buy for move up buyers and it won’t last long!

Have you thought about moving up to that dream home lately? With our sour real estate market still reeling from shock, homebuyers are still in the market to move-up to a bigger home at an affordable price. No, the housing markets are not looking that great and that means the perfect opportunity for you to move-up to that home you’ve always wanted.

Just two years ago prices were obnoxiously high but now…Buy, Buy, Buy is the only motto you should know. Interest rates are still at a low and it’s a buyers market. You won’t see home prices and interest rates as low as this for years to come.

When we do come out of this financial spiral and level off, the housing market is going to once again thrive and you’ll be left with higher priced homes, high interest rates and overbearing marketing tactics.

What makes this the Perfect Opportunity to move-up to a bigger home in Port Charlotte Florida?

I know you’ve noticed these prices lately. Remember what those same prices used to be just two years ago? $400,000 and $500,000 and $900,000 for the home you always dreamed of.  Now, you can move-up to a bigger home that’s lower than its original valued price and it’s move-in ready. 

These homes were already overpriced and now owners must sell them at the current market value.  Sure, they will take a big loss, but it’s either sell or continue to make the loan payments themselves. 

Not only will you get a bargain on the price of your dream home but the interest rates are unbelievably low which makes your mortgage payment affordable.  Even your down payment on a bigger home will be less simply because the price has been reduced.

Everything about this real estate market is a win-win no-brainer.  Just think that same home you only dreamt about owning used to cost $500,000 and now you can steal it away for $350,000. 

Furthermore, this bargain of a home will only increase its value back up to what it was originally worth.  You buy a bigger home and give the market time to recover and within the next few years you’ll instantly increase your new home’s value by thousands of dollars.

The market will recover and housing will boom again and although that sounds optimistic it won’t be great for those that waited to move into a bigger home. Higher interest rates, more profitable bank fees for lenders – and you can count on that when we do recover – and  inflated home prices will follow.

And everyone is in the market to buy. Even the government backed loans accept blemished credit so what excuse do you really have to hold back and not move up to a bigger home?

Everyday interest rates fluctuate and you’ll want the lowest most affordable rate to buy the most house that will benefit you and your family. Get it now before it slips through your fingers.

Not too long ago we had over a four-year supply of homes for sale here in Port Charlotte Florida and surrounding areas. Now, for a number of reasons, our inventory of homes for sale is down to a 13 month supply.  Even though the number of homes on the market is lower, there are still a lot of great deals to be had.

Foreclosures and short sales homes for sale are a great place to look for real estate deals.  To get your Free Foreclosure list of homes for sale in Port Charlotte, Florida and surrounding area click here or copy and paste this link, http://www.bestchoicerealty.net/ForeclosureList.htm.

E-mail us at, info@bestchoicerealty.net, with any questions you may have.

When you sign a release you practically give up your rights; it could mean forfeiting your right to keep your deposit or setting the settlement date in stone for you but a contingency for the builder. 

Every page you initial could be detrimental in the end if you are not represented professionally.  Sure, there are laws and guidelines that say you are protected from predatory requirements – RESPA Laws – however if you don’t know how to apply those guidelines to your transaction how do you know if you’re being taken for thousands of dollars?

Many homebuilders offer incentives as a way to entice you to purchase their home however those incentives often mean you must use their in-house lenders and their title escrow companies; this is far from the truth because you can use whatever lender or title escrow company you choose and in the end, the builder cannot tie the incentives to a specific lender. 

Are your discounts really discounts or are they embedded somewhere in your sales package? Often a builder will show you all the discounts and incentives they’re providing to you but the loan package is packed with excessive and useless fees that make up for all those discounts they’re giving you.  This is why you need a realtor to accompany you for any real estate transaction.  It may seem like a simple decision to walk into a model home and deal with the salesperson but it could cost you thousands of dollars.

That salesperson works solely for the builder and I bet you’ll sign an acknowledgement of this statement. They must disclose certain items to you but again they work solely for the builder and without professional representation you are on your own to learn the ropes.

For any real estate transaction take advantage of all the knowledge a real estate agent or broker has to offer. You’ll avoid many of the traps home builders have waiting for you.