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| Lorine's Real Estate Update |
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Nice Home - Active Adult (55+) 2bed plus den, culdesac lot, borders common area http://www.lorinelovett.com/Listing/ViewListingDetailsAuthenticated.aspx?ListingID=4739119&Preview=false&TabID=1503426 |
Articles and Advice |
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| Final walkthrough a buyer's best friend By Dian Hymer Imagine this. You move into your new home for the first time after closing and, although you transferred the utilities into your name, the lights don't turn on. There isn't a single light bulb left in the house, the yard is overgrown, and the leaky faucets the sellers were to have fixed still leak. Most homebuyers aren't faced with such an unpleasant surprise. You can gain some degree of control over the situation by completing a walkthrough inspection of the property within five days of closing. Your purchase contract should include a clause that grants the buyers permission to do a final walkthrough inspection sometime close to the closing date. A final walkthrough provides the buyers an opportunity to verify that the property is in substantially the same condition it was when the sellers accepted their offer. The walkthrough is not a contingency of the contract that gives the buyers the right of approval or disapproval. Your purchase contract should require the sellers to maintain the property in its present condition until closing. So, if a window breaks before closing, the sellers would be responsible for fixing it, depending on the verbiage in the contract. During the walkthrough, the buyers can also confirm the completion of any work the seller agreed to do before closing. Ask the sellers to provide you copies of invoices for work done before closing. Keep these documents in your house file for future reference. If sellers made repairs themselves, they should provide an itemization of work completed that describes what they did. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: It's a good idea to have your REALTOR® accompany you on the final walkthrough and take notes as necessary. If the property isn't in the same condition it was when you agreed to buy it, put this in writing and have your REALTOR® contact the sellers' agent to inform them of the items remaining to be done before closing. Your purchase contract should include a provision for the sellers to deliver the property to the buyers free of personal property and debris, unless otherwise agreed to in writing. For example, the sellers might have agreed to leave the washer, dryer, and refrigerator with the house, and the buyers accepted the offer. These items are usually considered personal property, unless they're built in. If the sellers moved these items out or the movers did by mistake, they would need to be returned by closing unless you make other arrangements with the sellers. It can be very helpful if the sellers agree to do a walkthrough with the buyers to show them things about the home that the buyers would have difficulty figuring out on their own, like the location of obscure light switches or how to operate retractable skylights. If something is disclosed about the property that should have been disclosed earlier, put it in writing. If it's something significant, talk to your real estate agent or attorney about how best to resolve the issue. Keep in mind that most real estate agents are not licensed to practice law. Also, seller disclosure laws vary by state. Doing a final walkthrough to verify the condition of your new home can be complicated if it's tenant-occupied. If you are buying a tenant-occupied property to live in, your contract should provide for the property to be vacant several days before closing. THE CLOSING: That way you can walk through the property free of tenants' belongings before you close the deal. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Contingencies frustrate buyers, sellers By Dian Hymer There are many frustrating aspects associated with buying or selling a home today. One is that contract contingencies -- such as inspections, financing or the sale of another property -- often aren't removed on time. It's not uncommon for closings to be delayed, usually due to the buyer's lender. Your purchase contract should include a provision to deal with deadlines that are not met on time. For example, in the home purchase contract used by many REALTORS® in California, sellers can give buyers a 24-hour notice to perform. If the buyers don't meet this deadline, the sellers can cancel the contract. This notice can't be delivered earlier than 24 hours before the contingency is due. You might want to issue a 24-hour notice, or some similar remedy included in your contract, if you're in contract with buyers who don't remove their inspection contingency on time and have made no effort to line up inspectors, especially if the buyers' agent thinks her clients are flaky. If your contract doesn't provide for a simple remedy for missed deadlines, consult with a knowledgeable real estate attorney. In most cases where buyers can't remove contingencies on time but they're serious about moving forward, there's just a glitch that needs to be addressed. A seller wouldn't want to jeopardize the deal by invoking a demand to perform if there's a good chance the delay is just that. Recently buyers who were applying for a jumbo mortgage hit a roadblock when the house didn't appraise for the purchase price. The loan and appraisal contingencies were due 14 days from acceptance -- a near impossible time frame in the current lending environment. The buyers were committed to buying the house, and the sellers were committed to selling to these buyers. The buyers requested an extension of time for the loan and appraisal contingencies; the sellers agreed. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: At the first indication there could be a delay in a contingency removal or closing, your agent should let the other agent know so that it doesn't come as a surprise. Your agent should be as specific as possible about the situation, without violating your privacy rights. If it turns out that there will be a delay, make a written request for an extension so that there is no question about whether or not the contract is intact. Some residential purchase contracts include a passive form of contingency removal. In this case, if the contingency is being removed, the party removing the contingency does not need to do so in writing. However, the preferred method for contingency removal is the active form where the party removing the contingency gives written notice that the contingency is lifted from the contract. This avoids any ambiguity as to whether or not a contingency has been satisfied. Sometimes a contingency or closing is missed by a day. In this case, a written request for extension might not be made because the delay occurs at the last minute. For example, a final, unanticipated condition of loan approval required one buyer to prove that her Social Security number was, in fact, her Social Security number. The buyer, a busy doctor, had to take off work and go to the local Social Security office to get the documentation the lender required. The loan contingency was removed a day late. But the escrow closed on time. THE CLOSING: Patience and flexibility are a necessary part of getting through current home-sale transactions. However, if a delay is going to be more than one day, it should be agreed to in writing. Oral agreements are not binding. Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Early mortgage payoff protocol By Benny Kass DEAR BENNY: I am going to pay off my 30-year mortgage at the end of this year, which is 10 years early. When I contacted the mortgage company to ask for a payoff amount, the representative said there would be some fees included. Someone else told me that there should be no fees and to refuse to pay them. What should I expect when paying off my mortgage? Should I also get the original deed? --Jay DEAR JAY: Permit me to explain the mortgage process. When you first obtained your mortgage (also called a deed of trust) 20 years ago, among a large number of papers involved, you signed a promissory note and a mortgage (or deed of trust). The note is the IOU -- "I promise to pay the lender 'X' dollars, at 'Y' interest rate, due in full in 30 years." Your lender wanted security, just in case you were unable to make the necessary payments. So you also signed a document entitled a deed of trust, which was recorded among the land records in your county or state. Some states still use mortgages, but the majority of loans are secured by deeds of trust. The deed of trust basically states that you deed the property in trust to a trustee appointed by your lender. If you are in default -- and depending on the foreclosure laws in your state -- the trustees have the right to sell your property at a foreclosure sale. You are not in default, and now want to pay off your mortgage. Since it was recorded on the land records, it must now be released. Typically, the appropriate recorder of deeds will charge a fee for recording -- usually nominal, ranging from $35 to $100. And someone -- usually the lender when you are not selling the property -- has to prepare the appropriate release document. Lenders typically charge a small fee to prepare and send you the payoff amount. So, the answer to your question is that there will be some fees associated with the payoff of your loan. Ask the lender to provide you with the specific charges. But more importantly, the loan is not paid off in full until the lender actually receives the money. If you are told that you will owe "X" amount on a certain date, your check must be there on that date or additional interest will accrue. Lenders will provide you with a "per diem" amount -- which means that you have to add the daily interest charge to make sure you are really paying off your loan. If you are dealing with a legitimate lender, I recommend sending them three to five days' additional interest -- just to make sure that you have paid off the loan. The lender will calculate what is actually owed and should send you back any overage. You asked about getting the deed back. You should have received that when you first bought the house. You want the lender to send you (1) the original promissory note, marked "paid and canceled," and (2) the original deed of trust (or mortgage document), again marked "paid and canceled." And don't forget to advise your insurance company and your real estate taxing authority that you no longer have a mortgage and that all future communication should go directly to you. Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column. |
| Hot Links |
| Options For Homeowners in Foreclosure http://www.homeownerhelpaz.com Guide to Moving http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/moving_on/2004_guide/relocation-home.asp Research Schools http://www.greatschools.net/ Fire Safety http://www.aaronline.com/Documents/FireSafety.aspx/ Pool Safety http://www.hs.state.az.us/diro/admin_rules/pool_rules.htm |
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