See on Scoop.it – Midtown Atlanta Conversations and Condos
Buying into the American dream? Renting for life? For younger people, home ownership is less cut-and-dry than it was a generation ago.
An interesting perspective from one person that could see themselves renting “forever” to a Midtown Atlanta condo buyer that said he could buy cheaper than rent, and did not want to one day say….”Wow, I missed the opportunity….”
See on www.marketplace.org
This is it! After searching, and negotiations, the day has come to complete your walk through and close on your new home or condo!
Depending on when the Sellers move out of your new home or condo (it might also be vacant) you will want to do a Final Walk Through. Why? It may have been weeks, or even months since you were inside of the home or condo you are purchasing! If it was occupied by the Sellers, you want to make sure they did not damage anything after your home inspection or during their move out!
If you had repairs done as part of your Home Inspection, we will have looked at these prior to today to make sure they were done as agreed upon.
This is our D-Day! We will meet at the closing attorney’s office and you and I, along with the Seller and the Seller’s Agent will sign all the documents necessary for you to become the new owner! As the Buyer, if you are obtaining financing, you will have the most things to sign at the closing table. If you are a first-time buyer, I try to get you a copy of the closing documents so you can review them in advance. They are lengthy, and often times, the closing attorney does not want to review them with you. Your closing documents are a result of your “loan package” coming from your lender or mortgage broker to the closing attorney. It your lender has delayed getting everything done, it may not be possible to get a copy to you in advance of the closing.
Required by law, the HUD-1 is a recap of all the monies and expenses that are part of your closing.
The HUD-1 will detail all of your expenses with regard to purchasing the home or condo. It will also show credits to you from the Seller, such as if they agreed to buy you a home warranty, or pay money towards your closing costs.
Once the HUD-1 has been completed you will know the exact amount of money you have to bring to closing. You probably already had a good idea of the amount from your lender. But it can always change. In the state of Georgia, any closing funds over $5,000 have to be wired to the closing attorney. They cannot be brought, even in certified funds.
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section 44-14-13, funds for closing must be remitted as follows:
$1.00 – $1,000.00 = a personal check is fine (GWM policy)
$1,001.00 – $5,000.00 = wire or certified check (no personal checks allowed)
$5,000.01+ = WIRE ONLY (as required by the statute
The actual closing should not take more than an hour, but there are times when funds have not reached the closing attorney and checks to the Seller (hopefully they are making some money on the sale) and the agents for their marketing fees cannot be issued until the funds are in the closing attorney’s account.
CONGRATULATIONS on the purchase of your new Intown Atlanta home or condominium! I hope you enjoy many years in your new home!
When you purchase Intown Atlanta Real Estate, an important part of the process is getting a home inspection by a licensed home inspector. In this part of our Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide, we look at the Inspection process.
Once you have negotiated a contract on your home or condo, it’s a pretty good idea to check under the hood! You know, like when you buy a used car, you want to take it to your OWN mechanic and tell you what, if anything is wrong with it. The same is true for a home or condo. We walked through the home as we were shopping, but we didn’t really get a chance to look under the hood. That is where the home inspector comes in.
You can choose your own, or consult our Team Page to get potential inspectors. You will want to be sure they are licensed and ASHI certified. (American Society of Home Inspectors) There are many, many home inspectors available to you in the Intown Atlanta real estate market. Some offer additional services such as a recall notification service and a warranty on their actual inspection!
What Is Covered In A Home Inspection?A home inspection will vary greatly in a single family home from that of a condo. Why? Well in a condo, you don’t have to inspection items like the foundation, the roof or the exterior of the building. Those are items that are not specifically your responsibility when living in a condo and are taken care of by the home owners association. (HOA). But, your inspector can check items like:
Once the home inspector has completed his inspection, he will provide both you (Buyer) and your agent (ME!) a copy of the report. We review the report and look at all of the items identified by the inspection that may need repair/replacement. I’ll review this list with you and together we will decide and rank in order of importance (and possibily cost) what we would like replaced/repaired by the Seller. This is all done with an amendment to your Purchase and Sale Agreement, called the Amendment To Address Concerns With Property.
You may have heard from many people that the home inspector is the “deal killer!” While I would call that a bit harsh, it can be a point in the real estate purchase process where challenges come up. A Seller may not be willing to fix/repair any of the items we have requested. Or they may only want to addess part of the items. It’s a negotiation process indeed! Do they always move forward. Yes and No! It all depends on the willingness of BOTH the Buyer and the Seller to come to a mutual agreement. Sometimes that agreement may not be the actual repair or replacement of the items listed, but an agreed upon reduction to the contract sales price, or a price reduction in lieu of repairs.
I’m always confident that we will find the mutual ground needed to keep moving forward. But not always. If that happens, we will have structured your Purchase and Sale Agreement to give you the ability to terminate.
And we’ll go find you another perfect home!
Our next column will cover the final walk-through and …..yes…..Closing!
NOTE: You should also know about Home Warranties! What Is a Home Warranty?
In this column of the Intown Atlanta Real Estate Buyers Guide, let’s talk about what contingencies can be a part of your real estate contract.
So, you’ve made your offer on the home or condo that you like. Most likely that offer is going to have contingencies attached to it. Let’s look at what some of those might be. Contingencies are kind of like a chance that something could, or could not happen.
Due Diligence Period — Out of all the contingencies you have in a Georgia Real Estate contract, this may be the most important one! During the due diligence period, you have the right to terminate the contract for any reason, whatsoever. While we will cover other contingencies that can be a part of your contract, this all encompassing contingency can help you end a contract if you need to. Of course, the time length of your due diligence period is one of the negotiations you will have gone through as you came to terms on your contract.
Keep in mind, the Seller will want this time period to be as short as possible to assure you are sticking with your contract. But their can be various reasons as to why the time period can be long, or short.
Appraisal Contingency — This is a VERY important contingency, and you should NEVER enter into a real estate contract without this as part of that contract. If any appraisal performed by your lender in obtaining financing for your purchase is for less than the purchase price of the Property, you as the Buyer have the right to request that Seller reduce the sales price of the Property. In this instance, perhaps the Seller cannot lower the price due to what they owe on the property. With this contingency in place, you can terminate your contract and receive your earnest money back.
If it’s not a huge difference, and it really is the home or condo of your dreams, I have seen Buyers pay the difference. That is something I would discuss with you based on the market, the home you have found and how long you think you will be living there.
Financing Contingency — While this still can be used, you should have crossed most of your financing hurdles with your pre-approval with your lender. With a pre-approval, your lender just needs a contract and then the appraisal for you to move forward. But there may be times and purchases when it makes sense to still have this contingency. This too can be covered with your Due Diligence period.
Short Sale Contingency– This contingency will come into play if you are purchasing a home from a Seller that is doing a short sale. This means that the owner of the home owes more than it is worth, and is asking the lender to take a reduced payoff on the mortgage. This contingency protects more the Seller than the Buyer in that it outlines the steps for the Seller to achieve a successful short sale and release of liens from the lenders.
There are other contingencies for selling your home first, and for back-up offers on the home you are looking at, but these are the main parts you will want to be familiary with.
In our next column, we’ll talk about the……Inspection!
See on Scoop.it – Midtown Atlanta Conversations and Condos
A Marietta man’s dream home has become a nightmare because of a so-called “zombie neighborhood” next door. Vacant Atlanta real estate developments pose problems for those living close to them.
See on www.myfoxatlanta.com
NOTE: Photo taken of similar type subdivision in Livingston, Montana.
You’ve often heard the phrase, “real estate is location, location, location.” Well, the location determines lots of things including your real estate transaction. In Georgia, your closing will be done at an attorney’s office. But, Who Does The Closing Attorney Represent?
I know (or read) in some states BOTH the Buyer and the Seller have an attorney that looks at contracts. But here in Georgia, a lawyer is really not required during the actual contract process. Later, if there is a dispute, rest assured you will then need one. Here in Georgia, when you do your closing to take possession of your new home, the Closing Attorney represents the LENDER that is providing your loan. As a Buyer, you have the preference to select your Closing Attorney in most cases. But when they prepare the closing documents, the are being done from a loan package that the lender has sent to the attorney.
The Purchase and Sale Agreement we use in Georgia has been written by a lawyer, and reviewed by brokers as well. It is the result of years of real estate transactions and “issues” that have come up. Now, most everything is covered in the body of the agreement, or in special stipulations and exhibits. There is no need for you to have an attorney for your real estate closing in Georgia.
If you are purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property, the Seller may have stipulated the attorney you must close with. This can be for various reasons. If a short sale, the closing attorney have have assisted in the actual negotiation of the short sale for the Seller, and the Seller is giving the attorney the opportunity to handle the closing as well. Is this a conflict of interest? Not really, as again, when the actual closing comes, and the documents are prepared, the attorney will be doing this on behalf of the lender.
In Georgia, Who Does The Closing Attorney Represent? They represent the lender.
