Purchase A Home...Follow These 8 Steps For A Smooth Closing

You and the seller have agreed upon a price for the house you want to buy. What do you do next? This is the part of the transaction that most people feel is the easiest part yet can be the most difficult part. There are steps to be taken to ensure you have a smooth closing.

First, as soon as you and the seller sign the offer to purchase with the agreed upon terms contact your mortgage broker. Your mortgage broker then will need to put in the system the numbers and calculate out yoru monthly payment with the taxes.

Second, find out when the mortgage broker is going to order the appraisal. All mortgage transactions are subject to the appraisal. I have noticed today it is not necessarily the dollar amount that is affecting the appraisal as much as it is the condition of the home. If you are purchasing a bank owned home you want to make sure that the appraisal is done quickly. Banks will generally not do repairs to a house and some appraisals may require certain reparis to be done in order to qualify for the mortgage.

Third, get together with yoru Realtor and schedule a home inspection on the home. There is only so much you can see with the naked eye. A qualified home isnpector will give you a full breakdown of the condition of the home. You will be able to assess how the home was cared for and what immediate repairs are needed and what to budget for in the future. Depending on the repairs needed you may be able to ask the seller to do those repairs.

Fourth, get all the necesdsary paperwork over to the mortgage lender quickly. You probably have a time frame in which you will need to close by. The longer you wait to get the necessary documents to the mortgage broker the more likely you will not be able to close on time.

Fifth, find an attorney to do the closing for you. In North Carolina the attorney takes care of preparing the necessary documents to close. They also do the title search on the house to make sure that there are no outstanding liens not being paid on the house. You will want to know that as soon as possible.

Sixth, shop around for homeowners insurance. If you have never owned a home before the best place to start is the company you have your auto insurance with. A lot of times they will give you a discount for having both auto and home insurance together.

Seventh, prepare for the move...It is the most exciting time buying a home. However; you have to make arrangements to have the utlities turned on in your name effective the day you close. You can contact the utlities in advance and give them the date of your closing and they will be able to automatically switch it over on that day.

Eight, go to the closing. The process may seem long and sometimes stressful. But after the search and the inspections this is the moment you have been waiting for. Make sure you have everything the attorney and mortgage company asked you to bring. Sign the papers and you are now proud homeowners.

Following these eight steps will help ensure you have a smooth transition from finding a home to closing on a home.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Buying A Home...Follow These 12 Steps

Today there are a lot of people out there considering buying a home. With good reason this is a good time to think about purchasing a home....Rents are high and affordability of a home is the lowest it has been in decades. In a lot of cases you may be able to own for what you pay currently in rent. But the task can be overwhelming as well....So, where do you start?

First, I recommend to anyone looking to buy a home; check your credit report. All three credit bureaus will give you a free copy of your credit report once a year. Make sure that the information on there is accurate and if not begin the process to correct it.

Second, sit down and decide what is a comfortable mortgage payment for you. For some it may be equal to or less than they are paying now. Others may want to go up a little. Make a descsion of what you can realisitically afford and want to spend.

Third, decide what you want in your new home. Is it four bedrooms? fenced in yard? garage? ranch? 2 story? certain neighborhoods? The list goes on....

Fourth, begin your home search online. The latest studies have homeowners beginning to search for a home online in the 90% range. I would not doubt it is closer to 100% now. See what you like and do not like out there. This will help you on your list of features you want and do not want.

Fifth, locate a Realtor you feel will be a good fit for you. Remeber this is going to be the largest purchase you make in your lifetime. Make sure you are 100% comfortable with the Realtor and the Realtor is with you. Not everyone is a good fit together.

Sixth, give your Realtor your wish list. Also,your payment area you want to be in. They should send you homes that will fit your budget or be cheaper. It is easier for Realtor to back into a sale price based on your monthly payment you desire...

Seventh, contact a mortgage broker. Either one you know or was referred to you or one by your Realtor. Get a pre-qualified letter/pre-approval letter before you go and view homes.

Eight, Pick out no more than 5 homes you want to look at in one day. ( You may want to look at 10 to 20 homes and that is okay) The reason I say five is more than that and you tend to forget what you looked at and homes start to get confusing. Five is a good number and keeps the comparison fo the homes fresh in your head.

Nine, bring a noterbook. Take notes of the homes you visited. Make notations of things you like and did not like about a house...This will help you down the road when you are trying to decide on which house to buy. See what you have to do for repairs, applainces, or general maintenace of the homes.

Ten, when you have narrowed yoru home selections down to two or three homes; schedule with your Realtor to go back and look at those homes again. Do them one right after the other. This will keep everything fresh in your mind and allow you to be sure you made the right choice for a house.

Eleven, Once you have selected a home; ask your Realtor to give you the comparables in the nieghborhood or area that have sold in the last 3 to 6 months. You want at least 3 homes. That will give you a better idea of how the price compares to what it should sell for.

Twelve, Discus with your Realtor an offer price based on the asking price and the comparables in the area....make an offer that YOU are comfortable with....

if you follow these tweleve steps it will help you ensure that you are getting a home that is best suited for you and meets your wants and needs in a budget you can comfortablly afford. In addition, the overwhelming feeling of looking for a home will not be as daunting and you can be sure you made a good informed descsion.

But, you have to know that this is only half the process...finding the right home is only the start...tomorrow i will outline what to do once you have agreed to a price and terms...

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com.

New Listing: 9400 Lexington Circle Charlotte, NC. 28213

This 3 bedroom 2.5 bath townhome located in the Village of College Downs subdivsion is in an ideal location for those working in the university area. Located just off old concord road; it is a five minute ride to the university area. The town home is being offered for only $54,900 and has an assumable mortgage.

With almost 1200 square feet of living space; this end unit utilizes the space very well. The home has a good sized kitchen with an eating area. Fully applainced that convey with the new owner. The refridgerator and stove were replaced less than two years ago. There is plenty of cabinet space and counter top for the chef in you.

The living room makes up the majority of the downstairs. With a pass thru from the kitchen this large room is great for hanging out and watching TV with the family. With some large windows in the back side of the town home the natural light makes this room beam.

Upstairs are three good sized bedrooms. The master bedroom has a separate walk in closet and large full size bathroom with shower stall. The hallway opens up to the two additional bedrooms and the other full bath upstairs.

Living here has a lot of benefits. It is very quiet community. Visiting the palce at different hours of the day I noticed the peacefullness of the complex. The HOA dues cover the exterior of the town home and the maintenace of the common area and landscaping. Last year new roofs were installed across the whole complex without any special assessments or raising of the fees.

The home features a back patio area and storage unit as part of it. The back patio are is completely fenced in so as to add privacy to your unit.

Looking for a place to start out at, empty nesters looking to downsize, or parents looking for a place for their college students then look no farther than this home on Lexington circle.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

nEW LISTING: 6206 Rockwell Blvd. W Charlotte, NC. 28269

6206 Rockwell blvd. W. is a 2 story 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home located in North Charlotte area in the rockwell park subdivison. The home has many features that make it stand out in the price range and lcoation it is in. Priced at only $105,000 this 1400 square foot home features a nice open floor plan.

This home built in 2003 is the only 2 story home in the entire subdivison. With it's front brick fascia the home has great appeal from the outside. Sitting on a corner lot; the yard is long and wide. Eventhough it is part of a community it is not subject to an HOA.

When you enter this home you are instantly greeted by a large open living/family room. A great place for the family to gather and spend time together. The large living room window helps bring in natural light to brighten the room up. There is even a pass thru between the kitchen and the living room so you can be working in the kitchen and talking with the family. The carpet was replaced recently in there as well as new paint throughout the downstairs.

The kitchen is nicely put togehter and for a home this size uses space well and gives you an open feeling. The focal point of the kitchen is the beautiful custom tile flooring that runs throughout the whole kitchen area. In addition you have a large amount of counter space to utilize. The appliances have been recently replaced and will convey with the house.

Off the kitchen is the half bath and the laundry room. In addition you have a side entrance by the driveway to enter the home there as well.

Upstairs the space is well used for the three bedrooms and two full baths. The master bedroom is a very good size and features a large walk in closet. In addition you have a soaking tub/shower combination in the bathroom that is fully tiled as well.

The two spare bedrooms are very good size. They are currently being used as an office and den. But with ample space in the rooms and good sized closets these rooms are large for the size of the house.

The home features a dual zone heating and air conditioning system. For the price point of this home that is a feature you normally would not find. There is separate controls for heating and cooling the downstairs and upstairs of the home. This helps dramatically reduce your electric bills for this home. Outside you will notice the two separate A/C units.

This home has one of the nicest yards in the area. Sitting on a corner lot has some advantages. The yard here is long and flat. It looks and feels larger than it really is. The current homeowners love the yard and it makes a great play area for kids in this quiet neighborhood.

Location is great here as well. Located only about 2 miles from I85, makes this home a great and easy access to get to uptown, or just about any part of Charlotte. Restaurants, shopping, malls, parks are all within a few minute driving distance from this home.

If you are looking for great value in a home and amenties that you normally would only see in a home two to three times this price; come take a look at this diamond located in rockwell park.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Your Home Has Not Sold...AND It Is Not Price

Yes, I wrote that as my headline. The truth is that everytime I get a call from an expired listing; the first thing that comes into my head is your home did not sell becuase it was overpriced...But is that always the case?

I am actually finding out that more and more of the listings are not overpriced but under marketed or badly marketed. Every Realtor has access to their local Listing service where we input the home and all the vital information and pictures. But, what if they are not putting in the right information? Are they taking photos that showcase the best light of the house? Are they accurately describing the house?

I had 2 listing presentations this weekend. Both had been on the market for over 6 months and not sold. In doing my market anaylsis I found comparables to those homes that sold within $5000 to $8000 of their asking price all within the last 60 days. Some in not as good condition. So, why did they not get an offer on their homes?

Marketing and photos. Both homes were poorly shot with pictures. In fact, one of the houses I did not even know about some of the features of the house becuase the listing agent prior never took a picture or made mention of it. The seller did not even know that she did not have that marketed as part of the house. The other house he never took any pictures of the upstairs where all the bedrooms were located and the two full baths....It brought red flags to me (what is wrong with the upstairs) and I asked what was wrong with that part of the house...they said nothing. And they were right.

After explaining to both of them that this was missing from their prior listing and affected the showings on the house; thus the lack of offers, they understood. in fact I told them I thouht they were both priced right...just not marketed right.

As a Realtor I beleive I am in a partnership with the seller to help them get their home sold for the most amount of money in the quickest time frame. To make that partnership work I have a very open line of communication. And one of the things I do is when I put a house on the market and send it across the world wide web I send them the links and ask for feedback. Who knows the house better? Me (who has been there maybe a few hours) or the sellers (who have lived there for years)? Their input helps me market the house better and get it sold for them....and in this economy we all need all the help we can get in selling a house.

If your home has not sold; and you do not think it is the price check your listing across the internet and see what consumers are seeing. 98% of all homebuyers start online. If they cannot get past what they are looking at there; you will never get them inside your home.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com