Do You Interview Schools Before Buying A House In Charlotte, NC.?

With families looking to purchase a home today with record low interest rates and prices that by all accounts have hit the bottom and are beginning to climb; how do you choose the right house? One large factor I have noticed among buyers this spring and summer season is the schools. How do we know the school is good? I usually direct families to a couple of different websites that give statistical information on schools in the Charlotte school system. One is www.ncreportcards.org and the other is www.greatschools.org. However; these give you some idea of how the school performs in comparison to other schools in the district and the state. But is the school the right one for you and your children? I have started this year scheduling appointments for potential homeowners that want a house to visit the schools that are going to be in their district when they purchase the house. You can learn so much more about a school by visiting it and going to see it than you can from statistics. Is the school safe/ how is the learning environment? What are the teachers like? What is the school schedule like? Do they offer special programs? What if your child wants to go down a certain major of study; does the school offer it or are you going to have to transfer to a magnet school program? Being a father of four children; my wife and I were put in the same dilemma when we moved to charlotte area seven years ago. We based our decision on information we found online on various websites and forums. But it did not give us the true picture of the schools. We know we liked what we read about the schools and felt comfortable sending our children there. But we did not know the schools. After enrolling the children in school we met with the principal and guidance counselors and a few of the teachers from different grade levels...At that time we realized we made the right decision for our children. however; a friend of ours dis the same thing but ended up sending his son to a magnet school for middle school because of his love for arts. That led to a longer day and more complicated schedule of getting him to a bus stop and ensuring he is picked up at a certain time. They admit that had they visited the schools and learned about the different programs offered they would have looked at homes in an area closer to the school their son goes to now.... I always tell home buyers for every positive comment you find about a school you can find a negative one. You need to meet the school principal and talk honestly about your expectations and what you are looking for out of the school and make sure that the school is best suited for your child needs. What is important for one family may not be for another. And a lot of us purchase homes today because of the schools in order to give our children the best possible chance of a great education as we can... So why are we not visiting the schools before buying a house? Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com

Why You Need A Survey On A Charlotte, NC. House You Purchase

In Real Estate when I deal with a buyer and we locate a house I go over a checklist of items that I recommend the buyer do once we have reached an agreeable set of terms with the seller. One of those items which more times than not goes without being done is the survey. A survey will be able to tell you exactly where your property lines are and where your boundaries are on the house. It can tell you if someone is encroaching on your property with their fence or out building. It can also tell if you are encroaching on another person property as well....You should never take for granted that the property line is where a fence or a tree lined row of trees are... I recently had two individual situations where the buyers got a survey done on the house they were buying and had an issue with each one. On the first one the neighbors all had fenced in their yards and the current seller piggybacked off that fence and closed in his yard. When the buyer had a survey done she found out that the neighbors fences ALL encroached on her property by at least five feet on each side all along the property lines. This made for an interesting situation since it was three different neighbors that had encroached on the property. It delayed our closing and made for some disgruntled neighbors....However; fi the buyer had not done the survey and went to sell the house down the road it might have come up again when the new buyer did their due diligence and got a survey and then my buyer would be dealing with the neighbors about moving the fence lines. On another situation the seller had put a fence up on her property about 15 years ago. The house was a corner lot and the buyer said I do not need a survey. But decided to get one after telling her the potential issues that could arise without having one. In this case we found out the existing fence was actually 10 feet into the neighbor’s yard along the back part of the house. A fence that has been standing for over 15 years was never really put on the property correctly....had my buyer gone ahead and bought the house without the survey and repaired the fence like she intended to do; she may have had issues down the road if the neighbor decided to sell and found out her property line was actually shorter and had to move the fence.... These are just two recent examples of issues that arose because of a survey...Without one they may not have been known until it was too late... Getting a survey protects you and your rights on what your property lines are. A home is the largest purchase you are going to make. Why not make sure that investment is fully protected? Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com

Pre-Qualification Letter Versus A Pre-Approval letter

Does it matter if the buyer has a pre-approval letter or a pre-qualification letter when reviewing an offer on your home? Most definitely it does. There are many factors that play into the difference and can affect whether the buyer can actually purchase the home. A pre-qualification letter basically states that the buyer is pre-qualified to buy a home up to X amount fo dollars using a certain type of financing. In those cases the bank has most likely pulled their credit to ensure they qualify with credit score and has verbally asked them for income and issued the letter accordingly to what the buyer has told them. A pre-approval letter on the other hand is in some respect the same as a pre-qualification letter but in those cases the mortgage broker has looked at paystubs or tax returns (if self-employed) and has approved them for X amount of dollars based on physical evidence of their income and expenses. So, why does it matter? There are a lot of reasons why it can make a difference when someone is looking to buy a house. Most mortgage brokers will only issue a pre-qualification letter until the buyer finds a house then do the necessary paperwork to ensure they qualify. In these cases they are doing an injustice to the buyer and the seller. What if the buyer said I make $3000 a month and the mortgage broker pre-qualifies them for a house based on that and they go under contract. the seller has taken the house off the market while the buyer is working on the loan paperwork and losing potential showings and qualified buyers. Now, part of that $3000 is overtime pay. it is not a consistent thing and has gotten it this year because of work and not enough qualified people; however it may not continue. Then the overtime may not qualify as income for the buyer and that could make a difference in their affordability of buying the house. Or what if the buyer is self-employed or works on commission or tips. They may be having a great year and said I make $3000 a month this year. But their last two years average has only been $2000 a month. On self-employed the banks look at their two year average of the previous years to qualify them for a mortgage. Not what they are currently making now. Even then you may not be on commission for a full two years, or what if they have switched jobs and careers in the past few months. These are all factors that can have an impact on their qualifications for a mortgage. This is just one part of the equation that plays a part in pre-qualification and pre-approval. There are many other factors. Such as bank accounts, where the money for down payment si coming from and debts that they have all paly a factor in their qualification for a mortgage that may not come up until they go for a pre-approval. I have seen a lot of transactions get delayed and cancelled because of these reasons and that the buyer's agent did not insist that the buyer get a pre-approval letter or the mortgage broker did not go through the necessary steps to ensure they could actually buy a house at that price point..... If you are selling a house ask your buyer’s agent to make sure you are getting a pre-approval letter when negotiating an offer...it could save you time and money. As a buyer you should always ask for a pre-approval letter. The last thing you want to do is find your dream home and then find out you cannot buy it..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com