Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (38 page)

Read Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home Online

Authors: Ilona Bray,Alayna Schroeder,Marcia Stewart

Tags: #Law, #Business & Economics, #House buying, #Property, #Real Estate

BOOK: Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home
13.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
 
Come on In: What to Expect as You Enter
 
Okay, your feet are crossing the welcome mat, and you’re getting your first peek inside. The agent is probably in one of the front rooms, happy to greet you and to answer questions. If you’ve made an appointment, either the seller’s agent will let you and your agent in, or the agent will get a key from a lockbox. In rare cases (and with FSBOs), the seller will be there as well.
 
TIP
 
If it’s
really
awful, you can leave!
No need to be polite and do the full tour. While some aspects of a house can be changed, such as filthy blinds or old cabinets, trust your instincts and don’t waste your time.
 
Picking Up the Paperwork
 
Your first task is to see what paperwork the sellers have made available to you. This might include a property fact sheet, with basic information like the house’s size and amenities; a disclosure form that details what the seller personally knows about the condition of the house’s features, appliances, and environment; and/or a pest report and possibly a general inspection report, including details discovered by a professional.
You probably won’t get all three of these—you may get none, or only the basic fact sheet or a flyer. How much information a seller is
legally
required to give potential buyers varies from state to state (though they may give more).
Got Homing Pigeons?
 
Yes, there are still people who keep them, usually to race. There’s just one problem—homing pigeons can’t be trained to return to a new address! See “Little Wing,” in
The New Yorker
, February 13 and 20, 2006.
 
 
TIP
 
“As-is” on a fact sheet equals red flag.
It normally means the seller wants you to buy the house without requesting payment for any repairs, perhaps without even doing a home inspection. Ask what it means to
this
seller.
 
First Questions to Ask
 
If the house looks promising, you and your agent should ask some basic questions concerning repair needs, utility costs, neighbors, and more. You’ll most likely ask these of the seller’s agent, but if the seller is there, or is selling without an agent, ask the seller directly.
 
CD-ROM
 
Use the “Questions for Seller Worksheet” in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM.
A sample is shown below. Tailor this worksheet to your interests, for example, adding a question on whether there’s hardwood flooring under any carpets. (Also, if you’re buying a condo or co-op, the Toolkit contains a separate checklist for you.)
 
Do We Have a Match? Using Your Dream List
 
Even the “right” house probably won’t be just as you imagined. Carrying your Dream List (with the first two columns filled out) will help you stay organized and avoid getting distracted—for example, being so impressed with stainless steel appliances that you forget that one bathroom won’t be enough. Fill out your Dream List before leaving each house. At the end of a day’s househunting, when you can barely remember your own name, it will answer questions like, “Was it the brick house that had the patio?”
 
TIP
 
Get organized.
Keep a file for each house that seems like a possible match. Include your filled-out Dream List, property fact sheet, and other paperwork.
 
Questions for Seller Worksheet
 
Here are some basic questions you and your agent will want to ask about a particular house, in terms of repair needs, utility costs, and neighbors. Add anything else to this list of interest—for example, if you have specific questions about the garden. You’ll most likely ask the seller’s agent these questions, but if the seller is there, or is selling without an agent, ask the seller directly.
1. How long has the house been on the market? _______________________________
2. What repairs have been done in the last few years? ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________
What are the house’s major or most immediate repair needs?
_______________________________________________________________
3. Does the seller use a particular repairperson, plumber, electrician, or pest control person? If so, please provide their names: ___________________________________ _______________________.
4. How much money does the owner pay for monthly utilities (gas, garbage, electricity, water) and, if applicable, for association fees? $ _______________ $ _______________ $ _______________
Are there any other ongoing costs? $ ____________________
5. Has the owner had any problems with water or dampness in the basement or any other part of the house?
 
 
 
 
6. Is there a furnace and a central A/C system, and if so, when was it installed?
 
 
7. How are the neighbors? Are there issues regarding fences, trees, or property lines?
 
 
Questions for Seller Worksheet, continued
 
NOTES
:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How to evaluate the answers:
1. If it’s more than a few weeks (depending on how fast houses are moving in your market), ask whether there’s been a price drop and whether any offers have fallen through and why. Maybe it’s overpriced and ripe for you to make a lower bid on.
2. Some of these repair problems may be stated in the pest or other inspection report, but it’s helpful to have the agent summarize them for you. Don’t hesitate to be direct and ask things like “Have there been any roof leaks?”
3. Any use of repairpeople can reveal repair issues the seller didn’t mention when answering Question #2. The information will also be useful if and when you move in!
4. If you’re stretching just to buy the house, make sure it doesn’t come with unusually high ongoing costs.
5. The basement and attic are likely suspects here. Moisture problems are hard to repair and hard to insure.
6. Installing a new furnace or A/C can be another major expense—and one that’s important to deal with soon, for the sake of your personal comfort.
7. Difficult neighbors can’t be repaired. Specifically ask about their level of noise; cooperation regarding fence, tree, or parking issues; and any behavioral problems or oddities.
 
All the World’s Been Staged: Looking Past the Glitter
 
In the old days, you’d see houses for sale pretty much as the sellers lived in them—with their furniture, dishes, and clutter. But the real estate industry has learned that by emptying out and then gussying up a place, with rented antique furniture, flowers, curtains, and more, buyers will be wowed into paying more—often tens of thousands more—for a home.
The resulting makeover job goes by the trade name “staging.” And it’s your job to look past it, to see whether the house has good bones or is just wearing a lot of cosmetics and concealer. To avoid being hypnotized:
•
Figure out whether each room has all the furniture it needs.
Stagers usually remove most of the owner’s furniture and then bring in a select few pieces—some smaller than normal. As you look at a bedroom, for example, picture it with your queen-sized bed, nightstands, and bureau, not the twin bed and delicate side table.
•
Notice where flowers and knickknacks have replaced functional objects.
In a normal laundry room, you’d expect to find detergent, laundry baskets, and a drying rack. Not in a staged house—you’re more likely to see a wicker basket filled with fluffy, lavender-scented towels.
•
Observe what your eyes are being led toward—and therefore away from.
If the entry hallway is small and dark, you can bet you’ll see a glorious display of flowers on a nearby table.
•
See whether your stuff will fit into the closets and cabinets.
With the owners having moved out their clutter, you might not immediately notice that there’s no hall closet, linen closet, medicine cabinet, basement, or attic.
•
Figure out what style the house is without the staging.
Stagers can make a ranch house look like a Victorian, or a 1950s drab home look like an Arts and Crafts bungalow.
•
Turn on all the lights, including table lamps.
Stagers often set lamps next to beds or couches, even though there’s no electrical outlet. A lack of outlets is a common defect in older homes. Also, check that kitchen and laundry appliances actually have a source of power and other connections needed for operation.
•
And smell that apple pie.
If the house smells dreamy or the music sounds divine—well, someone made it that way. And they don’t come with the house.
 

Other books

Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Kraven Images by Alan Isler
Standard of Honor by Jack Whyte
Rustication by Charles Palliser
Reluctant Genius by Charlotte Gray