Still Looking for a Real Estate Agent?
I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but even if I did it is worth sharing again. There are a couple of websites you may want to check out regarding real estate, both of which I write on.
One is ACTIVERAIN. The neat thing about this site is you can search in all 50 states and find people in the real estate industry who provide information in their respective areas. But you can also search for an agent in your community. This is not like looking on Google, or in one of the zillion sites that purports to provide you with the best agents to choose from. Each community (at least fairly major ones) will have multiple agents that you can read about, and by reading their blogs you will learn about THEM personally. Great way to find someone to help you outside the Southern California area.
Another good site, associated with Activerain but focussed more on consumer information is Localism. Once again, this is a site where you can seach in your respective geographies and read about communities, market reports, news, events, see photos and much more. Great sources of information. To see the information that I have written about Carlsbad, CA and local areas, click here. At the bottom of my profile page are the links to all the articles on Localism.
You can follow the same process with any other city in the US.
Good luck. These are both terrific sources of information for first time buyers.
The Responsibility of Home Ownership
Buying a home is a huge responsibility. I expect you know that, having gone through the process of deciding IF you want to buy, and WHEN. Plus having made that decision you are already well on your way to becoming a new homeowner.
Owning a home is lots of fun. But with that comes responsibility. Lots of it.
1. Financial responsibility – unless you paid cash, you have a responsibility to pay your mortgage and associated fees (interest, property taxes, HOA fees, etc.) every month – you have to pay the fees even if you are a cash buyer, of course. This impacts your credit in a positive way if you are timely, but can really mess up your credit quickly if you are not responsible.
2. Home Maintenance – part of the responsibility of maintaining your home is, simply, that you are required to do so by the mortgage company. They can, if you do not maintain the property, call for payment of the note in full. Why? Well, the property is the colateral for the money the bank has loaned you. The other part of home maintenance is simply to better enjoy what you have purchased. And keeping your home in good working condition helps it last longer. If you are in an HOA or condo association you are also required to maintain the property in good working order, and they CAN come after you if you don’t.
3. Insurance – you have a responsibility to maintain insurance on your home…again a requirement of your loan (read the loan docs!). This is for your protection, but more so for the bank. And it’s possible that if you do not maintain the home properly and something happens the insurance company will rule it was negligence and not pay the claim.
4. You also have a responsibility to your neighbors, and the neighborhood in general, to keep your home looking in reasonably good shape and to not allow it to deteriorate into an eyesore. This allows for more pleasant and comfortable surroundings for all to enjoy. Isn’t that part of what attracted YOU to the neighborhood and the house?
5. Increased home value – this is, to a certain extent, a by-product of owning your home over time. But the better you maintain it the more likely the value will increase, perhaps more so than your neighbors. You no doubt noticed differences in similar homes when you were looking as a buyer, in part due to how they were cared for.
6. Pride of Ownership – your own personal satisfaction from owning, and caring for, a home is a big piece of why you bought one, isn’t it? You will be proud to show it off, and will better enjoy it yourself, if you take the responsibility of owneship seriously.
Owning a home is a big responsibility. I hope you take it seriously.
Have a great rest of the weekend!
Some North County San Diego Community Reports
As a buyer, figuring out which neighborhood to buy in is a touch challenge, but an important one. You may already. But you may also be trying to decide, by driving around the areas you like (and can afford), attending open houses, looking at listings on line, and doing some Internet research on various areas.
If you are interested in North County San Diego, here is a list of community profiles for some of the communities along the coast. The chart also includes links to posts about individual neighborhoods within those towns. Keep in mind that the more information you have, the better prepared you will be to make an informed decision.
What is Property ID?
“I have heard of Property ID but don’t know what it is or what they do?”
Property ID is a national company, founded in 1976 in California, that provides natural and environmental hazards disclosures for both residential and commercial property.
As a buyer here in California (and many other states), the natural hazards disclosure is an important of the due diligence process once your offer has been accepted. The purpose here is to uncover any issues related to natural and environmental factors that may impact your home, and to communicate those to you in a detailed report so you know what you are buying. The cost of the report is normally paid for by the seller.
The report will detail whether you are:
- in a earthquake fault zone
- near an airport
- near a former military installation
- in a flood zone
- in a protected wildlife are
- in or near a fire hazard area
and much more. Once you have this information, you have the option of deciding if you still wish to purchase the home or not based on the natural and environmental hazards in the area. Certain factors (earthquakes, fires, flood) may impact your insurance as well.
Recent Mortgage and Interest Rate Changes
I assume you have already had some conversations with a qualified mortgage broker to assess your qualifications for getting a loan. If not, and you are already on the hunt for a home, better get it done NOW.
I would recommend revisiting the issue of loans soon. There have been some recent changes within Fannie Mae and you will want to be sure that your ability to qualifiy for a loan has not changed. Or if it has, you will want to know in what way – do you qualify for a different program? Are the fees changing for PMI (mortgage insurance)?
I expect you have been watching the rates, which have been rising for some weeks, hitting, I believe, the highest level in 11 months (although they are still pretty favorable). I heard that the rates dropped again a little, but given the general direction I would, again, check in with your loan officer to assess the recent changes to see how it impacts you and your budget.
You may also want to ask about locking in a rate if you are already in the process of negotiating a transaction. It may or may not make sense for you.
No – A Popular Word?
It’s an “interesting” market out there, at least here in Southern California. The issues in the sub-prime market and stricter standards on the part of mortgage companies (and the disappearance of some loan programs) has made it tougher for buyers to qualify for mortgages, especially first time home buyers. So many cannot qualify any longer for a home in our area because of prices, which had dropped in the last 1-2 years but seem to be rising in some areas (well, the median is, but that seems to be because higher-end homes are selling pretty well).
NO is a popular word on the part of mortgage companies.
In this type of market, with large inventories and lots of competition, many sellers still can’t face reality about prices. Some have unrealistic expectations about what they can get for their home sales. Or because of the situation they have found themselves in they NEED to get a certain amount (bought another home already….bad mistake).
NO is a popular word from sellers – NO, I won’t list at that price I need more; NO, my house is worth more than that; NO, that offer is too low; and so on.
Buyers, too, find that NO is a popular word. In many cases they are justified in saying NO, but not always. I hear it all the time.
- NO, that costs too much; I won’t pay that price
- NO, I don’t like the color of the walls, the size of the kitchen, the flooring, the way the house looks, and so on
- NO, I don’t need an agent; I’m just looking
Just a few examples of this popular word. Sound like YOU?
I absolutely do NOT advocate paying more than you should for a home, and saying NO to a seller’s price that is unrealistic is appropriate. Just be sure you know the market well enough to say NO. And are you missing out on a home that IS priced well but you just want a great deal. Or are in the habit of saying NO to every home you see.
Are you being too fussy? Do you want pie in the sky? Are you saying NO to things that can readily be changed? The paint color of the kitchen, the ugly tile floor in the bath, the linoleum in the hallway, and so on. Are you looking for excuses to not buy? Certainly there are things about a home you will not like, and with the inventory you might feel if you keep looking you will find exactly what you want. Maybe. Just be sure you are not being so fussy that you will say NO to every home you see and NEVER be able to buy anything.
Or pass on the home you love, thinking you will find something better, then go back to the home only to find someone else snatched it up. Happens all the time.
So consider what you are saying NO to. And why. It might be appropriate, but perhaps not. Don’t let NO become a habit. Use it when it’s the right thing to do.
What is Mold (Guest blogger series – Part 1)
Here’s the link to the first in this series on MOLD,
posted on my Relocation A to Z blog.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them, visit their website, or call Andy directly at (760) 273-9728.
I know it’s a pain to click to go to another site to read an article. Since I write several blogs, however, it’s sometimes hard to know where to put certain articles (like this) that are relevant to readers of more than one blog. Since the search engines don’t like duplicate content (no cutting and pasting for me), this is the only way to do it…and make sure you get to read thngs that I think will be useful to you. I don’t do it often, coz I don’t like it myself particularly. So I hope you don’t mind too much. Andy’s article really are worth reading if MOLD is a concern.
To Look or Not to Look
Is this a bad thing?
Not necessarily. Looking at homes and neighborhoods to decide what type of house you wish to buy and where IS an essential part of the process. The more you look, the more you will learn about areas that interest you, or don’t. You will learn about value, and what your money can buy (assuming you KNOW how much you can afford – you DID get pre-approved, didn’t you?). I encourage buyers to look at areas even before they go to see actual home interiors to be sure they like the neighborhood, or not, for whatever reason. Otherwise it’s a waste of time.
I do believe that working with an agent during this time has its advantages.
- First, based on knowledge about your budget, an agent can help you not waste time by screening out areas where there are no homes in your price range.
- Second, you will have access to more homes, since you will need to tour a home with an agent (either your Buyer Agent OR the Listing Agent) unless it is an Open House.
- You can gain access to gated communities (if they are common in your area and homes there are priced for your budget).
- An agent can provide more information about homes that interest you that will be useful to you in your decision making – details about the neighborhood that may not be obvious, fees, pricing relative to market conditions, and so on.
Should you stop looking around on your own? Nope. It’s a smart thing to do. But at some point having the knowledge and experience of a REALTOR to help you sort through the homes for sale in your area(s) can be fruitful.
Furthermore, if you DO find a home you like and want to purchase, having a REALTOR already in place will make it that much easier. You will have already discussed the purchase process and will know what to do next in the process. And you won’t have to quickly find someone to help you that you don’t know and feel comfortable with [read more on interviewing and selecting an agent to help you].
The choice is yours. You will probably know when you need to hook up with someone. Just don’t wait too long.
Why Are There Disclosures?
As a first time home buyer you will run across a number of disclosures as part of purchasing your first home. These will vary from state to state.
California has a large list of disclosures for buyer to review:
- natural hazards [fire, flood, earthquake, wildlife preservation, etc.]
- lead paint
- mold
- hot water heater security for earthquakes
- the seller’s disclosure called the TDS or Transfer Disclosure Statement
and so on.
Disclosures exist to inform the public of conditions that may impact their home saleso that they can decide if, knowing what they know, they still wish to purchase the home. Some are federal in nature that require the seller to disclose certain things, such as the presence of lead paint, outlawed in 1978 but found in many homes in certain parts of the country; others are state or community related, and some are optional.
There are also some disclosures that have to do with the nature of the real estate relationship, such as how you are being represented (the relationship is referred to as agency) - as a buyer, as a seller, or when the agent represents both parties in the transaction as a “dual agent.”
Here is a link to a booklet on the disclosures in California (keep in mind that some may NOT be applicable in your transactions).
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
As a first time home buyer, you undoubtedly have lots of questions about the purchase process. Hopefully some of those answers have been provided in my previous posts, but there is lots more you need to know, so make sure you make your list and talk with your agent about procedural matters and paperwork.
Or feel free to post those questions here and I will answer them.
Another big part of the process, obviously, is finding the right home in a community and neighborhood you like. So how do you decide?
Here are some things inquiring minds want to know when trying to find the right area; you probably will think of more;
- Schools – which ones, quality, number of students, programs
- Crime – general crime statistics for the area including presence of child molestors
- Community programs – parks and recreation, art, summer programs, senior programs
- Health Care – access to hospitals, doctors, pharmacies
- Home Owner Association – is there one? Any restrictions? Monthly costs, local services included (pool, spa, tennis, elevator, parking, garage)
- Property taxes, Mello Roos (here in California)
- Access to public transportation – trains, buses, proximity to major airport
- Access to commuting routes – freeways, major roads
- Development programs – any new development being planned in the area; plans for undeveloped land near the home – malls, industrial plants, commercial vs. residential development, obstruction of views, general growth patterns
- Local Market Conditions – prices increasing or decreasing, marketing times, inventory, number of sales, stable vs. transitioning neighborhood
- Shopping – access to grocery stores, speciality shops, clothing stores, malls, outdoor and gardening centers
- Other amenities – access to restaurants, movie theatres, tourist attractions, beaches, mountains, sporting events, theatre, music offerings; do you want to be able to walk to these things or drive, and if so how far
- Population density – do you like wide open space or closeness, single family homes or condo developments, yards and outdoor space
- Tract homes vs. custom – do you like areas where homes are all similar or more diverse
These are just some things you may want to ask about, at least if they are important to you.
If I can help in any way with more information about the San Diego area, or other realted questions, please let me know.
