This is an awesome home in a great neighborhood in the Collins Hill School District. The first thing that the owner said to me was that she will miss these neighbors. They all get together and have cookouts, they all watch out for each other and even have each other's cell phones.
And, the Collins Hill School District speaks for itself. House is in great shape. Carpet and paint are in new condition. Three bedrooms, two full baths upstairs. One the main level you have a family room, dining area, eat in kitchen. Then, you have a recroom finished on the lower level with a wetbar. Just a ton of house for the money. Listed at $125,000.00. Hurry. We all know that the market for this price home is crazy. Interested? Call me at 678-992-3817. What is a Due Diligence Contingency? When going into a contract, there are several protections for the buyer. This post will be covering the due diligence contingency. IN other words, the deal is contingent on the buyer doing their due diligence. Due diligence is defined: Reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, esp. in buying or selling something. The due diligence contingency is active for a specified length of time. This time is negotiable and can be any length that the parties agree on. The seller will want this as short as possible and the buyer will want this as long as possible. This length of time is called the due diligence period. The easiest way to describe the due diligence period is a period of time that the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason. This is the time that you will get your inspection completed, get any additional information about the HOA you need to know, and, well, do your due diligence. In other words, discover any and all information that would cause or preclude you from buying the home. The most common reason that someone terminates a contract during due diligence is that the inspection uncovers an issue that the seller is not willing to fix. However, as mentioned above, the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason. If at any point during the due diligence, the buyer changes their mind, they get their earnest money returned. Don't hesitate to make an offer! As many buyers, especially those purchasing below $150,000.00 realize, there is a lot of competition in the market right now. There aren't enough homes being listed and those that are are getting put under contract within days, if not hours. If you want to sleep on it, you won't have the opportunity to purchase it when you wake up in many cases. So, right now, it is imperative that you put in an offer as quickly as possible, and use the due diligence period to fully investigate it and ensure you want to go forward. Word of caution: Some REO companies do not allow for due diligence, they have an inspection period. These are a bit more restrictive in the reasons you can terminate the contract. However, these companies move slowly in responding. You won't have signed contracts for a few days. Until the contract is signed, it is not binding and you can terminate. Final word: No one wants to rush the decision to purchase a home. It is a huge purchase and you want to be sure that this is the home for you. That said, you absolutely cannot handle these decisions the way we have traditionally handled them. You can't 'think about it'. You have to act. Be decisive and know you have protections if you discover something that makes the house not work for you. Oh, and of course, make sure you have an agent that knows how to protect you, and someone that can explain all the contingencies. Happy Hunting and good luck! Well, first, let me apologize, for being away from the blog for so long. I try to never let a week go by without posting something, but I have been busy being a good buyer's agent. (and a good listing agent, but that isn't the point of this post) If you are currently in the market, I am sure you have had this experience. You are looking around, maybe on http://www.metroatlantagarealestate.com/ , you find the exact perfect listing. You call an agent, and low and behold, the home is under contract, or even closed already. Or, lets say you are working with an agent, and by the time you are finding out about things, they are already under contract, you have missed the highest and best deadline, or you are competing against 60 other offers. Nope, that is not an exaggeration. 1818 Stonebrook Way, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 had over 60 bids. This can grow frustrating and disheartening. So, what does a good agent do? Well, first, a good agent should be setting your expectations. It is one thing to know all this going in, it is another to have missed out on four or five homes a month into it and then find out about this. A good buyer's agent should also set you up on a market alert system of some sort. If you are not getting daily emails with anything new that has come on the market that fit your criteria, then by the time you meet with your agent again and find it, it will be too late. If you have objected to the listing alerts, rethink your position. If your agent has offered them, rethink your agent. A good buyer's agent should know what is going on and be able to pull comps for you so that you understand what the true market value is and also show you what the current market is doing. Your offer is up to you, but if you are putting in unrealistic offers, that does nothing but waste time and cost you an opportunity to own the house you want. However, the flip side of that, bidding way over list price and buying well above market value isn't smart either. Yes, homes are appreciating. Yes, you are competing against other buyers. Yes, you will need to pay market value. No, you don't need to pay 10% OVER market value. As agents, our income and livelihood is not determined by how many clients we have or how many offers we write. Our ability to fee our families is determined by our ability to getting the offer accepted, and ultimately, you closing on that home. That puts pressure on the agent to, perhaps, push you farther than you should go. Again, remember, I led with the fact that you should be putting in realistic offers. But, your agent should be able to counsel you on that and why. Paying above market is fine and perfectly understandable in this market. So long as you love the house, and you KNOW you are paying at the top of the market if not above the market. A good buyer's agent should have a network of resources. The most important is a lender. So much of how well a transaction goes, is resting solely on the lender's shoulders. A bad lender can cost you the earnest money and the ability to close on the house you want. Not to mention loads of stress and frustration. A good buyer's agent doesn't get anything from a referral to that mortgage company other than the peace of mind that you will be well taken care of. Okay, so we also feel more comfortable that you will be able to close and that we will be able to get a paycheck. A good buyer's agent should also have a few good inspectors and home warranty companies as well. That is stuff that all buyer's agents should be doing. So, what is above and beyond. Well, we all know there is limited inventory and countless bidders. So, is your agent finding homes that aren't listed? If I can't find something that someone is looking for on the market, I knock on doors. Some seller's don't realize that they can easily sell their home right now. Does this work? Absolutely. I have several clients right now looking in the 130K and below price point. (this price point is in the highest demand of any) I have found two of them unlisted houses that I expect to go under contract this week. In a balanced market, you can afford to wait for the 'right' listing to come along. In this market, your agent needs to go above and beyond. A good buyer's agent take fiduciary responsibility seriously. Recently, I was helping a couple. I flat out missed a landfill that was proximate to the home they had just put under contract. You are probably wondering how you miss a landfill. I knew about the landfill. I did not realize that it was that close to the subdivision they were buying in. The entrance is well away from the home, it just covers a much larger area than I expected. Well, we found out about this AFTER they had put down a non-refundable $5000.00 deposit. It was new construction, and they were paying for upgrades. I knew that they were depending on me to inform them about anything like that. I made a mistake. So, I guaranteed that they would either get their money refunded, OR I would pay it from my pocket. Was there any legal requirement for me to do this? No. It clearly states in the contract that this falls under the buyer's responsibility. But, I knew that they were depending on me. That is why you get an agent, right? In the end, I was able to get their money back. (It is amazing how much weight it carries when your brokerage has such a huge market share in your area that the builder knows that a bad reputation would cost far more than $5000.00) Remember, you are hiring the agent to guide you in all parts of the transaction. Not just 'sell' you a house. This isn't a used car, and your agent shouldn't act like a used car salesperson. A good buyer's agent should be available and be able to give you answers. I am perplexed about how many calls I get from other agent's clients. Their agent is on vacation and they would just like to look at a house. Their agent can't figure out what is going on with a listing and on and on. Everyone should be allowed to take a vacation, but an agent should never expect someone to put their home search on hold while they take time off. I have other agents I refer things to when I go on vacation. (Well, if I ever to decide to go on vacation, I have other people to refer clients to) There is no excuse for not having another agent lined up to help in the event that they are unavailable. Buying a home is a big deal. And, there are important time frames that must be met. As far as the answers part of this. I admit, I have things that I look at that some agents don't know about, or don't think to look at, or are too lazy to deal with. Having the experience as an appraiser, loan officer and investor has taught me to be able to dig a little deeper than most agents. But, MOST of the time, any agent can answer most of the buyers questions about a property if they just took the time to look. Finally, a good buyer's agent is your advocate. When you look at the property, they are looking for any potential issues. They aren't directing your eyes away from them. When they talk to you, they make sure to explain the situation fully and all the ramifications, but when they are talking to the other party, there is no sign of weakness or lack of unity. They write the contract to best protect you, not obligate you. They negotiate the best they can to get the other party to compromise, not get you to compromise. Remember this is a an overview for the entire United States. Call me directly for how your market is doing.
First, congrats on shopping the rate. That is a great first move. Too many people overlook this altogether. Loan officers are typically paid a commission by the lender to sell you a mortgage. The higher the rate, the higher the yield split, OR commission for the loan officer.
This is mainly focused at borrowers looking to buy a home. However, anyone looking to get a mortgage of any kind would benefit to read through. #1) Know that if you are purchasing a property, there is some risk if the mortgage company does not get the job done. Real estate contracts have a closing date on them. There is typically a seven day unilateral extension option on standard GAR contracts. However, after that, your earnest money will be in jeopardy. So, if your lender cannot close on time, you could lose the earnest money and the right to buy the house. #2) Know that if you are shopping today and can't lock today, that you will need to shop again when you have the property to get the lowest rate. Why? Well, first, there are some loan officers that will lie about what they can do today, so that they undercut everyone else you are talking to. Suddenly, those other names go in the trash, and when you go to lock in the rate, they have no competition at that point. Second, there are times the lender is trying to 'buy' the market. In other words, one lender may be less right now, but in two weeks, another one might be. Lenders, like every other business have a maximum capacity. When they get to that point, they may raise their rates a little to increase the margins to pay overtime, temp workers, or just to make it worth it to put additional stress on their system. If a lender is slow, they may lower their rates just a tick to keep the loans coming in. #3) There are direct lenders and mortgage broker. A direct lender is a company that will be handling the entire process. A mortgage broker has the ability to shop many different mortgage companies. So, which is better? A mortgage broker can often find the best rates. (they may also use that to just put extra money in their own pocket) However, mortgage brokers will often go with whatever company is giving them more profit for the lowest rate. If it is a difficult company to work with and your loan may not get done in time, many of them don't factor that in. Smaller direct lenders like Guarantee Mortgage and Brand Bank tend to have good rates and the ability to close on time, 99.9% of the time. (Especially if you have a good loan officer.) Larger banks are often the worst of both worlds. I have one specific large lender that I would never advise anyone to use. They nearly cost one of my buyers their earnest money TWICE. I won't say their name, let's just call them Stank of Amerika. If you are considering using a mortgage company that rhymes with this...reconsider. #4) When you get locked, ask for a copy of the lock sheet. Otherwise, the lender is playing roulette with your money. They are hoping rates go down, so they can make more money. Most, however, will not eat the difference if rates go up. They will call and make up an excuse as to why your rate is different. And, you may be two weeks into the process and need to close to save your earnest money and get the house you want. #5) There are new regulations that will protect you somewhat compared to five years ago. These keep loan officers from making a mint off of you. However, that is very limited and there is a lot of wiggle room. #6) And, this is very, very important. If you intend to be in the house long term, especially if it is the entire term of the mortgage, shop by the APR. The APR is the actual cost of the loan to you. Lenders can charge points and fees, and all sorts of different things as profit centers. A 3.5 interest rate with no points and low fees is most likely a better deal than a 3.375 interest rate with a 1 point origination fee. The APR factors in ALL costs for the length of the loan. This can make it MUCH easier to cut through all the fees and charges on the quotes. #6a) If you are planning to move in less than ten years, and the lower APR has higher fees up front, then you have more work to do. If the lower APR has higher up front fees, then take the additional fees and divide it by the amount of money you will save per month. So, if one payment is $25.00 per month less, but it costs you $2500.00 more to get the loan. You will break even in 100 months. So, if you plan on moving in less than 8 years, it would be smarter to go with the one that has the fewer upfront costs. |
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Testimonials 557886 David is awesome to work with. He knows the area very well. He is extremely responsive, always took my calls and answered my emails and txts. He truly ... more 5.0/5.0 by philipkupersavage 557657 David was extremely helpful.....We were very picky buyers & he never pressured us to look at a house outside of our parameters or place an offer... he ... more 5.0/5.0 by dwcourter 309784 Mr. Blanton helped us find the home of our dreams and he did by listening to what we wanted. He taught us about the housing market, guided us in the ... more 5.0/5.0 by user30821228 Archives
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