Buying a house - anything to be wary of
#16
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
Forgot to mention, earnest money is placed in escrow and taken off the final closing cost.
If you back out in due diligence period then you lose the due diligence money, but not the earnest money.
#19
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
No but there is recourse if the home inspection fails to find something that should have been found. Sis had a home inspection on property in NJ. After 8 months when they went to do some minor repairs on the upper deck, they found major issues. Called for a new inspection and armed with that took the home inspector to court and won. He had to pay to have the deck and the flight of stairs removed and replaced.
#20
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Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Near Lynchburg Tennessee, home of Jack Daniels
Posts: 1,381
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
Hey thanks for asking. I'm liking it more than I expected - had a major wobble before we moved. It's v pretty, spring is just lovely. People are chattier than I'm used to. I'm finding them friendly and helpful rather than overbearing.
I'm having a hard time with food when eating out (I'm veggie, but also the prevailing palate seems WAY sweeter than I'm used to). So eating out not really a pleasure for me. I miss Bistro types. Early days anyway.
We're not church goers but no one has commented on that!
The erratic weather is interesting.
My biggest adjustment is a state of mind with regards H4. Hope green card is forthcoming and not recruitment hot air.
I'm having a hard time with food when eating out (I'm veggie, but also the prevailing palate seems WAY sweeter than I'm used to). So eating out not really a pleasure for me. I miss Bistro types. Early days anyway.
We're not church goers but no one has commented on that!
The erratic weather is interesting.
My biggest adjustment is a state of mind with regards H4. Hope green card is forthcoming and not recruitment hot air.
#21
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
No but there is recourse if the home inspection fails to find something that should have been found. Sis had a home inspection on property in NJ. After 8 months when they went to do some minor repairs on the upper deck, they found major issues. Called for a new inspection and armed with that took the home inspector to court and won. He had to pay to have the deck and the flight of stairs removed and replaced.
#24
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Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Near Lynchburg Tennessee, home of Jack Daniels
Posts: 1,381
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
What town are you in or near? I live in Tullahoma, and we are moving to Moore county near Lynchburg
In a few days. We built a new house on Tims Ford lake and just sold old house.
#25
Return of bouncing girl!
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: The Fourth Reich
Posts: 4,931
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
Bought our house 4 years ago here in Mississippi:
- Due diligence money (we gave the seller $500) - Whatever for? We didn't.
- Earnest Money (about 1%) What for? We didn't.
- Home inspection Yes
- HVAC inspection No. This is part of the home inspection
- Structural engineer Nope. Part of home inspection
- Termite inspection Again, part of home inspection
- Radon inspection Not necessary in this state.
- Attorney fees Got soaked for that
- Due diligence money (we gave the seller $500) - Whatever for? We didn't.
- Earnest Money (about 1%) What for? We didn't.
- Home inspection Yes
- HVAC inspection No. This is part of the home inspection
- Structural engineer Nope. Part of home inspection
- Termite inspection Again, part of home inspection
- Radon inspection Not necessary in this state.
- Attorney fees Got soaked for that
#26
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Clarksville, TN
Posts: 392
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
In GA, No due diligence, earnest $ was $1000, no Radon, no termite inspection (home had active and transferable termite bond in place) HVAC (heat pump) was covered in home inspection, but not in any meaningful way. Had I had a separate inspection, I might have saved 7K when it went out one month after closing and had to be replaced. Pool inspection a must for a home with a pool; also would have saved me $. Then there is the credit report, title services and lender's title insurance, lender's origination fee, and home appraisal. The cost for state and local governments to record your deed, mortgage and loan documents. It all adds up at closing. I think we all get soaked with attorneys fees.
#27
Back in US & happy!
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 505
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
I am starting the process of a buying a house here and I am very glad my husband is American born and knows the process, because some things seem weird to me. I second all the things said about earnest $, which I never had to do in UK, and the various inspections (didn't need Radon or termite here). But what threw me in the first place was the fact that putting an offer on a place actually means a contract is drawn up. The last time I brought a house in UK, you put the offer on the place, did all sorts of stuff like house inspections, land searches etc and then signed a contract. I wasn't ready for all the questions we had to answer, luckily my husband was!
#28
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
Certainly in NC, based on what Tom posted, the process appears to have changed because we didn't pay "due diligence money".
#29
Back in US & happy!
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 505
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
Well yes, I doubt many Americans do much about the process as it does seem the realtor organizes more things than they do in UK, but not necessarily better than not using one. At least my husband knew the implications of us putting an offer in and that we wouldn't get the earnest money down if we pulled out for no reason. We weren't asked for 'due diligence money', not sure what that means!
I would never have thought about getting my own realtor as a buyer, certainly never did that in UK. We just looked in local estate agents shops (which is a weird thing for Americans to grasp) and arranged to view places. Sometimes the estate agent would take us round the house, sometimes the owners did. But we never approached an estate agent to work for us!
I so agree about them showing you houses that aren't quite what we wanted, I still don't understand what part of 'nothing newer than 1950s' they don't get!! Or, must have a garage, or must have at least 1/4 acre. And I still struggle to understand if a house is right for me based on sq footage, I just can't get my head around what that actually means in terms of the size of the rooms!!!!
I would never have thought about getting my own realtor as a buyer, certainly never did that in UK. We just looked in local estate agents shops (which is a weird thing for Americans to grasp) and arranged to view places. Sometimes the estate agent would take us round the house, sometimes the owners did. But we never approached an estate agent to work for us!
I so agree about them showing you houses that aren't quite what we wanted, I still don't understand what part of 'nothing newer than 1950s' they don't get!! Or, must have a garage, or must have at least 1/4 acre. And I still struggle to understand if a house is right for me based on sq footage, I just can't get my head around what that actually means in terms of the size of the rooms!!!!
#30
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Joined: Jan 2016
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 239
Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
But what threw me in the first place was the fact that putting an offer on a place actually means a contract is drawn up. The last time I brought a house in UK, you put the offer on the place, did all sorts of stuff like house inspections, land searches etc and then signed a contract. I wasn't ready for all the questions we had to answer, luckily my husband was!