Posts Tagged ‘home buyer’

Still think you can’t afford a home in Seattle?  Here are 9 great homes in the 98117 (Ballard) area that are currently listed for under $300,000.   Keep in mind that many of these have been on the market for a while and the seller’s would most likely be willing to consider an offer below the asking price. 

Give me a call to set up a tour of homes or if you would like me to do a search in any area

for homes that might meet your needs. 

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Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Hey Seattle home buyers, just a quick tip today.  Here are four must have item if you are going out to look at homes. 

1.  A digital camera – If you don’t have one of your own you can use mine, but it is a great tool to have with you.  Internet photos of many homes are not representative.  It is also very easy to forget details of a home if you are looking at 5 homes in an afternoon.  Take a quick picture and you can sit down later and view them at a pace that is convenient to you.  It is also a great idea if you are heading out to open houses but your hubby can’t.

2. A tape measure – Before you go on your tour, take a second and measure the size of the larger pieces of furniture that you will be taking with you.  Write them down on a pad and as you go through homes.  Bed, couch, entertainment center, and TV are the typical items.   The last thing you want to do is find the home of your dreams and then on moving day discover that your aunt’s antique doesn’t fit in the out cove you had hoped. 

3.  A flashlight – You may want to poke your head in a crawl space or attic.  Often there isn’t sufficient light in these locations.  Bring your own flashlight.  If you see things such as water damage, evidence of infestation, or lack of insulation, you are in a lot better position to negotiate on a home.  You may also just find something that makes you want to walk away all together.

4. A pair of needle nose pliers – I can’t tell you how many times a buyer will ask me if there are hardwood floors under the carpet.  The best way to find out is to pull up a corner of the carpet and look at what’s underneath.  You can do this in a closet or behind a couch.  Seller’s generally don’t care so long as you put the carpet back when you are done.  After all, they do want people to show enough interest in the home to poke around a little.

So there you have it.  These small items can fit in a purse or jacket and can provide you with a lot more information about the home that isn’t always obvious from the listing.

If there are specific homes you have been considering taking a look, at give me a call.  I can set up a tour for you at no charge and at a time that is convenient for you.  I am always looking to pick up new clients so don’t hesitate to call.

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Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

I was having this very conversation with a client of mine and casually commented that I wrote an article about this on my blog and I would send him the link.  I went back and found out, that I had yet to write a post about earnest money.  Oops.  Sorry about that.

Earnest money is one of the key decisions a Seattle home buyer will need to make when making an offer on a home.  It is exactly what it wounds like.  Earnest money, is money that you put up in earnest to show your sincerity in making the offer.  If for any reason you fail to follow through with your written agreement in the purchase and sale agreement, you agree to forfeit your earnest money to the seller.  The earnest money serves several purposes.

1. It indicates to the seller how serious you are about the home.  It is easy to imagine that earnest money of $10,000 shows a lot more interest and sincerity to a seller then $100.

2.  It offers some security to a seller.  When a seller accepts an offer on their home and we move into the inspection phase of the process, they are effectively ending much of the marketing of the home.  If you later decide not to buy the home, they are out valuable time of marketing that home.  The earnest money will help ease a sellers concern of removing the home from having an "active" listing.

3. Earnest money helps avoid all purchase and sale disputes from ending up in court.  Hundreds of homes change hands each month in Seattle.  As you can imagine with so much money and emotion involved in these transactions, many lead to disagreements.  If all of these disagreements went to court you would see a clogging of the court system like no other.  So, partially to try to avoid this, earnest money is offered as compensation should the buyer back out of a deal for a non allowable reason.

So how much earnest money should you offer?  That depends on several factors.

First of all, how much do you have?  Earnest money is your money, and if you choose to go through with the purchase it will initially be put toward your closing costs by the escrow agent.  Any balance remaining, will be returned to you at closing.  So for example, if you offer $10,000 in earnest money, and your closing costs come to $8,000, then at closing you will receive a check for $2,000.

Here is a good rule of thumb I tell all my buyer’s.  Choose an amount that reflects your sincerity in wanting to buy the house.  Anything less the $1,000 is not going to impress a seller and anything over $10,000 is a significant financial risk for most people.  But also, take this into consideration.  We sincerely hope nothing goes wrong before closing that would necessitate you backing out of the offer but if for some reason such as a family emergency, you needed to withdraw the offer, what is an amount that would not be financially crippling to you and your family.

Keep in mind that in the event of some family emergency, we can always ask the seller to refund the earnest money voluntarily, but they are under no obligation to do so.

So what are the reasons that you can terminate a contract and get your earnest money back?  Stay tuned.  I’ll answer that question in a few days and post a link right here.  If you want to subscribe to this feed to receive all updates automatically, feel free to click on the RSS icon in the upper right corner of this post.

Related Post:

Earnest Money: How can I get My Earnest Money Back after I Have an offer accepted?

Give me a call if you need help.

Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 8% [?]

I received a great question from a reader and wanted to share it with you all.  Here you go.

Hi Rob,

     I’ve seen you have multiple posts on the potential $15k tax credit for
home buyers, as well as multi-unit buildings. I had a question for you. If
one were to buy a 2-3 unit building and use one unit as a principle
residence, would they apply for the $15k tax credit?
     What if two brothers bought a 2-unit building together, each to use one of
the units as a principle residence? Would they both be able to receive the
$15k tax credit? One of them? Neither?
     I understand that the credit isn’t law yet, but it seemed like you might
have an idea of what it’s currently looking like.
     Thanks and have a good day,

     J,

Here was my response:

J,

     Great question.  For legal reasons I need to tell you that this is a question
best answered by an accountant.  Don’t make a decision based on my thoughts on
the process without consulting a tax specialist.  Also,all of this can change
and the proposal is not law yet, but as I understand the law on the floor right
now, yes you and your brother could buy up to a four unit complex, live in
individual units and qualify for the $15,000 tax credit.
     Keep in mind that the tax credit is paid out up to $15,000 at 10% of the
purchase price of the home.  So if an individual were to purchase a single
family home, the home would need to cost more then $150,000 to qualify for the
full $15,000 tax credit.  Therefore, for you and your brother to make a
purchase and qualify for the full credit, the home would need to cost more then
$300,000.  As I understand the current proposal on the floor of the senate, you
would each then qualify for a the tax credit.
     Keep in mind that the tax credit is paid out equally over the next two years.
You and your brother could claim $7,500 over the next two tax returns.
     Also, If you don’t want to wait that long, once you purchase your home you and
your brother could approach your payroll department at work and ask them to
reduce your withholding each month in your paychecks to allow you to access the
credit each paycheck and not have to wait until next tax season.  That savings
could mean up to $625 per month more in your paycheck over the next two years.
     One more thought.  If you were considering an FHA loan for the purchase, you can
use the projected income from renting out the other units that you and your
brother are not occupying to help you qualify for the loan.
      All things considered it is a fantastic opportunity to become a home owner if
this proposal passes.

Let me know if there is more I can help with.

Rob Graham

Keep the great questions coming.  I would rather answer your questions then try to create a post that I think will be of interest.  Thanks so much J for e-mailing me and for allowing me to repost your question.

As always, Give me a call if you need help.

Rob Graham, Accredited Buyer’s Representative

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 1% [?]