All About Plano Real Estate

Financing and Your Offer

Since most buyers do not have enough cash available to buy a home they need to finance their purchase. Take a look at the things can affect your offer. The Down PaymentYou will need to disclose the amount of your down payment. This allows the seller to evaluate the likely hood of you being able to obtaining financing. It is easier to obtain financing when you make a larger down payment as the underwriting guidelines are less strict.The Interest RateA good reason to include your financing information in your offer is to help protect yourself. If interest rates suddenly rise you may looking at a much higher mortgage payment than you expected. By putting a maximum interest rate in the offer, you are protecting yourself from such a situation. On the other side of things, the seller will want to see that you have flexibility in the financing terms that you are willing to accept so that there is a better chance you will make it to closing.The Closing Costs IncentivesAs part of your offer you can request that the seller pay all or a portion of your closing costs. A common request, especially with first time buyers, is asking the seller to provide funds to buy down your interest rate for the first year or two. Whenever you ask the seller for incentives such as these, you will probably find the seller less willing to negotiate on price because they are looking at what they will net on the sale.The Seller FinancingAnother possible request is to have the seller hold a second mortgage to help facilitate your purchase of their home. Seller financing is prevalent in cases where the seller does not need all the proceeds from their sale in order to purchase their next home. If seller financing is part of your offer, you should include the terms you wish to pay on said financing. Your first mortgage lender needs to know this information so they can underwrite your loan meeting certain minimum requirements. The Cash OffersIf you are making a cash offer to buy a home, it makes sense to need to provide documentation “proof of funds” with your offer that shows you have the necessary funds available.If you are looking at Plano Homes For Sale seek out a professional Realtor that has access to the powerful Plano MLS so that they can provide you with information on all available listed homes for sale. Many times seller financing is listed on the MLS printout making it easier to find these types of homes. If you are looking for a great deal in the DFW Metroplex look for Dallas Foreclosures as a great source for fining a great home at a great value.

Plano Buyers & Sellers Must Agree

When buying a Plano home there are all kinds of people and services that are involved to make it all come together for closing. Because many of these services affect both the buyer and the seller, there needs to be agreement about which vendors the parties will use for these servicers. When the buyer is putting an offer together their Plano Realtor should request the buyers choices for these necessary services. If they are unfamiliar with these service providers, they can get recommendations from their agent and sometimes even the seller.Escrow and ClosingA settlement company is necessary to act as an independent third party between the buyer and the seller. Example, how would one know when they fork over their money that they are going to get the deed? This is the type of service provided by the settlement company. They will hold the earnest money deposit and coordinate much of the activity that goes on during the escrow period. Since the settlement company is so important to both parties and both parties will pay fees to this company, it is important to agree on which services to use. The choices should be part of the written offer. Since the buyer is probably unfamiliar with companies that provide these services. Your Plano Realtor can make these recommendations. The seller will also have a preference in these service companies and this may be a point of negotiation in a counter-offer. It has become customary that one side will choose the settlement company and one side chooses the title insurance company.Title InsuranceTitle insurance is very important when you buy Plano Real Estate, by providing an Owner’s Policy, they insure that the buyers have clear title to the property. If there are any problems later, they can go to the title insurance company and have them take care of it. Since it is customary for the seller to pay for the owner’s policy, they have an interest in which company is selected. Title insurance is a good idea anytime a home is purchased and it is particularly important when you buy a Plano Foreclosure because one can never be certain that all the appropriate actions have been taken to clear title to the home.

FHA and VA Financing / the Way Your Offer Should Be Structured

If you purchasing a home and you are obtaining a VA or FHA loan to do so, that information must be included in your written offer. This is necessary on these government insured mortgages because these mortgages place additional financial cost and performance obligations on the seller.FHA and VA insured mortgages prohibit buyers from paying certain types of fees that are often charged by escrow companies, lenders, settlement agents, etc,. These fees are called non-allowable fees. The fees still get charged but as the buyer, you are not allowed to pay for them. What results is that the seller ends up paying the fees instead of you.Most of these non-allowable fees are charged by your lender. Before you make an offer you should have already been pre-qualified for financing by a loan officer. If you are buying a DFW For Sale By Owner Property or your DFW Realtor can ask how much the lender’s non-allowable fees will be. Experienced Realtors should also have an idea of what non-allowable fees will be charged by their preferred escrow company and title insurance company. Since these are fees the seller would not usually pay on a sale with a conventional mortgage this information must be included in your written offer. Realize that since the seller will be paying these additional fees, they may be less negotiable on their price of their DFW Home for sale. You can have your Realtor search the powerful DFW MLS for property listings that advertize that the seller is willing to pay a certain amount of closing cost on the buyer’s behalf.

Appraisals VA & FHA

Appraisals for DFW home sales include inspections and are more comprehensive than appraisals with conventional financing and they are also more expensive. These appraisers are required to perform certain minimum inspections as well as evaluate the market value of the subject property. These inspections are not as comprehensive or detailed as a professional home inspection report. These “Appraisal Inspections” should not be considered a substitute for a professional home inspection and sometimes additional repairs are needed.These repair costs are additional costs the seller that the seller would not usually be obligated to pay for a buyer obtaining conventional financing. If you are using FHA or VA Insured financing for your purchase your offer should include a maximum figure to cover these repair cost. If this figure in not included, in essence, the seller is signing the equivalent of a blank check and it could cost them substantially more that they expected. Have your Realtor search the MLS for the rare DFW listings that show that the sellers are open to selling to buyers using FHA and VA insured financing. The figure that you put your offer will more than likely affect the seller’s willingness to negotiate on terms and on the price of their DFW realty for sale. If you put $750 as a repair estimate, the seller may be $750 less negotiable on their sales price. If no repairs are necessary, you could have been able to get that home for $750 less than what you and the seller originally agreed on for the price. A good solution would be to add a clause to your offer that states that if the required repairs cost less than the maximum amount allowed, the excess will be credited toward buyer’s down payment or closing costs. If you are purchasing a DFW FSBO home then the onus is on you to make sure that your offer is written correctly to handle these details.

Buying a Home? Consider Resale Value

Homes with a nice view, like a gold course, cityscape, water view, often sell at a premium above similar homes without a view. If a view is important to you be prepared to pay the price for it. You will need to place a considerable dollar value on the view. When it comes time to sell the home you will likely recover the “view premium”. If you are buying a home with a view be careful not to over pay otherwise you might not get all of your investment back when you sell.Most real estate value is due to its location but the building and the lot are important to. Generally, it should be as level and as open as possible. Assuming the property is in a typical neighborhood, the lot should be rectangular. Try to avoid odd shaped lots or oddly situated lots. Yard sizes are smaller in more modern homes than with the older counter parts, but there should still be a decently sized yard, especially in the rear of the house. You will get your best value if the house is moderately landscaped for the area. You can always jazz up the landscaping during your ownership but don’t over improve and spend too much.In each community the houses will vary in size and amount of rooms, but they should not too much. If resale value is an important consideration of home ownership, you should not buy the largest house in the community. When determining your market value, the homes that are nearest to yours have the most importance. If many of the houses in your community are smaller than your house, this can lower the appreciation of your house. On the other hand, if you buy a small or medium house for the community, the larger homes can help raise the appreciation of your house. Three and four bedroom houses are by far the most popular among home buyers. There should always be a minimum of at least two bathrooms in a house, preferably two and a half. Walk-in closets are extremely desirable in any master bedroom. For the rest of the house, be sure there is plenty of closet and storage space. Garages add to the resale value and you should always make sure to get at least a two-car garage. More and more three car garages have become desirable in many areas. The laundry facilities should be located somewhere convenient on the main floor of the house. These days some homeowners prefer to have the laundry facilities located near the bedrooms no matter what floor they are located on. Families seem to congregate activity around the kitchen making this the most important room of the house. Larger kitchens are better, and they should have updated modern appliances. The dining room and breakfast area should be located adjacent to the kitchen. It is best if the family room is viewable from the kitchen. A fireplace in the living room may be nice, but you pay extra for it and will probably rarely use it and it does not usually add much in real value.Swimming pools do not provide as much added value unless you are located in an area where most people have one. Having a pool in a cooler climate area may actually reduce your number of potential homebuyers when you try to resell the home. With DFW property listings you will find about 40% of the houses have pools. Only buy a home with a pool for your own enjoyment, not as an investment.Pay special attention to determining your "wants" versus your "needs" because it is extremely important. Buying what you need in a more prestigious neighborhood may prove to be more financial rewarding than getting what you want in a less desirable neighborhood. You don’t want to over extend yourself and have your house turn out to be another Dallas foreclosure home. It is always best to get advice from a professional Realtor. If you decided to purchases a Dallas FSBO home, be prepared to make many of the mistakes most rooky home buyers make.

Purchasing a Plano Home - Things Not to Do Before

While in the process of purchasing a Plano Home for Sale make sure you do not make any major purchases of any kind. I have had clients get a home under contract and the next thing I know they are pulling up to the home for their home inspection in a brand new car! What could they have possibly been thinking? You may be enticed to purchase new appliance and furniture for your new home prior to closing. You may also want to take a vacation to get a break from all this home buying stuff. Don’t do it! If you do you will be severely damage your chances of obtaining the mortgage you will need to by the home.Don’t move your money around. When your lender reviews your loan package prior to closing for loan approval they will be seriously concerned if the money you are going to use, the source of your funds, for your down payment and closing costs is not in the same place or in the same amount as it was when you initially applied for the loan. More than likely, you will be asked to provide statements for the last two or three months on all of your liquid assets. This includes savings accounts, money market funds, CD’s, stock statements, mutual funds, 401k and retirement accounts. The loan underwriter, the person that give final approval on your loan, will most likely require a complete paper trail of all your larger withdrawals and deposits. You may be required to produce cancelled checks, deposit receipts, statement and other documents. You may find yourself becoming frustrated with your lender but they are only doing their job correctly per all the mortgage rules and regulations. This is necessary to ensure quality control and eliminate potential fraud. It is a requirement for obtaining financing to document the source of all your funds and assets. Moving your money around, even if to consolidate your funds to make it closing easier, could make it more difficult for the lender to verify properly. Don’t change banks, move funds or make purchases without first speaking with your loan officer. If you want to buy Plano realty and you are using a professional Realtor they will be able to give you additional advice to keep you on track during your home buying process. If you are buying a Plano for sale by owner property then the onus is on you to stay out of trouble. If you are just beginning searching for a home get you Realtor to search Plano Listings to find sellers who are offering to pay some or all of your closing cost. This can reduces the amount of money you will need to bring to closing.