Home Buying Basics

By: Janice Dantes

 

Buying a home is probably the single biggest purchase you will ever make in your life. It often involves tons of documents you need to sift through before the keys are handed over. Especially if you are a first time home buyer, why would you buy a home without a lawyer? Below are my top tips for buying a home:

1. Hire a lawyer. This is one of the largest purchases you will ever make in your life. Are you willing to sign documents you don’t understand? A good real estate attorney will pay for themselves. When I work with clients on real estate transactions, I guide them through the inspection, loan process, appraisals, and the mountains of loan documents.

2. Get an inspection. No Home is perfect. Whether you buy new construction or an 100 year old colonial property, you should hire a qualified inspector. If you don’t hire an inspector and find out after the purchase there is a major problem (e.g. mold, seepage, radon, electrical problems), you can’t return your house. Buy yourself peace of mind.

3. Don’t ever respond to an email with wire instructions. Be careful when receiving an email with wire instructions because of rampant wire fraud in real estate transactions. Before you wire funds for your purchase, verify the wire instructions by phone with the title company.

Here are my tips for selling a home:

1. Hire a lawyer. Again, you will be asked to sign documents that you may not understand. Have a good real estate attorney work with you and the title company.

2. Cash is king. If you have the choice among many offers, please heavily consider the cash deal. With a cash deal, there is a greater likelihood the deal will not fall through because you are not dependent on any lenders.

3. Don’t take things personally. Again, no home is perfect. Don’t take it personally when the inspection reveals issues with your home.

If you have questions about buying or selling a home, please contact me at (312) 546-5077 or janice@ pinaylaw.com. Thank you for reading.

Until we meet again, love one another.