Real Estate Deal Breakers to Avoid in Alexandria
Posted by David Zadareky on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 8:43pm.
Purchasing a home is understandably stressful due to the monetary investment and the complicated, confusing buying process. As a buyer, you must fully understand the underlying value of your Alexandria dream home before you decide to purchase it.
Once you have found the home that meets your personal and financial ideals, it is important to persevere until the property closes. Here are some minor roadblocks to be aware of as you go through the process so you can end up living in the home you really want.
Property Condition
Don’t let the aesthetics of the home keep you from buying your perfect home. For example, appliances and decorative themes can easily be changed to reflect your taste.
Focus on the future potential of the home. For example, have the home checked for structural soundness by a home inspector. While the cost of the home inspection will come out of your pocket, the investment will give you peace of mind. Before closing the deal, the inspector will thoroughly assess your home inside and out and provide you with detailed information on repairs that may be needed.
These findings will be useful as leverage in the home-buying process. If the inspection finds that the home requires $8,000 of work to become “structurally sound” but your contract states they you will only purchase the home if repairs do not exceed $1,000, you will be able to get out of the deal.
Sweat Equity
Improvements and/or repairs done by the buyer of a home to increase its value are referred to as sweat equity by Real Estate professionals. Unless you purchase a home that has been recently constructed, your new digs will likely need some elbow grease. Don’t let this discourage you from buying if you like everything else.
Some potential sweat equity repairs include a fresh coat of paint, new light fixtures or even some landscaping. Many older Alexandria properties with excellent construction characteristics will still need some of that TLC. Your Real Estate agent will be able to point out which fixes can be performed by the typical homebuyer and which ones would be best left to a professional.
A Financial Difference of $5,000 or So
Even though $5,000 is not an insignificant amount of money, it is not an amount that should keep you from purchasing the home you desire. If you’ve done a market analysis of the property, you have minimized your price risk. But when it’s time to close the deal you and the seller are haggling over a $5,000 to $10,000 difference, you may need to come up with more cash to make the transaction a success.
Here are a few ideas:
- Look into down-payment assistance for homebuyers from the government. There are plenty of federal and state programs available in Virginia.
- Consider other resources at your disposal, such as your 401K or loans or gifts from relatives.
- Ask the seller to buy down your mortgage points. Your mortgage broker can assist you by quoting how much the buy down of a point would cost. This will save you thousands of dollars over a 30-year period.
Remember to remain patient and diligent during the home buying process and don’t let minor repairs or a small price difference keep you out of a home you really love. Purchasing a home is a long-term, beneficial investment, and the more you know the better the outcome.
As an experienced Realtor® I can help you work through the deal breakers. If you’re in the market to make a move in Northern Virginia, you owe it to yourself to work with an exceptional real estate team committed to Going Beyond Your Expectations. That team is RE/MAX Evolution & David Zadareky.
Print
ShareBe the first to comment on this blog entry!