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Real Estate blog by Angela Gutierrez covering Corona, Norco, and Riverside

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THE HOME INSPECTION – Two Sides to Every Transaction

April 27, 2015 by Angela Gutierrez Leave a Comment

Teenagers hands playing tug-of-war with used ropeThe Home Inspection. In many ways, this is one of the most dreaded phrases in a real estate transaction to everyone involved, the Home Buyer, the Home Seller, and yes the Realtors. Why, you may ask? Obviously because it can be a deal breaker if too many problems are revealed about the house, and also if both parties – the buyer side and seller side, have the wrong attitudes from the onset.  First of all, unless you’re buying a brand new home, issues both small & sometimes big, (hopefully not, right?) inevitably will be revealed during the home inspection.  If a first time home buyer is realistic about this probability from the beginning, (and that’s where us realtors come in), it will save everyone a lot of heartache.  Secondly, if Home Sellers are  diligent in taking care of at least the small things BEFORE they list their house, that will benefit everyone & especially them!!!  Simply put, if you’re (Seller) a handy person and your door hinge needs to be repaired, or you have outlet covers missing, make sure you REPLACE them before listing because these things, minor as they are, will always be called out during a home inspection. A buyer who is not a handy person, may just interpret these minor “call-outs” as “too many issues with the house.”  Why, you may ask?  Because in many cases, all they see on that Inspection Report are “red check marks” and let’s face it, multiple “red marks” strike alarm in everyone’s mind, whether minor or not! Many people then freak out & lump together all the minor issues with the bigger issues of the house and it’s rarely good from there.  It’s all about mindset.

So with all that being said, let’s now talk about what happens directly after a Home Inspection.  The results are usually emailed to the Buyer’s Agent & the Buyer (within 48 hrs).  The Buyer & their Agent review the results and the Buyer decides what issues they want the Seller to fix or credit them for.  I always advise my clients to focus on the most expensive fixes, and things that may pose safety concerns now or in the future. Depending on the type of loan the Home Buyer is getting, some issues will have to be fixed/credited prior to the close of escrow.  If the Seller wants to move forward with the sale of their home, it would be of course in their best interest to comply.  But what about issues that don’t affect the Lender’s involvement?  These issues will have to be negotiated between the Buyer and Seller parties.  And that’s where a good strategy comes into play with the Buyer’s Agent.  Here are some of the things the Buyer’s Agent should do:

  • Forward the Home Inspection results to a trusted General Contractor and ask him/her to draw up an estimate based on the results of the inspection, from most important, most expensive fixes to the least.
  • Consult with their client to decide which fixes to include on the Request for Repairs that the Buyer’s Agent should be drawing up and sending to the Seller’s Agent as soon as possible.

Finally, it is very important that the Buyer understand that the Seller may or may not choose to fix or credit everything requested – and they’re not legally obligated to; these issues will need to be agreed upon, of course in writing.   It’s imperative that the most significant issues are addressed on the Request for Repairs and minor things, like missing outlet covers, are left off!  Please also note that if the house is priced under market value, it might have been priced this way for a reason, meaning the sellers don’t want to “give away” their house, but may not want to deal with the cost of repairs, therefore, the under market price.  That’s something the Buyer’s Agent should be aware of and bring to the attention of their client so everyone can keep an open mind.

Filed Under: Buying A Home

Good Morning and Happy “Hump” Day! A First Time Buyer….?

October 2, 2013 by Angela Gutierrez Leave a Comment

This morning I decided to post some helpful information for 1st time buyers. There are many people who may not know where to start when seriously thinking of buying a house. Besides the obvious – paying your bills on time, building up some savings, a steady income…when you’re ready, you will need to get pre-qualified with a lender, which should result in them providing you a Pre-Qualification Letter (Most Real Estate Agents will ask to see this letter before even showing you a home in person as not to waste anybody’s time).

Here is a list of some of the documents the bank/lender will be asking you to provide in order to get you started for a pre-qualification:

  • Copy of Social Security card and Driver License
  • Copies of checking and savings accounts statements for the last two – three months – ALL PAGES
  • Evidence of any other assets such as bonds, stocks, or money saved in retirement programs (i.e. 401k or 403b program) that maybe used for the down payment or purchase of the new home.
  • Recent paycheck stub(s) for last 30 days
  • W-2 forms and  income tax returns for the past two years – ALL PAGES

Just remember – at least 1 year in advance, it is important to do the following:

Tips from Realtor.com

Pay Your Rent on Time!

It is very important that you pay your rent by check each month and that you pay it on time. Lenders will look at this as an indicator of how you will handle your mortgage with them. If you’re habitually late with your rent check, they can predict that you won’t pay them on time either.

Money in the Bank

Different lenders have different requirements, but most want to see that you have had the down payment in your bank account for at least two months. They also will need for you to have additional funds for reserves.

Be Prepared

If you are prepared and can gather these documents ahead of time, you can save time in the pre-approval process. Fortunately the paperwork needed is pretty uniform from lender to lender so you can start putting it together now.

And one more tip from me…

Pay Down Your Debt

Work on paying down as many debts as possible.  If you can pay off your car, some credit cards, by all means, do it!  If you have unsettled debt on your credit report, try to resolve it – many collection agencies will let you set up a payment plan or settle for part of the balance through one lump sum payment.

Hope this article was helpful.  Have a great day!

Filed Under: Buying A Home

Welcome to IE Curb Appeal

Hello, and welcome to my website! My name is Angela Gutierrez and I am a Realtor serving all of the Inland Empire & Orange County areas. I work out of the Realty ONE Group office in Corona and I hope you find the articles & information provided in IE Curb Appeal to be helpful and informative. I look forward to assisting you in all your Real Estate needs, whether it's buying or selling your home!

Contact me if you are interested in buying or selling.

Phone: 951-427-7842

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