FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOME INSPECTIONS

Home inspection is an important part of the home sale process, both for buyers and sellers. When it’s time for you to hire an inspector, here are five things you should be thinking about:

 1. It’s your choice: You are not bound or obligated to use any particular inspector. Your real estate professional may have some recommendations, but it’s ultimately up to you. Ask around and choose wisely—better to pay a little more now for a highly-respected inspector than to be surprised by a problem that the inspection didn’t reveal.

 2. Looking for big problems: The inspector will be focused on the integrity of the home—safety, electrical work, foundation, load-bearing walls, etc. The inspector is not there to point out problems with ugly paint colors or light fixtures.

 3. The report: There are hundreds of items to inspect in a home, so the inspector’s report will focus on the basics: What’s damaged, what needs repaired, etc. The report should be easy to read and understand.

 4. Code of ethics: Though the inspector is working for the party that pays the inspector’s fee, the inspector will not deliver a report that intentionally hides or omits damaging information about the home. The report is private between you and the inspector, but if you’re the seller, you’re required to disclose any problems that the inspection reveals.

 5. The inspector is not liable: Even the best inspectors can’t find every single problem in a home. They can’t see inside the walls or through the floors, so there could still be problems lurking. If a problem is revealed down the road, the inspector can’t be held responsible.

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How to Survive Buying a House With Your Relationship Intact

Guest Blogger: Natalie Jones

Whether you’re married or not, buying a house together can feel like the biggest commitment of your relationship. After all, you’re financially enmeshing yourselves in a way that a shared checking account just doesn’t do. It’s exciting and scary all at once, but signing the mortgage isn’t the only intimidating part of buying a house. House hunting itself can strain even the best of relationships if you’re not careful.

When you’re buying a house as a couple, the first thing to do is get on the same page about finances. You can’t afford to have any financial secrets. If you have thousands of dollars in unpaid debt that your significant other doesn’t know about, it will come out during mortgage pre-approval and lead to an argument. If there are unpaid debts or accounts in collections on your credit histories, find out what you can do to improve your credit score.

Once you’ve qualified for a mortgage, it’s time to decide how much you want to spend. The amount that you qualified for isn’t necessarily what’s right for your budget. One study from LendingHome showed that half of all home buying disagreements among millennials and Gen Xers stem from differences regarding the right amount of debt to take on. That makes this a necessary conversation. Sit down with your significant other and make a household budget. Once you’ve accounted for all monthly expenses, debt payments, and savings goals, settle on a price range you’d be comfortable paying toward housing each month. Make sure you consider homeownership expenses beyond the mortgage; you’ll also need to factor in utility bills, property taxes, insurance, homeowners association fees, and an emergency fund to cover unexpected repairs. According to reporting from CNBC, these hidden costs of homeownership rack up to average $9,080 every year.

Before you start looking at homes, have a conversation about your wants and needs for a new home. Any home feature that isn’t cheap or easy to change, talk about it — from the kind of neighborhood you want to the type of cabinetry you prefer. The goal is to come up with one single list of agreed-upon wants and needs. If your visions differ, this is the time to come up with a compromise. If you head into house hunting with different dream homes in mind, all you’re going to find is frustration.

While it’s important to have a shared vision for your future home, be prepared to change course if the market demands it. Many first-time buyers overestimate how far their budget will take them. You may have to revisit the discussion if the homes within your budget don’t live up to your dreams.

You should also consider how much time you’re willing to commit to finding a home. Are you going to spend every evening and weekend viewing homes until you’ve found the right one, or do you want to schedule some downtime into your house hunt? Are you willing and able to take off work to jump on the perfect opportunity if competition is high? What’s your deadline for moving? These are all questions to answer before you start contacting selling agents.

Don’t forget to plan for the move: You’re going to have different convictions about the best way to pack boxes and load a moving truck and the right hand signals to use when backing up a box truck. Those minor disagreements are only going to be magnified amidst the stress of moving day, so make a moving plan in advance. Establish a timeline and make a checklist of everything that needs to be done between now and moving day. Assign each task to one person or mark it down as a shared duty to reduce the chances that an important to-do gets overlooked.

Finally, be kind to yourself and each other. Buying a home and moving are stressful tasks and it’s normal for emotions to run high when you’re making major life decisions. If you feel your patience wearing thin or your relationship suffering, step back from house hunting to unwind, spend quality time together, and remind yourselves why you’re on this journey in the first place.

Natalie Jones, together with her husband (Jason), created Homeownerbliss. Since they've bought their home, she has decided to try to help others learn from their experiences. That’s how Homeownerbliss.info was born! She is passionate about making the process of buying a home less scary for first-timers, as well as inspiring homeowners of all stages enjoy the perks of home ownership!

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What is the Difference Between the Note and Deed of Trust

It's important to know the basics of real estate if you are going to own a home! Call me to register for a FREE Homebuyers Course! Laura Key 310.866.8422

A note, usually known as a promissory note, which is a written promise to repay a loan. Whereas, a trust deed is a document used to protect paying back of a loan that is being documented as a lien counter to the borrower's real estate.  It is necessary to use a promissory note in order to avoid any breach in future.  The various important terms of the loan should be specified in a promissory note including the loan amount, rate of interest (if any), and terms and conditions of repayment.  It must be signed by the borrower with date in order to make it a valid document.

A deed of trust is a document that involves three parties generally known as the borrower, lender and a trustee.  This document includes all the basic terms of the loan and should be signed by the borrower.  It is documented as a lien contrary to the borrower's real estate.  It is generally taken as a collateral document that works consecutively with the promissory note.  In this document, the real property of the borrower is guaranteed as a lien to the lender.  In case, the borrower is not able to pay back the loan amount, the lender may take the borrower's real property by way of the system of foreclosure.

A promissory note is a legal document that laid out all the essential things like how and when the borrower will pay back the money to a lender, the interest rate and the schedule of payment.  It contains the undertaking of the borrower to repay the borrowed money within the specified time period.  It is the personal obligation of the borrower to repay the money and has no relationship with an y real estate or other property.

Therefore, it can be understood that although, both the Note and Deed of Trust are an agreement for repayment of a loan, the tow are independent elements of a common mortgage loan. A deed offers the lien on the property in order to secure repayment of the loan.  And, the note is completely a commitment between the borrower and the lender.  The terms of this agreement can be modified at any period of time with the consent of both the parties.  The deed of trust appears in the public property records, whereas, the note is completely a private document that never appears in the public records and therefore it is administratively very easy to make any modifications in the note.

*Please note that the information contained herein is for general informational purposes only. If you are currently involved in a real estate transaction, please direct  your questions to your real estate professional, title officer or closing officer.

Top 10 Legal Mistakes Homebuyer Make

Top 10 Legal Mistakes Homebuyer Make

1. Not realizing that if you don't write a strong offer to purchase, the seller may reject or not respond to your offer.
2. Not realizing that if you don't write a strong offer to purchase, you may lose the property to another more highly motivated buyer.
3. Not realizing that, without a confidentiality agreement,  a seller need not treat your offer as confidential.
4. Not understanding when a contract becomes legally binding.
5. Entering into an agreemetn before checking title records, liens, and other thigns to ascertain whether the seller will be able to close escrow as scheduled.
6. Not understanding the legal implications of loan and inspection contingencies, and other contractual provisions.
7. Not obtaining a seller's disclosure.
8. Not conducting your own inspections and investigations as the buyer.
9. Not fully considering the legal, tax, credit and other ramifications of homeownership, especially co-ownership.
10. Not properly handling a claim for property defects discovered after close of escrow.

Source: C.A.R. Legal Department (California Association of Realtors)

A good buyers agent will help guide you through this list and help you understand each and every one of them.  Contact Laura Key for more info: 310.866.8422 or Laura.A.Key@gmail.com