by Susanne Novak on January 16, 2012
Over the past 6 months the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has once again targeted the elimination of lead based paint in homes for sale. Based on their stats 1 million children are affected by lead poisoning.
When you sell or rent a house built before 1978 you need to disclose any knowledge of lead based paint. Most private sellers don’t have any knowledge nor records of lead based paint, because they never tested their house. They can simply initial the two boxes on the form that indicate that they don’t know of lead based paint and are done.
If you buy a property from an institutional seller, such as HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you have to watch out and read their disclosures. Their homes for sale may have been tested for lead paint.
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by Susanne Novak on January 8, 2012
Many people feel that real estate agents make “easy” money. Realtors show you a few homes for sale, submit a contract and, when the deal closes, they get 3% of the purchase price. On an average priced home for sale in Columbus that’s approximately $5,000.
Sounds like a nice income for a “part-time” job.
Let’s take a look at the work your real estate agent should actually do to earn his/her commission. Then you can judge whether your buyer’s agent really earned it or not.
When you work with a buyers agent, that agent should be with you every step of the way. She should be there in person, not just answer her email or phone.
Here are four critical parts of the home buying process, where your real estate agent must be present. [click to continue…]
by Susanne Novak on January 2, 2012
This is a true story that shows the benefits of hiring a real estate agent. HUD had just accepted the offer I submitted for one of my customers. When I called her and told her the good news, she got all excited and said: “I just hit the HUD Jackpot!”
I am really glad that she is happy now. The HUD home she just won was not even on her list of homes to see. It was one of my recommendations. I suggested that she take a look at this Columbus home for sale, because it was a brand new listing that just came up as we were house hunting in the area
Not only was the house very nice and in excellent condition, but HUD accepted a discount of 12% right off the gate.
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by Susanne Novak on December 31, 2011
Do you believe the myth that nobody is buying homes in December? Read on and you will be surprised.
At the end of November 2011 I a listed a large ranch in Marysville for $68,000. As you can see from the picture, it looks like a nice home with 3 bedrooms, 3 garages, and a wide open backyard.
Within two days I had more than 20 showing requests from other realtors. A total of 30 potential buyers looked at the house within a week. When I stopped by this home for sale a few days ago, I hardly could find a place to park, as realtors and buyers crowded the long driveway.
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by Susanne Novak on November 27, 2011
Columbus real estate is full of surprises. Every so often you find homes for sale that are listed far below their real value and you wonder, if the real estate agent who listed the property or the seller made an error.
Today I found one of these homes. It appears that HUD committed a blunder when they listed this property. I believe it is $100K below market value.
When this happens, you, the buyer, could win the jackpot. On these rare occasions you can get a HUD house literally for pennies on the dollars. I always report on these homes for sale, when they pop up, and readers of my newsletter are the first to know. [click to continue…]
by Susanne Novak on November 24, 2011
Many Columbus Homes for Sale are in need of repairs. It is very common that foreclosed houses get damaged while they are vacant.
Savvy home buyers see an opportunity when a house for sale is not in perfect condition, because motivated sellers will accept lower purchase offers to get rid of a property that’s not move-in ready.
Common Home Buyer Questions
- How can you pay for these repairs?
- Does the money have to come out of the buyer’s pocket?
- Can you finance the repairs with a mortgage when you purchase the home?
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