Buyers

CENTURY 21, Southern Comfort Realty, Inc.
Serving Buyers and Sellers in Charlotte, Denver, Lake Norman and most surrounding areas.

Patrick Burno, Broker/Realtor.
Call me today for all your Real Estate needs!

Each CENTURY 21 Office is Independently Owned and Operated.
©2008 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. CENTURY 21® is a registered trademark licensed to Century 21 Real Estate LLC.

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Why Buy A Home?

A number of factors need to be considered when deciding whether you should buy your own home.The desire to own a home, and the process of purchasing one, can have tremendous impact on an individual's or a family's finances. A home represents the single largest financial commitment most people will make in their lifetimes. It therefore requires a careful, reasoned decision based on a thorough examination of the steps involved in the purchase.

Advice On Buying Your Home

Let us assist you and determine your wishes and dreams – not only for the first home, but also for those in the future.

Get pre-qualified/pre-approved so you will know the range of homes you qualify for ahead of time and can avoid unnecessary frustration.

Start the home-buying process early and understand the parameters of your current lease (the amount of notice you must give) and back out lead times to ensure you allow enough time for the process.

Step By Step Guide To Owning A Home

1. Learn the terms used in buying a home. (See below)

2. Get pre-approved for a loan, and arrange for financing. We can make suggestions and refer you to a Mortgage Consultant.

3. Indicate what is important to you in a home.

4. Let us help determine what you want and what you can afford.

5. Count on our expertise to help complete an offer in writing.

6. Let us present the offer and negotiate on your behalf.

7. Once the offer is accepted, we will explain the next steps.

8. Your earnest money will be deposited immediately upon acceptance of the offer.

9. We will help you through the process of the home inspection, termite inspection and survey.

10. We will make sure the lender orders the appraisal and will confirm the property value with the appraiser once the appraisal is completed.

11. We will give you suggestions or refer you to an Insurance Agent to review homeowner’s insurance options.You will usually need to pay for one year in advance.

12. We will help you choose a real estate attorney to handle the closing. The attorney will complete a title search and provide title insurance.

13. We will schedule your closing, at a convenient time for all parties.

14. We will review your closing statement with you.

15. We will instruct/advise you on the funds needed for closing. You will need to bring a cashier’s heck or certified funds.

16. Together, we will go to the closing and sign all required documents.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU OWN A NEW HOME!

Commonly Used Terms

annual percentage rate (APR): The total yearly cost of a mortgage as expressed by the actual rate of interest paid.The APR includes the base interest rate, points, and any other add-on loan fees and costs. The APR is thus invariably higher than the rate of interest that the lender quotes for the mortgage.

appraisal: Mortgage lenders require an appraiser to give an opinion of the market value of a house a homeowner wants to sell or refinance.This professional opinion helps to protect the lender from lending money on a house that is worth less than the amount the buyers have agreed to pay for it or that the seller wishes to obtain when refinancing the existing loan. For typical houses, the appraisal fee is in the $200 to $300 range and is usually paid for by the borrower.

assessed value: The value of a property for the purpose of determining property taxes.This figure depends on the methodology used by the local tax assessor and, thus, may differ from the appraised or market value of the property.

buydown:The builder or house seller agrees to pay part of the home buyer’s mortgage for the first few years.The term also refers to the practice of a seller paying a mortgage lender a predetermined amount of money to reduce his or her mortgage interest rate, thereby creating more attractive financing for a potential buyer. Veterans with low or modest incomes may be able to get buydowns through a Veterans Administration loan plan that is available in some new housing developments.

cash reserve: Most mortgage lenders require that homebuyers have sufficient cash left over after closing on their home purchase in order to make the first two mortgage payments or to cover a financial emergency.

closing costs: These costs generally total from 2 to 5 percent of the home’s purchase price and are completely independent of (and in addition to) the down payment. Closing costs include such things as points (that is, loan origination fee to cover lender’s administrative costs), an appraisal fee, a credit report fee, mortgage interest for the period between the closing date and the first mortgage payment, homeowners insurance premium, title insurance, prorated property taxes, and recording and transferring charges. So when you are finally ready to buy, you need to have enough cash to pay all these costs in order to buy your dream home.

comparable market analysis (CMA): In order to determine the price you want to offer, you need to know how much houses like the one you are considering are selling for or sold. Identify houses “comparable” to yours that sold within the last six months, are in the immediate vicinity of your house, and are as similar as possible to your house in terms of size, age, and condition. By analyzing the asking prices of houses comparable to yours that are currently on the market, you can see whether prices are rising, flat, or declining. A written analysis of comparable houses currently being offered for sale and comparable houses that sold in the past six months is called a comparable market analysis (CMA).

contingency: Conditions contained in almost all home purchase offers.The seller or buyer must meet or waive all contingencies before the deal can be closed.These conditions relate to such factors as the buyer’s review and approval of property inspections or the buyer’s ability to get the mortgage financing that is specified in the contract. Sellers may include contingencies as well, such as making the sale of their house contingent upon their successful purchase of another home. If a contingency cannot be met, the party for whom it was established may legitimately withdraw from a contract.

cosigner:Past credit issues may require you to have help securing a mortgage, even though you are financially stable. A friend or relative can come to your rescue by cosigning (which literally means being indebted for) a mortgage.A cosigner cannot improve your credit report, but can improve your chances of getting a mortgage. Cosigners should be aware, however, that cosigning for your loan will adversely affect their future creditworthiness since your loan becomes what is known as a contingent liability against their borrowing power.

credit report: A report lenders use to determine an applicant’s credit worthiness. Applicants must pay for a lender to obtain this report, which the lender uses to determine the applicant’s ability to handle all forms of credit and to pay off loans in a timely fashion. The cost of a credit report is usually around $40 to $50.

debt-to-income ratio: Before you go out home buying, you should determine what your price range is. Lenders generally figure that you shouldn’t spend more than about 33 to 45 percent of your monthly income for your housing costs.The debt-to-income ratio measures your future monthly housing expenses, which include your proposed mortgage payment (debt), property tax, and insurance, in relation to your monthly income.

delinquency: Delinquency occurs when a monthly mortgage payment is not received by the due date.The first time you are delinquent, the next time your are in default.

down payment:The part of the purchase price that the buyer pays in cash, upfront, and does not finance with a mortgage. Generally, the larger the down payment, the better terms you can get on a mortgage.

earnest money: A home buyer’s “good faith” deposit that accompanies a written purchase offer.

fixed-rate mortgage: Considered the granddaddy of all mortgages, you can lock into an interest rate (for example, 8.5 percent), and it never changes during the life (term) of your 15- or 30-year mortgage.Your mortgage payment will be the same amount each and every month. Compare fixed-rate mortgages with adjustable rate mortgages.

FSBO: A property that is For Sale By Owner and is not listed through a real estate broker.

home warranty plan: A type of insurance that covers repairs to specific parts of the home for a predetermined time period.

homeowners insurance: This is required and necessary.You must have “dwelling coverage” that can cover the cost to rebuild your house.The liability insurance portion of this policy protects you against accidents that occur on your property. Another essential piece is the personal property coverage that pays to replace your lost worldly possessions and usually totals 50 to 75 percent of the dwelling coverage. Finally, get flood or earthquake insurance if you’re in an area susceptible to these natural disasters. As with other types of insurance, get the highest deductibles with which you are comfortable.

house inspection: Like homeowners insurance, we think that a house inspection is a necessity.The following should be inspected: overall condition of the property, inside and out; electrical, heating, and plumbing systems; foundation; roof; pest control and dry rot. A good house inspection can save you money by locating problems. With the inspection report in hand, your Realtor can ask the seller to either do repairs or reduce the purchase price.

interest: Lenders usually require borrowers to pay the interest that accrues from the date of settlement to the first monthly payment.

interest rate: Interest is what lenders charge you to use their money. Lenders generally charge higher rates of interest on higher risk loans. For fixed-rate mortgages, remember that the interest rate has a seesaw relationship with the points.A high number of points is usually associated with a lower interest rate, and vice versa. For an adjustable-rate mortgage, make sure that you understand the formula (the index plus the margin) that determines how the interest rate is calculated after the teaser rate expires.

lock-in: A lock-in is a mortgage lender’s commitment and written agreement to guarantee a specified interest rate to the homebuyer, provided that the loan is closed within a set period of time.

loan origination: This fee is usually known as a loan origination fee but is sometimes called a “point” or “points.” It covers the lender’s administrative costs in processing the loan. Often expressed as a percentage of the loan, the fee will vary among lenders. Generally, the buyer pays the fee, unless otherwise negotiated.

Multiple Listing Service: (MLS) is a real estate agents’ cooperative service that contains descriptions of most of the houses that are for sale. Real estate agents use this computer-based service to keep up with properties listed for sale by members of the Multiple Listing Service in their area.

notary fee: This fee is charged for the cost of having a person who is licensed as a notary public swear to the fact that the persons named in the documents did, in fact, sign them.

points: Also known as a loan’s origination fee, points are interest charges paid up-front when you close on your loan. Points are actually a percentage of your total loan amount (one point is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount). For a $100,000 loan, one point costs you $1,000.

pre-paids/escrow account deposits: These cost are for the payment of taxes and/or insurance and other items that must be made at settlement to set up an escrow account.The lender is not allowed to collect more that a certain amount.

principal: The principal is the amount that you borrow for a loan. If you borrow $100,000, your principal is $100,000. Each monthly mortgage payment consists of a portion of principal that must be repaid plus the interest that the lender is charging you for the use of the money. During the early years of your mortgage, your loan payment is primarily interest.

private mortgage insurance (PMI:) If the down payment is less than 20 percent of a home’s purchase price, the borrower will probably need to purchase private mortgage insurance (also known as “mortgage default insurance”). Lenders feel that homeowners who can only come up with small down payments are more likely to default on their loans.Therefore, lenders make these homeowners buy PMI, which reimburses them the loan amount in case the borrower does default. Private mortgage insurance can add hundreds of dollars per year to loan costs. After the equity in the property increases to 20 percent, borrowers no longer need the insurance. Do not confuse this insurance with mortgage life insurance.

property disclosure statement: Some states require that sellers give prospective buyers a written disclosure regarding all known property defects and all known material facts that may affect the property’s value or desirability.

prorations: Certain items such as property taxes and homeowners association dues are continuing expenses that must be prorated (distributed) between the buyers and sellers at closing. If the buyers, for example, owe the sellers money for property taxes that the sellers paid in advance, the prorated amount of money due the sellers at closing is shown as a debit (charge) to the buyers and a credit to the sellers.

recording: The cost for having the new deed recorded.This will put your name in the public records as the owner of the home. Usually around $35.00.

settlement or closing fee: This fee is paid to the settlement agent or escrow holder.The cost of the fee needs to be negotiated between the buyer and the seller.

survey: The lender may require that a surveyor conduct a property survey.This is a protection to the buyer as well. Usually the buyer pays for the surveyor’s fee, but sometimes this may be paid by the seller.

tax deductible: Refers to payments that you may deduct against your federal and state taxable income.The interest portion of your mortgage payments, loan points, and property taxes are tax deductible.

title insurance: Covers the legal fees and expenses necessary to defend your title against claims that may be made against your ownership of the property.The extent of your coverage depends upon whether you have an owner’s standard coverage or extendedcoverage title insurance policy.To get a mortgage, you also have to buy a lender’s title insurance policy to protect your lender against title risks.

zoning: Certain city and county government bodies have the power to regulate the use of land and buildings. For example, the neighborhood where your house is located is probably zoned for residential use. It most likely also has zoning codes or ordinances to regulate building heights, yard sizes, and the percentage of lot coverage by buildings.

Southern Comfort Realty

PATRICK BURNO

REALTOR

704-674-3997

Call Us Today!

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Southern Comfort Realty

CAMILLE ESTES

REALTOR

980-722-4155

Call Us Today!