[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Beautiful Manhattan Coop for sale on East 28th street between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave on the 5th Floor.

OFF THE MARKET

• Elevator Building
• Approx: 600 sq ft.
• Maint: approx $790
• Totally Renovated – New Granite Kitchen, New All Tile Bathroom, Redone Hardwood Floors, New Fixtures and moldings,  much more.
• Garbage Disposal
• Close to Shopping
• Close to Subways, (2nd Ave Subway Line Coming Soon)
• Friendly Building
• Pets Allowed
• And More…

Call today to schedule and appointment!

Brentwood Homes For Sale, Hi-Ranch, 5 Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Short Sale.  Click the picture for more info.

When buying a home, it is almost always recommended that the buyer have a home inspection completed.

Now before I continue, I just want to make some terminology clear.  A lot of people use the term “engineer”, “engineer’s inspection”, and so on.  I just want to make sure that everyone understands that these home inspectors are not real engineers that require many degrees to get that title.  Many people will still use the term, and that is ok just so that everyone is aware of that fact.

So, you have an accepted offer on a property, and you are at the house with the home inspector.  The home inspection is usually done before you sign contracts. The cost for a home inspector will range from about $300-$500.  You should price around and in doing so, ask if they do termite inspections also.  It will save you time from going back to the house again.

Now I can’t stress this enough.  The home inspector is not buying your home!  Don’t ask him/her if it is a good home to buy.  That is your decision. They are they to examine the overall (visible) condition of the home and to give you a report on what they found.  They can not tear down walls, floors, or ceilings to investigate a possible problem.  They will go over what they can see or gain access to like key systems in the house such as, electric, plumbing, heating, roof, windows, foundation, etc…, and also look over smaller things like appliances, such as the stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc…  They usually have an extensive list of things to check out in the house.   Their word is also not gold! I have seen offers/deals die because they buyer was told something in the report and then the buyer will say something like this, “well, the home inspector said this”, or “the home inspector said that”.  Yea, OK, we get it.  Home inspectors are not always 100% correct.  They give their best interpretation or estimate of what the see.  Make your own decision after you have received all the facts and done some of your own research.

You should set aside about 2-3 hours of your time for the home inspection to be completed.  After the home inspector is finished, he/she will send you the home inspection report.  You do not have to give this report to anyone.  You paid for it, so it is yours.  If you choose to show your lawyer, friends, family, or the seller, that is your choice.  The purpose of this report is to help you make an informed decision of the condition of the house you are buying.  You may have found out that the house needs to many costly repairs and the owner will not fix them, so you back out of the offer/deal.  You may still want the house, but try to get the seller to lower the price agreed upon to make it worthwhile for you.  There could be nothing majorly wrong with the home and you decide to move forward and sign contracts.  Whatever you decide, the home inspection is the buyers last bargaining chip with the seller to try and have something repaired, lower the price, or back out.

As you are home looking over the report, if you do not understand something, call the home inspector to help you understand what they wrote in the report.  They shouldn’t have a problem with that.  You should also keep that report in a safe place because when you close on the house, you will need to know what areas of the home need to be fixed/addressed when you move in.

Just remember that home inspectors are an invaluable part of the buying process.  A good real estate agent can help you through the renegotiating process after a home inspection is completed.

If anyone has any questions, please make a comment below so we can share the answer with other visitors.

A Short Sale is one of many remedies for a homeowner in foreclosure.   When a home owner is in foreclosure, one option is to sell the house to get out of the debt.   But if the owner owes more money to the bank than what the house is worth or could sell for, then a process called a Short Sale is attempted.   The owner (really their lawyer or agent) will try to get the bank to accept less than what is owed, coming up “short” of what is owed, hence a “short sale”. Banks are will to take less because they know that it will probably cost them more in the long run to take the house back and then put it up for sale again.   Some people like short sales because you can get a great deal, and other people hate them because dealing with banks can be a nightmare. Each situation is different with each house.   The biggest complaint is that they take a long time to complete.   Sometimes 2-3 times longer than a regular sale.    But again, some have closed really quick.    It depends on the bank and how motivated they are to wash their hands of the property.   Another issue is when you make an offer.   In the past and still today, when a buyer makes an offer on a property in foreclosure, it is the bank who will make the final decision as to whether or not your offer is accepted even though the owner still holds the deed. This is because the bank will be accepted less money than what is owed to them.   Now here is the tricky part.   Most banks won’t give you an answer to your offer until you have signed contracts in full with the deed holder (owner).   What this means is that you are locked into a property (your down payment, namely) before you even know if your offer is accepted, rejected or countered.   For some people that is fine because they might be getting such a good deal.   But for other people it is an inconvenience because the banks are notorious for take their sweet time to give an answer on an offer.  If you had $10,000 tied up in a contract, waiting for an answer from the bank, (which in my experience, has taken up to 1 to 2 months), and while you are waiting for an answer, you find your dream house that is not in foreclosure.  Only you can’t move ahead on it as fast as you would like to because your down payment is tied up on the first house.  It will take some fancy footwork from your lawyer to get your money back, hopefully before someone else bids on the new house and gets it before you.  Now some banks are getting better at this process.  Some will give answers back on offers without going to contract, in as little as a few days.  I have also negotiated with a bank through an online system where I received answers back within 24 hours.  Each situation will be different depending on who the bank is.

I hope I have not turned you away from making offers on short sale foreclosures.  They are a major part of the real estate business now and great deals can be had.  If you have any other questions, please give me a call or make a comment.