Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (53 page)

Always Late … But Worth the Wait?

 

One of the most frequent complaints from buyers in new communities is that their homes aren’t built on time. Even reputable builders can get pushed back due to rain or other problems. Here are some terms you can include in your offer to compensate you for delays:

• pro rata rent, based on your current home

• pro rata hotel rental, based on the market price of an acceptable hotel

• pro rata mortgage payment

• credit toward upgrades based on pro rata mortgage costs, or

• reduced price or free upgrades in exchange for allowing late delivery.

 

 

TIP

 

Don’t back down.
Realtor® Mark Nash advises, “Buyers need to go head to head with pushy developers. If they don’t, they’re asking to be taken advantage of.”

What’s Next?

 

Once you and the seller have signed a contract, it binds you both. Now it’s time to arrange your inspections, pull your financing together, get homeowners’ and title insurance, remove contingencies, and close the deal. We discuss these topics in Chapters 11 through 14.

 

Meet Your Adviser

 

Sandy Gadow,
a nationally recognized expert on real estate closing and escrow, and author of
The Complete Guide to Your Real Estate Closing
, widely considered the ʺbible of escrow and closing.ʺ Sandy maintains a website,
www.escrowhelp.com
, where she shares real estate articles, tips, and advice.

What she does

Sandy travels all over the United States and abroad in order to continue researching and tracking the latest developments in escrow and closing. With over 25 years experience as an escrow officer, Sandy has become a frequent contributor to newspapers and other publications nationwide, including
The Wall Street Journal
online (
www.realestate-journal.com
), and the
Washington Post
. Sheʹs also been a guest on CNNʹs
Open House
and a speaker on national radio. Sandy continues to have direct contact with homebuyers as a licensed sales associate with Sothebyʹs International Realty in Palm Beach, Florida, and a mortgage broker with Palm Beach Mortgage. She is a featured columnist at
realestatejournal.com
.

 

First house

ʺIt was a shack, really, on two acres of land that I discovered during a hike in Californiaʹs Point Reyes National Seashore. I was intrigued by the established trees, including redwood, apple, quince, and cypress; the small vineyard; and the investment potential. With a little research, I found that it was an abandoned estate, left to heirs in the Azores. I tracked down some U.S. relatives and negotiated to buy the property—it all wrapped up within 14 days, with no inspections or disclosures. This was my introduction to the property market, but it went smoothly, and I was so excited that I had no time to be nervous. When we moved in, we found cobwebs everywhere, white lace curtains hanging in shreds, beds still made, dusty dishes and glasses on the table, and jars of preserved fruits from the apple and quince trees—a scene frozen in time. It was a huge fix-up effort but is now worth many times more than what I paid for it.

 

Fantasy house

ʺIt would have to be two houses: one in the countryside, in the South of France preferably, where I would work on the land, relax, and eat very well. The other would be in a city, such as London, where I could work and enjoy all the cultural activities, such as museums, theatres, ballets, and concerts, with the bonus of being able to take short-break trips to neighboring countries.ʺ

 

Likes best about her work

ʺFirst I should say that, after my first house purchase, I got the ʹreal estate bugʹ and decided the best way to learn about investing in real estate was to become an escrow officer. I started working at a local title company shortly thereafter and have been doing that ever since. I wrote my first book,
All About Escrow,
in 1981 because I saw a need to have a training manual for buyers, sellers, realtors, and escrow trainees and officers. And I still enjoy the fact that the real estate field is always changing, is always interesting, and involves meeting and dealing with new people every day.ʺ

 

Top tip for first-time homebuyers

ʺJust go for it—the best way to learn how to buy your first home is to buy your first home. But I also do mean for people to do their homework, ask a lot of questions, and never take ʹnoʹ for an answer.ʺ

 

 

CD-ROM

 

For more tips from Sandy Gadow, check out her audio interview on the CD-ROM at the back of this book.

 

Wait! I Changed My Mind!

 

There are a few moments in the homebuying process where buyer’s remorse —that sinking feeling that you’ve made a
huge
mistake—is common. If you’re feeling panicked, try:

•
Calling a homeowner.
Talking to a happy homeowner reminds you that it’s worth it and that your fears are completely unoriginal!

•
Driving by the house.
Take another look and imagine living there. Bring a loved one who will be excited for you.

•
Watching a home improvement reality show.
Even if you’re buying a brand-new house, or not changing a thing, it’s fun to see others get creative. Try the DIY Network (
www.diynetwork.com
) or HGTV (
www.hgtv.com
).

•
Doing something different.
You’ve probably spent too much time talking with businesspeople and reading official papers. Take a break: a long hike, a movie, or a massage.

 

 

CHECK IT OUT

 

For a detailed chart of who typically handles the closing in your state:
Refer to
The Complete Guide to Your Real Estate Closing
, by Sandy Gadow (McGraw-Hill).