first time home buyers

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Buying your first home can be quite daunting.

Here’s a few tips on what to look for, what to ask, what to avoid and what to expect:

Unforeseen Emergency Repairs

One thing that most new homeowners fail to consider is unforeseen or emergency repairs. Whether it’s 2 weeks or 2 years after you close on your house, it’s imperative that you have money set aside for things such as appliance replacement, plumbing repairs, roof leaks, foundation issues, electrical problems, etc.

If, or should I say WHEN, these types of problems do arise in your home, How do you choose the best contractor or service provider in order to ensure quality and correctness?

Ask your Realtor for multiple referrals of people they’ve worked with in the past.
Browse sites such as AngiesList.com and HomeAdvisor.com to find reputable companies.
Search your local BBB to find accredited companies or individuals.
When in doubt, search Google.com for the top rated services that you need.
If choosing to go with family or friends for your repair or demo needs, be sure that a licensed professional completes work when a permit is required in order to avoid costly mistakes, delays, and damage to your property.

Insurance Rates

Shopping around for the best insurance rates and policies can be overwhelming, but certainly well worth your time and effort in order to save you money in the short and long term. (Think more money in your pocket for vacations). Remember when looking for your new home to consider such things as Flood Plains and the premiums that go along with them.

Finding The Best Home Inspector

There are many licensed and qualified home inspectors in the Louisville area. How do you choose the right one for your new purchase? Ask as many questions as possible. For example:

How any years have you been in business?
How many homes have you inspected?
Are you currently licensed in KY?
How are your reports prepared? (With or without photos, typed or handwritten, etc)
Seek out testimonials from previous clients.
Ask your Realtor for multiple referrals.

What To Ask and Expect From Your Lender

Your lender will obviously be an integral part of your home buying process and ownership. Typically they’ll qualify you for an exact maximum dollar amount that they will lend you based on your work history, income, savings, credit score, current outstanding debt and other factors they deem appropriate. Then your application will go on to underwriting, processing and approval. Here’s a few questions to be sure to ask them:

What’s my monthly payment?
Are there any prepayment penalties?
What’s my PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) cost?
What’s my APR (Annual Percentage Rate)?
What’s the length of my term?
Where do I send my monthly payments?
Who do I call if I have questions?
What’s your web address?

(Top Tip: Paying an extra principal only payment 1-2 weeks after every regular monthly principal and interest payment will cut the total length of your loan in half. You’re going to have to pay that money anyway. So if you’re in a position where you can, you will drastically reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of you loan. That means if you have a 30 year fixed loan, by making an extra principal only payment each month your loan term will be decreased by about 15 years!)

What exactly is an Escrow Account?

Here’s a simple explanation of the two types of escrow accounts typically used in a real estate transaction:

http://time.com/money/collection-post/2792060/how-does-an-escrow-account-work/

So for whatever reason you have a Louisville house or commercial property that’s vacant. Some people
are totally content and okay with this. They pay their taxes, keep their grass cut and pay their mortgage
if they have one. If you are one of those people, GREAT!

We don’t get you.

We’re all stuck on this floating rock in space for a reason. Whatever your purpose is, a vacant property is
holding you back. We promise you this, trust us.

Either you need the cash flow from a tenant occupied property or you need a lump sum of cash
that would help you move towards your goals….starting a business, retirement, increased savings, going
on your dream vacation, buying a vacation home, paying off your debt, buying a new car, saving for your children’s education (or maybe even yours)….whatever it is….selling your vacant property can get you
moving in the right direction.

Not only that, there are quite a few negatives to having a property sit vacant for weeks, months, years or decades….

1. When your insurance company finds out (and they will) that your property is vacant, your rates will
SKY ROCKET.

2. A vacant property is susceptible to vandalism, not to mention break-ins and theft, leaving you with a
HUGE mess to clean up and out potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

3. If your property isn’t properly maintained you could begin to see major mechanicals fail. Roof leaks,
burst pipes, gas leaks, fires, and mold growth can all severely damage your property.

4. Animals and squatters could likely call your vacant house their new home. (A friend of ours once tried
to evict a squatter from her house only to find out that because the squatter had mail in their name
coming to the house, she couldn’t just throw them out. It was a whole BIG ordeal involving courts,
judges, money and that extremely precious thing we call TIME).

5. The city can put liens on your property if you don’t maintain the exterior and yard as per the building
codes in your city.

Now, we don’t tell you these things to scare you. Us? We like scary movies, but we like to laugh and smile
as much as possible just like you. We simply want you to be aware of the things we’ve seen happen to
others so you can make your own decision about selling your vacant property or not.

If you do want to sell and need our help, just ask. We’re here to provide exceptional service for those that
reach out to us.

Let us know how we can serve you.

Common Pitfalls of New Home Owners

Your Vacant House Is Secretly Stealing Your Money

We help you find your dream home.

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