What are buyer closing costs and Prepaid's

What is the difference between buyer closing costs and pre-paid items?   The importance of knowing the difference between closing costs and prepaid items in Indiana offers to purchase a home.  

Dose it make a difference what the wording is in your offer when you ask the Seller to pay closing Costs when purchasing a home?

 It does make a difference, if you ask for $5000 in closing costs and don't include in the wording closing costs and pre-paid items in your offer some very expensive costs that relate to your closing are not covered. Your seller could net much more and you the buyer will be bringing possibly significantly more funds to the closing table.

Your Real Estate Agent needs to define what you want the seller to pay out of the amount you ask the seller to pay in closing costs.  Of course the buyer wants as many closing costs and prepaid items paid by the seller as possible.  So a good agent will try to use up all of the $5000 Seller has agreed to pay in Buyer closing costs so the buyer will have to bring as little funds as possible at the closing of your home.  

Recurring Fees -   also called Prepaid's and Escrows

Prepaid items are charges that aren't part of the mortgage process and fees not charged for the loan itself.  They are es-crowed items or amounts paid directly (such as the Home Owners Association) majority of pre paid items are paid per Diem to the date of closing or in the future per diem 6 months or one year from the date of closing. 

MORTGAGE INTEREST charged from the 1st of the month to the date of closing

PMI- Private mortgage Insurance  Government fee that is charged to do the loan

REAL ESTATE TAXES escrow 6 months - 

PROPERTY HAZARD INSURANCE  HOME OWNERS INSURANCE - 1 year escrow   Property hazard insurance is different then what home owners insurance is.  Property hazard protects the lender - Home Owner protects you

HOA DUES from closing to due date of Bill

NON RECURRING Closing costs items that are a one time fee A couple of fees are included only in certain circumstances or types of loans.

APPRAISAL

INSPECTION

CREDIT REPORT

DOC FEE

CLOSING FEE

LOAN CLOSING FEE

TITLE INSURANCE- owners policy protects the owner

TITLE INSURANCE- Buyers Policy

LENDERS POLICY Protects the Lender

RELEASE FEE

LENDER FEES including origination fee, discount points, under writing fee, processing fee, doc fee, document preparation fee, administrative fee,

FLOOD CERTIFICATION FEE

RECORDING FEE

TAX CERTIFICATE

RELEASE FEE

TAX SERVICE FEE

WIRE TRANSFER FEE

MOBILE NOTARY FEE

POWER OF ATTORNEY FEE

When you put in an offer its important that you know what your expectations are and they are met.  

A Seller doesn't have to accept your offer and may counter back with a lower amount in seller paid closing costs.  When the Seller does counter back and states they will only pay x amount in seller paid closing costs, your real estate agent if you agree needs to counter back and include the prepaid's and escrows with the closing costs or again the seller could be paying less then you expect and you may be paying more at closing then you expect.  

Shannon Thomas Real Estate Broker

Avon Indiana Real Estate Agent

 Love to List your home for Sale and Love to Represent you as a Buyers Agent

 Search for homes in Indianapolis area communities and neighborhoods.  SellingIndyMetro

What is a Buyer Multiple offer Notification

What is a buyer multiple offer notification and how should you the buyer respond?  

Multiple offers are common on properties in the SELLERS Market we are currently in here in the Indianapolis metro area, including Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, Danville, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville and many other communities in and around Indianapolis.  

Multiple offers means the property you are going to or have already put in an offer has more then one offer and they are giving You the buyer a chance to raise your offer so you have a better chance of possibly receiving an acceptance from the seller.  All buyers that have put in offers will be sent the same notice.

In the multiple offer notification it will give you a time line that the listing agent has to receive the signed notification back or your original offer may not be considered.    So make sure that you and your Real Estate agent pays attention to the details in the multiple offer notice and the process that they expect you to follow.  

So what should your highest and best offer be?   The highest and best offer should be the highest price you want to offer and willing to lose the property at that price.  Another way of saying you would not be willing to go any higher and ok to lose the home if you don't receive the acceptance.  

When a property is under multiple offer it means the property can have just one other offer the sellers are considering or they may have several.  The sellers don't share that information and the listing agent is looking out for the sellers best interest.  Also they won't share how high the other offers are or if the other offers are close or over asking price. They won't even say if your offer is close.  I get this asked all the time and its questions that sellers or representative will not share.

Listing home for Sale in Avon Indiana 

 What information on your home do you need when selling your home?

When Listing your Avon Indiana home for sale what information on your home do you need before listing your home with a Real Estate Agent?  

 As a Real Estate agent its my job to collect as much information about your home upfront as possible.  Information on your home upfront helps make the sell of your home run smoothly and with less stress and frustration. Its important to have the information on hand when qualified buyers ask many questions and while the buyer is trying to make a decision to purchase and also after you have an actual contract.   

Some information is for the title company that will be necessary to do a title search other information is for the buyer themselves. 

Listing Home Information:   Shannon Thomas Real Estate Broker

1.       Home Loan #’s___________________________________ Pay Off Amounts______________

2.       Name of Bank__________________________________

3.       Bank Contact Info_________________________________________________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

4.       Trash Pick up Days____________________ Contact Information_________________________

5.       Gas Company and contact information_____________________________________________

6.       Average Gas Bill over 1 year______________________________________________________

7.       Electric Company and Contact Information_________________________________________

8.       Average Electric Bill over 1 year period__________________________________________

9.       Water Company and Contact Information__________________________________________

10.   Average monthly water bill over 1 year period______________________________________

11.   Sewer Contact information_____________________________________________________

12.   Average sewer bill over 1 year___________________________________________________

13.   Age of AC________________________

14.   Age of Furnace____________________ Gas or Electric

15.   Age of Water Heater________________Gas or Electric

16.   Age of Appliances  Stove________________ Gas or Electric

17.   Refrigerator Age____________________

18.   Microwave Age_____________________

19.   Disposal Age_________________________

20.   Dishwasher Age______________________

21.   Does Washer and dryer stay with the home   Yes or No  If so

22.    Age: washer____________Dryer________

23.   Will drapes and curtains stay with the home?   Yes or No

24.   Fireplace:   wood   Gas   Electric        No fireplace

25.   Do you have a Water Softener?  YES or No    Rented or Owned            Stays with home

26.   Security System   Yes or No     Stays with home

27.   Is your yard fenced    Yes or No

28.   List of updates:  Please furnish a separate list

29.   Name and contact of HOA_________________________________________________________

30.   HOA Fee amount ___________________ Paid monthly    quarterly    semi-annually  annually

31.   HOA fee includes:     Pool    Park        Tennis         Walking Trails      Sidewalks         Snow removal

32.   HOA Due Date:________________________

33.   Furnish Key for Lock box and garage door code

34.   School District and schools kids would attend____________________________________

35.   High school__________________________________ Middle School_______________________ Elementary______________________________

36.   Are there known defects_____________________________________

37.   Do you have builders plan   Yes or No

38.   Do you have Survey of Lot  Yes or No  

39.   Any items still under warranty___________________________________

40.   What do you love about your home________________________________________________

Are you on a Well?    Yes or No

If yes age of Well ______________  age of well pump___________

Are you on Septic   Yes or No     Age of Septic____________________

Location of Finger System____________________________________________________________

Buying an Indianapolis area short sale

Buying a Indianapolis short sale can be a very long, anxiety ridden, nail biting, disheartening process.

Short sales are not for the faint at heart.  You need to be very patient, have alot of time and understand the process.

A short sale is not a bank owned property.  Its still owned by the owner who is asking their Mortgage Company if they can sell the home for less then what they owe.   The owners of the property are under water.  The home if on the market won't sell for the current value in the current market.  The sellers for what ever reason are behind on their payments and can't afford to catch up or pay future payments.  Their only alternative is short sale or foreclosure.  

A short sale is sold as is because the owner has no funds to repair, thats why they are in foreclosure.  A short sale bank doesn't own the home but owns the note on the property and they won't do any repairs.  The only slim chance that the short sale bank will repair is if a buyers appraiser notes a significant issue and the buyer can't purchase the home unless the items are repaired or they lose their financing.  If the appraiser notes issues with the home the under writer at the buyers bank will want repairs or they won't do the loan.  Its a real problem with short sales as the Bank generally will not even then do any repairs.  

Once the repairs have been noted and the buyers lender says they must be repaired there are only a few ways to complete the transaction. 

The easiest for all concerned the bank completes repairs before closing.  If this happens thank your lucky stars and you then can close on this home you have waited patiently for months.

If the bank says no to the repairs then hopefully all the pieces can come together still on your purchase.  Don't hold your breath though purchasing a short sale with repairs adds greatly to the possibility of not being able to close.   There are a few ways you can might make it happen if your willing to take the risk.

If your going conventional there are no escrow loans or repair loans available so if the seller can't do the repairs you will need to switch loans to an FHA with repair escrow(repairs below $5000 or an FHA 203k if the repairs are higher.  

FHA you can do an escrow loan if the repairs are under $5000.  In escrow (your cash funds), the funds are held til the repairs are completed after the closing.  Repairs have to be completed by a licensed FHA general contractor and paid invoices submitted to the lender within a certain amount of time  and repairs completed after the closing.

FHA 203K loan is much more complicated.  Your time line to close will need to be much longer, usually 60 days and the short sale bank will need to agree with the extension.  The short sale bank may refuse to extend, if they do refuse to extend you have run out of options to purchase the home.   

The cost of doing an FHA 203K can be significantly more.  You would need to have a couple appraisals, an "as is" appraisal and an appraisal with FHA general contractor approved invoices for the repairs needed to be completed. Its time consuming and something can go wrong after spending all the extra money it takes to do an FHA 203K loan.  I have seen a bank sell the loan at the last minute to another bank.  If that happens the buyer would have to start the short sale all over again with the new bank.   Short sales unfortunately are complicated and only a buyer willing to wait for sometimes months should consider trying to purchase.  

 Shannon Thomas Real Estate Broker

Search for Indianapolis Area homes for sale   SellingIndyMetro

What does a buyers inspection not cover?

Inspections are very important.

 I personally wouldn't ever buy a home without a home inspection.  I've seen homes that look wonderful,  have some serious repair issues.  

Its important that buyers no what an inspection DOESN'T COVER.

Freezers

Water Softeners

Inspectors note items inside walls only what visually be seen on the outside.

Items that are hidden from view. Make sure sellers don't block important items like electrical boxes, attic entrances etc. 

If the GAS FURNACE or WATER HEATER are not lit, they won't be tested.   Inspectors  generally will not light an unlit furnace or water heater.  

SMOKE DETECTORS -  if they don't have batteries they won't be tested

Inspectors don't check on how square a room is

SEPTIC and WELLS are not looked at in depth.  Please do hire a septic and well contractor to inspect.  This can save you thousands of dollars AFTER you close and own the home.  

CREAKING FLOORS:  If this is important do walk the house and check for creaking noises.  

CHIMNEY'S are not inspected in depth but should be by a professional chimney contractor.  

ROOFS are usually inspected from the ground with high powered binoculars so if you want an in depth roof inspection bring in a roofing contractor.

PET ODOR will be up to your nose not the inspectors

SMOKING ODORS won't be noted by an inspector.  You may need to have the vents cleaned so pay attention

An Inspection is important but YOU need to be involved also.  

 Buying a home is exciting but it is important to be involved and be proactive.     

Shannon Thomas Real Estate Broker

msWoods Real Estate, LLC

www.SellingIndyMetro.com

Homes in Oak Bend Estates 

Oak Bend Estates homes are upscale Executive homes usually on large lots.  Homes range in price from 267,000-469,000. 

Oak Bend Estates is located off of 267 between 100 north and 200 north.  Nice wide streets, side walks, pleasure to walk in.  Its a lovely neighborhood to call home.

Oak Bend HOA information and Oak Bend Covenants and restrictions

Homes for sale in Oak Bend Estates

Indiana has Zero down payment loans

Indiana buyers can utilize Indiana Housings for down payment assistance.

zero down programs

Are you wanting to purchase your first home, but are unable to come up with the down payment? Perhaps that is the only hurdle keeping you from home ownership. If so, did you know that the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) may offer a program to assist certain individuals and families (income limits apply)! You may even qualify for down payment assistance for up to 3-4% of the purchase price which won't need to be repaid if you keep the home for a minimum of two years. In fact, that amount will turn into equity in your home! To find out more and to see what programs are currently available, please visit IHCDA's website today at the link below.

http://www.in.gov/ihcda/2507.htm

Call us for lender contacts today:

Condominiums in Avon

Condominiums in Avon Indiana is another option for home buyers that don't want the full maintenance responsibility. 

Condo living in Avon, Indiana

Avon Indiana offers a number of options for those searching for less maintenance or near maintenance free home ownership. Other reasons for owning a condominium can include the added amenities that can come with a condo such as a pool, tennis courts, and/or a clubhouse for entertaining.

Thankfully, fast-growing Avon now has an increasing number of options for those wanting to own their own place and build equity, but feel a single family home doesn't fit their needs or lifestyle. If that is you, take a look at the Avon Condo current active listings for condominiums in the Avon area and let us know what questions you may have about condominium ownership.