Michelle Nantz's Blog » Home Inspections

Complimentary Termite Inspection with Home Inspection Provided by Area Housemasters

Michelle Nantz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:54:47 +0000

I have been using Ken Gingras, with Housemaster for over 8 years, and found that he is one heck of an inspector. He has never missed an issue and can easily provide you with qualified vendors and what you truly need to be concerned about with your new home.

Some issues can be scary to a buyer, but Ken and I know exactly what can be handled with ease and what can not. As Ken has often said, there is absolutely nothing that can not be repaired. He is a true professional and provides many different services, such as Termite, Radon, and more. He has update equipment that most inspectors do not have.

Don’t be fooled. All home inspectors are not alike and I put my reputation on the line for Ken with Housemaster.

Check out the information below on their complimentary Termite Inspection (a $75 value)! Awesome!

HouseMaster Home Inspections

Phone: 704-929-9078 or 828-478-9563

Franchisee: Ken Gingras

Email: ken.gingras@housemaster.com

Fax: 828-478-9476

Lease/Purchase – What you need to know!

Michelle Nantz — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:02:14 +0000

Lease/Purchases

Let’s start by talking about the differences between a lease/purchase and other types of purchases…
*A Lease Agreement with an Option to Purchase is simply a rental and at the end of the rental period the renter has an option to purchase the home. No rental money goes toward the purchase price.
*The traditional way to make a purchase is to get a loan through a bank, write a contract on a listed home, complete inspections, and close on the home within 30-90 typically.
*Some Sellers have the ability to do Seller Financing, because their home is paid off or they have a bit of equity in their home. In this case, the loan is through the seller. The Deed of Trust is recorded at the courthouse just like other loans and the title is transferred to the buyer. These loans are usually for a short period of time until the buyer can get a traditional loan through a bank. The seller still has the right to foreclose on the propety if the buyer defaults.
*A Contract for Deed is when a Seller holds the deed for the property while the buyer is making payments. There is nothing recorded, just an agreement between buyer and seller. The problem here is that the seller holds all of the authority and could change his mind, etc and the buyer is out of luck.
*A Lease/Purchase is when the buyer can not make the purchase at this time with a traditional mortgage. Typically, lease/purchases are utilized these days because the buyer has another home they are trying to sell out of state or they have some credit issues they need to work on. Lease/Purchases usually last a year or two. The buyer pays an upfront non-refundable fee to the seller, that will be credited at closing to the buyer toward the purchase price. They pay rent by the month to the seller. Usually a small portion of the rent is put toward the purchase price. Purchase Price, Closing date and inspections are all completed prior to the buyer moving into the home.

Lease/Purchase Agreements are drafted by an attorney and the Offer to Purchase part of the agreement is drafted by your real estate agent. All conditions must be ironed out up front… How long will the lease/purchase be in place until they close, Rental amount and portion to be put toward the purchase price, purchase price, closing costs, pets, commissions, etc.

The Lease/Purchase Agreement drafted by the attorney nails down all of the specifics during the lease period and that the buyers non-refundable, upfront payment will belong to the seller should the buyer not close. The Offer to Purchase written by the real estate agent works like it would with any other type of contract….the purchase price is spelled out, home inspection and loan approval dates, repair negotiations, etc. Both the Contract and Lease/Purchase Agreement are signed at the same ime by the buyer and seller.

The buyer should be working with a lender in advance to assure they will be prepared to close at the date set forth in the contract. The buyer also needs to assure that the lender will allow the non refundable deposit to be used toward the loan on the HUD (Settlement Statement) at closing.

The Seller may be requested to pay some sort of commission at the time the lease/purchase and contract are signed due to the work required prior to the closing and the rest of the commission would be paid at closing.

The seller needs to be sure that their homeowner’s insurance will allow for a tenant or the buyer to live in the home and that their current mortgage company is also ok with the lease/purchase. Mortgage companies could utilize the “Due on Sale Clause” and this will require the loan be paid in full at that very moment.

The buyer should complete their home inspection prior to moving into the property, negotiate repairs with the seller and the seller should complete repairs prior to the buyer moving into the property. This is both protection for the buyer and seller.

If the buyer were to default and stop paying the seller would still have to go through getting the buyers out of the property, which could take 45-60 days of their personal time and money.

In these uncertain times, what if the seller stops making their mortgage payments? It might be a smart idea for the seller to send their payments to the attorney, so the attorney can assure the payment is being made and they will forward the payment to the mortage company. If a seller defaults on their loan, there is little protection for the buyer. The Lease/Purchase will address these issues.

The Buyer may also want to request a Title Search up front and every 3 months or so after to assure there have not been any liens put on the property. No one would want the seller not to be able to sell the home at closing due to an unexpected lien the seller is unable to pay off.

Be sure to negotiate up front who will make repairs that come up during the time the buyer lives in the home. Often sellers do not want to make these repairs, because they do not wish to play the part of a landlord. If the buyer were to make repairs during that time period, be sure to have the attorney to write into the lease/purchase that the buyer must have written consent from the seller to make any specific changes or repairs and show proof of payment. If the buyer were to call out someone to make a repair and not pay them, this contractor could put a Mechanic’s Lien on the home. If the buyer defaulted on their payments to the seller, the seller could get stuck with this lien.

As the buyer, be sure a Memorandum of Lease is recorded at the courthouse. Let’s say market conditions improve and the seller can sell the home for more money as the closing with the current buyer approaches, no one would realize that this property is tied up if the seller tried to sell it to another buyer at a higher price if this information is not recorded.

Usually this buyer is going to treat the home much better than your typical tenant, which is a plus for the seller.

With all of this said, very, very few Lease/Purchases actually close. For the seller it can often be a headache, but in this market, it could also buy them some time until the market improves.

Have other questions? Feel free to call me!

Clarifying the “Cost of Repair Contingency” in Real Estate Contract Writing

Michelle Nantz — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:11:12 +0000

There are many Buyers that do not understand the Reason why the Cost of Repair Contingency has been added to the NAR Contracts. The Cost of Repair Contingency provides protection to the Buyer and depending on the Homes Price and Age, it is important to set the Dollar Amount appropriately.

Cost of Repair Contingency ... Important Part of Good, Strong Investment

Prior to the addition of the Cost of Repair Contingency, if the seller was willing to make all of the repairs that came up in the home inspection, the buyer had to move forward and close on the home. NO MATTER how worried the buyer became after finding their dream home was going to require such a repair. Off the top of head, maybe it would be a cracked slab foundation or any problematic foundation repair, high moisture readings in the crawlspace, flood damage, extensive wood rot, poor construction, etc. If the seller said they would make the repairs, there was no way out!

With the Cost of Repair Contingency, the buyer can now set a dollar amount for possible repairs that would be unacceptable to exceed. For instance, if you are buying a $200,000 house built one year ago, you really would not expect that a well maintained home would have repairs that added up to $10,000 and it would probably be unacceptable if it did. Would it be acceptable to you if it had $5000 worth of repairs, $2000 worth of repairs? This dollar amount is set by the buyer with the help of a Well Trained and Experienced Realtor. Each house is different and there is no rule of thumb.

Once the home inspection has been completed, if that ugly, scarey repair comes up and the price to complete the repair is above the Cost of Repair Contingency amount that the Buyer set in the contract, the Buyer has the right to get a bid on the work, provide the information to the seller within a certain time period and terminate the contract while keeping their earnest money.

Obviously, a higher dollar amount for the Cost of Repair Contingency is better for the seller and a lower amount is better for the buyer.

Setting the appropriate dollar amount for the Cost of Repair Contingency is important business and requires some consideration, so pass it over too quickly.

Home Inspections – RED FLAGS!

Michelle Nantz — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:37:19 +0000

Even New Construction Homes should be Inspected

Buyers often look to their Realtor to assure they are doing the proper inspections. Since this is more than likely the biggest purchase they will make, it is imperative to do every possible inspection to assure you are making a good purchase. Realtors can often point out some of the areas for concern around a home, but always call in the experts. Some of the typical inspections purchased around the Lake Norman area are the Basic Home Inspection, Radon Inspection, Well Inspection/Water Testing, Septic Tank Inspection, Surveys, the list goes on and on. The following information was published by Housemaster. The same company I use locally for my home inspections. Ken Gingras, in the Lake Norman area, is a true professional in the home inspection business.

RISMEDIA, March 30, 2009-HouseMaster, a North American inspection franchisor, reminds buyers and sellers that a professional home inspection is critical when buying or selling a home. As April marks National Home Inspection Month and the start of the peak home buying season, HouseMaster is providing consumers with a simple list of “red flags” to watch out for during the home buying process. Each of these red flags could be a sign of significant issues and defects and each should be thoroughly evaluated by a professional home inspector before potential buyers make an offer on the home.

These are the red flags that home buyers should look out for:

Numerous extension cords: This could be a sign of an outdated electrical system. Today’s electrical needs have grown significantly and as a result the home could require an entire electrical upgrade to meet these new demands. A professional home inspector will be able to assess whether a new panel and wiring is needed or additional receptacles will need to be installed.

Low water pressure or gurgling: If you turn on the faucet and the pressure is low, it could be evidence of a problem with older galvanized piping or inadequate piping. A professional home inspector will indicate the type of piping and estimated age and determine whether or not an entire new plumbing system is required. In many instances, sections of piping can be replaced on an as needed basis to correct the problem.

Horizontal foundation cracking: Vertical cracks are, for the most part, within normal settlement tolerances. Horizontal cracks are not. A horizontal crack generally results from hydrostatic pressure against the home’s foundation. Correction will often involve excavation, drainage provisions as well as repairs to the wall itself. If horizontal cracking is evident, several structural engineers should be consulted to ascertain the extent of movement as well as corrective measures. Opinions do vary and with a structural element issue, it is best to get several opinions.

Musty smell in basement: Storage in the basement that is raised off the floor (such as books and boxes), stains, or efflorescence on walls are conditions that can indicate water in the basement. A professional home inspector can assess potential causes. Simply improving the property grading or draining downspouts further away from the foundation could be a solution.

Wall or ceiling stains: Any stain should be further evaluated to determine the cause and extent of any possible hidden damage. A professional home inspector will look for causes of the stain as well as test the stain using a moisture meter to determine whether or not the stain is active.

Vacancy: Often a home that is in foreclosure is vacant which increases the potential for the home to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance, and ventilation. Mold and other moisture problems are very common in vacant foreclosed homes as are plumbing problems due to drying gaskets and valves or freezing pipes.

When purchasing a home, a buyer should never forego a professional home inspection. The tips above are provided as guidelines so that potential buyers can effectively and efficiently narrow down their options. Once a choice has been made, a professional home inspection by a qualified inspector will provide the potential buyer with an education on the home enabling them to make an educated real estate decision.

For more information, visit www.housemaster.com.