Real Estate Terms

Contingent, Show for Backups, Pending, Appraisal, Effective date! There are a lot of terms in Real Estate. Here is a list of the most common ones, so you know what’s going on!

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Active- An Active listing means it's currently availalable for purchase/sale.

Pending- This means an offer has been accepted and they no longer allow showings. Also known as "in escrow" or "under contract".

Contingent- An offer has been accepted, however the offer is "subject to" a certain circumstance. (For example the buyers also need to sell their home in order to buy their new home).

Show for Backups- An offer has been accepted, however they are still allowing showings and backup offers if first offer falls through.

Backup Offer- A backup offer is an offer made aknowleaging that there is already another offer and ensures if the first one falls through the backup offer would be next in line to get accepted.

Earnest Money- Earnest money is typically 1% of purchase price and acts as a "down payment". It also gets applied to your down payment at closing.

Appraisal- An appraisal is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property. It is ordered by the buyers lender (at cost to buyer) to ensure the property is being purchased at or under market value.

Inspection- Inspection is when the buyer hires licensed professionals to come out and examine the property.

Pre-Approval- The Mortgage Lender has checked credit score, viewed tax statements, pay check stubs, bank account, and approved buyer for loan.

Pre-Qualified- Not as strong as a pre-approval. The Mortgage Lender writes this letter based on what buyer claims they make and how much money they have. However Lender has not verified these numbers.

Buyers Agent- Real estate agent that has a contract with buyers and acts solely as helping clients buy a home.

Listing Agent- Real estate agent that has a listing contract with a seller, and acts solely for that seller.

Equity- Home equity is the Market value of the home minus the current loan amount.

Counter Offer- An offer made in response to another.

Down Payment- The amount of money you put down on a home. Typical 3%-5% depending on loan type. But can sometimes be 0% up to 20% or more.

Closing Costs- Closings costs are LenderFees + Home Insurance + Taxes.

Money to Close- (Down Payment + Closing Costs ) - Earnest money.

Have questions? CONTACT ME

What to Look for in a Home-First Time Home Buyers Guide

There is a lot to look at when buying a home. Trying to navigate it all is overwhelming. For a first time home buyers, not knowing what to look for can leave you feeling completely lost. Hiring an experienced agent, who knows what to look for and listens to you, is crucial. That way you can look at the floorpan and finishes and the agent can notice some of the other details. Many home buyers tend to only looking at aesthetic home appeal and layout, and they ofter overlook some things that are crucial to consider when buying a home. Here is a guideline on some things to consider and look for, when buying a home. These are also good questions to ask your agent.

Reminder: I am not an Inspector, I can just give you my knowledge and experience that I have learned over the years. As always when deciding to buy a home you always want to have a home inspection done by a qualified professional.

LOCATION

Here is a list of things to think about when considering location.

-Do you need to be close to work and/or daycare?

-Do you want to be close to other family?

-Do you need to maintain residency in a certain school district?

-OR Does it not matter and you’re just looking for the biggest bang for your buck?

CURB APPEAL

-Do you want your home to be in a cul-de-sac? On a Corner? Facing a certain direction?

-Is the home on top of a hill or bottom? (This can affect drainage, and is important to consider when we have basements here in Missouri). A structural engineer can also give you more insight on the homes foundation and maintains involved for upkeep.

-Does the front yard have trees? Are they close to the home or far away? While trees are beautiful and provide shade, tree roots can sometimes cause plumbing or foundation issues. They are important to consider when in the inspection period. You may want to have a structural engineer come out, add a sewer scope inspection, or negotiate a tree to be cut down if issues are being cause.

-How does the driveway look? What kind of driveway is it? (asphalt, concrete, rock, dirt, etc.) Is their maintenance involved?

-Do you like the front yard? If not, is it something you could enjoy designing? Is the front yard large? Do you have a lawn mower, or would you need to pay someone to mow? If so how much would that cost?

-What does the roof look like? The gutters? How is the roof draining? You want the gutters to drain away from the homes foundation. During the inspection period the inspector will inspect the roof for you. So you don’t have to be a roof expert but depending on roof type you might want to look up what type of maintenance is involved.

-What does the backyard look like? Do you have certain activities that are done in the back? Do you need a fence for pets? What kind of maintenance is involved?

-What type of material is used on the outside? What type of maintenance is involved with that type of material? (Example: Brick doesn’t need much work. Wood Siding, if not maintained and sealed can get wood rot over time).

LAYOUT OF HOME

-Does the home have the number of bedroom and bathrooms you need? Ask yourself is this a want or a need?

-Does it matter where the laundry room is located?

-How does the layout of the home affect your everyday activities? Does the layout make everyday activities easy or harder? Maybe none of this matters, but that is for you to decide.

APPLIANCES/ROOF

-What is the age of the HVAC Systems and Water heater? (I always check the seller disclosure and send it to you, which typically has these answers for you). Have they been recently replaced or are they at the end of their lifespan and need to be budgeted in the future? But If not, in my home buyers and sellers packet you will find a QR code for additional resources where you can look up HVAC systems age. Or click the Link How old is my HVAC System.

-How old is the roof? Does it have a transferrable warranty or it’s newer?

-Is the fridge, washer and dryer staying with the home? Or do you need to get/bring your own?

INSIDE OF HOME

-How does this home flow? What does the house make you feel like?

-What does the kitchen look like? Does it have everything you need?

-Do you need a basement? What type of foundation do you have and what is the maintenance involve?

-Does the home need to be painted?

-What type of flooring do you have? (Carpet, wood floors, tile, LVP, etc)

-What are the condition of the windows? Are they newer or older? What are they made out of?

-Do you have gas, electric, or both?

-Are you on a septic system? Septic systems typically need to be pumped. If you have a lagoon, there are also certain levels of upkeep.

-Check ceilings for staining. Sometimes it can be old stains, and other times it could be a new or preexisting condition. Which might be disclosed on sellers disclosure or we can ask the seller.

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See there is a lot. This post is mean to just give you a guideline of things that you might feel like you want to look into before buying a home. Every person is different. We all have our own experiences and abilities. Some of this stuff might be something important to you that you want to consider. Others, you might find things that don’t worry you at all. But also if you didn’t think about some of these things I hope they can help you get a clearer idea of what you want. I hope this post helps shed some light on things to look out for, so when the time comes, you feel a little more prepared on what to look out for as you are touring homes.

Reminder, if you have no idea about any of this, THAT’S ok. A home inspector can shed some light and look into things for you and are excellent at explaining. If you have additional questions about the home buying process, or you are ready to take the next step forward, you can contact me below.

Ready to start your home search? Fill out my buyer questionnaire below.

How to Prepare to Buy a Home

If you are thinking of buying a home, here are some tips to prepare you before it is time to buy. You want to have everything ready to go when the time comes. This is the smartest thing you can do when deciding to buy a home because the last thing you want is to find out is that you need to have "3 more boxes checked" before you can buy and then have to sign another short term lease. Many things can hold you up from getting pre-approved and knowing what they are ahead of time can set you up for success.

Things to consider while preparing to buy a home:

What does your credit look like? Typically you need a credit score of above 580 to be able to get approved for a loan, but depending on mortgage company, some need 620. However, it's not the end of the world and there are many options if your credit score is lower. If you have a lower credit score and want some advice on how to raise it, let me know! Sometimes this process can take many months or up to a year (I know this because my husbands credit score sucked when we first bought a house).

How much money should you have saved? Upfront cost to buying a home are going to include:

-Earnest money: Typically $1000 or 1% of the Purchase Price, this is like a “down payment” and gets applied to your closing costs.

-Inspections: These normally cost around $525 (includes whole house, termite, and radon) however you don’t have to do all of these or you have the right to do many more (like sewer scopes, mold test, etc.). I can help you navigate through all your options when the time comes.

-Down Payment: Depending on your loan type, you can find loans that are 0% down up to 5% for most typical loans. The more money you put down the lower your monthly mortgage payment will be. However, you can put more down to make your monthly payment lower.

-Closing costs: This cost can be different depending on type of insurance, loan costs, taxes, and other fee’s. They usually range from $2500 to $6000. But this truly can be dependent on how much taxes are for a home, price range, insurance costs, and what the lenders brokerage charges.

***Make sure you have about that much saved for when you buy a home. If you don’t there are other options, and we can talk about them now, to plan for the future. Just let me know!

Are you self-employed? If you are self employed and want to get pre-approved for a loan, you will need at least 2 years of tax income. If this is you, let me know and we can go through your options. As a Realtor, I also had to wait 2 years and have a lot of experience in finding ways for self employed people to get a home. Your Lender might also have options for you.

Should I Break my Lease?

Ok, I'm also sure you're wondering if waiting or breaking out of your lease could be an option and what might save you the most money. We can work the numbers and find a solution to see if its the right decision for you!

OUR MARKET IS ALWAYS CHANGING! Prices of homes are still appreciating and professionals in this field do not expect them to change (if you are numbers/data person let me know I can share this information with you).

So things to consider:

How much is your rent? Multiply that by how many months your least has left. That equals how much money you’re throwing down the drain into someone else’s equity (Sorry if that’s too blunt lol).

Do you know how much you are charged if you break out of a lease? Is it just first and last months rent? Just a fee? Do you just need a 30-90 day notice with no charge? Or are you responsible for all of it no matter what? Canceling and buying when you find the right home might be an option if you already have upfront money saved.

The average home is expected to appreciate at around 7% this year (2021). On a 200k house that’s about 14k. Not to mention how much equity you add by paying the mortgage for a year.

So if it costs 2-5k to cancel out of a lease early, you might be saving yourself 9-12k alone. Not to mention the equity in your mortgage payment.

If you are wanting to calculate if canceling your lease is the right decision for you, let’s connect and calculate it together!

Lastly, what are your goals for your move? What are you looking to accomplish? Do you know what the home buying process looks like? If not click HERE to read about the home buying process!

The Home Buying Process-What to Expect

Starting the home buying process can be intimidating. There are a lot of moving parts and things to think about, which can get overwhelming and stressful. If you have never bought a home before, it can be scary not knowing what the entire process entails. That is why it is important to reach out to a Real Estate Agent (aka: me) and ask all your questions before hand to make sure buying is right for you. Also, having an Agent that you trust on your side makes this entire process less stressful. Here is what you can expect from start to finish.

Great! You have decided you want to buy your first home! This can be such an exciting time. You are finally taking another step in life and investing in yourself! But where do you start?

Buyers Interview:

This is when you will meet up with me, we can meet via zoom or in person and discuss the home buying process, your wants/needs in a home, your goals for this move, areas you are looking to move to, and set you up on a search.

GET Pre-Approved

Before you start to walk-through homes you want to get pre-approved. Getting pre-approved allows you to get an idea of what you want your budget to look like and price range of homes that you want to look in. Getting pre-approved doesn’t cost anything and allows you the ability to find the homes you need and write an offer. Without a pre-approval, most sellers won’t take your offer seriously. Also, you might find that the homes you’re looking at don’t meet your budget needs. Which is kind of like shopping blindly, so don’t do that! If you’re not sure where to start, here are some lenders that I have worked with many times. They answers their phones, communicate on weekends, and are all local lenders. However, you can choose whatever lender you like!

Hi! Im Lee McLain. With over 30 years of experience, my goal is to put my clients at ease with the homebuying process. I explain the process thoroughly by covering the numbers and answering all questions. Whether it is closing a loan for new construction or for a first-time homebuyer, I enjoy helping my clients succeed financially with the right loan for their home and situation.

Hi! I am Brady Swindler. I am a Mortgage Banker with the Mortgage Banking Firm LeaderOne Financial Corporation. We specialize in residential home loans for real estate purchase and refinances. If you are looking for a licensed mortgage professional in Kansas, we have local branches in Lenexa, KS.

NMLS# 12007

C: (816) 447-2238 O: (913) 432-1017

Email: bradyswindler@leader1.com

NMLS# 680316

C: (816) 728-7700 O: (816) 800-8811

Email: lmclain@guildmortgage.net

Walk Through Homes

Finally, you are pre-approved and can start looking at homes! Investing in a home is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. A home is where life unfolds, and memories are created all while building a financial foundation for you and your families future. 

Each week you will get emails (most pop-up Thursday/Friday) of the homes that I set up on your email search. Every time a home with the criteria of your search is listed for sale, it immediately gets sent to your email allowing you to be the first to know. Once you find one or more homes you like, we can schedule a time to go check them out (the sooner, the better).

We Found your home!

You finally found and walked through a home you love and want to make an offer! How exciting!! First, I will send you the Sellers Disclosure to look at. The Sellers Disclosure is a document that the sellers fill out and tells you everything they might know about a home. You will find information about roof age, heating and cooling systems, if there have been problems with the house, and if certain appliances are staying/not staying with the home. I will also check comps and the sales history on the home. If everything checks out and you are ready to move forward, we will write an offer.

Make an Offer

When deciding to write an offer, I will call listing agent to see what we are up against. Are there any other offers? How many? What do the sellers looking for, so we can write an offer everyone is happy with. Then we can discuss Sales price, Earnest money, Closing Date, Possession, and many other factors in the contract to ensure a smooth process. Once your offer is submitted, the seller may accept, counter your offer, or reject your offer. If they accept your offer, you now have a valid contract date and move into the inspection period!

Inspection

Yay your offer was accepted, now what? Now we have 10-15 days (or whatever was negotiated in the contract) to have any and all inspections completed on the home. Typically, a full home inspection, radon, and termite are the main inspections that get completed here in KC. However, you can have a roofer come out, structural engineer, plumber, and many others to perform inspections on the home until you are satisfied (all at your own cost). Once you are done with all the inspections you want completed you can either take the house “as is”, negotiate for repairs, or cancel. If you negotiate for repairs, the seller can either agree, or counter the repairs.

Home Insurance

You have gotten through the inspection period! It is now time to choose home insurance. You can get quotes from one or more, but if you don’t know where to start here is one who I have used and really like. Again, you can choose any home insurance company you like that best fits your needs.

“I will go above and beyond to make sure you have the proper coverage for your new home!"

If you have any questions or are interested in exploring new options, shoot me a message and I would love to chat with you!

C: (913) 961-3621

O:(913) 381-2564

Email: dan.brough@countryfinancial.com

Appraisal

The Lender will order your appraisal. An appraiser works for the mortgage company to visit the property and develop an opinion of the market value of the home. The appraiser job is to go out to the home to make sure it is priced correctly and all condition are met for loan type. They can appraise it lower, at, or above contract price. If the property appraises lower than contract price (price you offered) you typically have a period of time to negotiate again. But if it’s at contract price or higher congrats you bought a home at market value or higher.

Home Warranty

If a home warranty wasn’t already negotiated into your contract, this would be a good time to look into getting one. A home warranty usually covers things in your home if they are to break. I like to use the acronym “PEACH” to remember what is covered.

Plumbing, Electrical, Appliances, Cooling, and Heating. 

Make sure you read the home warranty brochure to understand exactly what they do and don’t cover. Usually, you or seller (whatever is negotiated) pay a fee for the year, and then a deductible every time you call for the home warranty to come out and assess something. This can save you money on costly fixes/replacements.

Prepare to Move

The time is here to prepare to move (if you haven’t already)! I have attached a PDF of packing tips you can download that might help you stay organised.

Final Walkthrough

Yay, you are a few days away from your closing day and it is time to walk through your home to make sure everything looks in order before you sign and close. If you had asked for repairs during the inspection period, this is when you check to make sure they have been completed. If everything checks out, we wait for closing day!

Closing Day

CONGRATULATIONS!! It’s closing day. This is the day you sign all the paperwork, the loan funds, and the house is officially yours (unless negotiated otherwise).

*Reminder: Every home, and every buyer/seller is different. SO, every situation can turn out different. Please just use this as a broad guideline though the home buying process in the state of Missouri and Kansas.