Estimate The Right Price For The Home
As a buyer of a home, you have every right to know whether you are paying the right price for the home under consideration, or not. The last thing you should do is accept things at face value and accept what the seller or his agent tells you. It is necessary that you estimate the correct price for the home you wish to buy. The market value of any home is the indicative value it will fetch at a particular time. A real estate agent, or a broker, can present you with an estimate of market value of the house, based on comparative market analysis of comparable properties. This will, in any case, be an informal estimate.
To determine the correct value of the home, an appraisal is necessary. A professional appraiser also bases the estimate value on the recent sales of comparative properties, along with location, construction quality and square footage. This will cost you around $300 for a house valued at around $250,000.
Another way to estimate that you are paying the right price, and will not later land up with huge repair bills, is to have the home under consideration, inspected. An experienced home inspector will check the structure and systems, including the roof, heating, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning systems. You should have the home inspected after you have agreed to a price, and before you make the down payment. Make sure that you select the inspector and not the seller.
If you are anxious to sign the contract before the inspection has been carried out, make sure to include a clause that the terms of purchase are conditional on the approval of a professional home inspector. In addition to the professional inspector, and even before you appoint one, you can check around yourself before making an offer. The freshly painted patches on the ceiling and the walls could be a sign of water leakage. Check all electrical switches, and the water faucets. If it is summer, check the heating after switching off the air conditioning, and do the reverse in winter. Visit the basement to check out the condition of the water heater.
It is your right to have the property appraised and inspected before you arrive at the right estimate for the price of the house. If applying for a mortgage, the lender would also want to have a survey done for the mortgage assessment. You, as a buyer, of course will have to pay for the survey. The surveys could be of three types:
- Mortgage Valuation Report - This is the least expensive type of inspection and will provide a valuation for the purposes of getting a mortgage.
- Homebuyers Report – This will, along with the value of the property, also examine the structure and will identify any existing or potential problems.
- Full Structural Survey - This is expensive but provides a detailed inspection of the property.
It is for you to decide the type of appraisal or inspection, or both, you wish to have conducted.
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