Tips on purchasing a 2nd Home:
Getting Prepared:
· Decide which area you would like to buy a 2nd home.
· Decide what type of home you would like to purchase, single-family, condominium or duplex? Condominiums can be quite costly when considering the monthly fees that will be due in addition to the mortgage payment.
· Decide on what you are looking for: on the water, lake, and canal or if that is of any importance to you. Just remember, if you purchase on the water, it is the only property purchase that will keep its value when the real estate market is declining.
· Gather your financials and find a mortgage lender and get pre-approval on your loan.
· Something we learned is lenders are not favorable to 2nd home mortgages, so be prepared to possibly have a little more difficult getting this approved. Also, because they give the pre-approval, we found that the process wasn’t any easier getting the mortgage to go through once we made an offer on the home.
· Keep in mind; are you looking for a home already furnished? These are harder to come by, however if you are purchasing a second home and it is not furnished, you will walk into an empty house and need to start from the beginning unless you have extra furniture from your first home you plan on shipping or moving into the second home.
· If you know someone in the area that you will be purchasing the home, see if you can get a referral to a realtor. If not, find a realtor before you start the process. They will make life so much simpler because they know the rules and laws for that state.
Searching for the Home:
· Once you have decided location, we found researching on the internet made the process easier. However, depending on the market at the time, we had a LOT of options, which can be overwhelming. We found approximately 100+ homes and ended up narrowing it down to 15 homes to walk-thru. We spent the weekend in the location we were looking for the home and went through 7 homes one day and 8 the next. This is about all you can absorb. Always remember, when you are walking through these homes if it doesn’t feel right, walk away. You can always go home and start the process over. Don’t settle.
· When researching the homes, we found pictures can make a home look very different from what it appears. Always keep this in mind.
· When looking at prices of homes, remember the owner has the home marked higher so there is room to negotiate. This happened in our case and originally my husband didn’t want to look at the home because of the asking price. During negotiations, we got the home down to our price range.
After Offer has been Accepted:
· Since we had purchased our first home, technology has made a huge difference on the speed of getting things done. The only area that was delayed was the mortgage lender. The loan officer made the mistake of telling us this would be done within 3 weeks and at the 11th hour we were waiting for the approval or getting ready to pull the money out of some accounts which was our back-up plan (mind you this was 6+ weeks). Long story short, don’t count on this process moving “fast”. Rarely will it ever.
· When signing off on paperwork, the realtor would email us the document. All we had to do was print it off, sign it, create a document by scanning it into the computer, and email it right back. All of our paperwork was completed and returned in less than 24 hours. This helped keep the process flowing.
· Once the closing has been scheduled, we received a list of utilities that we would have to have transferred over. The seller called to provide the cut-off date, and we called to set-up our account. Many of these utility companies can waive the deposit, however don’t be surprised if they don’t. The water company in the area required a $215 deposit and this would be returned to us after 2 years, as long as we were a good standing customer. Apparently in this area they get a lot of customers that walk-away and don’t pay their bill. They are doing this to protect themselves and told me this is the average bill that gets left behind and not paid.
· Once we went to closing, we still had surprises. We found out each state is different. We had put money aside to pay our realtor, which is what we did on our first home. We signed about 100 documents (exaggerating but it felt like it!). Once we received our keys and everything was complete, we talked to our realtor later about writing the check to them. That is where we learned in that state, the seller pays both realtor fees. Nice little surprise of extra cash at the end of the day!
· After this process has completed, and it can be stressful, walk through the door of your new home and enjoy! It is all worth it in the end.
Happy House Hunting!!
Getting Prepared:
· Decide which area you would like to buy a 2nd home.
· Decide what type of home you would like to purchase, single-family, condominium or duplex? Condominiums can be quite costly when considering the monthly fees that will be due in addition to the mortgage payment.
· Decide on what you are looking for: on the water, lake, and canal or if that is of any importance to you. Just remember, if you purchase on the water, it is the only property purchase that will keep its value when the real estate market is declining.
· Gather your financials and find a mortgage lender and get pre-approval on your loan.
· Something we learned is lenders are not favorable to 2nd home mortgages, so be prepared to possibly have a little more difficult getting this approved. Also, because they give the pre-approval, we found that the process wasn’t any easier getting the mortgage to go through once we made an offer on the home.
· Keep in mind; are you looking for a home already furnished? These are harder to come by, however if you are purchasing a second home and it is not furnished, you will walk into an empty house and need to start from the beginning unless you have extra furniture from your first home you plan on shipping or moving into the second home.
· If you know someone in the area that you will be purchasing the home, see if you can get a referral to a realtor. If not, find a realtor before you start the process. They will make life so much simpler because they know the rules and laws for that state.
Searching for the Home:
· Once you have decided location, we found researching on the internet made the process easier. However, depending on the market at the time, we had a LOT of options, which can be overwhelming. We found approximately 100+ homes and ended up narrowing it down to 15 homes to walk-thru. We spent the weekend in the location we were looking for the home and went through 7 homes one day and 8 the next. This is about all you can absorb. Always remember, when you are walking through these homes if it doesn’t feel right, walk away. You can always go home and start the process over. Don’t settle.
· When researching the homes, we found pictures can make a home look very different from what it appears. Always keep this in mind.
· When looking at prices of homes, remember the owner has the home marked higher so there is room to negotiate. This happened in our case and originally my husband didn’t want to look at the home because of the asking price. During negotiations, we got the home down to our price range.
After Offer has been Accepted:
· Since we had purchased our first home, technology has made a huge difference on the speed of getting things done. The only area that was delayed was the mortgage lender. The loan officer made the mistake of telling us this would be done within 3 weeks and at the 11th hour we were waiting for the approval or getting ready to pull the money out of some accounts which was our back-up plan (mind you this was 6+ weeks). Long story short, don’t count on this process moving “fast”. Rarely will it ever.
· When signing off on paperwork, the realtor would email us the document. All we had to do was print it off, sign it, create a document by scanning it into the computer, and email it right back. All of our paperwork was completed and returned in less than 24 hours. This helped keep the process flowing.
· Once the closing has been scheduled, we received a list of utilities that we would have to have transferred over. The seller called to provide the cut-off date, and we called to set-up our account. Many of these utility companies can waive the deposit, however don’t be surprised if they don’t. The water company in the area required a $215 deposit and this would be returned to us after 2 years, as long as we were a good standing customer. Apparently in this area they get a lot of customers that walk-away and don’t pay their bill. They are doing this to protect themselves and told me this is the average bill that gets left behind and not paid.
· Once we went to closing, we still had surprises. We found out each state is different. We had put money aside to pay our realtor, which is what we did on our first home. We signed about 100 documents (exaggerating but it felt like it!). Once we received our keys and everything was complete, we talked to our realtor later about writing the check to them. That is where we learned in that state, the seller pays both realtor fees. Nice little surprise of extra cash at the end of the day!
· After this process has completed, and it can be stressful, walk through the door of your new home and enjoy! It is all worth it in the end.
Happy House Hunting!!
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