buying a home?

Question

is it an exoense to make an offer on a house or does it cost you or realtor any money? Do you have anything to lose other then just getting a no for an answer?and also how much is it even worth asking them to go down, I know that most people usually price a little higher then what they expect to sell for for negotiating purposes, but how much?

Answer 1

Most sellers require you to put down what is called an earnest money deposit of anywhere from $500 and up depending on the seller. You lose this if you do not go through with the deal for a reason unrelated to the deal or for a reason not listed as a contingency on the contract of sale. In order to determine how much the seller will go down, I would want to know how long the house has been on the market at the asking price and how much the seller owes on any mortgage they might have on the property. I would figure that the amount of the outstanding mortgage balance plus seller closing costs would be the lowest the seller could go no matter how long it has been on the market.

Answer 2

You can make an offer to the Realitor & see if the seller accepts. If the seller accepts, than earnest money comes into play. Earmest money is normally 500.00 You may want to pre- qualify first - to see what you qualify for - how much to offer....Why? Depends if you need closing cost help etc....if you offer the full amount - Lenders allow up to 6 percent of the home value for closing cost assistance. This can be from the seller, gift funds from family, down payment assistance programs, your own funds. Make sure the lender you use, allows funds not to be seasoned. What this means, is some lenders want proof that the funds have been in your checking/savings account a period of 2-3 months. Others just want proof that it is there before the closing (does not have to be seasoned.)

ALSO -

Example:
Decide on how much you want to spend, if you want to escrow the taxes and insurance. Say the taxes are 1200 a YR and insurance 800 a year (just an estimate, ok) That is 2,000 a year divided by 12 = 166.66 If you paid 1,000 a month now - (166.66) your P/I Principle and Interest would be 833.34. Now you decided on the price range you are looking into. If you have great credit, a 1 loan at 130,000 at a rate of 7 percent over a 30 year time would be 864.89 - This is just a estimate - ok -

It greatly depends if you need help with closing cost, (The seller could do Seller Help toward your closing cost). If that is the case, I normally tell my clients NOT to hackle over the price, since you are asking for closing cost help - especially if the home is thru a realitor, and the seller has to pay the realitor their fee which runs from 3-6 percent of the selling price, and you ask for 3-5 percent toward closing cost -assistance) Follow me so far??

Talk with a broker, a broker underwrites for many company's (I underwrite for 150 companies) so I only have to pull credit 1 time, and they look at my credit. A single lender (not a broker) has programs available, but they may not be able to help you and your situation, so you go elsewhere, and than that person pulls your credit (see what I mean.) If you shop, your credit is pulled and that is considered a soft pull, for a 30 day period. Just like shopping for a auto, it is good for 30 days. If you apply for a credit card, that is considered a "hard" pull and it drags down your credit score. When looking for a home, please do not apply for a credit card, Department Charge Card, Gasoline Card or make any major purchases, like a auto, etc. This will pull your credit down.


Try to find someone (broker) that will pull your credit one time, and submit your loan application to company's that will go off his credit report. By the way, a loan application is called a 1003, and they will issue you a GFE (Good Faith estimate, with-in 3 days, that is per the RESPA laws, and the TIL (Truth in Lending). The GFE will tell you the up-front closing cost associated with your loan. The TIL will tell you the terms, rate associated with your loan. This is a estimate only - not the final - but it does help you figure things out.


Good Luck, and if I can help in any way check out my web site, for links to all the credit reporting agency's and other useful information. This is not an advertisement - just helpful information for you...

You may also want to check out these sites:
home values: (add 10-15 percent to the price) http://realestate.yahoo.com/Homevalues

1. http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/

http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/...

http://www.fha-home-loans.com/

http://www.freddiemac.com/

Answer 3

My husband and I just bought a house last month. We went through a realtor who we chose, so the were on our side. We did this instead of calling the sellers realtor (listed on the for sale sign). We put a $500 earnest deposit down with the realtor, just to show we were serious about making offers on houses. They said we could get it back if we didn't find a house (but they are pretty good at helping you find one). We started offering the sellers $15,000 less than what they listed the home for, and they didn't even consider it! We ended only getting them to go down $3,500, but this covered a lot of our closing costs. The amount hte seller will go down depends a lot upon the area the house is in and what other houses are going for. Also, how long the house has been on the market. Good luck!

Answer 4

I have purchased three homes and can tell you that it is not expensive just to make an offer. Zero funds should come out of your pocket unless you're trying to buy a house and want to put a hold on it while you decide to buy it. The only thing you'd have to lose while shopping for a home is decreasing your credit score unless you have a Mortgage company already promising to lend you a specified amount. I recommend that you first obtain a company who have checked your credit and promised to loan you a specific amount. then you can shop freely within your means.