Chance Gates' Blog

This is another one of those Northern Nevada  real estate blog entries that was derived from a commonly asked question.  This once again starts from the saying “there are no stupid questions”, which my son has proven wrong many times.  However if you do have a question, it does make picking a topic so much easier on me.

Trying to keep this as simple as possible a home warranty,  for the most part covers items inside the house:  leaky pipes, electrical systems, dishwashers, pumping of septic tanks etc…

This is most commonly purchased by the year, plus a small service fee every time used. The homeowners warranty is usually not required in order to get a home loan.  This is something I highly recommend to everyone of my clients buying a home.

items covered will vary from policy to policy be sure to get your policy explained to you in detailed.

I like to meet my clients at my office. This allows time for me to answer all questions, to find if we are a good fit and to get the disclosures done. This is also the time to get them pre-qualified if they have not done so already. I find for a lot of my clients that it is more comfortable for them to talk to a mortgage broker at my office. This also allows me to inform them on the strengths and weaknesses of different lenders to determine which will be the best for them. After getting them pre-qualified, I do this first to get a price range, and then the discussion turn to what type of house is right for the client. This is where I usually like to end the first meeting.

I then enter all the information on what type of house they want to call home into the computer and email them houses that fit into their criteria. This way the clients can preview the houses on their own. Once the buyers have 4 or 5 houses they would like to see the inside of they call me. When going through the houses I like to point out every thing, I see, that is wrong with the house. If there is something wrong with the house that is going to be a problem, it time to move to the next house.

Once the client found the house they want, everything I pointed to wasn’t a problem, we make an offer on the house. This is the time to mention everything that the buyer needs to have checked. I always recommend having a home inspection, where I pointed out everything I notice, I’m not a home inspector. Getting a home warranty is also a very good idea, this is in case something breaks after the client moves in.

Skipping ahead in order to try and keep this article short (to late): Offers gets accepted, title gets opened, inspections are ordered and done, repair list is made, home warranty is ordered, repairs are done, appraisal is back, loan docs are drawn, final walk through is done, loan docs are signed, funds are distributed, purchase is recorded and title is place in the new owners name. Keys are handed over with the recommendation to change all locks and new owner moves in. Done with no glitches, yea right!! In real estate there is always glitches.

As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

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