Home inspectors are good at their jobs but they are not above missing some things because they are human.   There are several things that home inspectors have been known to miss during a home inspection so you might want to keep your eyes open and pay close attention during the inspection so that you don’t end up having to pay for expensive repairs once you move in to your new home.  A few things that may be missed by your home inspector are below.

• Inspectors do not always go over all the bells and whistles of a home and appliances are on the list of things they do not always pay a lot of attention to. The last thing you want is to move into your new home to find out that you have a leaky dishwasher that needs to be replaced. If you want to make sure appliances have not been overlooked you may want to check them yourself.
• Leaky faucets are also things that can be overlooked by home Take your time to walk through your soon to be new home and check the faucets for leaks just in case your inspector may have missed something.  It’s a good idea to check outdoor faucets as well.
• Cracked sewage and drainage pipes might also be something that your inspector doesn’t take a look at and may therefore miss. It may be worth your while to pay a bit of extra money to have an in depth look at your drainage pipes.
• Sometimes home inspectors will not pay a lot of attention to decks, porches and balconies. There can be problems in these areas such as safety issues and cracks that may not arise until right before you make the purchase of the home. Perhaps a second follow up inspection may be a good idea if you feel that one of these areas may be a potential problem.

Again, home inspectors are human and they are not above missing some potential problems with your new home. Realize this fact before you have your home inspection so that you too can keep your eyes open for any potential problems you see in and around your prospective new home. Once you move in you will be able to rest assured that you have not bought into a money pit.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Many people wonder whether they should hire a real estate professional to assist them in buying their dream home or if they should first try to go it on their own. In today’s market: you need an experienced professional!

You Need an Expert Guide if you are Traveling a Dangerous Path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines. You need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a home that is priced appropriately and ready for you to move in to can be tricky. An agent listens to your wants and needs, and can sift out the homes that do not fit within the parameters of your “dream home”. A great agent will also have relationships with mortgage professionals and other experts that you will need in securing your dream home.

You Need a Skilled Negotiator

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible renegotiation of that offer after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes. Realize that when an agent is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary; the salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head; the salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.

Bottom Line

Famous sayings become famous because they are true. You get what you pay for. Just like a good accountant or a good attorney, a good agent will save you money…not cost you money.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Every three years the Federal Reserve conducts a Survey of Consumer Finances in which they collect data across all economic and social groups. The latest survey, which includes data from 2010-2013, reports that a homeowner’s net worth is 36 times greater than that of a renter ($194,500 vs. $5,400). In a recent Forbes article the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts that in 2016 the net worth gap will widen even further to 45 times greater. The graph below demonstrates the results of the last two Federal Reserve studies and Yun’s prediction:

Put Your Housing Cost to Work For You

Simply put, homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings’. Every time you pay your mortgage you are contributing to your net worth. Every time you pay your rent, you are contributing to your landlord’s net worth. The latest National Housing Pulse Survey from NAR reveals that 80% of consumers believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision. Yun comments:

“Though there will always be discussion about whether to buy or rent, or whether the stock market offers a bigger return than real estate, the reality is that homeowners steadily build wealth. The simplest math shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Bottom Line

If you are interested in finding out if you could put your housing cost to work for you through homeownership, meet with a real estate professional in your area who can guide you through the process.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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As rates are inching up but still very affordable, buyers should remember that there is an alternative to a fixed rate mortgage that can provide the lowest cost of housing for the homeowners who understand the parameters.

A $300,000 fixed-rate mortgage at 4% has a principal and interest payment of $1,432.25 per month for the entire 30 year term. A 5/1 adjustable mortgage at 3% has a $167.43 lower payment for the first five years and then, can adjust, up or down, based on a predetermined index.

Another interesting fact is that the unpaid balance on the ARM at the end of the first five years is $4,624 lower than the fixed-rate mortgage. The total savings in the first five years on the ARM is $14,669.00.

Adjustable rate mortgages are not the right choice for everyone but buyers should at least consider the options based on their individual situation. It could be an obvious choice for a buyer who is only going to be in the home for five years or less.

Use the ARM Comparison worksheet to see what possible savings you could have based on your actual numbers. A trusted mortgage professional can help you to understand the advantages and disadvantages based on your situation. You need the facts to make the best decision.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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It seems fairly innocuous; a friend or family member wants you to co-sign on a loan because they don’t qualify. They assure that they’ll make the payments; they’re quite convincing and very appreciative. You don’t want to disappoint them and after all, it’s not like it’s going to cost you anything…is it?

Think of it this way. They couldn’t get a loan unless you co-sign for them. If they don’t make the payments, the lender is going to look to you to repay the loan plus late and collection fees. The lender may be able to sue you, file a lien on your home or garnish your wages.

And it’s not just money that you could be losing, it could be your credit too. Co-signing a loan is a contingent liability that could affect your debt-to-income ratio and your ability to borrow.

Co-signing is an obligation to repay the debt if the other signer is unable. You could be out the money and unable to recoup the loss because you don’t have control of the asset. The impact on your credit could take years to recover.

Before you obligate yourself, consider all of the ramifications involved in co-signing a loan for someone.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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According to the latest Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index homeownership is a better way to produce greater wealth, on average, than renting. The BH&J Index is a quarterly report that attempts to answer the question:

Is it better to rent or buy a home in today’s housing market?

The index examines that entire US housing market and then isolates 23 major markets for comparison. The researchers at use a “’horse race’ comparison between an individual that is buying a home and an individual that rents a similar quality home and reinvests all monies otherwise invested in homeownership.” Ken Johnson, Real Estate Economist & Professor at Florida Atlantic University, and one of the index’s authors states: “The U.S. as a whole is still in clear buy territory. The cities of Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City are deep into buy territory.” Miami and Portland had been inching closer toward renting being the better option but have “pulled back from the edge.” Johnson goes on to say, “that’s a good sign for home pricing as it suggests prices are going to level off in these metro areas.”

Bottom Line

Buying a home makes sense socially and financially. Rents are predicted to increase substantially in the next year, so lock in your housing cost with a mortgage payment now.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their July edition of the Housing Affordability Index. The index measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home at the national level based on the most recent price and income data. NAR looks at the monthly mortgage payment (principal & interest) which is determined by the median sales price and mortgage interest rate at the time. With that information, NAR calculates the income necessary for a family to qualify for that mortgage amount (based on a 25% qualifying ratio for monthly housing expense to gross monthly income and a 20% down payment).

Here is a graph of the income needed to buy a median priced home in the country over the last several years:

And the income requirement has accelerated even more dramatically this year as prices have risen:

Bottom Line

Some buyers may be waiting to save up a larger down payment. Others may be waiting for a promotion and more money. Just realize that, while you are waiting, the requirements are also changing.

• Hiring a Real Estate Professional to buy your dream home, or sell your current house is one of the most ‘educated’ decisions you can make!
• A Real Estate Professional has the experience needed to help you through the entire process.
• Make sure that you hire someone who knows current market conditions & can simply & effectively explain them to you & your family!

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Buying a condo can be a good experience if you know what you are getting into. If you enjoy the easy life but you still want to own your own home, buying a condo may be just the thing for you! Today, we will look into a few things you may want to consider when buying a condo.

• Get to know your HOA if there is one. Find out what you can and cannot do in and around your new condo. Many people take getting to know about their Homeowner’s Association for granted until it is too late and they run into a problem.
• Look into the bylaws of the condo you are thinking about purchasing. You can find out about rules regarding pets, parking, maximum occupant guidelines as well as finding out about things you can and cannot change in the unit if you decide you would rather rent for a while.
• Have the building inspected to see if there will be any need for repairs before you purchase it. This will help you in the long run avoid spending needlessly on things that could have already been fixed before you move in to your new condo.
• Find out what your voting rights might be as a condo owner. You can check this by again looking into the HOA and those that govern it.
• Check into the finances of the condo to see that there are reserves for building maintenance that may come into play in the future.
• Go door to door and get to know your potential neighbors. You will be living in close proximity to your neighbors if you do choose condo life, so spend a little bit if extra time getting to know those around you.

Condo life can be great if you are an empty nester or if you are single or an older individual looking for a more relaxed lifestyle than typical home ownership offers you. The last thing you want to be doing in your later years is worrying about keeping up a house and all that it entails. Start looking into condo life today by doing a bit of research online for condos in your area for sale or rent. There are pros and cons to owning your own condo so be sure to do your research and figure out if living in a condo works for your lifestyle. You may find that you have found the gold at the end of the rainbow by purchasing your own condo.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Most folks these days are living paycheck to paycheck and are having a hard enough time trying to pay all of their bills on time. This is one of the biggest reasons many people are looking for some sort of down payment assistance when it comes time to purchase a new home. For many people owning their own home cannot become a reality because they simply cannot afford to come up with the down payment needed. Rest assured if you are one of those people who have a hard time coming up with enough money to pay bills much less enough money for a down payment on a house, there is hope for you! Below are a few ideas for down payment assistance and what you need to do to qualify for it.

• Figure out what your adjusted gross income is so that you will know if you can or cannot qualify for down payment assistance.
• Complete a HUD application at your local HUD (The US Department of Urban Development) office.   In order to qualify for HUD your adjusted gross income must not be more than 80 percent of the local median income.
• The down payment assistance program from HUD has a limit of 6 percent of the home’s purchase price or $10,000 so be sure that you know what size and price range you are looking for in a home before you apply for assistance. Knowing some of these things beforehand will possibly save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
• You may possibly qualify for a grant that you do not have to pay back such as with the American Dream Down Payment Initiative Program. This program is known as the ADDI. If you need assistance with your home down payment be sure not to let this particular program slip through your fingers.

Hopefully these few ideas for down payment assistance will get you started in the right direction when looking for a home of your own. It is important that you don’t get discouraged and give up when looking for these types of assistance programs. They are out there for the taking you just have to be diligent to look for them and see which ones may be able to assist you in your home buying experience. It is all too easy to give up and not look deep into all the different home down payment assistance programs but I promise you if you do enough research you WILL likely find one out there that is just waiting to help you.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!