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Real Estate By County:
Common Real Estate Questions
Find answers and tips to common real estate questions!
What's the difference between a real estate agent and a real estate broker?
What counts as square footage?
Why use a real estate agent or broker?
What not to do before a home purchase.
What is the difference between a real estate agent and a real estate broker?
Most states require real estate salespersons to be licensed by the state, so
that they can control their education and experience requirements and to act
as a central authority to resolve consumer problems.
The terminology used to identify real estate professionals varies a little
from state to state, but in general real estate brokers are generally
required to have more education and experience than real estate salespersons
or agents.
The person you normally deal with is a real estate agent. The agent is
licensed by the state, but must work for a real estate broker. All real
estate listings are placed in the broker's name, not the salesperson's.
A broker can deal directly with home buyers and sellers, or can have a staff
of salespersons or agents working for him or her.
Tips For Viewing
Homes
Who do you take with you?
If you’re married, you take your spouse. There is always the chance you’re
going to find something perfect and you cannot make a decision without your
spouse. Well, you can…but chances are that you will pay for it later.
If you’re a couple, then take your partner for the same reasons.
If you’re single and buying on your own, then you can take a friend, but it
isn’t necessary. You need to make the final decision for yourself.
Most importantly, no matter how young or old you are, don’t take a parent
with you.
There are exceptions to the rule because parents really do want the best for
their children and want them to be successful, and purchasing a home is part
of being successful so they definitely want you to buy a house, but…
…not this house, and…
…not that house.
Some psychological “switch” just does not allow your parents to totally let
go (regardless of how old you are), and this exhibits itself by diluting
their enthusiasm when you start getting specific about what home you want to
buy.
Parents don’t do it on purpose. They can’t help it, and you can’t blame
them. Yet it will happen.
Oh yes. There is one other person you take along with you – your
experienced, capable, professional, friendly neighborhood real estate agent.
Thumbs Up – Thumbs Down
The first thing you see when house hunting is the view from the street. Does
the house have “Curb Appeal”? Do you like the house or don’t you? That’s an
easy decision. If you don’t like it, keep driving. Don’t waste your time
because it is better spent looking at homes you do like.
If the home passes the “curb appeal” test, go inside and take a look around.
Not an in depth look, just go from room to room and try to imagine yourself
living there. Does it meet your wants and needs? Don’t worry too much about
paint color, flooring, window treatments, and so on.
If there is something obviously wrong-can you fix it?-Do you want to?
If you don’t like the home, then it is "thumbs down."
Tell your agent the reasons. One of the biggest frustrations about the house
hunt is when agents continue to show you houses that you just aren’t
interested in. The major reason that happens is because your agent does not
know enough about what you want.
They will ask, and often. It is easier to show exactly what you like and
don't like while you are out hunting for homes.
If you give the house a “thumbs up” on that first preview, it doesn’t mean
you are ready to make an offer.
It means the house deserves a “second look.”
Get out your checklist, your notepad, your digital camera or your video
camera and go back inside.
Your agent will tell you what to look for.
And when you do find the ideal home, make an offer, and reach a deal. Keep
your agent's phone number handy.
You've just finished the easy part.
What Counts as
Square Footage?
Your home goes up for sale and the square footage is way off! What has
happened? Is the garage considered in the square footage of a home? Is the
garage attached to the home? Even if a garage is attached to your home, it
is not considered part of the home's square footage because the garage space
is not considered livable space. Therefore it cannot be considered in the
square footage calculation.
Calculating the square footage of a home is not as easy as you might think.
Neither real estate agents nor homeowners should attempt a calculation on
the square footage of a home with the intent to get an accurate measure. One
main reason the task is so difficult is because very few houses are
perfectly square. Appraisers map out the home on a piece of graph paper,
calculate all edges, come up with calculations for each rectangle - then add
them all together to achieve the total square footage.
There are also other delicate rules such as: If there has been an addition
to the house without a building permit, then that section of the home may
not be considered as part of the square footage. This also goes for attic
and basement conversions, lofts, and any other addition to the home without
a building permit. Your best bet is to rely on a licensed appraiser to
calculate the square footage your home.
When a home's square footage is advertised, the number usually came from a
previous sale, or even as far back as the builder. Homeowners and real
estate agents rarely recalculate the square footage. Like we said, it is
very difficult to calculate the square footage of a home.
Why should I use a
real estate agent or broker?
A real estate salesperson is more than just a salesperson. They act on your
behalf, providing you with advice and guidance. This is their job, helping
you purchase or sell your home. The Internet has opened up a new world of
information that wasn't available to homebuyers and sellers. However, the
data on listings available for sale is not up to the minute. There are times
when you need the most current information about what has sold or is for
sale, and the only way to get that is with an agent.
If you're selling a home, you gain access to the most buyers by being listed
in the Multiple Listing Service. Only a licensed real estate agent who is a
member of your local MLS can get you listed there. This is a big help
because it gets you automatically listed on most of the major real estate
web sites. If you're buying or selling a home, the MLS is your agent's best
tool.
An agent’s impact on a buyer or seller has changed recently. In the past,
agents were the only way home buyers and sellers could access information.
Now agents are evolving. Because today's home buyers and sellers are so much
better informed than in the past, the agent’s expertise and ability are
becoming much more important. The real estate has become more like a guide
rather than a salesperson; your personal representative while buying or
selling a home.
What
not to do before a home purchase.
Very simply don’t make major purchases of any kind. Forget about any major
purchase that would create debt. This includes furniture, appliances,
electronic equipment, jewelry, vacations, expensive weddings, and of course
automobiles.
Don’t Move Money Around
When a lender reviews your loan package for approval, one of the things they
are concerned about is the source of the monies that you are using for your
down payment and closing costs. Chances are that you will be asked to
provide statements for the last two or three months for all of your liquid
assets. This includes bank accounts, money market funds, certificates of
deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401K and
retirement accounts.
Moving money between accounts during that time makes reviewing the loan
harder because there may be large deposits and withdrawals that you will
have to furnish paperwork on. Furthermore you will most likely be required
to complete a paper trail of all the withdrawals and deposits. This can
include producing cancelled checks, deposit receipts, and other seemingly
inconsequential data, which can get very tedious.
To ensure quality control and eliminate potential fraud, it is a requirement
on most loans to completely document the source of all funds. Moving your
money around, even if you are consolidating your funds to make it "easier,"
could make it more difficult for the lender to properly document.
So leave your money where it is until you talk to a loan officer. This also
means that you shouldn’t change banks in this time period.
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