Southern Maryland Home Search

Providing Southern Maryland Home Buyers With the Best Place to Find Homes.

Best Investment - (Found July 5, 2008 )

Each month, John Doe pays $2,000 to rent a townhouse in an affluent Calvert neighborhood. Although Doe could afford to buy a nice home, he doesn't want to. Why, he wonders, would you want to fritter away your cash in mortgage interest and property expenses when you can invest in the stock market
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/best_investment.html

The Closing Date - (Found July 5, 2008 )

It is absolutely essential that you include a closing date as part of your offer. This way both you and the seller can make plans for moving, and the seller can make plans for buying his or her next home. Though most transactions actually do close on the right date, do not be so inflexible that a delay creates insurmountable problems.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/closing_date.html

Earnest Money Deposit - (Found July 5, 2008 )

After you have come up with an offer price, the next step is to determine how large a deposit you want to make with your offer. You want the "earnest money deposit" to be large enough to show the seller you are serious, but not so large you are placing significant funds at risk.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/earnest_deposit.html

Writing Your Offer - (Found July 5, 2008 )

Once you find the home you want to buy, the next step is to write an offer which is not as easy as it sounds. Your offer is the first step toward negotiating a sales contract with the seller. Since this is just the beginning of negotiations, you should put yourself in the sellers shoes and imagine his or her reaction to everything you include. Your goal is to get what you want, and imagining the sellers reactions will help you attain that goal.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/writing_offers.html

Buying an Automobile - (Found July 5, 2008 )

When an individuals income starts growing and they manage to set aside some savings, they commonly experience what may be considered an innate instinct of modern civilized mankind.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/buy_automobile.html

Changing Jobs - (Found July 5, 2008 )

For most people, changing employers will not really affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, especially if you are going to be earning more money. For some homebuyers, however, the effects of changing jobs can prove to be harmful to your loan application, and how much your lender will qualify you for.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/changing_jobs.html

Moving Money Around - (Found July 5, 2008 )

When a lender reviews your loan package for approval, one of the things they are concerned about is the source of funds for your down payment and closing costs. Most likely, you will be asked to provide statements for the last two or three months on any of your liquid assets. This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401K and retirement accounts.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/move_money.html

Home Inspection - (Found July 5, 2008 )

Besides appraisal and the termite inspection, you should also have a professional go through the house and seek out potential problems. Of course, you will have inspected the home, but you are not used to looking at some things that a professional will find.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/home_inspection.html

Seller Disclosure - (Found July 5, 2008 )

Although you have looked at the property, looked at the walls and ceiling, turned on the faucets and played with the light switches, you have not lived in it. The seller has years of knowledge about his or her home and there may be some things you want to find out about as quickly as possible. For this reason, you will require certain disclosures as part of your offer.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/seller_disclosure.html

Market Condition - (Found July 5, 2008 )

A hot market is a "sellers market." During a sellers market, properties can sell within a few days of being listed and there are often multiple offers. Sometimes homes even sell above the asking price. Though most buyers want to get a "deal" on a home, reducing your offer by even a few thousand dollars could mean that someone else will get the home you desire.
http://www.homesearch-md.com/buyer_tips/market_condition.html