They locate a great house. It's even priced at market value. Closing date looks good. Heck, this is straight forward...make an offer and buy the damn house.
Can this not be so straight forward? Might there be some key issues here?
There just might be. Here's some things that the Smiths in all their excitement may not have cleared up and may affect their enjoyment and hence the resale value of the property of interest.
1. There's a major city easement that runs through the backyard. it actually chews off 10 ft of the rear property. So this 40 ft lot is contained to 30 feet on the westerly side for potential development. if they wanted to build a pool or a deck of plant a garden...they may have serious issues.
2. The family room addition is great space. It's hard to say if it was built legally. Current sellers bought it "as is". Better do some investigating and insuring
3. Property has some knob and tube wiring. There are some insurers. Some will ask you to cut the amount of knob and tube, others may request a complete update and inspection by third party. On top of land transfer and closing costs, this may be a sizable cost. So do they keep it "as is" and pay premium for year OR change immediately. Is one insurer more accomodating then the next?
4. The inspection revealed some moisture and active water coming from roof of house. Conditions run out tmrw for them to move forward or walk away. What's best course of action? Is their a way to try to get an abatement but still have capacity to move forward if sellers dispute?
5. Parking spot infront of the house isn't legal. But it's been in operation for a while. Do you ask the city or keep your mouth shut and assume it "as is" and hope for best.
6. Smiths need a second spot. No problem right? This area/street has street parking. Careful here if youre moving forward and not doing homework on this issue.
7. The taxes on the property seem low. That's great news for the Smiths? Does the city know about the 2 additions and 2 new washrooms added on to the top off of the existing bungalow? This property may be up for reassesment any time now and the property taxes may be artifically low so make sure you have an eye on that.
8. During negotiations a second offer pops up. How do you handle this now strategically. You were the first ones in. Does this give you an advantage. Is there a way to treat signbacks of offers for some added protection.
We found ourselves for years in an environment where if you had an average agent and lost a house then inventory was plentiful. So you hurt for a few days until you found the next one. Inventory is not as plentiful so the arguement is some buyers are feeling rushed to pull the trigger. Some agents love the hurry-up offense.
My arguement is that you can still be quick to the plate and cover yourself properly.
We're not trying to get you to the moon here. We'd like to get you into a great house and there are strategies and concerns that trained realtors can assist with.
I hate those realtors can help commercials. It oversimplifies the issues. It's a legal document with clauses that too often are breezed over which can have ramifications on the purchase of your greatest asset.
Cheers,
Michael Gruenstein MBA CSC
ReMax Realtron
mgruenstein@trebnet.com
http://www.TheSmithsBuyAHouse.com
http://www.PropertiesintheGTA.ca
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