Valuable Home Buying Tips for New Couples

After getting married or engaged, some couples will look at buying a new house – one in which they will begin their life together. It’s bound to be one stressful time, but these suggestions should help couples old and new be in the right frame of mind to make educated home buying decisions.

Location, location, location: This is one of the most important keys to finding the right new home. What’s the most suitable for both of you? Find a property that’s close enough to where you work, and close enough to quality schools, institutions, and other important community features. One thing you could do is study neighborhood or community online sites for more information about the area you’re interested in. Local Realtors®, for example, offers comprehensive information on local neighborhoods and features.

Maintenance: A house is not a big one-time investment. You’d have to pay it constant attention, too. Studies reveal that every house will require between 1% to 3% of its value in annual maintenance costs. So apart from planning your budget for mortgage, taxes, and utilities, plan also for home inspections, property fixes, and regular maintenance.

Keep yourselves informed: You both wouldn’t want your house to cost more in the long run that you’d expected. So get your prospective home inspected before closing the deal and making the final decision. Professional home inspections are a must – and so are professional home inspectors who have been formally trained, properly certified and re-certified, have access to technical support and reference information, and have the ability and confidence to stand by the accuracy of their findings in the inspection reports.

Be more proactive: Buying a house is not like online shopping. You can’t make do with a product shot and send it to your cart. Being proactive in the home buying process means asking the seller (and the inspector) questions, attending the actual home inspection, educating yourself about the basic systems and operations of the house, and knowing in detail the short- and long-term condition of the property.

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Inspecting the Home Inspector

More and more home buyers are recognizing the importance of professional home inspections when it comes to making smart and sound real estate investments. Home inspections, after all, educate prospective buyers about the conditions, systems, and structures of a property – as well as alert them to any damages, hazards, and potentially costly defects found within it.

But who to call? There are numerous home inspection organizations out there: are these inspectors created equal?

Not according to HouseMaster, one of America’s largest and best-established home inspection organizations. According to Kathleen Kuhn, President and CEO of HouseMaster, buyers should be more selective when it comes to hiring home inspectors – and not just base decisions on professional fees.

“The prices vary, but this should not be the deciding factor when choosing home inspectors,” says Kuhn. “A buyer may choose one home inspector over another because of a difference of a few dollars, but when the home inspection isn’t done right, it might cost hundreds or even thousands more dollars down the road.”

HouseMaster emphasizes the importance of inspecting the inspector, and finding out more about the qualifications of professionals offering home inspections.

Licenses. Licensed home inspectors are a must – this means they have been trained to check the potential conditions in a home. More than one-time licenses, however, buyers should set their sights on finding home inspectors who have been tested and re-certified, and who are abreast of today’s home systems.

Education and technical support. In Chicago as well as in other states, it’s easy to find out which home inspectors are duly licensed or registered. But these do not necessarily equate to the best credentials. It’s always good to depend on professional home inspectors who not only have licenses, but also education and technical support programs. That way, if buyers have anything to ask about the homes and properties they’re interested in, they can consult their home inspectors and their experienced staff.

Scope of inspection. The contract will usually give buyers an idea of what the scope of the home inspection is. This helps set expectations for the inspection, and will let the buyer know which parts of the house are going to be covered, and which parts aren’t going to be covered. If the scope of the inspection isn’t clearly written in the contract, ask the professional home inspector to outline it.

Professionalism. How can buyers tell if an inspector is professional in his goings-on? It’s not a tough one to answer, especially if they pay attention to the way the inspector answers his phone calls. Buyers should be cautious of inspectors who answer calls while actually inspecting a house – or driving on the way to an inspection. The professional ones deal with calls properly, provide detailed descriptions of their services, answer questions and inquiries (more than) satisfactorily, and schedule inspections promptly.

Guarantees. It’s always smart to look out for written guarantees when dealing with home inspectors. Why? Because while home inspections aren’t exactly insurance policies against damages and repair needs, they can still serve as leverage for price negotiations and dealings between sellers and buyers. If a home inspector offers some form of service guarantee, and actually writes it down, then it means that he will stand by the accuracy of whatever his findings are.

Websites. If buyers can do their homework online and search the Web for the latest in the housing market, then so should they be able to look up professional home inspectors online. Buyers should review the websites of these inspectors and from there they can get an idea of their qualifications and their level of professionalism and service. It’s also good to educate one’s self and read up content from home inspectors’ websites, like informative articles, client testimonials, and home inspections and home maintenance tips, among others.

Inspecting the inspector is a critical component to making smart real estate investments. Buyers should take the time to select the best and most qualified professionals – those who can be trusted to guide people along the process of buying a new home.

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Education and Inspection: The Keys to Home Buying

House sales are poised to rise exponentially in ten years, with low prices and the emergence of first-time home buyers helping the market in Chicago and in other states surge like it hasn’t done in decades. The tax credit of $8,000 – a stimulus package available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence – also encourages purchasing.

As the market continues to rise, and new buyers continue to invest, there is an increasing need to emphasize buyer education. Says Kathleen Kuhn, President of HouseMaster, Chicagoland’s leading home inspection company and one of the largest home inspection franchisors in the whole of North America: “More and more people are being encouraged to invest in homes these days, thanks to new provisions, and that’s why it’s become even more important to identify red flag issues that pose major and minor problems with a home.”

Adds Kuhn: “Buying a house can be a very stressful process, and that’s why here at HouseMaster we focus on providing buyers with the tools and the knowledge to ensure that they will make the best decision and real estate investment possible.”

Kuhn’s company offers home buyers with a list of red flags through professional home inspections and comprehensive online home inspection reports. In Chicagoland (Chicago Metropolitan Area) alone, the company has served over 38,000 clients, allowing them to expedite – and simplify – the home selection process by identifying and reducing the risks of buying a home with potentially costly defects.

To help buyers take on a more discerning approach in navigating the housing market, Kuhn identifies a few warning signs, each of which may indicate looming bigger problems.

Extension cords. “Today’s electrical needs and systems have grown and become a lot more sophisticated,” says Kuhn. “If a buyer sees a lot of extension cords in a house, it may be a sign that the electrical system is out of date – and could require a major upgrade.” Professional home inspectors can assess what can be done to meet today’s demands, and what needs to be installed in order to increase safety and reduce the need for a number of usually unsightly extension cords.

Cracks. Kuhn warns buyers to be on the lookout for foundation cracks. “Vertical cracks are normal in the sense that they sometimes cannot be helped within certain settlement tolerances.” Horizontal cracks, however, pose an altogether different risk, and may point to possibly problematic hydrostatic pressure against the foundation of the house. Home inspectors and structural engineers can be consulted to determine what corrections and safety measures need to be made.

Gurgling or low water pressure. Low water pressure – sometimes accompanied by that ‘gurgling’ sound from the faucet – can be a sign of old or inadequate piping. It may or may not require an entirely new plumbing system, but that depends on what the home inspectors say. Says Kuhn: “They’ll be the ones who can indicate the kind of piping used, how old it is, and what can be done to correct the problem.”

Basement smell. A “musty” smell, in particular – which, according to Kuhn, can indicate water in the basement, as can storage boxes that have been raised off the floor. Home inspectors can be called in to assess other potential causes, as well as determine ways in which the property grading or the draining systems of the house can be improved.

Stains. Stains on the walls or the ceiling can indicate hidden damages and defects in the structures of the house. Says Kuhn: “Usually the home inspectors can test these wall and ceiling stains by using a moisture meter. That way, they can determine if these stains are still active – and if they ‘re warning signs of a more major damage or defect.”

Unused or vacant homes. Foreclosed properties usually bring in great selling prices, but buyers beware: they may not have received the attention and maintenance needed to keep a home safe and steady. Before making any final decision, check for mold, moisture problems, ventilation problems, freezing pipes, and other signs of deterioration.

Make educated real estate decisions. For more information on home maintenance, home inspections, and home buying, please visit HouseMaster.com.

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Buying a Home? Here's How You Educate Yourself

When it comes to buying a home, knowledge is power. And we’re not just talking keeping abreast of the stock market, the housing market, mortgage rates, and other such stocks of information over which you have little control. It’s important to learn more about what you can control, too.

Professional home inspections give you a source for just that kind of information. Awareness on things that are usually reflected in an inspection report – like major systems, important shut-off valves, repairs that have to be made, minor and major defects – can spell the difference between a smart real estate investment and a potentially disastrous one.

However, too many homebuyers – not just in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, but throughout the United States – still don’t appreciate the importance of home inspections – as well as the kind of information they provide. According to Kathleen Kuhn, President and CEO of HouseMaster, the first and one of the largest home inspection organizations in North America, buyers spend months researching neighborhoods and mortgage providers, but not nearly enough time on professional home inspectors.

“A good home inspector is a critical component in the process of buying a house,” Kuhn says. “That’s because inspection reports help tremendously in forming realistic expectations of a home. How does it operate? How do you keep it safe? What needs to be maintained, and for how much and how regularly? Buyers will need that kind of information before they even move in, so it’s alarming that not a lot of people even consider looking up lists of home inspection providers and professional home inspectors.”

Kuhn adds that home inspections would take only a few hours – depending on the size of the property – so buyers need not balk at the idea of going through it. “Besides,” notes Kuhn, “home inspections can serve as very useful backstage tours of how homes work.” She says that “many of our clients – say, in Chicago and the nearby suburbs – felt empowered by what they learned from the home inspection. It put them in the right frame of mind to make informed decisions about buying a home.”

For more information on home inspections, home ownership, and home maintenance, visit HouseMaster.com.