Home Buying Help (sales, mortgage broker, credit score)

[jcgttu]

3 quick questions, thanks in advance for those that reply.

1. Should you only get pre-approved from the lender that you plan on taking a mortgage with?

2. How much are inspectors and how much time do they need to complete an inspection (2 hours, 1 full day)?

3. Always have an inspection before making an offer? yes/no

[tdhg566]

1) Pre-approval is usually done by a mortgage broker or front-end sales staff and has no sticking power with anyone and doesn't commit the lender to anything. Pre-approvals by brokers are usually free. Pre-approvals by lenders will often require a deposit (mine was $350, which was credited back to me at closing). IMO a pre-approval by a lender has a wee bit more validity than one done by a broker.

2) Inspections cost $200-$400 depending on whether it's new or existing construction and they take about 3 hours. I have the name of an excellent inspector I've used 3 times. PM me if you want that information.

3) Typically you'll make an offer and immediately arrange for YOUR inspection to be done within 7 days. This allows you to bail within your 10 day option period. If the seller had his house inspected (like we did), that report should be available from the seller's agent. You can look at that before making the offer.

[fordlover]

Originally Posted by jcgttu

3 quick questions, thanks in advance for those that reply.

1. Should you only get pre-approved from the lender that you plan on taking a mortgage with?

2. How much are inspectors and how much time do they need to complete an inspection (2 hours, 1 full day)?

3. Always have an inspection before making an offer? yes/no

3. No. Because there is a chance you'll make an offer, and the seller will refuse, and might even sell to someone else. In this case, you'll lose out whatever you spent for the inspection.

When you make an offer, it will be on the assumption that the house is in liveable/saleable condition. After your offer is accepted, you will go into the option period, which is when you will get your inspection done. If the inspection turns up anything, the option period allows you to require the seller to make the repair, drop the price, or either party can decide to walk away.

[Txgal33]

1. Should you only get pre-approved from the lender that you plan on taking a mortgage with? You should get several pre approvals to see what is the best rate. But do know that when they check into your finances to pre approve once you go to get approved each and every pre approval will be on your record and will cause lenders to ask questions. This happened to us so I know. It was easily remedied though when we were able to fax them the letter that we had gotten. We had gone with a different lender. Pre approval is important though in this day and age but again even though you may be pre approved you may be denied for any number of reasons. Watch every SINGLE penny you spend and do not purchase anything at all large just the weekly necessities.

2. How much are inspectors and how much time do they need to complete an inspection (2 hours, 1 full day)? We paid $400. It depends on size of home as far as price though and i am sure location as well. If you request an inspector who lives all the way across town I am sure they will charge more. They will also charge more for Saturday inspections. We had to have one on a Saturday because we were coming from out of state and could not be here during the week but knew we wanted to be here. Its always a good idea to be present if you can for your inspection. He took geez probably 6 hours on our house and it was 3700 sq ft.

3. Always have an inspection before making an offer? yes/no I don't believe you can even have somebody's house inspected if you do not have an offer on the table. Why would the seller allow that without an offer because anything that comes up on an inspection will need to be disclosed to any possible buyer. Always have in your offer that it is dependent upon home inspection and give them a time line of when you will have it inspected. Usually a few days after offer is made. If there is something wrong with the house and you and seller can not come to an agreement unfortunately you are SOL on the fees. We had this happen to the last home we were trying to purchase. We ended up paying for two home inspections because the first home was almost 10 yrs old and had rot and all kinds of things wrong with it and we decided we did not want to move forward even if they agreed to fix them. We went and purchased new a few streets over.

[cheryjohns]

1. Should you only get pre-approved from the lender that you plan on taking a mortgage with? Get three - after that, they will ding your credit. Some will charge an application fee - others won't - go with the "won't". They will run your credit - the old Good Faith Estimates went through a dramatic over-haul the first of the year. You will get a loan comparison sheet from the lender - it is standardized now and makes it easier to compare. I used to recommend a main bank over a mortage broker - but the banks are so difficult to work with now compared to the broker - even for people with little debt and an 800 credit score. I have noticed the rates and fees are now about the same for the two. Lenders have to stick by their Good Faith Estimates now - no more surprises at the closing table.

2. How much are inspectors and how much time do they need to complete an inspection (2 hours, 1 full day)? Average 2000 square foot house requires 2.5 - 3 hours - about $350. The termite inspection is about another $75 (mandatory on a FHA loan).

3. Always have an inspection before making an offer? yes/no After your offer is accepted - you have an option period of X amount of days ( negotiated - 10 average). Get them done within that time period. The option period will cost you about $100 - but you can get it credited back at closing

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by jcgttu

3 quick questions, thanks in advance for those that reply.

2. How much are inspectors and how much time do they need to complete an inspection (2 hours, 1 full day)?

3. Always have an inspection before making an offer? yes/no

Hello jcgttu,

As a Professional Inspector I'll provide some insight into questions 2 and 3.

First is the cost of the inspection which can vary widely from one Inspector to another. Each Inspector has their own pricing models. My best advice to you is to create your line of questioning for Inspectors and interview them first, leaving out any questions regarding cost of the inspection. Once you have selected three or more Inspectors then call them back and discuss the cost of the inspection. By leaving price out of the initial discussions you will be more apt to pick an Inspector that is right for you. At that point the price is a much less significant factor.

The only real correct answer to how much time will it take to complete an inspection is "The Inspector really does not know until they arrive on site and perform the inspection". Any good Inspector will not rush an inspection just to make a time schedule for their next inspection, or to reduce their time based on some "Profit Model" they have created. I've inspected relatively small, brand new homes and spent 6 hours inspecting, trying to understand what is going on that was wrong, documenting the issues, etc. There really is no magical time number.

As the others have stated, having a full inspection before an offer is most likely not going to happen, nor be allowed by the seller. There are options though that you can take, if you wish to spend a little extra. Some Inspectors will perform a pre-offer walk-through with you in an attempt to identify major issues with the home. The intention of this type inspection is to help you decide if you want to make an offer and have a full inspection performed during your option period. If you are interested then speak with Inspectors in your area about this.

Good luck!