Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, thanks so far for all the advice. I still have more questions...
1. How do I know if a real estate agent is specialized in my area? My neighborhood?
you can get referrals from friends, neighbors, family, and even folks on this site if you agree with some of their statements. then you ask for the agent to show you the listing paperwork for your area.
2. How do you know if they are telling the truth? The real estate agent we bought our current house with lied about just about everything. She hired "a friend" to do the inspection. So of course they said everything was great, turns out not the truth. She also told us facts about the area that weren't true. Like "that place is 2 minutes max from this house" really it is 40 minutes minimum.
again, if you are using a referred agent, you would hopefully not have that problem.
3. Do people really have 2 mortgages? YEP.
4. How much do you save up for a down payment? Does it depend on the house you want to buy? Or should you just start putting away money to save?
depends on what type of loan you want to get, but 20% of the sales price is a good number to strive for.
5. If I decided to sell my home vacant, do I leave the lights on? ABSOLUTELY. All the utilities must/should stay on. Hard to see a house without electricity, plus you need the heat/air conditioning on. And the new buyer will need to do an inspection with all the utilities intact so they can do a thorough inspection.
6. I'm pretty sure the only option for us is to move and put this house up for sale vacant....any advice?
you will want an agent that has your back. you may want to consider having your agent bring a stager in and have a few rooms staged. It will cost a few dollars but definately worth it in the long run for people to see what the house looks like. and it isn't cost prohibitive!!
7. If you get a home equity loan based on the house you want to sell....when do you pay back all of it? When the house sells? YEP
8. If we technically owned two houses at once...one on market...would we have two of everything? Loans? Property taxes? Insurance? Etc?
If you take out a home equity on Property A, then purchase the second property with a mortgage, YEP. you will have 2 mortgages, 2 sets of taxes, and insurance on both. Make sure the insurance company on property A knows the property is vacant and on the market. Your insurance coverage is going to have to compensate for that.
9. If we are selling one home in one state, and buying a new home in a different state....will the two real estate agents work together?
YEP. but they shouldn't have to do too much together. and if you love your listing agent, they may be able to refer you to an agent where you are going. If you love the agent where you buying, he/she could help you find a listing agent.
I don't really know what I'm doing. So any help is great.
Thanks again.
You are doing GREAT!! you are asking terrific questions. Feel free to ask more as you need to. see answers above in RED.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
