Tagged: purchasing a home in New Jersey

November 8th, 2013 Real Estate Law No Comments »

The Most Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make when Having their Home Inspected

Purchasing a home is usually the most expensive purchase you will ever make in your life and you will not want to skimp on necessary things during your purchase process such as a home inspect or a real estate attorney. Making sure you included important precautionany steps during the home purchasing process will be key to you ultimately being happy with your new home.

One important aspect of purchasing a home is making sure that there are no hidden defects in the home’s structure or large appliances such as the hot water heater.  A home inspection report (also known as an engineers report) will reveal any problems with the house and will allow you to make an educated decision with your home purchase.  Having a home inspection done costs a few hundred dollars but if not done can potentially cost you tens of thousands in the long run.

Eventhough you have a home inspection done doesn’t mean that you are completely in the clear there are some guidelines that you will want to follow when choosing a home inspector and when the home inspection is taking place that will help ensure you get the most out of your home inspection and that you won’t get any unexpected unpleasant suprises a few months or years down the road after you move into your new home.

Some guidelines you will want to follow when having your home inspection done are as follows:

  • Make sure you get a home inspection done even if the property is newly constructed
  • Choose a home inspector based on the experience and knowledge of the person not by the cheapest price
  • Be present for the home inspection
  • Follow your home inspector’s recommendations (after all they are the expert in this field)

Following these steps will help ensure that you get the most out of your home inspection.

If you would like more information on purchasing a home you can contact us to receive a free copy of “5 Myths that Can Ruin the Purchase of Your Home“.  We are currently offering this real estate book written by Staten Island real estate lawyer Steven Decker at no cost to those purchasing a home in New York or New Jersey.

 

November 7th, 2013 Real Estate Law No Comments »

Homebuyer Tax Credit May Be Extended and Also May Include More Than Just First Time Homeowners | First-time Homeowner Purchasing a home in Staten Island or Brooklyn New York

In the past few months there has been a growing concern among realtors, banks, brokers and real estate lawyers that the economy may suffer a large downslope if the $8,000 tax credit that is currently available to first time home buyers ends on November 30.   This is the exact reason that many real estate professionals have joined in a campaign in an effort to get Congress’ attention on this very important subject.  The slogan of the campaing is “Don’t Let America’s Real Estate Recovery Expire”.

Many expert real estate professionals understand and know that the first time home buyer tax credit is something that can be used to continue to revive the economy.  While this is not the only thing that needs to be done to improve the economy from its current state, it is a very large part of it.

The homebuyers tax credit was started in February of this year and is set to expire November 30, 2009.  In July is when most home buyers started looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit so that they could close on the house by November 30 of this year.  Sales in July reflect the benefits of having the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit in place.  The sales on existing homes rose 7.2% and sales on new construction homes rose 9.6%, according to the Realtor and Commerce Department.  That was the first time in over two years that home sales increased by such a large percentage.

A lot of banks are afraid that those interested in becoming first time homebuyers will begin to back off from the idea of purchasing a home within the next month or so becuase the process to obtain a mortgage takes about 60 days and they would need to close on or before November 30, 2009 to be able to take advantage of the tax credit.  This reason has caused many real estate professionals to push Congress harder for an extention on the tax credit.  Also, the idea has been presented to Congress to not only extend the tax credit but also allow it to include individuals who already own homes, couples who make $75,000 to $150,000 annually and would increase the tax credit from $8,000 to $15,000.

The bill to extend the homebuyer tax credit and to change its provisions to include a larger range of people is currently gaining support with the Senate becuase of bill sponsor, John Isakson.  When asked about the bill he is sponsoring to extend the tax credit he said that he just wants to continue a program to help boost homes sales by more than 1 million in just the last year.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs tolds reporters that President Barack Obama’s team is currently looking at the bill for the new tax credit and “evaluating the impact” it will have on new home sales.

If you are a first time home buyer interested in purchasing a home in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan or New Jersey contact an experienced real estate lawyer.  Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP, a Staten Island law firm, has over 35 years experience in real estate law.  To have us help you throughout the process of purchasing a home and for us to represent you at the closing of the title on future house contact us at 718.979.4300.

November 7th, 2013 Real Estate Law No Comments »

Lower Interest Rates for Smaller Downpayments

The general rule used to be that if a homebuyer did not put at least a 20% down payment on a house they would face the risk of expensive private mortgage insurance and higher interest rates.

Rules put in place by Fannie Mae and also adopted by Freddie Mac at the end of 2008 made it so that people putting down between a 20 - 25% downpayment were considered “riskier” mortgages to lend out than those who are in the 20% or lower range or than those above the 25% range.

People who put down below 20% on a house are usually required to pay for private mortgage insurance but received the same interest rate as those who put down 20%.  Whereas those who put down over 20% but less than 25% were considered a higher risk and were offered higher interest rates even as high as a whole percent higher than those in a different down payment class.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac representatives said that the reason they count them as a riskier investment is because they are they are at the lower end of downpayments that do not require private mortgage insurance.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in Staten Island or Brooklyn, New York or New Jersey contact Steven T. Decker, an experienced New York real estate attorney, at 718.979.4300 to discuss how we can represent you in the purchase of your home.

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    Phone: 718.979.4300
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