Utah has the BEST 4 seasons, and those in the know realize they are all about to start!Season 1: RhubarbSlightly dramatic, and bright red. This is the season that shows up first in pies, jams,
50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LANDLORD
Dated: March 8 2023
Views: 194
There is one universal truth that I think we can all agree on. Paying rent every month sucks. Don't get me wrong; your landlord loves it as you are helping them pay off their mortgage. But wouldn't it be nice if that same money was being spent on paying down your own mortgage and building equity and savings through homeownership?
The number one cause for people staying in rentals is not understanding the home buying process and believing that it will be too difficult. Below I have shared the most common "need to know" terms, tips, and guidelines for buying your first home.
- Find a Realtor who will walk you through the entire process. Buying your first home comes with many questions and, for many, can be a nerve-wracking experience. Find a Realtor who has years of experience helping countless first-time buyers land a house. Oh, look. That's me. They say the first step is always the hardest and look how easy I already made it.
- Save Money. You do not need to have 20% or even 10% down to buy a house. Although it is possible to get 100% financing that will cover your entire down payment, there will still be expenses to cover when purchasing a home. Home inspections and earnest money deposits are two of the most common expenses buyers will need to cover when buying a home. There are also closing costs that will have to be paid at closing. Closing costs cover the title insurance, loan fees, appraisal, and document fees are just some of what makes-up closing costs. While it is possible to get some of these fees covered by the sellers or your loan, you will have many more options if you have saved enough to pay your closing costs.
- Start interviewing lenders. One of the main mistakes made by home buyers is NOT shopping around for a mortgage. A common misconception is that shopping with more than one lender will negatively impact your credit. This is not the case. Credit bureaus can tell the difference between a mortgage loan inquiry and an application for credit, such as with a credit card. As long as you are shopping lenders in the same general time frame, your credit score should be just fine.
- Get pre-approved for a loan. Once you find the lender you want to work with, have them pre-approve or pre-qualify you for a loan before you start shopping for houses. You will also need to show your pre-approval with any offers you submit, so this is a step you can't skip.
- Figure out what you can afford. You live with your monthly mortgage payment, not the purchase price. Your lender will help you determine your mortgage payment, which will include property taxes and homeowner's insurance. I can help you find out the average monthly utility bills. You decide what works with your budget.
- Determine what you need in your new home. Make a list of the features in a house that matter to you most, location, number of bedrooms, fenced yard, garage space, lot size, etc. Once you have the features you want listed, rank them in terms of priorities.
- Find your new home. Give me your list of what you want most in a home, and I will get to work finding you properties that meet your needs. Often, I can find a property that will work for you before it becomes available to the public. The earlier you get me this list, the more time I will have to find your perfect match.
- Write an offer on the home of your dreams. Over 88 legal contracts and forms can be used in a real estate transaction in Utah. A good Realtor will know exactly which forms pertain to your offer and situation and will walk you through the documents and offers. But tips 9-15 all deal with standard terms and items found in real estate contracts. It will help if you know what they mean before you and your agent start writing your offer.
- Determine how much earnest money you want to offer. Earnest money is a "good faith" deposit you provide to show the sellers your intention of following through with your offer. As long as you meet the deadlines you agree to in the contract; the earnest money is refundable should you change your mind or find something wrong with the property that prevents you from buying. If you do close on the house, the earnest money can be used towards your down payment or closing costs. Earnest money has become more critical than ever. I have never had a client lose their earnest money in my entire career. But I have collected earnest money for three of my sellers over the past year as the buyers and agents didn't meet the terms of their offers. Ensure the agent you work with will watch those deadlines for you like a hawk.
- Figure out if your offer will include contingencies. Contingencies must happen for the buyer to proceed with the property's purchase. Do you need to sell a home before you buy a new one? Then your offer would be contingent on selling your old home. DO you need to get a loan for the home? Then your offer would be contingent on the appraisal coming back at value and contingent on the loan being approved. Those are just a few examples of common contingencies found in real estate contracts. If contingencies cannot be met, the deal ends.
- What deadlines work for you? In your contract, you will write several deadlines, such as for seller's disclosures (point 12), due diligence (point 13), appraisal and finance deadline (point 14), and settlement (point 20). While the deadlines agreed to in the contract can be changed if both parties agree, it is essential to write deadlines that are both realistic for you as the buyer and competitive for the seller's sake.
- Seller's disclosures: In Utah, the seller of a property must answer a list of questions about the property and disclose the property's actual condition to the best of their knowledge. This applies to real estate unless the seller has noted that disclosures will not be made for the property before the contract is entered. Common things that would need to be disclosed include past water damage, past/current mold, insurance claims, and rental history. Items that do not need to be disclosed in Utah include if the home tested positive for meth in the past but has since been cleaned, if there was a death/murder in the home, or if the owner believes the house is haunted.
- Due Diligence timeframe is the second deadline commonly found in contracts. The due diligence timeframe is when the potential buyers have the opportunity to look into any aspect of the property and back out of the contract without losing their earnest money. Standard due diligence includes getting a home inspection, testing for radon/meth/mold, looking into area schools, etc. Honestly, during the due diligence timeframe, the buyers can back out of the contract with no explanation.
- The third most common deadline in a contract deals with the loan's appraisal and financing. An Appraisal is an independent assessment of the property's market value. In most real estate transactions where a loan is being obtained, the lender will hire an appraiser to determine the property's market value. The appraisal must come in at the contract price for the property, or the buyer must be willing to bring in cash to make up the difference. Banks don't want to lend for more than the property's worth. As long as the lender has the appraisal back by the appraisal deadline, the buyer can back out of the contract without losing their earnest money if the appraisal comes back lower than the contract price.
- Do you want to ask the seller to provide a home warranty? A home warranty is a policy that can be purchased by the seller or buyer of a property to help pay for unexpected repairs to a home's systems, such as faulty appliances, leaking plumbing, or electrical repairs. The typical term for a home warranty is one year, though they can be extended if the new owner wishes. Different companies cover different repairs but don't get it confused with homeowner's insurance, which will cover damage caused by disasters.
- Under Contract! You wrote your offer, and now that the sellers have accepted it, you are officially under contract. It's now time to deposit your earnest money and follow through on the deadlines you wrote into the contract.
- Choose your title company. The title company acts as a neutral party to the transaction in Utah. The issue title insurance required in Utah, which ensures the title to the property will be given to the new buyer/lender clear of liens. They also collect and distribute the money needed for closing, from down payments to the loan to the commission for the agents. Title Companies will also handle the property's closing and help you sign and understand your loan documents. In my experience, there is little price difference between title companies as most of their fees are regulated by the state. The most important thing to look into when determining the title company is that they have excellent communication with your Realtor and lender and fantastic customer service for the buyer. Your agent can help you find a great company to work with.
- Have all the utilities put into your name for the scheduled closing date. You can call the utility companies a few days before closing and have them transferred into your name. Some cities will require closing to have already taken place before putting water/sewer/garbage into your name.
- Settlement. This is when you go to the title company and sign all your loan and closing documents. Once the title company has received all the money from the buyers and lenders and all parties have signed their closing documents, the title company will record the sale with the county and disperse the funds. The recording is when the property officially belongs to the new owner.
- The home is yours! Plan on picking up the keys to your new house after recoding, which can take place the same day you sign your loan documents or up to four days later.
Steps 21-50 (Okay, maybe there aren't really 50 steps) include telling your landlord to stuff it, or at least give them your notice that you will be moving out, moving into your new home, changing the locks on all the doors (you never know who still has a key), having a house warming party, inviting me (I'll bring snacks), and telling all of your friends how happy you are now to own your own home, because throwing away money on RENT sucks.
Ashley Wolthuis
Ashley Wolthuis is a graduate of Weber State University and furthered her education at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Development Studies. Today, A....
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