Philippine Real Estate Buying Tips
Buying Tips For Philippine Real Estate
Philippine Real Estate, Buying Tips
Buying a residence can be a hair raising experience.
You will experience a roller coaster of emotions while finding the right
place, securing the loan and finally moving in. For most of us, the first
time home purchase is the largest investment we’ve ever considered. The
emotions of purchasing something so expensive and personal can often cloud
our business judgment.
Most home purchasers do little or no research before
they invest their nest egg. Doesn’t it make sense to become as completely
informed as possible before you buy your first home? These "Buying Tips" are
designed to help you avoid common and crucial mistakes.
Go over the inspection report with a fine tooth comb.
Make sure the report was done by a professional organization. For condo
purchases go over the By-Laws and Association Fees. Don’t take anything for
granted... inspect everything!
Your furnishings and decorations will be the ones
filling this new residence. Don’t be swayed by beautiful furniture; it
leaves with the owner.
Sit down with your professional real estate agent and
honestly discuss your income level and living expenses. Take into account
future considerations, children, add-ons, amenities, and fix-ups. Your dream
home is certainly worth a sacrifice but don’t mortgage your entire future.
See at least 7-10 properties. Don’t move too slow but
don’t move on the first property you see. With your agent’s help you should
be able to view enough properties to get a good overall perspective of the
home market. When you find the right property all the leg work will be worth
it.
By aligning yourself with the right real estate
professional you will have an entire team at your disposal. Utilize your
lender, title rep and agent. Each of them should work hand in hand for your
benefit. Explore all the options before you sign.
Check out all costs and expenses before you sign.
Utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance and home owner dues if applicable.
Make sure all utilities (gas, electricity, and water) are on during your
walk-through so you can inspect everything in working order. Ask lots of
questions and be very detail conscious.
Visit the property after all furnishings have been
moved out to be sure there are no surprises. Be absolutely positive the
property was left exactly as you had agreed upon in the contract. Things
that could have been spotted in a final walk-through are often
unintentionally overlooked.
Closing dates are not written in stone. Allow for
contingencies and have a back-up plan. If you or the sellers need a little
more time to conclude the final arrangements, don’t let these delays upset
or frustrate you. These types of circumstances are not uncommon in a real
estate transaction.
All promises and discussions should be in writing.
Don’t make any assumptions or believe any assurances. Even the best
intentions can be misinterpreted. Have your professional keep an ongoing log
in writing of all discussions and get the seller’s written approval on all
agreements.
Before house hunting, make a list of things you want
in the new place. Then make a list of the things you don't want. You can use
this list as a guide to rate each property that you see. The one with the
biggest score wins! This helps avoid confusion and keeps things in
perspective when you're comparing dozens of homes.
When house hunting, keep in mind the difference
between ''STYLE AND SUBSTANCE''. The SUBSTANCE are things that cannot be
changed such as the location, view, size of lot, noise in the area, school
district, and floor plan. The STYLE represents easily changed surface
finishes like carpet, wallpaper, color, and window coverings. Buy the house
with good SUBSTANCE, because the STYLE can always be changed to match your
tastes. I always recommend that you imagine each house as if it were vacant.
Ads are sometimes created to make the phone ring!
Many of the homes have some drawback that's not mentioned in the ad, such as
traffic noise, power lines, or litigation in the community. What's not
mentioned in the ad is usually more important than what is.
Be very careful when reading ads. Remember that the
person writing the ad is representing the seller and not you! The most
important thing you can do is have someone on your side looking out for your
best interests. Asian Homes® Realty Services will critique the property with
an eye towards how well it meets your needs and will point out any drawbacks
you should know about. So whether you decide to work with Asian Homes®
Realty Services or not, pick an agent you feel comfortable with and enlist
the services of that agent as a buyer's broker.
I hope that this has helped you in what to look out
for when buying a property.