Attorneys, Home Inspectors, Mortgage Companies
After all my transactions, the clients are given a survey to fill out on their services, including mine. This is the criteria to keeping service vendors on the list. The home buying process is daunting and by selecting the proper professionals along the way, it will not only make the process easier, it will protect your investment.
In the real estate business, we are not allowed by law to receive compensation for referring our business to anyone other than a licensed real estate salesperson. Our criteria should be, who is looking out for our clients, as well as their credentials. Price is important, but expertise is paramount. Often I hear a client say,” I have an uncle in Hartford who is an attorney”, or “my uncle is a contractor, I don’t need an inspection”.
If your uncle in Hartford is a real estate attorney, that is all well and good, however if he is a divorce attorney, he may not be the best person for what you are doing. Let’s start with attorneys.
Each county has customs that they follow with everything from who cuts the checks at the closing, where the closing is held, how adjustments are done on the closing statements etc. Local real estate attorneys who do practically nothing but real estate are fluent in these items and their paralegals are knowledgeable in the process. They know how to deal with bank documents and which banks email packages and which ones get them there on time. They also work on a flat fee, not on an hourly fee, which protects you as if the transaction does not go through, you don’t get charged. As with all the other service providers I recommend, I have golden rules for which attorneys I send clients to (and attorneys, you may want to read this) The first thing is, the paralegal. While the attorney is sorta important if we need muscle, the real brains of the operation are the paralegals. They do all the setup work and hopefully make the lawyer look good. In one of the offices I recommend, the attorney does both the paralegal work and the attorney work. My observations are as follows. The office should respond promptly to requests for information as well as politely. I know this sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised. As attorneys only get paid if the deal closes, the toughest standard is that if the client needs to get out of the contract, the attorney unselfishly fights to get them out. And if there is an issue with the other side, the attorney fights for the client and negotiates a fair settlement of issues. Title searches are done in a reasonable amount of time before the closing. Title searches are paid for up front by the attorney. If the deal doesn’t close, the attorney is out the money. They have to draw a fine line between doing the title search too early and it falls through or doing it too late and not having time to resolve the issues on a title search. The real estate attorneys that I have a link to in this web site have met the criteria and stood tall in service and protection of my clients, so they get recommended. They are also on the approved list for a large number of banks. I can call these offices for an update and get an update and if there was a goof up, it gets corrected and we can move on. The price for their services is also extremely competitive.
Recommended Attorneys:
Home inspecting is probably the toughest job in the process. They are protected by the fact that they are paid for their services, even if a deal falls through. They have to walk the line of keeping agents happy and recommending them, finding all pertinent issues in the inspection and protecting themselves from liability. My rules for home inspectors are simple. I don’t worry about a deal falling through. If the home is a problem home, the clients need to know it. Period. There have been a couple of instances where we have walked away from a home in the middle of an inspection as the issues were that bad. My feeling on that is that I hope to be selling that home when they go to resell and it is better to find the problems up front. I use inspectors who use a check list to ensure they have checked every area of a home. They must be certified by The American Society of Home Inspectors. They must carry at least One Million Dollars in liability to cover them and me. They explain all issues both during the inspection if the client wishes and at the close of the inspection. They follow up on getting us the reports for water tests and radon tests. And the criteria I think is most important with all service providers is if there is an issue, they don’t hide, they come back and followup.
I believe strongly that most homes should have a radon in air test done and in some cases a radon in water test done. Well water should get a full analysis including chemical physical and bacteria. Certain minerals in the water, while sounding like they are good in your multivitamin, may not be healthy for you or the pipes in your home. The cost for a home inspection varies on the size of the home and the outbuildings. For homes it averages around $400 and for multis, more depending on the systems and the number of units. Radon, for a continuous monitoring system (around $125) and water tests (up to $150) are not usually included in the price. Electrical boxes are tested and opened, water temperature, furnace operation, wood destroying insects, plumbing issues, framing, safety issues, and maintenance issues are covered in the inspection. Uncle Joe may make one hell of deck, but he probably should not be the final say in your home inspection. On top of that, his word may not be valid in the inspection requests if he is not licensed...
Yuk, septic inspections. Septic inspections run the course of cheapy inspections for fifty bucks, up to sophisticated camera inspections for up to $350. There is no doubt I only recommend the camera inspections and to this date have found only 1 company that is as tough as they get with the inspection. They have failed many a system and/ or have recommended repairs. By snaking the camera through the system it visually inspects for problems that cannot be seen from the outside. Not only that, if the camera gets blocked on its way through the system, you will know a tree root or other obstruction is in there. The company, also maps out the system for your future use. They do not give an analysis on the spot, but rather review the camera recordings and discuss it before giving written findings. When new systems can run in the over 10k category, you really don’t want to do a cheapy inspection.
Recommended Home Inspection Companies:
Mortgage companies can make the process of buying the home either easy or something similar to a root canal without Novocain or sleeping gas. They can also find you the best deals. You will find references to mortgage selection in almost all of these tutorials. You will also find an entire section on mortgage selection on the website. Here is my criteria for mortgage officers and companies.
The mortgage companies should have a wide range of products from in house products to government products to multiple lenders. They must explain to the client the plus and negative of any loan and be sure they know about closing costs, including the cost of points, balloon payments, heaven forbid, pre payment penalties and variables. They must follow the loan along the way from application to appraisal to commitment. They must be available to answer questions and be there when there is a problem. At times, they might have to say they don’t have a good product for the person, instead of squeezing them into a loan that is not right for the person.
Recommend Mortgage Companies:
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