Category Archives: Home Buying Info

Do I need a title search?

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If you are new to home buying or selling and are trying to complete a transaction without a real estate professional, you may wonder why it is recommended to get a title search. The main reason that it is strongly encouraged is because it’s an avenue to ensure the piece of real estate is real and valid that you are purchasing. The title company checks for outstanding liens against the property and provides insurance as well as ownership history. This helps protect all parties involved. For example, the buyer wouldn’t ideally want to buy a home only to discover there is an outstanding lien on the property that has now become their legal responsibility. That new owner could end up being financially responsible for the full amount due even though they did not own the property when the bill resulted. By working with a title company on your closing, you have the piece of mind that a search has been done by the title company to ensure the property you are buying has “marketable” title and is able to be sold and by getting title insurance there will be some protection from things that could happen. If this process was not done, then you could potentially buy a home only to discover that there are other parties that may have ownership rights to the property as well the ability to use your property due to an existing easement in place. Also, it’s worth noting that if you are purchasing the real estate with a mortgage, your lender will likely require a title insurance policy as a condition of the financing being provided.

To learn more information about title companies, check out this article

If you are looking for a Title Company to speak with in Delta County, I would encourage you to contact these companies to assist you:

Bay Title & Abstract

905 N Lincoln Rd

Escanaba, MI 49829

(906) 233-9000

http://www.baytitle.com/

Delta Title & Abstract

201 Ludington St

Escanaba, MI 49829

(906) 786-3582

https://www.deltaabstract.com/

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am an Associate Broker with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

Buying Vs. Renting

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What’s better: buying or renting a home? It depends on you. My wife and I have done both at different points of our life. One advantage of renting is the convenience of not having to make a hard commitment to the area you are living in. Another is when you rent you don’t have to worry about the maintenance factors, (ex: furnace going out, appliances breaking, etc) because your landlord addresses these for you. You pay your rent and go about your day to day. However, you don’t develop any equity in your property. For example, at the end of 10 years renting, you have paid for the privilege of renting, without any equity in where you live.

If you decide to become a homeowner this changes quite a bit. All of a sudden you are responsible for everything. If the furnace goes out (and you know, this does happen!), you have to either fix it yourself or find someone to fix it for you. You become “Master of your Castle” and how you handle each occurrence is up to you. Hopefully you will start to develop equity in your home. Check out this Forbes article about the 7 financial advantages of home ownership.

Being a renter or homeowner is a matter of preference. If you are looking for a long term avenue for building equity, home ownership is a way to helping you accomplish this.

For more information about the difference between renting vs. buying check out the following:

Fidelity Rent vs. Buying

Nerd Wallet Rent vs. Buy Calculator

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am an Associate Broker with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

Should Home Buyers get an Inspection?

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Home inspections are a tool all buyers can use. Some do, some don’t though. A home inspection breaks down the nitty gritty and provides a detailed look at the property you are considering buying. In the past my wife and I have bought homes with and without them.

Consider how much you are investing in the property you are buying and if the cost is worth the price being paid. In our area, they generally vary in price from $300-$600 depending on the size and other factors of the home.

When buying a home, knowledge is power. Typically, the more information you know in a real estate transaction, the more bargaining power you have. For example, if you know that the electrical inside the home is not wired correctly, this could become a bargaining chip inside of a negotiation. The seller may be willing to reduce the purchase price or make concessions after you have learned more details about the home from the inspection report. As a realtor, I recommend that my clients purchase this report when buying their homes for the best experience possible.

In the current housing market, some buyers may choose not to include this contingency item to make their offer more competitive, if this is done I would strongly suggest doing a detailed walkthrough when you see the home or have a qualified contractor/inspector present when your showing is being completed to ensure you are aware of possible concerns that will help you make your offer accordingly.

Check out this article for more information:

https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/make-the-most-of-your-home-inspection/

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am an Associate Broker with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

What is Earnest Money?

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In real estate transactions, buyers typically offer earnest money as part of their offer. Earnest money is equivalent to a “good faith deposit”. Deposits are not required, but in a competitive home buying market they will likely be a requirement of the seller. These funds are applied to the amount due from the buyer at closing. However, if the buyer backs out of the purchase for a reason that is not addressed in the purchase contract, the seller may have claims to the earnest money provided by the buyer.

In our geographic region, purchases under $100,000 commonly have earnest money amounts of $500 and they usually increase in $500 increments for each $50k increase in the purchase price (ex:$200k purchase price can expect around $1,500 to $2,000 for earnest deposit funds). These amounts can widely vary though since the terms of real estate contracts can be written according to the agreement between the buyer and seller.

When is the earnest money collected?

Typically, upon acceptance of the purchase offer the buyer is to provide the earnest money deposit within the next few days to demonstrate their commitment in following through.

Who collects the earnest money?

The selling agent’s (buyer’s agent) office typically collects and holds the buyers earnest money. This could also be a title company, lawyer or other party that is agreed upon within the purchase contract. These funds are held in an escrow account until closing occurs.

Can a buyer deposit cash for earnest money?

  • For tracking purposes your lender will most likely require for the funds to be able to be traceable (personal check, check, money order, etc)

What happens if the sale does not close?

  • The funds would be returned to the buyer if they back out due to a contingency item (financing, appraisal, inspection, etc) of the sale.

What happens if the seller backs out of the sale?

  • The funds would be typically returned to the buyer if the contract is terminated due to the seller.

Check out this article below for more details about earnest money:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/what-is-earnest-money

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am an Associate Broker with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

Legal Access

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Are you in the process of buying vacant land or a land locked piece of property? If you are, something to consider when deciding to purchase a property is the access.

Here are some helpful questions to ask:

  1. If the property does not border an access road, how will you access the parcel?
  2. Do you need to cross somebody else’s property?
  3. Is there an easement in place currently or is a neighbor willing to grant one at the time of closing?
  4. If there is not, is this a concern of yours or your lender?
  5. In the future, if you do sell: how will other potential buyers think about this and how could this affect the value of your property?

Addressing these questions on the front end can make your life much easier and save you time, money and frustration.

When working with and choosing your trusted real estate professional, I would suggest looking to them to be a guide that will help you make informed decisions with regards to your real estate purchases.

Check out this article about easements:

https://www.trulia.com/guides/easements-property-rights/

Another great source of information can be your local title companies. They consistently work with buyers and sellers who need to address these items prior to closing.

Here are 2 great title companies in Escanaba:

Bay Title & Abstract

905 N Lincoln Rd

Escanaba, MI 49829

(906) 233-9000

http://www.baytitle.com/

Delta Title & Abstract

201 Ludington St

Escanaba, MI 49829

(906) 786-3582

Home

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am an Associate Broker with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

Steps to Buying a Home

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There are many questions when you are a first-time home buyer. Often, I find most of my clients become overwhelmed by the process. They often don’t know where to begin and I am regularly asked by them how the process works.

Here are the steps I layout for them:

1.) Meet with lender and obtain preapproval letter from financing institution to learn financing capability

2.) Finding the right property (Home Search)

3.) Submitting the offer: Choose purchase amount, discuss contingencies (i.e. home inspection, appraisal, well/septic test, survey, etc)

4.) Acceptance of your offer

5.) Collect earnest money in the form of a check or money order-typically in the amount of $500-$2000 (amount will vary based upon the price of the home being purchased) upon acceptance of your offer.

6.) Upon acceptance of the offer: a time frame starts for contingencies to be completed (i.e. appraisal,home inspection, radon test, water test, survey, etc)

7.) Notify loan officer at the bank of acceptance of your offer

8.) Close on home-typically it is around 6-7 weeks for most lenders we work with to have all purchase paperwork completed, this is largely affected by how quickly the buyer provides the information the loan officer requests.

This is a just a general overview and each step will vary for each person but hopefully this helps paint a picture of the steps involved in the home buying process.

If you have questions about the home buying or selling process in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, feel free to contact me. Whether your purchase or sale of a property is in the near future or further down the road, I’m here to help you on your real estate journey. My name is Rick Curtis and I am a licensed Real Estate Agent with Key Realty Delta County in Escanaba, MI. Call/Text (906) 280-6118 or email Rick@KeyRealtyUP.com

Providing proof of funds, could strengthen your offer

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Throughout the home purchasing process, you may be asked to provide proof of funds. What does this mean? It refers to something tangible that can be offered as evidence that you, the buyer, can follow through with the purchase. It’s a type of validation that you have the money available at your disposal to complete the home purchase. It can come in a couple of different forms like a certified letter from your financial institution or an official document from a 3rd party providing an assurance that you have the funds needed at your disposal. This letter or documentation provides the seller with a piece of mind and as a result, they may be more willing to accept your offer. Keep in mind, this is different than a pre-approval from a bank. It would typically be utilized in a “cash purchase” or for your down payment or closing costs if requested.

Check out this article from realtor.com to learn more information about proof of funds.

Home Buying with Furry Friends

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One of the advantages of owning your home is the freedom to have pets in your house. According to the American Pet Product Association 68% of American households have pets. That’s about 85 million people.

Our family had a dog for nearly the last decade and the freedom to let our dog out and have a place for her to roam around was very crucial. At some times over those years we rented and at some times we owned. When renting, it proved especially difficult trying to find a place that would work for our family and our dog as well. With home ownership, you get to decide if you want to add add a pet as a family member to your home without needing it to be approved by your landlord.

Questions to consider if you do have pets and are buying a home:

1.) How much space do you need?

2.) Does the home have a fenced in yard?

3.) Do you need to register your pet with the city?

4.) Is there somewhere you can put your pet in the home if they can’t be out when visitors are over?

5.) Is there enough space to accommodate your family and your pet?

Once we finally purchased our current home, our dog truly seemed more at peace than ever. She knew she was finally home.

Location, Location, Location!

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One of the most important factors when buying a home is location. Anyway you slice it, this has to be part of the equation when buying. After all, this is something you can’t change. Possible questions to consider before purchasing that next home are:

1.) Do I like this area?

2.) What do I think of the neighborhood?

3.) What schools will my kids be going to?

4.) How far is the closest grocery store, restaurant, hospital, etc?

5.) How far is my commute to work, school, etc?

The exact questions will vary for everyone, but the concept remains the same, where your piece of real estate is located will matter and needs to be a determining factor.

Home Buying: The Search

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Buying a home is a big task. It can be overwhelming at times. One way to simplify the process and organize your thoughts in a list. I tried to find the perfect app to help make it easier to remember the houses we were looking at. However, nothing was a good fit so we resorted to an “old fashioned” pen and paper list. When we were purchasing our home, our family sat down and made a list with the following categories:

MUST Haves

DEAL Breakers

WISH List (Bonus items)

MINUS (Non-deal breaker negatives)

Our list looked like this:

MUST Haves:

  • At least 3 bedrooms
  • At least 2 bathrooms
  • Updated Kitchen
  • Updated Bathroom

DEAL Breakers:

  • Creepy Basement
  • Outdated electrical system

WISH List:

  • Garage
  • Fenced Yard
  • Updated Exterior

MINUS

  • Small lot
  • Really close neighbors
  • Outdated utilities

After writing our list, we numbered each house and took a copy of our list to have an easy way to remember the big items for each one. It really helped with our search and we were surprised when we found our house, how it match our list. Of course it did not match perfectly, no house can ever be PERFECT, but it helped find the one that was right for us.

What does your list look like?