Termite damage, no matter how small, is never good for a house. During an inspection of the property, if termite damage is found, it will affect the home. In most cases, the home buyer is told that the seller will fix the problem.

Of course it is good that the home seller will pay to have the termite problem treated, which usually costs about $ 1,500 or more. Although when termites are gone, you have to wonder about the deterioration of the structure. In more severe cases, damage to the structure can cost up to 50 times the cost of treatment. The last thing you want is to get into a home that you know has been treated for termites, only to find that the structure is in poor condition.
If other damage was done to the wooden structure of the house, you may need to make immediate repairs. While some damage may be visible, there are other types of damage that may seem invisible to the naked eye. To find where the damage is, carpets and rugs should be lifted, furniture and appliances moved, walls and ceilings should be opened, and even some types of excavation may be required. This is the only way to determine the extent of damage, especially in cases of termites.

You should inspect all areas of the house, if you don’t you can end up in a home that has severe structural damage – which can cost thousands to repair. To determine if the property has latent damage, you need to have invasive and destructive testing performed on your property, it is performed by qualified contractors and specialists. This will help determine the extent of damage and cost of repairs. This can be very expensive, but it is the only way to find and repair the latent damage.

Invasive and destructive tests can cost a lot,  have this test done if you suspect termites or know for a fact that the home was treated for them before. To protect yourself, you should always get the treatment and repair history before buying the house. If you are buying the house, you must obtain written documentation from the specialist that describes the damage to the house and the cost of repairs.

Before buying a home, you should always check for termite problems. There are a lot of termite inspection companies out there, many of them go beyond the house to check for any type of termite damage. You do not want to buy a house only to find it was infested with termites. If you have the appropriate checks carried out before making the purchase, you know very well that you do not have to worry about termites or termite damage.

If the inspector or contractor does not find any termite damage, you should always get all of the documents stating that no termites were found. Thus, if there is termite damage, you have documentation to help your case. Termites can be very harmful to your home, especially if you are looking for a wooden frame house. Termites can destroy wood in no time, so you should always do everything possible to have your home treated as soon as you suspect damage. If you know a house was infested with termites before – you should really make sure that the structure is not damaged and the termites are gone before you commit to buy.

A listing contract is an agreement between you and a licensed real estate broker that authorizes the broker to represent you in the process of selling your home. The most commonly used listing contract in real estate is called Exclusive Right to Sell. There are other kinds of real estate contracts. Some of them are explained below:

Open Listing

Considered the one most generally used, this type of contract is for people who want to sell their home and also work with real estate agents. This type of contract provide agents the right to do showings of your home, and receive certain amount of commission if their client chose to buy your house. Open listing type is a non bonding type of contract where the real estate agent does not have exclusive right to sell the property. The bad thing is that you can expect less marketing or advertising done.

One-Time Show

This type of listing contract is pretty much the same to open listing. For sale by owner usually use this type of contract where they have a real estate agent handle the property showings. The listing contract identifies the potential buyer and guarantees the agent a commission if that buyer buys the home. Just like open listings, this type of contract does not involve any marketing efforts by the real estate agent.

Exclusive Agency Listing

This is a type of contract where a real estate brokerage has the exclusive agency to sell your property and earn a commission only if the property is sold by that brokerage. If the property gets sold without the help of the broker than they don’t receive any commission. The reason why this type of listing contract is widely used is the temptation of not having to pay your broker.

Exclusive Right to Sell Listing

This type of real estate listing contract gives the broker many rights to promote, advertise, hold open house, pay commission to buyer agents and much more. This contract also gives the right to collect commission even if the property is sold by the owner of the property or anybody else within the agreement term.

Before you choose your contract type, always make sure you know every type of listing contracts available to you. There are important things in home selling process including contribution of time and effort, which can determine the type of contract you would like to make. Discuss the possibilities and disadvantages of each type.

Are you are planning to buy a home, and want to make sure that you will be able to get a loan. Pre-approval is method employed by lenders in evaluating your credit worthiness by requesting your credit report, going through your income-to-expense ratio, and looking at your financial state of affairs.

Getting a pre-approval from a financial institution is the first step in the home buying process. To find out if you will be able to buy a property,  getting a loan pre-approval will determine that. You can be confident in your ability to buy a property for a approved amount of loan, once you get the pre-approval.

When somebody applies for a loan, it is not guaranteed that he or she will be qualified for the loan. Financial institution who lend money want to make sure that the borrower has the ability to repay the loan. One of the most important thing to do first is to have your finances in order before applying for a loan.

Important factors a lender will look for when you apply for a home loan

 
a. Down payment: Lenders want to make sure that you have anywhere between 3.5% to 20% to put down as down payment on your home purchase price.

b. Employment history: You must be steadily employed for at least last two years, this is to ensure that you will be able to make your timely loan payments.

c. Credit history: If you have a good credit score, it will be easier for a lender to approve you for the loan.

d. Income: You should have enough monthly income to make your monthly mortgage payments and be able to meet the other expenses without causing hardship, that can cause non-payment of  loan installment  payments.

The lending bank will want to know how much money you make yearly  and,  if there are any other sources of income such as stocks, bonds, other income generating sources and total expenses in order to pre-approve you for the loan. Debts like car loan payments,  credit card payments and student loans if any will be taken into account in calculating  the right loan amount.

The lender will factor in all of this information and the term of loan ( 30 years or 15 years) you choose. With this information the lending institution will be able to determine as to your ability to pay back the loan.

The very first step in a home buying process is to get a loan pre-approval from a lender, this will allow you to search for homes  in the price range you have already been pre-approved for.

Going through pre-approval process and getting pre-approved will help you in making offers on properties you like without hesitation. You will also become aware of the process of loan approval. It will be quick when it is time to apply for the loan.

Home mortgage means a method to finance buying a dwelling. When you want to buy a home you have to obtain (if not buying all cash) a loan and that is known as mortgage. The institution which lends you the money for the mortgage is called the lender.

When you buy a dwelling the per month repayments you have to make to the lender or a bank is called the monthly mortgage payment. The interest rate that is attached to the mortgage is known as the mortgage interest rate. The time it requires for somebody to pay back a mortgage is called the term.

There are two popular mortgage loan terms in the US, 15 year and 30 year. You have the option to decide which payback term to apply for. The term is the number of years the lender will give you to pay back the loan. At the end of the term you own the home.

The 30 year term loans are usually easier to qualify for and the monthly payments are comparatively lower. You can pay a little extra each month with a 30 year mortgage duration if you so decide. You save a modest amount more in interest that  can make it much easier for you to finish paying off earlier than the 30 year term.

The good thing about a 15 year loan term is that it saves you 15 years of interest in the long run and the mortgage is paid off in half the period. The draw back of a 15 year mortgage term is that the monthly payments are larger. There is less flexibility in 15 year loan than there is with a 30 year term. But if you are capable and can afford then take the 15 year term. You save a bundle on the interest and have your home paid off in half the time.