Owning a home has become one of the most important transactions or purchases any Americans have or will make in their lifetime even since the time the country was first formed. In relatively recent times, homes have become more and more complicated. There was a time when there were only two options really for home ownership or for mortgage choices. In recent days, there are hundreds of options, contingencies, or discussion points. Buying a home now takes signing a number of papers and documents and contracts. The contracts are filled with complicated legal jargon. A home buyer will often be tempted to skip the legal writing but this is a mistake, with any education at all, some patience and a lot of question asking, the documents should be read. Here are five things to focus on when reading the fine print.

Knowing the deadlines for when everything has to take place is crucial. The buyer is the party interested in having an appraisal and an inspection. Knowing when the inspection is due is a great item to pay attention to in the contract. The buyer is going to want to have as much time as possible to fill out the responsibility of inspecting, the seller would like a rushed job to minimize the amount of problems found.

The second thing the buyer should look at carefully in the contract is the liability for needed repairs found by the inspector. When a inspector finds problems with the home, the seller is not obligated to fix them. What can happen is the seller negotiates a drop in the price in order for the buyer to have the additional income to fix the problem themselves. If the responsible party is not decided upon in the contract, there is no obligation for the seller to fix anything or lower the price. Therefore it is critical for the buyer to read the contract closely and ensure accuracy or that the desired negotiations are included.

The third thing a home buyer should make special note of in the contract is what it is the seller is guaranteeing. If a seller is low on money and the air conditioning goes out right in the middle of the Arizona summer, then the buyer should be made aware that the air conditioning is broken. There is a difference between parts of the home that are guaranteed and the parts of the home that are sold “as is.” If something is being sold as is, it will either not be mentioned in the contract or it will be mentioned, usually meaning that future repairs are needed.

The fourth thing that the buyer should pay strict attention to are other warranties the buyer is buying. These warranties may include a warranty on the foundation of the home, or the roof of the home or any object that has the ability to really devalue the home quickly. The difference between this point and the last point is that there are things that the seller will guarantee and there are other things that need to be bought and guaranteed from a contractor.

Lastly, pay attention to when the home actually closes. This is the date that the home owner can finally move into the home. No buyer wants to be surprised and find out that the home actually closes months after the time the buyer thought they were moving into the home.

Author Bio: Juhlin writes about Fountain Hills AZ homes for sale and Tempe AZ homes for sale. If you are ready to buy a home you can opt to have the newest Phoenix AZ homes for sale or Tucson real estate sent to you.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: homes, real estate, buying a home, selling a home, realtor, realtors, loan, mortgage, foreclosure, s