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Category: Home Buying

  • Ten Common Real Estate Scams

    Reader Question: ​What would be your advice concerning the different real estate scams going on. For example, is being a for sale by owner dangerous today? What are some of the warning signs of real estate scams? ​Monty’s Answer: Scams have always existed as there are elements in our society that lead nefarious lives. While…

  • Six tips to negotiate a brand new home purchase

    Negotiating a new home purchase is very similar to buying a pre-owned home. There are differences. Most new-home buyers don’t think to have the home inspected by a home inspector, because the municipal building inspector has to sign off. That inspection is for code compliance. Builders, or their subcontractors make mistakes that have nothing to…

  • Home buyer wants to offer more than full price

    Reader Question: We have been combing the market for several months, but nothing has hit on all cylinders until a new house came up yesterday and it has everything we need and more. It’s pushing our price limit at an asking price of 449k. We met our agent to see it this morning, and it…

  • Avoiding emotional relocation turmoil

      Reader Question: We want to be avoiding emotional relocation turmoil. A job-related move to a new community is in our near future. We have friends that made such a move, and with some bad advice they ended up in a marginal neighborhood. What can we do to prevent a similar mistake? Monty’s Answer: There are…

  • Should we have a fifteen-year loan versus a 30-year term?

    Reader Question: Choosing a fifteen-year loan versus a 30-year term is advice we often see from financial experts or mortgage lenders. We also find information about a home buyer saving until they can make a twenty percent down payment when they buy a home. The experts that proffer this advice confuse us, as we are not…

  • How to pick the best real estate agent from three finalists

    Reader Question: We want to pick the best real estate agent from three finalists. Each agent chose three different comparables, and there is a thirty percent difference between the best price and lowest price when including all nine comparables. This difference equates to over $60,000. How do we know which estimate is the most accurate comparison…

  • Thirteen tasks to check a well and septic system

      Reader  Question: We are home buyers who want to check a well and septic system. We know nothing about them. We have city sewer and water now, so we have no responsibility beyond using them. Are there different methods for due diligence, plus care and maintenance after the purchase? Can you help us get…

  • Should I be paying cash for a home?

    Reader ​Question: ​Are there any benefits to paying cash for a home worth $200,000?​ Monty’s Answer: This is an issue to which you would receive different answers depending on the disposition of the person answering the question. Leverage is the gold standard for most real estate investors. Many non-investors believe their home is not an…

  • Anxiety plagues first-time home buyers

    Reader Question: We are looking for homes we can afford through online real estate websites. We are not married. We have extreme anxiety about actually contacting real estate agents and starting to look “for real.” ➢   I have money to buy or down payment – she doesn’t. We could afford up to $600,000. I have…

  • Homebuyer questions the value of a home inspection

    Reader Question: We don’t see the value of a home inspection. We are going to be buying another home soon. In the house we sold, the buyer’s inspector missed some items of which we were unaware. It created a few problems after they moved in, but we worked with them, and all turned out well.…

  • Seller refuses to sign a mutual release

    Reader Question: We signed a contract on a home. In reviewing disclosures, everything seemed ok. We found out a week later that the city water and sewer was confirmed to run under the house and through the middle of the back yard and also services three properties to the south. We also learned the water…

  • Four tips to find a new church location

    Reader Question: How do we find a new church location? We have a long-standing fellowship group in a large established congregation. We have decided to break away and start a new congregation. Monty’s Answer: There are a variety of ways you can go about finding a new home for your flock. While there are often…

  • Four steps to handle a broken trust

    Reader Question: We have a broken trust. We bought our first home last month. Our inspector found several problems, one of which was a rodent problem in our attic. We trusted our agent when she told us the rodent problem was taken care of when they fixed the roof. We did not know what to look…

  • Seven answers to a home inspector’s question

    Reader Question: Here is a home inspector’s question. Customers tell me I am a good inspector. I always want to improve my methods when I can. Your answer to this question may help focus my efforts. What are the main questions you get from consumers about home inspectors? Monty’s Answer: Incorporating the continuous improvement philosophy into…

  • Is the home sellers offer real?

    Reader Question: ​An acquaintance who lives in our neighborhood proposed to sell us her home. We have been in the house a few times for neighborhood parties. She bought a home on the west coast and now wants a fast sale. She is in her 50s, divorced for some years, and has always been cordial…