Buying a Home in Logan Square

So, you're ready to buy a home. You're tired of living the uncertain life of a renter and would rather make a monthly mortgage payment to a bank than write another rent check to your landlord. Congratulations! Now that you've decided it's time to make the jump to homeownership, you'll need to figure out a few things and answer a few self-posed questions. Such as, what can I afford? Hopefully, what you can afford will coincide with what you want in a house, or at least what you need. Either way, it's time for some serious financial reflection.

Take stock of your personal finances and assess your earning power both now and in the future. If you know you're up for a raise or foresee a salary change in the next year it is important to factor in that income variance. Likewise, if your child will be heading to college in the fall and you're taking on additional financial responsibilities, you need to recalculate your expenditures. Another question you will want to ask yourself is where you want to live. City? Suburbs? What neighborhood? Do you want to buy a house or a condo? What are the property taxes in that area? How are the schools? What about parking options? How close do you need to be to public transportation/expressway?

Before you start looking for a home to buy it's best educate yourself on the process. Don't worry, there are plenty of resources available on the Internet or at your local library. Of course, you don't have to do it alone. Unless you have a lot of extra time, patience and energy to do your homework and immerse yourself in the purchase procedures, you should consider using a real estate agent.

Advantages of Using a Real Estate Agent

Enlisting the help of a professional real estate agent to assist you in the search for your dream home has many advantages. Assistance in the actual house hunting is the least of the services they can provide to potential home buyers. You can save yourself a lot of time and headache by using a professional who knows the ins and outs of the industry and the current housing market. A good real estate agent will be familiar with the different neighborhoods of the city and what these areas have to offer specific to your needs.

Your agent should know, or will research, information that addresses any concerns you may have. What is the crime rate in the area? Are there good schools nearby for your kids? Is the location convenient for public transit, grocery stores, entertainment, nightlife? Licensed agents will also have access to listings not available to the general public. They can help you navigate the sea of legal paperwork that goes along with closing on a residential property. Your agent can recommend reputable home inspectors, real estate attorneys and mortgage brokers -- all necessary in the home purchase process. Real estate agents have a lot to offer potential home buyers by way of training and experience.

Condominium vs. House

Ok, so you've taken a sobering look at your financial situation and you've decided that, yes, you can afford to buy a home. You know roughly what kind of monthly mortgage payment you can afford and what kind of property taxes you can expect to pay. You've also figured out what your needs are for location in accordance to your work and leisure lifestyle. What you haven't decided is whether to buy a house or condo. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and prices can be comparable. A small one-story bungalow could sell for the same price as a spacious two bedroom condo, depending on the area and the seller's motivation.

When you own a condominium you are not in it alone. As a condo owner, you are a member of an association. The condo association is a legally recognized corporation with elected officers and board members who meet regularly to create budgets, make sure the building and communal property are cared for, and deal with any potential problems that might arise among the various condo owners. As a condo owner you own your condo, but the common areas (e.g. stairwells, basement, roof, porches or decks) are all common property and must be maintained through the collection of assessments from each individual condo owner.

Many homeowners were condo owners first and it's a good primer for homeownership. The advantage of owning a single-family home as opposed to a condominium is you are free of the condo association, its board and the many rules and regulations they can impose on you. However, as a homeowner, you are solely responsible for the upkeep and repair of your home and property, which can potentially bring with it a greater financial burden.

Importance of a Home Inspection

Having a home inspection is like having a mechanic check out that used car you're interested in buying before you buy it. It's the test drive around the block to see how it performs on the actual road. It's a good chance to troubleshoot for potential problems that can cost you money down that road because, once you purchase your home you're buying all those charming little defects as well. This is especially true if you are buying an older home, but even brand new construction can contain flaws. Putting your trust in your initial walk through as a possibly smitten home buyer in love with your dream home, well that can cloud your judgment. So, before you close on the property, you'll want to have an outside, third party inspection by a licensed home inspector.

Home inspectors are trained to notice the little things that can escape the attention of even the most astute home buyer: potential mold problems, small cracks in the foundation, water heater about to go on the fritz, etc. The inspector will examine the property from roof to basement. They can spot causes for concern that can develop into a financial drain if not remedied. After the inspection, you'll receive a report detailing the issues or potential problems. The report can be shown to the seller for negotiation of contract terms. As the buyer, you have the right to make your purchase of the property contingent on correction of serious problems. The inspection might also give you some added leverage in negotiating the price if you want to take on the responsibility of fixing issues yourself once you own the property.

The inspection is an essential step in the home buying process, not to be skipped for any reason, unless of course, you yourself are a licensed home inspector.

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