Conservative Think of Home Improvement And Tips

Tip #23 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to buy a home warranty.

Despite the love buyers show for their newfound properties, there could be things beneath the surface not foreseen or witnessed. From a cursory glance, homes may appear spotless with no maintenance required whatsoever, even on resale homes. The word of the seller may cloud enough judgment to avoid covering insurance costs on the home. There have been countless cases where a buyer moved into a home only to find pre-existing wear and tear on the home and leaks a couple of months later. For this reason, a home warranty should be considered.

In essence, a home warranty is a service agreement that protects your home’s major operations including its roof, water systems, structure, and appliances. They serve a dual purpose in the real estate game: for sellers to use them as a valuable marketing tool during their selling period and for buyers to rest easy knowing their potential home is secure. These plans can be geared towards any home from the spanking new to the 50 year old duplex. As long as your items are in decent working order and conditions arise after the issuance of the home warranty, you should be covered.

Many buyers make the mistake of interpreting home warranty plans as home insurance policies. They are both totally different things. Home insurance policies are plans providing coverage for burglary, theft, and natural disasters while home warranties cover breakdowns caused by wear and tear in addition to failed circuits, plumbing, or any other home malady. A home warranty is excellent for anyone that wants to gain a higher level of confidence when moving into a resold home. In addition, home warranties are touted by real estate experts as critical to after-sale problem prevention. Although buyers still have the right to file suit on sellers who fail to disclose construction and appliance problems, home warranties can lessen the blow.

Today’s home warranty policies usually have a standard 12 month term with the option for more. 6 months or more can be provided in seller coverage as well. In addition, many home warranty companies also offer complimentary inspections to ease the transition into the plan. When it comes to selecting a home warranty, make sure you compare multiple providers. Comparing means finding how which items are included in standard coverage, what items are parts of separate policies, the co-payment, and finding out the reputation/track record of each company. By shopping around, you are virtually ensured that you are getting the best coverage for a fair price.

As buyers, you can have the seller pay for your home warranty along with other concessions. This usually occurs when there has been concessions made by the buyer, such as paying for the house at slightly over market value or surrendering to owner financing. Check to see if you are eligible for a home warranty plan paid for by your seller today for better real estate terms.

Tip #20 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to buy a new home from a builders inventory.

An inventory home is a brand new home built by the builder but without an owner. Either the person who wanted the house built backed out of the contract or the builder built it as a way to keep his staff working, or a model, or a way to add built homes to the neighborhood.

Whatever the reason of the inventory home, it can be a bargain for you. Builders hate having empty houses sitting around. They try to build as fast as possible and move to the next area. If a home is already built and sitting empty it is called an inventory home.

Builders often have specials on these homes. They offer great deals to get the home sold. But most do not offer the deals to people without Realtors representing them. So check to see if a Builder you like has any inventory homes and get your realtor to negotiate for you.

Builders get loans to build houses. The longer a home is sitting there empty, the more payments and interest the builder has to pay on that house. So the builder wants to unload it, quickly. And to do this, the builder will reduce it several thousand dollars. It will cost much less than having the builder build you the same model from scratch.

The only drawback is that the appliances will already be installed and you will not get to pick the model or lot. But if you happen to like an inventory home, there is no difference between it and any other home the builder builds. In fact, if it was an inventory home, you know that everything in the house works, and it will have the best of the best upgrades.

If there is anything you do not like about the home, you can ask the builder to replace it or change it at no cost. For example, my wife and I went to look at a condo complex recently. They only had one left. And it had wood floors. I prefer carpet, so the builder was more than willing to take out the wood and put in top of the line carpet, at not cost. The condo also had the best appliances as well. If we had bought this same condo earlier and chosen the top of the line carpet and the same appliances we would have paid thousands in upgrade charges.

Buying an inventory home or condo is a great deal. You get to see what the house will look like when you move in, the builder is desperate to sell it, and you get a brand new house or condo for less than what your neighbors paid. That is instant equity!

If you are looking to buy a new house or condo from a builder, an inventory home is a great way to save you several thousand dollars. And you can have an agent represent you and save thousands on the commission like I discussed in Tip #1. You get the best of both worlds: you save several thousands of dollars and get a brand new house.