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Terms First-Time Home Buyers Should Know

Friday, February 1, 2019
by Scott Darling


The time has come to begin the steps of buying your first home and looking around the internet and other real estate-related media, you’re finding there’s a lot more to know than finding a house, getting a loan, and signing papers.  There are some key words that can be unfamiliar to a first-time home buyer, so familiarize yourself with these lesser-known terms so you’ll have fewer questions and stumbles along the way: 

 

  • - In order to be certain that the home is worth the amount of the loan, there will be a home appraisal performed by an unbiased inspector of the lender’s choosing. 

  • - At the final paper-signing, the buyer is required to pay closing costs, which normally include attorney fees, surveyors, inspections, and title insurance, among other things.  Be prepared to have 2-5 percent of the purchase price for closing costs. 

  • - If you’d like to pay less interest over the time of your loan, you can purchase discount or mortgage points.  To learn more about this option, check out these tips from the Nerd Wallet website. 

  • - Earnest money is money that will be paid to the seller to show good faith of the buyer towards the home purchase.  It will be applied to your down payment. 

  • - When you have funds in escrow, you will have given funds to a third party to hold until they have verified that inspections, disclosures or any disputes have been resolved.  Keeping it in escrow protects your deposit before you sign the final contract to buy your new home. 

  • - Pre-approval is very important and differs from being pre-qualified.  If you’re pre-approved for a loan amount, you have a realistic expectation of what you can buy. 

  • - If your down payment is less than twenty percent of the purchase price, you will pay private mortgage insurance typically until that amount reaches twenty percent of the loan or home value. 

  • - Your lender will require the purchase of title insurance, which protects real estate owners and lenders against any property loss or damage for whatever reason.  Learn more about what title insurance is and what it covers from the CFPB. 
     

There are other terms and abbreviations you may find in your search for a house in their descriptions and about real estate in general that you won’t be familiar with.  Here’s a longer, more comprehensive list from realtor.comⓇ.  The more you know before you get started, the smoother the home-buying process will be!

 

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.

 

Photo credit: realtor.com

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FYI: Chester County PA Real Estate Closings

Wednesday, August 22, 2012
by Scott Darling

Buying Chester County PA real estate involves more out-of-pocket costs than just the down payment. There are also closing costs to pay for items such as title policies, recording fees, inspections, courier charges, and fees that a lender charges.  As a rule of thumb, closing costs to buy a home run about 2 to 4 percent of the purchase price.  Much depends on the points and origination fees a lender charges to make the loan, which are disclosed in the buyer’s Good Faith Estimate--actually a lender's "best guess" estimate of all the costs associated with obtaining a loan. (Click here to calculate your own estimate of the closing costs of your Chester County PA real estate.)

It might be harder to get a loan today, but it costs a little less to close one than it did a year ago because lenders are estimating closing costs better, according to the latest annual survey of closing costs by Bankrate.  The average cost to close on a mortgage in the United States dropped 7 percent over the past year to $3,754, according to Bankrate.com’s eighth annual closing costs survey, which was released recently.  Title insurance and other third-party fees fell 12 percent from 2011, while origination fees edged down one percent

Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia in June of this year.  Researchers obtained online good faith estimates for a $200,000 mortgage to buy a single-family home with a 20 percent down payment. Costs include fees charged by lenders, as well as third-party fees for services such as appraisals and title insurance. The survey excludes taxes, property insurance, association fees, interest, and other prepaid items.

“This is the second year in which lenders are required to estimate third-party fees within 10 percent of the final cost. It seems like they’re getting more accurate, which helps explain the sharp decrease in these fees over the past year,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. “The main lesson of this survey for consumers is to shop around for at least three different estimates. While no one is going to move to a new state just because closing costs are lower, it’s important for people to realize that there is variation even within their neighborhood, and that they can save by being an educated consumer.”

For possible ways to lower the closing costs of your purchase of Chester County PA real estate, click here.

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