Hunting for a House

Once you've chosen a Realtor, you'll be shown a lot of homes. You may want to begin your house hunt right now at homesteadnet.com. Wherever you begin, here are some things to consider:

Is the home structurally sound? It may appear to be a good house, but if there are cracks in the foundation, or leak spots on the ceiling, you may be in for more than you bargained for with future repairs. The best way to determine the soundness of a home is to have a home inspection completed by a certified inspector. Home inspections:

1. Report on condition of all areas of the house and highlight those that need repair, including dangerous conditions, code violations and miscellaneous repairs.
2. Recommend a course of action to correct the problems including how long it will take to repair and an approximate cost to repair the problem.
3. Different from an appraisal, a home inspection does not determine value.
4. The home inspector should be certified by ASHI - the American Society of Home Inspectors. Your Realtor or ESL can recommend a home inspector.
5. Cost of a standard home inspection starts at around $250.
6. Home Inspection is not required by ESL.

Does the house have the things you originally wanted? Number of bedrooms and bathrooms, floor space, kitchen requirements, etc. Refer to the check sheet of your initial requirements to be sure you're still on target.

Does the yard suit your needs? Kids? Pets? If you're a gardener, is there space to do this? If you have children, is there enough safe, open space for playing? Look around at what is on all sides of the property ... open spaces? ... other homes? ... small businesses? ... a busy street? ... a landfill? Setback from the neighbors and sharing of land space with neighbors should also be taken into consideration.

Is the property on public utilities? Water or well, septic or sewers, gas, electric, etc. Most rural properties will not have all public utilities. Urban and suburban properties should.

Is your significant other happy too? If you're purchasing with your spouse, partner or another person, be sure you both like it.

Now that you've found the right home, you'll want to put in a purchase offer.

Questions about an ESL Mortgage? Call an ESL Mortgage Origination Counselor at 585.336.1502 or 800.352.6669. Or submit a request on line and we'll call you back!