HERE’S THE BEST WAY TO FIND A NEW HOME

But first, here is how NOT TO FIND a new home: Fall in love with the house after a short walk-through and then make an offer on the spot based on the seller’s asking price. Note: This is just for impulse buyers, risk takers and extremely lucky people with little sales resistance who are willing to make the largest purchase of theirs lives on a whim. For everyone else please read on:

First, avoid falling in love with a home you have just seen. This hampers you from looking at the home objectively. You are more apt to accept flaws and be rushed into the purchase. Instead, be willing to walk away from the possible purchase. Be willing to lose the home to a more undiscerning buyer. While I don’t want you to lose a good home you have to consider what type of a current housing market you are in. If it is a buyer’s market and you have credit pre-approval or substantial cash to put down with good credit you are in a position to do a good pre-offer consideration of the home.

Second, inspect the neighborhood. Consider the proximity of shopping, transportation, schools, churches and other facilities that are important to you. Go to the neighborhood at different times of the day and different days of the week to get a good idea of what type of environment you would be living in and who your neighbors would be. Know what type of a job commute you will have each day with the time and traffic you can expect. Look for any nearby businesses that might be an environmental concern. Be wary about buying a home within a block or so of a current or former gasoline station, dry cleaner or similar business. Underground contamination can easily spread several blocks depending on the subsurface water flow.

Third, ask the seller for a copy of the Illinois Residential Disclosure form even though you are not ready to submit an offer. On this form the seller answers questions about the condition of the home. Inquire about any questions they have marked "yes" which indicates a problem area. Ask also for the Illinois Radon Disclosure Form and Lead Paint Disclosure Form. If a realtor is involved these will have been done. If this is a sale by owner these disclosure forms are something they will need to get ready.

Fourth, schedule an appointment with the seller during daylight hours to thoroughly inspect the home from top to bottom, inside and outside. Wear old clothes. Take a strong flashlight, a screw driver, dust mask. Take a knowledgeable friend if you lack home improvement skills to know what you are seeing. Ask the seller to provide access to all areas of the home including attics and crawlspaces. Ask the seller to explain the workings of the home systems, anything that looks unusual or any unusual smells. (Note: be very concerned if the seller has the propensity for air fresheners or incense.) The seller should be present and you should have someone with you to avoid any concern about damage or theft.

Almost all real estate contracts contain a paragraph to the effect that the buyer has inspected the home and accepts what the buyer has observed and then there is a short term warranty that the systems of the home such as heating, electrical and plumbing will be in reasonable working order as of closing. This is not much of a warranty and in reality very few buyers thoroughly inspect the home before signing a contract.

Fifth, if after your inspection you are seriously interested in the home but see items of specific concern, then consider a professional inspection BEFORE you even submit an offer. You could lose the inspection fees in case the home is sold to someone else prior to your contract but there are several good reasons to do this anyway. First, you will be spending the inspection fee anyway after contract, second, a flaw established by an inspection will help you negotiate a price, and, third, the inspection might show you that you need to pass on this home. It is true most contract inspection paragraphs allow a possible cancellation of the contract but inspections, repair amendments and subsequent cancellations are perhaps the largest source of disagreement and lawsuits between a seller and buyer. The surest way to avoid problems due to a condition of a home is to not have a signed contract in the first place.

Sixth, arrive at an offer price. Ask the seller how they come up with the price and why they are moving. Did they have an appraisal done? Did a realtor suggest the price after a market analysis? You can have your own appraisal done. Hopefully, you have looked at other comparable homes in comparable neighborhoods to have a handle on pricing. You can also check the county assessor’s office for the fair market value of the home for tax purposes. Most assessor’s office can work from the street address to provide you this information. They will also have the most recent sales prices for the home unless the sales are pre-computer age. You can figure how much the seller paid for the home from the stamps on the deed copy at the recorder of deed’s office or obtain a copy of the Illinois Ptax form which shows the sales price. This form is generally attached to the assessor’s card for that property which also has other information. While harder to find, the assessor may be able to help with recent sales values of nearby similar homes or the assessed value of nearby and similar homes especially if you have street addresses and depending on what search abilities the assessor’s computers have. If you are working though a realtor be wary of a realtor dual agency situation where the same realtor or realtor company already represents the seller. There are also website that offer help on the valuation of a home. One website is www.domania.com which has a $30 charge.

Seventh, the final step, is to commit yourself to the purchase by signing an offer to purchase which is basically the contract lacking only the seller’s signature. If the home is being sold by owner, the seller may have a contract and required disclosure forms ready that were prepared by seller’s attorney, or some sellers may not have thought pass the stage of someone wanting to buy their home and have nothing ready and you may want your attorney to prepare the contract. Ran away from do it yourself contracts downloaded from the internet. Realtors in larger metropolitan areas or with nation wide realtor’s offices will use a standard contract form with disclosures and various riders or amendments that can be attached. These contracts might have been developed with bar associations and the basic form may be used by many attorneys in the area. These contracts cover the basic steps and provisions for a real estate purchases.

The basic contract and disclosure forms are for the protection of the seller while the inspection paragraphs and the warranty paragraph are for the protection of the buyer. Contracts now rarely contain just the basic steps and provisions especially for the buyer. As buyers have become more knowledgeable about the pitfalls of radon, lead, mold and environmental concerns and less willing to purchase a home with hidden problems that require major work in the foundation, plumbing or electrical systems, contracts will almost always include inspection provisions. HOWEVER, MOST STANDARD CONTRACTS PROVISIONS ARE INADEQUATE IN THE INSPECTION, REPAIR AND REMEDIATION AREAS ESPECIALLY FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE BUYER. Almost every dispute I am involved with in a real estate contract situation involves the use of the standard inspection and repair paragraphs and then there is a disagreement between seller and buyer on what is necessary for repair and how the costs are to be paid for and if either can cancel the contract without liability. Because of this I have developed my own inspection and repair paragraphs. (An example: my inspection paragraphs give the buyer the absolute right to cancel the contract if asbestos or aluminum wiring is found in the home. I have never seen this elsewhere. In the standard contracts the buyer can only submit a repair amendment. But who wants to fool around with asbestos even if the seller removes or remediates it by sealing it.)

The buyer must be willing to allow the attorney to do a good job by preparing specific repair paragraphs. Some clients only want an attorney to rubber stamp a form contract because they have fallen in love with the home and don't want to see its flaws. You don't want to find out in a few years that you have to spend considerable money to fix a problem that could have been found with a good inspection paragraph or worse have exposed your family to an environmental problem that could have  been tested for and remediated at the time of purchase.

SEE AN ATTORNEY BEFORE YOU SIGN A CONTACT (AND FIND AN ATTORNEY WHO DOES NOT PULL A FORM CONTRACT OUT OF THE DRAWER). Some contracts allow for the buyer’s attorney to suggest modifications of the contract within a short period of time - generally 5 days - but it is easier to prepare a contract right the first time instead of trying to modify one once it is signed and then getting everyone involved to agree to the changes.

The home is a special place for everyone. Put time and effort into this decision for the sake of yourself and your family.