Home Buying: Things To Keep In Mind

So you've decided you want to own a home and now you want to begin your search for one. Before jumping into a home search, there are a few things you should keep in mind when going about buying a home.

First things first, you cannot buy a home if you can't afford it! Don't assume how much you can afford, find out your loan eligibility. If you're planning on purchasing a car or any other high-priced item on a loan, then please stall such purchase until after you get your home as your eligibility reduces with every other loan you hold at the time of a mortgage application.

Next, when you go in to see a home, don't let an unkempt / untidy house put you off. Try and visualise the house in its best condition and see if it would suit you then. In fact, an unkempt house may put other buyers off and by some chance this may lead you into a better position when negotiating for the home, as the seller may find it difficult finding a buyer for his place.

If the home you decide to purchase is being sold by the home owner himself, don't deposit any earnest money with him directly. Such earnest money should be deposited in a trust account as some owners mistake such money to be theirs and hesitate in refunding the same if the deal falls through for valid reasons, such as financing or repair issues.

Once you've finalised on a home and go to get an appraisal of the home done by a professional appraiser, do not panic if the appraisal value comes below the actual price you decide to pay for the home. There are options you can consider in this case. You would have to consult your agent or your mortgage broker for some advice.

Some other factors you may want to consider are listed below:

- Any signs of leakage in the house near the roofs and the foundation walls

- Problems with the sewer drainage system, if any

- Neighborhood by daylight and night. Drive by and see for yourself before making a decision.

- Natural light. Are the rooms dark without artifical light? Does that concern you?

- The amount of property taxes that has to be paid every year

- Any structure on the property which may overlap into an adjoining property.

- Is the home located in an airport's flight path?

- Any planned roadways, which may eat into the property's front yard.

So, don't rush into buying a home without considering some of these factors. Wish you the best of luck in finding your new home!

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Web Portal to Sell / Rent Your Home Online.

MORE RESOURCES:

Hypo Real Estate Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/22/virginia-asks-navy-to-delay-base-move/cid=1272970285ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNH6SEwiSyphmBLKJC_wNnXMw-ZQCgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=sFePmluJNTwJimgurl=media.washingtontimes.com/media/img/photos/2008/11/20/AUTO_001_r329x151.JPG%3Fe315d4515574cec417b1845392ba687dd98c17ce width=80 height=37 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Washington Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3Da_tWZcQXw0Pw%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1272970285ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNFDWOQfr4LdMQcVQxEkMqrrACDWMwHypo bReal Estate/b Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-121 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo bReal Estate/b Holding AG, the German property lender bailed out by the German government and financial institutions last month, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUnm1V9WJblKt9BR2u9troModrrwD94JFGBG0cid=1272970285ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNE3PmSn_X1Bilxg4CoBdj_dwVLqxQHypo bReal Estate/b to receive euro20 billion loan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8057611cid=1272970285ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNGzCCPVkQ1Y_zdNRXEACBfPVVCU7g1-Hypo Real gets 20 bln euros in govt guarantees/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/DGAP-Adhoc-DEPFA-Deutsche-Pfandbriefbank-AG-SoFFin--/de/Unternehmensnachrichten/19883103cid=1272970285ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNF5f4mvQjJzUMN47jEXJ_LcXa0jZADGAP-Adhoc: DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG: SoFFin grants EUR 20 b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAd-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272970285hl=ennobrall 115 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Target Won#39;t Pursue Pershing Square Real Estate Plans - CNNMoney.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200811211716DOWJONESDJONLINE000799_FORTUNE5.htmcid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNFc0zjEvqnwGSnt-CHMYp58IUTzWwTarget Won#39;t Pursue Pershing Square bReal Estate/b Plans/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNNMoney.comnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1(TGT) said it decided not to pursue various breal-estate/b structure ideas proposed by activist investor Pershing Square Capital Management, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/target-rejects-pershings-proposals-real/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B677B96B0-0937-41A1-8F0F-2A51CB077AD5%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_3cid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNH4dT2N2oXRwrcyeAvPBRBX8DoBQwTarget rejects Pershing#39;s proposals on breal estate/b structure/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4AK7XV20081121cid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNFlYZaViUtp0NWdHIhDJqPHFw1IeATarget rejects Pershing#39;s breal estate/b proposal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/11/17/daily51.htmlcid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNEloRNBDl8vzn-al0iK8v4cWxkenQTarget rejects Pershing#39;s breal estate/b proposal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://newsticker.welt.de/index.php%3Fchannel%3Dfin%26module%3Dsmarthouse%26id%3D814291cid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNFK8VGkWDel4lYM3h10ZtP6Jx3hRgnobrWELT ONLINE/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://uk.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP/idUKN2149409720081121cid=1273025777ei=CoUnSZibIaDM8ATL36ESusg=AFQjCNGnoiW8k5WXRW7w47dFPLYEAYJiCwnobrReuters UK/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1273025777hl=ennobrall 406 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

NAR, REAL ESTATE CHANNEL Create Online News Partnership - MarketWatch

Real estate recovery not seen until 2011 - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Real-estate investment firm fights to stay afloat - Arizona Republic

Citigroup says commercial real estate bigger issue now for banks - Reuters

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust announces November distribution - FOXBusiness

Real estate group backs sick leave law challenge - Bizjournals.com

Web sites offer real estate agent rankings - BusinessWeek

Real estate trophies on hold - Bizjournals.com

Real-Estate - Google News

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