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How
To Succeed With
Counter-Offers
You're
a serious buyer. You've made an offer, the
seller said "no," so now you make
a counter-offer.
All at once
it happens -- the seller accepts an offer
from someone else.
Your first
question: How is this possible?
Your second
question: What could have been done
differently to produce a better result?
To answer
these questions, let's review the bargaining
process. The seller is under no obligation
to accept a counter-offer. An
"offer" is an "offer"
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--
it's not a "contract."
Owners are free to look at -- and
accept -- other offers. Why? Because
a "counter-offer" is
really a new offer. Even though the
buyer and
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Multi-Layered
Loans Offer
PMI Alternative
If
you want to buy a home, have little down and want to
avoid private mortgage insurance, you might want to
look at the multi-layered financing options which
have become increasingly available.
With these programs,
there's a first loan equal to 80 percent of the
purchase price, and a second loan for 10 or 15
percent of the remaining costs. The remaining money,
10 percent or 5 percent, is the buyer's down
payment.
Described as
"80/10/10" and "80/15/5"
financing, buying with multiple loans allows
purchasers to avoid the up-front costs and monthly
expenses associated with private mortgage insurance
(PMI).
Statistics show that
buyers who purchase with less than 20 percent down
have a higher risk of default than those who
purchase with a downpayment of 20 percent or more.
If you buy with less than 20 percent down, lenders
will generally require that you purchase with PMI
when
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Vacation
Checklist: What To Do When Your Home's Alone
You're
finally taking the household on a well-deserved
vacation. You've arranged to board the dog, and Aunt
Martha will babysit the bird.
There's one more
precaution to take---safeguarding your home.
Fortunately, many of the steps required (absent
installing an alarm system) only require elbow
grease and a bit of forethought before you hit the
road.
Here's a suggested
checklist to follow:
1. Stop mail and
newspaper delivery. Nothing screams "no one is
home" louder than a stack of newspapers on the
front porch. If there's a likelihood that packages
could arrive while you're away, notify delivery
services like UPS, Fed Ex, to hold them so that your
front door won't be marked with delivery slips. And,
under no circumstance, post "take all
deliveries to our next-door neighbor" on your
door!
2. If shrubs, trees
or bushes block the view of any windows or doors,
trim them back. Homes that are set back a distance
from the street and/or have heavy, concealing
foliage are more likely to be a burglar's welcome
target.
3. Don't let your
answering machine tell the world you're gone. A
generic message like "we can't come to the
phone right now" sends fewer adverse signals
than "we're not home" or "we're
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An
Owners Guide To
Condo Insurance
While
condominium associations have their own special insurance
coverages, equally important is the kind of insurance
carried by the owners. Condominium Unit Owners Insurance is
available to condo owners who reside in an association that
purchases blanket coverage on the structures. There are
several key forms of coverages:
- Building Property: This covers the unit features that
are an owner's responsibility to maintain and insure
including finishes (wallpaper, flooring), fixtures
(lighting, cabinets), unit alterations and additions.
- Personal Property: Covers items like clothing and
furniture. Make sure to buy replacement cost insurance,
not just coverage on a depreciated basis.
- Inflation: This automatically increases the amount of
coverage by an inflation index.
- Loss of Use: This coverage pays certain expenses if a
condo is damaged and uninhabitable.
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