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Can I back out of a home purchase if I have already signed a contract and placed money in escrow? My answer to the question is, yes. If you don’t close on the contract, then you are in breach. And so, you look at the contract and it will say what the seller’s rights are customarily. It provides that you lose your deposit. And the seller is entitled to the deposit. There may also be other remedies in there that says that they have a right and equity or write a specific performance. I have talked to any number of people, who have backed out of contracts and, the realtors or other people are wanting them to go through with the transaction have said all that. They’re going to sue you to make you go through with the transaction. Well, that is really not a very practical remedy on trying to make someone buy the property. And that it is very expensive. As far as the attorney fees are concerned, the seller property stays off the market while they’re going through this exercise, which the whole purpose is to selling the property. And so my experience over many years is that after a certain amount of threatening and snorting and blowing, the seller agrees to accept the deposit as their damages and the buyer moves on and loses their deposit. So yes ,you can. And then you just need to look at your consequences. The sooner you decide not to purchase the property, I suggest you notifying the seller so they can put it back on the market and get it sold and exit the contract. You have any questions? Give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

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How do I know if the property I’m going to buy has a lien against it? Well, you insert in the contract are most contracts, particularly ones that are approved by the Florida bar and the Florida realtors provide that the seller is obligated to transfer the property to you free of any liens or in conferences. So, whenever the transaction closes any liens that are against the property should be paid off by the closing agent who serves, who will also be issuing the title insurance, the title insurance will have under its schedule. What, if any liens or encumbrances are against the property? And if you need an attorney or someone to review those, to verify or advise you of what, if any encumbrances or liens are against the property, you should retain an attorney or review those many times an encumbrance may consist of an easement deed restrictions, homeowners, associations, things such as that versus a judgment lien, usually judgment liens or liens. IRS liens are all taken care of at the time of closing. And there should not be an exception in your title insurance. So whenever you contract for the property, you will contract a habit conveyed to you free and clear, and the liens will be paid off out of the closing proceeds by your closing agent title agent. So, if you have any questions about title insurance and purchasing property, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

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How do I know if the property I’m going to buy is in a deed restricted community? If you’re dealing with a realtor, you need to ask your realtor is the property in a deed restricted community. And if so, I need to receive a copy of the deed restrictions. The newer subdivisions, I would say in the last 30 years, usually set up homeowner’s associations. And so your contract, if it isn’t a deed, restricted community should reflect how much the monthly or the annual assessments are to the homeowners association. The deed restriction will also indicate what the responsibilities are of the homeowner’s association. If there is one, now the older subdivisions may have deed restrictions and those must be enforced by your neighbors or the other people in the subdivision rather than by the homeowner’s association. Whenever you close on the transaction or before closing, you can ask your title agent for a copy of the deed restrictions so that you can review them beforehand. If you do not want to be in a deed restricted community or have deed restrictions on your property, you should insert that in the contract and say, this contract is contingent upon there being no deed restrictions on the, uh, on the property or that they must be approved by the buyer. If you have any questions about deed restrictions and purchasing property with, or without deed restrictions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

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Do I need flood insurance to get a mortgage? Yes, you will need to have flood insurance. If the property that you are purchasing is in a flood zone that requires flood insurance, your lender’s required by the federal government to make you have flood insurance on the property. If they have a mortgage and it’s a federally insured lender. Flood insurances, the flood zones are determined by FEMA and the U S Corps of army engineers. And not all property is in a flood zone that requires flood insurance, flood insurance is available in this area and that this community participates the national flood insurance program. The surveyor your insurance agent should be able to tell you whether or not the property is in a flood zone that requires flood insurance. Then a survey role also, would determine the finished floor elevation of the property and compare that with what the requirements are or what the flood elevation is for a hundred year flood plain. And depending on how high your property is, will determine what your flood insurance rate is. If you have any other questions about flood insurance, you can give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

What advice would you give a first-time homebuyer? Well, it’s certainly the largest investment you’ll probably be making in this time in your life, so I would suggest that you probably talk to an attorney who handles any number of real estate transactions and can give you some guidance as far as the process of buying a home and what all you need to do.

Certainly, you need to check on your school districts as far as location. I would also suggest that you have a home inspection for the, a home inspector to come out and verify that there’s nothing physically wrong with the property. Be sure that you always get title insurance as far as ensuring that you have marketable title and not just buy property and take a deed or something that someone is giving to you.

Sometimes I run into folks where they, this is something that they’ve done and they didn’t go through an attorney or obtain title insurance. There’s always problems there wherever you have a seller who says, “Oh, we don’t need an attorney,” or “We don’t need to get title insurance.” Be wary of that. I suggest if you’re going to make that kind of investment, even if it is seller financing, that you go ahead and go through a formal closing, see that your deed is recorded, and so that is some advice I’ve given to you.

Some of the other things you need to do is see whether or not it’s in a flood zone, so that’s going to impact you as far as your flood insurance is concerned. There are any number of mortgage programs involved, so if you’re going to finance it through a financial institution, need to ask them if they have a first-time homebuyers program, so that you may be able to get some favorable rates as far as being a first-time homebuyer.

So, buy and large, you need to talk to somebody that’s been there and seen what can happen. Particularly in this area, there’s any number of problems with sink holes, so if you’re going to be buying a repaired sink hole home, you need to be sure to get the engineering that goes along with it.

These are some of the things that you need to be concerned about, and certainly if you talk to an attorney who represents buyers or handle any number of real estate transaction, he can give you some guidance as far as helping you as far as your purchase is concerned, as well as your mortgage banker or your lender who has program for first-time homebuyers. If you would like to talk to me about that, give me a call at 727-847-2288. Thank you.