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Three Deadly Mistakes Every Home Buyer Should Avoid

Deadly Mistake #1: Thinking you can’t afford it.

Many people who thought that buying the home they wanted was simply out of their reach are now enjoying a new lifestyle in their very own homes.

Buying a home is the smartest financial decision you will ever make.  In fact, most homeowners would be broke at retirement if it wasn’t for one saving grace — the equity in their homes.  Furthermore, tax allowances favor home ownership.

Real estate values have always risen steadily.  Of course, there are peaks and valleys, but the long-term trend is a consistent increase.  This means that every month when you make a mortgage payment, the amount that you owe on the home goes down and the value typically increases.  This “owe less, worth more” situation is called equity build-up and is the reason you can’t afford not to buy.

Even if you have little money for a down payment or credit problems, chances are that you can still buy that new home.  It just comes down to knowing the right strategies, and working with the right people.  See below.

Deadly Mistake #2: Not hiring a buyer’s agent to represent you.

Buying property is a complex and stressful task.  In fact, it is often the biggest, single investment you will make in your lifetime.  At the same time, real estate transactions have become increasingly complicated.  New technology, laws, procedures, and competition from other buyers require buyer agents to perform at an ever-increasing level of competence and professionalism.  In addition, making the wrong decisions can end up costing you thousands of dollars.  It doesn’t have to be this way!

Work with a buyer’s agent who has a keen understanding of the real estate business and the local market.  A buyer’s agent has a fiduciary duty to you.  That means that he or she is loyal only to you and is obligated to look out for your best interests.  A buyer’s agent can help you find the best home, the best lender, and the best home inspector in your area.  That inspector should be an InterNACHI-certified home inspector because InterNACHI inspectors are the most qualified and  best-trained inspectors in the world.

Trying to buy a home without an agent or a qualified inspector is, well… unthinkable.

Deadly Mistake #3: Getting a cheap inspection.

Buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase you will ever make.  This is no time to shop for a cheap inspection.  The cost of a home inspection is small relative to the value of the home being inspected.  The additional cost of hiring a certified inspector is almost insignificant by comparison.  As a home buyer, you have recently been crunching the numbers, negotiating offers, adding up closing costs, shopping for mortgages, and trying to get the best deals.  Don’t stop now!  Don’t let your real estate agent, a “patty-cake” inspector, or anyone else talk you into skimping here.

InterNACHI front-ends its membership requirements.  InterNACHI turns down more than half the inspectors who want to join because they can’t fulfill the membership requirements.

InterNACHI-certified inspectors perform the best inspections, by far.  InterNACHI-certified inspectors earn their fees many times over.  They do more, they deserve more and — yes — they generally charge a little more.  Do yourself a favor…and pay a little more for the quality inspection you deserve.  By the way, the home inspectors at John Robinson’s Inspection Group are InterNACHI-certifed inspectors…just in case you were wondering.  :)

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Debunking Deadly Myths: The Truth About Residential Fire Sprinklers

Some misconceptions are merely inconvenient. And some – like the many myths that surround the use of fire sprinklers in homes – can be deadly.  The inspectors at John Robinson’s inspection Group hope to shed some light on the subject with this article.

The federal government and more than 400 local governments – not to mention the national model building code authority, the International Code Council – have all recommended that all new homes offer this life safety system. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a business that is not protected by fire sprinklers. Yet misconceptions persist about the cost, convenience and effectiveness of home fire sprinklers, where 80 percent of all fire deaths occur.

 

“As a volunteer firefighter, I regularly see the devastation to families and their property due to home fires,” says Eric Skare of Lakeville, Minn. Skare, who works for fire-safety systems maker Uponor, is a fire safety expert. “Many of these people live right in my own community, and their losses are seared in my memory.”

Whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing one, it’s important to know the truth behind some common fire sprinkler myths: 

Myth: Installing home fire sprinklers is too expensive.

Reality: On average, installing a stand-alone fire sprinkler system – the kind that runs off a separate, dedicated system of water pipes – in a new construction home adds just 1 to 1.5 percent to the total building cost, according to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition.

That expense drops even lower when adding a multipurpose system, which combines the cold-water plumbing and the fire sprinklers into a single, efficient system. Installation costs for a multipurpose system, like those made by Uponor, averages 57 cents less per square foot than traditional stand-alone systems – a savings of $1,368 for a 2,400-square-foot home, according to the Fire Protection Research Foundation. What’s more, the foundation reports, home insurers give an average premium discount of 7 percent to homes with fire sprinkler systems.

Myth: Smoke alarms alone are enough protection against fires.

Reality: Smoke alarms can alert you to the presence of smoke, but do nothing to put out a fire. Home fire sprinkler systems act quickly to reduce heat, flames and smoke from a fire, giving you valuable time to get out safely. “Sprinklers put out most home fires in seconds, before the fire department arrives and before there’s major damage,” says Jayson Drake of Uponor North America.

Functioning smoke alarms reduce by 50 percent the risk of someone dying in a home fire. That risk decreases by 80 percent when sprinklers are present, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Myth: Fire sprinklers can cause excessive water damage to your home and belongings.

Reality: Fire sprinklers actually minimize damage. Fires cause more than $8.5 billion in direct property damage every year, according to the NFPA. Fire hoses discharge up to 250 gallons of water per minute into a burning home, causing significant damage as firefighters work to control and extinguish the fire. Sprinklers, use just 15 gallons of water per minute. Fire damage is far less in homes with sprinklers; a 15-year study in Scottsdale, Ariz. put the average loss for a sprinklered home at $2,166 compared to $45,019 for a home without sprinklers.

Myth: Home fire sprinkler systems look bad and will ruin the aesthetics of a house. 

Reality: New home fire sprinkler systems are very unobtrusive, and can be mounted flush with walls or ceilings, or concealed behind decorative covers.

Myth: Fire sprinklers don’t add value to a home and aren’t worth the investment.

Reality: Forty-five percent of homeowners prefer a home with fire sprinklers, and nearly three in four think sprinklers increase a home’s value, according to research by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. What’s more, fire sprinklers can help lower your homeowners’ insurance rates; most insurance companies offer discounts for homes that have the systems.

But the greatest value of fire sprinklers is their ability to help save lives and preserve a
family’s home. In home fires where no sprinklers are present, families lose their homes and all their possessions, even if they escape unharmed themselves. When sprinklers are present, families survive – and so do their homes and possessions. Sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 71 percent, according to the NFPA. – (ARA)