There are many benefits to owning a home, here are the main reasons:
It is an Investment: For most homeowners, their residence is their largest asset, a major investment. As you live in it maintain it, do improvements, and gradually pay down the principal on your mortgage, you are building on this equity.
Income Tax Savings: All of the interest you pay on your mortgage and payments of your property taxes are deductible for income tax purposes. If you own a co-op, you can also deduct the portion of your maintenance payments that go toward interest on the co-op’s underlying mortgage and real estate taxes.
Step 1: Decide to Buy
The decision to purchase a home is one of the biggest the largest – and most emotional – investments most people will face in their lifetime. So, how do you know if it’s the right time for you to buy?
There is never a wrong time to buy the right home. Purchasing a home is an important step that provides many advantages. Is a great investment that can deliver several financial benefits – equity build up, value appreciation, automatic savings plan – and a new sense of pride!
Look at your options today. Your EC Realty & Management LLC agent is ready to help you through every step of the process.
Step 2: Hire Your Agent
Looking for a real estate professional to help you, is a very important step. This is your dream, and your agent is your advocate to help you make your dream come true.
The real estate agent will:
– Inform and educate you about the current market.
– Get him informed of what you want.
– Guide you to homes that fit your criteria and budget.
– Negotiate for you to get you the best deal possible.
– Co-ordinate the work of other needed professionals throughout the process. And inform.
Step 3: Get pre-approved for a mortgage
Get a financing consultant. This professional will work with you and your agent to make sure the financial aspect of your home purchase is stress free.
What will the consultant do for you?
– Review and discuss your current finance possibility and options
– Guide you to an appropriate price point.
Step 4: Find Your Home
So you’ve met with your agent…
Now you’re ready to begin your search. There are a lot of homes out there, and diving in without a guide can become overwhelming and confusing. Your agent will help you more accurately find homes that fit your criteria. will meet all your important needs, and as many of your additional wants as you would like
Some questions you might ask yourself include:
– How much space do you need and why?
– What location or size?
– Would you be interested in a fixer-upper?
– How important is home value appreciation?
– Is neighborhood school a priority?
– Is accessibility to main routes a priority?
– What features are or, are not negotiable in your new home?
As you look at homes, your priorities will probably adjust along the way.
Step 5: Make an Offer/ Negotiate
Once you’ve found a home you love, the next step is deciding on a price. It’s important to remember that a home is an investment. Your agent can give you information on other properties in the neighborhood to help you ensure you make an informed decision when it comes to price. Look to your agent to explain and guide you through the offer process. and negotiation process.
Step 6: Make an Offer/ Negotiate
Perform Due Diligence
Your agent will provide you with improvements and challenges within your home. This way you’ll know what you are getting into before you complete the purchase.
Knowing what work has and has not been done to your home is important information to have in the buying process. While updates can increase your home value, damages can take money out of your pocket. Your main concern is the possibility of structural damage, which can come from water, shifting ground or poor construction.
Very often a problem appears to be big, but can be fixed with very little effort and not a huge budget.
Step 7: Contract /Close
Contract signing
Once you have agreed to terms with the seller, your attorney will negotiate the terms of the contract with the seller’s attorney, who prepares the contract of sale. At the same time, your attorney will conduct due diligence on the building in which the property is located, specifically reviewing the financial condition of the building, by-laws, and minutes of the board meetings, among other items. When your attorney has completed these steps and advised that the deal is sound, you will sign the contract and return it to the seller’s attorney with a down payment (typically 10% of the purchase price). The seller will then countersign whereupon you have a binding contract. Until both parties have signed the contract, neither party is bound to the transaction so it is very important that all parties act quickly and in good faith toward contract execution.
Once you’ve determined a price point you’re comfortable with, you’re in the “home” stretch! But, in order to ensure that you don’t put the property purchase at risk, you have a couple responsibilities that you’ll need to keep in mind:
– Staying in control of your credit and finances – Do not make any large purchases during this time. It’s important to keep your financials steady throughout the buying process. Talk to your financial consultant for guidance.
– Keeping in touch with your agent and financial consultant – It’s important to stay in constant communication with your EC Realty & Management Agent and financial guide during this process. Be sure to return all phone calls and complete paperwork promptly. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Your team is there to help you.
Step 8: Protect Your Investment
Congratulations, and welcome home! The home-buying process is complete, which means it’s time for your maintenance plan! It’s now your responsibility, and in your interest, to protect your investment for years to come. And remember, just because the sale is complete, your relationship with your EC Realty & Management agent doesn’t need to end! After you buy, your agent can still help you – providing information on the real estate market, finding contractors and repair services, and even tracking your home’s current value.
In New York there are
Townhouse
In New York , a townhouse most often refers to a single-family or two-to-four unit attached row house which often dates back to the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. A townhouse is considered real property for which the owner is solely responsible for payment of real estate taxes as well as all repairs and maintenance. There are a number of neighborhoods that are known for their concentration of townhouses including the West Village, Upper East and Upper West Sides, and several historic areas of Brooklyn. Queens.
Condominium
A condominium or “condo” is an apartment building or other multi-unit complex where the units are individually owned as real property. When purchasing a unit in a condominium, you purchase the physical real estate plus a proportionate share of the building’s common elements. Once purchased, you will receive a deed to the property. As a condo owner you are responsible for payment or real estate taxes. and of monthly common charges for the cost of building operations
In New York, most condominiums require buyers to submit a purchase application. The condominium association has the right of first refusal on any sales or rentals within the condominium. This means the association legally can match the terms of your offer and purchase the unit in your stead, though as a practical matter this happens very rarely.
Cooperative
A cooperative or “co-op” a corporation that owns a multi-unit building; the corporation is governed by a board of directors that is made up of people who live and/or own in the building. When purchasing a unit in a co-op, you are purchasing shares in the corporation, not real estate. In exchange for the shares, you will receive a proprietary lease entitling you to use of the unit. The proprietary lease, by-laws, and house rules are the governing documents for the co-op and outline the rules and policies to which all shareholders must adhere. All shareholders pay a monthly fee called maintenance to cover the building’s shared expenses including utilities, insurance, staff salaries, the co-op’s underlying mortgage payment and real estate taxes. Although a co-op is not technically real estate, many lenders will provide financing to buyers with terms that are comparable to those for a condominium or single-family purchase.
In order to purchase a home in a co-op, you must be approved by the Board of Directors. Prospective buyers submit their qualifications in the form of a “board package.” The board can approve or deny any applicant and is not legally required to disclose the reasons for its decision. Your realtor is an invaluable resource in guiding you through this process.
Condop
The term condop in real estate refers to a mixed-used condominium building where at least one of the units is owned by a cooperative corporation and sub-divided into many “co-op” apartments. The other condo units are typically retained or sold separately by the developer and may be retail space, office space or parking garage.
Condops first came into use in the 1960s when the residential condominium was not yet popular in major cities, particularly in the United States in New York City, New York. This structure was used to separate the residential component from the commercial components of a building. Developers or co-op sponsors sought to retain ownership of the non-residential space in a building. The condop is still a relatively rare item in the U.S. As of 2007, New York City had fewer than 300 condop buildings as compared to more than 6,700 cooperatives and 2,300 condominiums, representing just over three percent of residential buildings.[1]
The condop is a type of condominium building, not a distinct legal construct. A condop, a contraction of the words condominium and cooperative (or “co-op”), is a co-op inside a condo.[2]
Stepping back, condominium owners actually hold title to a piece of real estate. Co-op owners are actually shareholder-tenants with shares in and a long-term lease from the co-op corporation. In all co-ops, a corporation owns the building. Condops are a variation on that theme the distinction between the two concepts as the cooperative corporation does not own a whole building but just the residential condominium unit within it.
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