Closing costs can be one of the trickiest things new home buyers face when purchasing a property. It is the hidden costs and surprise jack-in-the-box that pops up just as your hopes that the purchase is finally complete and have been set in place. Closing costs are the reason that many people turn to alternative methods for selling or buying a home, such as with For Sale By Owner or just listing it on a free advertising space online like Craigslist.
While it might seem silly to let your home sale be dependent upon a website like Craigslist, it can be a successful, and more affordable way to sell or buy your home by avoiding closing costs.
Closing costs are the fees that the seller and buyer pay during the closing process, including the costs that the seller will pay to both their realtor and the realtor that you use to find their home. The savvy home seller will factor these closing costs into the final price for their property, making the price increase. If you can find a home that is being offered through an alternative method of sale like For Sale By Owner, you can forego these closing costs and save thousands of dollars in realtor fees. Of course, on the other hand, you will not have the expertise and assistance of the realtor throughout your home buying or home selling experience.
In addition to the realtor closing costs, the fees that are put into a mortgage at the last hour can also add up. For this reason, the final cost of a new home might be significantly larger on closing day than the home buyer expected. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has been monitoring ways to regulate how lenders can put these additional fees into the mortgage as a way to safeguard future homebuyers from these unexpected increases. Since all of the little pieces add up, regulating the final closing costs can become yet another way the real estate and lending market will stabilize after all of the recent slumps and uncertainty.
If you are looking to refinance your home, you should call your existing lender first. By calling the lender with whom you already have an existing relationship, you will be able to streamline the process since they already have all of your information, saving a lot of paperwork and additional fees. You can save as much as 50% on title insurance if you ask for a reissue rate from your lender as well.
If you are buying a new home, try petitioning your existing home lender. They will be anxious to keep your business and assuming you have a good working relationship, you might get a better-than-market offer from them.
Pay attention to the fees associated with your final closing costs. There will be more than a dozen fees associated with your closing statement, including the application fee, appraisal fee, document preparation fee, recording, underwriting and more. Lenders are required to give a good-faith estimate on the closing costs within three days of the loan application. Look over these numbers to see what you can negotiate ahead of time to say money.
It would appear that car manufacturers pull out all stops to get you to buy a car. On one hand this is understandable, because there is a tremendous amount of competition out there, and a salesman's gotta do what a salesman's gotta do to earn a commission. On the other hand, a little upfront honesty would be nice for a change. That commercial that you saw that made it seem as if you were getting a new car for little or no money was enough to send you car shopping. Unfortunately, you probably got an unpleasant surprise when it was time to sign on the dotted line.
There are no free lunches in business, they say. So, why should you believe your car dealer when he says he has offered you huge freebies and goodies? The truth is he is a clever salesman making up for the apparent "discounts" with hidden costs. Hidden till you closed the deal, that is. No sooner would you have clinched the deal, than this tag of hidden costs spring on you like a Frankenstein monster, catching you unawares! This monster can not only be irritating, this can have the potential to alter your opinion about the dealer and about the business itself. You have no defense, nor can you take him to court, because he had mentioned it all. You're wondering where? In his smartly couched language, so full of jargon, you'd not have understood a word of it till it hit you.
So, is there a way out? Can you make sure you don't get fooled like this in future? There is, if you followed some smart steps.
First, be sure about the mileage he is offering on extended warranty. This is one of the trickiest areas of misunderstanding. Most dealers specify a certain limit for the distance the car has run, or a certain point of time from the date of purchase, whichever is first, (needless to say), to offer this warranty. Make sure this is very clearly stated.
Then, a more important problem can crop up when the warranty would be on some parts, and your car developed problems in some others! This is one of the easiest ways of dismissing your warranty claims. Again, there is a hitch on the duration of the warranty.
By the rule of thumb, don't go in for extended warranty if your lease period is three years; go in for one only if it is for five years or above. This way, since most cars, (again, not necessarily), don't flunk in the first three years; there may be some wisdom in this move.
Finally, make sure you visit some websites to assess your warranty in all its miniscule details, rather than approach the dealer for this. In the end, you only need to have one really reliable source to prevent being taken for a ride; a keen eye for detail, so that the Frankenstein monster does not pounce on you at the most inopportune moment!
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