This week we had a local high school student job shadow in our office. Obviously she's never bought or sold a home before, so she had some questions. As a guest blogger, here is her take on the Real Estate world and some burning questions she needed to answer.
As a local high school student, I clearly didn't know much about the real estate world or buying and selling houses. I had expected this to be an easy job, searching for homes online to try and sell or getting phone calls and trying to find a buyer. I had some questions I was dying to find the answer to! Here are some of my questions I had and the answers I found.
What does it mean when an offer is contingent?
When an offer on a home is contingent, this means that an offer has been made and the owner has accepted it, but it's not necessarily a done deal. Contingencies are usually put into place for a buyer to be able to back out of a sale if anything goes wrong. Some of the most common contingencies fall under 3 major categories: appraisal, home inspection, and mortgage approval. A home inspection is when the buyer has the right to have the home professionally inspected. An appraisal contingency means that a third party is hired by the lender to evaluate the fair-market value of the home. If the appraisal value is lower than the sale price, then the appraisal contingency lets the buyer back out of the deal. A mortgage contingency protects the buyer and seller from getting into a sale without a proper loan. The buyer would then have a specified amount of time to get a loan that will cover the mortgage, If the buyer cannot get a lender to commit to a loan, then the buyer has the right to walk away from the sale without a down payment.
What is a foreclosure?
A foreclosure is the process of a homeowner's rights to a property that are being postponed due to failure of paying their mortgage. If the homeowner cannot pay the debt, fees, or sell the house then the house will then be put into a foreclosure auction.
If you or someone you know have any real estate questions, don't hesitate to call our office! 864-895-9791 We'd LOVE to help you!