A: After you make the decision to buy a home, you’ll want to plan a budget and contact a real estate professional to guide you through the entire process. You’ll also need to research and compare available lenders to finance your home beyond your down payment. Your real estate professional will likely be able to suggest prospective lenders if you need assistance in choosing one. A lender will pre-qualify you for a loan in the amount it determines you to be able to afford, so that sellers will consider you a serious and capable buyer. Once you’re pre-qualified, your real estate professional will begin showing you possible homes. When you decide on a particular home, your real estate professional will make an offer on your behalf to the home’s seller — usually for a price slightly less than the asking price. This may lead to a counter offer, meaning that the seller tries to negotiate your purchase price closer to his or her original asking price. Once both parties agree on an amount, your real estate professional will work with a title insurance agent and/or escrow officer to draft all necessary paperwork. He or she will then schedule a date for you and the seller to meet for the closing, where the transaction is completed and ownership is officially transferred from seller to buyer.

Q: What is an Appraisal?

A: An expert judgment or estimate of the quality or value of real estate as of a given date.

Q: What are the Seller's Expenses?

A: Cost of Abstract, Documentary Stamps on Deed, Real Estate Commission, Recording Mortgage, Survey Charge, Escrow Fees

Q: What are the Buyer's Expenses?

A: Documentary Stamps on Notes, Recording Deed and Mortgage, Escrow Fees, Attorney's Fee, Title Insurance, Appraisal and Inspection, Survey Charge

Q: What is Earnest Money?

A: The deposit money given to the seller or his agent by the potential buyer upon the signing of the agreement of sale to show that he is serious about buying the house. If the sale goes through, the earnest money is applied as part of the down payment. If the sale does not go through, the earnest money will be forfeited or lost unless the binder or offer to purchase expressly provides that it is refundable.

Q: What is Escrow?

A: Funds paid by one party to another (the escrow agent) to hold until the occurrence of a specified event, after which the funds are released to a designated individual. In FHA mortgage transactions, an escrow account usually refers to the funds a mortgagor pays the lender at the time of the periodic mortgage payments. The money is held in a trust fund, provided by the lender for the buyer. Such funds should be adequate to cover yearly anticipated expenditures for mortgage insurance premiums, taxes, hazard insurance premiums and special assessments.

Q: What are the different types of housing available to homebuyers, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

A: A single-family home refers to a free-standing property that does not share walls with other nearby homes or structures, and that is built from the ground up at the site of its foundation, on its own piece of land. The pros for owning a single-family home include the fact that the owner owns everything — the home itself as well as the land it is on, and as such is able to landscape, remodel or rebuild the home to the extent desired. Possible disadvantages to owning a single-family home may include the fact that the owner is responsible for all repairs and maintenance, as well as any remodeling done to both the interior and exterior. He or she will also likely have fewer amenities than high-density living structures which often provide swimming pools, tennis courts and more as part of homeowners’ association fees charged.

A townhouse is a home that is attached to one or more other houses, located on a specific property that the townhouse owner also owns. Townhouses can range drastically in size and architecture, including multi-unit structures such as duplexes or triplexes. Advantages to owning a townhouse can include less financial responsibility for exterior maintenance and repair costs, heightened security afforded by a more high-density community and amenities for which the homeowner is not directly responsible (pool, tennis courts, etc.). Disadvantages often include less privacy than with a single-family home, less freedom to alter the home’s exterior and a monthly or yearly homeowners’ association fee.

A condominium, or condo, is very similar to an apartment in terms of structure and multi-unit design. Often, apartments are converted to condos as the result of changes in complex ownership and management. Condominium owners own only the interior of their dwelling — from the walls inward — and, just like with an apartment, their home is attached to their neighbors’. All condominium owners who live in a particular complex share the financial responsibility for maintenance and repairs to the overall property and building exteriors, through payment of a monthly homeowners’ association fee and, if necessary, a special assessment requiring a one-time payment of a predetermined amount. Possible advantages to owning a condo include less individual financial obligation for exterior home repairs and a lower purchase price than a single-family home or townhouse. Disadvantages may include greater difficulty when selling a condo, as compared to single-family dwellings and townhouses, monthly homeowners’ dues, less privacy than with other types of housing and usually a complete lack of freedom to alter the exterior of the home in any way.

A manufactured home, once typically referred to as a mobile home, is a single-family home that is built at a location other than the land on which it sits. Most manufactured homes are modular in structure, and final assembly occurs on the home site after separate “pieces” are transported from the manufacturing plant to the homeowner’s property. Advantages to owning a manufactured home may include the fact that it is often a less-expensive means of acquiring a single-family residence, and in the event the owner moves to another property or sells the home, it may be easily transported to another location. Disadvantages include an obvious limitation in architectural options (since the homes are built off-site and then moved) and, often, reduced longevity in the durability of the home.