Searching for a Home

Here at Carolina Realty & Investing Group we don’t sell houses, we sell homes. Your home is where you will continue to grow relationships, your family, and memories for years to come. Whether you’re happy or sad, your home is there to comfort you. Gone for a trip, your home is there to welcome you back. No matter the size or location, your home will always be there to provide comfort and a safe space for you and your family.

Buying a home can come at any stage in your life. Whether you are looking for your first home to grow your family in, a bigger home because your family has outgrown where you are, or looking for something smaller because what you have is too much to manage, Carolina Realty & Investing Group is sure to find you just what you are looking for. 

If you are looking for top-notch services in finding the perfect home, Contact Us and let us begin your perfect Home Search Today!

REO & Foreclosures

Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender recovers defaulted loan balances by taking ownership of a property for the purpose of selling it.  A default is prompted when a borrower fails to make a specified number of payments on their mortgage loan.

When buying property at a foreclosure auction, a buyer must be prepared to satisfy all balances including principal, interest and fees accrued during the foreclosure process.  Foreclosure sales are transferred As-Is; this includes conditions such as with liens or even tenant occupancy.

Real Estate Owned, REO, also referred to as Bank Owned properties are those properties which have not successfully sold at a foreclosure auction.  Once a bank or lender takes ownership of a property, if need be, they will typically take care of removing tax liens and/or remove tenants.  

Bargain or Burden?

Although banks and lenders are typically motivated sellers, they are still looking to maximize their revenue from the sale of their REO properties.  If your intent is to save or make money from the purchase of an REO property, careful consideration should be given to review all costs involved in getting the property into an either livable or saleable condition.  While bargains do exist, oftentimes REOs are an impractical purchase for either savings or profit potential.

Making an offer on REO?

Practical due-diligence is advisable when making an offer on an REO property.  You will want to learn as much as possible about the conditions of the property and the accepted offering process.  When working with lender REO departments, because there are several persons involved, the negotiation process can be considerably lengthy.

If you’ll Contact Us, we’ll work with you through each step so as to make the process less arduous.

Getting Prequalified

To start the home buying process, we suggest getting pre-qualified for a loan. This will allow you to determine what is a realistic price range, and save you considerable time when determining what homes you will want to preview.

When applying for a home mortgage loan, there are several documents you will want to be ready to provide to your loan specialist.  These include:

• Employment Status and/or Tax Filings
• Income and Expense obligations
• Credit History

There are many types of home loans for which you may qualify, and we are here to answer questions you may have. If you aren’t sure where to go to get pre-qualified, Contact Us, we can help with that as well.

Offering Deposit Monies

When making an offer to purchase on a property, deposit monies will be offered and paid to the seller, to be held in trust by the closing attorney and disbursed at closing.

Earnest Money

When you enter into a purchase agreement, the seller takes their house off the market while moving through the rest of the transaction. If for some reason you didn’t close on the house, the seller would have to relist it, which could be a huge financial burden on them. Earnest money is an amount of deposit you put down before closing on a house to show that you are a serious buyer. The greater your deposit included with your offer, the greater the seller’s confidence in your interest in securing the property and closing the sale.  

Due Diligence

When purchasing a home, you want to ensure the home is in proper condition before making the huge investment. In order to do so, you will most likely want to invest in an inspection, appraisal, and a property survey. The time to do so is during the due diligence period. During this period the buyer has the right to terminate the purchase for any reason, while the seller remains bound by the contract. The due diligence period is also paired with the due diligence fee. While this fee is negotiable, it is non-refundable.  Unlike earnest money, the due diligence fee is typically credited back to the buyer at closing.

Contact Us, and let us assist in presenting your offer, and in determining an appropriate amount to offer for earnest and due diligence monies.  

What is Mortgage Escrow

“Escrow” is a financial instrument.  The Escrow account refers to an account held and managed by a third-party on behalf of two parties engaged in a transaction.  

The escrow holder ensures that the terms and conditions of the agreement between the seller and buyer are upheld while the sale is being finalized and prior to closing.

Documentation compiled by the escrow company include:

• Terms of sale and any seller-assisted financing
• Loan documents
• Tax statements
• Insurance policies
• Title insurance
• Payment requests on services to be rendered from escrow funds

Closing is scheduled upon completion of all steps in the escrow process.  All expenses for title insurance, inspections and real estate commissions are paid. The Escrow agreement governs the final transfer of property title from the seller to the buyer.

The Mortgage Escrow Account

At closing, a Mortgage Escrow Account is funded and used throughout the life of the property mortgage loan, in order to pay recurring fees, such as property tax and homeowners insurance premiums.  In order to maintain a balance from which payments are made out of the Escrow account, on-going contributions into Escrow are made through the monthly mortgage payment.

While this is a simple outline of the escrow process, your particular process may differ with your lender and escrow company.

We are ready to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to Contact Us.