The Spy recently inaugurated a Q and A series with Cross Street Realtors. In this first one, our customer asked Cross Street’s Stacey Kendall about retiring on the Eastern Shore.
Q: I’m retiring to the Eastern Shore from the city and have no experience with buying a home in a rural area. I’m worried that the condition of the house I’m interested in has not been fully disclosed. Is a home inspection a mortgage requirement, or optional, and do you offer this service to help me determine the real value?
A: There are a lot of questions within your one question – Let me try to answer as best I can….
The first step with buying anything is to determine your financial limits. You should know what you can comfortably afford per month. We then speak with lenders for qualification and back into the purchase price range determined by that monthly amount…for example, if you don’t want to exceed a payment of $1,050/month with taxes & insurance then you are looking at a loan amount of no more than $155,000.
Now that you know what you can afford, you need to decide on location. Are you looking to live the “salt life” in or near Ocean City or a “country” life in a water oriented town……if so then Talbot and Kent Counties would be a better match. If you want Target within 5 minutes Talbot Co is your best bet. If you are looking for a sophisticated quaint small town where the big box stores aren’t in your back yard then Kent County is it. Or do you want the convenience of being close to the city at an affordable price? If so lower QA’s Co will be a fit. Which area meets your needs? In order to really determine this you should be working with a Realtor local to those specific areas. They will not only be able to educate you in an effort for you to make an informed decision, but a good local Realtor will help you beyond the purchase of your home.
Once a buyer can commit to an area, finding the house is easy. As for value – real estate is an equation. Property condition doesn’t determine value, the condition of the market does. A Buyer’s Agent can help determine value by finding sold comparable properties in like-kind condition. All you need now is to come to a meeting of the minds with regard to price and terms with the Seller and you can schedule inspections to determine the real condition of the property. Regardless of whether or not a Seller has disclosed or disclaimed – a Buyer should have a home inspection…not because the Seller is withholding information but because maybe a leak has sprung since they disclosed or simply missed disclosing a material defect by accident.
For more information, please go to Cross Street Realtors
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