What is a 4 Point Inspection?

4 POINT INSPECTION

Your offer has been accepted to purchase your dream home, and now you have to set up an inspection to make sure the home is in good condition.

When buying a home, you will have to get a home inspection if you’re getting a mortgage and even if you are purchasing with cash. You want to have a home inspection done no matter what the situation. By having a 4-point inspection done, it lets the bank or the homeowners know the quality of the home that they are purchasing.

A 4-point home inspection includes

  • Foundation
  • Roof
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • HVAC systems
  • Damages caused by termites, flood, fire, and mold.

Any of the above can impact the value of your home. If a home inspection is not done, and later you find out that the foundation is cracked or the roof is rotted, this can be a costly fix for the buyer.

Once something is revealed in the home inspection you can negotiate with the seller for a lower asking price.

Who can do a 4-Point Home Inspection?

  • A Florida licensed general contractor
  • Architect
  • Building Inspector
  • Engineer
  • ASHI Home Inspectors
  • FABI Building Inspectors
  • NACHI Certified Home Inspectors

**A Home Owner cannot do a Home Inspection

Are You Ready To Buy Your Home?

Your guide to buying your first home -

Buying a home can be the most exciting time for you and your family. But don’t lose out on the home of your dreams by doing this alone. This is one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, and I want to help you by making this experience less stressful.

As you go through the process you may have questions on –

  1. Downpayment – How much is required as a downpayment of a home?
  2. How do I get a Mortgage for this home?
  3. How do I complete the Mortgage application?
  4. Do I have enough money saved up to buy this home?
  5. Do I have a good credit score?
  6. How do I write up an offer on my dream home?
  7. How do I negotiate to get the best price?
  8. How do I submit an offer on my dream home?
  9. What do I do when the Seller accepts my offer?
  10. How do I get the home inspected?
  11. How do I negotiate repairs?
  12. How do I get a title search?
  13. How do I get a survey?
  14. What are my closing costs?

There are so many things to think about when buying your home. Don’t go through this alone. Call/Text 727-422-9340 I can help you buy the dream home for you and your family.

5 Must-do Home Improvement Projects to sell your home in 2020

5 home improvement projects to sell your home in 2020

You’re ready to sell your home, and although you’ve always kept your home in great condition you still need to do some extra maintenance. When selling your home your property has to be in tiptop shape if you’re going to get top dollar when you sell. If you’re selling your home you still want to have your home looking good on the inside as well as the outside. Even if your home is on the market for 3 months or more, you have to keep giving that home your love, even if you have already vacated the home. When your home looks like its well cared for, you get more people interested in looking at it and even get top dollar. Here are some tips that you may already be doing or neglecting.

  1. Landscaping – your lawn should be mowed, trees and shrubs trimmed, flower beds should look lush. Your driveway and walkways should be well lit without weeds and leaves on it.
  2. Gutters – people tend to forget that you get all sorts of debris in your gutters. Make sure that your gutters are cleaned out. By not doing this you can have all sorts of issues with your roof, walls of home and drainage issues. You don’t want to deal with overflowing drains if it rains, or damage walls or foundation issues or drainage issues when selling your home.
  3. Fix Broken things – Buyers tend to check to make sure the doorbell works. It’s one of the things that people tend to forget when getting their home ready for the sale. Lots of times it doesn’t work. This may be something small to you, but to buyers, this can be a big deal. Fix leaky faucets and running toilets.
  4. Critters – go around your home and make sure you don’t have squirrels or other critters living in your attic or other areas of your home.
  5. Clean Windows and Doors – If your home is on the market for more than a month you will have to get those windows and doors cleaned up. Get rid of cobwebs or spiderwebs that may have built up around them. Not doing this will make the home look neglected.

Get your punch list made up, and make sure you’ve got all of these little things taken care of. By doing these small things you can get more return on your investment.


Things to Know about FHA Appraisals

Arona Mcginley real estate agent seminole florida. FHA Appraisal

In order to use an FHA loan to purchase a home, the property will have to be appraised and inspected by a HUD-approved appraiser. This is to ensure that the property meets HUDS’s minimum property standards.

WHAT IS AN APPRAISAL?

Only an expert can assesses or determine the value of your home. You get an appraisal to determine the value of your home in today’s market. The appraiser usual has a check list of HUDs requirements for FHA.

Things You Should Know About FHA Home Appraisals

  • HAND RAILS – handrails should be installed along open staircases, and in accordance with FHA/HUD requirements.
  • RAILINGS – has to be installed around, decks, patios, porches and balconies.
  • PAINT – all interior and exterior paint should be in good condition. There should be no distressed paint eg. peeling paint.
  • WINDOWS – all windows should be fully operational and not broken. If it is, it has to be replaced.
  • DOORS – doors should be functional and hanging properly.
  • ROOF – If the roof has leaks it must be repaired or replaced.
  • UTILITIES -utilities must be on and functional at the time of the inspection.

These are just some of the things that will be addressed with an FHA Appraiser. To get more information visit FHA APPRAISAL

If you are looking for more information on selling or buying a home please call/text 727-422-9340 or email: arona.mcginley@gmail.com or fill out the contact form.

Home Ownership for 1st Time Home Buyers Tips

Are you a first time home buyer?

When you are ready to buy your home a lender will basically evaluate your overall financial picture as well as other financial factors to see if you qualify for a mortgage. Here are some tips to help you get your loan.

  • Do not quit your job while you are in the process of getting a mortgage, nor change jobs or decide that this is a great time to become self employed.
  • Don’t go out and spend money on huge ticket items like a new car that you would need financing for. If you do this it will increase your debt to income ratio and this then decreases your chances of getting approved for your loan.
  • Do not go on a shopping spree for new furniture to decorate your new home before you close on your home. You maybe tempted if you found the perfect furniture but please hold off on buying any major purchase until after the closing.
  • Do not ….do not lie on your loan application. Do not omit any debts, if you do this it is considered to be fraud to lie on your loan application and you will be denied the loan.
  • Don’t use your credit cards excessively during the process. And please do not forget to pay your bill. Any changes to your spending habits may just prevent you from getting your loan.
  • Put aside money for your closing costs. You can contact the closing company to find out what your closing costs will be.
  • Do not go out and co-sign loans for anyone. This means that you are assuming debt, even if it is someone else that is making the payments. This will also increase your debt to income ratio.
  • Do not make large deposits into your bank account. You may have had an estate sale to get rid of things in your home before you move and made a good chunk of change. Talk to your lender before you deposit that money into your account or any large deposits while you are in the process of getting a loan.
  • Do not change bank accounts during the process of getting a loan. The lenders are looking at your financial stability.

If you are unsure about anything please discuss it with your loan officer

Best Light Bulbs

light bulbs

Although the old-fashioned incandescent bulb is on its way out, you have more lighting choices than ever before. And that means making decisions about price and energy efficiency. But don’t forget aesthetics.

If you wind up with lighting that’s harsh, flat, or unpleasant — like when you’re trying on bathing suits in a retail dressing room — it won’t matter that you got that LED on sale or that it lasts forever. You’ll wish it didn’t.

For most home lighting, your choice boils down to three options, from most to least expensive:

  • LEDs
  • Fluorescents (including CFLs)
  • Energy-efficient (halogen) incandescents, which meet the government’s new energy efficiency standards and aren’t being phased out.

Energy-efficient light bulbs are just one way to take back your energy bills.

So how do you choose?

Learn the New Light Bulb Language

Since January 1, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission has required a new “Lighting Facts” label. It was designed to help consumers break the habit of picking bulbs based on wattage to determine brightness. Now a metric called lumens is used for this task. Wattage only measures the amount of power a light bulb consumes.

Confused? Here’s an example: If you want to replace a 100-watt incandescent with an LED bulb and get the same brightness as the old bulb, you’d need a 27-watt LED bulb with an output of 1,600 lumens.

How to Read the New Label

While the new light bulb lingo sounds pretty complicated, it’s not once you get the gist. Here’s a breakdown of the “Lighting Facts” label:

Brightness: Here’s a quick tip: the brighter the light bulb, the higher the number. Standard bulbs range from 250 to 2,600 lumens.

Estimated Yearly Energy Cost: How does this add up? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by upgrading 15 traditional incandescents in your home with energy-saving bulbs, you can save about $50 per year on your energy bill. Plus, energy-efficient bulbs produce about 75% less heat, so you may see additional savings when it comes to home cooling.

Life: The life of each bulb is estimated based on the usage described. Keep in mind that labels marked Energy Star meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
Energy Star LEDs use about 25% of the energy and can last about 25 times longer than traditional incandescents.

Energy Star CFLs use about 25% of the energy and last 10 times longer than a comparable traditional incandescent.

Light Appearance: Terms such as “soft white” don’t mean the same thing from brand to brand. To compare bulbs, you need to know their color temperature, which is measured in kelvins on a scale of 1,000 (the warmest — think candlelight) to 10,000 (the coolest — like a blue sky). LEDs, CFLs, and halogen incandescents all come in a wide range of color temperatures.

Here’s a quick kelvin breakdown for easy reference:

  • The 2700K to 3000K range is warm and inviting.
  • 3500K casts a neutral light.
  • 4100K casts a cool and bright light.
  • The 5500K to 6500K range is closest to daylight.

Energy Used: As we mentioned above, wattage now only measures energy usage, not brightness. So the lower the wattage, the less energy used.

Contains Mercury: Have no fear; only CFLs have a small amount of mercury, so you won’t see this if you are purchasing LEDs or energy-efficient (halogen) incandescents.

What’s Not on the Label?

Not all specs are covered on the FTC label.  So we suggest searching for bulbs online if you’re seeking something really specific. You can often find the necessary info on manufacturers’ websites. Stuff you can look for includes:

How well the bulb shows off colors and textures. This is the key to whether you’ll be satisfied with the quality of light you get. Look for the color rendering index (CRI), a measurement of 1 to 100. The higher the bulb’s score, the better.

Incandescent halogen bulbs score a perfect 100. CFLs and LEDs don’t fare as well as a group, although some individual bulbs get high scores.

How the bulb casts off its light (in technical terms, beam spread). Let’s say you use track lighting to highlight a piece of artwork. “If you want to light a 15-inch-by-9-inch picture on the wall, you don’t need a 4-foot-by-4-foot spread of light,” Witte says. “To be energy-efficient, match the beam spread with the task, putting light only where you need it.”

Buying the Best Bulb for the Job

The key to setting the mood is combining different sources to create pleasing layers of light, says lighting designer Rosemarie Allaire. So here are a few more features to keep in mind that will help simplify the bulb selection process.

Halogen incandescent: They give off the same quality of light as the old bulbs, but save 25% on energy costs. They do cost more than the originals, but less than LEDs or CFLs. Plus, “Incandescent light renders color and texture beautifully,” Allaire says.

LED: “LEDs don’t have the three-dimensional light quality that incandescents do, and I find them to be flat,” Allaire says. “They’re all over the map as far as color rendering goes, and they don’t dim well, so I don’t use them in living areas or for art lighting. But their long life is a big plus.” Tip: LEDs will continue to improve rapidly as technology advances. But for now, be sure to check the label for color rendering and color temperature before you buy.

CFLs: CFL lighting is diffuse, so its color rendering generally isn’t up to snuff compared with incandescents. But if you find a particular brand with a color temperature you like, CFLs can work nicely in drop-bowl fixtures and table lamps — places where air circulates freely around the bulb. CFLs don’t do well with too much heat buildup.

Article from houselogic.com

Fix Up Your Home or Sell It As Is?

So you’re thinking of selling your home, but the bathrooms look a bit worn and there are other areas like appliances that should be replaced. The biggest question is, should you spend the time and money to update the interior and exterior of your home? Or should you just sell the home as it is?

Many homeowners go overboard and spend too much time and money improving and fixing up their home before putting it on the market. It’s a good idea that if you know that you will be selling your home that you talk to a real estate agent. A realtor can tell you exactly what home improvements will give you the best return on your investment. Why spend time and money on home improvements that most buyers will never notice or will not give you the best return on your investment.

A Realtor has access to information about all homes for sale. We can do comparables and show homeowners exactly what their return can be for each home improvement project. Even if you plan on selling in December and it’s only January, get with a Realtor. This will save you time, and lots of money on home repairs that you shouldn’t do. Realtors will make sure that you make improvements to your home which will return the investment with a good profit. We can also give you advice about what colors most buyers are looking for in a home. So don’t hesitate to talk to a Realtor today.