Legal-Ease: How do I buy a new-to-me house?

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Interested in buying a new home but not sure where to begin? Lee recommends that you start by talking to local banks and credit unions. Once you have an idea of your budget, consider more seriously looking into local real estate. Or you can consider hiring a real estate agent if you don’t want to investigate local homes on your own.

When considering a change of residences, clients frequently ask me, “Where do I start?” Only some of my advice in response to that question requires a law degree, but attorneys are required to provide both legal and ethical/practical advice.

I usually recommend that a person or couple considering a home purchase (a buyer) first meet with one or more local banks and credit unions. The buyer should provide the lender with the buyer’s identifiable information, assets, cash and liabilities. Shortly thereafter, the lender will provide the buyer with a ballpark idea of the size and type of loan for which the buyer may be eligible. This information is often referred to as a “pre-approval.” Pre-approvals are the practical way to know how much “house” a buyer can afford (a budget).

Read Lee’s full article on buying a home in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: How do I buy a new-to-me house?

Source: LimaOhio.com, Legal-Ease: How do I buy a new-to-me house? by Lee R. Schroeder, May 17, 2014

Posted in Buying a Home, Homeowner Law, Real Estate Law and tagged , , , , .