Iowa City Real Estate: What is a Split Foyer Home?

March 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Split foyer in Coralville

So what is a split foyer home? I field a lot of questions from folks relocating to Iowa City and this is a question I got asked last week. The best way to explain a split foyer home is to say that when you enter the home through the front entrance, you’ll need to make a decision whether to go up some stairs, (usually 6 or 7), to get to the main level or down a few stairs to the lower level.Split foyer in Coralville

There are a lot of split foyer style homes in the Iowa City area. The heart of Coralville is an excellent example of that with an abundance of zero lots that are also split foyer style homes. Typically they have attached garages. If you enter the home through the garage, you’ll need to take both sets of stairs up to the main living area. The main living area typically has a kitchen, living room, bedrooms and at least one bathroom. The lower level is typically where you’ll find the family room, probably another bedroom, bathroom and laundry room / closet.

Split foyer homes are very popular with young people who don’t care about taking a few stairs every time they want to do something. They’re less of an option for anyone who doesn’t want to schlep groceries up two sets of stairs to get to the kitchen and run down the same two sets of stairs to do laundry. Obviously they’re also not an option for anyone with physical challenges who is unable to deal with stairs at all.

When you’re buying a home in Iowa City it’s important to factor in all the things that may affect your quality of life down the road. The style of home you buy is every bit as important as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and general layout. I know, I just gave you something else to think about when you’re buying a home and you already have so much on your mind! That is exactly why you get yourself a buyer’s agent to help you through the process. A (good) buyer’s agent will keep an eye on the bigger picture and help you stay on track during the home buying process.

Ready to make your move? Give me a call at 319-400-0268. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Filed Under: Real Estate 101

Top Buyer & Seller Questions in 2011

December 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Question about earnest money in the Iowa City market

2011 is almost over. Before I immerse myself knee deep in data on what the real estate market in Iowa City is doing I thought I’d reflect on the past year and share with you the top questions asked by buyers and sellers. I’ve been helping folks buy and sell homes in the Iowa City area for almost 6 years now and find it really interesting how often the same questions come up.

Top Question from Buyers. What happens to Earnest Money? Do I get it back if I don’t close?

To answer the first part of the question.Question about earnest money in the Iowa City market Earnest money in Iowa is typically deposited into the Listing Broker’s bank account when an offer is accepted. That’s where it stays until closing when it shows up on the HUD1 Settlement Statement on the buyers side of the transaction. (Technically buyers get the earnest money back at closing, although they don’t actually see it). To clarify, an accepted offer is when buyer and seller agree on price and terms and there is a signed contract in place that ALL parties have a copy of. (Important side note: The contract needs to be delivered to all parties to be legally binding. Delivery can be via electronic communication).

The second part of the question is where the confusion arises. It all depends on the circumstances as to why the transaction doesn’t close as to whether a buyer gets their money back or not. The purchase agreement is typically structured to include contingencies that protect the buyer. A contingency is a condition under which the buyer is making an offer. What that means is, if those conditions aren’t met, a buyer can back out of the deal and get their earnest money back. Typical contingencies, (or conditions), are Financing and Inspections. This is why it’s important to pay special attention to what exactly you include in the purchase agreement. You want to make sure you have contingencies in place to protect you if things go bad down the line and you don’t want to lose your earnest money.

Top Question from Sellers: Do I need to replace the Carpet before I list my Home?

The quick and easy answer to this is YES….Question from sellers about replacing carpet before listing home in Iowa City And yet the last home I listed was really in need of a new carpet and I did everything I could to do something else, since I knew there was no way the seller would be rewarded with a higher price for going to the trouble of replacing the carpet. So now what am I supposed to do with that tidbit of information Denise? Yep, I know I’m not helping at all…

Here’s the deal. There is no one size fits all answer. It really is a case by case scenario. In most circumstances replacing the carpet will shorten the time your house is on the market. Buyers like updated homes and there’s nothing like the look (and smell) of a new carpet to impress them. If however your kitchen is outdated and the appliances are 10 – 15 years old, then the carpet isn’t going to have the desired effect. Taking that thought a step further. If you have a totally updated house and the only thing it needs to make it the “shiny penny” buyers are looking for is a new carpet, then I suggest you go for it! If on the other hand your home needs other updates too you may want to put more thought into what exactly makes most sense to get the highest return on your investment. (That doesn’t mean don’t replace the carpet. It means you should think it through and possibly discuss your options with a professional).

Next to questions on what the real estate market in Iowa City is doing, (and that came from both buyers and sellers), those were the top two questions asked this year. Closely followed by questions about closing costs in the Iowa City area. Here’s a link to a post about closing costs for buyers. I hadn’t realized until I started writing this post that I don’t have one for sellers yet. I promise to do that soon. (Once I’ve waded my way through all the market reports I have planned for the next week that is!)

 

Do you have any questions for me? Just put it in the comments and I’ll either answer it there or write another post with the answer.

 

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in the Iowa City area in the coming months, please give me a call. I’m always happy to share information and help you figure out your options.

Filed Under: Real Estate 101 Tagged With: ,

Iowa City Real Estate: What is a Zero Lot Anyway?

September 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
view-from-curb-2236-oakleaf-st-coralville

What exactly is a zero lot Denise? This is a question I get a lot from clients relocating to the Iowa City area. It’s a term that doesn’t seem to be used anywhere other than Iowa.  A zero lot is a duplex style home where the owners share a wall. view-from-curb-2236-oakleaf-st-coralvilleEach owner is sole-owner of the unit they own, including the land.  This is NOT the same as a regular duplex, which is also available in the Iowa City market. A regular duplex is considered to be one unit. (By that I mean that it can only be sold as a whole, and not as two separate units).

There are are A LOT of zero lots in Coralville and North Liberty and not nearly as many in Iowa City. And this is where it starts to get interesting. In Iowa City there are some “condos” treated like zero lots. What that means is that if you buy one of those condos you will NOT have the usual benefits associated with condo living. No-one taking care of your yard or snow removal, and you will be expected to maintain the outside of the home too. (Roofing, siding, etc).  It is in effect treated as a zero lot. I don’t want to confuse you here, so keep in mind it needs to be a duplex style condo with two units to fall in this category. It will be stated in the listing details if a condo is treated like a zero lot.  There are a lot of condos on the market in Iowa City and the majority are condos in the true sense of the word.

The biggest advantage to a zero lot is that you can generally get quite a lot of house for a good price. And it is only one shared wall. You don’t have too many neighbors or a condo association to deal with. Logically, no condo association means there no condo fees either. Of course not, you’re taking care of everything yourself! You have the freedom of a single family home where you call the shots, with a little less maintenance and a lower price tag than a single family home. Of course you are still sharing that all important wall. That may not suit you when it comes to the privacy factor. That’s a personal preference and something you’ll want to think about when you start your search for a home.

 

Filed Under: Real Estate 101

What Exactly is Earnest Money? Will I Get it Back if We Don’t Close?

January 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Check book for earnest money check

What exactly is earnest money? Will I get it back if something happens and we don’t close on the house?

Earnest money is a very much misunderstood part of the purchase agreement when you make an offer on a home. And actually it’s really quite simple. When you make an offer on a home you want the seller to take you seriously. You want him to know that you’ve thought this through and you’re serious about buying this home. A purchase agreement is a commitment to buy a home. The earnest money check is your show of good faith that you fully intend to move forward and buy the house. Check book for earnest money check

The purchase agreement is structured in such a way that you as the buyer are protected in many ways when you buy a home in Iowa City. The one thing that is not covered is you changing your mind. You don’t get to have “Buyer’s Remorse.” If you do that, then your earnest money check is disbursed to the seller.

Does that mean you must buy the house come what may? Not at all. The purchase agreement also contains a few contingencies that allow you to gracefully walk away from a deal in certain circumstances. One of these contingencies is that you obtain financing. If something happens and you are unable to obtain financing, then you will be able to cancel the contract and get your earnest money back. If for instance the house doesn’t appraise for the purchase price. If you lose your job prior to closing or something else happens to affect your ability to finance the home… You get the picture. Those kinds of things don’t come up that often. What does sometimes happen is that the contingency for inspections cannot be met. If repairs come up at the inspections and buyer and seller are unable to come to an agreement on who will take care of them, then you as the buyer have the option to cancel the contract. And once again the earnest money will be returned to you. Just to make it perfectly clear.  If you are unable to buy the house, because contingencies cannot be met, then you can walk away – And your earnest money will be returned to you.

So that’s how it works. Now a little background info on how much and what exactly happens to the check. Here in Iowa City it’s typical to include an earnest money check for $500 with a purchase agreement for homes under or around $150,000.  For mid range homes of around $200,000 earnest money is typically $1000.  What happens is that the check is deposited into the trust account of the listing brokerage and that’s where it stays until closing where it shows up on your side of the HUD1 Settlement Statement. Or to put it another way, you get it back at closing and it is applied to the purchase of the home.

Filed Under: Buyers Info, Real Estate 101 Tagged With: , ,

Real Estate 101: So How Much Are Closing Costs in Iowa City Anyway?

January 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Closing Costs in Iowa City

I want to ask the seller for closing costs – So how much are closing costs in Iowa City anyway Denise?

This is another one of those questions that comes up a lot lately. Mostly of course with first time home buyers, for obvious reasons since it’s the first time they buy a house. This of course is really a question for a lender. As it happens I do see A LOT of  HUD1 Settlement Statements so feel qualified enough to give you at least some guidance on the topic.

Here’s a list of the items that you will see for sure on your closing statement. These are estimates and will depend on the provider. (Bank, attorney, appraiser, etc). One of the questions I get asked is whether a more expensive house means more closing costs. It may when it comes to points, or a loan origination fee, but not for the standard closing costs. Regardless of the price of the house the costs will be the same for the items below with the exception of the recording fees charged by the County for recording the documents of the sale into public record. (Warranty Deed and Mortgage are the most common examples of documents the buyer receives during the course of the transfer of property). Recording fees are charged by the page so difficult to calculate here, hence the estimate.Closing costs Iowa City

Appraisal Fee: $275 – $475
Credit Report – $30
Flood Certification Fee $11
Abstract or Title Search – $150
Title Examination – $175
Title Guaranty – $110
Recording Fees -  $110 (Government fees for recording the deed, mortgage and releases into public record).
Processing Fee – $150 – $500

Other closing costs, as I mentioned before, might include a loan origination fee, or points if you decide you want to pay for a lower interest rate. Different loan programs will have different fees associated with them. The items I’m covering here are the ones associated with all loans that come up on every HUD1 Settlement Statement. Specific closing costs based on a particular type of loan is not covered here and something you will need to talk to a lender about. Also, some lenders have fees that other lenders don’t charge. They’re not covered here either. That’s why it’s a good idea to check out a couple of lenders and compare their fees.

Home insurance is expected to be paid for one year in advance. It’s not part of the closing costs. Reserves deposited with the lender in an escrow account will be 3 months insurance and 3 months real estate taxes. These aren’t closing costs either, they’re known as “prepaids.” That is something that you are prepaying in anticipation of future mortgage payments to the bank and will be held in escrow to cover that.

Very often first time home buyers will want to ask the seller to pay closing costs. (Actually, what’s happening is that the closing costs are included in the purchase price). A typical amount to ask for in closing costs is $2000. This amount should comfortably cover standard closing costs and prepaids. Although prepaids can be part of the purchase agreement, usually it is not possible to include other closing costs associated with a specific loan type in a contract to purchase a home. Once again though, I’m not a lender. This post offers general information and may not cover your specific case. If you have other costs associated with your loan you’d like included in the purchase agreement you should talk to your lender BEFORE writing an offer.

Filed Under: Buyers Info, Real Estate 101 Tagged With: , ,
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