FAQs

This has always been a question I get asked when a buyer finds the perfect home. I have answered the question with a question the same way for many years. Have you looked in the attic, checked the roof, or opened and closed all the windows?

Most buyers are looking over the cosmetic things and the flow of the house, but most do not look at the operation of the windows and other details that the inspector will look at. The home inspector will spend 2-4 hours or more depending on the size of the house providing you with a professional report about the home you are considering.

In the spring of 2020, the housing market took a major shift, and many homes were seeing multiple offers. Due to the market conditions, we saw an unprecedented number of home buyers waving their right to get a whole home inspection.

Many buyers found that in the multiple offer situation this was a great way to get their offer moved to the top of the list and/or selected by the buyer. This is a strategy that has remained popular today when a buyer knows the home has multiple offers or they really want to be sure they get the home.

Buyers choosing to use this strategy are taking a greater risk. If you want to be sure the home has been inspected now some inspectors are offering to go to the showing with you and do a major component inspection during your showing.

Radon testing is very important, and I have tested and mitigated my own home. The 48-hour radon test used during a real estate transaction is usually around $125-150.

Like the home inspection many buyers have elected to pass on getting a radon test as part of their offer to purchase their new home with the current market conditions.

Similar to the full home inspection, this is a good thing to understand before you prepare to make an offer on your new home. Should you need to do go through the Radon Mitigation process, the cost for the average homes is $750-1500.

Every home can be a little different. If you see something of question when looking at your new home, you need to discuss this with your REALTOR before making an offer of the property.

Real property, also known as real estate, refers to land and any permanent structures or improvements that are attached to it. When buying a home, you are essentially acquiring real property. This includes not only the physical structure of the house but also the land on which it is built and any fixtures, improvements, or other assets that are considered a permanent part of the property.

Your purchase agreement will have a place to list any personal property that you may want to be sure of stays with the home. The refrigerator is an example of personal property that is not permanently part of the property that many homeowners will leave with home. 

Getting pre-approved by multiple lenders within a short period of time typically has a limited impact on your credit score.

When you’re shopping for a mortgage or other types of loans, credit scoring models understand that you may need to compare offers from different lenders. As a result, they often treat multiple inquiries for the same type of credit within a certain timeframe (usually around 14 to 45 days, depending on the credit scoring model) as a single inquiry. This means that while each individual lender’s pre-approval process may result in a “hard inquiry” on your credit report, these inquiries are grouped together and are often counted as a single inquiry when calculating the impact on your credit score.

This is done to account for the fact that consumers are shopping for the best terms and rates, rather than taking out multiple loans. Remember that while credit inquiries are a factor in your credit score calculation, they’re not typically the most significant factor. The impact of multiple inquiries on your score is likely to be temporary and relatively small compared to other aspects of your credit history, like your payment history, and credit utilization.

If it was January and you woke up to a cold house with no heat and you needed to make a major repair, do you have the financial means to do so or would this cause major stress on your budget?

If this would cause you some major stress, a home warranty may be a good idea. Other times the warranty may be good if the home has older systems and appliances that may be more prone to breaking down.

I have also sold homes to cash buyers that could get a new furnace with no problem, but like the convenience of making one call for any repair as they don’t have time to make numerous calls and find a trusted expert.

Keep in mind that this is a service contract to cover normal wear and tear and like any service contract they have a lot of fine print. Make sure that you understand what they will cover and how. Over the years I have heard many stories of people very happy with their home warranty and others that it didn’t cover their repair as expected.

Of course, I would prefer you to use my website to search for your new home. You can get directly to my search site by visiting bradfricke.homes.

Almost all real estate websites have partnerships and are getting their data from MLS’s (Multiple Listing Services). It is important for you to understand that you do not need to search for homes on numerous sites as most sites have the same listings, they just display them in different ways. There are a few sites that allow for sale by owners and others to list their home online, but these have become harder to find in recent years.

My biggest warning about using multiple sites is knowing who you are sharing your information with and if they are selling your information. There are many websites where the company doesn’t have local agents and they are just trying to collect your information to sell it to REALTORS, lenders, and insurance agents.  When you register on my site to receive notifications your information will never be sold.

There are a few different types of agencies when it comes to a REALTOR representing their client in Nebraska. The primary two are Buyer’s Agent and Seller’s Agent.

As the name implies the Buyer’s Agent represents the buyer and this agent shall not disclose any of the buyers confidential information unless required by law and exercise reasonable skill and care for the buyer and promote the buyer’s interests in the transaction.

The Seller’s Agent acts very much in the same way for the seller, but this type of agency requires a written agreement that is usually a Listing Contact to market and sale the real property.

Some confusion happens with agency when home buyers attend an open house or visit a model home. Many times, the agents that are hosting these properties work for the seller or the builder. They can and hope to sell you the property.

Where this can get tricky is Nebraska allows for dual agency. Agents can represent both parties. Many times, this is not an issue, but when a problem does come up who’s interest does this agent have in mind?

The other option is that you become a customer of the agent. This means that you are not being represented and the agent represents the other party of the transaction. They are required to legally handle all paperwork in this situation.  This all sounds ok, again like dual agency, until something isn’t OK. Now who do you have helping you with your interest in mind? 

Most purchase agreement contracts allow for the buyer to move in when closing is complete on a day that has been agreed on in the purchase agreement.

When getting a loan, I have had lenders able to complete everything in as quick as 14 days, but the average is 30-45 days.

If it is a cash deal with no unknown hurdles closing can happen in as little as 5 business days. It is not common, but numerous buyers and sellers have agreed to terms allowing occupancy of the home before closing.

NO!! As a member of the MLS, Brad can show you any home that is currently listed for sale. This saves you time of having to work with multiple agents and providing your information to multiple agents.

Did you know that Brad can also help you with FSBO (For Sale By Owner) homes? Brad has helped buyers numerous times with the purchase of a FSBO home.

That depends a lot on the type of financing you do. I have had people purchase homes with as little as $1500 out of pocket. This is using NIFA (Nebraska Investment Finance Authority) first time buyer programs and getting the seller to help with closing costs.

In the recent market, it has got a little harder to get closing costs negotiated into the contract.   It is best to talk with your REALTOR or lender about what loan programs are currently available and the state of the market.