Nate Blankenship - Spartanburg, SC Realtor

Good question! It's a good idea to think about what you should look for when you purchase a new home before you actually sign on the dotted line and pay. Buying a new home can be a rewarding experience if you do it right. Just make sure you protect yourself from any surprises down the line. You want to know some of the ways you can? Well, you may want to consider these tips before purchasing your new home:

1) Make sure you select a reputable builder when you purchase your new home! Do your research on the builder to find out about their past work. You can find out the type of work a builder has previously done by getting the names of the home communities established by the builder. Go to those particular communities and ask some of the homeowners if they have had any problems with that particular builder. You can also ask the homeowners what they like about their home builder.

2) Consider getting a home inspection done on your new home by hiring your own independent home inspector. You can find a certified home inspector via the American Society of Home Inspectors(ASHI) www.ashi.org. If the builder of the new home you�re considering to purchase won�t allow an inspection, then you may want to consider moving on to another home builder that will allow you to do this.

3) Investigate and research any easements that may be on the property you�re considering to purchase. This will save you headaches later on! Make sure the easements don�t affect your enjoyment of your property in the future.

4) Consider having a real estate attorney look over the real estate documents for your new home purchase. Especially your closing purchase documents before you sign them at closing.

5) Purchase title insurance! This will protect you when you purchase your home. Title insurance will provide you with protection if someone challenges you about being the property owner of your new home.

6) You may want to consider not purchasing your first new home in a new community that has been developed. Why should you do this you say? Well, for one thing, it's a test run and all of the kinks may not be worked out yet. You may get stuck with a lemon! It might be better for you to wait until the builder has developed more communities in order for you to consider making a new home purchase.

7) Find out how long it will take you to travel from your home to work. Can you deal with your commute? If so, that's great! If not, this may end your quest with that particular builder to purchase a new home with them.

Well, get the idea why it's so important to think about certain things before you consider a new home purchase? Good, then start looking for your new home now with these tips and information to assist you when you're in the process of considering making your new home purchase.

Nate Blankenship

Keller Williams Realty

Certified New Home Specialist

It might seem like a wise, cost effective solution on the surface, but selling your home yourself can be quite a taxing exercise in more ways then one.

While the numerous home selling shows and magazines might depict it in an exciting and attractive light, in reality selling a home yourself is not all that fun. Ask anyone who has ever gone through the stressful experience of selling a home alone and they will tell you that it is a time in your life, which is anything but fun. In fact, it is far from it.

Apart from the time and demand that it commands from you and your family, selling your home yourself can be a very expensive option. What's more it is only when you are midway through the process of selling your home yourself do you start to discover those hidden costs you were not aware about until now. And by then, as always, it is too late and before you know it you are forced to make those numerous unnecessary payments.

Some of the hidden costs you should be aware about before choosing to sell your home without the help of a real estate agent include:

Lawyer's fees - Most people rarely need to seek the services of a lawyer in their life times and do not realize how expensive a lawyer's services can be. When deciding to sell your home yourself you will need to pay for a lawyer to not only facilitate the process but to deal with payment, work on complex mortgages, leases, formalize contracts as well as helping close the deal.

Seeking the services of a market analyst - To ensure you are up to date on market trends, and value your house at a price that gets you are your buyer the best deal, you will need to get the help of a market analyst. Just like real estate lawyers, market analyst do not come cheap but are a must for anyone looking to sell their home themselves especially those without experience in the industry.

Insurance - Seeking insurance is something you need to consider especially when it comes to conducting home inspections. Firstly, as a home owner looking to put your home on the market you are required by law to seek professional approval before you do so. Buyers want to know that all your appliances, plumbing, heating etc work and that your foundations are termite free.

Also you want to take out the necessary insurance so that you are not liable for potential accidents that can happen when interested buyers enter your property on open day. You don't want to have to worry about buyers slipping over in the kitchen and injuring themselves and making your liable in the process. This might sound like common sense; however, nowadays it does not take much for litigation proceedings to begin.

So if you are adamant on selling your home yourself, it is imperative that you are aware of everything and seek professional help before commencement. Alternately, take a look at companies like asisnow.com, who will buy your property for a fair price, today, without realtor commissions and tons of paperwork. They do it all so you don't have to -and the sale goes through like a dream.