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1 This guide seeks to provide information only. We are not providing expert legal or financial advice. Table of Contents Introduction to Home Ownership 10 Buying and Selling a Home 11 Steps to Buying a Home 12 How Real Estate Agents Operate 14 What to Look for in a New Home 16 Location 16 Price 17 Foreclosures 17 Fixer-Uppers 17 Other Recurring Costs 17 Property Tax 17 Effective Property Tax Rates and Median Property Tax Amounts by Location 18 Amounts by Location 18 Homeowners Insurance 21 Steps to Getting Homeowners Insurance 22 Top Rated Homeowners Insurance Companies in 2020 23 2 Associations 24 Choosing the Right Size and Type of Home 24 Negotiating 26 Price Negotiation 26 Non-Price Negotiation 28 Home Inspections 29 What If Repairs Are Needed? 30 Pest Inspection 30 The Contract 31 The Appraisal 31 The Closing 32 Last Steps Before the Closing 32 Who Attends 35 What Happens at the Closing 35 Closing Costs 36 Homestead Exemption 36 Home Financing 41 Steps to Getting a Home Loan 42 Determining What You Can Afford 43 Interest Rates 44 Average Interest Rates by Location 45 3 Getting Approved for a Mortgage 48 Income 48 Down Payment 49 Private Mortgage Insurance 49 Credit 49 Federal Homebuying Programs 51 HUD Programs 51 Homeowner Choice Voucher Program 51 Good Neighbor Next Door Program 52 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program 52 FHA Loan Program 52 VA Programs 53 VA-Backed Home Loan 53 Native American Direct Loan 53 Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan 53 Cash-Out Refinance Loan 53 USDA Programs 54 Direct Loans 54 USDA-Backed Home Loan 54 Other Homebuying Programs 54 Types of Mortgages 54 Term 55 4 Fixed vs. Variable Rate 55 Interest-Only Mortgage 56 Building Equity 56 Accelerating Payoff 57 Other Types of Home Loans 58 Refinancing 58 Home Equity Loans 58 Reverse Mortgages 60 Right to Cancel 61 Foreclosure 61 Avoiding Foreclosure 62 Home Utility Expenses and Management 65 Electric and Gas Energy 66 Electric 66 Setting Up Your Electric Utility Service 66 Generators 67 Gas 67 Setting Up Your Gas Utility Service 68 Telephone 69 Landlines 69 Setting Up Your Landline Telephone Service 69 VOIP 70 5 Top VOIP Providers 71 Setting Up Your VOIP Service 72 Wireless 72 Setting Up Your Wireless Service 73 Comparative Rates for One Line 74 Prepaid Phones 74 Solar and Renewable Energy 75 Steps for Implementing Renewable Energy for Your Home 75 Integrating With the Grid 76 Incentives and Tax Credits 76 Energy Store and Excess Production 76 Net Metering 76 Energy Storage 78 Solar Energy 78 Buying vs. Leasing 79 Wind Power 81 Geothermal Power 81 Microhydropower 81 Biomass 82 Utilities by State and Territory 83 Moving 231 6 Should you use a moving company? 232 Cost 232 Cost Saving Tips When Hiring a Moving Company 233 Pros and Cons of Moving Companies & DIY Moves 233 Hybrid Moving Options 233 Finding a Mover 234 Packing 235 Last Steps Before Leaving Your Current Home 236 Home Services 237 Alarm Systems 237 National Home Security Companies 238 Cable TV & Streaming Services 239 TV & Internet Providers by Location 239 Streaming Services 244 Saving Money on TV Entertainment 245 Pest Control 246 Removing Beehives 246 Mosquito Control 246 Animal Control and Removal 247 Wood-Eating Insects 248 National Pest Control Companies 248 7 Saving Money on Pest Control 249 Landscaping 249 Landscaping Installations 250 Landscaping Costs 250 Average Costs for Landscaping 250 Landscape and Lawn Maintenance 251 Average Cost to Maintain Landscaping 252 Saving Money on Landscaping 252 Pool Maintenance 253 Elements of Your Pool 253 Cleaning Frequency 254 Saving Money on Pool Maintenance 254 Home Repairs and Improvements 255 National Home Warranty Companies 255 Roof 256 Repairs or Replacement 256 Cost 256 Saving Money on Roof Repair 257 Water Heater 257 Types of Water Heaters 257 HVAC (Air Conditioning and Heating) 258 Zoned Systems 258 8 Cooling 258 Heating 258 Cost 259 Plumbing 259 Septic Systems 259 Cost 260 Electrical System 260 Cost 260 Appliances 261 Cost 261 Additions/Renovations 261 Additions 261 Renovations 261 Best Renovations for Resale Value 262 9 Introduction to Home Ownership Becoming a homeowner is considered to be an important benchmark of economic progress. Home value is a major part of most homeowner families’ net worth and owning a home can help you build wealth as property values increase over time. Owning a home also gives owners security, stability and a close connection to their communities. If you are a first- time home buyer, congratulations! Even if you have owned a home for some time, there is still a lot to learn about protecting and maintaining your property. 10 Buying and Selling a Home Buying a home is a complex transaction, financially, legally and personally. First time home buyers stay in their home for 11.4 years, and those who have owned a home before stay put for 14.8 years on average. Where a person lives has a huge impact on work, friends, family, education and nearly every other aspect of life. This section will talk about real estate professionals, what to look for in a new home, how to negotiate the best price and home inspections. While there are federal real estate laws, each state may have its own laws that govern real estate. Where this is the case, state laws will be noted in the section of this guide to which they apply. 11 Steps to Buying a Home Finding and buying a new home is exciting, but it may also be confusing because there are so many factors to consider. Here are the steps. Determine where you want to live. This will be a city, town or general area. Price and your ability 01 to pay will impact which neighborhood you should look into. Typically, people choose a location based on factors such as the location of an existing or anticipated job, proximity to family, cost of living and quality of life. For more details on choosing the location to move to, see page 17 of this guide. 02 Decide how big a home you need, including the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. This will depend on how many people will be living in the home and others needs such as for a home office. Seepage 24 of this guide for information on choosing the right size home. 03 Figure out how much you can afford to pay for a home. You can calculate this amount based on the amount of money you have for a down payment, your income and your credit. Find out how to calculate the amount you can afford to spend on a new home on page 43 of this guide. 04 Shop around for the best mortgage rate and terms. The mortgage interest rate is the amount a lender charges you to borrow the money for a home. The terms of the mortgage are details such as the length of repayment, additional fees and whether the interest rate will remain the same or fluctuate. Getting a mortgage with a lower interest rate and favorable terms can save you thousands of dollars. For more information on interest rates and terms, see page 54 of this guide. 12 If possible, get pre-approved by the lender with the best rate and terms. This will improve your 05 negotiating position and streamline the buying process. A pre-approval is when you submit all of the required information such as the amount of your down payment, income, expenses and credit to a mortgage lender before you decide which house to buy. The lender will pre-approve you up to a certain amount of money. When you are ready to buy a home, you will submit the information about the purchase price and home to the lender to finalize the transaction. Find out more about home financing on page 41 of this guide. 06 Optional but recommended - Hire a real estate agent. A real estate agent is a professional who can help you find homes that meet your price range, location and size criteria. Find out more about what real estate agents do on page 14 of this guide. 07 View homes in person or virtually. When you find a home you would like to buy, make an offer. If it is not accepted, negotiate or keep 08 looking. An offer is when you give the seller a price you are willing to pay for the home. It may also include other requests regarding the property. See page 28 of this guide for how to make an offer and negotiate with the seller. 09 When your offer is accepted, sign a contract and pay earnest money. Earnest money is a part of the down payment that you put in a special account to demonstrate to the seller that you are serious about buying the home. If you change your mind, you could potentially lose this money. See how this works on page 31 of this guide. Optional - Hire a real estate attorney. It is mandatory in some states to have a real estate attorney 10 at the closing. Real estate attorneys are lawyers who specialize in real estate transactions. They can help you to negotiate with the seller and understand the paperwork before you sign it. 13 Get appraisal, seller disclosure and necessary inspections. Negotiate further if there is anything 11 unexpected in these documents. An appraisal is a professional’s assessment of the value of the property, and the seller disclosure informs the buyer of anything else important that could negatively impact the value and useability of the home.