 
You Get a Great Buyer or Sell Realtor and Professional Home Inspector In One!!
Contact Information
Fax: (703)426-2460
Direct: 703-426-1999
Home: 703-426-1999
Pager: 703-426-1999
Cellular: 703-426-1999
Email: Ron@FairfaxRealty.com
Experience and Qualifications
Designations: Member of the following organizations:
*National Association of Realtors
*Northern Virginia Association of Realtors
*Certified New Home Sales Professional
*Society of Professional Real Estate Inspectors
*Professional Home Stager for Sellers
Awards: Best Looking Realtor Award:)); Best Home Inspector In Fairfax County; Most Honest Realtor Award; Most Modest Realtor Award
Languages: Speaks and Writes Korean Well
Special Interests: Self-improvement and education
Ron Seiber: Educating the Buyer is Most Important in Avoiding Common Problems
Ron Seiber was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan, attended Eastern Michigan University and lived in Korea as an English Instructor (on Korean TV) for 12 years. Ron became a Realtor after returning from Korea in 1990. His most important asset is educating the buyer as shown in his web site. No other Realtor does this except Ron Seiber. So take advantage of his expertise and thoroughly read his important information, some of which is below.
Rule Number 1: Get Fully Approved for a Mortgage Not Pre-qualified
Generally buyers start looking for a home, choose one they like, then with the advice of a realtor, get a pre-qualification letter from a lender or broker. This letter doesn't mean a thing. Pre-qualification just takes 15 minutes and is nothing but a quick credit check to see if you "qualify" to get a mortgage. It doesn't tell with 100% certainty. To be 100% certain, you must get fully approved and that takes 10 days. Ask your lender for a loan package and application. You will need to send your supporting documents: W-2's, 2 months of bank statements, and anything else required by the lender. Also, sellers prefer buyers who are fully approved, not pre-qualified. If a seller has two buyer contracts in front of her, and one is pre-qualified and one is fully approved, she is going to choose the fully approved contract. So be smart and take the time to get fully approved first before shopping.
In my web site, it lists the different documents you will need to get fully approved.
Rule Number 2: Know Your Contract and Its Parts
Right, but isn't that the Realtor's job? Yes, but you should know particular parts of the contract and know them in advance so you can be "prepared" to make correct decisions. In this market, numbers can mean the difference between getting the house and losing out. You will need to know about the earnest money deposit, the home inspection contingency, the financing contingency, the appraisal contingency, and other important items.
Rule Number 3: Know What Your Closing Costs Are Going to Be
Many people are shocked, shocked, at the number and amounts of the different closing costs involved in buying a home. Just to name a few, there are: lender's fees, settlement office fees, recording fees for the deed and your mortgage for both the county and the state, escrow money fees to the lender, title insurance, fire and hazard insurance for the home, and condo or home owner association fees to be paid. To give you a ball-park figure, take the home price and mulitply that times 3.5% and you will have a good idea of the amount you will have to pay.
Rule Number 4: Get a Home Inspection to Know Exactly About Your Home's Condition
Not only am I a qualified Realtor, but I'm also an experienced and qualified home inspector who can help you understand the problems and defects of homes while you are shopping, not after you write a contract.
What's a Home Inspector?
Before people decide to buy a used car, they usually take the car to an auto mechanic to have him check the car's condition.
That's what home inspectors do. They check the house condition and tell you if there are any problems. Generally a home inspection is done after someone signs a contract to buy a home.
That's the Advantage with Ron Seiber . . .
I'll tell you before you sign the contract, not after.
I'll tell you if the air conditioning is new or old, if the water pipes are bad, if the roof is new or needs replacing, or if the heating system needs replacing. I can tell you all this while you and I look at the home for the first time.
While you're thinking about whether you like the home, I'm compiling a list of good and bad points of the home to tell you later in private and give you advice.
Rule Number 5: After Signing the Contract, Ask the Seller for a CLUE Report
CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange and this report from them will give you a history of the claims and losses filed by the current owner. You can't order the report yourself, only the seller can do that. So you have to request it through your agent and have him or her ask for it through the listing agent. The report will tell you if anything negative happened to the home like water leaking or flooding, fallen trees on the home, or even fires. So don't forget to order up this report. This company, at www.choicepoint.com, keeps information for 5 years on the home and it's occupants: the home's history and the person's history. So you will want to order up a report about yourself and see what they have on you as well. If you have a long history filing home insurance claims, insurance companies won't want to insure you. You would be considered a high risk. So check out your own as well as the home you want to buy.
Rule Number 6: If You Think a Homeowner Did Construction, Check for Permits
Many times homeowners will do their own construction, electrical, and plumbling to save money. However, every county has a rule that if anything is changed, it must be inspected by the county to see if complies with county codes. If it doesn't, it must be ripped out or torn down. So if you suspect there was an addition added, go to the county and see if it had a building permit to do the work. You may be buying a home that has an addition that needs to be removed if it can't be fixed to comply with county building codes.
Rule Number 7: Visit My Web Site: www.FairfaxAreaHomesForSale.com
Call me at 703-426-1999 or
Email me at ron@fairfaxrealty.com or
Visit my web site at:
www.FairfaxAreaHomesforSale.com
Internet: Visit My Other Web Site
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