Buying a new home is an exciting opportunity, but the process can be time-consuming and stressful at times. By the time you have found the right home, secured the necessary financing, and reached an agreement regarding the terms of the deal, you will certainly be ready to move in and relax for a while. Before you can do, however, there is one final step: the closing. If you have never bought a new home before, you should be aware of what goes on at closing and what you will be expected to do.

Your Role at Closing

Before you can get the keys to your new home, you will generally be required to attend and participate in a mortgage closing. Most often, a closing is a scheduled appointment at the office of an attorney, the title company, or your mortgage lender. You should bring any documents that you received or signed in the weeks leading up to closing, along with two forms of identification. You will also need an acceptable form of payment—usually a cashier’s check—if your required payment has not already been wired in advance.

Once the closing gets underway, you will:

Few things are more frustrating than finding that your home was built with some type of defect. These defects may not be discovered for many years down—long after explicit warranties have expired. In most cases, even your homeowners insurance will not help you recoup the costs to fix the construction defect.

Your Insurance Might Not Cover You for Construction Defects

The typical homeowners insurance policy is intended to protect homeowners from specifics types of losses. Such a policy will generally cover the structure of the home, as well as other buildings on the owner’s property, such as a detached garage or tool shed. The policy will also usually cover replacement costs for personal property that is stolen or destroyed by a covered risk, such as a fire. Most homeowners policies also include a level of liability protection in the event that another person is injured while visiting the property.

However, homeowners insurance usually does not cover construction defects or poor workmanship. In fact, most policies contain language that specifically excludes any type of “faulty workmanship.” This leaves many owners of defective homes unable to collect from their insurance for the defects. Sometimes, their only option is to sue the general contractor or subcontractor.

If you are the owner of property that you lease to commercial tenants, you will almost certainly have to deal with lessees who fail to pay their rent on time. While you might offer grace periods or other ways to help your tenants, eventually, one or more of your tenants will probably reach a point where you start to wonder if they have stopped paying altogether. As a commercial landlord, there are a few things to consider and certain steps that you must take before you can begin the process of evicting a commercial tenant.

Reach Out and Talk

As with any human interaction, commercial leasing issues can often be resolved through open and honest communication. Maintaining open communication can catch small issues before they grow into major problems. If your tenant’s payment for the month is late, consider reaching out to find out what is happening. You could make a quick phone call, stop by the business, or even send a friendly text message asking if everything is ok, especially if your tenant has never had trouble paying on time before.

In your communication, ask if your renter’s financial situation has changed substantially. If your tenant has legitimate concerns about being able to afford the obligations of the lease, you might consider offering a modification to the agreement. Depending on the circumstances, you might even offer to let your tenant out of the lease. If you go this route, make it clear that your tenant only has a few days to consider your offer. You could be surprised at how fast he or she finds rent money.

When a person is looking to sell his or her home, he or she will usually enlist the help of a real estate broker to manage the deal. In some cases, however, a homeowner will forgo a broker and try to sell the home in a “for sale by owner” transaction, or a FSBO—pronounced “fizz-bo”—deal. If you are considering buying a FSBO property, you may be able to get great value for your money, but there are some risks that you should take into account.

Sharing the Workload

Real estate brokers are trained—and hired—to do much of the legwork involved in residential real estate transaction. In a FSBO situation, however, the owner will almost certainly not have the same level of experience or knowledge of the real estate world. This means that he or she might not provide you with all of the relevant information regarding the deal. While the oversight might be unintentional, you should be aware of it and be ready to take on some additional responsibilities in exchange for the lower price that is typically part of a FBSO purchase.

Likewise, paperwork might also be delayed. Be prepared for things to take longer than you originally expected. It is also a good idea to have a qualified attorney on your side who can help you research prior insurance claims on the home, title concerns, and other considerations that could affect your willingness to purchase the property.

If you are looking to buy a home, you might have friends and family members suggesting that you should look into buying a foreclosure property. A foreclosure property is a piece of real estate that has been put up for sale by the bank after the original owner of the property failed to keep up with the mortgage payments.

Because a foreclosure sale is typically an auction, you could potentially get a great deal. But, what happens to homes that are foreclosed on and put up for sale at an auction but do not get sold? These properties revert back to the lender and become what are known as real estate-owned, or REO, properties.

Failed Foreclosure Auctions

When a lender seizes a home in foreclosure and puts it up for sale initially, the sale is usually conducted as a public auction. This means that the home will go to the highest bidder. In many cases, however, bidders do not get the chance to see or inspect the property before the auction. Additionally, the high bidder will normally be expected to pay for the property on the spot with cash or a certified check. Financing is available in certain situations, but most auctions sales are completed without it.