1 week Ago
Spring is the busy time of year for the residential real estate market, and home shoppers today are lucky to have resources I could only dream of when I bought my first house in the 1990s. Today's buyers can review online listings of every property available in any price range. They can see street-view photos of the neighborhood, sales histories, square footage, interior images and tax records.
And they have the ability to search listings using customized criteria. When I was shopping for my first house in the mid-90s, inventory in the official Multiple Listing Service came in printed catalogs that agents weren't supposed to share, with one black-and-white exterior photo and limited information. Clients would explain their criteria and price range, and an agent would photocopy several listings to check out.
By the time I moved to South Carolina in 2004 everything had moved online, and I was able to narrow down my search for a house in the Charleston area from my then-home in Pennsylvania. But despite all the wonderful information that's readily and freely available, there are at least two important details that are usually missing from real estate listings — critical information that goes directly to the cost of homeownership. The two I'm focusing on are flood-zone status and homeowner association dues.
One would think that's crucial information that should be in every listing, but lots of the data shown in listings comes from county tax records, and they include neither of those details. I was very lucky when I bought my first house in the Charleston area to later learn that it was in an "X" flood zone, which meant my lender didn't require me to buy flood insurance. But that's something homebuyers should know in advance.
Flood insurance can be very expensive now, possibly adding hundreds of dollars to a monthly mortgage payment, and a house that floods can be a nightmare. Tip : You can search flood zones by address, online at msc.fema.
gov . If a real estate agent is helping you look for a home, express to them how important flood zone information is and ask how they can help. Another item that should be included in listings is HOA dues, which are common in subdivisions and condominium or townhome communities.
I've noticed that many listings actually have a line for the fees, but in many cases it's left blank or — misleadingly — says $0. Dues might only be a few hundred dollars a year in a subdivision with limited amenities, which was the case with my first Charleston-area house. Or they could be much higher.
With condominium communities, dues are usually much higher because the association would be responsible for the upkeep and repair of the buildings, and the insurance. Condo owners are responsible for what's inside their unit; the association is responsible for the rest. Of course that means the condo owners still pay for new roofs and flood insurance and all that, but they do it indirectly through HOA dues.
And in the event of an unexpected, costly repair situation the owners can be required to come up with large special assessment payments . So if first-time buyers are looking at online mortgage calculators to see what they can afford, they need to also factor in two of the hidden costs of homeownership —the potential flood insurance costs and association dues. Otherwise, they could find themselves with monthly payments much higher than they anticipated.
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