As most of you have heard, right now we are in a buyer’s market. With interest rates being so low and so much inventory to browse, buyers have a lot to choose from. What does this mean? Seller’s are becoming desperate. You walk into their home and they tell you it’s the next best thing to sliced bread. However, who wouldn’t tell you their home is the best? If their noses grew like Pinocchio’s, they might poke your eye out.

Here is a list of misleading fibs you should look out for:

“My neighbors are wonderful!”
You’re going to have to find out for yourself. Go knock on their door and tell them you’re thinking of moving in. If they slam the door in your face, they probably aren’t as wonderful as you were told. Another source you could use is RottenNeighbor.com.

“The roof leaked once, but we fixed it.”
Does this mean that they got their ladder out and put a patch on the hole? Did they replace the whole entire roof? The seller may think they’re being honest but you need to get to the bottom of fix. People’s definitions are different when it comes to things like this. Get a professional home inspection.

“I’ve only seen one termite on the deck.”
If they even mention the fact that there were signs of termites, then they probably are concerned you might come across one. These pesky little creatures can ruin a home and are typically not checked for when you get a home inspection. These little guys usually don’t roll solo, they’ve got lots of friends. If there is any hint that there are pests, get an insect inspection.

“I didn’t know I should have told you about the foreclosure.”
Get title insurance. Judgments, tax and mechanical liens are covered by title insurance.

“The planes from the airport don’t fly over this house.”
You will probably be able to tell if this is an issue. Just because they say planes don’t fly over this house, doesn’t mean that they don’t fly over your neighbors house.

“There’s never been any flooding.”
Most older homes do have some flooding in the basement when there is excessive rain, so it is quite possible a seller could lie to you about this. One thing you can do to find out if the area is susceptible to flooding is to check the water tables at the town hall.

“Our schools are great!”
This school is great(except for the 40% graduation rate I failed to mention to you). For an objective view, get a free school report from HomeFair.com or GreatSchools.net.

Here’s a list of important things you should do:

Get a professional home inspection.
Many thing are overlooked when just walking around a house. A home inspector will catch problems with plumbing, cooling and heating systems, leaky roofs, and cracked foundations.

Spring for extra inspections.
These include insects, radon, leaky underground tanks and bad well-water.

Get title insurance.
If you’re financing, you can’t close without it. It protects you from forgery, fraud, encumbrances, judgments and permit violations. You pay for insurance once only when you buy and the policy is good forever.

Do a final walk-through inspection.
Revisiting the property before closing ensures that it’s in the condition you required in your offer and that any stipulated repairs have been completed. Make the final walk-through no sooner than five days before you intend to close, and make sure the right to do so is included in your offer to purchase.

Now I know it seems like a lot but these are typical procedures when you’re going to buy a home. This is more important when you’re buying an older home, but you still want to go through this checklist.

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