Closing Costs are fees that are associated with the purchase of your Southern NH home for sale that are paid at the closing of a real estate transaction. The closing is the time at which the title of your Southern NH home for sale is transferred from the seller to the buyer. The closing costs of the loan are incurred by the buyer. While the seller pays for commission, transfer of the deed and a few other miscellaneous state fees.

There are many different fees you can expect to encounter when you are closing on a new home in Southern New Hampshire. They vary widely depending on where you live, the type of home you purchase, and the type of loan that you choose to take out. These fees may include:

• Application Fee: The application fee covers the cost for the lender to process your application. Before submitting an application, ask your lender what this fee covers. Not all lenders charge an application fee, and if they do it is possible it can be negotiated.
• Appraisal: This fee is paid to the appraisal company to confirm the market value of the home you intend to purchase. It typically costs from $400-$600 depending on the property type. With a VA or FHA loan the lender will require the appraisal to be at or above the purchase price unless the buyer is capable of paying the difference in cash which is typically not possible. If you are a conventional buyer in Southern NH and have a large down payment you should make the contract subject to the appraisal.
• Closing/Escrow Fee: This is paid to the title company or the escrow company for conducting the closing. It usually ranges from $350-$600 depending on the company and type of closing. The title company or escrow oversees the closing as an independent party in your home purchase. We suggest using a company this knows Southern NH laws.
• Courier Fee: This covers the cost of transporting documents to complete the loan transaction as quickly as possible. Usually courier fees don’t cost more than $50 each.
• Credit Report: A credit report is needed to get your credit history and your credit score. Your credit score plays a big role in determining the interest rate you’ll get on your Southern NH loan. Typically the credit report runs from $25-$50 but could be more costly if there was a credit problem that had to be resolved.
• Escrow Deposit for Taxes & Insurance: Often you are asked to put down up to six months of property tax and mortgage insurance payments when closing in Southern NH. So make sure to budget for it.
• Flood Zone: This is paid to a third party to determine if the property is located in a flood zone. This should also be a small fee under $50.
• Home Inspection: You will most likely get your own home inspection to verify the condition of a property, as well as to check for home repairs that may be needed before closing on your new home. Depending on whether there is a septic and well or public water/sewer and what other tests you do such as mold, lead, pests, radon, pool, etc. will determine how costly this will be. The basic inspections costs from $400-$1200 and could potentially be more depending on the tests you decide to have done on your Southern NH home for sale.
• Homeowners Association Fees: The Seller will pay for this transfer which will show that the dues are paid current, what the dues are, a copy of the association financial statements, minutes and notices. There may also be a one-time fee for the buyer to join the Association that goes into the Reserves.
• Homeowners’ Insurance: This covers possible damages to your Southern NH home. Your first year’s insurance is often paid at closing and the cost varies based on the size of the home, your credit and the amenities.
• Lender’s Title Insurance: This is insurance to assure the lender that you own the home and the lender’s mortgage is a valid lien, and it protects the lender if there is a problem with the title. The cost varies based on the sales price of the Southern New Hampshire home you buy.
• Owner’s Title Insurance: This is an insurance policy that protects you if someone challenges your ownership of your home. This cost also varies based on the price of the home you buy.
• Origination Fee: This covers the lender’s administrative costs. It’s usually about 1% of the total loan.
• Prepaid Interest: Most lenders will ask you to prepay any interest that will accrue between closing and the date of your first mortgage payment.
• Property Taxes: Typically lenders will want any taxes due within 60 days of purchase by the lender to be paid at closing. There may also be taxes due to the owner that were prepaid.
• Recording Fees: This is a fee charged by your local recording office for the recording of public land records. It is usually around $50.
• Transfer Taxes: The transfer tax is one of the largest fees you encounter in New Hampshire. The NH Transfer tax is $15 per $1,000 of the sales price. This fee is split between the buyer and the seller unless otherwise agreed to in writing. In other states there are different fees and it may only be born by the seller.
• Underwriting Fee: This also goes to your lender, covering the cost of researching whether or not to approve you for the loan. An underwriter looks at your file and makes the decision as whether your Southern NH home loan will be accepted or not.

Home buyers will pay anywhere between about 2% to 5% of the purchase price of their home in closing fees but it typically ranges around 3.5%. Your lender will give you a loan estimate for your loan, which will include what the closing costs on your home will be. Many of the fees that make up closing costs may be negotiable. You can also look around for different lenders to see who may be willing to offer you a loan with the lowest closing costs and especially the lowest interest rate.

What is Radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that you cannot see, smell, or taste. It is a carcinogen that has been proven to cause cancer. The Surgeon General warned that Radon is the second leading cause for lung cancer in the United States today. If you smoke, and there is Radon in your home, then you are at an even higher risk for lung cancer. If you are looking for more information on radon you can check out the EPA website at www.epa.gov/iap/radon/pubs/index.html or call the New Hampshire Bureau of Environmental & Occupational Health at (603) 271-4610.

In 1899, English physicist Ernest Rutherford first discovered Radon. The discovery is also credited to German physicist Friedrich Ernst Dorn in 1900. Rutherford discovered Radons’ alpha radiation, and Dorn discovered that radium was releasing a gas.

Radon is a colorless chemically-unreactive inert gas. It is the heaviest known gas. Radon is 9 times denser than air. Because it is a single atom gas it easily penetrates many common materials like paper, leather, low-density plastic, paints, building materials, and most insulations.

How is Radon made?

Radon is not produced as a commercial product. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas and comes from the natural breakdown of uranium. It is usually found in igneous rock and soil. In some cases, well water may also be a source of radon. New Hampshire is the granite state and radon can come through the rock in the ground and other soils and clays and come into our homes.

What happens when you’re exposed to Radon?

Human exposure to radon are inhalation and ingestion. Radon in the ground, groundwater, or building materials enters working and living spaces and disintegrates into its decay products. Although high concentrations of radon in groundwater may contribute to radon exposure through ingestion, the inhalation of radon released from water is usually the concern.

Testing is the only way to know if you have Radon in your home. The EPA indicates that any readings above 4.0 pCi/L in the air are not acceptable levels and should be mitigated.  It is recommended that the testing device be put in the lowest level  suitable for occupancy and typically is left for readings in a 48-72 hour time frame.

How do you get rid of Radon?

If you do find Radon in the air of your Southern NH home, you can reduce the exposure to an acceptable amount on your own for around $500, but this is not recommended because it is a dangerous gas. We suggest you find a Certified Radon Mitigator in your area. For radon air, the professional will usually install a sub-slab depressurization method by inserting a PVC pipe through the basement floor and venting it out the roof with a fan and typically runs from $1200-$1500 in Southern New Hampshire.

For radon in the water, the State of NH recommends a level lower than 2000 pCi/L but there is no standard EPA regulatory limit. The cost to mitigate radon in the water runs from $2500-$5000. Aeration is the method suggested by the State of New Hampshire to get rid of radon in water and sometimes require an additional water softener system, if there are high levels of iron or manganese. Every state has their own guideline as to what they feel is safe and you need to go with what makes you feel safe in your Southern New Hampshire home.

If you are looking to test for radon in your Southern New Hampshire home and would like some suggestions on a Certified Radon Mitigator feel free to give us a call at Harmony Real Estate at (603) 883-8840. We would love to help you better the quality of life for you and your family in your Southern NH home.  

Hiring a home inspector is a very important part of your home buying process. Don't let the house inspection kill the deal! When you are choosing an inspector to check out your South Nashua home for you, be sure to ask them how much experience they have. You don’t want to hire someone with a poor inspection background because they may miss something very important.

Typically, an inspection report is 20 or more pages long. Most inspectors, and Real Estate agents think the buyer should use the inspection to generate a list of repairs that should be accomplished. If the seller is aware of these issues beforehand they should work on any major repairs before they sell their South Nashua home to make it more valuable. If the buyer doesn't like the results of an inspection report, they have the right to ask the owner to fix the items, keep it as is or exit the contract and look for a new home. Typically the buyer and the seller will come to an agreement on what repairs will be remedied and move toward a closing on their South Nashua home for sale.

What a buyer usually doesn’t always realize is that once they find a new home, they will have to pay for that home to be inspected as well. Inspections range from about $300-$500 and they are non-refundable. If there are problems with the home you want to purchase, you should decide how much those repairs will cost before you leave the contract. If yo can't come to a reasonable agreement with the seller it may be better to find a new South Nashua home for sale and pay for another inspection. However, you never know if the next home you find will have more issues than the previous one, or not.

When purchasing a home that is being sold to you by the owner, you need to remember that it is not a brand new home. Used homes that have been lived in will have some wear and tear on the home. If you are looking for something perfect, definitely consider looking into a brand new home. Instead of breaking a deal over repairs, it would make more sense to buy a home warranty in the event that something breaks. There are home warranties available for under $500! Some sellers may even be willing to pay for a home warranty instead of repairs.

Unfortunately, some home inspectors lack people skills, and fail to explain their findings properly. There have been some complaints about home inspectors who use verbiage in their reports such as “may in the future,” or “could potentially.” The words “may” and “potentially” mean that there is a possibility of something happening, not a guarantee. When people are getting houses inspected, they want to know exactly what is wrong, and what to do to fix it. What inspectors don’t seem to understand is that buyers take these statements as “ you’re house is falling apart” or “don’t buy this!”

To be sure a home inspector won’t kill your South Nashua deal, it's important that buyers and sellers use an experienced agent. Also, make sure you ask questions about the inspection. If they use words like “may” or “potentially” ask the inspector why they said that. Have them explain to you why they think something could go wrong with whatever object they stated, in the future. Be sure your agent shows up at the inspection to help you ask those needed questions.

The purpose of a home inspection is not to have the seller fix every single item in the contained report, that would be unreasonable, but more so to help the buyer see any huge issues that make the cost of the house go down. Buyers have the right to ask the sellers to fix something, but sellers also have the right to say no. There are always going to be a list of repairs that need to be fixed in your South Nashua home but the sellers are not going to be willing to fix every leaky faucet or toilet flange but more likely to fix a leaking roof or failed septic. It is more reasonable to understand this information about your South Nashua home for sale at the onset.

Don’t let the home inspector break your deal! Be sure that the home inspector and the buyers agent are present for you as a buyer to ask questions. They can help you understand things you don't understand about the home. It could be as simple as where a light switch may be, or how to turn on the lights to the pool or more complicated like finding the shut valves or changing the settings on your water heater. That way you don't worry about items that may not even be broken. 

If you are looking for more information on selling your South Nashua home or would like a list of homes for sale in South Nashua give our agents at Harmony Real Estate a call at (603) 883-8840. We are here to help you through your South Nashua home sale process!