When in the closing stages of building your home, there are a few things you should remember. These are the things that new homeowners typically forget but are also the things that are very important in making sure that things will run smoothly after you’ve moved in.

1. Make sure you know all the details about the warranty your builder provides – You should know what company carries the warranty that your builder provides. It’s a good idea to walk around the interior of the house and inspect everything from fireplace to air conditioning system, to the water heating system. You should do the same thing to your exteriors; inspect the paint, shingles, garage doors, etc. A good builder will usually have a checklist of things that have warranty and need to be checked. Get a copy of the checklist and keep it in file for your maintenance checks. Remember that as the owner of the house, you have the responsibility to check the parts of your home that is under warranty before the first year has ended.
2. Keep yourself on top of the situation when it comes to your builders and his suppliers – Some homeowners prefer to shop for their own appliances, while some opt to have the builders buy the appliances for them so that they’re ready when they move in. Make sure that the appliances are ready when the builders say they would be. If they’re not ready, make sure they have an alternative solution until the appliances are ready. Check with the builders once in a while to make sure that they make good with the promises that they’ve made.
3. Make sure that the utilities are already transferred to your name by the time you move in – Builders will usually have utilities under their company name until you move in. Avoid disruptions in your service by making sure that the utilities are transferred to your name before or by the time you move in.
4. Check whether or not your furniture will fit into your new home’s door – There’s nothing more frustrating than to realize on the day that you are supposed to move in that your beloved antique living room set won’t fit through your home’s doors. Check your furniture to make sure that they fit so that the builders could make the necessary adjustments on the doorway.
5. Mark existing nicks and marks on the walls – If there are nicks and marks on the walls prior to moving; just mark them with something that won’t damage the surface to make sure that the damage was done before you moved in. Marking with painter’s tape is a good idea so that you won’t damage the surface further.
6. Check everything before you move in to make sure the builders don’t void the warranty – Do a quick rundown on the day before you move just to make sure that all warranties are intact and have not been voided by the builder. Before you change anything in the house because you didn’t like the way the builder did it, you should also check whether or not what you will do will void the warranty. Before you change anything, check if it can be done by the builders instead of you.
7. Make sure you know if you need to finish something before closing – Check whether or not you need to finish an addition to the house or anything else before closing. Some contracts require you to finish everything you need to do (like an additional deck or a gazebo) before you can close.
8. File all your warranties in one place – Moving in may become a flurry of paperwork and things that need to be in order. Don’t lose your warranties in the process. Just keep all warranties in one file and in a safe place. Also, you may want to record all the factors that may contribute to the deterioration of the parts that have warranty. Take down notes about extreme weather changes like storms, or other eventualities like earthquakes.
9. Have your landscaping done before you move in – It’s best to have your landscaper (if you’ve hired one) do the landscaping a few days before you move in so that you’ll feel like you’re moving in to a complete house already.
10. Take future add-ons into consideration – Some people think that choosing the cheaper option is good, but there are times when it’s better to spend what you can now to have the features you want built in on your house. It may be more costly to upgrade or add those features on in the future. For example, it may be more costly to have a fireplace added on to your bedroom later than if you just had the builders add it now.

Most states do not require that you use any particular contract form. You can buy a form at an office supply store or online office supply Web site. You can even get a standard contract form, within your state, from your local real estate agent and broker. It is recommended, however, that you seek advice from a real estate attorney to assist you with understanding the terms and conditions of a contract.

How to determine if a real estate contract is valid

A real estate contract is valid when it becomes “legally enforceable”. In layman’s terms, once all parties sign the contract, they are legally required to perform according to the terms of the contract. A party can be in default of the contract once they fail to perform. In short, they could be legally required to pay damages to the other parties within the contract.

A contract between parties must act in accordance to the law. So, parties cannot execute a contract to commit an illegal act. In this case, the contract involves fraud; therefore, the contract would automatically become invalid. The following are a few important elements that you will find in a written contract:

• Legally Competent Parties – All parties of a contract have to be legally competent in order to enter into an agreement, for example, being mentally competent and of legal age.
• Consent – All parties of a contract must enter agreement knowingly and willingly to the contracts terms and conditions.
• Consideration – This is anything of legal value exchanged and offered in a contract including valuable goods such as services, money, etc. This has to be clearly explained within the contract.
• Agreement by Offer and Acceptance – An offer to purchase a house by a buyer and the approval of this offer by the seller.
• Contingent: a party who has an existing home may desire to buy before actually selling and make the contract “contingent” on selling their home. So, sellers who agree to a contingent offer often give the buyer a certain amount of time to perform. In the case that the buyer fails to perform, the seller is allowed to cancel the contract.

Understanding all that is included within a contract can be a little mind-boggling. The key is that you understand the terms and conditions of a contract that you are signing. There are other issues that you should take into consideration when it comes time to signing the dotted line.

You will want to make sure that a private well inspection is performed. If a house is not linked to city water, and connected to a private well, you should make sure that the water meets suitable health standards.

Make sure that you also obtain a preliminary title report. These records will reveal monetary liens of record and it will even show if the seller is able to transfer a clean title to the buyer.

Lastly, but certainly not least, be aware that a real estate contract does not include any financing contingency. So, if you need to obtain a home loan in order to purchase a house, make sure that you consult your attorney or real estate agent. You should ask him/her to add a condition that will make your offer contingent upon your ability to acquire the loan.

Also, if your loan falls through (it happens) at the last minute, you want to guarantee that you will not lose your money. This is why it is so important to have your attorney review your contract before signing it.