Read on for miscellaneous buyer issues regarding owner financing and assumptions, property surveys and referrals to other professionals

Owner Financing and Assumptions: In the low interest rate environment we’ve had for the last few years, owner financing and non-qualifying assumptions have become very rare. Sellers do not need to provide special incentives for buyers to get them to buy. If we run into a situation where you may agree to either arrangement, we may want to involve a competent real estate attorney to review the risks and benefits.

Surveys and ILCs: You may receive an “Improvement Location Certificate” (ILC) in connection with the purchase of real property. Such a document is commonly called a “survey”, but is not an actual “pin survey”. An ILC relies on existing indications of property boundaries such as pins, sidewalk crosses and apparent property lines to determine the location of improvements on a property. As a result, encroachments and other discrepancies may exist and not be disclosed by the ILC. A “pin survey” is required to give the fullest assurance that there are no encroachments and other boundary and lot discrepancies. The ILC cannot be relied upon for setting fences or other improvements on a property. In theory, an official survey is required for placing such improvements to make sure that they are on the property. From a practical point of view, full pin surveys are rarely done on residential properties located in urban and suburban subdivisions.

Referrals to Other Professionals: A home purchase requires the use of professionals in many different fields. You may need to consult with and rely on attorneys, lenders, appraisers, inspectors, engineers, surveyors, title insurance companies, insurance agents, contractors and others.

We are happy to give you referrals to such professionals when you need them. We make no money from doing so — we simply want you to get great service. Referrals we give you are based on our own experience or on the experience of other clients or other agents who have been satisfied with the services of the particular firms or individuals. However, as they say in the investment business, “past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.” We can’t guarantee that you will be happy with the people or firms we refer to you – we can only tell you that they have done a good job in the past for us or for others we trust. So, don’t feel that you have to use anyone that we refer to you. Feel free to do adequate comparison-shopping before making a selection of any professional.