When you apply for your Indiana home loan, you will go through the usual steps. Your credit rating, debt and general loan-worthiness will checked in some extremely intimate ways. You will also be required to produce a downpayment that may be more money than you’ve seen in one place before.
While it feels invasive, such an examination is to insure that you are a good risk for the amount of money you wish to borrow. The bank does not want to set up a 30-year, fixed interest rate mortgage with someone who is at a high risk for loan default, or even worse, foreclosure. There are always circumstances no one can control, but it is in everyone’s best interest to make sure the risk is as low as possible.
However, much of this activity takes place after you have already found the home you want to buy. You should be pre-qualified for a loan before you go house hunting, but you usually will not be fully approved until you find the exact property.
This part can be just as stressful, if not moreso, than applying for the loan. There are many things people look for in a new house, and a few they don’t.
Most states have had material defect laws in place for some time, meaning that if there is physical problem with the property, the seller is required to divulge the same before the sale. There are different criteria for psychological defects.
A psychological defect is anything that may negatively impact – stigmatize -- the buyer’s perception of the home, such as a gruesome death or a haunting. In Indiana, the seller has no legal requirement to reveal this kind of information however, if you ferret out such data yourself, they cannot lie to you about it.
Although many people profess to disbelieve, one of the most common types of stigmatized properties are those that are – or are rumored to be – haunted. On the upside, depending on how you feel about any of this, you may actually be able to get a discount on the sale, which will ultimately save you money on your Indiana home loan.
Even in states lacking stigmatized property laws, sellers may have trouble moving such homes. Depending on the date and notoriety of the event, the residence may have been in the news or be well known. There is also the inevitable gossip of the neighbors. Also, if you see children running past the house wearing garlic and screaming, that could be a sign.
If the seller is having difficulty moving the house and you don’t mind – or don’t believe in – ghosts, there is a strong possibility of getting a discount, as well as a roommate with no pets or furniture.