Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 88

fcs Vs "£1 Distinguished new tobacco LET THEM SELT YOU A HOUSE save money and heartaches by taking this advice BUY 5 SAVINGS BONDS kauM relief Ina tM ueiy aMury at clwelec ratH tetter free im Isterne jpi far I NCMS( la I rttefi last NcMafl him amts We a special wytsSalp treatise feel feattar ISM (My Sf Saar- dJTUlHMfe Ml DOES FOOD 6ET UNDER YOUR FALSE TEETH? By ARTHUR WHITMAN About 1400000 families will buy new homes this year plus a minion more who will buy older houses Most of them know that the wrong house ranks with the wrong marriage aa a cause of misery Even so after yean of house-hunting many of them know how to look judge what they see even know what they can afford Before you scoff listen to this comment by a long-time Maryland realtor: "To say that 10 per cent of my customers know how to buy a house would be an exaggeration" Real estate men everywhere echo the view Yet buying a house takes no more good sense than buying a dress Knowing what you can afford you decide where to look So the first step in house-hunting is to figure out what you can pay Most people can afford the sum of their cash and credit for a house but few know what this mounts ta McMillan of Walt Whitman Federal Savings and Loan Association in Huntington New York points out that although local factors vary the top mortgage moot house buyers can obtain is equal to two years' net income minus any outstanding debt Take Bob and Sue Young looking fa- a house because they have a 13-month-old daughter Terry and another baby on the way An engineer Bob salary after deductions comes to $144 a week or just about $7500 a year His maximum mortgage then would be $15000 minus $200 he still owes on his car Total $14800 The key factor is how much Bob can pay each month A rule of thumb is thst his combined payment for mortgage reduction interest and taxes can equal one week's income To be safe Bob should follow the practice of many banks and subtract $5 from his weekly net for each dependent With three in the family now and a newcomer en route Bob would subtract $20 leaving a payment of $124 Now figure Bob's down payment saved $2100 for this purpose But two major cash-in-advance items must be deducted payments needed to obtain a mortgage (brokerage fees service charges etc) and closing costa (bank fees lawyer fees surveys title searches etc) These usually amount to about six per cent of the face value of the mortgage to be paid In cash For a $14800 $888 Subtract this and nest egg shrinks to $1212 Add this amount to the mortgage and you get $16012 what the Youngs can provided moving doesn't nick their cash and that job is solid enough for him to risk being penniless with the stork headed his way The Youngs know now what they can afford and at what rate they can pay for it Next step: decide on an area in which to buy Consider all possible choices but settle on one and comb it thoroughly Take weeks or months but see everything for new houses old houses in-between houses any houses in your kind of neighbor hood and price range Find out about school districts tax rates zoning potential thruways or business building in the neighborhood at Town HalL depend cm what sellers and brokers say They're not trying to cheat but they are trying to sell While canvassing an area be what Long Island broker A- J- Christen calls a "rainy day customer" Look in fair weather of course but let sloppy weather keep you away stop looking when -summer ends To the seller carrying an empty house through winter means fuel bills possible landscape damage and taxes to be paid at end When a house interests you put a binder cm it even if not sure of your intentions This is a deposit and varies from $10 to $100 or more The less you pay the better Regard this money as the price you pay for time to think before plunging blindly into a possible bad deaL also possible a real estate man will give back a binder to keep you happy so he can sell you another property Another caution: try to shave every price quoted yoa Some prices are firm others are far higher than the seller expects to get Or a broker may reduce his in to make a sale The only sure thing is that Bob Young will get nothing he ask for Now that the Youngs know what they can afford and how to look for it what guides them in judging a house old or new? Most new houses are in developments and the best rule there is: Don't buy till you see And "to see" doesn't mean looking at a model Buy from models if you must but not before inspected lived-in houses in the seme area and ask if carpentry and electrical work are satisfactory if heat and hot water systems are adequate Are guarantees and promises on roof plumbing wiring decorating and landscaping worth anything or does it take a month of threats and aggravation to get a short circuit fixed? Never mind whether you've got legal recourse if the builder weasels on commitments Do you have the time emotional energy and lawyers' fees to force the issue? Unless you're married to the builder's daughter your only real protection is his normal practice With an older house the mere fact that it Is still standing says something about how it was built However only experts can say how much life is left in a 20-year-old roof or heating plant Bob can learn something even by deciding he cant afford expert advice when he needs it The lesson? He afford the house either dismiss houses afflicted with tales wet basements old-fashioned lavatories holes in a driveway dirty walls "nauseous" paint colors You can use defects to put the seller on the defensive If correction isn't too expensive a sales killer can chase other buyers away and smooth a path for your which should be low In other words if you bay a house instead of being sold one you can be pretty sure the house of your dreaim Oee aaahcuMMi Mkn Wain tl m- ptwrr pmf mt tmtitmu Inaai Haa- wjjfszzx aa YOU CAM CAT AMVTNMMI itmfty aafc aria af Hi-liw oa walileeuaM wet aa Bae aad woHe periecdy A taaaalaaa erisriett hatarieee aa K- roar elates Sem eeaMt aa fanJ aaereatce Al taar Aral -Maa IIM rehear far see shea Metes Haro-treat lac Daft AW-la 4Mm St BaSele 9 Rip Van Winkle Couldn't Sleep with flagging Backache Nee I Yaa aaa art the hat laKtf yoa aaai PHIe wait fact la asperate aira 1 1 epeeS paia-rHIrrlMI aitiaa la hr irrttatioaS Mine la ta afiMacr aWa eat the eat pet af the IS Eajor a see a aw ham taliaf 9 im New I Gal lAaaara MW Mg BMW fW gVfff 12 The Americas Weefcly April 1SS1 MAH XVy itftoNuwissiisiiaaari.