You are here:

Buying or Selling a Home/HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE???

Advertisement

Expert: John Hendricks - 9/26/2007


Question
HI ROMMEL MY NAME IS LILIANA ABOUT TO TURN 18 IN DECEMBER. ME AND THREE OF MY FRIENS WANT TO MOVE IN TOGETHER WITHIN THE NEXT 5 MONTHS. MY GUY FRIEND IS ALREDY 18 N MY OTHER TWO FRIENS (GIRLS) ARE 17 AND 16. WE WANT TO KNOW IF WE HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN AGE TO BUY OR RENT A PROPERTY, AND IF THER IS ANY LEGAL ISSUES WITH US ALL LIVING TOGETHER BECAUSE OF OUR AGES.... I HOPE YOU CAN HELP ME.... THNX

Answer
Dear Liliana;

I am not Rommel, but my name is John. Rommel for one reason or another could not answer this question, and it is a good question...

First, I would recommend that you contact a good Realtor in your area to start with. Getting a good Realtor who is familiar with the area in which you and your friends want to live is valuable. That agent would put you in touch with a knowledgeable mortgage broker to answer all your questions regarding financing a home and to see if you and your friends would qualify. If you did not qualify for one reason or another, the mortgage broker can set you up with a plan that will enable you to purchase a home down the road. Keep that relationship alive with updates to the mortgage broker and in turn they will continue to monitor your progress. I have a 21 year old son going through this same process. He rented at 18 years old, and 3 years later now is looking to save money to purchase a condo.

I do not know what state you are in, but if I am not mistaken you can sign a legal and binding contract at 18 years old unless the state in which you reside has laws and regulations preventing you. Now a mortgage company might have some other ideas on your credit worthiness due to your lack of credit, but who knows… If you and your friends were to buy a home together, you probably would want to hold title (ownership of the property) in what is called “Tenants in Common”. Talk to your Realtor for details on how that works.

As far as rentals, yes being 18 years old, you can legally sign contracts unless the state in which you live in has laws or regulations preventing you. More than likely though, your parents and your friends parents may have to co-sign to rent a property. Once again, lack of credit being the greatest problem and your age plays into this as well. Good luck, and I hope this has helped you and your friends.

Warmest Regards;
John Hendricks  

Buying or Selling a Home

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

John Hendricks

Expertise

As a California Realtor for 23 years practicing in Marin and Sonoma Counties, it is now time to provide counsel through AllExperts.com to those who need advise in real estate. My knowledge and experience includes a wide range of resale residential real estate purchases, new home sales, income related investment properties involved in 1031 exchanges, and land. Let me help you in any of these areas...

Experience

John Hendricks has established himself as one of Marin & Sonoma Counties premier Realtors. A native Californian, John is a well-known and respected Realtor in both Marin & Sonoma Counties who has resided in the Northbay since 1976. John began his real estate career in 1986, and since then has distinguished himself as one or Northern California's top producing Realtors. Before joining Frank Howard Allen Realtors, John was an associate of the Prudential California Realty from 1990-1992 where his outstanding sales achievements earned him one of the company's highest honors, the prestigious "President's Circle Membership", presented to the top 2% of associates for sales and earning excellence. Since his association with the highly regarded Frank Howard Allen Realtors in 1992, John has once again established himself as one of his company's Top 10 Producing Realtors in Marin & Sonoma Counties for the years 1993 through 2007 and now in 2008. Five continuous years of outstanding performance has now allowed John to join 15 other Realtors in the prestigious "Lifetime Hall of Fame" for Frank Howard Allen Realtors. John established a group of professional individuals who specialize in a variety of areas in real estate called, 'Lundmark-Hendricks Fine Homes' This group of professionals are dedicated to the success of representing clients with the greatest amount of care and service when either buying or selling real estate.

Organizations
California Association of Realtors National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Upon Request...

Awards and Honors
Frank Howard Allen Realtors "Hall of Fame Member" Chairman's Circle for 10 consecutive years

Past/Present Clients
Joe Louis & Sharon Sigurdson We want to thank you again for your excellent representation of interests during the recent purchase of our home in Petaluma as well as the sell of our home in Mill Valley. We had the unusual pleasure of working with you during the last year both as sellers and buyers. We felt that our interests were always paramount and that we received a very fair price for the sale of the Mill Valley house as well as our purchase of our new home. This speaks particularly well of you, because of the recent unstable and chaotic real estate market. Will Finke "Quite frankly, we came out of a very difficult situation, which time does not allow elaborating on. This was one of the greatest experiences of our lives as clients. John Hendricks is one of the top businessmen I have ever met." Bruce & Nancy Rosentreter "I chose John Hendricks to sell my house. I picked him because I thought he was professional, aggressive, and that he could get top dollar for my house. He fulfilled my expectations completely." Joy Schuelke "Since we were trying to sell a high end home in a very tough market, and in the middle of a very rainy winter, the prospects seemed quite bleak. I was convinced at the time, and am even more so now, that without John's tenure, patience, and tenacity, we would have not been able to move the property." Lynn McCarthy "I cannot stress strongly enough how impressed I was with the service provided to me by John and his group. Throughout the entire transaction, John was always available, always forthcoming with excellent advice based on his years of experience, and always willing to put in the extra effort to make this a positive experience for me. I feel lucky to have had the experience of working with him." Lea Lieurance-Turk "Thank you John for your outstanding real estate services for the past 5 years I have known you. You have made my dreams come true as far as selling and buying property."
http://www.LundmarkHendricksFineHomes.com

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.