Real Estate Facts, Study Sets, and Exam Questions

How well do you know Real Estate? Here are some fun Real Estate facts

1. Upon acceptance of an offer, the time it takes to close/perform on the contract and take possession is typically 30-45 days.

2. Covenants of a property may restrict you in many ways, including whether or not the property can be rented.

3. Different loan types have different appraisal guidelines that affect whether a property that isn’t in good condition can be purchased with funds from those loan types.

4. Iowa is the only state that continues to utilize abstracts to track ownership and land records.  These abstracts show the history of the ownership of your property, all the way back to when the state was entered into the union.

5. New rules require a DNR Certified Inspector to inspect any septic system and prepare a report before the title/ownership can be transferred to a new buyer.

6. A home built before 1978 must disclose the possibility of lead-based paint in the home.

7. Due to our rich soil in Iowa, radon is a common finding during inspections requested by potential buyers. Very high levels of this odorless, invisible gas show the need to install radon mitigation systems.

8. In Scotland, homeowners paint their front door red when they pay off their mortgage.

9. According to an old superstition, if a bird flies into a home, death is soon to follow. Long before “put a bird on it” became hipster décor, birds were thought to symbolize imminent death for the home’s occupants. People have long connected birds to the spirit world, and it’s evident in our culture — just think of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven” and Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds.”

10. The people of Easter Island have a word, “tingo,” which literally means “to take objects one desire from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them until there’s nothing left.” … We suspect they may not stay friends for long.