Buying Your First Home in Tallmadge: What It Really Takes to Get In

Buying Your First Home in Tallmadge: What It Really Takes to Get In

By Mike Ferrante, Broker Associate, The Mike Team at LPT Realty

Tallmadge is one of the older communities in Summit County. It was founded in 1807, and the Tallmadge Circle at its center, laid out by the Reverend David Bacon with roads radiating out from it, is on the National Register of Historic Places. For a first-time buyer, the more practical draw is a smaller city of about 17,500 people next door to Akron, with its own school district and quick access to I-76 and Route 8. Here's what getting into your first home there actually takes.

Check which county the house is in

Most of Tallmadge is in Summit County, but a small portion on the east side extends into Portage County. That changes which county auditor values the home and which tax rates apply. It's a five-minute check on the listing or the county auditor site, and it's worth doing before you compare two houses that look alike on paper.

The good news on the city side: Tallmadge doesn't require a municipal point of sale inspection. If the home is on a private septic system or well, though, Summit County Public Health requires that system to be inspected before the property transfers.

The cash you'll actually need

First-time buyers tend to focus on the down payment and forget the rest. Using a round $250,000 purchase as an example:

• Down payment: FHA loans require at least 3.5%, about $8,750. Some conventional first-time buyer loans allow as little as 3%, about $7,500.
• Closing costs: lender fees, title, prepaid taxes and insurance. These are separate from the down payment and vary by loan, so ask your lender for a written estimate early.
• Earnest money when your offer is accepted.
• The inspection, and the appraisal if your lender passes that cost to you.
• A cushion after closing. Your first month in a house always costs more than you think.

How Ohio's OHFA assistance works, including the catch

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers down payment assistance of 3% of the purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% on government loans (FHA, VA and USDA). It can go toward the down payment, closing costs or other pre-closing expenses, and it's forgiven after seven years. There are income and purchase price limits, and buyers need to complete a free homebuyer education course.

Here's the part to take seriously: if you sell the home within those seven years, you repay the assistance. For a buyer who plans to stay a while, that's a great deal. For a buyer who expects to move up in three years, it's a cost to plan for, not free money. Ask an OHFA-approved lender for the current income and price limits for Summit County, and for Portage County if the house is on the east side.

Two things I cover with every first-time buyer class

Open houses. When you walk into an open house, the agent sitting there works for the seller. That's fine, but it means the person answering your questions isn't representing you. If you see a Tallmadge home you like, have your own agent schedule a showing, ideally before the open house, so you're ahead of the crowd instead of in it.

Home warranties. I'm a fan of a home warranty for first-time buyers. It's a real safety net during the first year, when you don't know the house yet and don't have a repair fund built up. Make sure the warranty is actually spelled out in the purchase agreement.

The bottom line

Tallmadge rewards buyers who know their full cash number, not just the down payment, and who understand the strings attached to any assistance they use. Get those two things straight and you'll be shopping with confidence instead of guessing.

If you're starting a first-home search in Tallmadge or anywhere in Summit County, we'd be glad to help. Reach The Mike Team at www.21mike.com, call +1(216)373-7727, or find us on Google.