So you are a buyer and you signed an agreement of sale on a home and are in the process of purchasing it, or you are a seller who has signed an agreement and are just waiting for your home to close and get your proceeds — keep in mind that there are a multitude of reasons why you may never get to the closing table.

We’ve written about flood insurance and how a buyer may not be able to close if they had not purchased flood insurance as the Congress had not renewed the flood insurance bill.  That has now been renewed until September 30th. But what about other things?

Some home buyers may be shocked to discover they’ve lost their mortgage commitment after making a major purchase prior to closing!  That could be a real shock to the seller who is expecting to close, too.

Fannie Mae announced changes to its Selling Guide as part of its Loan Quality Initiative earlier this year.  This update requires lenders to determine that all the home buyer’s debts are disclosed on the final loan application.  If the borrower takes on more debt before the closing, the lender should update its underwriting.  If it fails to do so, it may be required to buy back the mortgage.  In response, many lenders are expected to run a second credit check prior to closing.

Any major purchases by a buyer, especially if credit is involved could effect the real estate transaction.

So what else can go wrong?  How about homeowner’s insurance?  If the property is older – there could be a type of wiring system in the home called Knob and Tube.  Many insurance companies will not insure new customers with this type of wiring and one of the requirements of purchase (if bank financing is involved) is to have an insurance policy in place prior to settlement and protecting the lender with a mortgagee clause.

Just because you were able to find the house or the house buyer doesn’t mean that your home is bought or sold!  Our Realtors are trained to avoid those problems or address them before they become major problems.  You bought a GPS system to help you find your way around town or across unfamiliar territory — enlist the help of one of our Real Estate Professionals to do the same for you in your real estate transaction.

Gutters can be a large problem in any home but the fixes can be simple or more complex.  See where your “problem” stacks up and what you may be able to do about it.  This is a great article from HouseLogic.com that was published December 4, 2009, by Pat Curry:

Maintaining gutters is the most important thing you can do to prevent water from damaging your house, and keeping them in shape is an easy homeowner task.

Gutters are designed to do one thing-channel water away from the foundation-and they’re critical to protecting the structural integrity of your house. But in order for gutters to do their job properly, they have to be kept in shape and free of clogs, holes, and sags.

Luckily, most common gutter problems are easy for homeowners to fix themselves. And it’s worth the effort. “Gutters are one of those things where routine maintenance and inspecting them can really prevent bigger problems down the road,” says Jason Stutzman, director of home maintenance and repair for Brothers Redevelopment in Denver.

Here are the gutter problems that the pros see most often, and the recommended solutions.

Clogged gutters

This is the most common problem of all. Left untended, gutters and downspouts get so clogged with debris that they’re rendered useless. The excess weight of leaves, twigs, and standing water can also make them sag and pull away from the fascia.

Clean them at least once a year, and twice a year if you have a lot of trees nearby. Gary Mindlin, managing partner of New York City-based Top Hat Home Services, schedules gutter maintenance four times a year, with additional checks after big storms.

You can clean your own gutters if you’re comfortable on a ladder, don’t mind getting wet and dirty, and don’t have an extremely tall house. After you’ve cleared the muck, flush them with a garden hose to make sure they’re flowing properly. If you’d prefer, you can hire someone to do the job for you for between $50 and $250, depending on the size of your house.

Another option for dealing with chronically clogged gutters is to outfit them with gutter covers. These include mesh screens, clip-on grates, and porous foam. They still need regular maintenance, though, and the cost can be more than the gutters themselves.

Sagging gutters and gutters pulling away from the house

This is usually a problem with the hangers, the hardware that secures the gutters to the fascia. They might have deteriorated over time, the fasteners may have backed out of the wood, or they’re spaced too far apart to support the weight of full gutters. The cost to fix it yourself is cheap; hangers generally cost $10 or less apiece, and the fasteners run about $1 each.

Leaks and holes

Leaky gutter joints can be sealed by caulking the joint from the inside with gutter sealant, says John Eggenberger, vice president of training and corporate development for the Mr. Handyman franchise of home repair companies. A tube costs about $5. Very small holes can be filled with gutter sealant. Larger holes will require a patch. If you can’t find a gutter patching kit at the hardware store, you can make a patch from metal flashing.

Improperly pitched gutters

Gutters need to be pitched toward the downspouts for the water to flow properly. You want at least a quarter inch of slope for every 10 feet. Get on a ladder after a rainstorm and look in the gutter; if there’s standing water, it’s not pitched properly.

To correct this yourself, you’ll need to measure from the peak to the downspout. Snap a chalk line between the two and find the spots where the gutter is out of alignment. You might be able to push it up into place by bending the hanger. If that doesn’t solve the problem, you might need to take a section down and rehang it. If you have seamless gutters, call the company that installed them to correct the problem.

Downspouts draining too close to the foundation

Downspouts need to extend several feet from the house, or they’ll dump right into the basement. Gutter extensions attached to the bottom of the downspout will discharge water well beyond the foundation. They’re inexpensive and easy to install. “I like the downspout material extended four or five feet and screwed on,” says Reggie Marston, president of Residential Equity Management Home Inspections in Springfield, Va. Cost: less than $20 per downspout.

Missing gutters

If your house has no gutters at all, consider investing in a system. The cost depends on the material. Most residential gutters are aluminum, which is lightweight and durable. “Unless an aluminum gutter is damaged by something, it will last forever,” says Scott McCurdy, vice president of Jacksonville, Fla.,-based disaster repair contractor Coastal Reconstruction. Vinyl, galvanized steel, and copper also are available options.

Aluminum gutters range from about $4.50 to $8.50 per linear foot installed. On a 2,000-square-foot house with about 180 linear feet of gutters, that’s roughly $800 to $1,500.

Serial remodeler Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, and a frequent contributor to real estate and home-building publications.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) cannot issue new policies, increase coverage on existing policies or renew policies. The U.S. Congress failed to extend the program (as well as COBRA) by the May 31 deadline.

Hopefully Congress will address the lapse promptly when it returns to Washington on June 7.

Until then, if you are purchasing a home and the lender requires flood insurance, you will have to postpone your closing until after congress extends the program.