In our market, homebuyers (or their agents) will often request that a home seller provide a home warranty as part of the sales contract. It’s like an insurance policy for some of the bigger ticket items in a home that you wouldn’t want to fail. For instance, home warranties for existing homes typically cover mechanical systems and appliances, and, in our market, at least, can be purchased for around $400 or less (depending on the home). [Read more…]
Northeast Florida Waterfront Homes aren’t Always at the Beach
Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Florida? A lot of people will answer the beach (and, yes, some will say Disney or Daytona). But I’d guess most people visiting Florida think about visiting the beach, whether it’s down south in Miami or the Keys, or on the panhandle in Panama City Beach or Destin.
Not coincidentally, when people think of waterfront property in Florida, they’ll often think of the beach, as well. But here in Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Augustine, etc.), there are plenty of options for homebuyers beyond just the beach/oceanfront. [Read more…]
A Ponte Vedra Resolution…To Go
Once you’ve lived in one place a while, it’s easy to fall into a rut. Autopilot is your default mode as you run from the office, to the kids’ schools/activities, the grocery store, etc. It gets so bad that you can’t even join in on the snarky criticism of Apple maps because, well, you don’t need maps where you’re going.
Well, for me, that’s about to change. My resolution for the new year is to explore more of Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville and St. Augustine than I already know. And maybe spend a little more time in some familiar, but rarely visited, places.
The Beach
Case in point…I live a matter of miles from the beach. Yet I only tend to see it if I’m showing an oceanfront house or condo. The view from the decks of these properties is great. But I’m committed to getting my toes in the sand, and the surf, a bit more than usual in 2013.
Music/Entertainment Venues
I’ve seen a lot of great shows already in and around Jacksonville and St. Augustine. The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is a great outdoor venue, and I’ve been able to see national acts like Wilco, the Decemberists, Blondie and Devo. And the Times-Union Center and Florida Theatre are both venerable old venues that I’ve visited on quite a few occasions.
This year, however, I’d like to expand my horizons at places I’m familiar with (Jacksonville Symphony at the Times-Union Center is calling my name, I believe), and ones I’ve not gotten to yet (Ponte Vedra Concert Hall and downtown music spots like Jack Rabbit’s come to mind).
Dining
And while a more traditional new years resolution is to eat less, I’ll take the contrarian approach and vow to eat more. Well, if not more, maybe better. There have been quite a few good restaurants popping up in and around Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Pele’s Woodfire was a highlight of 2012. But it’s time to find some more favorites, and I may start with Black Sheep in 5 Points. Regardless, I hope to get out and experience more of the great food and atmosphere that northeast Florida establishments have to offer.
Are there great places in your hometown that you take for granted, yet never seem to get to? Tell me about them in the comments and let’s commit to getting out to support the great local businesses that are in every community.
Happy Holidays from Northeast Florida
Yes, we do it a little differently down here in Ponte Vedra
For most of my life, the holiday season has been measured in wind chill and snowfall amounts. To be sure, holidays in the Midwest and New England, where I’m from, have quite a different vibe than holidays in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
The Case for a 203(k) Loan
“Good bones.” It’s a phrase that’s used a lot to describe a structurally sound, usually older and somewhat unique home that, to put it gently, needs a little work. Maybe the kitchen and baths need updating. Maybe it could do with an addition. Whatever the case, the FHA’s 203(k) loan program has helped a lot of people purchase, and renovate, homes with “good bones”.
What Happens When the Water Rises
A Primer on Flood Insurance
Flood insurance is always a hot topic in Florida. If you move to Florida, your lender may require you to have flood insurance, most likely because your property is in a flood zone A or other high risk area. And that doesn’t necessarily mean your home is near a large body of water.
Wherever you live, understanding your risks for flooding, and the benefits of flood insurance, is a smart precaution. This article in The New York Times does a good job of providing an overview of what’s typically covered, and what’s not, with flood insurance.
For more information, be sure to visit FloodSmart.gov.
Questions I Never Thought I’d Have to Ask
As a Realtor®, when I’m asked to make a listing presentation, I have some basic assumptions. I assume, for instance, that the seller really does want to sell their home. And I assume they have the necessary plans in place for vacating the property in a timely fashion should the property sell.
Silly me.
Granted, selling or buying a home can be a stressful process. Often times, there are extraneous factors, such as a job change or other significant events, that add more pressure to the process. That said, some recent experiences have me wondering if I need to really get back to basics in some of the questions I ask in a listing presentation.
Some thoughts:
Do you really want to sell your home?
I ask this because it’s rare that, as a seller, you will get a full price offer on your home or that you will not be asked to perform some minor or major repairs after inspections. These repairs will cost money and must be done by licensed tradespeople. Are you ready to do that to sell your home?
Do you understand that the purchase and sale agreement, and all the dates and conditions therein, create a legally binding contract?
In other words, there’s no “pushing back a few days”, without agreement from all parties. You can’t “get to it ASAP”. There are dates and timelines in the contract for a reason. Meet the dates or risk having the contract, including the purchase price, renegotiated or abandoned completely.
Do you have somewhere to go the day your home sale closes?
Unless other arrangements are specified in the contract, the buyer owns the home on the day of closing. Not only must you and your family be gone, but your stuff must be gone, as well. Make sure you have a plan for your move.
Seems pretty basic, right? But maybe more sellers should ask themselves these basic, but difficult, questions, before testing the market.
The Fallacy of Per Square Foot Pricing
One of the mistakes I consistently see homebuyers and home sellers make is relying too heavily on a price per square foot figure. Home sellers set their asking price based on (somewhat) comparable homes that command the highest price per square foot. Conversely, homebuyers base their offer price on (somewhat) comparable homes with the lowest price per square foot.
Appraisals a Challenge for Both Home Sellers and Home Buyers
Last week, Barbara Corcoran, The Today Show’s resident real estate expert, discussed the impact that low appraisals are having on the housing market:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
I touched on this point a few weeks ago in a blog post discussing the pitfalls homebuyers and sellers are often encountering in today’s market. However, I think The Today Show piece does a good job of shining a light on a how big of a problem low appraisals have become nationwide.
It’s also important to note that appraisers (and banks and others involved in a home sale transaction) are not necessarily doing anything wrong. In fact, they’re just following the rules put in place by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. But one of the unintended consequences of the act is appraisers being assigned to assess the value of a home in areas that may be unfamiliar to them.
I experienced this first-hand not too long ago. I had a home listed here in St. Johns County, Florida, a coastal county near Jacksonville. When we got an offer on the home, the buyer’s lender sent an appraiser from further out west in Clay County. While the appraiser did a fine job, there was quite a bit of added stress and work on all of our parts. The appraiser had to work extra hard (and fast) to get up to speed with the peculiarities of Marsh Harbor, a small community along the Intracoastal Waterway where the home was located. At the same time, I was able to point her to some appropriate comparable properties to consider. But ultimately, it was up to her to learn “on the fly” what constituted real value in an unfamiliar area.
While my transaction went smoothly, many others don’t. The real estate market really is hyper-local. So having an appraiser who’s familiar with area communities, as well as the things that make each neighborhood unique and what features drive value, is extremely important.
What to do when it’s time for your appraisal
Ultimately, the appraiser in any transaction is the final arbiter of value. And no one can put undue pressure on an appraiser in an attempt to increase value. There are, however, a few things you and your Realtor® can do to help the appraisal process along:
- Have your Realtor® provide the appraiser with some accurate comparable properties from the area (he or she will likely already have these from when you decided on the home’s price originally)
- Be sure to give your appraiser a thorough list of any upgrades that have been done to the home, or any unique features that make it stand out from others in the neighborhood (remodel, updated kitchen/baths, pool, etc.)
- Have a Plan B in case your appraisal comes in low
Ultimately, having a realistic mindset, and doing a little extra planning upfront, can make the appraisal process go a bit more smoothly. If you have questions about appraisals, or the value of your home, please feel free to contact me.
We’re All Doing the Tighten Up, Now
Update: And on the way out the door this morning (9/13), another property I wanted to show now has multiple offers on it.
If you don’t think the market is evolving, take it from me, and Archie Bell & the Drells. The market is tightening up.
Over the past two days, I’ve been researching properties for a customer, and making showing appointments to see some of those properties later in the week. Over the span of just 48 hours, four of the homes I was planning to show have gone under contract. It’s evidence that buyers are getting motivated and snatching up the good properties that are out there.
So if you’re in the market to buy a home right now, are you ready to move fast on the home you want? Do you have your financing in order? Because if you’re not prepared, somebody else may move in and put an offer in on that home you like quicker than you can say, “Do the Tighten Up”.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- …
- 44
- Next Page »