Tips to Avoid Getting Stuck with Two Florida Homes

Posted on | September 29, 2011 | 8 Comments

Often, when Palm Coast home owners decide to move from one house to the other, they are stuck with two houses. You buy a house but without selling the existing one and you now own two instead of one house. Another situation is that you could sell your existing Palm Coast home, but you still haven’t bought a new one. This is often referred to as the real estate catch 22 situation. For many homeowners, moving from one house to the other, thus, becomes quite stressful. This situation can give sleepless nights to many and homeowners feel that this is something that they need to deal with on their own. However, choosing an agent who can offer your specific programs to deal with a situation like this can ease your stress a lot.

Deciding whether to sell first or buy first is a decision that frustrates many people. Both these are quite risky since you will either end up with no home at all or you will end up with two Palm Coast homes. It is not easy to manage the real estate sector these days. It is becoming more and more difficult to sell houses these days and agents have to come up with new and creative ways to sell houses present on the market.

There is a new and creative way that some agents are offering these days to get out of this messy situation. You get a guarantee that the Palm Coast house will be sold and you also are able to buy the house that you want. In this program, the agent does a market analysis of all comparable houses for sale in your area and this includes a computerized print-out. Information from this analysis is then used to determine the market value of your home.

Now, you have the guaranteed price and the list price, that is, you know in writing, how much will receive upfront even before your house is sold. This offers you double protection since you know you will receive the guaranteed price. In case you do get an offer that is higher than this price, you can go for that too.

This gives you the peace of mind to look for your next home and also place a cash offer in case you do find a house that suits your requirement. This is because you already know the minimum amount that you will get when you sell your house and when you can expect to receive the money.

It is a great service for anyone who wants to avoid the stress and worry of owning two Palm Coast homes or having no home at all. So, you don’t have to go through the dilemma of buying first or selling first.

It is very important that you choose your real estate agent very carefully since no two agents are alike. A good Palm Coast real estate agent is one who can offer you the most innovative marketing plan and ensures that your property needs are taken well care of.

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How to Buy a Florida Home with Zero Cash Down Payment

Posted on | September 27, 2011 | 3 Comments

If you want to buy a Palm Coast home without paying any down payment, then the Zero Cash Down Payment Program is just right for you. This program is ideal for those who had owned a home before and are presently in a rented apartment or are a first time Palm Coast homebuyer and want to get into the housing market somehow but could not because you thought that you need a substantial amount as down payment. It is also ideal for those who do not want to liquidate an asset so that they can use the amount received for down payment.

It doesn’t matter whether you want to get into the market or you want to re-enter the Palm Coast housing market. The point is that you want to do so without making a cash down payment. This is why the Zero Cash Down Payment Program is just right for you. If you want to qualify for this program, here is what you need.

Your credit history should be excellent. There should be no bad debts and you should be paying off your current liabilities in a timely fashion.

Your liabilities should be limited. This will require you to disclose all your present liabilities and how much more you can handle.

You should have had a stable employment for at least three years. For this, you will need a letter of employment from your employer and if you are self-employed, you will need the financial statements for the past 3 years.

You should have the financial ability to make larger monthly payments since without making the down payment; you will have to meet the obligation of larger mortgage payments.

In this program, you can buy different types of properties. These include detached or semi-detached homes, condos, or freehold town homes. Not all properties are qualified for this program. This is why it is important that you consult with an experienced agent who knows which kinds of properties are allowed in this program in your specific area.

Here are a few benefits of the zero down payment programs:

You don’t have to pay any down payment.  So, if you are renting, you can stop paying the landlord’s rent and instead begin paying for building your own asset. If the thought of paying a huge down payment is stopping you from buying your own home, then you should know that this not true. Not just home buyers, there are some agents also who think that you need a huge amount as down payment. Due to this, many Palm Coast home buyers think that they will have to save money for many years before they can actually enter the housing market. The result is that they keep filling the pockets of their landlords for many years.

You can buy your Palm Coast home now. With this program, you don’t have to worry about down payment, so you can buy your house right now.

This is a program that is approved by banks. All you need to do is talk to your Palm Coast agent or lender and discuss the financing aspects involved in the Zero Cash Down Payment program.

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Buying a Florida Home? – Be Aware of the Extra Costs

Posted on | September 27, 2011 | 11 Comments

Are you looking at buying your first Palm Coast home? Are you looking at trading up to a larger house? The situation could be any one of these but the fact is that there are extra costs that are involved while you are buying a Palm Coast house. And yes, these costs are over and above the purchasing price. If you are not aware of these costs beforehand, they can come up as a shock to you while closing the deal. There are one-time fixed time payments and then there are monthly or annual payments. These extra costs may vary from one deal to another but knowing about them can help you get a more accurate idea of your budget.

It doesn’t matter whether you are buying a Palm Coast house for the first time or the fifth time, what matters is that there are a lot of things that you need to consider so as to avoid any unexpected extra financial burden. Here are a few costs that you should consider while planning your budget for buying a house:

1. A bank often requires that your property be appraised. For this you need to pay an appraisal fee that could cost you around three hundred dollars to a maximum.

1. Your bank may also want to include the property taxes in your monthly mortgage payments. However, this will depend on your down payment and whether you are able to submit a proof on an annual basis that your taxes have been paid

1. A survey fee is charged when you buy a home on resale rather than buy a new home. This will set you back by at least seven hundred dollars.

1. You will also need property insurance to cover the replacement value of your home. This includes the structure and the things in your house and is required by your lending institution to make sure that their investment is protected.

1. Service charges involve the installation fee of services such as cable or telephone that you will need once you move into your new house.

1. No home purchase should be made without the help of a lawyer who will review the paperwork and guide you along. The legal fees may vary depending on the experience of the lawyer and the kind of legal expertise that is required.

1. There is also a mortgage loan insurance fee that you may be required to pay depending on the equity in your home. The costs are higher than 3% of the total mortgage amount and the payments are added to your monthly mortgage payments.

1. A mortgage broker may also charge you a fee to get you a lender and to arrange for financing your home. This may not always be the case since often brokers do not charge you anything and in fact they get their fees paid by the mortgage institution itself.

1. You cannot, of course, forget about the moving costs. It will cost you a minimum of $50/hour for a van and three movers and the charges will be higher when the demand for movers is high.

10.  There will be monthly or annual maintenance fees that you will be required to pay once you shift into your new home. These can include grounds keeping and carpet cleaning and will vary depending on the building.

11.  Water quality and quantity certification may be required if your new house is serviced by a well. A fee may be charged for this but this totally depends on where your new house is located.

12.  Your Palm Coast property taxes can go up by thousands of dollars if the town has made some local improvements such as addition of sidewalks or building of a proper sewer line.

13.  When Palm Coast property is transferred from one person to the other, you have to pay a land transfer tax. The amount of this tax, however, can vary depending on the area that you live in.

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Facts about Florida Fixer-Uppers

Posted on | September 26, 2011 | 10 Comments

If you are thinking of buying a Palm Coast house that is a fixer-upper, you should learn a few facts about these types of homes before actually going out and purchasing them. They are often a good deal for the buyer but only if s/he is aware of a few truths and facts about them.

A home owner looking at selling his/her fixer-upper Palm Coast home needs to list the home at a price that includes the cost of restoring it. To calculate the asking price of such homes, the savings made on buying a house that is lower than the market value is approximately equal to the amount of money that will be spent on the necessary restoration work. You may want to enhance the look of the house or use a high-end finish. However, these costs are not included in the calculations. This is why you should be careful while making these renovations since you may not be able to get any profit out of your investments if you spend too much cash on them.

An offer to purchase and sell agreement should always include a Palm Coast home inspection, especially for the fixer-upper. There may be certain structural defects that may not be seen and these are the ones that are very costly to repair. For the untrained eye, it is difficult to find such costly defects. However, for a licensed home inspector, this is quite easy to find and s/he can give you a correct estimate of the costs that will be involved in fixing such things up.

The location of the house is an important aspect of buying such a house. If you buy a fixer-upper in a good neighborhood, then your costs may be more, however, the final profit that you make will be high.

It doesn’t matter what upgrades or what finishing has been used in the house since the buyer will only buy it a rate at which most buyers are purchasing it. While calculating your return on investment, make sure to consider the following factors:

• Where is the home located?

The neighborhood will decide the kind of buyers you are going to attract. So, if an area has mostly first time buyers, then people buying the house will be those who are on a limited budget. These people are not necessarily looking for high end finishes but rather they are thinking whether they can afford the house or not.

• Neighboring homes

If the surrounding homes are unkempt, then the price you will get for selling your house will not be much as compared to a neighborhood where the surroundings are well-maintained.

• How are the surroundings?

If a house is located in a convenient and quiet locale, you are going to higher price for it. So, although it is convenient to live by the side of a school, the noise would make the location an undesirable one and fetch a lower price.

It is not always possible to turn a single family Palm Coast home into a multiple family building. There are strict zoning laws in most cities and towns that make it difficult to go beyond the maximum allowable occupancy within any given area. These laws also control the size and how you can design the house in case you are building a new home or adding a new structure to the existing home.

If you think that a fixer-upper Palm Coast home is right for you, be sure to calculate some numbers. These include the list price of the fixer upper, the average prices of comparable non-fixer-upper homes in the area, an estimate of the costs involved in repairing, a buffer amount to take care of sudden repairs, the selling expenses which include lawyer fees and closing costs, and the amount of profit that you are expecting to get from the investment.

If your intention is to make the repairs and then sell the house immediately, then you will soon get your profit. However, if you intend to fix it up, stay in it for a while, and then sell it, your profit will be much higher. This is because, the market is going to go up over time and your sale price would, of course, go up after a few years. Another reason for making a higher profit is that if you were living on rent till now, you will save on the rental amount and instead spend the money on building equity for your self.

However, do keep in mind nothing is guaranteed here also just like in other investments. So, if you are looking for financing a home like this, remember that the market has had some bad time in the past. So, don’t make the mistake of spending more than you are comfortable with.

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Tips to Get the Right Price for Your Florida Home

Posted on | September 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

For a Palm Coast home seller, setting the right asking price is the most important thing. If your home is not in the correct pricing range, prospective buyers may not consider it and may not even opt to go for a showing. Consider that your asking price is the first impression that your buyers get about the house, so it is important that you make a good impression.

Pricing the house is not an easy process and it should be taken quite seriously. The house should neither be priced too high nor too low and taking a look at the other Palm Coast houses that have been sold is only a part of fixing up the asking price. You need to have more information to get the price right.

Before determining the price of the house, make sure to do some research. A quick look at the Palm Coast houses that have recently been sold will give you something to start with; however, it is not enough. You need to understand what the factors that buyers consider while looking for their home are.

Thinking about how you went on your house hunting is going to help understand what buyers are looking for. For starters, buyers do not restrict themselves to one area and may look at other neighborhoods or even other cities for their house. Buyers will be comparing your house to new developments, homes that are about 10 years old, etc. Location such as middle of the town, already established areas, suburbs, etc. will also be considered. The different look and feel of the house will also be considered by the buyer visiting your house.

This basically means that your house is not just competing against the house round the block, but also with houses located in other areas.

Mostly sellers use four common strategies to set the asking price of their house. Many sellers think that setting a higher asking price will get you a higher selling price. But this is not always true since buyers do pay attention to the market and this is why it necessary that you carefully set your asking price.

• Overpricing the property is a common strategy used by sellers. Agents recommend this especially when there are more than one agents competing for the listing of your property. But, as a seller, what you should know is that fooling the market is not in your best interest. The result will be that your house will be on the market for a longer time period than usual and it will be labeled as a troubled house by other agents who will be bringing the buyers to you. These agents will set a price lower than the market price for your house and the seller also has to go through the inconvenience of listing the property again and keeping the house in showing condition for a longer time.

• Some houses are somewhat overpriced and they also end up being on the market for longer time than they should. The reason for overpricing such houses could be that the seller thinks that the house does deserve a higher asking price than the market or s/he is leaving some room for negotiation. In this case also, your house will stay in the market for a longer time and you may not like the price that you finally receive.

• Some sellers price their Palm Coast house at their current market value and these houses can sell quickly. They also get a price that is very close to the asking price.

• If a seller wants a quick sale of the Palm Coast property, s/he or would set an asking price that is lower than its current market value. These houses get lots of offer, sell fairly quickly, and their final sale price may be higher or lower than their asking price. It will be, however, a good idea to make sure that your agent has your best interest at heart when suggesting this method of pricing the house.

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