Deborah Ward – Page 18

Things To Do At A Real Estate Open House

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’re going to an open house for this great house you saw online. Of course the pictures online were flawless and you fell in love with the house. You also know that the Realtor will have the home looking in tip top shape. So what kinds of things should you also look at or do at a real estate open house.

First, don’t go directly to the house

Check out all the information you can find on the house and neighborhood. Local land records can tell you about who the neighbors are. Crime stats can tell you about it’s safety. The state school board can tell you about the local schools. Even assuming you did your homework and the neighborhood “checks out” you want to drive through or even walk around.

Take the time to really go through the neighborhood and see how it feels to you. Remember, the home is on it’s “best behavior” but the neighborhood is just being itself. If you don’t get the right vibe, move on. If you do, keep heading to the home.

During the drive around, eye up the local schools

During your homework phase you found out about the stats, now go see what they look like. Neat and tidy, with safe playground equipment or not well taken care of? Numbers can be misleading, or not, but how a community cares for its schools can scream volumes about the community. It can tell you whether you want your children to attend it or not.

Lastly, concentrate on the house

Not specifically how it looks, but on the changes made to it, and what will need to be changed. If there were changes, were they “legal” as in were the proper permits pulled and inspections done? If the need to be done, how extensive are they?

Don’t just fall for the picture the open house presents, do your own homework and make sure it’s really the home for you.

How Real Estate Agents Are Paid When You Buy Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You want to buy your first home, but don’t want to use part of your hard earned deposit to pay a Realtor to help you find one. Set that worry aside because as a buyer you are usually not required to pay any of the Realtors, buyer or seller. No, seriously, it’s true. Here is the rundown on how it works.

Real estate commissions

Real estate commissions, the money paid to Realtors for their services, always sound high, but they are typically shared among several people. Depending on whether your agent works for a broker or not, the commission paid is typically split between the listing agent, the agent who took the listing from a seller, the listing broker, the company employing the listing agent, then your agent, and the company who employs your agent. It may involve less people if one or the other (or both) are independent agents or if the listing agent finds the buyer.

Seller pays

Despite how many agents are involved, the commissions are paid from the proceeds of the sale, from the money that will be due to the seller. That means the seller is responsible for paying any and all agents. That doesn’t mean they pay a higher percentage of the sale if there are multiple agents. The agents share the commission in the listing agreement. For instance, if the listing agreement has a 6% commission, which is pretty typical, then the seller’s agent gets 3% and buyer’s agent gets 3%. If there are brokers involved, the percentage the agent/broker gets depends on the agreement between them.

So as a buyer, you aren’t responsible for payment to the agents, yours or theirs. So start your search and jump into the home ownership fray!

5 Tips For Buying A St Pete Home – Keller Williams St Pete

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

So you want to buy a St. Pete home. It’s a great area, but you know that home buying can be stressful. Here are some tips to make your home shopping easy breezy.

Check your finances

Before you ever walk through a home or talk to a Realtor, check your finances. Know your credit score, check all credit reports with the big three (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). If you find mistakes or misreports, work to correct them. If you have a lower score or issues on your credit report such as late payments, charge offs or bankruptcies, take a few months to work to improve your score and report. Also work with a lender to get pre-approved for a mortgage. A pre-approval will be a huge plus when you are ready to make an offer on a home.

Know how much home you can afford

Of course, be sure that you know how much home you can afford before you look. One thing a Realtor will ask is a price range to start a search. A good rule of thumb is that your home should cost about 2½ times your annual salary (or combined annual salary if you are buying as a couple. BUT, keep in mind other factors like your current expenses, utilities and taxes for the new home. Be sure that you can afford the home you want. Don’t pollyanna yourself into thinking you COULD BE making enough, be sure it IS what you will be making.

Using a buyer’s agent

Hire your own agent to help you search. Using a buyer’s agent will protect you. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a seller’s agent will have your best interests at heart. As nice as they will be, their loyalty is to their client, the seller.

Do your homework about the area

Check into different neighborhoods, school districts and such. Check on sales from the last few months for homes in those areas. That way you know the fair pricing and have an idea of how you should bid on homes you see and want to purchase.

Think long term

Also keep in mind that you should be thinking long term. If you are newly married, or planning to be married, chances are you will be in this home when you start your family. So schools are important. Also pay attention to whether a seller has done a pre-sale inspection and ask to see a copy of one for homes you are very interested in. That way you have an idea of any expensive repairs that might become necessary.

If you are looking for a great St. Pete Realtor, give Deborah Ward a call today! 727-410-0336

Can My HOA Tell Me What To Do?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Homeowners Association… the words that can and do strike fear into the hearts of many homeowners.

Homeowners associations, or HOAs for short, are put in place to protect the home owners in a development and their home values. They do this through instituting rules.

Those rules range from how you can landscape your property, to what colors you can paint your home, to what kinds of vehicles you can keep outside your garage and more.

So can they tell you what to do?

In a word, yes. Those rules and regulations included in all those papers you signed when you settled on your home give them that power. They can tell you whether you can have pets and if so, how many and what kinds. They can tell you whether you can plant rose bushes or trees. They can tell you that you can’t keep your boat on your property or that your in laws can’t park on the driveway for the week they are visiting.

How do HOAs do this?

Those rules I mentioned before are known in your deed as covenants, conditions and restrictions. Your deed makes those rules and regulations mandatory. As long as they don’t violate state or federal law, you have to capitulate. The consequences can cost you. From getting behind on your HOA fees to fines for rule violations, those few hundred dollars can turn into thousands. You could even end up with a lien on your home, a garnishment of your bank accounts or paycheck or even a foreclosure.

Pick your battles!

So before you think about fighting your HOA over the trivialities of the height of a fence or shade of your home, study the rules, consult an attorney or just knuckle under. HOAs can and will tell you what to do.

A History of St. Petersburg Florida

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

St. Petersburg, Florida is on the west coast of Florida in Pinellas County, Florida. It is often referred to by locals as St. Pete, and formally shortened its name in 1994. It sits on the peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

St. Pete was founded by John C. Williams, who migrated there from Detroit, Michigan, and by Peter Demens. Williams purchased the land in 1876, and Demens brought the terminus of a railroad there in 1888. St. Petersburg was incorporated on February 29, 1892. The city was named after Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was where Peter Demens was born and raised.

According to a local legend, Demens won the right to name the town in a coin flip with Williams. Williams then, as the loser, got to name the first hotel. He named if after his birthplace. The Detroit Hotel still exists downtown, but has been turned into a condominium. The oldest running hotels are the historic Pier Hotel, built in 1921, formally Hotel Cordova and The Heritage Hotel, built in 1926.

Philadelphia publisher F. A. Davis turned on St. Petersburg’s first electrical service in 1897 and its first trolley service in 1904. The city’s first major industry, wholesale fish sales, was established in 1899 when Henry W. Hibbs, a native of Newport, North Carolina, established his wholesale fish business at the end of the railroad pier. This pier extended out into the shipping channel. Between 1906 and 1908 the shipping channel was dredged and the deeper channel opened St. Pete up to increased shipping.

In 1914, airplane service across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg to Tampa started. This is generally considered the first commercial airline. The company was the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line. Their pilot was Tony Jannus, and an annual award, The Tony Jannus Award, is presented annually for outstanding achievement in the airline industry.

As with its surrounding sister cities, St. Pete has a great history to go with its great beaches!

Home Seller Tips – How To Pack Up and Sell At The Same Time

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Whatever the reason, you need to pack up and get your home sold. Well, since you also need to get your home into saleable shape, kill two birds with one stone and declutter while packing up.

Start as early as you can so that maybe have a yard sale and also to give yourself enough time to get everything done. Even if you have to rent a storage unit or pod for the short term, do it. Your decluttered home and packed up stuff finished will take a lot of stress from your eventual move.

Start with your furniture. Make sure that rooms are easily moved through, that each room has good flow. Store the extra away. If you are moving immediately and need all your furniture, get a few things for each room on the cheap so it looks lived it.

Next, go room by room and clean out closets. Obviously, out of season things can be packed up and removed immediately. Whatever you need to leave make sure it is neat and sparse so the closets look bigger. If you have bookshelves, parse them down as well. You can leave some personal photos, but parse them down as well. Buyers need to imagine pictures of their own family on the walls, tables and shelves.

Then in the kitchen and bath pack away just about everything on counter tops, leaving only what you need, toaster or microwave, coffee maker in the kitchen, soap dispenser in the bath. Clean out the junk drawer!!! Yes, people go through cabinets, closets and drawers. Make them all look spacious. That means pack up all the extras.

Now that things are packed, yard saled out or given away, stash the boxes and stage the house. Clean towels for the bath, etc. Not sure what to do? Check out how homes are staged in the shows on HGTV. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but make your home look inviting, spacious and clean.