Realtor – Page 4

Do You “Bring Money To The Table” if Your Dream Home Doesn’t Appraise?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You looked at dozens of houses and finally found the home of your dreams. You made an offer and it was accepted and the appraisal was ordered. Fantastic! Or not… the home doesn’t appraise for your offered amount. Now what?

Some reasons it doesn’t appraise enough

This happens a lot. If the markets are rising appraisals and comparable sales don’t keep pace which can mean lower appraisals affect sales.

Sometimes it’s the fact that distressed sales, meaning foreclosure sales and short sales, skew the appraisal. That affects the ability of buyers to get a mortgage for the home.

Generally lenders will only lend funds up to a certain percentage of the appraised value of the home. Typically this is 80% of appraised value or loan to value as they call it.

If your appraisal is too low you can do a few things

One is to walk away. Why start out with a home with a negative equity value?

Two, you can go back to the sellers and renegotiate the sales price. More likely than not there will be a contingency clause in your contract that will allow that.

Third, you can ask for a second appraisal. It’s possible that the first appraiser’s estimate wasn’t accurate. It may mean asking for a value appeal where the original appraiser reconsiders, or asking your lender if they would accept a second appraisal.

The last thing you can do is just come to the table with more money to make up the difference.

That brings up a few questions

First, do you have it? Remember the mortgage lender is going to ask you for proof of where the extra funds came from which could also affect getting your mortgage.

Another question you should ask is would you pay more for a car, dress or couch than its worth? Then why would you buy a home for more than it’s worth? Think it through, talk with your Realtor and make the best decision for you.

Sometimes it is worth bringing a bit of money to the table to get your dream home and sometimes it just isn’t the best solution. Only you can make that call!

First Time Homebuyer Tips

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

First time home buyer? There is so much to do. So much to know and remember. Here are some quick tips to break it down into smaller bites.

Credit score repair

Let’s start with what you need to do prior to even stepping foot into a home for sale. What is your credit score? Do you know that even if you can get financing with a less than stellar credit score, your interest rate will be higher?

So take some time and find out your score, then see what needs to be worked on and fix it. That may take time so start now. If you don’t want to use one of the “free” sites, go to the big three, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and request a copy of your credit report. You are entitled to one per year for free.

Down payment: How much?

Another prior to looking, save money for your down payment. How much will you need? Depends on the amount of money you are looking to spend on a home. The best bet is at least 20% of the amount of the home. So this goes hand in hand with another tip: figuring out what you can afford.

The general guideline that experts advise is that your mortgage shouldn’t be more than 1/3 of your pre-tax income. Keep in mind that your total mortgage payment will include your real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance. The mortgage company pays these bills from an escrow fund they hold for you. The 1/12th of the tax and insurance bill is collected each month and put in the escrow.

If you have hired a real estate agent that is trying to talk you into more home than you can realistically afford, find another agent. An ethical, responsible buyers agent should never push you into buying a house that pushes your budget to its limits.

Ok, next is what you want in your house

This becomes the battle of the “must haves” versus the “would like to haves”. Working electric, plumbing, solid home with no leaks, cracks or other structural problems and the specific number of bedrooms and at least one bathroom are must haves.

Granite and marble countertops in the kitchen and baths, a man cave, pool or bath for each bedroom are would like to haves. If you can get them in your price range, great, but don’t go over budget just to have extras.

Bidding on a house

Found your house? Well the next tip is do not, under any circumstances, make a bid so low the seller won’t even entertain it. Seriously, don’t insult the seller. Pay attention to what your Realtor is telling you about your best bid. No, it doesn’t matter that your Dad or brother-in-law said to low ball the offer. They may have your best interests at heart, but in this instance they will not be helpful.

If your Realtor says offer full asking, do it. If they think you can make an under asking bid, do it. You hired your Realtor for their help and expertise. Use it.

Do not start buying things!

Lastly, now that the seller accepted your offer, it’s not time to go furniture shopping, switch jobs or buy a car. If you do anything to affect your credit, you may not get your mortgage. WAIT! Go and settle on the home, sign on all the lines, dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s and get the keys. Wait a few days to make sure all the paperwork has been recorded at the local land records office and that the mortgage company has all your paperwork. Now you can go buy furniture and use your credit.

Buying your first home is exciting and a bit terrifying. Follow the tips above, listen to your Realtor and it will be smooth sailing!

Why You Should Ask If Your Realtor Is A “Listing Agent”

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

It doesn’t matter what kind of Realtor you hire, right? WRONG! Realtors can specialize as a buyer’s agent or listing agent, and depending on what you need, getting the correct specialization is key. So what are the differences?

Listing agents are real estate agents who deal with sellers. They talk with prospective sellers and help them decide to sell. Once they get the listing, they market the property to attract buyers and other general real estate agents who might have buyers that are interested in the property.

Their focus and responsibility is the sellers whose homes they list.

Buyers agents represent buyers exclusively. They work with buyers to find properties that fulfill the requirements the buyers have for a home. They have no interest specifically in the homes they show. Their responsibility is to the buyer, not the seller.

Most agents are usually a combination of both of these. But make sure that you find one that will represent your interests, as a buyer or a seller. If you are a buyer, don’t rely on a listing agent to worry about your interests. They won’t, no matter how nice they may be. Their responsibility, legally, belongs to the seller.

If you are thinking about listing your home for sale, make sure you are working with a Realtor who focuses on selling listings. Now they may have a buyers agent on their team, but you want to make sure that the agent selling your house is a professional listing agent.

A couple of things you can do to check is ask how many homes the agent listed this year, what their list to sale ratio is and their marketing plan for your listing.

If you are looking for a great listing agent to hire in the Clearwater or St. Petersburg area, give Deborah Ward! 727-410-0336

What Are Sinkholes And How Do They Affect Property Values?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Sinkholes can be a scary thing. They happen in areas where the rock below the surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by the groundwater circulating around and through them. They can occur slowly or seemingly overnight, but having a home in an area where they are common can be nerve wracking.

Dissolving rock

So what happens with the dissolving rock is that spaces open up where rock used to be. Typically those spaces fill with water which helps hold up the land above them.

However, if that water is removed, like when a well is drilled and the water used, there isn’t anything holding up the land. Then it collapses and forms a sinkhole.

Sinkholes can be fixed

Sinkholes can be fixed, and there is nothing wrong with buying a home that has been affected. As a buyer you should just ask to see the documentation of the repair.

However, having had a sinkhole will affect your property value if you are a homeowner.

Generally, a repaired sinkhole property vs. a property that has never had a sinkhole will have about a 7%-10% difference in market value. Your best bet is to have your Realtor do research on other homes in the area comparable to yours and see how sinkhole remediation affected their value.

Is the property insurable?

The other thing to think about is whether your home, or the home you are looking to buy is insurable. You need to be able to get homeowners insurance in order to get a mortgage.

In Florida the biggest insurer for homes affected by sinkholes is Citizens, and their requirements to insure a property have conditions attached. They, and probably most other insurers will need to know if the sinkhole claim was paid below, at or above policy limits; the original Engineering Findings Report; and the original Engineering Completion Report which will document the repairs and that they were done to the Findings Report; and documentation of the cosmetic repairs.

All of this will affect your homes value and probably not for the better.

How To Juggle Your “Must Haves” With Your Budget

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You are planning on house hunting and to prepare are watching all those HGTV shows and you have a long “must have” list for that perfect home. That’s great, but you also have a budget and all those “must haves” may not work with your budget. So what can you do?

First, start looking

Do this by finding an experienced Realtor to help you look. He or she can help you start that search. Be honest with him or her about your budget, and all the things you want in a home, including all those “must haves. Your Realtor will let you know if your “must have” list is reasonable or not. More likely than not, it isn’t reasonable, so now what?

One thing to consider about those “must haves” is upkeep

For instance, a marble countertop is absolutely gorgeous, but is it something you can keep looking that way? If you are insisting that a pool and spa are absolutely necessary, do you realize that there is testing, chemicals and cleaning to be done on them on a regular basis? There is an extra cost to purchase chemicals. If this is something that you can’t do or afford, take it from your list.

Another consideration is whether you can upgrade to these “must haves” at a later time

If you find a home that has some of the things you want and is the right size and price, you may want to decide that living with the carpeting while you save to refinish the hardwoods below them. You can put off updating the baths or kitchen if they are workable now and are just in need of cosmetic updates. In other words, decide what you can live with for now until you can afford to update to those “must haves.”

Be honest with yourself

Generally, you need to be very honest with yourself about what is really a “must have” and what is an “I’d like.” Keep in mind that if your budget just won’t accommodate everything you want, you’ll spend a lot of time looking and never find what you want.

3 Ways To Totally Mess Up Your Real Estate Closing!

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

The offer was made, accepted and your dream home is now under contract. All that’s left is closing. Nothing can go wrong, right? Wrong! There are a few ways that you can totally mess up your real estate closing. Here are the biggies.

NO BIG PURCHASES!

First, and most important, NO BIG PURCHASES! Your lender will be double checking your accounts, finances, and so on up until the day of settlement. If you do something to drastically change your credit score or debt to income ratio, bank balances and so on, they will revoke their loan approval.

So no furniture purchases. No new credit cards. No new cars. Nothing that will upset that mortgage financing. That includes trying to hide money gifts to help with that purchase.

You must disclose any gifts of money to your lender early in the process because they need to review due to legal regulations evaluating gifts.

Don’t procrastinate with paperwork

When your lender, the closing company or attorney or Realtor ask for paperwork, get it to them on time. Not providing needed paperwork to your lender may mean they revoke approval of the loan. They will need tax records, pay stubs and other documentation proving your ability to repay their loan. The closing company will need inspection reports and so on. Not sending them will delay the closing. Don’t procrastinate.

Don’t change jobs

Another no-no is changing jobs mid process. Having a stable employment history is something that lenders want to see. If you are having trouble holding a job, you are a risk to them. That also includes switching positions from a salaried to a commission/bonus position with your current employer. Lenders look for a two year history in a current position and if the method of payment, I.e. from W-2 to 1099 you no longer have any income history in that position.

There are others, but these three will be a definite problem and will probably derail, and definitely delay your closing. Be smart and that new home will be yours…on time!