Prepare Your Home for the Holidays with these Decorating Tips!

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The holidays are approaching. Today, we thought we'd do something a little different and share this festive video on holiday decorating tips from HGTV. Designer Angelo Surmelis shares several great ideas to spread holiday cheer throughout the home. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Pay attention to the mantle. If you don't have some already, buy some kind of garland to drape over the mantle. Next, use leftover ornaments and candles to add light and texture. When choosing ornaments and candles, ensure they are in the same color-palette. This helps make your mantle a great focal point! 
2. Use smaller Christmas trees. Every house has their main Christmas tree. In addition, you can also purchase smaller, inexpensive, eco-friendly trees to place throughout the home. Decorate these trees with strips of fabric from a T-shirt in holiday colors to save money for the main tree.
3. Use what you have. Be resourceful. Adding a plate charge and place mat to your everyday dining set adds some jazz to your table. Fresh-cut flowers and candles will help finish the look. You don't need grand, expensive candles -- a little candlelight goes a long way!

“

MAKE THE MANTLE A
BEAUTIFUL FOCAL POINT.

”

As you can see, it doesn't take much to make your home feel more festive. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

A Reason to Close Before December 31

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Around this time of year, people are always asking me questions about buying towards the end of the year. A lot of people have been asking lately if there is a taxable benefit to closing on a home by the end of the year. The answer is yes, and it’s called a homestead exemption.

With a homestead exemption, you can get up to a $50,000 reduction on your home’s taxable value if that home is your primary residence. Let’s use some numbers to give you a better example of what this means. Say you have a home that has an assessed value of $200,000. With the homestead exemption, your taxable value drops to $150,000. This lower taxable value will give you lower property taxes if the home is your primary residence.

The way it works, is if you purchase the home, close by December 31st and file on time and correctly, you will get that exemption for 2016, lowering your property taxes. If however, you don’t close until after the 1st of the year, you will not be eligible for the homestead exemption until 2017, and you’ll have to pay higher property taxes for a year.

If you have any questions about the homestead exemption, or anything else real estate related, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Is Your Pinellas County Home’s Valuation Accurate?

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Today I want to talk a little about online home evaluations. There are a lot of different sites out there you can use to find the value of your home, but are they really accurate? These sites give you an automatic value of what your home is worth, but are they reliable?

In reality, they are not very reliable or accurate. They are all based on an algorithm that doesn’t take into account things like square footage, your home’s location, or any improvements you have made to the home. Those three things have a huge impact on your home’s value, and if the online site doesn’t know about them, your estimate may be much lower or higher than what you could actually sell for. There are only two ways you can get a truly accurate home valuation.
 

The first way is with an appraisal. That’s going to run you a few hundred bucks, but it’s important for determining the true loan value for your home, which will determine what kind of buyers look at it.

The second way to get an accurate home valuation is with a comparative market analysis, which we provide free, with no obligation. We will come out, take a look at your home, note any repairs, improvements, or unique features your home has, and use that to give you a true market value.

If you go online and your valuation is too low or too high, don’t pay too much attention. If you really want a true valuation, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help out. Talk to you soon!

How Much Do You Need to Disclose About Your Property?

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Today I want to talk about property disclosures because they've been in the news a lot recently. So, what should you disclose about a property?

My best advice would be that if you're questioning whether you should disclose something, you should just go ahead and tell the potential buyer. No matter how big or how normal, you should disclose the history of the property to the best of your ability.

There are some homeowners that recently failed to disclose a sinkhole on their property, and they have been sentenced with criminal charges for not disclosing this fact about their home.
 

This is very important if you're selling your home on your own. A lot of FSBO sellers don't know this, but they need to spill the beans when a buyer asks about their property. Although it's an extreme case, you don't want to end up in jail just because you withheld some information about your property.

Buyers in Tampa should be careful to get a disclosure on a home that they're purchasing, because as a buyer you're fully entitled to one. However, if you buy a foreclosure, you must buy it 'as is'.

If you have any questions about this issue, or if you need real estate assistance in Tampa, please don't hesitate to contact us! We look forward to hearing from you!

How Can You Make the Most of a Home Search?

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The first question most buyers ask before hiring an agent is how much they are going to lose when they purchase a home. In other words, the buyer wants to know how much commission they have to pay to utilize our services. This might surprise you, but the answer is zero percent!

In 99% of cases, you pay $0 in commission. The commission is usually paid for by the seller, who pays the listing agent's commission. Since you don't have to buy anything to utilize our services when buying a home, we highly encourage you to reach out to us! 

Don't waste your time driving around looking for homes - contact our team so we can set up a home search that will find the area, the features, the size, and all the other things you want in a home. We will tailor the search to your specific needs!

We often get calls from buyers who want to see homes they found on Zillow or Trulia, but when we look them up, they are already sold or under contract. Zillow is a good site, but the information is often outdated or inaccurate. If you're a serious buyer, it's simply a waste of time to spend a lot of time searching Zillow, only to find out the homes you love are unavailable.

So, if you're buying and want the resources necessary to have a successful home search, give us a call or shoot us an email. We'll take you from step one all the way through the closing process and you won't have to pay commission fees. We look forward to talking to you soon!

Do You Know the Ins and Outs of the Short Sale Process?

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Today's topic is how to sell your home as a short sale.

A short sale is what happens when the mortgage on your home exceeds its value. When you owe more than your home is worth, the only way to make money on the sale is through a short sale. This must be approved by your lender first.

To find out whether you're eligible, the first step is to find out what the value of your home is. You might be surprised by the worth of your home; some people have called us for a valuation and found out they don't even need to have a short sale, they actually have some equity in their home. Reach out to us and we'll let you know if a short sale is even necessary.

If it's determined that you need to do a short sale, we need to get your home on the market and prepare your financials for your lender. More often than not, you will be approved for a short sale. If you have a substantial amount of money in the bank, however, they probably won't allow it. Even if you're still making payments on your home, we can get the short sale started for you.

For all the details you need to know about having a short sale, or if you have real estate questions of any kind, give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!

Do You Need an Inspection for Your Tampa Home?

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When buying a home, one of the first things that you will want to do is to get a home inspection. You will almost always have to pay for it as a buyer, but you absolutely need to do this.

A home inspector ensures that everything is in good condition. This applies more to the foundational structures in the home such as the roof, plumbing, electrical wiring, appliances, and more. You need to be sure that you're buying a structurally sound home, and a home inspector can tell you if you are or not.

Another thing that you might hear about is a wind mitigation report. This is required with insurance and it is to make sure that the home will be able to withstand high winds. If your home passes this test, you can get a discount on insurance, but if it doesn't pass, you may have a major problem. You won't be able to get insurance, and you'll either have to get a credit from the seller or look for a new home. 

There will also be a 4 Point inspection for older homes. This is an in-depth look to make sure that the older home will still pass muster for the next buyer.

If something comes up in a home inspection, you (as a buyer) can back out of the sale and get your escrow deposit back. This is why a home inspection is so important. You'll be paying for it, but it is money that's well-spent.

If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact me. The inspection is a very critical part of the buying process.

Renting vs Buying in Pinellas County

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People always ask me whether it's a good time to purchase a home, and my answer is always the same.

It is always a good time to buy a home, rather than renting one. It doesn't matter what the market looks like, to me, it always makes more sense to rent than to own. 

Interest rates are at all-time lows, which is going to save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. These low rates won't last forever, so now is the time to buy if you've been on the fence.

There are also many different kinds of mortgage programs that will allow many different people to afford homes. The requirements have loosened, so now is the time to take advantage of this.

Valuations are on the rise currently, but you can still find affordable homes right now. If you buy a home now, you can ride the wave of appreciation. 

There are many different benefits to owning a home instead of renting. One of these is that you can deduct your mortgage interest, which is a huge tax benefit. 

Another benefit is that you're enhancing your net worth every single month. When you rent, your net worth moves down nearly every month.

If you're not sure if you're ready to buy, please contact me! Let's see if you're ready to buy. Even if you're not ready right now, we can form a plan so that you can purchase later down the road.

How Do You Find the True Value of Your Home?

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Before we begin talking about this topic, there are a few different definitions to be aware of.

• Assessed value: This is the value that the county assessor places on your home. They cannot come inside your home and do not account for upgrades.
• Taxable value: This is your assessed value minus any exemptions that you may have, like homestead exemptions. Both of these values are usually lower than what your true market value is.
• Market value: This is subject to change depending on market conditions. The value that you see on Trulia or Zillow is not your market value. Your market value depends on factors like inventory, demand, and how capable your Realtor is in creating artificial demand and raising the sale price of your home. A comparative market analysis is also crucial to pricing your home because your home's value should match those of homes in your area.
• Appraised value: This is the value that the bank's appraiser assigns to your home in order to ensure that it is not overpriced. This value should be close to your market value. 

Your true market value is the most important value on your home. It can change depending on the market you're in, and also the type of Realtor that you're using. I run a comparative market analysis to determine an accurate price for your home. I take into account the upgrades that you've done on your home, as well as your location and the condition of your home. This allows me to price your home accurately and draws buyers to your home, thereby getting you top dollar.

If you're looking to buy or sell this summer, please get into contact with me. I'd be happy to examine your property and put together a plan to sell your home for top dollar.

How Should I Approach the Home Buying Process?

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As the spring market heats up in Pinellas County, I have been receiving a lot of questions from buyers about whether or not it is a good time to buy a home, and what their first step should be in the home buying process. 

To answer the first part of that question: it's an absolutely incredible time to purchase a home. Affordability is extremely high with historically low interest rates below 4% and loosened credit requirements. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding an affordable home, but the key is to do so now because these low rates will not last forever, and neither will all the great loan programs that are being offered. You no longer need to put 20% down to buy a home, and there are programs where you only need to put 3% down (you will have to purchase private mortgage insurance if you cannot put 20% down). 

Your first step in the buying process is to get pre-approved by a lender. I'm not talking about going online and using some calculator to get approved, you need to go speak with a mortgage loan professional and have them examine your finances, pull your credit, and look at your income history and so forth. You absolutely have to know what you can afford to buy before you start looking for a home, otherwise you're just wasting your time when you search.

So, if you're looking to buy a home, now is a great time to do so. Once you're serious about buying, go speak with a lender to figure out what you can afford, and then start searching. If you need any assistance finding a good home or finding a good lender, then please don't hesitate to contact me.

Should You Buy a Foreclosure Property?

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A lot of my clients have been asking me about foreclosed homes. They seem to believe that buying a foreclosure can get them a great deal on a home. Today I just wanted to clear up some misconceptions about foreclosures and why you may want to think twice about buying them.

You need to know that a foreclosure is a bank-owned home, and that the bank has taken the title from the owner. The bank will then put the home for sale with a Realtor, and that is a foreclosure.

So, should you look at foreclosures? Yes. But will you get a great deal on them? Not exactly.

Statistics in Tampa Bay reveal that foreclosures often sell closer to their list price (or over it) than traditional homes do. This means you're better off just buying a resale home. The only time you might find a great deal is if there were multiple things wrong with the property, but most buyers are purchasing homes that they can move into and start living in. 

When banks sell foreclosures, they perform their own appraisals and generally don't want to come down off the market value too much. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be negotiating with a bank when you try to buy a foreclosure, and they're usually not willing to negotiate very much. Banks often don't offer warranties on the home, so you really have to do your research or you could end up with a broken home. 

Bottom line is that foreclosures appear to have a great value, but in reality, you're probably better off buying a resale property unless you're looking to invest in a property to spruce up and sell later.

As always, if you have any questions about this subject or want to ask me about Tampa Bay real estate, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Should You Try to Purchase a Short Sale?

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Some of my clients have been asking me about short sales lately, so I wanted to take a moment and describe them to you. They were very common a few years ago when the market crashed, but we have not seen as many of them lately. 

A short sale is when the total amount of mortgages and liens exceed the true value of the home, so the home is upside down in value. One misconception I hear from buyers is that they want to look at short sale properties because they want a good deal on a home. This is incorrect because a bank must approve the short sale, not the seller. This means that the bank does their own appraisal and they assign a market value. If the home is in need of repair, they might come off the market value a bit, but overall, short sales do not mean good deals. 

Another consideration in a short sale is that you have to negotiate with the bank. Even if the seller agrees with the sale price, it still goes to the bank for approval, which can take 3-9 months.

I rarely advise my buyers to look into short sales because there is so much that goes on behind the scenes. There is a lot more that we could talk about in regards to short sales, and I'd be happy to sit down with you and discuss this in greater detail.

As always, if you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Tampa Bay, please don't hesitate to contact me!