Appraisal

A real estate appraisal is how a lender determines the value of a home you are asking them to lend you money on.  read more

Ask for the appliances

Just because the seller has an appliance or several appliances listed in the multiple listing service does not necessarily mean that those appliances will convey to a buyer.  read more

Avoid foreclosure

I cannot help you avoid foreclosure, as a Realtor all I can do is help you sell your home or direct you to people and organizations who are set up to help you avoid foreclosure.  read more

Back up offers

It is not uncommon when buying a home today to be informed that the home is already under contract. The seller will instruct their listing agent to note in the multiple listing service that back up offers are requested.  read more

If spring is any indication, this summer should bring several hot days and nights to Central Florida.  Owning or purchasing the right house could help you stay cool when the heat rises.

1. Make sure the a/c is in good shape.  A search of the local MLS resulted in over 600 homes listed for sale with either and updated or newer a/c unit.  Also, over 3300 homes have been listed for sale offering a home warranty.  A home warranty could prove useful should the air go on the fritz after moving in.
2. If you don’t have a pool, make sure your neighbor does.  It’s hard to imagine living in Florida without having a pool in your backyard or nearby.  Right now there are over 18,000 homes for sale that have a private pool for cooling off when the days or nights become unbearable.
3. Shade trees baby!  More than 600 homes currently active on the market feature landscaping or trees where you can set up a lawn chair or hammock and beat the heat the old fashion way, doing nothing but sipping a glass of cold ice tea.

These are just 3 ways your house can help you stay cool in the heat.  The right house can help you in a variety of ways.  If you are interested in finding the right house, send me an email at greg@gregstaker.com or give me a call.  407-304-0255

If there are delays to a contract to purchase a house, make sure you ask for extensions in writing

How can you avoid getting adversely affected by the current market situation? The following are a few tips for buyers and sellers in and around Orlando that will help them reach their goals regardless of market conditions.

Orlando home buyers

• Search for the best interest rates available. Rates are low and lenders are eager to make loans. Compare rates and closing costs to find the best home loan for you.
• When comparing homes ask how long the home has been for sale,  and if the seller is offering any concessions to buyers or commission incentives to the cooperating Realtors. Knowing these facts could help you save several thousands of dollars on your home purchase.
• Make sure to inspect any home you are buying ‘as is’. With so many homes offered for sale in this manner, buyers should be careful and concerned about conditioning and should hold the seller accountable for repairs or be free to cancel the contract should undisclosed condition problems be discovered.
• Ask to see a list of comparable sold properties in the area in which you are considering purchasing a home. If the area appears to be dropping quickly, it may be wise to hold off pulling the trigger until you are comfortable that the bottom has been reached or find a home in a different area of Orlando where home prices have stabilized.

Orlando home sellers

• Price it right to begin with. Over pricing or testing the market will will lose you buyers and could ultimately cause you to sell for much less than you anticipated.
• Stage it and clean it. You have a lot of competition in Orlando, more than ever before. Now is not the time to leave beds unmade, floors unswept, painting ignored or faucets, leaking. Your two pack of cigarette smoking a day in the house is turning off buyers. You may get one chance to impress before the buyer moves on, put forth your best impression.
• Don’t sell your home. You can avoid selling for much less than the market will allow by simply waiting. If you do not have to move and cannot sell your home for what appears to be the correct price now, then wait. Tell your agent to call you when the market favors your expected pricing, but for now, you will be sitting it out.

The Orlando market will continue to improve in the months to come. For some it simply is not the right time to buy or sell. For others, this market can still offer great opportunities.

As long as a buyer wants to buy and a seller wants to sell, and both approach their desires with the right information, it can be a win-win.

Custom built home by Stonebridge Exclusive Homes. Authentic Tuscan Architecture with an elegant Tuscan style in Bellaria, Windermere Florida.

Interior features include:

• First floor library
• All 5 bedrooms are suites
• Wine closet with lovely Tuscan Iron Gate
• French windows and doors
• Stone flooring
• Tile flooring
• Wood flooring
• Custom cabinets
• Rich detailed wood trim
• Stone counters

Outside features include:

• Covered lanai
• 4 car garage
• Pool & spa and accentuated with Tuscan stone fireplace
• Surround sound outside and inside
• Closed- circuit TV system outside the perimeter of the home
• Irrigation is supplied by well
• Just under 1 acre of property (.92)

This home looks, feels, and shows just like a model home.

To schedule an appointment to view, please contact Bill Sirigas, Watson Realty Corp. 407-973-0329

Orlando homeowners can take steps that will further help speed up the time it takes to receive a contract on their home. Here are a few suggestions that will help you receive an offer on your home before your competition does:

List the home correctly from the start. Testing the market by overpricing your home in the beginning will lengthen the time your home stays on the market. Market conditions in Orlando are not suitable for listing above the suggested market value provided by your agent.

According to a 2009 survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® , 4 out of 10 homebuyers purchased a home for the first time. First time homebuyers are budget conscious and are looking for the right house at the right price. Overpricing your home results in 40% of the potential buyers in the market from ever considering or viewing your home. With assistance from their Real Estate agents, first time homebuyers will seek find homes and negotiate with sellers whose homes are reasonably priced.

Making the home hard to show will extend the time your home is for sale. If buyers are forced to work around your tight schedule, they may elect to pass on viewing your home for a similar home that is much easier to see.

From a buyer’s viewpoint the market shelves are full of inventory. Bank owned, short sale, distressed, pre-foreclosure and well priced homes with equity are abundant throughout Central Florida. If your home is not available when the buyer is ready to look they will, in some cases quite literally, walk next door to view your neighbor’s house and forget all about yours.

A hands-on experienced Realtor has shown buyers today that a house priced correctly can receive multiple offers and be sold within days. Waiting around for the seller to be available for showing makes no sense to the buyer or their agent and could result in the seller not reaching a timely sale.

The selling market is extremely competitive right now in Orlando. Sellers who want to reduce the time it takes for them to sell their home should follow the suggestions above and call me to discuss a personalized marketing plan for their home.

• The seller has concerns about their buyer’s financing.
• Perhaps there has been a longer than usual time between effective date and closing date negotiated in the contract.
• The seller may have already experienced prior transactions that have failed to close.
• Home inspection or home appraisal concerns.

A backup offer would provide the seller with confidence that should the existing contract fail to close for whatever reason, they would have a new negotiated contract ready to take its place.

Backup offers/contracts would be subject to the termination of an existing contract the seller has executed with a buyer. Buyers should put a time limit on the amount of time they are willing to leave their offer/contract as a backup.

Consult with your real estate agent or an attorney about entering into a backup contract for your home.