Transaction costs are a fact of life in the real estate world. You cannot buy or sell a home in Sarasota without associated costs, from underwriting fees to appraisal charges. When you sell your property, you may concentrate on the equity value alone, rather than the costs that are eating away at your equity. By looking at the entire transaction process amounts, selling your home should be a careful consideration of all costs.
The 5% Myth
Real estate professionals, from the agent to the lender, typically quote the 5% to 6% transaction fee amount to each seller. However, this vague quote has underlying issues. In reality, the REALTOR® takes in a full 5% to 6% for their commission alone. This percentage doesn't take into consideration any of the other associated fees. When...
What does 'Sale Pending' Mean and Should I Still Make An Offer?
Sometimes, when you are house hunting, you discover the perfect home only to be dismayed when you find out there is a sale pending on the home. Hope is not always lost, and in some cases you can still get a contract on the home of your dreams.
Meaning of 'Sale Pending'?
A house with a pending sale basically means that there is a contract to buy that property and it is close to settlement. However,there are still things which may go wrong and cause the cancellation of the contract, such as the buyers changing their minds,job loss of the mortgagee, rejection of a mortgage loan and contract contingencies which fall through.
What Are the Reasons a House Sale Falls Through?...
How the Appraisal Report Affects Sarasota Home Owners
The appraisal plays an important role in almost every mortgage in Sarasota. While some loans will allow property inspection waivers, or PIWs, in lieu of an appraisal, most lenders will want to establish some idea of what the property is worth prior to lending. Since the home is the only thing the lender has to secure the loan, a low appraised value can cause some major issues for borrowers hoping to buy or refinance their dream home. By law, most loan types require the lender to provide a copy of the appraisal to the borrower. Upon first glance, the appraisal can come across as very confusing and tough to understand for someone who has never seen one before. This simple guide will help walk you through the highlights of...
How to Approach Real Estate in 2014 & Beyond
With the financial crisis that struck in 2008 effectively driving the housing market into the ground, the real estate market has been the top story on the news for several years. At first, the housing implosion left homeowners underwater, forcing them to abandon their investments and creating empty homes ripe for crime and robberies. As the nation slowly rose out of the Great Recession, more people were finding jobs and reestablishing credit. The housing market responded in 2013 with homes that almost anyone could buy with interest rates that were historically low. As 2014 comes bounding in, the real estate market is not as exciting. Interest rates are rising, and buyers are more wary about paying...
Financial Trends for 2014: What’s In and What’s Out
Just which financial and lifestyle trends will gain favor in 2014? And which ones will diminish in importance? Let's discuss what might be "in" for 2014, versus what might fall into disfavor.
Smaller Lenders vs. Big Banks
In 2014, smaller mortgage lenders will continue to gain traction at the expense of the bigger banks. The smaller lenders already enjoy about 60 percent of the market, and that percentage is likely to advance further this year. Big banks, in many instances, are continuing a policy of retrenchment vis-a-vis residential mortgage lending. At the same time, a variety of other players, are increasingly competing for business. The end result for consumers could very well be enhanced customer...
Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions in anyone’s life. Perhaps you are getting ready to start a family. Perhaps you are upgrading from your first home. Or perhaps you just want to make an investment. Whatever circumstances surround your purchase of a property, there are crucial steps to be followed to ensure you get the place that that suits your style, budget, and needs. Making certain that you do everything correctly can make the whole process much less of a hassle. Have a look at the seven steps to buying a home:
1. Figure out your finances
This is a vital first step. You must determine how much house you can afford. Get an idea of what kind of down payment you can make. Keep in mind that it is highly advised to pay 20 percent up-front for a home in order to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI).Be sure...
Once you decide to sell your house, invest a little time and money in a quick makeover. Here's a list of easy and inexpensive do-it-yourself improvements that will make your home more attractive to buyers. Each of these quick fixes makes the house look less like your old, lived-in domicile and more like a new house waiting for a new owner.
1. Clean the House Top to Bottom
A new house is spotless; an old house is full of the dirt, smudges and scuffs that lived-in homes accumulate. No one wants to inherit a record of your kids' heights, even if the wall they're marked on is in the closet. Wipe them away. Sweep away the spider webs, wash the windows inside and out, clean every surface and pay special attention to corners. Your house...
Whether you're buying your first Sarasota home or you're already experienced buying homes in the real estate realm, the process of purchasing a home can be complicated. One of the most challenging factors is the many home-buying myths that are often repeated by well-meaning friends and relatives. Read on to get the real facts behind five myths about the home-buying process. Having the right information can not only save your sanity as you enter into this process, it can also potentially save you thousands of dollars.
1. A Bigger Down Payment Is Better
After the housing bubble burst in 2007, the zero down loan programs that were once common all but disappeared. Since then, popular wisdom suggests you shouldn't buy a home unless you have saved a 20%...
As the mortgage crisis deepened, many properties came onto the real estate market using the "short sale" process. This allowed the homeowners to sell the property at a reduced price and pay off some portion of the remaining amount on the mortgage. However, many people who engaged in purchasing homes via a short sale found that the process took much longer than a conventional purchase would. A look at the details of the process shows why this is the case.
Understanding the Short Sale
A short sale occurs on a property when the owners can no longer pay the mortgage. Instead of foreclosing on the loan, leaving the bank holding both the unpaid amount of the mortgage, and the property itself, an arrangement is made to allow another buyer to have the property at a reduced price. The...
Many Baby Boomers are finding themselves at a point in their lives when they are ready to move into a new home. Perhaps they are looking for a smaller home that is easier to care for, or they may want to move to another area for retirement. Whatever the reason for the upcoming move, Baby Boomers need to take a fresh look at how homes are bought and sold.
In many cases, Baby Boomers have lived in the same home for over 20 years. Things have drastically changed in how homes are bought and sold since the last time they went home shopping. Understanding these new techniques and what they should expect when looking for a home will make their next home purchase a much easier transaction.
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