Florida Accounts For 23% Share Of Foreign Home Purchases

Foreign Buyers Up Their Stake in U.S. Housing Market

Florida continues to dominate the international buyer market share - Orlando Regional Realtor Association

Florida continues to dominate the international buyer market share - Orlando Regional Realtor Association

I'm working on my credit score, would like a lease to purchase once I have a pre-approoval in about a year, is this feasible?

 Each seller's needs will be unique so it's too vague a question to answer for all sellers. Some owners may be open to a lease purchase, but would most likely require a large deposit with the lease which would be non-refundable if you didn't have your financing in order closer to 2014. You have to take into consideration, if they are taking their home off the market for a buyer that's not qualified, there should be a financially sound reason to do so.

You may be better off renting somewhere for year. While renting, work on your credit score and find out the area you'd like to purchase. Once you have a pre-approval near the end of the year, you could start looking then. If you decide you love the home you are currently renting and would like to purchase it, then you could approach the owner at that time to see if he/she is willing to sell. You may also want to consider speaking to more than one lender. I do work with lenders that helps those with poor credit, please email me if you'd like this contact information.

Cathy Starkweather
Realtor & Investment Home Specialist
La Rosa Realty, LLC - Celebration, FL
cathy@jerrybarker.com / 01.407.274.8476

Is Central Florida a safe to purchase a home and what about crimes and schools?

I have clients often ask me about the area around which a home, city or community is like.  Trulia offers a wealth of information, when looking at a home in Trulia, be sure to scroll down beyond the information concerning the home itself.  You’ll see information on the schools within the area; public record information on this particular home; property tax info; sales history of the home; local info (I’ll elaborate on this shortly); calculate an estimated mortgage payment; and price comparison.

Let's look into some of the tabs on the local info –

1.       Comparables – be sure to look at homes within this list and find “true” comparables.  In other words, homes of very nearby location (same community is best); size of home (bed/baths/square feet); features and upgrades if possible.  If a home is within the same community but it was a bank owned home or short sale with extensive repairs/investment necessary… this won’t be a true comparable to a well maintained home that is a resale with upgrades such as appliances, granite, newer a/c, roof, etc.   

2.       Schools – By clicking on this tab, you can see some of the local school ratings.  You can also check http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/ - for the accountability reports of specific public schools.

3.       Estimates – estimated values, however these are automatically estimated and not accounting for condition of home, so use as a source but not a true market analysis.  For an accurate market value of a home, reach out to your trusted Realtor as he/she can use their knowledge/expertise to find true comparable so you have a better idea of a more accurate value on a home so you can write an appropriate offer.

4.       Crimes, amenities, and transit information sometimes also available.  Check the local sheriff’s website for crimes and use other websites as additional sources, here’s a couple examples - http://www.familywatchdog.us/Search.asp; http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/. 

 It is against the laws of the Fair Housing Act for anyone to refuse to rent, sell or make a housing loan to you because of your race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin

Selling a home buy owner versus using a Realtor

Listing a home with a Realtor is a better alternative than For Sale By Owner, there are many avenues which Realtors can access to market your home for you which you cannot. Not to mention, a Realtor will ensure a buyers capability to purchase your home when reviewing a contract... ensuring they are pre-approved or show proof of cash funds.

A For-sale-by-owner, or FSBO, you're only in front of buyers who view your ad in the newspaper, on Craigslist and a few other avenues which are not top SEO rankings and anyone who happens to drive by the house. A proven and successful Realtor will expose your home to their entire database of buyers, discuss with their team of partners and/or Broker your home and share it with these colleagues, place your home in the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service Database and other avenues they use for marketing if they are an aggressive and professional Realtor. With these tools, you immediately have a large pool of potential buyers. Who do you think will be more successful in selling your home? Listing your home yourself versus hiring a Realtor with the knowledge, expertise and tools to sell your home. A Realtor knows how to build a market analysis and tell you what your home is worth and what It should be listed for. A strongly active Realtor will promote their listings and themselves monthly, over and being promoted by their Broker and the MLS. A successful Realtor invests in promoting themselves and their listings.

How many homes would you sell yourself in a lifetime? Now think about how many homes a successful Realtor closes in a month? A Realtor know all the logistics of buying and selling a home, will walk you through every step of the process, ensure you have the appropriate documents and disclosures to protect you as a seller, has access to legal documents you will not be able to use otherwise, will know particular requirements for various type of loans and if an offer being presented meets the requirements to close and handle all of the potential buyer showings for you. Research has shown that mistakes, pricing errors, and lack of negotiation skills, you’ll cost yourself more than the agent’s commission by trying to sell it yourself.

The main reason owners try to sell on their own home, is to save money on the commission. On average, homes sold by owner sell for more than 10% less than if sold by a Realtor. For sale by owner homes make up a very small percentage of home sales. Read these articles from Realtor.com for more information on this topic:

http://www.realtor.com/Basics/Sell/Why/Fsbo.asp

http://www.realtor.com/basics/sell/why/userealtor.asp

Cathy Starkweather
Realtor & Investment Home Specialist
La Rosa Realty, LLC / Celebration, FL
cathy@jerrybarker.com / 01.407.274.8476

Is There A Housing Shortage and Is It A Concern?

Some economists believe so.  The rapid pace of the housing recovery has surprised everyone, home prices have increased more than 20% in a few markets with the average being about 12%.

There's no question about the sustainability of the real estate recovery.  It's happened... period. It hit bottom and has rebounded with tremendous speed.  If a buyer is looking for the rock bottom deal in Orlando (or most markets), that's long gone.  Take some time to read market reports on line to support this evidence.

Many buyers are using larger cash down payments than required... which is attractive to lenders.  There are more creditworthy buyers than before, giving the investors/full cash buyers some additional competition.  A cash purchase is terrific for sellers with far less contingencies and a quick close.  However, sellers realize the market has rebounded and in part due to the increase in the number of well qualified buyers with financing.

With this continual lack of inventory which is predicted... expect continual price growth. New builds are up and this is key to helping maintain some balance on the resell demand and prices. 

Corporations Vs. Limited Liability Company

This is a great webpage for those foreign nationals torn between setting up a Corporation or LLC for their Florida investment properties. http://www.amerilawyer.com/foreigner_fl.htm.