Does Size Matter Among Real Estate Companies?

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kendall shopping

Who to choose in the event of selling is a million dollar question for many homeowners?

The quick answer is: it doesn’t matter.

The real answer: companies don’t sell homes. Agents do.

So I recently listed a client’s home for sale by the Calusa area in Kendall. This is a prospect that simply went online and found three real estate agents. Appointments were made with each, and I was the lucky chosen one to represent the seller.

According to the seller, I was competing against an agent from Remax and an agent from Coldwell Banker. During the interview, the seller asks me; “Who the heck are you? Never heard of your company name.” And I replied; “K&A Realty…family business.”

His next question was; “why should I hire you if you are unknown?”. I replied; “all you need to feel is convinced that the agent you hire will sell your home for the highest possible price within your time expectations. As for branding, logos, company names, the car I drive, cologne I wear…all that might as well go down the drain”.

There are a few other compelling reasons I provided to the seller as to why it does not matter if you hire a big or small company, but I’ll leave that for our appointment (yes…you reading this).

Am sure most of us have seen big realty companies advertise on TV during prime time. Ever seen your home address included in those ads? Nooo!

See, what big companies do want you to “feel” is that you are hiring a corporation with bells and whistles to handle the sale. And real estate agents from big companies drill this “feeling” at appointments with one goal in mind. Get the listing.

Watch out. Don’t be fooled by this. You may be hiring a part time Realtor that sold two listings in the past twelve months. And one of them was their own home 🙂

Lastly, half of the top agents nation wide run their own show under their own name. And I am one of them. Why would that be?

What $300,000 Gets You

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15230 sw 100 ave kendall fl 33157Don’t worry. You have options.

So today I had a good friend call me to help him, his wife and two kids find a single family home for under $300,000. So here is the lowdown based on my search.

West of the Florida Turnpike, and from 8th street all the way to 120th street, you’ll easily get a home with a small or medium size yard. One car garage (maybe two) and most likely no association. And living space hovering 2,000 square feet. And possibly with a pool.

Now..say in between the Florida Turnpike and Palmetto Bay? Bells and whistles begin to get chopped. Now you are looking at a small lot, or a medium sized home under 2,000 square feet under AC. And most likely the home will be in need of a considerable repairs or upgrades (five years of roof left, replacement of AC, kitchen in need of gutting, etc).

And most likely you will only be able to buy it cash of via a conventional loan. No FHA. And its not that the homes don’t qualify for FHA. Its the competition (other buyers). They are strong and willing to put down the necessary “mula” to get the deal done…not just 3.5% down payment.

East of Palmetto Bay? Good luck. Unless you have $300,000 in cash. Only then will your be able to buy a property in need of major repairs…to the point where the home is not finance-able. Or you can always settle for land 😦

Times are changing and changing quickly. Prices are moving up and not just in our neck of the woods, but also throughout the United States. And although rumors are that prices will flatten out in 2014…they are only a rumors.

Killer Mindset For Today’s Market

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White LionBuyer mindset for today’s market. What’s it like? How must you think to score the right deal given an opportunity?

The only way I can describe what you must be: patiently aggressive. Now…what the heck is that?

Today’s market consists of a historic low inventory. Add to that the portion that is made up of foreclosures and short sales. These type of properties are usually priced from fair market value up to 10% below it. This combination has created an outrageous demand for good homes in good areas.

Patiently aggressive buyers are like tigers hunting for deer after months of hunger. They wait for the right deal to cross their way because they know its coming. And once it comes, they don’t think. They act. They don’t plan. They execute. They don’t compare, analyze or start pondering if there is a better deal out there.

And in today’s market, for you the buyer, this is the right mindset you must have in order to score on a great deal. Ever heard of the saying, ” the deal of the century comes once a week”. Well, in this market, its coming once a month. So you must be ready.

Off-course, nothing is ever done without the right preparation. And where do you start? With a real estate agent?

Before stepping onto your car to view a single property, a real estate agent must explain to you three factors and not just simply throw you into a safari with a blessing. The three factors are:

  1. Expectations of how the market is, or how are other buyers’ conduct in buying properties so that you know how to compete in order to score a deal. Yes…as much as you may not think…this is competition. You are competing with other buyers.
  2. The process of making an offer within 24 hours from viewing the property.
  3. What are all your “ways out” of a contract after you submit an offer to a seller.

In conclusion, the above explanation is for buyers that claim they want a “hot deal”. And most buyers do. The problem is that lost of buyers and or their real estate agents are not aggressive by nature.

How To Loose Your Escrow 101

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It’s so much simpler than you think! Scary isn’t it?

I’ll write this post from a buyer’s perspective. To be more precise, am writing this post due to a recent closing where I represented the buyer for a home located at Encore / Panache, a community in West Kendall. And NO…my buyer did not loose his deposit. We closed…yeeeah!

So get ready. Any sellers reading this post? Smile…heck…you’re the one that stands to get the money 🙂

The possibility of loosing your good faith deposit when buying a home is tied up to several financing contingencies. But none of them are as important as the letter of commitment contingency (LOC). And the date when you are to provide this LOC to the seller is determined during contract negotiations.

This date should be as important as your wedding anniversary (or divorced date) or your child’s birth. YES…it’s that important considering deposits range in the thousands of dollars.

The obvious reason is because you forgot the date or didn’t even know you had to provide this letter.

WRONG! There is only ONE way to loose your deposit. And the answer is: your real estate agent and mortgage broker f##ked up. Pardon my language, but am very “passionate” about this type of negligence.

Simply put. During contract negotiations…it is when this LOC date is established. Who writes the contract? Your real estate agent. Once you have an executed contract, it gets delivered to your lender to start financing process. Who’s in between you and your lender? The mortgage broker.

So what’s the moral of the story here? Always inquire about the safety of your deposit. And keep asking verbally and in writing until the deal closes. During the purchase process, there are too many balls you have to juggle to be on top of everything. And you should not have to.

When To Dump Your Lender

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When To Dump Your Lender? Or why would you?

If you are buying a home through financing, the process of asking and getting documents between each other (you and the lender) must be like syrup and pancakes: amazing! (noticed am a fan of pancakes with syrup?). SO…what does that mean?

Simple things like getting the application out of the way within 48 hours from the moment you enter contract with a seller. And ordering the appraisal within 24 hours after completion of application. And these are just a few examples.

If your lender drags their feet on the above, DUMP THEM. If within the first 72 hours, your lender has not pro-actively gone after you for the application and fee in order to get the appraisal going…DUMP THEM. It’s that simple.

Why? The hurdles involved in financing a deal can be complicated not just because of what the lender may demand from you the buyer, but what they may ask from the seller. If the lender is not on “the ball” from the get go…95% for sure that you will not meet the deadline to provide seller loan commitment (or LOC) and or not close on time.

And that is no light issue as your good faith deposit may be at stake.

The average financing transaction takes about 30 to 45 to close. And trust me…you will need every single day at your disposal. And the truth of the matter is that 30 days is just about the right amount of time needed to close a deal so as long as your loan representative is not only competent, but is also able to push the right buttons on the lender’s back end to make the deal run smoothly.

What about forty-five days to close? I would dare to say that 45 days is way too long to close a deal…but it’s not outside reasonableness.

As a matter of fact, within the first 15 to 20 days, you should know if you will be closing on day 30 or 45…whichever you and the seller agreed. UNLESS…there are title issues…but that is a seller problem…not a buyer’s problem.

Make Or Break. Home Price

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the falls single family homeHome price. Like the concept of “truth”, its mainly in eye of the beholder.

So a gentleman from Amaretto, a Kendall community composed of single family homes, phoned me a few days ago asking for the value of his house. And I gave it to him…and it caught him off guard. What a surprise 😛

I told him that homes in Amaretto (as of 10/30/13) are more less going for in the low to mid $200,000(s) depending on the interior condition of the property and several other factors.

Then he asked, “how come other homes like in Westchester or Calusa are going for well over $300,000?”. I replied, “it’s mainly due to three factors:

  1. the garage
  2. lot size
  3. HOA or association

Believe it or not, in the area of Kendall as of 10/30/13, what makes or breaks the $250,000 (approximate) price mark for single family homes are these three factors.

In other words, if you home is located in a community that has an association. In a community where lot sizes are relatively small at less than 6,000 square feet. And such homes do not have a garage…then expect prices to be under $250,000.

Now…say you start adding a garage…that one item alone can put you in the mid $200,00s.  Add a larger lot…automatically you’re in the high $200,000s. No association? Starting ballpark price? $300,000. Off-course…adding these factors do not have to be in that order…but you get the point.

Who’s the lesser of the three evils…I would say the lot size. Most buyers I work with prefer to give up a larger lot size in order to find a home with at least a 1-car garage and preferably with no home owner’s association. What’s your preference?

Disclaimer. Disclaimer. Disclaimer. The above is a rule of thumb or a good approximation of how prices are looking in today’s Kendall market. Am not an attorney so I won’t complicate this. Want to know the precise value of your home?

Contact me.

Want to have a ballpark idea of your home’s value…re-read this post or you can also Contact me.