Suncoast Lakes Community in Land O'Lakes Florida

The Suncoast Lakes community in Land O'Lakes Florida is located off of State Road 52 in Pasco county Florida, just west of the Suncoast Parkway.  The Suncoast parkway provides a convenient commute to Tampa and points to the north.  Living in Suncoast Lakes you can expect a drive to downtown Tampa to be around 30 minutes depending on the traffic and time of day. The Suncoast parkway leads you right down to Tampa International Airport making your drive to the airport quite convenient.  Situated in Pasco county Florida, the Suncoast Lakes Community has many fun parks and beaches nearby including Starkey Wilderness Park, Hudson Beach and shopping like the Tampa Prime Outlets and Gulfview Square Mall.  

Located just west of the community on State Road 52 is a large Publix shopping center which includes a Beef O'Brady's restaurant, dry cleaner and more.  With all the dining, shopping and community activities combined with the easy comment to Tampa and other high employment areas, the Suncoast Lakes community is a great place to live.  Homes vary in sizes and styles accommodating any number of residents needs.  Homes in Suncoast Lakes have adequate lot sizes and some homes include pools. The community clubhouse has a pool for the residents to use as well as a playground area, basketball court, tennis courts and open field for soccer or just room for th kids to play the grass.

I am your local real estate professional in western Pasco county Florida.  Contact me anytime to discuss your real estate needs. 

Costs Associated with Buying a Home in Florida

You are ready to buy your Florida home and start enjoying the Florida Lifestyle.  You should know of a few of the costs associated with buying a home before you start your home buying process.  The first expense is your down payment for financing. Unless you are a veteran and eligible to use your VA benefits on your home purchase, you will need to have down payment money.  Veterans can get 100% financing when using a VA Guaranteed loan.  There is a nominal VA funding fee.  Before we talk about down payments remember that you can receive funds as a gift from a relative but the funds must be sourced. That means that the person giving you the funds will be required to provide a bank statement showing the funds in their account and then the funds not int heir account and you as the borrower will be required to do the same.

FHA insured home loans require 3.5% of the purchase price as down payment and Conventional home loans can range from 10%-20% depending on the borrower.  You can ask the person you are buying the home from to assist you with some of your up front expenses but keep in mind that when you do so, your asking them to give you money at the closing so you may not want to ask for too much more off of the asking price if you really want the house.  Consult with your lender as to which loan program is best for you and what your down payment cost will be.

You will also have to pay for your home inspection. When financing a home you will have to do the minimum 4 point inspection just to get homeowners insurance. Insurance is a condition of your home loan and you are required to maintain insurance for the life of your loan.  Home Inspection rates vary based on the size of the home. Here is a link to an article by HomeAdvisor regarding home inspection rates.

Other costs associated with buying a home include your appraisal and survey.  Your appraisal will determine the value of the home and is required by mortgage lenders to verify that the loans collateral (the house) is worth what is being borrowed.  Your survey is required to transfer title. It is a land survey to verify that the home has no unusual room additions or encroachments and it will clearly define the properties boundaries.  You may be buying a home with a pool or a septic tank and want those inspected as well.  You will be responsible for those expenses as well.  

I am your local real estate professional in Pasco county Florida.  Contact me anytime with any of your real estate questions. 

What Can You Do In A Multiple Offer Situation

Depending on the activity in your local real estate market you may or may not find yourself in a multiple offer situation when buying your home.  Here on Florida's west coast we are seeing many hot buyers competing for the homes they want. When inventory is low (less home for sale) we have more home buyers active in the market than we have homes active for sale.  Right now in my local market we have about 7 home buyers for each home for sale and properly priced homes are seeing multiple offers for purchase.  When this happens you may make an offer that you think is fair only to find out you didn't get the house.  We understand that it's a frustrating situation but there are a few things you can do to improve your offers on future homes.  Depending on where you live, the process for buying your home and the contract used will vary.  I am going to base my suggestions on the Florida "As-Is" contract as that is the most popular contract used in our area. (for information the As-Is contract click here).

When you find yourself in a multiple offer situation the seller will be looking for the "Highest and Best" offer.  Keep in mind that sometimes the best offer is not necessarily the one for the most money but you will make to make your purchase price as aggressive as possible and it is not uncommon to offer more than the listing price.  Maybe you can't offer more than the list price or maybe you can't even offer full price due to how much of a home loan (mortgage) you are approved for.  What do you do? You should consult with your Realtor and you may hear them advise you to make the offer the best it can be in other ways than price.  The first thing you can do is increase your escrow or "good faith" deposit if you can.  Show the sellers you are serious and your putting your money where your mouth is.  A good rule of thumb with escrow deposits is that it should be approximately 2% of the purchase price.  This may be different in your market so rely on your Realtors advice. 

There are other items in your Florida real estate contract that you can use to improve your offer.  Your contract allows for an inspection period. The contract has a default limit of 15 days for inspections.  You may want to tighten that date up. Often times in our market we can get a home inspection completed within 3 days of executing a contract.  We advise our buyers to use a 7-10 day inspection period.  This shows the seller you are not going to waste their time and should you have an issue with the inspection you are going to address it with the seller in a timely manner.  The contract also allows for you to ask the seller for a home warranty. Use your judgment. If you can't make a strong monetary offer you may want to omit a seller paid home warranty from your contract.  There is also the difference between a mortgage pre-qualification and pre-approval.  The mortgage pre-approval is much better than the pre-qualification so if you have a pre-qualification you may want to get with your lender and provide the information needed to get you pre-approved.  I was a mortgage loan officer in the past and a pre-qualification is no better then a note from their friend saying they are ok to buy your home. 

You may be asking for the seller to assist in your closing costs. Should you be in that position in a multiple offer situation you may find it more challenging to have your offer accepted.  When you ask the seller to assist in your closing costs you are asking them to take money from the proceeds of their sale and credit it to you at the closing because you don't have the funds to close.  Even when making an offer that is not a multiple offer situation, asking for assistance with closing costs will always weaken your offer.  We would suggest you do what you can to avoid asking for seller concessions toward your closing costs.  This may mean you save up more money for your closing costs before you buy a home. 

We are here to help you in western Pasco county Florida.  Contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about the Florida real estate market.  

Pasco County Florida Retirement Community of Summertree in New Port Richey Florida

Pasco county Florida is located on Florida's west coast about 40 miles north of Tampa.  The Gulf of Mexico offers western Pasco county a large waterfront lifestyle with local waterfront restaurants, local beaches and marinas.  The city of New Port Richey Florida is not only on the Gulf of Mexico but a large portion of the city sits along the banks of the Pithlachascotee River.  New Port Richey is a quaint city that embodies the Florida Lifestyle.  The Summertree community is located in New Port Richey just off of State Road 52 near the Hudson Florida border and not too far from the Hudson Beach and Marina where you can relax on the sand, spend time with friends under one of the covered gazebos enjoy a meal at Sam's Beach Bar or the Inn on The Gulf and enjoy truly stunning sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.

The Summertree community is a gated, golfing community reserved for those age 55 and over.  This large community offers a variety of home styles from 1 bedroom condominiums to 2 bedroom villas, smaller 2 bedroom single family homes to larger 3 bedroom homes of newer construction in the Cross Creek neighborhood.  Summertree has a number of neighborhoods inside the master community.  Pointe West Condominiums, The Greens, The Fairways, The Villas, Arborwood and Cross Creek.  Each neighborhood provides you with grounds maintenance and exterior painting of your home. Some areas will also provide for your roof replacement and the Pointe West condominiums offer roof repair as well.  When shopping homes in Summertree you will see a difference in neighborhood home owner association fees depending on the maintenance they provide. Every neighborhood in Summertree has a quarterly fee to the Summertree master community for maintenance of the heated pool & spa, fitness gym, billiard room, gate entry and landscaping and maintenance of common elements.

The Summertree golf course is open to the public

and independently owned and operated.  Having the gulf course as Public, the residents do not have additional expense for maintaining the golf course and the gates remain open during the day for golf course patrons.  Residents using the golf course pay to play.  The golf course is a 9 hole course and it's perfect for a morning tee time any your round can be finished before the hottest part of the day arrives. 

We are happy to answer any questions you have regarding the Summertree community. I have been selling homes in Summertree for years and it is my job to know as much about the community as possible.  I'm always here to help.

Why Your Mortgage Pre-Approval is Important Before Looking at Homes to Buy

Buying a home is an exciting time for most people and starting your home buying process off on the right foot is very important for you.  One of the first things we will discuss when you contact us is your financing options.  You will need to speak with a mortgage lender before shopping for homes because you need to know what your loan type will be so we can customize your home search criteria to fit your loan type.

Not every home on the market will qualify for FHA or VA financing and your mortgage loan type will determine which homes you can purchase. The FHA and VA guidelines include income and debt to income ratios as well as specific items that pertain to the home. FHA homes are generally turn key. These homes will have to have a roof that is free of leaks and be under a certain age. The home cannot have any exposed wiring, broken windows, malfunctioning doors etc... 

I am here to assist you and answer any questions you may have. I can also direct you to a number of  local mortgage professionals we have worked with in the past. These mortgage professionals are people we know and trust.

Real Estate Market Snapshot of Waterfront Home Sales in Port Richey Florida April 2016

Port Richey Florida has a variety of waterfront home styles that our neighbors can take advantage of.  Port Richey has a number of lakefront homes, homes on ponds and the bayou as well as homes on canals and the Gulf of Mexico.  This current report does not include lake or pond homesites. A big part of living the Florida lifestyle is being on or near the coast and waterfront.  Port Richey offers some of the most affordable waterfront homes in the entire state of Florida.

For the month of April 2016, the waterfront home sales in Port Richey Florida were:

Sold Homes

4 Bedroom 4 bath non pool home 1,894 sq feet sold for $111,069.

3 Bedroom 3 Bath with a Pool 2,710 sq feet sold for $580,000.00

4 Bedroom 3 Bath non Pool 3,732 sq feet sold for $675,000.00

Pending Sales (under contract)

1 Home. 3 Bedroom 2 Bath non Pool 1,890 sq feet had a list price of $190,000.00

There were a number of waterfront homes that sold and went under contract which were located on smaller lakes and ponds. Those sales are not included in this.  The variation in sales price is related to not only the size of the home but the water it is located on as well as the neighborhood, age of home and external items like dock, davit, seawall. 

The Gulfside Team is here for you in Port Richey Florida and we are your waterfront home experts in western Pasco county Florida.

Buying a Home in a Multiple Offer Situation in Florida

The laws of conduct regarding the handling of multiple offer situations vary from state to state and ultimately it is the sellers decision not the listing Brokers decision on how to handle the multiple offer situation.  The listing Broker or their agent can only disclose the terms of the other offers to a buyer if the seller has given express permission to do so. Often times the listing Broker will ask the seller to put this request in an email or text message so they have a written consent. You may never know the terms of the other offers as a buyer which means you will want to present your highest and best offer.

Lets say you are pre-approved for a home loan for $225,000. and you cannot go above the purchase price already offered. You can make your offer "better" by having a shorter inspection period in the contract. You can also offer a larger escrow deposit or "good faith deposit" if you have the funds to do so. Lowering the amount agreed upon for repairs found during the home inspection is another way you can make your offer "better" without raising the purchase price. 

When deciding upon raising your purchase price be sure to have your Realtor review the recent sales of comparable homes most similar to the one you want to buy.  You want to make sure that the purchase price agreed upon in your real estate contract will meet appraisal value. If the appraisal is lower than the sales price or loan amount, you may not get financed and you will be unable to buy the home unless the seller agrees to lower the purchase price.  That can mean that you paid for home inspections and an appraisal and you don't get the home. 

A heartfelt letter to the seller may improve your chances of having your offer accepted. You can write a note to the seller explaining how much you love their home and wish to raise your family in the house. Compliment the home and let them know how much you appreciate the care and love they have put into their home over they years. 

The real estate market in New Port Richey and Port Richey Florida is a "Sellers Market" right now.  There are fewer homes available for purchase and many buyers actively looking for  home with puts the seller in a better position than in recent years. You will want to be as aggressive as possible to get the home you want.

You will want an experienced and knowledgable Realtor to assist you in today's market. Always remember, Your Agent Matters.