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 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.
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.
