Buying a house is a big decision and you will have tons of questions. A good realtor will be there to help you thru the entire process. First thing, get prequalified to find out what your options are financially. Second, decide what area you want to be in and what is important to you in a home. Third, contact us and let us do a search of available homes for you. Once you find a few homes you want to look at, we will set up an appointment to see them. Then when you decide on a home that will work for you and your needs it’s time to put in an offer!
Once an offer is agreed to by both the buyer and seller, it takes from 30 – 45 days for the bank to complete your loan and be ready to close on the property.
No, there is no cost to the buyer to use a realtor, the seller pays all the commissions. It will actually save you money by having a GOOD realtor negotiate the best terms and conditions for you.
There are many factors in deciding how much you can afford. Check out the mortgage calculator tab and see what your total monthly payments will be to see what might work in your budget.
Yes, it is always best to talk to a mortgage officer to find out exactly what you qualify for and what loan program you will be using. Most sellers require a letter of prequalification before they will consider your offer.
There are 3 main types of loan programs.
1 – Conventional Loan – is loan type requires a down payment of 10% – 20%.
2 – VA Loan – this loan type requires no down payment and is available for current and former military personnel.
3 – FHA Loan – this loan type requires a 3.5% down payment and is backed by the federal government. Check out our resources tab to contact a loan officer for pre-qualification..
There are many factors to deciding what to pay for a house. Condition, area, size and recent sales. A good realtor will do a competitive market analysis of the neighborhood you are considering and will use that information to decide on a price strategy.
Every person who owns and resides in their home in Florida on January 1 and makes the property his or her permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional exemption up to $25,000, applies to the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and only to non-school taxes. This will save you a significant amount on your yearly property taxes.
A foreclosure is a property that the bank already owns. The bank will then list the property with a realtor at an agreed list price and the transaction can close as quickly as your financing is ready – usually within 30 – 45 days. A short sale is a property that the prior homeowner still owns and is behind on their mortgage payments. They have listed the property at a price they are hoping the bank will accept (this is a price that is less than they owe on their mortgage, so they are asking the bank to take an amount short of the payoff amount – hence the name short sale). However, the bank is under no obligation to sell the property for the price listed and will either accept, reject or counter offer based on what they are willing to accept as a loss on the original loan. Short sales can take many months to negotiate and close.