Category: News and Information

Regardless if you’re a buyer or a seller, you want to be successful in the Orlando marketplace. To accomplish this, you need to be prepared for battle…the battle of negotiating.

Negotiation is a multifaceted matter and each transaction is unique. It’s human nature for both buyers and sellers to feel like they got the better of the outcome.

In most Orlando real estate negotiations there is some bluffing involved, some give and take, and in the end… neither buyer nor seller gets everything they wanted, but both are happy with the outcome.

So how do you position yourself so that you can get the most from a real estate transaction? From our experience as Orlando Realtors, there are 5 basic things that will decide who gets the upper hand at the closing table.

Current Market Conditions

The Orlando real estate market is ever-changing. Sometimes we’ll be in a “sellers” market and other times we’ll experience a “buyers” market. If supply and demand are about equal, then the market conditions won’t favor either party.

However, if your home is located in a desirable Orlando neighborhood with very few sales, then as the seller, you’ll have a bit of leverage here. By the same token, if you’re a buyer who can pay cash and close quickly, then you, as the buyer will also have the advantage, especially if the seller is pressed for time.

Leverage

If you have a local business that’s about to go belly up and the whole town knows about it, including the buyer, then you’ll be at a disadvantage because they know you’re probably desperate to sell. On the other hand, if you’re one of eight potential buyers fighting over that very special property, then expect to pay top dollar because the seller’s securely in the driver’s seat which means that he can take his time to pick and choose the best price and terms for him.

Details, Details, Details…

You don’t always know if someone got a good deal on a home judging by the sale price alone. For example, if there are 2 identical properties for sale at $200,000. The homes are the same, the prices are the same, but are the deals structured the same? Not necessarily. The owner of the 1^st house may have agreed to replace the roof and pay the first $2,500 of the buyer’s closing costs and the owner of house #2 made no concessions at all.

In this example, the person who bought house #1 actually got the home at a discounted price. As a buyer, you’d want to be buying house #1 and as a seller, you’d want to be in the position of the seller of house #2 because he gave up nothing.

Financing

From a seller’s perspective, it’s always better to deal with buyers that have been pre-approved for a loan. Although it doesn’t guarantee the loan, pre-qualified buyers will represent less of a risk to sellers than a buyer who’s never even met with a lender.

The good news for buyers with good credit, there are now loans available with 5% down or even less. As a matter of fact, one hundred percent financing and home loans with nothing down, are now being made more readily available by conventional lenders.

Orlando Real Estate Experts

Just imagine for a moment, that you’re involved in a major lawsuit. The other party has a top-rated lawyer that knows the law inside and out and you on the other hand are representing yourself. Who do you think will get the better of this transaction?

It’s the same with real estate. By hiring a top Orlando Real Estate agent to represent you whether you’re buying or selling, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that a top real estate professional is in your corner.

For 1^st time home buyers, searching for a dream home can be as exciting as it is stressful. Many times these buyers have a clear picture in their heads of what their new home will look like.

Don’t let the small stuff bother you

When you’re out house hunting with your Orlando Realtor, it’s important to keep an open mind or you could end up missing out on a sweet deal. Bad decorating, banged-up walls, and bright green carpeting are things that can be easily corrected and won’t break the bank.  

In today’s Orlando real estate market, 1^st time home buyers are finding out quickly that they can’t be too picky if they want to get a good deal on a home.

Before you even start your search, you should get pre-approved by a lender so that you know exactly what the highest amount is that you can afford to pay for a house. Once you know how much you can afford be sure to only view homes that are within your budget.

Looking at homes outside of your budget can be disappointing or even worse… cause you to end up in a bad financial situation. It’s a horrible feeling to be unsure if you can afford to make your mortgage payment for the next 15 to 30 years of your life. It’s best to stay under your maximum budget when searching for your home.

If the home you find is in need of some repairs, It’s important to know how much these improvements will cost you before you submit an offer on the home.

Here are some guidelines to help you figure out when it’s worth repairing a home or if it’s time to move on to the next one.

•  The Layout- There’s not much you can do about a bad layout without getting into some major remodel costs. 1^st time home buyers shouldn’t even consider buying a home that is in need of major structural repairs.
• The View- Again, not much to do here except change the window treatments. However, this still doesn’t change what you’ll see when you’re looking outside.
• The Exterior- If the home doesn’t have a good curb appeal, it shouldn’t be a deal killer. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh coat of paint and some minor landscaping to make it pop.
• The Walls- If the walls are covered in tacky wallpaper or an ugly color, don’t sweat it! Instead, try and picture what the walls will look like with your choice of the wall color. Painting is one of the cheapest and most impressionable things you can do to a home.
• The Floors- Installing new flooring in a home can get expensive depending on what kind of flooring you use and how much work it will take to rip out the old flooring. Depending on your taste and your budget, this one can be a deal killer.
• The Kitchen. Don’t be thrown by outdated appliances and color schemes in the kitchen. These things can be easily fixed with a fresh coat of paint and new appliances. However, if you want new cabinetry and granite countertops, make sure this is factored into your offer.
• The bathrooms. Bathrooms are much cheaper to remodel compared to kitchens. However, if you can get away with just a bit of sprucing up without getting into replacing the tile and fixtures, you’ll be in much better shape.
• Landscaping- The landscaping of a home should never keep you from making an offer. This is something that can be done little by little and best of all, you can do it yourself and make it your own design!

Before submitting an offer on an Orlando home, think about what want vs what you can’t live without. By doing this as well as knowing your maximum budget, you’ll be much better prepared for house hunting.

Inheriting a home from a family member can either be a great gift or a huge inconvenience depending on what the situation is and what you plan on doing with the home you’ve inherited.

Sometimes families will make the decision to move into the inherited home and sell the home they live in. Other times people who inherit a home will choose to sell everything inside the home [aka estate sale] and then sell the home itself.  

If you’ve inherited a home in Orlando and have no intention of moving into it or renting it out then selling it is probably your best option. Especially if the property is in need of repairs or some upgrading and you’re just not in a position to make the necessary changes.

It can be a very emotional process to sell a home that you’ve inherited from a loved one. Chances are that you grew up in the home or you at least spent a lot of time there during your childhood. The last thing you want is to make selling this home a stressful and costly experience. After all, I’m sure whoever left you the home, did it because they loved you and wanted you to benefit from it.

In this article, you’ll find some helpful information on avoiding the typical hassles and pitfalls of the process and making selling your inherited home an easy and painless experience.

Florida Tax Implications of Inherited Property

If your recently inherited property was someone else’s homestead, the property taxes will go up unless you plan on making it your homestead. If the person who left you the property lived there for a really long time, then the property taxes will go up tremendously because they probably bought it at a fraction of what it’s worth today.

In the state of Florida there is an income tax concept known as “step-up in basis” which basically means that instead of owning the property based on what your parents paid for it, you inherit it at the value of the date it was left to you. This is a good thing because when you sell you’ll be paying income tax on the profit between the basis and the sale price instead of paying on the difference between the original sale price and what you sell it for now.

Example: Dad buys them for $20,000 in 1980. The dad dies in 2015 and the house is now worth $120,000. You sell the house a year later for $140,000. You only have to pay taxes on a $20,000 gain instead of a $120,000 gain.

This law prevents adult children from owing large tax amounts on properties that have greatly appreciated over the past several decades.

Tax law can be pretty complicated to understand, so it’s best to get the advice of an attorney or accountant to discuss the obligations that come with inheriting real estate

Preparing for the Sale

After you’ve been made fully aware of all the financial implications and you’ve decided to sell the home, you’ll need to get the home ready before selling it. Typically with an inherited property, this means cleaning, de-cluttering, and de-personalizing the entire home before showing it to potential buyers.

This is easily the most emotionally challenging part of inheriting a property, especially if it was the home you grew up in. Going through mom and dad’s personal belongings will most likely bring back a flood of memories from your childhood all the way to when you moved away from home. It’s best to get help from other family members for this part if possible.

After you’ve decided what to get rid of and what to keep, you might want to have an estate sale or yard sale to clear out the rest of the items. It’s always better to show a home that is clean and empty unless you decide to have it staged for the sale.

 Choosing the Right Orlando Realtor

For some people in this situation, it may be tempting to hire a friend or family member that’s a real estate agent to represent them in the sale. This can be a huge mistake, especially if the agent is inexperienced in this type of sale. Your best course of action here is to hire an experienced Orlando listing agent in the area where the home is located.

Pricing Your Inherited Home

This is where you want to put your real estate agent to work for you. Pricing the home correctly from the start is extremely important in getting you the highest dollar amount in the shortest amount of time. Your Orlando listing agent will prepare what’s known as a CMA or Comparative Market Analysis. This is a report that will help you determine your property’s value based on homes that are currently for sale, pending, and sold in the surrounding areas.

Pricing your home too high will cause it to be on the market much longer than it should while pricing it too low can cause you to lose thousands of dollars in profit. That’s why it’s so important to hire an experienced Orlando real estate agent to help you through this process.

Keep Paying The Bills Until the Home is Sold

Even though you’ve been diligent in taking care of the legal paperwork, getting the home ready, and listing the property for sale, you have to make sure the bills get paid. If there’s a mortgage, make sure it gets paid on time. Also, make sure to keep paying the utilities and any other monthly bills associated with the home until you’ve sold it.