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Grace
DeWeese Realtor® |
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Buyer Tips for Buying Real Estate in
Florida
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Real estate in today’s financial market is still a good investment.
You, the buyer, have so many tools to use when you are
ready to buy a home or property. Having a
professional realtor
will help make this a stress free experience. Below is a
brief list of important tips for buying real estate in
Charlotte County, Lee County and all of
Florida. |
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Tip #One: |
Know What You Want
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Sounds simple? Agreeing on what you want will make
your decision easier to reach. Before you begin
looking at homes or property in
Punta Gorda,
Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store Isles, Seminole Lakes,
Burnt Store Lakes, Burnt Store Village,
Burnt Store
Marina, Pirate Harbor, all of Port Charlotte,
Northport,
Englewood, South Gulf Cove, Lee County which
includes Fort Myers &
Cape Coral or where
ever you desire to live in Florida, you should be
focused on the following: What style or
architecture attracts you? Do you want a single story
or a two story residence? What will your surroundings
look like? Do you like a mature neighborhood resembling
old Florida or a newer looking and established
neighborhood with Florida style homes? There are deed
restrictions or no deed restrictions sections in
Punta Gorda and all of Punta Gorda Isles as
well as Cape Coral & Port Charlotte. Do
you want a Gated Development, tennis courts, and
golf
courses, club houses with activities arranged for you,
waterfront property or a lake view lot? Are school
locations important for children or are you interested
in a 55+ area for retired individuals? Asking a lot of
questions will help you become acquainted with
Charlotte County or Lee County. Having a good
real estate agent to help you find this dream home will
make this experience easier. |
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Tip # Two: |
Be
Pre-qualified for Financing
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| It is important that
you have your financing in place before writing an
offer for reasons which will you benefit. Let’s say
you find that Dream Home. Now your real estate agent
can present your offer without a contingency for
financing. The Seller knows you can get the
financing and will be more willing to accept your
offer. You just saved yourself some money and you
were able to buy the house over another person’s
offer for more money, but they had no guarantee they
could get financing. All offers are better with
fewer contingencies. In Florida, the entire
paperwork and title search can be completed faster,
insurance can be ordered faster, plus, you can close
on the sale sooner. |
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Tip # Three: |
Have a Professional Realtor Represent You
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Grace DeWeese is an experienced real estate
agent that understands the real estate
process. She is familiar with the area and can
help you with zoning restrictions, property
values and all the different regulations in
Florida. Amazing Grace will keep you
informed as to all the necessary steps in buying
a property. For more information on her, see
About Grace. Having a
good realtor is a
valuable asset. |
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Tip # Four: |
Get a Home Inspection. Be Safe Not Sorry
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When you find your Dream Place, I recommend
you have a home inspection by a professional
licensed Home Inspector. They will give you
a written report that will cover all the
mechanical systems, such as electrical,
plumbing, appliances, and the structural
condition such as roof, venting and
siding. There are other important
inspections that should be done such as,
Mold and Termite Inspections. I, again,
recommend a licensed professional.
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Once you receive the reports, maybe some
items need repair. These items and expense’s
can be negotiated with the seller. A
good
real estate agent can help you through this
process. With an inspection contingency on
your offer to purchase, you can walk away
from the deal if you feel the report
revealed problems you are not willing to
workout with the seller. In the same
situation, for the seller, the seller can
walk away from the contract should they not
want to do repairs over and above what is
agreed in the offer to purchase. In other
words, the contract is not binding to either
party when the buyer request expensive
repairs or chooses not to deal with those
repairs. |
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Tip # Five: |
Financial Institution & Title
Insurance
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It is important to select a Reputable
Financial Institution. Some lenders
have found themselves in trouble here in
Florida because of their lending
practices. Let your
real estate agent
guide you to a Reputable Financial
Institution, if you do not know one. They are responsible for some very
important documents and this is not the
time to have to put things on hold
because of an error. In fact, you could
miss out on buying the house. Should the
closing be delayed because of no check
at closing, the deal is dead. Only, if
the seller is willing to wait past that
set date and time, can the closing
continue. There are more concerns; your
earnest monies are up for grabs by the
selling side of the deal. My advice is
to give yourself more than recommended
time to close, so that any error can be
solved before the closing date. An
experienced real estate agent, such as
Amazing Grace, will write a clause
into the offer to protect your earnest
monies and will stay in touch with you
to keep things moving along at a smooth
pace. |
The Title Company is generally
the seller’s choice. The Title
company is responsible for
assembling all the required paperwork
from the financial institution
and the Real estate agents offer
to purchase, signed by all parties,
including all attachments. The Tile
insurance is ordered by the title
company. This insurance assures you
that no other party can claim ownership.
That the title is clear of leans of all
past owners. That you have marketable
title. |
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The Survey is ordered by the lending
institution. A survey shows what you are
buying in Florida and all that
goes with the land, such as easements
and boundary lines. It assures that you
getting what you have purchased. |
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The Appraisal is ordered by the lending
institutions in Florida. It is a
comparative value on the property. It is
arrived from similar properties that
have sold in the area. |
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Tip # Six: |
Be Realistic
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Once you have been qualified for a
loan, you will know what dollar
amount you can spend on a home. Make
a list of your wants and needs such
as pool, family room, formal dining
room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Consider
the importance of a floor plan
style; open floor plan, high
ceilings, etc. Rate each as to its
true need. Give this list to your
Florida real estate agent and
let the real estate agent locate
homes in your price range. Once you
have looked at a few homes in your
price range, re-evaluate your list.
I have my buyers fill in a report on
their likes and dislikes of each of
the seller’s home they look at. The
buyer report’s on the community as
they see it. For example; Burnt
Store Isles, where I live, this
report would remind the buyer of the
manicured lawns and the beautiful
golf course and that Burnt Store Isles
is convenient to shopping and
hospitals. This helps the buyer to
keep focused on what can be
purchased within their budget, in a
neighborhood like Burnt Store
Isles. |
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Seven: |
Contact Amazing Grace
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Amazing Grace will
provide you with outstanding
service. You will find me to be
honest and personable. I will
provide you with a detailed
packet on each
Sellers home you
preview. I'll question you and note
your feelings about the house &
neighborhoods. I have had a
Buyer tell me recently, that she
worked with 3 other Realtors in
other areas of Florida
and I put them all to shame. She
liked that I was organized and
loved my style of showing
property. |
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Do you have questions on
buying real estate? |
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Need
additional information
on buying or
selling real
estate? Need information
on moving? Contact
Amazing Grace
for all your real estate
needs. |
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