Selling My Home in Delray – How do I know if a buyer is qualified?

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A fan of our Facebook page recently submitted this question:

When a buyer makes an offer on my home, what should we be looking at to make sure they’re qualified and will be able to close on their offer?

When we are your listing agents, we are always keeping this issue in mind, at every step in the process!

 

  1. Before the showing.

When an agent contacts us to arrange a showing, we start by screening the buyer on on a few things. We ask: What is the buyer looking for? Is the agent familiar with the community, and the home? Is the buyer pre-qualified? We ask these types of questions to begin to understand the buyer, their qualifications, and their motivation.

 

  1. At the showing.

One of the reasons that we accompany all of our showings is because it’s another important opportunity to get a sense of the potential buyer. When onsite, we can get a feel for the buyer first-hand. We look for cues and clues to indicate their mindset. Are they asking the right questions? (Like, how old is the roof, the air conditioning? What does the community have to offer?)

One of the fun things to watch as we are touring through the house is whether they’re envisioning where the furniture’s going to go. That’s an example of a great buying sign. So, we are getting an idea if they are qualified to purchase this home, and if they are actually envisioning themselves being in this home.

 

  1. When we get an offer.

Of course, this is a thrilling part, but where do we go from there? It’s really important that if we take your property off-market, because he have an offer, that it’s actually going to close. If it’s a cash offer, we make sure that they have clear funds. How? We ask for statements that show that they have the funds. And probably most importantly, we look to see that that statement is in the name of the buyer on the contract.

(If it’s in an LLC, if it’s a company buying it, then guess what? Those funds need to be in the name of the LLC or the corporation. That’s crucial!)  

If there will be a mortgage, we look at the pre-qualification letter. One pre-qualification letter is not the same as another… What did that mortgage broker or lender do to pre-qualify the client? Did they pull credit? Did they look at their assets, liabilities, and so forth? We analyze this carefully at this stage. We often pick up the phone and have a conversation with the mortgage broker to make sure that we have a sense that they can buy this home.

(It helps that we’ve been in business so long and we know so many people in the market! So when I see a mortgage broker or lender whose name I know, it’s an easy conversation to have.)

 

Our goal, besides just to get offers on your home, is to get an offer to the closing table and make it a positive experience for all the parties. Making sure that the buyer is qualified to buy your home is important at every step. We do NOT want surprises!

So whether it’s on the front-end or after you get an offer, we work together to make sure we get you to the closing table.



If selling may be in your future – or you’re just curious about what your home is worth today – you can request a no-obligation home value assessment here. 

Questions? Call us – Amy and Noreen, All About Florida Homes, Keller Williams Realty –  at (561) 571-2289. We’d love an opportunity to discuss your home selling goals.

“Made the whole purchasing process easy and stress- free.”

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Amy and Noreen were a pleasure to work with. My in-laws recently purchased an apartment through them and they were extremely professional and responsive to our questions and needs… They made the whole purchasing process easy and stress- free. I would highly recommend Amy and Noreen to any potential buyer in South Florida.

-NEIL L.

“It’s like dealing with caring friends.”

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Amy and Noreen are extraordinary. They go over and above to help you find something you will be happy with. It’s like dealing with caring friends. These girls are unusual Real Estate Agents who care and go out of their way to help you. I highly recommend them. They are helpful and caring.

– SIMONE R.

“…Handled my real estate transaction during a very difficult time for my family.”

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I consider myself so fortunate to have had Amy Snook and Noreen Payne to handle my real estate transaction during a very difficult time for my family.

Not only are they wonderful and very sensitive people but they really guided me through the process and always communicated in a very timely way and are always very professional.

For any future real estate needs my family and I would only call Amy and Noreen. They truly are the best!!

-SHARI L.

Keller Williams Coastal Partners Recognizes the All About Florida Homes Team for January Wins!

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We are so grateful that Keller Williams recognized the All About Florida Homes team for two BIG achievements in January of 2019!

We were the #10 team among ALL South Florida offices – based on closed volume – over the course of the month. This is an especially special benchmark, because South Florida’s real estate market is pretty hot!

We were also SO EXCITED ? to be recognized as the #1 team in our office – for both closed volume and closed number of homes – in January.

We want to extend a HUGE tip of our hats to our preferred vendors who help us make our clients’ real estate dreams a reality… AND to those clients who choose us for their important transactions. We absolutely chalk these successes up to YOU! Thank you.

 

 

 

PALM BEACH COUNTY REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORTS – January 2019

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January 2019 figures have been released, and WOW!… What a difference in the real estate market stats, as we start out 2019.    

We saw a tremendous jump in inventory, which has significantly increased our supply of homes – and changed the dynamics of the market. It’s official, we are predominately a buyer’s market.    

There is a good trend here.  Sellers, you may not love the shift, but in the long run it is the best thing for our economy – and for all of us in South Florida.    

With inventory rising and closed sales down for the second month in a row, there are many more choices for buyers. The over-abundance of over-priced homes may be impacting the sales growth that our stats show.

Prices are starting to level out – and many agents are finally coming to the realization (we have been telling everyone for months! ?) that they need to adjust their prices to more realistic numbers – so that we can start moving properties again in Palm Beach County.

Several of our clients have asked why closed sales in January are down, in terms of the year-over-year figures. (We have the savviest clients!) Our thoughts, which are also supported by economists reports from Florida Realtors, are that this is due to mortgage interest rates, stock market volatility and the temporary government shut down. All of these occurrences may have impacted our January closed sales. Quite frankly, consumers were focused elsewhere – and with many homes over-priced – they decided to wait!     

All of that said, we guarantee that if you price right, and your listing agent markets your home the right way (versus simply putting it in MLS and praying), then your home will sell. The All About Florida Homes Team put six homes under contract in January – it can be done!

Contact us at (561) 571-2289 – or via amyandnoreen@allaboutfloridahomes.com – if we can provide you with any additional market data that will help inform your decisions! We are here to help – with no obligation.

Buying a home in Boca. When do we need a real estate appraisal?

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We got this great question from someone we met recently at a networking function.

We’re going to buy a condo in Boca. When do we need a real estate appraisal? 

Here’s the low-down!

If you are a buyer getting a mortgage, your lender is going to require an appraisal. The lender will order the appraisal.

Either the listing agent, or the buyer’s agent (or both, but at the very least one) needs to meet the appraiser at the property for the appraisal appointment. It’s important that someone knowledgeable be there to answer questions and point out the features.

If the appraiser is open to it, the Realtor can also talk about comps (comparable sales) and help the appraiser understand the current market area. Some appraisers come from out of area, so that last item is rather important.

Based upon the appraisal results, we will help you to know if your offer or your price needs to be changed or adjusted.

If you’re a buyer paying cash, you are not required to have an appraisal, but you can choose to get an appraisal. Why would you want to do that? To protect yourself on the value of the home. Realtors of the All About Florida Homes Team pride ourselves on the fact that we do in-depth competitive market analyses. So you can feel confident that you are getting a good value, and you don’t necessarily need an appraisal – but you’re still welcome to get one. Some of our clients do, and we support that decision.

We work with our cash buyers to help you determine if getting an appraisal is right for you. When the answer is yes, we walk you through each step of the process.

For our sellers, there are times when we recommend doing an appraisal for a listing. Perhaps the homes’s area or market may indicate a lot of variance between recent sold properties. Or, it might be new construction in an area where there isn’t a lot of new construction. In cases such as those, we may recommend an appraisal to avoid surprises. But whether you’re selling or buying, this is a strategic decision, and we would sit down and work together to come up with our plan based on your individual needs and situation.

Questions? Call us – Amy and Noreen, All About Florida Homes, Keller Williams Realty –  at (561) 571-2289. We’d love an opportunity to discuss your home selling or home buying goals.

And, we have some great resources here for you, too! If you’re interested in buying – now or in the future – you can search listings here – and start to familiarize yourself with the buying process and the market.

If selling may be in your future – or you’re just curious about what your home is worth today – you can request a no-obligation home value assessment here. 

Or, contact us at (561) 571-2289 – or via amyandnoreen@allaboutfloridahomes.com – if we can provide you with any additional market data that will help inform your decisions! We are here to help!