Lakeland Real Estate Information

Absolutely wonderful 4 bedroom 3 bath home with tons of character and appeal.  Located on a large corner lot with a covered patio in the rear. Pavers in the driveway and walkway add to the appeal. Large foyer, wide open living room & formal dining room with Tray ceiling.  The home features ceramic tile and carpet floors with eating space off the kitchen and breakfast bar. The formal family room has acces to the covered porch. MORE PICTURES

One of my customers just closed on their home last week in Lakeland.  The loan was FHA and their credit score was 515.  The buyer put the minimum 3.5% down.  The interest rate was under 5%.  I had my suspicions about the loan closing, but it did.  It was one of the easiest loans I have ever been a part of.  I am not a loan officer, so this post is not about me getting new loans.  I want buyers to know that some lenders have programs that help buyers with low credit scores, while other lenders limit the credit scores to a low of 620.

There are factors that helped this buyer qualify for the loan.  One important factor is length of time of employment.  Another factor is reserves, which means money in the bank.  If a buyer has collections, the collections may be required to be paid off.

Buyers should ask people they trust for a referral before they choose a lender.  Realtors have a lot of experience with banks and mortgage companies.  Do your homework before you make a final decision.  I would be happy to share more information about this particular transaction and the name of the lender.

This 4 bedroom 3 bath home features 10 foot ceilings, formal dining room, oversized side-entry garage, large beautiful screened pool, with peaceful pasture view Bloomfield Blvd .

People make the real estate industry interesting and a challenge.  Buyers and seller in general are alike.  Buyers justify a lower price.  Sellers promote the value.  It is understandable.  Sellers price their home according to their motivation to sell. It is always the same.  The highly motivated sellers price their homes with an intent to sell and accomplish the sale by a specific date.  Highly motivated sellers want to see offers immediately.  These are not desperate sellers.

I know that some who read this will assume that motivated means giving the home away.  This mindset is the problem.  98% of sellers tell me they are not going to give the house away.  This comment normally means the motivation is low.  In a buyer's market, we see more initial low offers.  We also see most sellers chasing the market.  This means sellers lower their price as time goes on, but it will do no good because the value of the property is going down with time which diminishes the effectiveness of a price reduction.

Most sellers initially price their property according to what they "need".  This marks the beginning of a long and stressful selling experience.  I have heard countless sellers (6 months on the market) say, "I should have priced the home lower in the beginning."  The problem is, sellers are so optimistic in the beginning because they love their home.  A common statement from sellers is, "Hey, it could happen."  

Pricing a property high in anticipation of a low offer is an indication the property is probably overpriced and is going to be labeled as "overpriced" in about one month.  Some of these overpriced listings become somewhat famous among realtors because they sit for so long.  You know the one down the street that has been on the market for 2 years?

When sellers interview an agent for the job, the interview should include one important question.  "If I wanted to sell my home in 90 days, where would I price my home?"  Be aggressive in the beginning when pricing.  Price the property (kind of) painfully low.  Imagine if you do and there are still no offers? You may receive multiple offers.  Multiple offers should be every seller's hope.  Another eye-opening question and answer for the real estate agent is, "If I want multiple offers, where should I price my home?"

More than ever, buyers are looking for reasons to offer less money for a property.  The market has them in the mood to bargain down.  Other reasons include number of days on the market, number of homes on the market, and surely condition of the property.

Home condition is one of the most popular reasons to make a low offer.  Funny thing is, the buyers usually double dip on this issue.  Buyers make a lower offer based upon the repairs they know exist, then during their home inspection period ask the seller to fix the repairs.

I suggest sellers have their home inspected either just before or immediately after putting the home on the market.  When prospective buyers look at the property they have piece of mind there are no big issues with the condition, plus they assume the seller is a proactive owner concerned about maintaining the property properly.  If the property has been inspected by the owner and all issues have been repaired prior to putting the property on the market, the buyer will have one less reason to make a low offer on the property.  More importantly, when buyer's remorse occurs, inspections won't be the reason the buyer tries to renegotiate or back out of the contract.

We have made your foreclosure search as easy as possible.  This search includes Lakeland, Tampa, and Orlando areas.  When you reach the map search, you may change the map location to fit your specific needs.  You are one click away from seeing the map.  When you see a home you are interested in, send us the MLS number and we will schedule the appointment.  It is that easy.

Show Me the Foreclosures

It is our experience which tells us sellers don't really understand what is involved in the process of selling a home once the property is listed with a real estate agent.  The following should explain some of the process.

Once the listing agreement is signed by the seller, a lot of work begins which takes time.  The "for sale" sign is ordered up which takes approximately 48 hours once the order is placed to the third party sign installer.  Since buyers like to see photos, it normally takes our team 50+ photos to accurately show all the aspects of the property (depending on the size of the property).  These photos are then put into a slide show or virtual tour.  The room measurements must also be taken and submitted to the MLS and websites.  Taking the photos, taking measurements, and entering this information in to all of our websites and MLS usually takes 4 or 5 days.

Copies of the house key are made.  Two copies remain in the office and one is put in the lock box on the property.  The lock box is normally one of the last tasks to be completed.  Once we have all of the pictures and measurements, the flyers are designed and printed.  Once the flyers are designed and printed, the flyers are either mailed or delivered to the seller.  If the flyers are delivered, they will be taken to the property when the lock box is installed  If the property is being advertised in magazines, it may take two or more weeks to get the property into publication.

One week after the listing agreement is signed by the seller, the listing should be 100% in full swing.  One week after the listing is signed the following has been completed.

• The property should be on the web with full description and visual tour
• The property should be in the MLS with 10 photos and visual tour
• The lock box should be on the front door
• The for sale sign should be in the front yard
• Full Color flyers should be in the brochure box in the front yard
• IVR message recorded for 24hr real estate hot line
• The Listing should already be e-blasted to 5,000+ buyers via email
• Property info should be listed on over 20 major real estate sites

Our team immediately begins receiving inquiries from buyers interested in our new listing, after only one week.  Most of these leads are from the internet.  The internet enables us to drop your property under noses of thousands of potential buyers around the world.  If you have questions about our marketing or services, just ask.  www.LakelandHomeSales.com 

The real estate market has gained speed over the past few months.  The distressed properties have attracted first time buyers and investors to purchase now.  Nearly all distressed properties currently on the market were purchased within the past 5 years.  Property taxes reached their peak during that same period of time.  Buyers are realizing that the current property taxes are impacting their ability to qualify for a loan.  Homes priced  between $120,000 and $160,000 have annual property taxes as high as $3000.  A buyer trying to obtain a loan for these properties must qualify for a loan with the inflated taxes factored into the qualifying process.  Lenders will not qualify buyers based on an estimate of what the taxes should be based upon the current value.  The taxes will go down when the property is reassessed, but not until the property is purchased.  We have seen some contracts cancelled due to inflated tax amounts causing the loan to be denied.

According to CNN Money, mortgage rates burst past the 5% mark for a 30-year fixed-rate loan late in May, peaking at an average of 5.45% on Thursday. It was the highest level reached by mortgage rates this year, but on Friday they fell back to 5.27%.

Still, the days of sub-5% mortgage rates may be over, which could threaten to depress already stagnant housing markets. A half-point rate increase adds about $30 a month to mortgage payments for every $100,000 borrowed. That could be enough to discourage (full story)

If you are interested in finding the best real estate deals in Central Florida, we have created a place where you can find over 250 distressed properties. Some are pre-foreclosure and many are already bank owned.  Be sure to visit this site as often as you want.  Also, you are welcome to share this site with one friend.  It's free.  Distressed properties