When Should Buyers Buy?

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When’s the best time to jump into a buyer’s market? How long should you actually wait before you sign on the dotted line? In some areas where the prices are still declining, how can you make the decision if you don’t know how much lower the prices will go? There are a couple of variables that can help you make your move.

Some Home Buyers Should Buy Immediately
Your situation should dictate your decision:
If you are a seller who wants to move up to a more expensive home in a down market, now could be the best time. The longer you wait to sell, the lower the price of your home could fall.
If you can arrange for a temporary place to live, a smart strategy is sell now, wait a few months, buy your new home.

The Impact of Interest Rates
As interest rates increase, waiting to buy can cost you and you might not be able to afford to buy a home at any price:
Each 1/2 point increase in your interest rate gives you $25,000 less in purchasing power.
Each 1 point increase in your interest rate gives you $50,000 less in purchasing power.
Each 2 point increase in your interest rate gives you $100,000 less in purchasing power.

Purchase Prices versus Interest Rates
If you put down 20% and qualify for an 80% loan, here are your principal and interest payments on the following purchase prices:
$425,000 sales price, at 8.25% interest, your payment is $2,554.
$450,000 sales price, at 7.75% interest, your payment is $2,579.
$475,000 sales price, at 7.25% interest, your payment is $2,592.
$500,000 sales price, at 6.75% interest, your payment is $2,594.
$525,000 sales price, at 6.25% interest, your payment is $2,586.

The payments are almost identical. However, the home you can afford to buy a 8.25% is $100,000 less than the home you can afford to buy at 6.25%. If you wait for prices to further decline, the perceived value could be lost due to higher rates.

Your best strategy is to weigh all the pros and cons first. Don’t let newspaper headlines dictate your decision!

Interest Rates from Brian

(This great graphic is courtesy of Brian P. Forrester of VanDyk Mortgage Corporation).

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

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In any buyers’ market, the quest for the best deal is foremost on the property seeker’s mind. But there are many misconceptions about what constitutes a great opportunity.  Just because a home is listed as a “short sale in Trinity!” does not mean it is your best option. And the same goes for bank owned properties; on all fronts, buyers need to be very sure about what they are getting themselves into.

Short Sales in Trinity – Pricing vs. Value

For instance, a “short sale” does not mean it is listed at a better price than other homes in the neighborhood. The lender wants to recover as much of the money owed to them as possible, so the amount they agreed to accept from a buyer is typically pretty much in step with fair market value.

Besides, there are a ton of motivated sellers on the market whose homes are priced as well as any short sale. The difference to the potential buyer is that these sellers are adjusting their prices commensurate with market fluctuations. Today’s short sale property could potentially be worth less after the three, six, twelve months that it can take to get the contract to the closing table.

Property Condition

A short sale property may not be receiving the best care. Since the seller is likely encountering financial difficulties, they may be prohibited from consistently maintaining  it.

And if you go down the road of a bank owned home, you won’t have benefit of a real live seller with whom to negotiate repairs; and the pool, roof, and lawn may not be in the best condition. You are instead dealing with a financial institution that is backed by a battery of attorneys; your list of repairs and your concerns are inconsequential.

Short sale or bank owned — you may not just be capitalizing on someone else’s misfortune; you may very well be inheriting a headache, tread cautiously.

Trinity Foreclosures

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fla home

 The homes for sale inventory may offer a large selection of foreclosure opportunities, but sometimes an inexpensive home can cost you plenty.

We’ve heard stories from other agents about home buyers who have had to make offers on a number of different homes because the home inspection reports came back full of high ticket repair items. These issues ultimately made the cost of the home not only prohibitive, but quickly took the “great” out of the “deal.” (Besides, many REO (real estate owned) properties carry an “As Is” status, so you can’t even negotiate repairs.)

Great neighborhoods and gorgeous homes can harbor some overwhelming issues like leaks that have gone unattended creating structural and mold damage, and a host of other little things that turn into big things when a home is abandoned.

Oftentimes a distressed home owner has other priorities that don’t include conducting their property maintenance checklist and spending money on things like gutter cleaning, window caulking, roof repairs, pool upkeep, and other run of the mill repairs.

The other reality is that people who are planning their strategic foreclosure or are filing bankruptcy are not necessarily going to be concerned about the future value of their home. They’ve already deemed it without value as they no longer intend to pay their mortgage; so therefore, they don’t tend to the property.

In this market, sometimes you really do get what you pay for and a $300,000 home for the price of $100,000 may be worth just that and you’ll need to pump a lot of money into the home to repair and restore it to its former glory.

Regardless of an incredible opportunity, always have a thorough home inspection conducted by a trusted professional and don’t start measuring for window treatments until you have assurance that your new home is what it seems.

Trinity Fl Real Estate and Home Inspections

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Revised Front Photo

Before any Trinity Realtors hang a sign on your lawn, you may want to have a reputable home inspector take a look at your property before it goes on the market.

One of three things will happen with pre-listing home inspections:

  1. You’ll find nothing significant
  2. You’ll get a heads up about a possible problem and have time to fix it
  3. You’ll be able to have repair estimates ready to present to the buyer in the contract negotiations

By being proactive you’re more likely to keep your contract on track and get to the closing table on schedule!