admin | May 17, 2013
Our market is seeing an ever-increasing demand from foreign buyers. Just yesterday I was talking to a buyer from Germany. It seems like buyers from England, Canada, Germany, and South America are becoming just as common as buyers from Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois! Prices are still low -relatively speaking – and most foreign buyers have greater purchasing power due to the currency exchange. I specifically target buyers in a lot of these countries and have had a lot of success in helping them buy homes here in Florida while being in a foreign land. Here are a few tips to make it an easier process:
- Hire a competent home inspector. You want to make sure you have a qualified professional inspect the home for you inside and out. If you live outside the US, it’s probable you won’t be here too often. Make sure you are aware of as many issues upfront as possible.
- Don’t forget to get the electric, cable, internet, and water and sewer all hooked up into your name. The day you close on the property, the seller will have everything cancelled. It’s especially important to have that in your name so that you’ll have the A/C running in these hot summer months.
- When you have to wire the money to close, make sure you factor in the exchange rate and any bank fees that you will be charged. Sometimes I see a buyer send a foreign wire so the bank charges them $100, then their funds to close end up being $100 short. Not that it’s a big deal (it’s more of an annoyance than anything) but it’s easy to do it correctly the first time.
- Hire a reputable home watch company. You’ll want someone to go into your new house every week to make sure the plumbing is working, that nothing is leaking and that the air conditioning is turning on and keeping the house cool. Every year homeowners come down in the winter to find their house full of mold because their A/C malfunctioned months ago and no one knew about it to have it fixed.
- Don’t forget to get your insurance on the home set up. I see a lot of the foreign buyers paying cash, so you want to make sure you are insuring your investment, just in case something happens.
You do not need to be here to close; most everything can be done electronically and through FedEx. It makes it extremely easy to buy property while not wasting time and money on the extra trip down here. If you’d like any recommendations or guidance as a foreign buyer, please let me know.
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | May 10, 2013
Interest rates are so low right now that it’s enticing buyers in droves to buy homes. Why not when you can own a home for less money than it costs to rent? It’s really a great deal! Also, if you currently are a homeowner you might be persuaded to refinance your home to get a lower rate saving you potentially pockets full of cash every month. Also, you could switch from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage and lower your rate at the same time cutting your time to repay the loan literally in half. Now truly is an excellent time to take advantage of the lending market!
This is where you have to be careful though: it’s easy to get caught up in all the advertising that’s going on in our market place. It’s not always what it seems. Some mortgage companies just want to get you in the door and tell you what you want to hear, hooking you in and then as time passes, the story changes. Sometimes market conditions can change which will directly affect you. Other times there are actual factors that could be thoroughly researched about your credit or your overall financial picture that if done ahead of time could save you a lot of frustration.
I’ve had it happen to me. I’d been told that if I were to use a certain bank for my loan that they would do ‘x’ for me. But a couple weeks down the road - and after investing a lot of time – they said actually we can’t do ‘x’ anymore. And at that point, do I now want to go and find a new bank to have them tell me the same thing and waste more time? That, unfortunately, you hear of happening a lot. It has taken me several years to really find a mortgage broker that I trust and has performed time after time.
When you are buying a home, you want it to go smoothly – but that doesn’t always happen. Having a mortgage broker who is willing to fight to get the deal done and closed is who you want on your side. If you need a good mortgage broker recommendation, please call me and I’ll be glad to pass one on.
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | May 3, 2013
The last few weeks have been wild in my real estate world. I had two vacant lots listed for sale and both are now sold. How crazy is that? Are people actually building again? It sure appears that way. For the last few years you couldn’t have given away vacant lots! This week I also had some of our friends from Canada come down to visit the Naples area and they ended up buying a smoking deal! They quickly realized that the market is improving and when we saw a fully furnished home priced about 50k below the market, they jumped on it.
After being in this business for 10 years now, it’s always interesting to see the people that just seem to win and have smooth transactions. It’s always people that see the value in things and move quickly. These buyers offered full list price and they got the deal. Why mess around to save a few thousand dollars and risk losing the sale to another bidder in this hot market? It’s just not worth it. The true value is the 50k below market value it was listed at, not in haggling over pennies. Being fair with a seller can go a long way in getting your offer accepted.
I’ve seen other buyers offer a few thousand dollars less than the listing price, knowing if they went too low they’d offend the seller. So they elect to haggle a bit and point out some loose screws or light switches and justify trying to score the deal for a slight savings off of an already well-priced property. These are the same buyers that end up needling around a little too long and wouldn’t you know it; another party comes in and makes an offer and the seller goes with the other party.
There’s always the group of people that can’t seem to act quickly enough or want to push a little too hard because they feel they can. I’ve seen this backfire more often than not. I like to make sure my customers get the properties they really love, not just make offers on them. At the end of the day who wants to have the emotional ups and downs of making a bunch of offers to find out that dream house is now going to be someone else’s dream? Don’t let that happen to you: act fairly and quickly and you’ll be happy you did!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Apr 26, 2013
Prices have finally started to come back to levels where you could have some equity in your property, making it a good time to sell. There are several ways to help you realize the highest dollar which I’ll share here:
- Time the market as best as possible. If a few of your neighbors are trying to sell their homes right now, you might be best served to wait and not list it for sale. There’s no point in flooding the market with a surplus. Selling is all about supply and demand. The less supply, the more likely you’ll be to get a buyer to pay more for your home. However, if your competition is priced high, you might be able to come in and price your home lower than theirs and yield a quick sale. Buyers will easily notice the value in yours when compared to the others. Use either tactic depending on your situation.
- With rising prices, don’t be too tempted to price your home above recent sales. Our market is improving, but still fragile. If you go too high on the list price, it’s easy to slow down the process and cause your home to sit on the market. It’s best to price the home competitively and garner multiple bids from buyers and create a frenzy over it. There’s always more demand for well-priced homes!
- If you are at the lower end of the market, sell your property quickly. Don’t be too greedy and wait out too long. Right now there are a lot of investors driving our market by buying up short sales, foreclosures, and well-priced properties. They are renting them out and holding them as cash-flow properties. There are several private equity firms that are also now buying hundreds of properties to hold as cash flow investments. Sell it while they want it!
- Make those repairs you’ve been meaning to. If there are known defects with the home, take care of them – a leaky roof or sliding doors that don’t work, for example. Buyers are picky in today’s market and will want things repaired prior to closing, so you might as well fix them now. It will increase your chances of getting a better buyer.
- Watch out for low appraisals. Make sure the appraiser is aware of all the upgrades to the home and all the recent closed sales. Oftentimes appraisers are not that familiar with a certain subdivision because they cover large territories and sharing your local knowledge with them helps them find the comparables they need to give your home an accurate value. You cannot influence them, but you can point out facts that will help them in their assessment.
Good luck selling and take advantage of today’s market!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Apr 19, 2013
Most realtors want to price a home to sell, while most sellers think it’s worth more. That’s the age-old dilemma that has plagued real estate. The simple fact is that overpricing a home is the death of that house. It will sit on the market and nothing will happen. The only showings it will receive are from other buyers who want to look at it and say, “Look at this one! I can get the one next door for ‘x’ amount less – that’s the one I’ll buy.”
Buyers don’t even want to make an offer on something that’s overpriced. It’s perceived as a waste of time. Why make an offer when the seller seems unreasonable because it’s priced in the stratosphere? On the other hand, you’ll hear the seller saying, “Just give me an offer. All I want is an offer so I can negotiate off my price.” That’s the catch 22. There will be no offer to negotiate because there’s not even a realistic starting point.
I understand both sides and obviously, the more a home sells for, the more it benefits both the realtors and sellers involved. However, there comes a point where it works against all efforts. It’s smartest to really analyze the comparable sales near your home and price yours accordingly. It takes a well-trained Realtor to help you get the right pricing for your home; it’s part art and part science.
This will make all the difference in how quickly your home sells. If it’s listed too high, it’s a real turn-off to buyers and then the home will sit on the market. As those days start to accumulate, the likelihood of attracting a buyer will become less and less. As days turn into months, it then becomes necessary to drop the price to stir new interest and attract a buyer. Some sellers will only want to make very small incremental price drops. This accomplishes nothing because the home is still overpriced. What it takes is a large, bold price drop to shock the market and create a frenzy among realtors and buyers. This is what will get them in the door and get an offer on the table.
Don’t fall into the mindset that you think you can get ‘x’, when your house is actually worth ‘y’. In the long run, it will cost you more money, time, stress, and aggravation.
Best of luck selling!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Apr 12, 2013
There’s no question that banks have gotten much smarter at selling their REO (real estate owned) properties. When they foreclose and take the property back, there’s a series of events that takes place before they can dispose of the asset. Banks don’t want to hold on to real estate; they want to be a bank and lend money and get depositors. However, over the last couple of years they have realized they
were leaving a lot of money on the table and they’ve since changed their strategy. Banks tend to more slowly put the homes onto the market now so that they can control and keep inventory lower and demand high. They also are going in and making repairs to the homes, trying to attract an end-user who will more likely pay more for the property than an investor would. Banks are getting more and more in tune with the market and doing everything they can to get the best return possible.
I personally deal with this every day and even though the banks are getting tougher, there are a few tricks you can do to help you beat the banks and get the deal:
- Be patient. When dealing with these foreclosure mills that are processing thousands of foreclosures, it can be extremely frustrating. They tend to move at their own pace regardless of time frames and deadlines and even the closing date. They can take weeks to respond to your offer. Sometimes they move quickly and you’ll be surprised, but don’t be overwhelmed if it works the opposite way for you.
- Make a strong offer to begin with. Low-balling them does no good. The banks price these properties to move and coming in with a reasonable offer will greatly increase your chances of buying it. They have appraisals and comparables sales in front of them when they list these homes and they have a good feel for the market.
- Limit your contingencies. Shorten your days for inspection and waive financing contingencies if you can. You have a lot of competition right now as a buyer and whatever you can do within your comfort zone, you should. Just make sure that you don’t get yourself in too far that you could, for example, lose your deposit if you really needed to cancel the sale.
I am seeing bank-owned deals slowing down and more conventional sellers entering our market. But when they do come on they are usually good opportunities – don’t let them pass you by!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Apr 5, 2013
House prices are still low and mortgage rates are low, making our hot market even hotter. According to the National Association of Realtors, data pulled from January showed that houses sold in 71 days, down from 99 days a year ago. It’s very common to receive multiple offers on homes for sale right now. If you are a buyer, you need to be prepared for a lot of competition. Here’s how to do your homework to increase your chances of being the winning bidder and not left on the sidelines.
- Plan several months ahead of time before you need a home. It could take you a while to find the right house and then be the winning bidder, so prepare for that.
- Get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start searching. You could find the right property very quickly and you’ll need to act right away. Being pre-approved is very important because your lender can give you a letter stating that fact. You can then submit the letter along with your offer to the seller, making your offer stronger.
- Be realistic. Know your limits on what you can afford. Don’t waste your time looking at $400,000 houses if all you can afford is $350,000. There’s a lot less available inventory on the market and that leads to multiple bidders.
- Sellers like cash. The more cash you can put down on your purchase, the greater your chances for having your offer accepted. Think about it – if you were a seller, assuming everything was the same, would you go with the buyer putting 20% down or the buyer putting 5% down? Sellers think buyers who put down more cash are stronger, so use this to your advantage if you can.
- Limit your contingencies. If you need to sell a house first before you can buy, don’t make your new purchase contingent upon that. It’s very unappealing to sellers and makes them less likely to deal with you. Consider selling your house first and temporarily moving in with friends or family, which puts you in a very strong position to buy and increases your chances of getting an offer accepted.
- Consider the closing date. Why not ask the seller what day they want to close and if it works for you, just put that on the contract? A simple thing like that could tip the offer into your favor and get it accepted.
Buying a house in today’s market with limited inventory can be very stressful and frustrating. Follow these tips to help you be a step ahead of the game and to get into your dream home before someone else does!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Mar 29, 2013
Trying to short sale your house? Don’t assume it will close without any hiccups – even if the bank agrees to the buyer’s price. After being in this business for so long you see it all and I’ve had several short sales that blew up last minute because the home was left “unloved” by the seller for so long that it took a lot of scrambling to keep the deal together.
On a short sale it’s typical to see a seller up and leave and take whatever they can in the process. They tend to turn of the electric and just let everything go back to nature. This can become a huge problem. There are certainly situations where a seller simply cannot keep up with a property due to the economics of it, but there are a lot of times when little things can be done that could save a lot of heartache later on. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Sometimes, if you treat the property well, banks will be more likely to have mercy on you when dealing with deficiency judgments for the remaining balance due on your note. If you just walk away and/or damage the house your chances of having a good end result with the bank go down.
- Buyers are picky in today’s market. You might think that buyers will buy anything because the prices are so low and that’s not the case. They can get scared off if there’s mold growing on the walls and there are dead bugs everywhere. This can happen quickly in a house that has been abandoned with the power shut off.
- Keep it up. You want the electric on and A/C running. Also, have the house cleaned every couple of months to get rid of dust and dead bugs and to keep the house looking fresh. This will go a long way in attracting a buyer who can close quickly on your house.
It’s easy to have an attitude of I’m not going to gain anything financially from a short sale, so why bother. The fact is if you do bother, you’ll be more likely to close quickly with a good buyer. You still want to open up the amount of available buyers for your home as widely as possible. Your goal with a short sale is to be rid of the property and to have the burden of the debt released from you. All banks operate differently, but I’ve seen them treat borrowers more fairly when they have not destroyed their properties.
Good luck short selling!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Mar 22, 2013
In today’s market it’s common to see appraisals come in under- inflated. You might think,’ I’m selling my house for $500,000 and this buyer wants to pay me $500,000. We all agree; it’s that simple.’ Not exactly. If the buyer is getting a mortgage it’s now up to the bank to determine their own value of the home. They will hire an independent appraiser to come up with a value. And you better hope that person’s opinion of the value is for $500,000, otherwise the entire deal could unravel!
Nowadays, the system is all run through 3rd parties and mortgage brokers cannot speak directly to the appraiser. This is to control fraud and having the lender influence appraisers’ value. Although the system is not perfect, it makes sense to have these two parties at arms’ length of each other. The problem is if an update or anything is needed to the actual appraisal it can take days to get that corrected due to the chain of command that must be followed.
It’s commonplace to see appraisals coming in lower than what people are willing to pay for a property. That’s a big problem because our market is increasing now and it’s hard to find comparable sales to support these new, higher prices that people are willing to pay. If you are selling, here are a few things you can do to help with the appraisal:
- Request a local appraiser. It’s common to get an appraiser from out of the area and that can be detrimental to your home’s value. Try to avoid this if possible.
- Provide your own comparables to the appraiser if you know of recent closed sales that are similar homes and nearby. This might be information the appraiser can use in their report.
- Keep track of improvements to your home. Make an upgrade list and a spreadsheet of actual costs you incurred in remodeling – all this can add to the value.
- Clean up the yard and landscaping and de-clutter inside. Give the home a nice appearance inside and out; it can make the home appear larger inside and give a more pleasant feel outside.
- Is your house one story or two? Are there some unique features that make it more desirable to buyers? In my neighborhood, the one story homes sell much faster than the two stories. An appraiser might not know that if you don’t tell them.
Good luck selling and cross your fingers on those appraisals!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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admin | Mar 15, 2013
In less than a week, it will officially be spring! What a great time to do some spring cleaning around the house, especially if you’re looking to sell. Here are some tips to help you out if you are, and if not, you’ll just have a more cheerful home!
- Clean your gutters and the home’s exterior. It’s a great time to trim up the landscaping, put down fresh mulch, and remove dead limbs on trees. Power wash the house and maybe even consider doing a fresh coat of paint to really give it a new look. When a buyer pulls up to your house, you want to make a great first impression! Clean the walk ways leading up to the home and also wash the door and door handle. That’s the first thing a buyer will touch!
- Bring some nature into your house. Freshly cut flowers or a planted orchid are the best looking and easiest ways to do this. It’s amazing the vibrant colors that you can bring into your home. There’s something about having a live sense of nature in your home that gives a calming, comforting feel and an energy that is very desirable for all buyers.
- Declutter. It’s easy to accumulate things over the winter months. Do you have extra magazines lying around or too many knickknacks that are now piling up and taking up counter space? Where do you keep your keys, receipts, spare change, and phones when you come home? These areas can easily become a cluttered mess: don’t let it happen. The items are easy to remove or organize and by doing so it opens up your space and makes the home appear larger. This is a great tactic for buyers – they love open, clear spaces!
- Consider new bed linens and bright colors. It can be fun to bring color into a room. In SW Florida we get so accustomed to seeing the same décor that by simply adding some bright pillows or fresh new bedding it can give it a “wow” factor.
- Keep the entryway clear. Do you come in the front door or the garage? Where do your shoes end up? It’s easy to have shoes accumulate that rarely get used. I recommend storing them away in a closet and if you must keep some near the door, make sure it’s just the one pair you’re using today. Keep it clean and simple, it goes a long way in buyers’ eyes.
Spring clean to be amazed by your springtime sale!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013. He is the broker of Absync Realty, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@AbsyncRealty.com or www.AbsyncRealty.com
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