Buying a Home in Punta Gorda

Punta Gorda Buyers Experience “BUYERS REMORSE”

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Any time you make a major commitment, financial decision or move to the next step in your life, there’s a chance you’ll have regrets at the last minute. Just as brides and grooms commonly experience cold feet before they walk down the aisle, many a home buyer has found themselves sitting at the closing table, pen paralyzed over paper, mentally cataloging their last-minute regrets.

The first step in dealing with last-minute regrets is to understand that they are totally normal – even rational. The fact that you’re fixated on your deal, or that you’re scared you’ve made the wrong decision is a sign that you are treating this transaction with the gravitas it deserves.

If you are buying or selling a home, here are three last minute regrets you might encounter, and some ways to rethink and counteract them.

1. I left money on the table – could have gotten more (or paid less) for it. This regret showcases a classic case of buyer’s – and seller’s – remorse. The day an offer is signed, sometimes within moments after acceptance, sellers second guess whether they might have been able to get more cash if they’d negotiated harder, and buyers beat themselves up over not going in lower or holding out against the seller’s counteroffers.

Conquer real estate remorse by understanding that the universe in which you pay or receive anything other than what you and the other side actually DID agree to is a hypothetical fantasyland. It doesn’t exist. Your decision made sense when you made it, and did actually result in a deal – unless you realize that the home does not actually suit your needs or you receive new information that changes your understanding of the home’s value (i.e., later disclosures or inspection reports reveal significant problems) within the time frame you have for resolving such issues, a deal is a deal.

So stop torturing yourself and let it go. Be content with the fact that you bought a home at or near the bottom of the market, or that you got your home sold at a very tough time to do so, and turn your attention to the next phase.

2. I’m overwhelmed by the 30-year mortgage commitment. Thirty years seems like a long, long time. But here’s the rethink: you need to live somewhere forever, and I hope that your forever will last 30 years times three! So, unless you have access to free housing somewhere, here are your options:

•You can rent a home and pay rent to a landlord every month for the rest of your life, or
•You can buy a home with cash, or
•You can use mortgage financing to buy a home, and make payments on it over time.

So, in fact, the commitment you make to paying on a 30-year mortgage, which you have the power to pay off entirely over time, is less onerous and lengthy than the alternative: paying monthly rent ad infinitum. While it’s true that your mortgage binds you to a particular property unless and until you can sell it or otherwise move on, if you select your home wisely you will (a) relish that stability and/or (b) select a home with good prospects for resale in the long-term. (If you think you’ll want or need to move in less than a 7- to 10-year time frame, you might be well-advised to continue renting rather than buying a home.)

The fact that you take out a 30-year mortgage (or a 15-year one, for that matter) does not bind you to that time frame; many homeowners elect to pay their mortgages off early. Putting a plan in place to shave off five or 10 years from your mortgage commitment by paying extra toward your mortgage principal on a regular schedule is one way to control your regret and put it to good use.

3. I can’t believe I went through all of my cash cushion! In this relatively new mortgage era, lenders are requiring buyers to put some of their own skin in the game, by requiring down payments in a way they once did not. Beyond that, the vast majority of the down payment assistance programs that once helped buyers meet these requirements are now gone (state, local and employer-funded programs are the last bastions of down payment help). As a result, today’s buyers frequently spend a couple of years saving up their cash, and optimizing their credit creating strong financial habits and getting used to having a fluffy cash cushion along the way, then end up writing a couple of checks – earnest money deposit, increased deposit and cash to close – that wipe nearly the whole thing out in 45 days or less.

That can be traumatic. But if your spirits are feeling as deflated as your savings account when you write those checks, keep in mind that you are investing that money in a home that your family will be able to live and flourish in, and eventually either pay off or have equity in, if you continue your responsible financial trajectory. Additionally, this is precisely the reason you saved the cash in the first place.

Finally, due to your timing vis-a-vis home prices and interest rates, you are getting the most home-buying bang your hard-earned bucks could have bought anytime in the last decade or so and that’s really something to be proud of – not to regret.

Source: Tara-Nichole Nelson, Lawyer, Broker & Acclaimed Author.

For the “What it’s Worth File.” Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I wll help you find a “Good” one! M.K. (Mike) Kissinger – #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Charlotte County, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Finding the Right Punta Gorda Agent, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Sunshine State
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Punta Gorda, Fl Buyers Avoid the “MONEY PIT”!

Friday, January 6th, 2012

What did Cary Grant, Tom Hanks and Richard Pryor have in common? They all starred in hilarious movies with plots built around their money pit homes (“Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” [1948], “The Money Pit” [1986] and “Moving” [1988], respectively).

But buying a home that turns out to need much more extensive (and expensive) repairs than originally thought is only funny in the movies. In real life, buying a money pit can nearly drive a new homeowner to lose their mind – and their shirt.

Fortunately, there are a number of real-life strategies that real-world buyers can act on to prevent their own home-buying plot line from including a less than humorous lemon of a home. Here are 5 steps that will help you avoid buying a money pit.

1. Attend Inspections. There are lots of things you can outsource and rely on your professional representatives to do when you’re buying a home, but I’d suggest you keep attending your home, pest and roof or other specialty inspections on your own personal to-do list. When you’re there in person, the inspector is able to physically show you the items that may need repair, and give you their professional opinion of how serious and large needed repairs may actually be at a level of clarity a written report may lack.

Sometimes, written inspection reports convey minor items (like reversed hot and cold faucets) as a red-flagged health and safety issue, and more major items (like a problematic foundation) as something that needs further inspection. If you are at the inspection in the flesh, you can brief the inspector on what level of cost and effort you consider major (and vice versa), and ask them to help you understand roughly where the property overall and any individual repairs needed fall, from that perspective.

2. Read the Reports and Disclosures. Attending your inspection is just the first step. Reading the inspectors’ reports is critical to avoiding a money pit – both the reports generated by your own inspectors, and any reports and disclosures provided to you by the seller. Things to watch for and investigate further in the sellers’ reports and disclosures include:
•repairs the seller completed themselves,
•repeated repairs to the same home system,
•water and leakage issues, and
•any reports of non-functioning mechanical or other systems in the home.

In your inspectors’ reports, make sure to notice:
•repair estimates they offer,
•items that seem like they will have to be completed soon (versus upgrades you can do over the long run)
•items that seem like they might run into big ticket dollar amounts, and
•especially watch for any recommendations that you get a specialist to look at something – some of the largest potential repairs are often dealt with in this way by a general property inspector.

It behooves you to follow up on your reading of reports and disclosures by working with your agent to:
•list your questions and concerns,
•ask the inspector(s) and seller any follow-up questions you have,
•obtain follow-up inspections (including obtaining an extension of your inspection contingency, if needed) and
•obtaining reliable repair estimates.

3. Get Multiple Repair Bids. While your pest, roof and other inspection specialists may offer you a repair cost estimate with your report, most general property inspectors do not – many states even forbid it by law. Money pits often occur when buyers take a place knowing it needs what they thought was a little work, that actually turns out to be a much more costly or involved repair, once the actual repair contractor takes a look or starts the work.

Avoid surprises by getting multiple repair bids from reputable contractors while you are still within the inspection contingency time frame of your contract. These repair estimates can also provide the basis for any renegotiation you and your agent choose to initiate with the seller for price reduction, repairs or increased closing cost credits.

4. Stop Overconfidence In Its Tracks. Having managed two extensive remodeling projects myself, I can vouch – unless you are a construction professional (and sometimes even then!), all but the most minor home improvement or repair projects tends to take more time and money to do yourself than you expect at the outset. (With my own two hands, I took down wallpaper and painted a room in January of 2002, and am still experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. One room, people.)

Even if you expect to cut costs by doing some work yourself, I urge you to contact and obtain bids on the repairs and upgrades you plan from actual professionals, so you can at least be armed with the information about what it will cost to get them done if you can’t complete them for any reason.

5. Prioritize Price Reductions and Credits over Seller Repairs. For the most part, buyers will select their own materials and repair contractors with more care and are generally more deeply invested in ensuring that repairs are completed to their satisfaction than an outgoing seller. If you are negotiating with your home’s seller over repairs that need to happen, discuss with your agent whether it might make sense to ask for a price reduction or a closing cost credit to offset the cost of the repairs so you can have them completed to your standards, and with the materials and by the contractors of your choice, after closing.

Source: Tara-Nichole Nelson, Lawyer, Broker and Acclaimed Author.

For the “What it’s Worth File.” This area of the home-buying process is very important. You need to implement the appropriate due diligence and make sure that you don’t miss something that will come back to haunt you in the near future. The adjustment to the new home can be daunting enough, without “issues” that need to be dealt with! Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M.K. (Mike) Kissinger – #941-979-1455.

Tags: Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Charlotte County, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Curb Appeal, Punta Gorda Florida Real Estate Market, Punta Gorda Home Enhancement, Sunshine State
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Planning to Buy in 2012 – Punta Gorda Buyers are doing these 5 things NOW!

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

If you’re one of the millions who has an eye on 2012 as the year in which you’ll buy a home (first or not), here are five things you can do now to put yourself on the right path:

1. Check your credit. Take my word for it, there is no bad surprise worse than a bad credit surprise. Okay, maybe there is one thing worse – a credit surprise you receive while you’re in the midst of trying to buy a home!

Recent studies have revealed that a record high number of real estate transactions are falling out of escrow, and that credit “issues” are a leading cause of these dead deals. Your best chance at catching and correcting score-lowering errors and other derogatory items before they destroy your personal American Dream is to start checking and correcting while you still have time on your side.

2. Do your research. The more rapidly the real estate market changes, the more it behooves smart buyers to study up before they jump in. Now’s the time – you can start doing online and in-person research into topics ranging from:

· Target states, cities and neighborhoods.Whether you’re relocating or simply trying to narrow down the local districts to focus on during your 2012 house hunt, December is a great time to start your online research into decision-driving factors like tax rates, school districts, neighborhood character and even prices in various areas. Resident ratings and reviews sites like Trulia and NabeWise can help you make the neighborhood-lifestyle match.

Once you narrow things down and start speaking to local agents, ask them to brief you on the local market dynamics, including how long homes typically stay on the market and whether they generally go for more or less than the asking price, so you can be smart about how you search.

· Real estate and mortgage pros.If you don’t already have your pros picked out, now is the time to get on the horn or drop an email or Facebook message to your circle of contacts, asking them for a referral to a broker or agent they love. Follow up by searching for their name and seeing what sort of feedback on them you can cull from the web, then giving them a ring and launching a conversation about whether you and they might be a good partnership.

· Short sales and REOs. Distressed property sales are not for the unwary. If you want to target upside down or foreclosed homes, or are planning to house hunt in an area where many of the listings are described as short sales or foreclosures, get educated about what you can expect from a distressed property purchase transaction before you get your heart set on a short sale.

· What you get for the money.Online house hunting is a powerful tool – especially when it’s cold and wet! But there comes a point in your house hunt where you’ve got to just get out into the actual physical homes you’re seeing online in order to get a strong, accurate sense of what home features, aesthetics and location characteristics correlate with what price points.

· Mortgage musts. You can read a bunch of articles about mortgages and get yourself pretty far down the path toward qualifying for a home loan, but you can only get a personalized action plan for a smooth road ‘home’ by talking with a local mortgage broker and having them assess your basic financials. They might say you need to move funds around, pay a bill down or off or produce some sort of documentation from your employer. And the time to start all that is now.

3. Fluff up your cash cushion.So, you’ve saved up your 3.5 percent down payment. Perhaps you saved a little extra for closing costs. Or maybe you’re even one of those uber-aggressive 20-percent-down-ers. No matter how much you’ve saved, you’ll find that you could use more once you activate your home buying action plan. Mark my words – after closing, you’ll crave extra cash to do some repairs, upgrade a couple of things, buy appliances or even just to hold onto in order to minimize your anxiety about depleting your savings!

So, if homebuying is on your personal 2012 action plan, don’t go hog wild on holiday gifts. Instead, wait until next year and give yourself the gift of a home.

4. Shed some stuff. Sell it. Donate it. Give it to relatives who’ve always coveted it. Just get rid of it. If you do it before year’s end, you can kill three birds with one stone: (a) getting some cold hard cash to go toward your savings, (b) getting some tax receipts so you can deduct the value of your donations in January, (c) minimizing money spent on holiday gifts for loved ones and these two bonus birds – clearing the mental clutter that physical clutter creates and prepping for your move in advance.

5. Sit very, very still. Sometimes, the best way to further our goals is to stop tripping ourselves up. In that vein, commit right now to refrain from making any major financial moves until you buy your home. Don’t quit your job to start that personal chef business (yet), don’t pull a bunch of cash out of your savings account (without getting clearance form your mortgage pro first), and don’t start buying cars and boats on credit.

Source: Tara-Nicole Nelson. Noted author, Broker and Attorney.

For the “What it’s Worth File.” The more preparation you put into the above issues, the more benefit you will derive from the end result. Many of the problems that you encounter in the buying process can be avoided by simply adhering to the above items and implementing the appropriate level of focus. Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M.K. (Mike) Kissinger # 941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Finding the Right Punta Gorda Agent, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Sunshine State
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Hypnotic Staging! – 5 Ways to see through it!

Monday, November 28th, 2011

We all know how important home staging is if you’re trying to sell a home. It’s equally important when you’re buying real estate for exactly the same reasons. Just like a person you meet on a blind date, staging is all about highlighting assets and deflecting your attention from any flaws. As a buyer, you have to learn to look past the staging and see what lies underneath.

Understanding hypnotic staging techniques will help you break their spells. Here are five of the most common, along with corresponding tips that will help snap you back to reality so that you can really see what you’re buying.

Hypnotic Staging See-Through #1: Tiny Furniture. I’m sure that you’ve gone through your closet at one time or another to put together an outfit that made you look smaller than you are. Well, house staging aims to accomplish the exact opposite. By opting for very small furniture, rooms can be made to appear much larger than they really are. That can be a problem if those rooms don’t accommodate your lifestyle.

I’m not recommending you turn away from a potential home just because it won’t fit your Nana’s custom-made-for-her-13-kids-and-their-spouses dining room table. But if the ‘kids bedroom” won’t fit a standard-sized bed and dresser, or you’d have to be the size of a Barbie doll to fit on the chaise lounge that the living room is sized to fit, you’ve got a problem.

Hypnotic Staging See-Through #2: Camoflauge and Cover-Ups. Just like baked cookies can make a house smell homey, gauzy wall and window coverings and soft music can make it seem positively dreamy. Downside: they can also camouflage a whole lot of nastiness. Don’t be fooled: investigate. You need to know what the natural light and sounds will be like after the gauze is gone, so ask for the music to be turned off and throw open the curtains. Then look outside the various windows to see what’s out there – I’ve seen power poles, neighbors’ patchwork roof repairs and even, once, a backyard dog fighting ring, obscured by gorgeous window coverings.

Hypnotic Staging See-Through #3: Activity Props You’ll Never Use. Don’t you just feel all warm and fuzzy when you walk into a room with a lovely crib and a baby mobile? See a room with well-organized shelving and a craft table and you immediately imagine yourself scrapbooking or quilting. Yoga mats and meditation pillows almost make you want to find your mantra, but also make a room seem more serene than it will ever feel when you actually live there.

Hypnotic Staging See-Through #4: Any item that seems to be there strictly for appearances. Décor can often hide or diminish the appearance of flaws that seem like small potatoes in light of the overall fabulosity of the place, but can actually prove expensive to change. So check for items that seem like they might have been put in just for looks—including curtains, rugs, paintings and doorways with no doors on them—and then don your sleuthing hat to figure out what flaws they might be concealing. Water stains and wall cracks can be covered up (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not) by area rugs and wall hangings, and funky floor plans can be staged as more open by taking the doors off their hinges.

Hypnotic Staging See-Through #5: Neighborhood staging. Before you get off investigative mode, you’ll also want to check out the neighborhood. Not the staged neighborhood — the real thing, warts and cars on the lawn and screaming schoolkids and all. I’ve actually seen neighbors move their cars and refrain from their normal (noisy) activities when there’s an open house on the block. Even without that kind of intentional neighborhood staging, most open houses are held on a relatively calm days of the week and times of day, when traffic is light and noise is low.

To get the real scoop, make sure to visit the house at different times of day and on different days of the week in order to determine what the noise levels are like at evenings and weekend. You also want to make a point of showing up at the hours you’ll normally be coming and going, so you can check to see how easy it is to get in and out of the driveway vis-a-vis traffic and what the noise levels are like at evenings and weekend.

Source: Tara-Nichole Nelson, Lawyer, Broker and Real Estate writer.

For the “What it’s Worth File.” In case you haven’t noticed lately, “Home Staging” has become a career choice for many decorators. It has become very popular in mid to high end homes that are on the market. This article exposes some of the techniques used to “Hypnotize” you when are looking at a prospective home. Don’t get emotional! That’s the key to the whole buying process. Remember – if you need a Realtor® where you live of need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M.K.(Mike) Kissinger – #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Punta Gorda New Home Search, Sunshine State
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Punta Gorda,FL Sees Smaller Homes

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Married couples no longer hold the majority in households. In 1960, married couples made up 75 percent of total households. In 2010, that percentage has dropped to 48 percent, according to U.S. Census data.

Meanwhile, “family households”–which includes married couples with no children–has bloomed from 45.1 million in 1960 to 77.5 million in 2010. And non-family households (people living alone or households where no one is related) has soared–increasing nearly five times in the last 50 years–from 7.9 million in 1960 to 39.2 million in 2010.

“These significant demographic shifts create opportunities to design and sell homes to a growing group who cannot find what they want in the resale market because the resale market was primarily built for families,” according to a report by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

So given the growth in non-family households, what do these potential home buyers desire? Here are some of the findings from John Burns Real Estate Consulting:

Smaller home size. Non-family households tend to want less space than a family household–opting for a home under 2,500 square feet. A recent survey also found that more than two-thirds of non-family households tend to want no more than three bedrooms in a home too.

Location is key. Non-family households want a good location near work, entertainment, and shops. In fact, they consider the location more important than the size of the home.

Nothing over-the-top. Non-family households are less likely to choose extra amenities like media rooms, community pools, and tot lots.

Source: By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine.

For the ” What it’s Worth File.” I posted on the subject of “downsizing” sometime ago. This article supports the focus of that downsizing article. Those 4 & 5 bedroom 4000 sq ft homes are not really popular anymore. Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or if you need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M. K. (Mike) Kissinger - #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Sunshine State
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Punta Gorda Buyers Ask, “Did I Buy A Meth Lab?”

Friday, November 18th, 2011

The New York Times ran an article this week (”Illnesses Afflict Homes With a Criminal Past” by Shaila Dewan and Robbie Brown) that details a story about a family who moved into a spacious home in Winchester, Tenn., only to soon start battling years of illness — from breathing problems to seizures and migraines to kidney problems.

Their home was making them sick. Five years after moving into the home, the family discovered the home had once been used as a meth lab.

And apparently these contaminated residences are not all that uncommon. What’s more, some may even be hitting your local market.

“Federal statistics show that the number of clandestine meth labs discovered in the United States rose by 14 percent last year, to 6,783, and has continued to increase,” the New York Times reports.

View a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration map of meth lab incidents by state to see how prevalent it is in your area: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/map_lab_seizures.html

Chemist Lynn Riemer Of The North Metro Drug Task Force provides the following list of signs a meth lab may have been present in a home:

1. Yellow discoloration on walls, drains, sinks and showers.
2. Blue discoloration on valves of propane tanks and fire extinguishers.
3. Fire detectors that are removed–or taped off.
4. Burning in your eyes, itchy throat, a metallic taste in your mouth, or breathing problems when in the home.
5. Strong odors that smell similar to materials often found in a garage, such as solvent and paint thinner, or odors of cat urine or ammonia.

About 20 states have passed laws that require meth contamination cleanup. Cleanup can be costly, though. The family described in The New York Times article would need $30,000 or more to get the necessary cleanup, and that amount doesn’t even take into account their medical bills from living in a contaminated house for so long.

Source: By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, contributing writer for Realtor.com

For the “ What it’s Worth File.” There are several things that a prudent home buyer should make sure are done when purchasing a previously lived in home. Obviously, have it checked for the above “meth” tell tale indicators, but don’t forget to also have it checked for Chinese Drywall, Radon, Lead Contamination and Mold Habitation ( Florida Issues). Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M. K. (Mike) Kissinger – #941-979-1455.

These 5 Questions “Stumped” many Punta Gorda Buyers!

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

We all live in a world of media, Internet and television and in general, that’s a good thing! The availability of knowledge about almost any subject is readily accessible. Yet, in a survey conducted by Zillow, Inc., there were five real estate points that proved to not be very well understood by buyers that were just entering the housing market. Here are the specific issues and how those consumers fared.

These are the five real estate topics:

Appreciation: 42% of the homebuyers believed that homes will appreciate at a rate of 7% a year. Sadly, the truth is that the average rate in a normal market is between 2% & 5%.

Appraisals: 56% of the buyers said that the purpose of the appraisal was to determine if the home was in good condition. That’s the purpose of the inspection – the appraisal estimates the fair market value.

Home Owners Insurance: 37% of the homebuyers thought that buying home owners insurance was optional. Truth is that the lender requires homeowners to purchase homeowner’s insurance if they are going to carry a mortgage.

Ownership: 47% of the buyers said a prospective buyers owns the home after the purchase contract is signed by the seller – when the two parties reach agreement. Reality: The purchase and sales agreement are only the beginning of the closing process, which can indeed take some time to sign all the associated documentation before ownership actually takes place at the closing meeting.

Mortgage Insurance: 41% of those buyers thought that they must purchase PMI ( Private Mortgage Insurance), regardless of the amount of their downpayment. Truth is, Buyers only need to purchase PMI if their dowpayment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price.

For the “What it’s worth File.” This article surprised me, especially with all the available sources of the truth that could be accessed. In retrospect, it is very scary to think that people are entering into the single largest investment they will make in their live’s, without being knowledgeable about the basics. Once again I say, “Knowledge is Power”!! Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live of need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M.K.(Mike) Kissinger - #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Credit & Financing in Punta Gorda, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Sunshine State
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Is This the Right House? Punta Gorda Buyers give you 5 Ways to Know!

Monday, October 31st, 2011

With so many homes on the market, many buyers house hunt for months, even years before hitting property pay-dirt. Even for the savvy buyers who have narrowed their house hunt to an affordable price range, the condition issues so common in distressed homes can make choosing a home difficult.

Now on the flip side, some subdivisions have scads of similar homes, all of which are in good shape, all listed at a similar price, making it nearly impossible to choose just one.

Here are five indicators that a particular home you’re viewing might be “The One” – the property on which you’ll want to place an offer:

1. You feel possessive about it, instantly. I once showed a less-than-fabulous home to a buyer who stepped in the front door, opened her eyes wide, and uttered in a much-quieter-than-normal voice, “I could cry.” We got a good laugh out of this later, after she found and bought a home that made her feel virtually the opposite.

Not only did the winning home bring a smile to her face, it also made her instantly possessive. She didn’t just want it – she wanted it immediately. She could barely even wait to write the offer paperwork! When another agent showed up to bring a buyer through the place while we were still there, she lingered leisurely (in hopes they would just leave) and secretly looked at them with daggers in her eyes (out of competitiveness, because in her heart, the home had already become hers).

If you walk through a place and leave wondering how quickly you can get your offer in, how much you’d offer to beat someone else out, or what you can do to lock it down quickly, it might be “The One.”

2. You start rationalizing its flaws away. Train tracks 10 feet from the bedroom window? Next door neighbor that runs a pigeon-sitting service? Okay – I exaggerate. But if you find yourself viewing a home with traits that you would normally deem undesirable or as deal-killers, yet you like the place so much that you instinctively compile a mental list of reasons those traits just don’t matter, you might have found “The One.”

Now, smart buyers should be aware of a syndrome I like to call “Pottery Barn Psychosis,” whereby the aesthetics of a wonderfully staged home with amazing curb appeal can hypnotize a buyer, rendering them blind to the negative property features, which would be glaring or grave concerns if the place weren’t so stinking cute. It’s fine to make a conscious decision that the pros of a place outweigh its cons, and even to consciously re-rank your priorities in light of a particular property’s advantages. But buyers should take steps to avoid falling victim to Pottery Barn Psychosis (and the Buyer’s Remorse that often follows suit) by writing down your absolute musts and deal-breakers before you ever step foot in a single property – and by revisiting this document before you write an offer and again before you remove your contingencies.

3. The bathroom and kitchen don’t disgust you. We humans are born with only two fears in life: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. By about eight months old, we start to acquire new fears, and most of us never stop. Among the first fear most people learn: the fear of other people’s kitchens and bathrooms.

I exaggerate (again!), but it is true that generally speaking, other people’s kitchens and bathrooms hold definite gross-out potential. There’s just something about what goes on in those rooms that seems exceptionally intimate and even unsanitary. So, if you happen to find yourself falling in love with a home’s river rock shower floor or drooling over the pot-filler over the stove and the built-in cookbook stand on the countertop, that’s a sign that you’re falling head over heels with a home that might just be “The One.”

4. You involuntarily envision your own family, furniture, decor, daily activities or remodeling choices in/to the home. They say that the best staging helps prospective buyers envision their own idealized lives taking place in the staged home. But whether or not a property is staged, if you find your mind’s eye Photo shopping a given property to insert your own kids and sofa into the living room, your dining table and favorite wall hangings into place in the dining room, and your daily meditation in the breakfast nook – or even start mentally removing walls entirely – it’s entirely possible that the home you’re in could be “The One” for you.

5. You lose interest in seeing other homes.I once took some buyers out for their first house hunt in my territory after they’d spent two years looking for homes in a neighboring area, without ever making a single offer. I’d planned to show them seven homes, but when they got to the fourth property, they declared that they’d found their home, and they neither wanted nor needed to see any more.

When you find “The One,” continuing the house hunt you may have obsessed over for months, even years, starts to seem silly, like a waste of the energy you could be using to move into your new home.

Source: Tara-Nicholle Nelson | Broker in San Francisco, CA

For the “What it’s Worth File.” Having worked with many buyers, I can share with you the fact that the more homes that the buyers look at the tougher it is for them to actually make that final decision. I have found that establishing their “want” list and condensing it into a “need’ list before you begin looking at homes will save eveyone a lot of frustration and time. After the 6th or 7th home – they all start to look alike. Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M.K. (Mike) Kissinger #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Buying A Punta Gorda Home, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Finding the Right Punta Gorda Agent, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South
Posted in Buying a Home in Port Charlotte, Buying a Home in Punta Gorda | No Comments »

Punta Gorda Buyers are told, “Don’t Wait – Buy Now!

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Some Home Buyers Should Buy Immediately

Everybody wants to know how to best time the market when buying a home. It’s just natural. Especially if you’re thinking about buying in a down market where homes prices have declined. You wonder how low they will go and whether you should wait, right?

You’re probably thinking: “Of course, he would say that. He’s a Realtor, and agents always say ‘Now is the best time to buy’.” Well, here is why:

     •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 alternate housing, a smart strategy is sell now, wait a few months, then buy your new home.
     •If you sell and buy simultaneously, you’ll still be ahead of the game because the price reduction on the purchase is greater than the loss on the sale.

Consider the “Loss” on Selling Your Present Home
For example, say your present house is worth $300,000, but because of high inventory and few buyers, you must reduce your price by 10%. So, instead of receiving $300,000, you would get $270,000 and “lose” $30,000.

Consider Your Real Profit
Now, consider this. Say you bought this home 10 years ago and paid $100,000. You’re still ahead $170,000, less costs of sale, aren’t you? (This ignores monthly payments, but you would make those if you were renting, too.)

Consider the “Savings” on Buying Your New Home
If you are planning to move up to a $500,000 house, which is located in the same distressed market, you could probably buy that house at that same 10% discount or $450,000. This would mean you had saved $50,000.

Review of Selling and Buying Numbers
1.So you “lost” $30,000 on the sale of your home
2.But you “made” $50,000 on the purchase of your new home
3.Doesn’t that put you $20,000 ahead?

Don’t Forget the Impact of Interest Rates
Which way are interest rates moving? Are they moving up or moving down? If interest rates are near an all-time low and beginning to inch upwards, waiting could cost you more than you would think. You might not be able to afford to buy a home at any price. Following is what happens if you’re looking for a loan around $400,000.

•FACT: Each 1/2 point increase in your interest rate gives you $25,000 less in purchasing power.
•FACT: Each 1 point increase in your interest rate gives you $50,000 less in purchasing power.
•FACT: Each 2 point increase in your interest rate gives you $100,000 less in purchasing power.

Look at the Differences Among 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.

A good strategy is to weigh all the pros and cons of real estate ownership before making the decision to buy or sell. Don’t panic over newspaper headlines. Make an informed decision. Run your own numbers.

Source: Elizabeth Weintraub, www.houselogic.com

For the “What it’s Worth File.” We all have a tendency to listen the the media and believe what they tell us. Remember, they don’t always have all the facts or don’t tell you the whole story. For them, it’s about Sensationalism! Do your homework and review all the facts and factors – don’t ignore the available help of a professional to assit you with the decision. You are not expected to be an expert on everything. Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving, just call me. I will help you find a “good” one! M.K. (Mike) Kissinger – #941-979-1455.

Tags: Best Home Values in Punta Gorda, Buyer's Market in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County, Coldwell Banker Morris Realty, Finding the Right Punta Gorda Agent, Punta Gorda - Best Places to Live in the South, Sunshine State
Posted in Buying a Home in Port Charlotte, Buying a Home in Punta Gorda | No Comments »

Tips from Punta Gorda, FL Residents for Keeping the Deal on Track!

Friday, September 30th, 2011

You’ve found your dream home. Make sure missteps don’t prevent a successful closing. If a contract requires you to have a home inspection, schedule an appointment immediately.

A home purchase isn’t complete until you make it to the closing. Until then, the transaction can fall apart for many reasons. Here are five tips for avoiding mistakes that cause a home sale to crater.

1. Be truthful on your mortgage application
You may think fudging your income a little or omitting debts when applying for a mortgage will go unnoticed. Not true. Lenders have become more diligent in verifying information on mortgage applications. If you fib, expect to be found out and denied the loan you need to fund your home purchase. Plus, intentionally lying on a mortgage application is a crime.

2. Hold off on big purchases
Lenders double-check buyers’ credit right before the closing to be sure their financial condition hasn’t weakened. If you’ve opened new credit cards, significantly increased the balance on existing cards, taken out new loans, or depleted your savings, your credit score may have dropped enough to make your lender change its mind on funding your home loan. Although it’s tempting to purchase new furniture and other items for your new home, or even a new car, wait until after the closing.

3. Keep your job
The lender may refuse to fund your loan if you quit or change jobs before you close the purchase. The time to take either step is after a home closing, not before.

4. Meet contingencies
If your contract requires you to do something before the sale, do it. If you’re required to secure financing, promptly provide all the information the lender requires. If you must deposit additional funds into escrow, don’t stall. If you have 10 days to get a home inspection, call the inspector immediately.

5. Consider deadlines immovable
Get your funds together a week or so before the closing, so you don’t have to ask for a delay. If you’ll need to bring a certified check to closing, get it from the bank the day before, not the day of, your closing. Treat deadlines as sacrosanct.

Source: G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

For the “What it’s Worth File.” Some people feel that the toughest part of the home buying/selling process is the acquiring of the contract. I can tell you that for me the worst part of the process is the period of time between the contract and the closing. So many “things” can impact the final result, that my perception is that this period is definitely the most traumatic. Pay attention to the above information and you will lessen any negative resolution. Remember, if you need a Realtor® where you live or need one where you are moving – just call me. I will help you find a “Good” one! M. K. (Mike) Kissinger @ #941-979-1455.

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