Think About the Future When Buying Cape Coral Real Estate

Posted on May 25, 2013 by lilorealtor

Buying Cape Coral real estate is usually a long-term investment that will affect you for decades.

When you are looking to buy a home, it is important to think about not just what you are looking for now, but what will be the most advantageous situation for the future .

Of course, it is impossible to predict the accurately, as times change and unexpected events can occur. However, when you are buying a home, you should do your best to think about what your needs will be and how the area could change over time.

How Will Your Family Grow?

If you are a young couple buying a house together, think ahead to the next few decades and consider who might eventually live with you. You’ll want to make sure the house has enough bedrooms and a safe backyard for children. Also, you might want to consider the possibility of a parent moving in with you as they get older.

How Will the Neighborhood Develop?

When it comes to buying Cape Coral real estate, it is worth finding out more about the future of the neighborhood. If there is a large development, such as a block of apartments or a shopping center being planned, you should ask your REALTORÒ how it could affect housing prices and the overall feeling of the area.

How is the Resale Value?

Although you might not be considering selling the home for years, it is still important to think about the resale value. Does it have more than one bathroom? Does it have a good layout? Is it in a good location? Imagine yourself selling the home and think about what buyers will be looking for.

Planning for the future is important when you are buying a home. Although you cannot predict exactly what will happen, make sure that you look ahead to all the possibilities when you are investing in real estate.

If you have any questions or want to find out more about purchasing a home, please call me at 239-699-0142 or email me

Conceptions & Misconceptions About Credit Scoring

Posted on May 22, 2013 by lilorealtor

Whether Southwest residents are looking for a home equity line of credit, a refi, or a new mortgage, when it comes to getting a loan, everyone knows that it’s the credit score that ultimately determines the outcome. Yet when it comes to a working knowledge of what major factors affect your score, a new survey shows that many of us are less certain than we should be.

The Consumer Federation of America is a nonprofit outfit that from time to time releases reports designed to improve that situation. Their latest is a sort of report card on how much average adults understand about credit scoring – the key factor in getting a loan of any kind.

On the plus side of the report card, CFA says that people who have obtained one or more of their own credit scores within the past year are significantly better-informed than those who have not. No surprise there. Those people tend to know that there are three large credit bureaus (although how anyone who watches TV doesn’t already know that is a mystery to me).

On the minus side, more men than women misunderstand how age and marital status affect their credit scores (those factors have no effect). Men, on the other hand, “are more skeptical than women about the value of credit repair agencies.” CFA doesn’t go into why that is, but I’d like to think that it’s because they understand that a more straightforward way to repair your credit is to pay all bills on time.

Sandwiched in among the charts and graphs are various bits of good advice for any local resident getting a loan. A few bear repeating:

Avoid maxing out credit cards; try not to even get close
Pay down debt instead of just moving it from account to account
Keep track of your credit from time to time, even if you’re not planning on getting a loan right away

If you are planning to become a local buyer or seller in the near future, I’m here to help you make the most it. Call me anytime at 239-699-0142

Cape Coral Sellers Get Early National Housing Prices News

Posted on May 20, 2013 by lilorealtor

When I update Cape Coral readers about the latest news in housing prices, it’s usually not as ‘latest’ as I’d like. The reason is that there is a delay in most of the truly reliable indexes that measure housing prices. The big indexes are national (local housing prices are another matter), and they have a built-in two-month delay. We can look at trends and directions, but if there is a change afoot, we won’t be sure of that for about 60 days.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal found a way to present unusually fresh numbers. Reporter Nick Timiraos ignored the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, which reported statistics from back in March, and leapfrogged into April with the first solid news about our much-anticipated spring selling season.

It shows a startling 2.7% one-month increase: the largest March-to-April gain in any of the 17 years since the series was first reported.

“The monthly gain blew away all past Aprils,” said an economist at Credit Suisse. The basis of the reports comes from last Wednesday’s release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer-price index, which measures prices in the whole economy (at least as seen by manufacturers and wholesalers). It’s a backdoor way to gauge housing prices when you examine prices received by real estate agents.

The numbers showed a 9.1% gain over housing prices from a year ago…and remember, big price rises were already happening by then. The takeaway, per the Journal, “Don’t be surprised to see continued increases in prices and sales in the next batch of housing reports.”

Professors Case and Shiller are certainly standing by to give us those. And in case you would like a more locally focused update on our recent area housing prices, I’m standing by, too — why not give me, a local Cape Coral Realtor, a call today?

Pre-Inspected Listings Help Save Time, Money

Posted on May 14, 2013 by lilorealtor

If you are readying your home for sale this spring or summer, one of my favorite tactics to set your property apart from other area listings is to order a pre-inspection. If you’re not familiar with the term, a pre-inspection is a less detailed, less expensive visual inspection designed to report major conditions certain to be noted in the final. Why add this extra expense? Won’t buyers ultimately get their own inspection?

Yes, they will. But the purpose is not to replace a final inspection — it’s to attract more offers and hasten a final sale by minimizing re-negotiation.

Picture yourself as a prospective buyer .Listings which headline the availability of a pre-inspection report automatically seem to be offered by someone who is proud of their property’s condition and unafraid of what the final inspection will reveal. To skittish prospective buyers, it serves to lessen the “fear of the unknown” that can make buyers hesitate before writing an offer. If there were a formula, it would look something like:

Eliminating objections = Attracting more offers

Pre-inspected listings let you document major conditions that have either been addressed or left for the future owner to remediate as he or she sees fit. By noting how your asking price includes precise dollar allowances for named conditions, you display openness and conviction in the basis for your pricing. Listings written after a pre-inspection are a lot more likely minimize last-minute re-negotiation: if you have ever been asked at the last minute to knock off $5k from an accepted offer, you know the value of that.

It is worth noting that any serious defects that a pre-inspection identify must be disclosed, for better or for worse. But fear of a major discovery shouldn’t dissuade you: any major defect will certainly be discovered by the buyer’s inspector. The old saying applies: knowledge IS power.

If you plan to add your own property to the local listings any time this year, my job is to see that it brings you top dollar. Contact me today to talk over the way we will get that done!

Part 2 — Top 6 Mistakes For Cape Coral Sellers to Avoid

Posted on May 13, 2013 by lilorealtor

6 Common Mistakes After Listing Your Property for Sale

Previously, we cited three of the most common mistakes sellers make after listing their Cape Coral property for sale. Here are three more:

Proper Insurance

When you have a Cape Coral property for sale, it’s more important than ever to see that your homeowners insurance is up to date. It is highly unlikely that someone will have an accident on your premises, but the increase in the number of visitors makes it prudent to be well covered. Of course you will want to mitigate obvious potential hazards like broken glass or exposed nails — but should also have a foolproof system for making pets a non-issue during showings.

Contractual Terms

With your area property for sale, it’s only natural for your primary focus to be on the bottom line: the sale price. When an offer arrives with the right number, it’s tempting to sign on the dotted line and be done with it. But there is more to a purchase offer than just the price. An offer is a contract, and as such, all its terms are equally binding. For instance, there is the matter of the closing date: sellers who accept an offer without paying enough attention to it can be left scrambling for temporary housing when that date arrives.

Contingency Removal

Removing the inspection and loan contingencies on time are key events in the buy/sell timeline – yet these deadlines can easily slip by unnoticed. The wording of the clauses is important, too, because a buyer can have the right to withdraw an offer if he or she is not satisfied with the outcome of an inspection or a loan rate they deem acceptable. Failure to make sure a buyer removes contingencies on time can turn a ‘sold’ property into a property that’s still for sale.

Aligning yourself with an experienced agent is the simplest way to remain aware of these and other common legal miscues — and how to avoid them. With your property for sale, you become a single-purpose business enterprise, and your agent’s knowledge should be a key business asset. Contact me anytime for that kind of assistance!

Listing Your Cape Coral Home? Top 6 Mistakes to Avoid!

Posted on May 11, 2013 by lilorealtor

Part 1– Top 6 Mistakes For Cape Coral Sellers to Avoid

Disclosure Signatures

Disclosing material facts that might affect your local property’s value is a fair obligation that’s understood by everyone. Yet properly disclosing all material facts won’t help you at all if an issue comes up later but you can’t prove the disclosure. A good agent will double- and triple-check all the signatures, but at the end of the day, your peaceful sleep at night is only protected when you also take care to keep complete copies of the paperwork with all signatures accounted for.

Earnest Money

Ah — the thrill of getting the first offer! After readying the property and listing your home, when an offer comes quickly, you’ll be tempted to say, “Where do I sign?” But slow up: getting a great offer is just the first step. Part of being a prudent seller is scrutinizing the offer and buyer to gauge the likelihood that the deal will close. The amount of earnest money should demonstrate the prospect’s sincere intent to buy…not just their desire to tie up the house while they make up their mind!

Exclusions

List your Cape Coral Home

Want to watch warm feelings ice up in a hurry? Try surprising your buyer with the last-minute news that you intend to take your coveted washer/dryer (or heirloom chandelier, or custom closet system) with you because you forgot to exclude them. It’s part of my job as your agent to go over the more obvious items when listing your home in town, but even so, it’s ultimately up to you to make sure your intent is known. Trust me – I’ve seen more than one sale go south in the eleventh hour over some unbelievably minor items.

Coming next, I’ll flesh out more of these most common pitfalls. Of course, listing your home with me means you won’t need to worry: I make it may job to keep an eye out for all of them. If you’re thinking of listing your home in our neck of the woods this spring, call me today!

Lee County Local Luxury Home Listings & Springtime Romance

Posted on May 10, 2013 by lilorealtor

Ah, spring is truly in the air…the traditional time when people can fall in love at first sight!

I’ll try not to dampen those springtime spirits too much, but for anyone currently looking into the luxury home listings, some advice may be in order:

Online love at first sight is a really bad idea.

Those local luxury home listings can indeed be truly alluring, and using your computer (or iPad, or smartphone) to winnow through the current crop of terrific Lee County luxury home listings is a supremely practical approach.

But do remember that any warm glow you experience after checking out a particularly fetching online tour is best held in check until after you have paid an in-person visit. Then the love affair is more likely to be the real thing.

Especially when it comes to the luxury home listings, they have been created by talented professional stagers and photographers (not to mention musicians, when a video is part of the presentation). We work with them to create an immersive online experience, which is all to the good.

The only drawback comes if we do such a good job that Lee County luxury home prospects fall head over heels. If reality can’t possibly match the romance of their mind’s eye abstraction, well…just ask a teenager’s parents about what the falling out of love experience is like! Until you have contacted me and we’ve made a real life, in-the-flesh house tour, what we are dealing with is — let’s face it — puppy love.

Seasoned buyers know that stunning photos can’t begin to reveal all the details that make for ‘the real thing.’ Does the kitchen fit a family’s cooking style? Is that gorgeous landscaping a good setting for kids and pets? Is the neighbourhood right for a particular family?

If your own home belongs among our eye-catching Lee County luxury home listings, you probably also know that prospective buyers will be genuinely impressed when they visit in person. If that’s the case, I hope you’ll be contacting me soon for a complimentary consultation.