|
Cape Coral's Premiere Listing Expert! JOHN REAY - (239) 214-0750 |
|
BIDDING ON A HOME? Can be a trying time! For most people they believe that they can get a steal on a dream home right now, the truth is that with anything the word on the street and the reality are two different things. For most people who are first time home buyers they are simply looking for a stable good investment so that they don't loose their hard earned money. Real Estate is STILL a solid investment that will give you the best return on your money. Remember that stocks can devalue to zero, meaning you truly can loose it all, however when you buy property it will go UP and DOWN. But as the old adage says "They just aren't making land anymore!" is still as true today as it was back when my grandmother was helping people in Illinois invest in real estate. There are several things to keep in mind though when you make an offer for a home. 1. KEEP EMOTIONS AT BAY - Just as you would not let your emotions keep you from paying more for Gasoline than you should have to, you should also be able to detach the emotion from the purchase of a home. Recently I spoke to a friend of mine in Orlando who was looking at new homes in 2005 & 2006. And he couldn't wait to get into his new home because it was the biggest home on the block and he was willing to pay top dollar for it. I asked him outright what happens when the house is no longer suitable for you, say you have you mother in law who needs to move in, or you need to move back up to Wisconsin because of relatives who might become ill. Is this a home you could afford to keep long term. He thought that these were odd questions at the time, and we discussed it further. Because he was making good money at the time he qualified for a very large amount, and in business upswings are great however they are all followed by downturns too. The idea was that he was going to tie up as little of his money in this house and use the banks money, and to make the purchase more appealing the "Banker" pitched him a 3/1 ARM. So he was planning on using the money he "SAVED" to buy a new SUV 95K of SUV. He is an emotional buyer, and uses that for his status. <--- READ EMOTION! After a lengthy talk about it we took a different approach, we decided a sale of his old home was first in order, as prices were up still in 2006, it sold in 68 days and we got top dollar for it, he RENTED for 2006 and 2007 and 2008, three years he RENTED! while the market dipped, he kept his money liquid and safe in small investments backed in FDIC. Didn't pay TAX on his gains as this was his primary residence he sold. And just completed his purchase last month. He has his older vehicle paid for and owned outright, he bought a single level home in Altamonte Springs, FL and paid 35% down on it, and is in a fixed rate mortgage that is one third the money he was going to shell out after the 3/1 arm adjusted up to market levels. He now is in a situation that even if his company slows down, which it may very well do, that he can still keep the home and maintain it and support his family. #1 RULE KEEP YOUR EMOTIONS IN CHECK, Make sure your numbers are realistic and make sense.
2. PLAN FOR AND EXPECT THE DOWNSIDE! - Not to be a pessimist, but we really don't need to make a plan for what we do when things work out 100% right. When things are going good, we know what to do and we do them. The trick is to be in a position to succeed when things are at there worst! In the story above we saw that really because we planned for the downside of life, we were ready for it and nothing feels better than being prepared for a storm in life before it occurs. Financially, in today's market we should have a strategy that if the income slowed or stopped for 6 months how would that effect your life, think about the home you own, how much you pay for it. Now look at your other investments and cash flow streams, so they provide enough that you can make this work for six months? a year? If you had to sell the home how long could you afford to keep it before the bank comes to call the loan? Plan for the downside of life and then work to make the upsides happen!
3. When Bidding on homes understand that the listing price if undervalued does NOT mean you will get it for that price. We have many buyers who can afford a realistic value of 75K and bid on homes 75K to 85K. The secret is that BANKS GET FULL PRICE OFFERS BY THE TRUCKLOAD NOW! So be prepared to bid OVER LIST, to get it. We specialize in positioning our clients so they can win bids and get the homes they want without giving away any more money than needed. There are many tactics we do differently that get you to the closing desk in record time that will beat out your competitors and get you the house your desire! CALL US AND WE CAN HELP YOU NOW! CALL 239-214-0750 and our team of Specialists can get |
||


