Pool and jacuzzi (pool pump is turned off, hence the green water color!)
LOOKING TO BUY IN PRESTIGIOUS WELLINGTON? Please check this new listing:
Located in Equestrian Trail gated community, this fantastic home was NEVER occupied, is in mint condition and offers the following:
- 4 Bedrooms (originally a 5-bedrooms floor plan but the buyer sacrificed one bedroom so that the other 3 bedrooms (not including the Master Bedroom) are much larger! - 3 1/5 baths - 3-car garage - Pool/Spa combo - Over 3,000 sqft under A/C - Many upgrades: SS appliances, double ovens, granite countertops, kitchen island, upgraded kitchen cabinets, gas stove, skylites throughout, all lights and fans in all rooms, living room has beautiful chandelier, living room and family room have large french doors leading to open brick patio and wonderful pool with jacuzzi., split floor plan, large Master bedroom with huge walking closets (with some California closets built-in), wonderful master bath with separate spa tub, glass-enclosed shower, separate toilet; A large double-door library/den, a separate laundry room with wash tub, intercom system in all rooms, all windows have faux-wood blinds, and the list goes on!
This home is in mint condition! You can just move in. The power is turned off therefore the pool is a wee bit green - nothing that a few hours of running won't take care! The landscape in the rear has been a little neglected but overall, this is a fantastic home with a grand entrance, offering wide open space, lots of natural lights and the elegance of a half-million dollars home! The home was originally built end of 2005 and bought for $850,000! Buyer's intention was to "flip" it ... guess what happened?... This home is located in Wellington, next to all major stores, shopping mall, etc.. and all the schools are rated A+! The community offers a Clubhouse, tennis courts, pool and spa, exercise room, pic nic area. The HOA is $375 per month and includes manned security gate, trash, cable and community ground maintenance.
This is a bank-owned property! The minimum BID is $449,900.
So you’ve decided to sell your home and have a fairly good idea of what you think it is worth. Being a sensible home seller, you contact three agents who’ve been hanging stuff on your front doorknob for years. Each Realtor recommends a specific sales price.
A couple of the Realtors have come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain convinced your house is worth more. When you interview the third agent’s figures, they are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or maybe even higher!
Which Realtor do you choose? If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor # 3. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it!
The truth is that you may have just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing." He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you into lowering the price.
What Happens Behind The Scene? Whichever the case, if you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of "behind the scenes" action taking place that you don’t know about. Contrary to popular opinion, the listing agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to a homebuyer. That isn’t very efficient. Listing agents market and promote your home to the hordes of other local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home should see a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to their clients … If the price is right.
If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically.
Dropping Your Price...Too Late Later, when you drop your price, your house is "old news." You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.
Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise. Your deal falls apart. Of course, you can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could go "back on the market."
A mortgage "junk" or "garbage" fee is a loan charge that goes directly into the pocket of the mortgage lender or the mortgage broker. Examples include:
- escrow waiver fee (the latest lender rip-off fee!),
- loan application fee
- documentation fee
- underwriting fee
- administration fee
- warehousing fee
- production fee
- preparation fee and (when lenders run out of names) "miscellaneous fee".
If such fees were not disclosed on your "good faith estimate," which the lender gave you within three days of your application, you can usually negotiate these fees or eliminate them.
Legitimate mortgage fees are those paid to third parties, such as an appraisal fee, credit report fee, escrow or attorney fee, title insurance fee, recording fee, notary fee and transfer taxes.
Purchased with a one-time fee at closing, title insurance protects owners in the event that title to the property is found to be invalid or defective. Coverage includes "lenders" policies, which protect buyers up to the mortgage value of the property, and "owners" coverage, which protects owners up to the purchase price. In other words, "owners" coverage protects both the mortgage amount and the value of the down payment.
A hot market is a "seller’s market." During a seller’s market, properties can sell within a few days of being listed and there are often multiple offers. Sometimes homes even sell above the asking price. Though most buyer’s want to get a "deal" on a home, reducing your offer by even a few thousand dollars could mean that someone else will get the home you desire.
A slow market is a "buyer’s market. During a buyer’s market properties may languish on the market for some time and offers may be few and far between. Prices may even decline temporarily. Such a market would allow you to be more flexible in offering a lower price for the home. Even if your offered price is too low, the seller is likely to make some sort of counter-offer and you can begin negotiations in earnest.
More often than not, the market is simply "steady," or in transition. When a market is steady, no real rules apply on whether you should make an offer on the high end of your range or the low end. You could find yourself in a situation with multiple offers on your desired house, or where no one has made an offer in weeks.
Selling a property “as is” doesn’t mean you’re off the hook from a legal standpoint. Based on historical court cases, you still may incur liability if it can be proven that the seller knew, or should have known, about a latent or hidden defect in or around the home.
And while Florida state law doesn’t require sellers to fill out a property disclosure form, many brokerages have developed their own. These forms can be invaluable when used properly. Property disclosure forms should be filled out by the seller and given to the buyer before an offer is presented, for example, and signed by the buyer, acknowledging receipt of the form.
Hiring a real estate agent is a little like a short-term marriage. You must find someone you trust,like and with whom you are compatible. The right agent should also be responsive, caring, and capable. The agent should be knowledgeable about your area in particular and prepare a comparative marketing analysis (CMA) which is a marketing tool that includes the sales prices of homes comparable to yours that have recently sold in your neighborhood, along with a suggested list price.
Also don't be shy about asking the agent if he or she has any vacations planned for the near future, and who covers for the agent in the event he or she has to be away. Ask how often you'll hear from the agent and how he/she will advertise your property (i.e., flyer, website, open house). And of course ask if the agent is willing to negotiate the commission.
So you’ve decided to sell your home and have a fairly good idea of what you think it is worth. Being a sensible home seller, you contact three agents who’ve been hanging stuff on your front doorknob for years. Each Realtor recommends a specific sales price.
A couple of the Realtors have come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain convinced your house is worth more. When you interview the third agent’s figures, they are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or maybe even higher!
Which Realtor do you choose? If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor # 3. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it!
The truth is that you may have just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing." He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you into lowering the price.
What Happens Behind The Scene? Whichever the case, if you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of "behind the scenes" action taking place that you don’t know about. Contrary to popular opinion, the listing agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to a homebuyer. That isn’t very efficient. Listing agents market and promote your home to the hordes of other local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home should see a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to their clients … If the price is right.
If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically.
Dropping Your Price...Too Late
Later, when you drop your price, your house is "old news." You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.
Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise. Your deal falls apart. Of course, you can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could go "back on the market."
When it comes to selling your home, there are 7 common mistakes home sellers are likely to make. I've listed them here, with the hope that you'll be savvy enough to avoid them:
(1) Not knowing why you're selling. Are you selling because you've lost your job and have to move as quickly as possible? Or, are you selling because your family is expanding? If you know why you're selling and how quickly you have to move, it'll help you better target your initial list price.
(2) Not preparing your home for sale. AVOID THE THREE “D”: Dirty, Disorganized, and Dark are not the words you want prospective buyers to say about your house. So, clear out the clutter, get your home hyper-clean (and maintain it that way), and make your home as light and bright as possible. Better yet, paint your interior white, clean your windows and make all rooms “spare” but not bare!
(3) Overpricing your home. .
(4) Hanging around during showings. Unless you're selling by owner, the last thing buyer want is you hovering over their shoulders as they walk through your home. So if you've listed with an agent, make yourself scarce during showings.
(5) Beware of a smelly house. If you have pets or if you smoke or cook with strong ingredients, your house probably smells. If you fall into any of these categories but think your house smells perfectly fine, invite a neighbor, friend or relative over for the sniff test. If your home doesn't pass, you'll need to make some changes before you'll be able to sell your home.
(6) Letting your house go stale. If your home has been on the market for more than four months without an offer, local agents and prospective buyers are probably starting to wonder if there's something really wrong. If there isn't, it could be time to adjust your price or even pull your home off the market for awhile to give it a rest.
(7) Failing to recognize a good offer. Agents like to say that the first offer is the best one you'll receive. While that may not be true, any offer should be treated seriously - even if the initial price is ridiculously low. In that case, don't get insulted. Instead, counter the offer at just below your list price and instruct your agent to tell the buyer's agent that the next offer should be substantially higher.
Even when comparing exact model matches within a tract of homes, you should note whether the previous owners have made any substantial improvements. Cosmetic changes should be largely ignored, but major improvements should be taken into account. Most important would be room additions, especially bedrooms and bathrooms. Other items, like expensive floor tile or swimming pools should be taken into account, too, but should be discounted. A pool that costs $20,000 to install does not normally add $20,000 in value to the home. Rely on your agent to give you guidance in this area.
