Treasure Coast Real Estate Blog

10 Steps: How to Make a Successful Relocation Move

Moving to a new, unfamiliar community can be stressful and demanding. To make your transfer go smoother, consider these suggestions:

1. SELECT THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT. Working with a good agent is one of the most important aspects of a successful home purchase. Key qualities to look for: experience with relocating clients, strong local market knowledge and solid communication skills. If your agent has earned the ABR® designation you’ll know they also have special training in representing buyers.

2. GET PRE-APPROVED (NOT JUST PRE-QUALIFIED) FOR YOUR MORTGAGE. Pre-approval means your application has already been processed and final approval is only contingent upon an appraisal and other issues. Mortgage pre-approval puts you in a more favorable negotiating position with sellers and allows you to make faster decisions.

3. SEPARATE YOUR NEEDS FROM YOUR WANTS. The difference may seem subtle, but this makes it easier to quickly narrow your options and fi nd the best home for your needs.

4. KEEP COPIOUS NOTES. You’ll probably see many homes in a short period of time. Detailed notes, photos, and listing sheets can help you recall each property after a busy “home shopping” trip.

5. THINK ABOUT SELLING WHILE BUYING. Transferees often face future relocations, so it’s important to consider a home’s resale value. If your agent is pointing out a home’s fl aws, they’re probably looking out for your future best interests.

6. LEARN THE MARKET. Buyers can gather an amazing amount of information online about the markets they’re considering for their new home (although an experienced agent will always have a stronger pulse on local market prices than any website). Do your homework and rely on your agent to add key perspectives.

7. BE PREPARED TO MAKE FAST DECISIONS. Many markets now favor sellers or simply lack adequate home inventories, causing buyers to quickly regret momentary hesitation on a desirable home. Consider making an offer right away, even if you plan to view additional properties.

8. BEFORE PLACING AN OFFER, REQUEST A QUICK CMA. Agents can produce a comparable market analysis on any home in a matter of minutes. This is also where an agent with local market expertise can be a real plus.

9. BE PREPARED FOR EMOTIONAL UPS AND DOWNS. Negotiating an offer can be a draining experience. Try to remain calm and maintain perspective as offers and counter offers are exchanged.

10. LEARN FROM HOME INSPECTORS. The level of detail in home inspections has improved dramatically. If at all possible, attend the inspection in person. You’ll also gain many valuable tips about maintaining your home in the written report. As far as renegotiating on repair items, remember that in strong markets, sellers will be unwilling to make to make any  concessions based on the inspector’s report.

Source: Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC), a subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

This post has been authored by Eric Slifkin, REALTOR® serving South Florida’s Treasure Coast. You can reach me at 888-288-1765, or visit my Web site. As your resource for information on new or resale homes throughout the Treasure Coast, please be sure to contact me about any home you may find on the Web, yard sign or ad and I will research the property, arrange showings and handle all the details.

Understanding Your Neighborhood’s Walkability Score

Walk Score is a company which “analyzes hundreds of walking routes to nearby amenities. Points are awarded based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within a 5 minute walk (.25 miles) are given maximum points. A decay function is used to give points to more distant amenities, with no points given after a 30 minute walk.”

Additionally, Walk Score looks at pedestrian friendliness, a component which takes into account population density, block length, and intersection density. (Source: http://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml).

Rankings are based on a 0 - 100 scale. Here’s how the scores translate to an area’s walkability:

90 - 100: Walker’s Paradise. Daily errands do not require a car.
70 - 89: Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot.
50 - 69: Somewhat Walkable. Some errands can be accomplished on foot.
25 - 49: Car-Dependent. Most errands require a car.
0 - 24: Car-Dependent. Almost all errands require a car.

In addition to a Walkability Score, Walk Score also evaluates for Transit Score (how well a location is served by public transit) and Bike Score (whether an area is good for biking).

All three of these scores can help you determine your personal values when you’re buying a home. They can also be useful to profile the kind of buyer who might be interested in a home you’re selling. It’s important to understand that a high or low walkability score is not necessarily bad. It all depends on personal values. (Someone who wouldn’t walk to errands anyway might find themselves bothered by the proximity to a highly-trafficked commercial businesses, for example.)

If you’re curious about your own home’s walkability score, or you’d like to learn about the most and least walkable neighborhoods in a given city, you can search for addresses on the Walk Score website at http://www.walkscore.com/.

This post has been authored by Eric Slifkin, REALTOR® serving South Florida’s Treasure Coast. You can reach me at 888-288-1765, or visit my Web site. As your resource for information on new or resale homes throughout the Treasure Coast, please be sure to contact me about any home you may find on the Web, yard sign or ad and I will research the property, arrange showings and handle all the details.

Getting Out of a Lease

If you've been thinking of buying a home, but the prospect of breaking your apartment lease has you holding back, you might be glad to know there are options available to you as a renter. A lease isn’t always an iron-clad agreement with all the rights on the side of your landlord. Of course, buying a home isn’t the only reason to break a lease. There are many reasons to break a lease: Your job may have changed, you might find the rent too steep, or you may have lost a loved one who used to share the space with you. Here are a few things you can do to help extract yourself from the situation:

1. Find the opt-out clause. You may not have read your lease very carefully when you were excited to move in, and now is the time to go back and pick it apart with a fine-toothed comb. Many leases will have clauses which allow you to legally break your obligation to stay for the full-term of the agreement. This might involve a fee of some kind, but can often be worth the expense if the conditions are right.

2. Negotiate with your landlord. If you’re on good terms with your landlord, come out and explain your situation honestly. The landlord (or property management company) can elect to let you out of the lease, even without an opt-out clause. See if you can do anything to “sweeten the pot” for the landlord, such as finding a replacement renter, or propose a sum to buy your way out. (Get anything you agree to with your landlord in writing.)

3. See about subletting. Look at your lease agreement and see what your rights are regarding subletting the apartment to someone else. While some forbid the practice, others may create allowances for subleasing your apartment to someone for the balance of the agreement. If the agreement is unclear about subleasing, talk with your landlord about your plan and get an agreement in writing. (Recognize you’re risking your security deposit if the subletter doesn’t take care of the place.)

4. Go to mediation. If you can’t come to common terms, consider enrolling the help of a mediator. Local housing advocates and “renter’s rights” groups may be able to connect you with people who can help.

This all assumes, of course, that you’re not leaving because your landlord is a deadbeat. If you’re battling a landlord who refuses to fix up the place or otherwise has been combative, you may have a legal case to make to break your lease. The key is documentation. Document everything with photo or video evidence, and keep meticulous records of your complaints.

Shouldn’t your monthly payment be paying you instead of a landlord? Talk to me today about taking the first steps towards home ownership!

This post has been authored by Eric Slifkin, REALTOR® serving South Florida’s Treasure Coast. You can reach me at 888-288-1765, or visit my Web site. As your resource for information on new or resale homes throughout the Treasure Coast, please be sure to contact me about any home you may find on the Web, yard sign or ad and I will research the property, arrange showings and handle all the details.

How to Dispute an Error on Your Credit History

Discovering an error on your credit history can be a rude surprise when you're attempting to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Though most people don’t think about the details of their credit report until the need to secure a loan, it’s a good idea to check your report for inaccuracies periodically.

If you do find an error, the best way to attempt a correction is through a dispute letter. Dispute letters allow you to formally request a fix by the reporting agency. Though it may take a little time to get the errors removed, cleaning up these mistakes can have a direct (and favorable!) effect on your credit score, helping you secure lower interest rates and better terms.

Here’s what you’ll need to include for each mistake you find:

1. Which account shows the mistake.

2. Specifically what’s incorrect about the account where it appears in the report.

3. What changes should be made and why those changes should be made.

4. Any supporting evidence or documentation which will bolster your claim.

For example: “On my report, the Chase Visa ending in XXXX shows my account is still active. I closed this account in 2012 and should be shown as closed, not active. Included is a letter from Chase bank, confirming the date of my the account’s closure.”

It’s a good idea to keep copies of everything you send. Also, be sure to send the correction to all three major reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) as well as the original creditor (i.e. the credit card company, utility, etc.). You can find the current dispute mailing addresses on these company’s websites. Federal law mandates that agencies must help you within 30 days. Keep records of your disputes and when/how you communicated with the agencies.

Getting your credit in shape is an important step to take when you’re preparing to buy a home. I help buyers prepare every day! Get in touch!

This post has been authored by Eric Slifkin, REALTOR® serving South Florida’s Treasure Coast. You can reach me at 888-288-1765, or visit my Web site. As your resource for information on new or resale homes throughout the Treasure Coast, please be sure to contact me about any home you may find on the Web, yard sign or ad and I will research the property, arrange showings and handle all the details.

Welcome to this month's edition of the RealtyRave newsletter. We hope that you find it filled with interesting and useful information!

Please think of me with any real estate related questions you may have - now and in the future. It would be my pleasure to be of assistance to you.
The single highest and best compliment a Real Estate Professional can receive is a referral to friends, family or colleagues. As appropriate, please feel free to forward this Newsletter and/or my contact information. Thank you!

Eric Slifkin

Tips to Help Negotiate a Higher Selling Price for Your Home

By John Voket

These days, with shortages in pre-owned home inventories across many communities, it's a seller's market. With that in mind, a recent post from Wisconsin's Dan Miller of madcitydreamhomes.com caught my eye.

Miller believes with the right negotiating strategy, there's no reason why a home seller and his or her Realtor® can't arrive at a final price that is markedly higher than the list price.

To that end, here is a sampling from Miller's Tips for Negotiating the Highest Possible Selling Price:

— Be helpful and easy to work with. Buyers are generally open to negotiating with someone whom they perceive as helpful and likeable.

— Proactively and openly communicate with all buyer agents who have showings to date. Your agent's job is to encourage as many people as possible to write an offer,

and should let each showing agent know about the tremendous amount of interest in your listing.

— Justify a selling price that is far above the list. It's not recent sales in the area that will establish the final selling price - in this fast-rising market sold comps are often old news. Miller says it's the momentum of the market that's setting the price on your home. With high demand and low inventory, several different buyers are competing for your listing. These real-time market dynamics ultimately determine the final selling price of your home, not the sold comps.

— Provide all parties with a status update when your first offer comes in. You agent should call and email each showing agent, letting them know a window they have to submit their offer.

— Finally, Miller suggests that you negotiate and accept a secondary offer once your primary is accepted. This is a great tactic for your agent to employ in the event a primary offer falls through. It also gives you a position of strength as you negotiate around the home inspection with primary. With a solid Plan B, the first buyer may choose not to quibble with you over minor issues that arise during the inspection.

This post has been authored by Eric Slifkin, REALTOR® serving South Florida’s Treasure Coast. You can reach me at 888-288-1765, or visit my Web site. As your resource for information on new or resale homes throughout the Treasure Coast, please be sure to contact me about any home you may find on the Web, yard sign or ad and I will research the property, arrange showings and handle all the details.

Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2013. All rights reserved.