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Jackie Colson-Miller

Jackie Colson-Miller, CIPS
Certified International Property Specialist
NAR Liaison to Austria
Tampa Real Estate
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How To Navigate the Waters in a Buyer’s Market…Tampa Real Estate News

The Tampa Bay Area is experiencing the the most incredible Buyers Market in over 10 years. It has made the list of the Top Ten Buyers Markets in the country.

So, if you are a Buyer in the Tampa Bay Market, what can you do to make sure you are making a wise home-buying decision?

1. Hire a Buyers Agent Dont attempt to navigate the process yourself. An experienced real estate agent has up-to-the-minute recent sales figures to guide you in getting the best home, at the best price. Since the agents commission is generally paid by the seller, there is NO reason to be without good representation.

2. Understand the price trends in certain neighborhoods. In some areas sales remain steady. In others, prices and sales are down more than 30% over last year. If you are planning to be in your home less than 5 years, or there is the possibility that you may relocate, be sure to buy in a neighborhood with a steady sales record.

Boatstorm

3. Know Your Credit Score You credit score and credit history are more important than ever. The tighter underwriting guidelines have changed the type of loan programs you may qualify for. Most buyers can still obtain financing, but there may be more documentation required, or a larger down payment. The higher your score, the wider your loan options will be.

4. Get Pre-Approved by a Lender. Along with knowing your credit score, getting a pre-approval letter from a lender will strengthen an offer when you start to negotiate. HINT: If your lender qualifies you for a specific amount, i.e. $300,000, ask for several letters, one for $300,000, one for $275,000 and another for $250,000. Why? Because if you make an offer of $250,000, on a $300,000 home, you dont want the seller to know that you can afford the $300,000 price, or you lose your leverage in negotiating!

5. Make an offer. Any offer. In this market, a smart buyer will not wait until the prices start to recover. Your agent can advise you about how long a property has been on the market and how motivated the seller may be to look at any offer. You can ask the seller to help pay some of your closing costs. Is the roof over 12 years old? You may negotiate a new one. An aging A/C system? The sellers may be willing to negotiate, depending on their circumstances. You wont know, until you try. But, if you wait until the prices are back on the upswing, you will pay a higher price AND have less negotiating room.

What are you waiting for?? Contact me to buy your next home in Tampa, or anywhere in the World!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 6:44 am and is filed under Real Estate News, Tampa Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “How To Navigate the Waters in a Buyer’s Market…Tampa Real Estate News”

  1. Alpharetta Real Estate says:
    November 13, 2007 at 12:02 am

    Jackie: this is an interesting post of what buyers should do to take advantage of a buyer’s market in both Florida and in other markets, like where i work in Alpharetta, GA. It is all good advice.

    I sense from you last point: Make an Offer, that you are still getting resistance from buyers to write that contract. They seem to think that they should wait longer, thinking that the market will go further down. What do you tell these people?

    My approach so far is to help define my buyers’ objectives before we even start looking so that once we find a property that meets those objectives, i can say: bingo, we have a match. What is your strategy?

    thx, k.
    Kevin Warmath

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