Make Sure You Are Educated

Understanding Our Market

The vacation home real estate industry in Orlando is going through an unprecedented growth spell.

This has occurred because of many reasons but overall the prices / value of properties in this market has remained stagnant for about the last 5 years. The low price properties and the current environment for a general real estate boom plus a desire for domestic buyers to take advantage of income generating second homes in Florida have created a unique and accelerated growth spell. We have seen prices increase 20% on average this year so far and it does not look like it is dropping off.

What does this mean to you as a buyer?

We are seeing properties come on the market and sell within 24 hours if they are in high demand locations, are in reasonable condition and are priced within market parameters. This means that our “normal” operation of reviewing properties and spending time making a decision on trying to get “a deal” are no longer viable. In the majority of cases, buyers are having to be aggressive by offering AT LEAST asking price and are having to do so within 24 hours of a listing going active. Our advice on a offer price is to be comfortable that if you do not win the bid then you have offered as much as you feel comfortable with and you could do no more.

To be considered

Unfortunately, the speed at which the prices have gone up has outpaced the comparables and that means that in many cases the property may not appraise.
Be aware that many sellers are preferencing buyers who are prepared to waive the appraisal contingency or in some cases are demanding that it be specified in the contract that a buyer is willing and able to bring a cash difference to close if there is a gap between the sales price and the appraisal.

How can you be prepared.

It’s just not feasible under this circumstances to expect the normal process of us assisting in finding a property that may fit your needs.
We suggest making sure you are fully educated. Our website has every possible resource to help you understand the market, locations and process. Our specialists are available to answer any questions you may have. We have every resource to get you up to speed as quickly as possible.

Being ready

You need to be able to target a location or locations, have your price point locked in and either view those location pages daily (our website updates several times a day) or have us set you up on automated property notification program so you know as soon as a property becomes available that fits your criteria. You can also set up a notification yourself using our save a search facility on our website. If you see the right property let us know immediately and be prepared to make an offer

Here is what we will need to write the offer:

1. The names (s) exactly as you want them on the deed.
2. Your physical mailing address.
3. A contact phone number.
4. An email address for each buyer.
5. A copy of the drivers license (or passport) for each buyer.
6. The property address.
7. The offer amount.
8. The deposit amount. (Normally 5k).
9. A closing date. (Normally 30 days for cash, 45 days for financing. Wednesday is a good day. Check with your lender  – if we can get a quick close it will help.
10. Percentage finance or cash portion amount.
11. Proof of funds – A lender pre-qualification letter or material to support a cash offer.

Financial Preparation

It is extremely important you have your lender pre-qualification or cash to close available for us to make an immediate offer. That should be first on your list to do. We cannot make an offer with out it. Sellers are getting double digit offers in the first 12 hours, to be in play you must be able to show you are serious, have funds and are ready to perform.

What Next?

If we are able to secure you a property, then we can kick in our industry best virtual or video tour program, set up a professional home inspection, and gather information on the current rental or management program.
Per the terms of the contract you will have 15 days to do all the diligence on the property necessary to make a final decision to move forward. The only exposure you will have during those 15 days is the cost of the home inspection which is about $400.

Summary

The only way to secure a property currently is to identify the home as soon as it becomes available, be aggressive with an offer, get under contract and then do the diligence. We have been extremely successful in acquiring our clients property during this unique phase with this process.

It is not our preferred way of doing business but any other process is proving unsuccessful and until the market stabilizes you will find yourself on the wrong end of every sale if you are not taking an aggressive offer approach.

We are here to help with all aspects of your vacation home purchase, lean on us to educate you and prepare you take advantage of the excellent market and increasing value we currently enjoy. We are here to help!

Jerry Barker