Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for the ‘Ocala Foreclosures’ Category

Buyers often come to me looking for a newer home here in Ocala. I often tell them that no one has been building homes here since the market crash in 2007. Of course it isn’t true that no one has built anything since 07 but there has been very little building. Builders simply can’t compete with the prices of resales.

Here are permits for single family homes by the year to illustrate my point.

2004  4,611

2005  5,601

2006  6,026

2007  2,139

2008    933

2009    316

2010    399

2011    325

2012    359

If you want to make a low offer on a home here in Ocala you have to give the seller a good reason to accept your offer. Here are a few things that make for a “strong offer”.

1. Cash. Cash means no finance contingency. The seller can be confident that their sale won’t blow up at the last minute because the loan gets rejected by the banks under writing department. Happens more often than you might think. Not all loan pre approvals are created equal.

2. AS IS. A contract that gives the buyer the right to inspect the home and walk away if the inspection is not satisfactory. The seller makes no repairs and knows exactly what they will net from the sale. Attractive to out of area sellers who would have a hard time getting repairs accomplished.

3. Fast Closing. A cash offer can close very fast, 7-14 days. The seller may not like the offer but is tempted by the fact that the deal will close fast and they can move on saving money in taxes, utilities, insurance, mortgage ect.

If you think that making an offer using a loan with little or no down payment, asking for closing costs or expecting the seller to throw in their furniture or a golf cart is the way to get a deal on a house then you’ve been watching way to many real estate shows on cable TV.

I spend about 95% of my time as a buyers agent here in Ocala. One question that comes up is “what should I offer?”. I suggest that a buyer look at comparable sales to come up with an offer. A good comparable would meet the following criteria.

same sub division

sold in the last 90 days

within 1 mile of subject property

+/- 10% of the sq ft of living area

same # of beds, baths and size garage

+/- 5 years in age, 10 years if home is over 10 years old

same construction type

All this above can be used by a buyer to come up with an offer on a home or it can be used by a seller to find a proper list price. In the end it doesn’t matter what a buyer or seller thinks a house is worth. What matters is the price that similar homes have sold for in the past 90 days. Sellers should keep in mind that in order for a buyer to get a loan a bank will send out an appraiser who will use very similar criteria for an appraisal.

I’m writing this blog post in response to a recent article in the Ocala Star Banner about how the Ocala area has the dubious distinction of having the largest decline in homes values in the entire country in the 3rd quarter of 2010 as compared with the same period in 2009.

I thought the Star Banner article was too negative, just like most of their articles about local real estate. Low home values are bad if you’re a seller or a Realtor (my average commission is down 50% since 2006) but not if you are a buyer. Low home prices are great if you are a first time buyer or looking to retire here in sunny Florida. The Ocala area has a low wage structure and local people who couldn’t afford a home in 2006 can afford a home today. Homes in The Shores or Marion Oaks, built in the last 5 years, that originally sold for over $200,000.00, are now available as foreclosures for under $100,000.00.

The current median home price in the Ocala area is $82,000.00. I think this needs some explanation. The median home price is being brought down by really cheap sales. For example there were 77 sales in October under $50,000.00. Of this total there were 19 mobile homes, 27 were homes with fewer than 2 full bathrooms and 18 homes were smaller than 1,000 sq ft of living area. There were also 10 55+ homes in the under $50K category most of which were villas in On Top of the World.  Now there’s nothing wrong with homes like these. Every area needs extremely affordable housing. I’m just pointing out that homes in the under $50K range require compromises that not everyone might want to make and it’s these under $50K sales that are bringing down our median home prices.

Lastly I want to make a few comments about foreclosures. As you know I like foreclosures but I haven’t sold one his year. I showed plenty of them but my buyers elected to spend more money on traditional sales. Why was that? When my buyers looked at what it would cost to get the foreclosed home up to the same condition as the traditional sale they decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. If you’re interested in foreclosures you should prepare in advance. You need to know what it costs to replace carpet, install tile or laminate flooring, the cost of appliances or even an AC unit or roof. To a lesser extent this would apply to some 55+ estate sales too.

Rolling Hills is a large sub division of homes on acre plus lots that is in both Ocala and Dunnellon Florida. Rolling Hills was developed in the 80′s when land was cheap. Today developers avoid acre lots preferring to pack homes together on smaller lots in order to maximize profits. The interior lots in Rolling Hills are 1.16 acres and the corner lots are usually 1 acre. There are a few homes on double lots too.

Many of the roads in Rolling Hills are not paved. The primary roads are Lime Rock which is a hard packed road but they can be bumpy and dusty. Many side roads are dirt roads which can get muddy in heavy rains. Homes on the few paved roads sell for a premium. In our area when the county paves a road the owner pays for the paving either in a lump sum or as part of their tax bill over a 10 year period. Road improvements such as paving require a vote of the land owners in that sub division.

Rolling Hills is a great area for foreclosures. This was an area full of spec homes that investors bought at pre construction prices hoping to flip them on completion. This scheme seldom worked and most of these homes eventually went into foreclosure. Rolling Hills is a great place to find a large foreclosed home on an acre lot built in the last 6 years.

I really like Rolling Hills because of the large newer homes on acre lots and the location which is close to SR 200 and SW corridor shopping, restaurants and health care.

If you are interested in buying or selling a Rolling Hills homes call me, email me or use my Dream Home Finder. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart to show homes in Rolling Hills. I know this area well and I’ve sold several homes here.

Below is my Google Map of Rolling Hills and a few images

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Silver Springs Shores is a huge community just east of Ocala. Silver Springs Shores isn’t really a town or sub division. It is technically called a census designated place. There are 3 areas of The Shores, Silver Springs Shores North, Silver Springs Shores South and Silver Springs Shores East. Additionally there are several sub divisions within The Shores. Lake Diamond is a gated golf course community that is not 55 plus.  Crystal Lakes which is a deed restricted community. There are also several condominium communities in The Shores.

Homes in Silver Springs Shores date back to the late 1960′s but most date from the 1970′s through the real estate boom of 2003-08. There are still an almost endless number of vacant lots in this area too.

During the real estate boom years of 2003-08 builders saw that there were a lot of cheap lots on paved roads in The Shores. During this time a huge number of new homes were built and sold to investors hoping to buy at pre construction prices and flip the homes on completion. Most were never sold and went into foreclosure. Silver Springs Shores has more foreclosures than any where in Marion County.

Silver Springs Shores foreclosures are one of the hottest parts of our real estate market. Newer homes built during the boom years are selling as foreclosures for under $100,000-. There are also a lot of short sales in The Shores. As a result of so many foreclosures and short sales traditional sellers have had to lower their prices in order to compete and these traditional sales can be in better condition and a good value.

If you are interested in a list of homes for sale in Silver Springs Shores either call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. I can set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for The Shores area. Be specific as to the sq ft of living area, age and price range. There are 100′s of homes for sale in this area.

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Marion Oaks is a huge sub division just south of Ocala. It was first established in 1973 and comprises 15,000 acres. Like many Marion County sub divisions of that era, Marion Oaks was divided into lots and all the roads were laid out and paved. Also like most sub divisions of that era, most of the lots were never built on and many lots are still vacant today. More on Marion Oaks.

Fast forward to the building boom of 2003-08. Marion Oaks was full of cheap lots with existing roads and utilities. During this period a tremendous number of new homes were built. Many of these homes were sold to investors who thought they could buy a house at a pre construction discount and flip the house once completed for a profit. A huge number of these homes were never flipped and eventually went into foreclosure.

At the time of this blog post Marion Oaks foreclosures represent about 15% foreclosed of home sales in the Ocala Marion County area. There are two types of foreclosures in Marion Oaks. The first type is the  newer homes built after 2003, which are larger homes from 1500-2300 sq ft and of CBS construction. In addition to the newer Marion Oaks foreclosures there are quite a few smaller block homes built in the 70′s and 80′s. Most of these older homes need work but they sell pretty cheap.

Check out my Ocala Foreclosure Guide for more on buying an Ocala foreclosure and other distressed properties.

If you are interested in Marion Oaks foreclosed homes give me a call, send me an email or use the Ocala Dream Home Finder. I can set you up a Listing Cart which is a custom MLS search for Marion Oaks. I will need a price range and a  sq ft of living area range at the minimum. I will set you up a personal account on the Ocala MLS that will show every foreclosure in Marion Oaks and automatically notify you when ever a new foreclosure gets listed.

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There are some great deals in Ocala real estate in addition to Ocala Short Sales and Ocala Foreclosures. For example it’s no secret that Florida is full of older retired people. Often out of state relatives inherit homes that they need to sell. I refer to these as estate sales.

Unlike foreclosures, that are rare in the Ocala 55+ communities, there are an abundance of estate sales. The 55+ estate sales vary from newer homes in very good condition to older homes in need of updating such as paint, carpet or appliances.

There are also quite a few estate sales outside the 55+ communities.

In addition to estate sales there are also vacant homes owned by investors who are unable to do a short sale and homes vacated by people who had to relocate for various reasons.

Benefits of buying a vacant home or estate sale.

• Quick closing
• Excellent prices
• Exist in 55+ communities
• motivated sellers

If you are interested in vacant homes in the Ocala area or an estate sale call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. Be specific, I can’t send you every estate sale on our MLS. There are just too many.

Right now is the opportunity of a lifetime to buy an Ocala home. Here are 12 reasons to invest in Ocala real estate right now.

1. Interest rates are at historical low with no where to go but up.
2. Many Ocala area home sellers will pay part or all of a buyers closing costs.
3. Fannie Mae Homepath Financing doesn’t require an appraisal and also offers renovation loans for their Ocala and Marion County foreclosed properties.
4. USDA offers 100% financing with no Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) on many Marion County homes. Mostly homes that are not in the Ocala city limits.
5. FHA loans allow the seller to pay many of the buyers closing costs.
6. Conventional loans rates are at all time lows. Local banks want to loan money to buyers with good credit. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
7. Foreclosures are selling at a 50% discount from 2005-08 highs.
8. Most Ocala foreclosures are in good condition and easily pass a professional home inspection.
9. Many “traditional sellers” have dropped their prices to better compete with distress sales.
10. In the 55+ communities there are always great deals on estate sales.
11. Estate sales also exist outside the 55+ communities and are a hidden secret often over shadowed by Ocala area foreclosures and short sales.
12. Principle, interest, taxes and insurance are often not much more than renting.

If you are a first time buyer, a renter, a retiree or investor now is the time to buy.