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Five things not to do when buying a house

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Here are 5 things to avoid doing when you’re either getting ready to buy a house or already in the process. Doing any of these things will cause huge issues with your lender over financing.

1. Do not change jobs

2. Do not switch banks or move money from one account to another

3. Do not pay off existing loans unless your lender requests it.

4. Do not make any large purchases like a car or furniture

5. Do not change your marital status

These are all red flags to a lender and you will have to provide extensive documentation justifying any such action.

 

Home Inspections

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The purpose of a home inspection is to find a problem so large and costly the buyer might not want to buy the house. Or in some cases so many problems that add up to so much money that the buyer might want to back out of the deal. Home inspections aren’t intended to create a laundry list of repairs to make a home like new again.

One problem I encounter is that home inspectors as a courtesy provide maintenance suggestions in addition to needed repairs. The difference in repairs and cosmetic items is defined in the Florida real estate sales contracts but that doesn’t seem to help with the confusion.

The way that repairs are defined in the Florida RE contract can cause problems. For example a 20 years old roof that doesn’t leak but is at the absolute end of it’s life doesn’t need to be replaced. The same with termites. A seller can make repairs up to 1 1/2% of the purchase price. You might just want to walk away but the contract locks you in.

In certain circumstances like the above examples it’s better to use an AS IS contract that let’s you out of the deal for any reason regarding the inspection or you can use a right to inspect right to cancel addendum.

Newer Ocala area homes

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I constantly get buyers looking for newer homes. The market crashed here in 2007. This is the Great Recession. There has been very little building here since the crash. Why you ask? Resales are priced below what it costs to build new. So far below that builders can’t compete. Land has gone down in price but no new large scale planned communities have been started since 07. Building materials aren’t much cheaper. Most sub contractors have gone bankrupt or cut back to much smaller companies.  A couple of retirement communities that were started before 07 are building but not much else. New home building won’t get going again until prices go up. It’s just a matter of economics.

Ocala house hunting

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I get people who want to make a quick pit stop and check out a house or 2 on their way to a cruise ship or Disney. I assume this is unique to Florida but I think it’s a waste of time. A cross country move is a big deal and requires extensive planning. I know I moved all the way to Ocala from the western mountains of Maine. You shouldn’t even bother looking at houses in a city you’ve never been to. You should pick the city first. Then look for few communities in that city. Finally you look at houses.

How to establish fair market value

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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.

Yes, you have to be 55 to buy in an Ocala 55+ community

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I always get this question even though you’d think it’s self-explanatory. Do you have to be 55+ to live in an Ocala 55+ community? At least one person on the deed has to be 55.  HOA’s require proof of age in the form of a driver’s license. Some also make you sign an affidavit to that effect. This is true of every Ocala/Marion County retirement community.

Ocala retirement homes with a view

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I always have buyers looking for a retirement home and an item high on their wish list is a nice view.  Most retirement communities are laid out with parallel streets and the homes are back to back. This is especially true of newer communities. If you think about it this makes a lot of sense. The builder gets a maximum number of homes on his land.

There are options for what you’ll see in back of a 55+ home.

1. A house right behind you, which is by far the most common.

2. A house right behind you screened by a buffer of trees or shrubs. In this case you’ll still see you neighbor to some extent

3. A view of woods. You find this in a home located on the outside perimeter of a community.

4. A golf course view. This is a premium lot that adds a great deal to the price of a new home but you do find deals on resales.

Some of your best bets for finding a home with out another home directly in back of you are Oak Run and Ocala Palms. Oak Run isn’t laid out with parallel streets. It is divided into neighborhoods and a lot of homes face a buffer between these neighborhoods. Ocala Palms was set out to maximize the number of golf course lots. There are great prices on homes with golf course frontage in Ocala Palms.

If you’re interested in Ocala 55+ retirement homes then either call me, email me or better yet use my Ocala Dream Home Finder.

 

Candler Hills Ocala FL home for sale

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picture of home in Candler Hills

This is a home for sale in the exclusive Candler Hills part of the On Top of the World communities. The Huntley model is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home with 2,181 sq ft of living area. It features a gourmet kitchen with maple cabinets, stainless appliances, an electric wall oven, gas cook top and Corian counter tops. There is a formal dining room for entertaining. The Great room is large and bright with high ceilings and crown molding. The master bedroom is very large and leads to a master bath with a double vanity, tile floor, a walk in Roman shower and an enormous closet. There are 2 other bedrooms and a 2nd bath on the opposite side of the house from the master as is the case in a split floor plan. This home is located on a premium corner lot with a nice view from the screened Lanai. The build quality of Candler Hills homes is superior to most other newer 55+ retirement communities. The floors are hardwood and not laminate. The MB shower and around the tub in the 2nd bath are tile and not a fiberglass plug-in.  Candler Hills is known for extremely energy-efficient building practices. At only $185,000.00 this is a great price when compared to new construction or other nearby newer retirement homes.

My blog post profiling Candler Hills with info on the amenities, HOA fees, images of the community and a link to the golf course..

SOLD for 96% of list price in only 80 days

 

 

 

New home sales in Ocala Florida

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I often get buyers looking for newer homes here in the Ocala Marion County area. Many are interested in a new or newer Ocala 55+ retirement home. I end up telling these buyers that there has been very little building here since the market crashed in 2007. The reason for this lack of new construction is that resales are selling at prices below the cost of new construction and in some non retirement communities much less.

The below survey is based on active listings on the Ocala Marion county MLS as of July 7, 2011

Total residential listings 3915

new homes dated as 2011…..19

homes from 2010-2011………32

homes from 2009-2011………55

homes from 2008-2011……..114

homes from 2007-2011……..311

homes from 2006-2011……..571

homes from 2005-2011……..769

What does this all mean? It means that despite the fact that vacant land is available at fire sale prices and Marion County has suspended impact fees on new homes, builders still think it’s not worth trying to compete with newer resales. This is the time to but a house in Ocala.

The above numbers include both 55+ communities and non retirement communities and all types of construction including mobile and manufactured homes. They do not include homes offered by builders that are not listed on the OMCAR MLS.

Swimming pools in Ocala 55+ communities

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dog laying next to swimming pool

I often get buyers who are looking for a pool home in a 55+ retirement community.  There are very few homes with private pools in 55+ communities. Retirement communities all have clubhouses with a community pool. Some have outdoor and indoor pools. Others like Oak Run have several pools. If you prefer a private pool of your own then you should be looking in the non 55+ communities because 99% of 55+ listings do not have private pools.

Non 55+ communities usually don’t have a clubhouse and activities but there are plenty of retired residents every where here in Ocala. I live in a non 55+ community and when I go to my HOA meetings I’m one of the younger residents and I’m 56!