Dropping Mortgage Rates Mean Now’s The Time To Buy. Like RIGHT NOW
April 3, 2019City Approves Motion To Move Forward With Winter Garden Hotel
April 18, 20194 Home Buying Myths that are So 2018
It’s inevitable, once people discover you are looking to buy a house, you will recieve all kinds of advice. Most of it will come from well-meaning friends and family who want you to have a quick and stress-free home buying experience. However, things are changing in the real estate world, and strategies that worked previously are now considered outdated.
New Construction is the Best Option
Traditional Thinking
In the past, buyers were told if they really wanted a house that checks all of the boxes, new construction was their best bet. Curently Winter Garden and surrounding areas are experiencing rapid growth. There are new build communities popping up all over. There luxury developments like McAllister Landing and Bradford Creek, these types of homes are not for everyone.
2019 Thinking
2019 has been called the year of renovation. More and more home buyers are buying a home in a neighborhood they love; a home that checks ALMOST all of the boxes. Then slowly but surely they design and remodle until they achieve the home of their dreams. The average home build takes 6-8 months, and many buyers do not have that much flexibility in their schedules to wait for a new home to be built.
Neighborhoods like Cambridge Crossing, Stoneybrook West, and Deer Island are known for their established homes, active communities, and limitless potential.
Focus Soley on the House You Want
Traditional Thinking
Traditionally, buyers would make a detailed list of the all the things their home needed to have. They’d create a list of needs vs. wants and search high and low for a home that had them all. And while focusing on the characteristics of your new home is important, today’s buyers are paying close attention to the community, amenities, their neighbors, the school zones and other neighborhood features that will play a significant part in how they live their daily lives.
2019 Thinking
Central Florida buyers are paying close attention to what they picture their everyday life to be, and choosing a home based on their lifestyle instead of just what features the home offers. Buyers who want space and acreage move to areas like Minneola, where buyers looking for luxury amenities and a busy social calendar focus their search in Winter Garden or Apopka, and buyers who want a little of both choose Clermont. Long gone are the days where buyers found their home and then adjusted to the neighborhood. Today, buyers are seeking out the neighborhoods that best fit their lifestyle and adjusting their home to fit.
Spring is the only time to buy
Let’s be honest, spring in Florida is just a slightly less humid version of summer. Winter Garden residents have been hosting pool parties and days out on the boat for weeks now, and it’s not even May. Traditionally, spring has been seen as the best time to buy for many reasons. Spring is a time when people are ready for a change of scenery, and what better way to do that than buy a new home? Spring temperatures also make it easier for sellers to show off the hard work they’ve put into curb appeal. Hitting a few open houses over the weekends when the temperatures aren’t in the 90’s is also a reason why spring is usually seen as the best time to buy. However, buyers who narrow down their home search to spring could really be doing themselves a disservice. If everyone still believes that spring is the best time to buy, then you’ll be faced with high home prices and fierce competition when you do go to buy.
Don’t let something like the season or the weather dictate when you buy a home. For families, buying a house in the summer means having a few weeks while the kids are out of school to make the transition, and be all settled in before the next school year. If you aren’t ready to buy in the spring it doesn’t mean you have to wait a year to buy a home. A professional Realtor will be able to help you find your dream home regardless of the season.
Make an offer with wiggle room
Many buyers assume that “make an offer” stage of the house buying process is a long, drawn out, back and forth negotiation phase with seller until a compromise is reached. While this has been the strategy in the past, things are changing. Motivated sellers aren’t interested in the back and forth negotiations, and will choose a buyer whose initial offer is closest to their asking price. If you love a home, it’s not worth losing it due to time-consuming negotiations. In the time it takes for a seller to receive your offer and counter, they could be accepting the offer of someone closer to their asking price and moving forward with the sale. The best thing you can do is base your offer on comparable properties in the area, and this is something any Realtor on the Homevest Realty Team can assist you with.
One Solid Piece Of Advice: Work With Erica Diaz
Buying a home comes with a lot of decisions to make and factors to consider. It is common to get a lot of different advice from different people, which can make it difficult to make a decision. However, when you work with Erica Diaz and her team, you can be sure you are getting the most current information to help you make a home buying decision in confidence.
If you are considering buying a home in Winter Garden, contact Erica Diaz and her team today. They can help you sift through outdated home buying advice and point you in the direction of your dream home.