Welcome to 2020!
January 2020
I’m David Dorman and THIS…IS 2020! It’s time to start a new year and I could not be more excited! There are some major changes coming down the pike for 2020. The biggest thing I want to share this month is that in March, I will become the owner of CENTURY 21 Professional Group, Inc! This has been the plan for the last 6 years, and to be fair, I have been the acting broker owner for that time period. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, I am super excited to fully take over the business! We will be changing up some things and improving on others.
I have been lucky enough to have business partners that have helped groom me for this new role and would like to publicly thank them for their guidance and expertise. Looking ahead, the new year looks promising, depending on who you ask and follow. I know from experience that election years can definitely have an effect on sales. For some reason, people tend to stall their efforts, thinking that the election could radically change things. Personally, I don’t worry too much about it. My philosophy is that there is always someone buying or selling, you just need to find out who. That seems to be working (lol)! We had our best year to date for 2019. While there were fewer sales, the price points were higher. We have plenty or great opportunities lined up for this year and are truly excited to get to work. So, how was your holiday season? I hope you were able to take some time to appreciate your hard work throughout the year. I know I did. My parents came down, all the way from the Villages…lol. Mom knocked it out of the park with her standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding and I made one of my best cheesecakes ever; that meal is followed up a week later with roasted pork and sauerkraut! I love the traditions of the season. I am very much looking forward to what 2020 has to offer! I sincerely wish you and yours a happy new year!
The selling process explained…
I help people sell homes on a regular basis, it’s kind of what I do. Things I take for granted, often are quite stressful or an enigma to those who have never sold a home before. Sadly, some agents are actually in the same boat. They rarely sell homes and when the time comes to help a client, they are like a deer in the headlights. I thought for this month’s letter, I would breakdown the process a bit, mostly with regard to the transaction itself, not necessarily the listing of the home. That’s a whole other newsletter! A lot of folks think that the Florida Association of Realtor and Florida Bar (FAR/BAR) contract is just fill in the blank. It pretty much is; however, those blanks we do fill in are important. You need to remember that an agent’s training to get their license is very limited on how the contract is filled out AND executed. Unless they have a great broker helping them, they could cause you a lot of loss and frustration. Here are a few highlights to consider when you get an offer on your home:
Financing: If left blank, the buyers time for loan approval is 30 days. Did you know most lenders can do this in about 18 days? Also, unless specified, that approval can be undone if the appraisal value comes in low after the fact. What I highly recommend is that you have your agent call the lender and discuss the time and also include in the timeline, a date for appraisal to be completed that matches. My standard practice is 21 days. Once that day is past, the escrow deposit is locked in. Speaking of escrow, make sure you get at least 1% or more. If cash, higher is better. Many agents will ask or offer just 1K. That’s not enough to keep a person from walking away. If something goes wrong, you need to have compensation!
Inspections: Know what is reasonable and what is not. Most agents these days choose the As-IS FAR/BAR. It makes it easier for either party to get out of the deal during the inspection period. If left blank, that buyer has 15 days to complete all inspections. 10 days is usually more than enough. If you have multiple offers, I’d say 7 days. Make sure your agent has a contingency that if the buyer cancels due to inspections, you get a copy of the report. It’s not automatic and many times, buyers will not give out the report. Don’t be fooled by the term AS-IS. That doesn’t mean the buyers won’t ask for repairs, it just means you aren’t required to do them. Keep in mind, that while technically you are not required to do so, your buyer may walk if you don’t fix some things. Make sure you leave a little room in negotiations just in case. This is probably the most tenuous part of your dealings. Be prepared for it. Rarely does an inspector find nothing. In my experience, if you do agree to repairs, it’s usually best to offer a credit at closing instead of doing the actual repair. This avoids problems at your walk through where the buyer inspects your work. If it’s not done to their satisfaction, it could delay closing! Be sure to keep receipts on anything you do take care if and also take photos before and after!
Looks like I am running out of space, so we will continue this message in February! Stay Tuned and have a happy New Year!