Financing for New Construction Homes vs Resale Homes in Tampa Bay

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, Andrew Duncan, talks to Arnie Diaz of Waterstone Mortgage and Scott Eckley of DR Horton about getting a mortgage for a new construction home on The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show.

Arnie starts off by talking about the  financing side of buying a brand new home. The average construction of a new home like Horton brands average from 5-9 months. The credit documents are good for 120 days so if you're getting financed for a new construction, you should not touch your credit within that time frame just as you would when you apply for any type of loan. You shouldn't do anything crazy - you can't buy furniture, can't get a car loan, you need to maintain your payments and hold on to your job because they will be reevaluating your credit. There's a longer period for a new construction.

Andrew shares his team's recent experience with a client who bought a home from D.R.Horton. He says there were a lot of construction things that the lender had to verify in the new construction environment that they won't necessarily verify in a resale environment. The consumer needs to understand that everything will be verified, everything will need to be checked.

Scott talks about their inventory for their luxury brand. These are for people who are looking to spend around $700,000+ for a new home. The construction period is about 12+ months but they have homes ready now. They have inventory in communities like Stone Lake Ranch and concession in Sarasota. They have homes that range from 3800 sqft to 5000 sqft. You don't have to do a construction to perm loan with them which could be a big advantage.

To get more Tampa Bay Real Estate news and advice from Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, tune in to The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA - Tampa Bay every Sundays at 10 am.

Curious about the value of your home? Check out www.tampabayhousevalue.com.

What is the State of Tampa Bay's Distressed property market in mid 2015 including short sales and foreclosures?

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Andrew Duncan, Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor and Expert, together with Shawn Yesner of Yesner Law and David Diaz of Waterstone Mortgage talk about the state of Tampa Bay's Distressed property market in mid 2015 on The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show.

Andrew asks Shawn what are the changes that happened in the market place that are causing less foreclosures but Tampa Bay still has a high number compared to the rest of the country.

He says that one of the problems during the recession was the theory that everybody deserves a house and we need to stop foreclosures. There will always be divorces, always be loss of a spouse, there will always be medical issues that cause foreclosures. It will never go away but now, judges are a lot more keen on some of these arguments that would otherwise delay a foreclosure which means a lot of foreclosures are starting to speed up again. A lot of the backlog are working their way out of the system. Sean said that he can keep something slow down for about a year to a year and a half but it's getting harder and harder to delay. Default rates are still high and Tampa was probably one of the worst hit areas in terms of the recession and it's taking a bit more time for Tampa to get out of that market space.

Andrew comments on what Sean had said about the people having that entitlement mentality that they need to keep the owners in their homes. A part of him says yes but they need to pay for it because that's what they signed up for. That's being a responsible person. Everybody has setbacks but it's not an excuse. There are a lot of people who needs to be foreclosed on.

The people are now turn away from this mentality as Andrew observed. Not everybody should be a homeowner. Not everyone who goes into foreclosure or misses a payment should be saved. Not everyone has a valid reason other than legitimate hardship. Having a lot of foreclosed homes in Tampa is natural especially since they have an older population.

Sean further discusses that although Tampa's foreclosure and default rates are dropping, they still have one of the highest number of upside down home owners.

Andrew said that the foreclosure process now has changed and what others have experienced a couple of years ago might not be the same today. An example of this is the Mortgage Debt Relief Act where you get taxed on the waiving fee deficiency and this law, for now, has gone away. There's a whole segment of people and attorneys who delayed the foreclosures so much that some of those tax benefits and exclusions have gone away. Those borrowers who delayed and delayed on the foreclosure case but are now starting to finish up, may be hit with huge tax penalties because they delayed.

David adds that in effect, lenders have become more stringent on those who are looking to buy and sell right away which has made the process a bit more difficult.

To get more Tampa Bay Real Estate news and advice from Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, tune in to The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA - Tampa Bay every Sundays at 10 am.

What to know about Force Placed Insurance and How to Avoid It

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Andrew Duncan, Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor and Expert, has Richard Vasquez of Artisan Insurance as guest on The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show to talk about Force Placed Insurance and how to avoid it.

One of the first things to avoid getting force placed insurance is to pay attention to your insurance or pay the bill when they came in. It is also important to have a good working relationship with your agent so they can stay on top of things and make sure they take care of issues like this.

Richard explains that the only thing the force placed insurance covers on your house is your loan. If somebody breaks in and robs you, there's no coverage. If your house catches fire and burns to the ground, they're going to pay off your loan but you have no equity. That's the real danger of the force placed insurance. You're only paying for the bank to be covered. You're not paying for yourself or any of your belongings or any liability. And in addition, the coverage is usually more expensive.

Andrew shares some of the most common scenarios of why force placed insurance is imposed. Sometimes when you move and you don't receive your mail in time, it can cause a notice that they did not receive the insurance policy or endorsement information. Another common scenario is when the loan is sold and they mail the certificate of insurance somewhere else. Sometimes change of insurance companies also cause you to miss that and then you get letters that they will be putting force placed insurance because you don't have it, even though you do. They just don't have the information.

Another example is if you get relocated and you decide to rent your property out, you need to inform your insurance company and alert your agent so they can make the necessary adjustments they need to make. A lot of people have the misconception that the insurance would go up but that is not always the case when it comes to rental properties. It will actually save you more money to alert your insurance company because it will no longer cover all of your belongings inside the house.

There is, however, a law that protects consumers from this - the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). If there is a paperwork error or some errors in the information, he can go back to have it corrected and it will create liability to the bank.

To get more Tampa Bay Real Estate news and advice from Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, tune in to The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA - Tampa Bay every Sundays at 10 am.

What Makes Now the Ideal Time to Buy in Tampa?

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Many buyers in the Tampa area are waiting to buy, thinking they'll wait until conditions are just right. Timing the market is always risky, but waiting to make your move now may cost you a whole lot of time and money. It doesn't look like our market will slow down any time soon, as inventory is low, prices are rising, and interest rates remain incredibly affordable. 

• Prices: Home values are on the rise and don't appear to be slowing down. The Tampa market is healthy, as our population is on the rise and there are some big downtown developments that will help to continue that growth.
• Mortgage rates: Interest rates are still near historic lows, but are expected to rise soon. No matter what, you're paying a mortgage, therefore you're either building equity yourself or you're making your landlord rich. 
• Inventory: The number of available homes is pretty low and it's only going to get lower. It will only get more difficult to buy later when there are fewer homes and more competition in the marketplace.

If you have any questions about how you can take advantage of current Tampa real estate conditions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always available to help and would love to hear from you! 

5 Sneaky Things You Didn't Know that Could Ruin Your Credit

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Andrew Duncan, Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor and Expert, talks to Arnie and David Diaz from Waterstone Mortgage about the 5 Sneaky Things you didn't know could ruin your credit based on an article that came out on Trulia on The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA.


1. Hard Inquiry
Arnie discusses that when shopping for rates, getting your credit pulled is necessary because the rate is dependent on your credit. Trulia suggests to do it within 14 days that way it will be considered as one pull so as not to affect your credit too much.

David adds that it really depends because the credit bureaus work independently and some have that 14 day window, some have longer, etc. He also said that shopping for rates for one type of loan is fine. But what pulls your credit down is if you're shopping for different types of loans like a home loan, a car loan and credit cards all at the same time.

2. Skipping out on little things
Based on the article, it says that old small delinquencies such as old medical bills or library fines could affect your credit rating. David says that this is not true because contrary to logic, paying a small collection on your account in a very short time would actually bring down your score. He said they would NOT recommend to pay that off in a very short term. The reason it will pull the score down is because the date on that delinquency would probably show as a few years ago. Paying it off will bring up the date to today. It would be best to consult with your local lending professional to get expert advice.


3. Incorrect Info On Your Credit Reports
There are a lot of instances that there is something attached to your credit report that is incorrect or maybe the amount of credit from a credit provider was shown as incorrect. A lot of people do have incorrect info on their credit report and is relatively easy to fix. You just need to contact the bureaus and the lender which could take up to 45 days to get fixed. Might as well check your score early to make sure you have time to get any errors fixed.

4. Utilizing your credit too much and not paying attention to the debt to income ratio 
Ideally speaking, you should not go over 1/4 or 1/3 of the credit limit on your credit card. If you're using the maximum limit now, try to get it down to 75%, then to 50%. Ideally you shouldn't be no more than 25-30% of your limit.

5. Not using your credit!
Some people think that having some credit is better than having no credit which is not true. The way the American system works is you need to show that you are able to pay somebody on time on a monthly interval basis. You can keep it simple by maybe using a credit card where you use for gas or groceries every couple of months. Keep it small, keep it simple. Make sure to make the payments on time and that would be the best way to generate a credit score.

To get more Tampa Bay Real Estate news and advice from Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, tune in to The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA - Tampa Bay every Sundays at 10 am.