Best Time to Buy a home if you have been sitting on the fence

 

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, #1 RE/MAX Agent in Florida, together with a full house of guests, talk about why NOW is the best time to buy a home.

The appreciation of the rentals is starting to outrun the appreciation on the housing market. This means that if you continue to rent, your rent is likely to go up. Some people don't realize that you can buy a comparable home for what you are paying in rent or even less!

A lot of these rentals are controlled and owned by hedge funds or big corporation which means they are in control of the rise in rental prices. Why keep paying for the rising rent if you have the ability to buy? For those who think they are not able to buy, Mike Yates of Atlantic Bay Mortgage shares that there are a lot of low money down options available. There are also some down payment assistance programs available. It's best to contact a lender to see what options are available for you.

If you decide to buy, do your research. Get pre-qualified and look for an experienced Real Estate team like The Duncan Duo to help you in this competitive real estate market and get the home you want.

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 Sunday at 10 am.

Create More Demand for Your Listing With "Coming Soon" Marketing

Today we would like to give you some insight into a phenomenal technique called “Coming Soon” marketing. There has been some speculation over whether this strategy works, but we believe it does. 

Before we get into why it is effective, let’s first discuss what Coming Soon marketing is. Coming Soon marketing is a strategy wherein we begin advertising a listing before it’s active. So, this marketing technique creates pent-up demand for a home. It is similar to putting out a Black Friday sales flyer before Thanksgiving.

Coming Soon marketing helps propel listings into multiple offer situations, which equates to faster sales and higher prices. This strategy ultimately creates a situation the seller would not achieve without this type of marketing. As real estate professionals, we do not want our sellers to miss out on any offers because their home lacks exposure, and Coming Soon marketing prevents this from happening.

We give our sellers advice and opportunities, but we also give them control over how to proceed.

At the end of the day, though, everything that we do comes down to the seller’s choice. While we are happy to give our advice, sellers will always have the option to pass on this strategy.

With that said, we do highly recommend it. Some of the best listings never actually hit the market. Sellers can often net a great price without ever going through the hassle of listing or showing the property. We can often even earn sellers a cash offer.

But if a seller does allow their home to be shown before it hits the market, this can reap some great results. Motivated buyers will often submit offers above asking price if they are serious about securing the home. 

Of course, all of this is simply an option—not an obligation. We give our sellers advice and opportunities, but we also give them control over how to proceed.

If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are curious how we can help you sell your home, give us a call, send us an email, or visit www.TheDuncanDuo.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Working With a Reduced-Cost Agent Will Bring You Reduced-Quality Results

When listing your house, you should be leery of hiring an agent who cuts their commission. If an agent wants to negotiate down on their commission to earn your business, that’s a definite red flag. 

Real estate is a competitive business. As agents, we sometimes encounter clients who think the lowest commission is the best deal. But low commission rates often spell trouble.

You truly do get what you pay for. So when an agent offers to reduce their fee, you’ve got to wonder whether they’re also going to be reducing their level of service. Netting top dollar for your property requires heavy marketing, which is not cheap.

If an agent isn’t spending money on marketing your home, your home will get less exposure and you’ll get less money. Without money being spent on marketing, you could be missing out on professional photography, virtual tours, and other tools and tactics used to bring buyers into your home.

Saving 1% or 2% in commission doesn’t gain you anything.

Agents are not created equal. For the same reason you don’t look for the cheapest meal every single time you go out to eat, you shouldn’t be looking for the cheapest agent when it comes time to sell your home. Choosing an agent who is willing to cut down their commission not only leads to a sacrifice in quality, but also indicates that they aren’t a strong negotiator. Can you really trust an agent who can’t negotiate their own commission to negotiate the price of your home?

Saving 1% or 2% in commission doesn’t gain you anything. In fact, it will almost certainly translate to less money in your pocket at the end of the deal.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.