Be An Informed Cunsumer

Buying a Home in Tampa Bay

Choosing the right real estate office and agent can be one of the most important decisions you make in the entire home buying process.

Our mission is to help you find the right home with the best possible terms. The purchase of your home can be a complicated process but we will familiarize you with the various inspections, documents, and procedures that you will experience throughout the trasaction.

Pre-Qualified vs. Pre-Approved: What’s the Difference?

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, it’s important to understand the differences.

A pre-qualification is an estimate of the potential loan amount a borrower could receive based on basic information required by the lender about the borrower, verbally. It is the process of a lender reviewing a borrower’s creditworthiness and discuss possiblities. If a pre-qualified borrower decides to apply for a loan and seek pre-approval, the lender will require documentation.

A mortgage pre-approval is an evaluation of a potential borrower by a lender to determine whether they can be given a loan and, if so, for what amount. In a word the difference is documentation. When a lender pre-approves a borrower, they will require documentation to support your statements.

A borrower can be pre-qualified and not pre-approved.

Think of a Mortgage Broker as a matchmaker, making a match. A pre-qualification is an interview with a new suiter. The broker is contimplaiting different lenders to match with you.

A pre-aprroval is the engagement. Now the broker has found you a match and has to verify everything about you and your creditworthiness with documentation.

The closing of the loan, and funding your wedding day!

Get Pre-Qualified

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How much can I afford?

The journey to home ownership starts by understanding how much you can afford. One major thing to consider is your down payment, if any. Many consumers believe it's impossible to buy a home without...

Why Use An Agent

A residential purchase is a long term investment. The average person will buy and sell a property less than half dozen times in their life time, often less. I am involved with twice as many...

What's in Your home?

What do you want in a home? While definitely important, “location, location, location” isn’t the only consideration for your home purchase. Before you start searching online or in person, make a...

Finding Your Home

Whether you're buying your first home, fifth home, a vacation property, or an investment property, its location will often determine its future value, and even certain aspects of your everyday life....

Lenders see you as just another number

Finding a your dream house is easy, funding it will be far more challenging. A lender is interested in only the risk vs reward. The first numbers that will be thrown around are the debt to income...

LENDER’S GOLDEN RULE-HE WHO LENDS THE GOLD WRITES THE RULES

For the vast majority of people, a home purchase means a mortgage. The cost impact of a home purchase is much greater with a higher mortgage rate than purchase price. So if you have worked hard and...

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy or continue to rent?

Buying a home can be a very solid investment. This being said, renting can be a better option for some, depending on the circumstances. The current interest rates hve edged upwards, but are still historicaly low. Even when you rent, you are paying someones mortgage, why not your own?

There are questions that you should ask yourself before deciding to buy a home. One of the most important things to consider is the length you plan on staying in a home, if you were to purchase. If the answer is only a few years, the better decision is to continue renting. Another question to ask yourself is whether you are ready to take on the additional “responsibilities” of owning a home. When owning a home there will be general home maintenance that should be done, are you ready for that?

Buying a home is a great option in many cases, but not always.

Should I buy a home before selling my current home?

There is truly no concrete 'correct' answer to this question. There are pros and cons to buying a home before selling your current home and the same can be said about selling your current home before buying another.

Buying a home before selling your current home

The biggest benefit to buying a home before selling your current home is the fact that you have a suitable property lined up. This can reduce the stress and pressure of having to find a home once your current home is sold. However, if you are unable to purchase a new home without having to sell your current home, you’re purchase offer is going to be contingent upon sale and transfer of title of your current home. If your current home does not sell in a timely manner, this can lead to you getting “bumped” by a non-contingent buyer and you losing out on the home you’re looking to purchase, which can be devastating. Furthermore, many seller's are not interested in offers contingent to the sale of the buyer's home. If they are, it will come at a price and you will pay for the contingency by offering top dollar.

Selling your current home before buying a new home

The time it takes to sell your current home is unpredictable. There is no crystal ball that exists that can tell you exactly how many days it will take. Selling your current home before buying a new home will put you in an ideal position to negotiate on the new home you’re purchasing due to the fact you are purchasing without the sale contingency of your current home. You know the exact proceeds of your current home and an exact date of closing.

One risk of selling your current home without buying a new home first is the chance of not being able to have a place to live. There are options if your current home sells before buying another. A 'rent-back' can sometimes be negotiated with the buyer of your current home. A “rent-back” would allow you to retain possession of your current home for a certain number of days after closing at the expense of paying the buyers mortgage. A 'rent-back' allows for additional time to find a new home.

How Much Commission Do Buyer's Pay Realtors?

What if your Realtor was Offered a Bonus on a Property You Purchased and Never Told You?