Siesta Key revisited. (Sarasota: bank owned, short sale, real estate)

[jsup]

ok, so I posted a month ago about my desire to buy a vacation home in Siesta Key but had all but eliminated because the cost looked to be prohibitive. I got a lot of good information here about LWR and palmer Ranch. I am now in SK having rented a house for the month. It is pretty much what I would like to have i.e. 3BR/3B, ranch, 2,000sf, on a canal, pool and lanai. According to public records it sold 3 yrs ago for $550,000. It has many updates though I don't know if they were done prior to the change in ownership. It is 50 y/o but seems to be in good shape. Everything comparable on the market is at least $200,000 more. Have prices increased that much? Is it realistic, if I am patient, to get something like this for under $600,000? I plan to explore LWR and PR while I am here but really like the SK vibe.

[PixiStix]

Originally Posted by jsup

ok, so I posted a month ago about my desire to buy a vacation home in Siesta Key but had all but eliminated because the cost looked to be prohibitive. I got a lot of good information here about LWR and palmer Ranch. I am now in SK having rented a house for the month. It is pretty much what I would like to have i.e. 3BR/3B, ranch, 2,000sf, on a canal, pool and lanai. According to public records it sold 3 yrs ago for $550,000. It has many updates though I don't know if they were done prior to the change in ownership. It is 50 y/o but seems to be in good shape. Everything comparable on the market is at least $200,000 more. Have prices increased that much? Is it realistic, if I am patient, to get something like this for under $600,000? I plan to explore LWR and PR while I am here but really like the SK vibe.

Remember that little real estate collapse pretty much the whole nation went through? We are finally recovering from that & indeed prices are rising. That sold price 3 years ago was certainly in the middle of distressed times & lower prices. You really aren't going to find those deals anymore & the longer you wait now, the more you are going to pay. Not saying we are heading into another bubble but we are finally getting to a balance. No, you could not buy that same house today for 550K.

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by jsup

ok, so I posted a month ago about my desire to buy a vacation home in Siesta Key but had all but eliminated because the cost looked to be prohibitive. I got a lot of good information here about LWR and palmer Ranch. I am now in SK having rented a house for the month. It is pretty much what I would like to have i.e. 3BR/3B, ranch, 2,000sf, on a canal, pool and lanai. According to public records it sold 3 yrs ago for $550,000. It has many updates though I don't know if they were done prior to the change in ownership. It is 50 y/o but seems to be in good shape. Everything comparable on the market is at least $200,000 more. Have prices increased that much? Is it realistic, if I am patient, to get something like this for under $600,000? I plan to explore LWR and PR while I am here but really like the SK vibe.

Prices have increased quite a lot since 2011. Plus price out insurance on a 50 year old house on Siesta Key. The cost might be quite a shock.

[bbronston]

The stats reported by our local board for the end of 2013 showed that the median single family home price of properties sold in Sarasota had increased by thirty percent, if I remember right. Your numbers aren't really out of touch with that stat considering you are talking about a longer period than just one year and a SK is a more desirable area.

[jsup]

Guess I'll have to set my sights lower.

[La-La land]

Well, it's never fun to look at public records of what a house sold for, although I do it constantly. Plus, most owners will do SOME amount of home improvements, unless it was bought for a pure flip. For every house that you see that was bought for $200k under the current list price, you will find an equal number of listings where the owners paid $200k over current asking price, when they bought is '06 or whatever. Plus, if you had bought the house 4 years ago, you would have paid $40k in taxes and insurance, so you can deduct that from the price. Don't give up, deals can still be had, but they sell like hotdogs at halftime. Get yourself in a cash position, ready to put in an offer on-the-spot and something will come up sooner or later..

[jsup]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have the cash at the ready and will keep looking.

[jsup]

Got to thinking, and as has been pointed out, the houses that are in the most desirable areas and priced right go quickly. How does one learn about these opportunities asap? I am interested in SK so do I look for a realtor that specializes in that area, maybe exclusively? Or, generally will a good buyer's agent have the same access?

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by jsup

Got to thinking, and as has been pointed out, the houses that are in the most desirable areas and priced right go quickly. How does one learn about these opportunities asap? I am interested in SK so do I look for a realtor that specializes in that area, maybe exclusively? Or, generally will a good buyer's agent have the same access?

All Realtors have access to the same info in the MLS. The only difference might be is if a Realtor knows of a bank owned listing, short sale or regular sale that he/she is about to list and they could tip you off to the fact that it is coming up on the market.

[radarboy]

What some realtors in the area are doing now are "pocket listings" or putting the sign up without putting it on the web. There has been three houses sold like that in the Sarasota Beach area in the last month. If the house is listing fairly priced it does't last long.