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I'm in Northeast Florida. What I paid in Boca Raton (southwest Florida), even before the two years of hurricanes we had two years ago, was much higher than I pay here in Palm Coast. It's also much lower than I paid on Long Island. Do I know all of Florida? No. But it's a local thing. Just as real estate is. So are the taxes. It's a large state. The taxes in Putnam (next county west) are lower than mine... the taxes in Volusia, the next county south of me are higher than mine. They were hit more than my county was but their insurance would still be lower than Palm Beach county. Insurance rates are also based on if you are in a flood zone. If you are in a concrete/block stucco or poured concrete home vs a 'stick' built home your insurance is lower. In my area many and I mean many homes are built after 2000, which there is a difference between 2000 and prior, not 2003. We had stringent building codes before 2003 they are just more stringent now than they were. That doesn't mean that your house would blow over or you would need to rebuild. I don't care if your home was built in 2000 or yesterday. If you get hit by a cat 4/5 chances are your walls will be there but your roof is coming off. Were most in Florida hit by a 4/5? Hell no. Most of the damage you saw was pretty much concentrated...there was a 'path' so to speak. It's unfortunate that a lot of people don't understand that. It's like thinking that all of California is under threat of fires. For an example. I live in a cbs home built in 2002. My homeowners insurance is $550 per year. My taxes are $1200 per year. Neither are near the cost of my mortgage.
Take my house, put it in Boca Raton, my home owners insurance would be at least $2000 per year, my taxes at least $3000 per year. It all depends on where you are. So to make a blanket statement about Florida is erroneous and misleading. And I'm in a beachside city. Heck, a home on the salt water canals, just off the intra-coastal, the homeowners insurance would be around $1500 per year. That's a very nice home, sitting on a canal that accommodates any size boat, with a pool.
What is killing the state is the discrepancy in taxes. It sometimes is not feasible for a person who does not homestead to have a home here...their taxes keep increasing with no end in sight, where as if they lived here they would be capped.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't put the whole state in one basket. It's not accurate to make a statement of 'you have to rebuild every couple of years'. Not anywhere near accurate.
Many buyers will come in super low just to see what your situation is.
That's what I plan to do when I go house-hunting later next year. The market here hasn't appreciated as sharply as some parts of the country but the market in the suburbs of DFW seems to be a buyer's market. I'll make offers as low as I dare and see what they come back with. If they tell me to go pound sand, fine. There's an excess of inventory on the market here and tons of foreclosures and short sales in the 'burbs. I'm a patient woman, and unlike some people trying to sell their houses, I'm not desperate. I plan to get a bargain and I'm patient enough to get it.
Basically I'm some sellers' worst nightmare, and I don't care. I won't lose any sleep over it. There shouldn't be any emotion involved in this and I'm not out to rescue someone from the consequences of their poor financial decisions or any other circumstances. Desperate to sell? Let's talk. Won't budge on price? Find another sucker.
Why do buyers assume that a seller needs to be bailed out? I have no mortgage. I'm just selling my house here... not trying to get rich. I just don't want to hand it over.
As someone who just lowballed a seller Friday on a property, (65% of their asking price).. I dont think its so much of an assumption that a seller NEEDS to be bailed out, its an assumption that the buyer MIGHT need bailed out.. and it never hurts to know what type of seller your dealing with and until you make that offer.. you never know.
Basically I'm some sellers' worst nightmare, and I don't care. I won't lose any sleep over it. There shouldn't be any emotion involved in this and I'm not out to rescue someone from the consequences of their poor financial decisions or any other circumstances. Desperate to sell? Let's talk. Won't budge on price? Find another sucker.
I wonder if you're aware that neighbors share information and your negotiations are not and will not be kept secret. A burnt seller will tell everyone about how you snaked your way into the neighborhood. Will you and your family lose any sleep over this?
We are in the process of selecting a realtor to sell our home. Each of the realtors state that the buyers are out "fishing" because the media is portraying the real estate market worse than it really is. They are offering ridiciously low offers. Realtors have advised if you can afford to, hold firm with your price, as long as it is reasonably priced.
The serious buyers will look at reasonably priced homes and make a reasonable offer. Those buyers influenced by the "media reports" will just keep making low ball offers until they find someone desperate.
I'm not out to rescue someone from the consequences of their poor financial decisions or any other circumstances. Desperate to sell? Let's talk. Won't budge on price? Find another sucker.
So, you are looking to take advantage of someone's situation, which may or may not have to do with poor financial choices but could be entirely due to other circumstances in their lives. Take advantage of their desperation. And there is nothing 'wrong' with that. But that does not mean people who do not do that are 'suckers'. If you don't want emotion involved in it then why the derogatory terms for sellers and buyers who aren't desperate or aren't looking to take advantage of someone or are looking at a home sale/purchase in an entirely different way?
Again, that depends on where they are and it also depends on what they are comparing it to, where it started out at. We have people who move out saying that the traffic is unbelieveable, they can't handle it. Our traffic is NOTHING compared to most other areas but they are comparing it to when they first moved here, before stores and people were here. So, it really all depends...it's local, it's perspective, that's all I'm saying.
Yes, perhaps. My area hasn't been hit in 75 years but I guess it could happen some day, you are correct. Let's hope it's not next year, lol. (I'm knocking on wood).
Then again, has everyone in Kansas experienced a tornado? Has everyone in California been hit by a fire or earth quake? When the Jersey shores flood does that mean everyone does? No. I'm not saying that there isn't the chance...I'm just trying to put in to perspective the misconception that all of Florida is suffering from constant hurricanes and that everyone is dealing with extremely high taxes and insurances. It is not. Is it more expensive than it used to be? Yes. But so are pickles.
I wonder if you're aware that neighbors share information and your negotiations are not and will not be kept secret. A burnt seller will tell everyone about how you snaked your way into the neighborhood. Will you and your family lose any sleep over this?
Let them whine. The churn rate is pretty high in a lot of suburban developments here, and since the burbs seem to be largely populated by out-of-staters it's not as if they'd be showing up on my doorstep with a pecan pie anyway. My co-workers (some native Texans, some not) say they hardly ever see their neighbors and most of them don't know their names.
And I'd bet some of them would just be jealous that I paid less for my house than they did for theirs. Let them. What are they going to do, burn it down? Plus, I don't consider not getting ripped off to be a bad thing.
We are in the process of selecting a realtor to sell our home. Each of the realtors state that the buyers are out "fishing" because the media is portraying the real estate market worse than it really is. They are offering ridiciously low offers. Realtors have advised if you can afford to, hold firm with your price, as long as it is reasonably priced.
The serious buyers will look at reasonably priced homes and make a reasonable offer. Those buyers influenced by the "media reports" will just keep making low ball offers until they find someone desperate.
"hold firm w/your price as long as its reasonably priced"
Wouldn't better advice be "if inventory is high and # of units sold YOY are dropping, price ahead of the curve so you don't receive a worse offer 6 months down the road"?
We all see what happens to the overwhelming majority of people who "hold firm w/their price" in a market like their is today.
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