Ray Peckham Real Estate

Facts About Surfside Homes and Condos

Surfside HOME BUYING MORTGAGE PITFALLS TO AVOID

ALL MORTGAGES ARE NOT ALIKE. There are far too many variables—type of mortgage, term, lender and amount of points to mention a few—not to investigate all of your options in Surfside. Don’t simply accept the first plan presented to you, whether it is from a mortgage broker, an agent or on the recommendation of a friend. Spend time comparing to get the best plan for you.

HOME INSPECTION – A MUST. If you should ever think about skipping the Surfside home inspection in order to save money, stop and give yourself a good shaking. In the scheme of things, the Home Inspection fee is small potatoes but it is a very important step for any buyer to take. Going without a Home Inspection or choosing an unqualified inspector puts you at risk for not knowing about potentially expensive or even hazardous defects in the property.

Surfside: Art and Science

Buying a piece of Surfside real estate is a science but buying your Surfside home is an art. The science part involves getting the legal and financial parts down while the art is finding the Surfside property that you’ll be happy with.

The total universe of possibilities within the universe of Surfside real estate is quite diverse but narrowing your search ahead of time will help keep things in perspective.

In general there are two phases to any Surfside real estate search. In the first phase, you get a feel for the different areas and an idea of what is being offered at what price. In the second phase, you search for the Surfside real estate that meets all or most of your specifications.

Building Surfside Home Equity

As a Surfside homeowner you have the right to pay more towards the principle loan amount each month. Let’s say your monthly payment is $700.00 a month and $100.00 a month is being applied to the principle. If you choose to pay $900.00 instead of $700.00, the $200.00 overage will be applied entirely to the principle. Thus, instead of gaining $1,200.00 a year in Surfside home equity, you gain $3,600.00.

The only factor being considered here is Home Equity. In individual cases it may be wiser to invest than to pre-pay your home loan. It also may be wiser to pay off high-interest, non-deductible loans before considering your Surfside home equity building options. Your financial advisor is the one to consult for these matters. If you would like up-to-the-minute information about Surfside home appreciation values in your area, please call or E-mail me today.

Buying Surfside Below Market

On most real estate Websites you can enter the parameters you want for your Surfside. Include the price, size, features and location and the technology will notify you automatically the moment a property that meets your needs comes on the market. Now if what you are looking for is a particular type of property for a price that is significantly under market, you’d better be prepared to act quickly because you aren’t the only one who’s looking for a bargain.

Often times, when a home comes on the market priced under the market there are extenuating circumstances. Maybe the house needs maintenance. Maybe the yard needs work. If you are prepared with a certain amount of knowledge about the costs of roofing, painting, landscaping and other types of deferred maintenance, you will be in a position to evaluate whether or not the Surfside is priced well enough that it truly is a bargain and not a fixer-upper nightmare.

Choosing Your Surfside Neighborhood

The fact is that much of the value of Surfside and real estate in general rests in its surrounding economic and social environment, which means it’s neighborhood. In addition to being located in the right neighborhood, the Surfside that you buy must not clash with its surroundings. To picture what we mean here, visualize the most expensive home you can imagine and then place it in the middle of a run down neighborhood. Not so desirable is it?

To sum up, the Surfside that you buy gets its value from a combination of the home’s location and its size, style, age and amenities. You can change the home’s size, style and amenities but you are stuck with the location.

What Makes Surfside Sell?

If your only reason for selling your Surfside is for the purpose of taking your profits there are a couple ways to approach this. Assuming you have lived in the Surfside for two years so you can avoid federal tax consequences, if you sell when prices are high and rent until prices come down before buying a replacement home, you will have maximized your profit. Remember, if you sell when prices are low, you will still make a profit and be able to buy a replacement home while prices are still low.