Ray Peckham Real Estate

Surfside Overview of Homes for Sale

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 Real Estate Cycles

What makes most sense is the "buy and hold" strategy. Buy a home you expect to remain in for at least seven years or more. Surfside is no different than most, although the Surfside market does have it's own special circumstances.

Want to get a clear and up-to-date picture of the Surfside real estate market? Call me at any time. I am happy to share my knowledge of the real estate market with homeowners and prospective homeowners who want to take advantage of market trends to buy and/or sell wisely.

Guidelines for Buying Surfside

Whether you are a seasoned veteran of real estate transactions or a first time buyer, my advice is the same: Know the Market, Know Yourself and Rely on Experts to give you the whole picture of what you are buying.

Know the Surfside Market. Another way of stating this is Research, Research, Research. Of course the Internet is a great way to give an overview of Surfside homes or homes in any given area but may not be enough, especially if you are looking to buy a home some distance from where you currently live. If you are looking to buy locally you can drive the neighborhoods that you are focusing on to get an idea if there are any problems you need to be aware of. Does part of the development back up to a busy highway? If so and if you want to avoid looking at homes in that area, know what streets are involved so you can recognize listings that may be involved.

Bitten by the Surfside Home Improvement Bug?

Unless money simply isn’t an issue, the financial implications of remodeling are definitely something to consider. When it comes time to sell your Surfside home, the new buyer will usually not pay for over-improvements. This means that if you have the smallest home in an area of larger, more expensive homes, home improvements may make very good financial sense. However, if you already have the largest, most expensive home in Surfside, more improvements may make you more comfortable but may not bring you a good financial return. You may find that it is financially wiser to sell and move to a different home that already has the features you want to add.

Choosing Your Surfside Neighborhood

You’ve probably heard about the three major determinants of Surfside values are: 1) location, 2) location and 3) location. This is not only true about real estate in Surfside; it is true about real estate in general. If you cannot afford what you want where you want it, give up something inside the house rather than settling on a lesser location.

When Surfside Does Not Sell

Let’s say a home is in excellent condition but simply messy. The cat box needs changing, the dog dish is a mess, the dishes haven’t been put into the dishwasher and the beds are not made. Should these conditions affect the price of the Surfside? No, but they do. Take two identical houses next door to each other and priced the same. The sparkling clean house will sell much faster than the messy house and the messy house will more than likely sell for a lower figure. This is true of Surfside as well as real estate nationwide.

When a home does not sell, the owners tend to think that the REALTOR didn’t do a good enough job of promoting the property. There is a difference among agents and brokers and some will promote a property more than others. However, the main and most important method of promoting Surfside for sale is listing it in the local MLS.