Ray Peckham Real Estate

Tips for Selling Surfside Homes

Surfside Disclosure Rule

Tell All is definitely the rule for anyone who is selling Surfside real estate in today’s market. Let the Buyer Beware can easily come back and bite you in a delicate spot—your pocketbook.

Today, those selling a home or any Surfside are expected to disclose all known material defects that are not readily apparent to the buyer. A Material Defect is usually a physical condition that would affect a buyer’s decision to purchase the home or what price to pay for the home. A leaky roof is definitely a Material Defect. If a Surfside seller tries to disguise the leak by painting the interior ceiling and walls without fixing the leak, the truth will come out the next time it rains. Chances are the first call the buyer makes will be to his attorney.

Surfside Homebuyers Quandry

First time Surfside homebuyers have their issues to deal with and homeowners who want to move up, down or sideways have an entirely different set of problems. A homeowner’s first task is to counteract human nature. Humans must be genetically programmed to find their next home and then scramble to sell the one they have so they can afford the one they want. The Surfside market is no exception. Of course, this is contrary to good sense but since most people will go ahead with the Buy then Sell approach.

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.

Bitten by the Surfside Home Improvement Bug?

Money isn’t everything however so that if the most important consideration for remaining in your Surfside home happens to be the school where your children attend or the proximity to your work or to a particularly attractive recreational opportunity then remodeling may be the best option. On the other hand, if the idea of having your Surfside house torn up for weeks at a time makes your blood run cold, it really doesn’t matter how much money you might make turning a fixer-upper into a model home. You will be far better off selling the home you have and moving to a home that better fits your needs.

Buying a Surfside Fixer-Upper

Some Surfside investors concentrate on buying fixer-uppers, making repairs and upgrades then selling for a profit. Going with a Surfside fixer-upper can also be a smart way for those who are handy to buy a home in a neighborhood that they might otherwise be unaffordable. Fixer-uppers are a wonderful opportunity for those who simply love to create their space to their own specifications but for whatever reason do not want to start with a vacant lot.

Best to know the extent of the job and whether or not you are up to it before you buy. Some Surfside fixer-uppers simply need cosmetic work such as paint, wallpaper, carpeting and maybe kitchen appliances are fairly easy to estimate the costs for fixing. Surfside homes that need minor structural repairs such as roofing are also fairly easy to cost estimate.

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.