Weighing the Pros and Cons of FSBO-ing Your Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Property

Author: / Category: Uncategorized


Homeowners who would rather have the whole proceed of the home sale for themselves are more inclined to sell their property on their own. Also known as FSBO (For Sale By Owner) is not a new-age trend; it has been around for years. And with the increasing number of real-estate savvy homeowners, several properties are now being sold without a listing agent. If you’re planning to sell your Fort Lauderdale real estate property on your own and cut the middle man, weigh first the pros and the cons before you make a trench of woes.

Advantages 

The obvious advantage of FSBO-ing your Fort Lauderdale real estate property is the elimination of agent commission. The amount you need to pay for the agent is negotiable but generally runs around between four to seven percent of the selling price. But before deciding to go to this direction, make sure you are up for it and ready for the responsibilities, which typically include marketing and tours. 

Furthermore, there are several things to consider before you decide to sell your Fort Lauderdale real estate property on your own. These include the following: 

• Serious buyer 

• Extensive knowledge of the neighborhood that can rival that of a real estate agent 

• Strong market 

• Agent-less buyer 

• Great negotiating powers 

• Time to dedicate for preparing, marketing and showing the house to prospective buyers 

Drawbacks 

While not all can happen at the same time, some of the following disadvantages can potentially occur. So before you FSBO and avoid major drawbacks, make sure you get your ducks in a row. 

• Pricing the property too low or too high 

• Not enough ability to negotiate with buyers 

• Not enough knowledge in proper home staging and marketing 

• Unfamiliarity with the closing process 

• Legal problems 

It will be greatly disadvantageous if you meet a savvy homebuyer who is more well-versed in the real estate market that you. This is why it’s extremely crucial to get those real estate books out and learn about the process as much as you can. 

Yourself vs. Agents 

Let’s face it, even if you’re quite knowledgeable about real estate, a great real estate agent will always take home the trophy. For starters, you can take advantage of a network of important resources that a real estate agent can provide for your Fort Lauderdale real estate property. Furthermore, a professional has years of experience and extensive contacts that will prove to be useful especially during tough transactions. So be sure you think twice before you choose to paddle your own home sale boat. 

Mark Michael Ferrer 

Fort Lauderdale Real Estate

Tips for Buying Foreclosures

Author: / Category: Real Estate Listings


With the current chaos in the real estate market, it seems that there are foreclosures everywhere.

Avoid Top 10 Mistakes Made By Real Estate Investors

Author: / Category: Real Estate Investors


Real estate investment is perhaps one of the most lucrative forms of investment today. But it is also equally risk bound especially when one is not well versed with the trends and nuances of the real estate market. So if you are contemplating on investing in real estate, it is best to avoid costly mistakes in real estate investment especially when you invest your hard earned money into it. Knowing the most common mistakes made by real estate investors helps one steer away from making such mistakes in the future and ensures good return on investment.

Here are the top ten mistakes made by real estate investors, according to bankrate.com. Bankrate has put together the top ten mistakes after speaking to established, full-time real estate investors and other professionals involved in real estate investment such as bankers. Read on to know them and avoid them.

1. Not planning up ahead. Lack of a proper plan is the biggest mistake made by novice investors. Finding a house after forming a proper investment strategy is the right way instead of looking for a house to fit the plan. Many make the mistake of buying a house because it seems to be a good deal and then trying to see how they can fit it into their plan. Instead of buying a house and thinking one can plan in due course, investors should rather concentrate on the numbers and try to make offers on multiple properties. This will ensure a good property that not only matches their investment model but also works out well with the numbers they had planned for.

2. To believe you can make money quickly. The second major mistake that real estate investors make is to think it is very easy to get rich in real estate. This is only a myth and the reality is that investing in real estate is a long term project.

3. Doing it single-handedly. For becoming a successful real estate investor one needs to build a team of professionals who would assist the investor in his deals. This would ideally include a real estate agent, an appraiser, a home inspector, a closing attorney and a lender.

4. Making excess payment. One another reason that investors in real estate goof up in their investment is by paying too much for the properties they buy. Paying too much and locking up all the funds in the erred property deal will leave you with no money to redeem yourself.

5. Leaving out the groundwork. Not doing your homework could be a costly mistake if you were a real estate investor. Every field of business needs sufficient amount of homework to be done, and real estate investment is no exception. Learn the fundamentals and then venture into investing in properties.

6. Throwing caution to the winds. Investors have to exercise a certain degree of caution and take earnest efforts while making a deal. New investors often fail in this regard and sign a deal without doing adequate research on the property.

7. Miscalculating money flow. Investors whose strategy is to buy, hold and rent out properties need to ensure sufficient cash flow for maintenance. Property managers could be expensive and the owner has to incur more expenses such as mortgage, taxes, insurance, advertising costs etc. Investors have to allocate their budget such that all these expenses are taken care of, or end up having their asset turn into a liability.

8. Lowering the volume. A larger volume of deals or transactions helps in increasing the profits by reducing the impacts of marginal deals.

9. Getting trapped in your own deal. Having more number of options at hand for the property you buy is a wise strategy. This helps one to be prepared for fluctuations in the real estate market. Plans to rent out the house could go awry when the rental market slumps. Having alternative plans helps you cut down losses and tackle unexpected situations.

10. Making incorrect estimates. People who plan to rehab their house need to check if they will still reap the benefits at double the time that they had estimated. This ensures they do not miscalculate and lose money on the deal.