You’ll find our blog to be a wealth of information, covering everything from local market statistics and home values to community happenings. That’s because we care about the community and want to help you find your place in it. Please reach out if you have any questions at all. We’d love to talk with you!
Ben's 177th weekly update is out! If you aren't subscribed to his newsletter, you can sign up here!
If you'd like him to go over whats been going on in your neighborhood give him a call at 863.333.5053 today!
The real estate market is staying steady. Rates did tick down by .1% to 6.88% vs last weeks 6.98%.
There were 337 homes listed for sale, 318 price drops, 412 went under contract, and 417 have sold. We are still hovering around 2900 active listings in Polk County. In May 1314 have sold, though that number isn't final as some of todays closings are not being reported yet.
Bens weekly update this week is back to normal! Check it out on YouTube!
Our Polk County market is stabilizing again around 2900 active homes for sale. The bad news for the last 7 days is that rates ticked up another 1/2 point, to just shy of 7%. If you are looking to buy a home in the Winter Haven area, give Ben and his team a call at 863.333.5053.
3012 Troon Lane in Lake Ashton features 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is a versatile additional room that can be used as a den, office, or extra bedroom for guests. The kitchen has quartz countertops, and under cabinet lighting with a stylish backsplash.
Being a resident of Lake Ashton isn't just living in a neighborhood, its a lifestyle. The grand clubhouse has a walk in resort style pool, movie theatre, restaurant, pub, and so many amenities you'd have to see to believe. There is not one but two 18 hole golf courses in Lake Ashtons gated and guarded grounds.
So you are ready to buy your next home, but need to sell your current home to do so? Here's some tips on how to accommodate showings with your busy life while still living in your home, and how we can put an offer together to help you buy your next home at the same time.
It doesn't matter if you are upgrading, downsizing, divorcing, getting married, or relocating. We can help with all of the steps in all of the process in selling your current home and buying your next home.
First off know this process is very complex and there are twice as many moving parts due to the fact that it is two separate transactions.
7 Tips to selling your home to buy another.
The first tip is to declutter and depersonalize your current home in preparation for photographs and showings. Remove family photos, keepsakes, and knickknacks from shelves and photos from walls. Many buyers get distracted and it makes it more difficult. Also having a lot of items on walls can make the rooms feel smaller or cluttered.
Tip 2- is to clean the windows, light switches, doors, and floors. A good scrubbing will help freshen up everything in the house and todays buyers are hot on move in ready homes that don't require repairs or excessive cleaning.
Tip 3- is to speak to a lender to get your pre-approval in order and ready for when you find your next home. This step is important because it could add a week to buying your next home, and if the sale of your home takes off like a rocket you may have to rent a place or stay with friends or family until you buy your next home.
Tip 4- is to not get too far ahead of yourself when looking for your next home before your current home is marketed and getting offers. You want both the sale of your home and the offer on your next home to be within about a week of each other. When accepting an offer on your home you may want to negotiate a longer close to give you the time needed to find your next home.
Tip 5- Once you have your home under contract and get your next home under contract, stay proactive and remember that on real estate contracts "Time Is Of The Essence". Things like inspections, repairs, loan applications, and the survey need to be scheduled and completed as soon as it makes sense. You don't want to order the survey while doing the inspection for example, in case there are too many repairs or something comes up and that isn't the house for you. You'd have to pay for a survey you don't need.
Tip 6- Follow our What Not To Do To Keep Your Loan! guide if you are financing your next home.
Tip 7- Start Packing! At this point we will be in touch several times a week with updates while we keep everything moving forward as smoothly as possible.
At this point we will be scheduling everything and keeping up with both transactions and title companies to ensure everything is being ordered and completed on or before it's due date. We will also work on getting the sale of your current home scheduled for the morning of, and the signing for your next home in the afternoon so the title companies have time to move funds from the sale of your home to the purchase of your next home.
If you have any questions about this process, or want to talk about selling your home and buying your next home give us a call at 863-333-5053 today!
1- The Highway systems are too small for our population. Roads like I-4, 95 and 75 have very heavy traffic. You need to use an app like Waze or similar that will give you travel time WITH traffic.
2- Bad Drivers! We have our share of bad drivers. Please be safe, put your seatbelt on, and put your phone down. Pay attention to your surroundings.
3- Seasonal Allergies! We have loads of plant and trees that have heavy pollen loads when they are blooming. Those April showers bring May flowers, and with the beauty comes the pollen. Many over the counter medications such as Zyrtec-D or Allegra can help with the congestion and runny nose.
4- Hurricanes! While hurricanes can be a scary weather event, You generally have time to prepare for them, they are tracked for weeks, and you generally have days to get ready as the “cone” tracks where it is going. What really gets your in trouble is when a storm rapidly intensifies and you are not prepared. But when a Category 2 is chugging along, you know what to expect. Being inland 60-80 miles also means the storm is weakened significantly before it gets to our area. Most of our issues are downed trees/power lines and localized flooding. Most locals grab some beer and settle in for a hurricane party.
5- The Weather. It’s HOT. You need sunscreen. You need to stay hydrated, and don’t overdo it. We have afternoon showers - It can be a beautiful blue sunny day then bam a huge rainstorm that lasts 10-20 minutes then its bright blue skies and steamy hot again.
6- Homes need updating. A lot of the homes in our area need updating. They were built in the 60’s-70’s and have not been updated over the years. Some of the 40-50 year old homes have only been renovated once, or not at all. If you are not buying a new construction home you may want to budget a remodel.
7- You become the vacation destination for out of town friends and family - so size your house correctly!! Make it too small for overnight guests, or make sure you have room to accommodate! And remember they are on vacation so watch out for day drinking! You may have work to do and they want you to be on vacation with them. When they are ready to buy here give them my number!!
8- Yardwork! Taming the jungle that is your yard can get to be a lot of work. With the afternoon showers and days of sun we get, it can turn into jurassic park QUICK! If you love landscaping and gardening, you will love it! IF you don’t you may want to look into a lawn service or a townhouse or condo where the association handles it.
9- Bugs and Pests - We have large bugs! Palmetto Bugs (Roaches) they are large and they can FLY. Termites. You want to be sure you get a WDO inspection, as termites can cause significant damage to all of the wood in your home. Spiders - Orb spiders, Daddy long legs. - Lizards and Geckos, but they eat the bugs so you don’t want to run them off! If you are afraid of bugs, Florida may not be for you, or you’ll have to get over your fear! GATORS! But they don’t want to mess with you.
- BONUSES!
- Tinted Windows - It’s legal here, If you have leather seats and you run to Publix to get a pub-sub, when you get back to your car you’ll burn your legs off. A good window tint with UV protectant will keep your car much cooler. Even on your home, window tint can save on your power bill.
- Buy a generator. We talked about it earlier in tip 4 but you’ll not regret having a generator when the power is out and your freezer is full. I personally even have a portable a/c that we can run to keep cool, because hurricanes are summer events so its HOT. Most locals buy a bunch of beer and have a hurricane party up to a category 3 Hurricane.
- Make a friend with a boat! There are lakes everywhere and the weather is ideal most of the time for lake life or going to the sandbar.
You don't want to miss this beautiful two story home in Hampton Hills! Located at 3858 Prescott Loop in Lakeland this well maintained home is ready for new owners! It's 4 bedrooms and two and a half baths leave room for everyone! Formal living and dining rooms make for easy entertaining! Privacy fenced back yard with a wooded lot behind you means no direct rear neighbor!
This new listings in Hampton Hills features a 2 car garage, 2494 square feet of living area, and has been well maintained since it was built in 2008. It sits on a .13 acre lot that is also easy to maintain! Less yard work for you!
Location? This home is minutes from everything! The Lakeland Square Mall is directly east of the neighborhood. For more information on the community check out HamptonHillsLakeland.com
Selena Cedeno just wrapped this one up! She helped a family relocating form Illinois find this wonderful home on 2 acres. No more shoveling snow for them!
This home has 4 Bedrooms, 3 baths, and a screened in pool! There is also a detached barn for additional storage.
Welcome to Bens weekly update! He goes over the stats for Polk County, including Winter Haven, Lakeland, Bartow and more!
Over the past 7 days we have had 337 new listings here in Polk County. We have also had 330 price drops, that number is starting to come down over the course of the year, being as high as 700 back in January. We have had 489 homes go pending, and 377 have just sold.
You can browse the homes for sale right here on our website!
Inventory is still dropping, we had over 3200 at the end of March, and today we only have 2877. If you are thinking about making a move now is a great time to give us a call!
If you are looking to buy a new house you may be asking how long does it take to buy a house in Winter Haven?
The Answer: It Depends.
Typically the answer is 30-45 days from making an offer and going under contract. However that does not take into account the inventory situation. In the marketplace right now there is almost no inventory, and homes sell in a matter of days or even hours.
So as a prepared buyer you've already got your pre approval with a local lender, your real estate agent picked out, and your search going. Once you go look at a home and decide it is the one for you, the paperwork starts.
Your agent will fill out the offer paperwork and go over it with you. You'll sign and initial everything and the agent will submit all of it together to the listing agent. Let's say the seller takes your offer. Now the clock starts.
If you are paying cash with no contingencies you can close as quickly as the title company can return clear title (meaning no liens) which can be as little as 7 days.
If you are using conventional financing it generally takes 30 days or less for the lender to issue a "Clear To Close", meaning everyone can sign and you to buy your home.
If you are using FHA, USDA, or VA loans that process generally takes 45 days or less to go through the home buying process.
Then there are Short Sales and Foreclosures and new construction, but thats a whole separate post.
For a financed deal there are things like underwriters, inspection periods, loan commitments, and more that must be accounted for and this is a quick overview of what a rather complicated process involves, and if you would like to discuss the home buying process further with a professional agent in Winter Haven give us a call at 863-333-5053.
Bottom Line?
Real estate is a complicated process with many layers and there is no "one size fits all" answer to the question "How Long Does It Take To Buy A House?"
.jpg)
