The Federal Housing Finance Agency has increased Conventional Loan Limits for 2022 effective 9/12/2022. The new limits are:

1 Unit: $715,000

2 Unit: $916,000

3 Unit: $1,107,000

4 Unt: $1,376,000

What does that mean? Now buying a single family home using conventional financing you may go as high as:
$737,000 with 3% Down
$752,000 with 5% Down
$794,000 with 10% Down
$893,000 with 20% Down

This is especially interesting if you were interested in buying multifamily as an investment. Check out whats for sale in Polk County Income Properties.

These are increased from
1 unit: $548,000
2 Unit: $702,000
3 Unit: $848,000
4 Unit: $1,054,500

That is an increase of $167K, $214K, $259K, and $322K.  

Hi Again! It's time for our weekly real estate update for the Winter Haven area! Sign up to have this newsletter sent to your email every Wednesday! 

At Haven Realty & Investments we are here to serve all of your real estate needs, even if that is just staying up to date on what is going on with the ever changing real estate market!

In the last 7 days we have had 389 New listings hit the market, 570 price drops (WOW!), 463 go under contract, and 372 closed sales. 

Interest rates have cooled our raging sellers market slightly, though it is still considered a sellers market until we reach 6 months of inventory. We are currently hovering around 1 month of inventory. This means that if no new homes came on the market there would be no homes for sale in 1 month. 

If you are thinking about buying your first house, you may wonder how long the process takes. In this video Ben goes over the basics, but the answer can be more complicated. A basic, smooth transaction can happen in 10 days for a cash buyer, 30 days for a conventional loan, and 45 days for USDA, FHA, and VA. 

Things can and do come up that can push this back. Inspection and repair issues, delay on a survey or appraisal, appraisal disputes, underwriting issues, and seller requests are the most common. 

So typically if you find your dream Winter Haven Home, and are buying with a FHA loan, you can expected to be moving in 30 days after you get it under contract. 

Here are our Hurricane Preparedness tips as a family that went 8 days without power after Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane season is upon us. It starts on June 1st and ends November 30th. The good news to those that are unfamiliar with hurricanes in Florida, or just in general, is there is plenty of time to be prepared. Unlike Tornados or Earthquakes, Hurricanes are visible on weather radars and satellites as much as weeks out.

A hurricanes path on the other hand is less predictable, with the NOAA website offering images of the projected "cone" of where the eye of the hurricane may travel. Hurricane and Tropical storm force winds reach far beyond the eye, so its best to pay attention because many time the eye movement will shift or do something that wasn't predicted.

Hurricane preparedness shopping list:

Basic Shopping list for hurricane supplies that stay in the garage on standby:

• Paper Plates
• Plastic Cutlery
• Spare Propane bottles/Charcoal for grilling meals
• Lanterns for lighting up whole rooms instead of flashlights
• Solar Charger for electronic devices (or if you have Ryobi Tools like I do one of these Inverters.)
• 5 gallon water jugs
• Gas cans and extra oil for the generator
• Chainsaw
• Hand cranked can opener
• Batteries and rechargeable flashlights (I like these Ryobi ones)
• Wind up weather radio/flashlight/charger
• Extension cords for the generator

(This list doesn't include things like non perishable food, medication, important documents, etc)

Water from the tap is perfectly safe if bottled before the storm, and you don't have to worry about finding bottled water. You can get a 5 gallon water jug for less than $10 and use it for years to come.

Hurricane Irma was an eye opener for us. We lost power for 8 days. Luckily we had a 6500 watt generator that could run a window A/C unit, the refrigerator, and some lights and fans. But we didn't have time to have an electrician install a transfer switch so we could run the hot water heater and lights throughout the house. After a few days just having lights come on and off when you used a switch would have helped with sanity.

I was going through my phone getting rid of pictures, and came across this screen shot I took 30 days ago while we were waiting on Irma to get past us. We knew were were in for a long day.

We were as ready as we could be, but still learned a few things that I'll share with you here.

If you get a generator, spend the money to have an electrician wire it so you can run your breaker panel. Being able to run ceiling fans instead of box/free standing fans would have been nice, not to mention lights. I happen to have Ryobi one + tools, so the batteries are interchangeable. I recommend them, but if you have a different brand for your home tools, check to see if they have the same portable fans & lights available.

If you didn't have time to have your generator wired in, get extra extension cords and power strips. It's not fun having to constantly move stuff around, and it's nice to be able to offer one to a neighbor thats without. Be sure your power strips have room for the blocky type plugs that laptops and many other electronic devices use. This charge block is nice because it offers plenty of room for charge blocks, as well as USB charging ports for the many gadgets that need charging via USB.

A standard generator may not be able to run your A/C system, but can certainly power a few portable air conditioners to help keep bedrooms/living areas cool.

When everyone is flipping out about water shortages at stores, calmly fill up jugs and containers you already have at home. Sure its not filtered/spring/fiji water, but it's also not something you have to boil to use.

Have extra propane ready for grilling. If you cant run the air conditioner, cook as much as you can outside to keep the heat in the house down.

In the days right before a hurricane many people encounter price gouging, where sellers often double or triple the price of supplies. This is illegal and the state of Florida has a price gouging hotline (1-866-966-7226) that you can call and make a complaint against a price gouging store. Before Irma there were over 7,000 complaints.

Many first time buyers often ask the question How much does it cost to buy a home in Winter Haven.

The major factors are obviously the cost of the home itself. In this example we are going to use a house for sale at $250,000.

Down Payment

The first step is your down payment. It varies upon credit worthiness and loan type. Loans like VA and USDA require no money down (0%). A popular loan is the FHA loan which is 3.5% down. There is also conventional loans that range from 3.5%, 5%, to 20% down.

Loan Closing Costs

The next step is to figure out closing costs. They are typically 3-4% of the loan value. These closing costs include lender fees and loan origination fees. Different lenders have different fees, so this is important to find out up front.

Home Inspection

Unless you are paying cash (And even then!) you will want to get a Home Inspection (and Wind Mitigation as well as a 4 Point for Insurance). Home Inspections vary depending on the size and scope of the property, but typically cost around $450. There are other items you can have inspected at additional costs such as septic, roof, or well.

Appraisal Fee

The lender will send an appraiser to the property to compare it to recently sold properties to be sure they are not over-lending on the property. This protects both you the buyer, and the lender, from paying too much for a property. This charge is typically $300-$700.

Title Services

When transferring a property from one owner to the next, a Title Company or Real Estate Lawyer are involved. There are Title Insurance and other small fees such as a recording fee, record keeping, survey, and title closing fees.

Some of these fees are based on the value of the property, others are a flat fee. The total of these fees typically comes in at less than $1,000, but again can vary depending on the title company as well as the purchase price of the property.

If you would like an example Closing Disclosure to see how it looks and the breakdown of who pays for what contact us. Hopefully this helps answer your question of how much does it cost to buy a home in Winter Haven. If it does not give us a call at 863-333-5053 and we can go over it in more detail.

What Is House Hacking?

"House Hack" is a term that has been used more and more lately. What does it mean? How do you HACK a house? In this post we will explain.

House Hacking

House Hacking is a modern term for real estate investing. Many people cannot afford or qualify for a second mortgage to buy an investment property. A typical mortgage on an investment property needs 25%+ down, and carries a higher interest rate, making it difficult to save for as well as make the numbers work when you are paying the bank 5%+.

House Hacking lets you live free (or cheap) while your tenant or roommates pay all (or most) of your mortgage. You have options while doing this. You can live for free (or cheap) while paying the 30 year mortgage on a normal schedule, or you can do what many people are doing and pay the mortgage like you don't have roommates or tenants, then applying the rents as additional payments to accelerate paying your loan off. 

Single Family Home House Hack

So along comes House Hacking. House hacking comes in many forms. You can buy a typical single family home and rent out the bedrooms to roommates. Say you buy a $150,000 3 bedroom 2 bath home here in Winter Haven Florida. Let's also say you use a FHA 3.5% down loan. Your mortgage (Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance) would likely be in the $950/month range. Great! What next?
Roommates. Say you get 2 roommates for $400/month each. Thats $800/month. Now your cost to live in your house is $150/month (plus utilities, etc.) The next step is to do this for a year or two, then you can count your roommates rent payments as rental income on your next mortgage application.

Now you make a decision- time to move up in the house hacking world. You can either sell this property and use the equity as a downpayment on other property, or look into Multi family, and put a 3rd roommate in your first property and move on.

Multi Family Home House Hack

Single Family is great, easy to work with, but many people are over having roommates. Even if it is only for a few years to save for your next purchase. Thats where Multi Family Homes come into play.

A Multi Family home is a Duplex, Triplex, or Quadplex. These all qualify for traditional financing, and allow you to live in a separate unit, while having tenants instead of roommates. Once you go past a quadplex, you are no longer under conventional financing and things change.

Example time again:
Let's say you've found a great duplex for sale in an area you like, that would bring in good rents because its in a good school district, location, or has great amenities. It's listed at $250,000. Same FHA loan at 3.5% down comes to $1400/month (Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance).

Next you either find yourself some tenants, or hire Haven Realty & Investments Property Management team to do it for you. If market rents for you unit are $1,200/month, you've covered most of your mortgage payment and are living in the other unit for $200/month.

The numbers scale if you do a triplex or quadplex, but you get the idea. Yes you have more to manage, but you are also pulling in more in rents.

Other ways to house hack

A third way to house hack is a little different, but still a similar idea. With the popularity of home sharing apps like Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway, people are buying home with a mother-in-law suite to rent out either nightly or weekly, or even renting a room in their own home.

Another option (if zoning, HOA, etc) allows is to build or turn an outbuilding into a rental.

This has its ups and downs, but is still considered house hacking. You must also consider if your property is in an HOA, and if they allow short term rentals in the community. Many do not.

So if you are looking to House Hack Winter Haven, give us a call at 863-333-5053 today to discuss what you are looking for!

Basically to sum it all up House Hacking is providing housing to other people in exchange for money that you use to pay the mortgage.

Ever wondered what title insurance is, or why it's important?

Title insurance is a form of insurance that protects both the buyer of a property and that buyer's lender. There are two types of title insurance: the lender’s policy and the homeowner’s policy. Perhaps you already know this. But the question is, what exactly does this mean? What does it protect against, exactly?

Sounds like another junk fee, huh?

It's not.

Title insurance one of the best things you can do to protect your biggest purchase: your home.

Title insurance, simply put, is a form of Indemnity Insurance that protects lenders and homebuyers from financial loss sustained by defects in title to a property.

Okay, basically: want to make sure the house you're buying doesn't have any surprises, like back taxes, unpaid liens or a lawsuit you don't know about?

Title insurance discovers that on your behalf.

Do you know the people selling the house actually own it or are who they say they are?

Title insurance discovers that on your behalf.

How do you know the right kind of deed will be recorded with the right county?

Title insurance covers that on your behalf.

And if it turns out after closing, such things are discovered, title insurance protects you by compensating you financially for your loss. 

Title Insurance is also required if you are purchasing a home using a mortgage of any kind.

Title Insurance Story Time

Example: say you bought a beautiful home in Renaissance, one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in all of Winter Haven, Florida. Sellers seem nice enough, and after all, they live in a beautiful, lakefront mansion. "We're moving out of state," they explain, "and want to close in two weeks."  A few months later, there is a knock at the door and you find a bewildered looking couple staring at you. "What are you doing in our house," they query, with a look of concerned perplexion. "Oh, you must be mistaken," you say. "I bought this house six months ago from a lovely couple who lived here". "No," they reply, nearly apopoleptic. "This is OUR house...it's OUR HOUSE! We leased it to a "lovely couple" when we went away to Hawaii for the Summer and they sold it out from under us!" 

OH NO!!

This is a problem. A big problem. What to do?

The title policy kicked in and compensated the new buyers their purchase price so they were able to find a new home, and the property was returned to it's rightful owners.

This is an actual case that happened in the early 1990's.

The tenants never had clear title in the first place. They falsified documents, listed the house on the MLS, sold it, took all the proceeds and split. However, they (or, more accurately, their unsuspecting realtor) made sure they closed at a title company--who issued a title insurance policy. While it was an awful situation, both buyer and rightful owners were protected financially from what could have been a nightmare. 

But wait...it gets better! Title companies tabluate ALL the expenses involved in closing: all taxes, closing costs, earnest money deposits, escrows, commissions, etc. so that buyer and seller know how much to bring and/or receive. The also make sure the deed is properly recorded with the county in your name. 

They do all this for a fee, of course, but it's very affordable.

Could you do all of this yourself?

I mean, you could. You could DIY your own surgery, if you really wanted to. But if you mess it up, it's going to be extremely painful, expensive and embarrassing.

Just because you could doesn't mean you should.

Title companies do this all day, every day. This is best left to the professionals.

Too much can go too wrong too fast. If there's an issue later, the court system is unlikely to look favorably upon you for eschewing the reasonable title fees and doing it yourself.

If you're thinking about buying or selling your home, ask your real estate broker which title company they recommend. Many title companies are delighted to explain the process to you and are here to help. If you ever want to start the conversation, you know who to ask.

 Give us a call at 863-333-5053 today!

If you are trying to decide on where to move next, this list of the best neighborhoods in Winter Haven may help! Please know these are some of the most popular, but there are many neighborhoods that are only home to 30-100 homes that didn't make this list simply because they do not often have homes for sale in them. Call us today and we can narrow it down to the best neighborhood in Winter Haven for you and your family!

There is a neighborhood for everyone! From luxury homes, to homes on the chain of lakes, to golf community homes, we can help find you your dream home. 

There are many fantastic neighborhoods located in Winter Haven, and in this post we will go over several them.

So what are the best neighborhoods in Winter Haven?

UPDATED February 2023: Now includes links to any available homes for sale here!

Generally speaking, the 33884 Area of Winter Haven is the most popular. Legoland is located in this area, and it has many restaurants, shopping options, and things to keep you and your family entertained.

Here are a few of the most popular neighborhoods in Winter Haven at various price points:

Terranova

Gated community minutes to Legoland Prices start in the high $200's and go into the $400,000's. This is a larger community in the 33884 area of Winter Haven. 

Browse homes for sale in Terranova.

Renaissance / Wyndham

Beautiful custom luxury homes in gated and guarded communities with access to Lake Winterset. Homes start in the $400,000's and go into the $1MM+ range.

Browse homes for sale in Renaissance.

Browse homes for sale in Wyndham.

Eloise Pointe Estates

Established neighborhood just down the road from Legoland. The homes in Eloise Pointe Estates range from the $300,000’s to $500,000’s but with a few lakefront estates on Lake Eloise that go over $1,000,000. This is a gated community. 

Browse homes for sale in Eloise Pointe Estates

Skidmore

Skidmore is a beautiful gated community on the South shore of Lake Eloise. Prices range from the mid $400's to $1 million+. The lakefront homes on Lake Eloise have great views of the fireworks shows at Legoland. 

Browse Homes For Sale in Skidmore.

Traditions

A 55 + Community on the South Shore of Lake Ruby. This is a very active community with a fantastic location that is close to everything.
Browse whats for sale in Traditions.

Ruby Lake

Homes For Sale In Ruby Lake

Ruby Lake is a gated and deed restricted community with over 200 homes located just off of Cypress Gardens Boulevard. It is zoned for Chain Of Lakes Elementary, Denison Middle, and Lake Region High.

Winterset

Winterset is probably the closest you can get to Legoland without living in a tent. These homes and condos are gated and guarded. Condos start in the high $100,000's. Single Family homes start in the $300,000's. There are community amenities such as a clubhouse Resort Style Living complete with a Heated Pool, Spa, Tennis Courts, Fishing Pier and well equipped Clubhouse on one of the most popular lakes on the Chain Of Lakes, Lake Winterset. 

See whats for sale in Winterset.

Want to discuss which neighborhood may be the best for you and your family? Give us a call at 863-333-5053. These are just a few of the neighborhoods in the area. If a "neighborhood" isn't for you we have non HOA homes available as well, they make it easier to store toys like boats and RV's or work vehicles. Let's talk and go over what you need in your next home.

We also have Winter Haven Homes Between $200K and $300K. and Winter Haven Pool Homes. 

Looking for a 1031 Exchange in Winter Haven? Here is some information you may find useful:

First off, What is a 1031 Exchange?

A 1031 Exchange is a Tax Deferment method also known as a “Like-Kind” exchange. These transactions are handled by a Qualified Intermediary, who facilities the transaction and handling the funds and reporting to the IRS.  There are strict timelines on a 1031 Exchange that we will go into more detail shortly.

Want to talk about it? Give us a call at 863-333-5053 today!

We have also created a list of all Multifamily homes for sale in the area. 

Say you have an investment property, a 1031 Exchange means you can sell that property and then reinvest the proceeds in a “like-kind” property and defer paying any capital gains taxes.

1031 Exchange Winter Haven Timeline:

The Identification Period is when you pick out several (3 properties) that you would like to identify as possibilities. You have 45 Days to do this, and it must be in writing.

The Exchange Period: You have 180 days to close on one of the identified properties to complete the 1031 Exchange.

Some Interesting Facts:

• If you initiate a 1031 Exchange then decide to cancel, you must wait the 180 days to receive your proceeds.
• The 45 day identification period does includes weekends and holidays.
• If you initiate a 1031 Exchange, and fail to identify possible exchange properties, your 1031 fails and your chances to perform a 1031 exchange on that property are lost.
• The replacement property must involve an equal or greater level of debt than the relinquished property (if not, the investor will have to either pay taxes on the difference or put in additional cash funds to offset the lower level of debt in the replacement property).

A few additional rules:

• 200% rule: Multiple properties are okay, but may not exceed 200% of value of the relinquished property.
• 95% rule: Multiple properties are okay, as long as they total at least 95% of the value of the relinquished property.
• Three-property rule: Up to three properties are okay with no fair market value restrictions.

If you have found yourself in a position to need to do a 1031 exchange, give us a call at 863-333-5053 to discuss your needs! We have all the contacts needed to make your exchange a smooth one.

Why would you want to do a 1031 Exchange?

Looking for a 1031 Exchange in Lakeland? Here is some information we put together that you may find useful:

First off, What is a 1031 Exchange?

A 1031 Exchange is a Tax Deferment method also known as a “Like-Kind” exchange. These transactions are handled by a Qualified Intermediary, who facilities the transaction and handling the funds and reporting to the IRS.  There are strict timelines on a 1031 Exchange that we will go into more detail shortly.

Say you have an investment property, a 1031 Exchange means you can sell that property and then reinvest the proceeds in a “like-kind” property and defer paying any capital gains taxes.

Browse all Multifamily homes for sale. We can help you select your next investment property.

1031 Exchange Lakeland Timeline:

The Identification Period is when you pick out several (as many as 3 properties) that you would like to identify as a potential one that you would like to own. You have 45 Days to do this, and it must be in done in writing.

The Exchange Period: You have a total of 180 days (including the 35 day identification period) to close on one of the identified properties to complete the 1031 Exchange.

Some Interesting Facts:

• If you initiate a 1031 Exchange then decide to cancel, you must wait the 180 days to receive your proceeds.
• The 45 day identification period does includes weekends and holidays.
• If you initiate a 1031 Exchange, and fail to identify possible exchange properties, your 1031 fails and your chances to perform a 1031 exchange on that property are lost.
• The replacement property must involve an equal or greater level of debt than the relinquished property (if not, the investor will have to either pay taxes on the difference or put in additional cash funds to offset the lower level of debt in the replacement property).

A few additional rules:

• 200% rule: Multiple properties are okay, but may not exceed 200% of value of the relinquished property.
• 95% rule: Multiple properties are okay, as long as they total at least 95% of the value of the relinquished property.
• Three-property rule: Up to three properties are okay with no fair market value restrictions.

If you have found yourself in a position to need to do a 1031 exchange Lakeland, give us a call at 863-333-5053 to discuss your needs! We have all the contacts needed to make your exchange a smooth one.

There are many reasons to need a 1031 Exchange Lakeland, including moving out of state and wanting to keep your rental properties near by, or going from multiple single family units to an apartment complex. To discuss your Lakeland 1031 Exchange needs contact us today!