Sarasota homes for sale force home buyers to face a rare stumbling block before they commit to buying into a neighborhood.
- Before Photo: B-A-D “curb appeal” NEGATIVELY this property’s AND all neighboring home owners’ property value! Grass in Florida is GREEN, not brown and dead….
Before: Curb appeal isn't only issue facing this property...kitchen was TRASHED & filled with water intrusion, seriously affecting VALUE!
After Photo: This is SAME property as above AFTER the amazing home makeover, creating GOOD curb appeal!
After Photo: Kitchen renovation becomes eye candy instead of hideous, moldy eyesore!
Is it really a good time to buy a home in Sarasota?
That depends…on YOU, not on the National Association of Realtors’ current ad campaign pitching, “It’s never been a better time to buy a home.”
Before you buy, are your jobs (as) safe (as they can be)?
Are you aware of the “invisible factor” affecting property values today? What? You aren’t aware of this so-called invisible factor?
Two questions for you:
- How many distressed properties in a neighborhood does it take before an appraiser MUST include them as comps?
- How many homeowners in the neighborhood you like are fearing the loss of their jobs?
A convenient location, good schools, well-maintained homes and a modest inventory of properties for sale: These are the traditional cues that homeowners and buyers look for to assure that home values will hold up in a neighborhood.
Whether values sink or stick is now dependent on an “invisible” factor: the mortgage balances of homeowners in the area. Approximately one-third of all mortgage holders have a loan balance that’s higher than the current value of their home, according to a recent government report on federal anti-foreclosure programs.
Homeowners in this unfortunate position are dubbed “underwater” borrowers.
As their tide of debt rises above what they could get from selling, these owners have less incentive to care for their properties, which depresses area prices further, finds the Congressional Oversight Panel’s report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Job cuts continue crippling more and more homeowners, who didn’t buy more home than they can afford…who didn’t get a subprime loan.
When they experience financial distress, underwater owners are more likely to lose the property to foreclosure, with the resulting empty homes adversely impacting prices up and down the block.
Daily, I hear from buyers who are concerned about buying into “quicksand” (that is, neighborhoods with homeowners in jeopardy of losing their jobs and/or houses worth less than owners owe).
Unfortunately, nearly all NEWER neighborhoods fall victim to this probability. Houses built in the last 9 years probably are underwater, especially if the owners invested a small down payment and/or have since done a “cash-out refinance.”
Sarasota homes for sale (as well as a good part of the US) will continue to fight the invisible factor in real estate. Real estate agents will get this question from apprehensive buyers, regardless of a $6,500 or $8,000 tax gift. What is your opinion of this invisible factor definitely confronting buyers? Are some people immune from losing their jobs? I want to hear from you. Please scroll down to leave your comment or to ask a question.
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