If you’re on the fence about whether or not to purchase real estate in Palm Beach, we’re here to convince you that it’s time to take the plunge. If you live in a rental in Palm Beach County, you’re already paying for housing.
Stop throwing away your money on rent and invest it in your own home. Buying a house is considered a conservative and leveraged investment. Owning your own home protects you against rent inflation and you get significant tax benefits. Your money will be well spent when you use our ideal investment formula. If you want the highest appreciation potential, it is important to take into account the following:
1. Location of Home - You want to buy a home in an area where there is high demand. You also want to check if the home is near high-quality schools and shopping.
2. Features of Home - When you purchase a home, if you want to be able to re-sell it for top dollar, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
a. Is the floor plan desirable?
b. Does it have enough bedrooms and bathrooms?
c. Does it have a garage?
d. Would the unique features of the house appeal to a lot of people?
3. External Factors - You also need to consider the external factors that can affect your new home. Make sure to also look into the development and possible re-development of the area, the parks and services, and quality of the roads.
Our winning formula has worked time and again to locate the best properties. However, we don’t stop there. We go above and beyond with our research process. We check the MLS daily and physically visit the best properties listed.
Our professional team devotes part of their day to calling potential sellers in in-demand neighborhoods. We also conduct foreclosure, for sale by owner and re-sale rental research. If we still need to expand the search, our contacts are vast and we can reach out to other agents for networking purposes.
When you decide it is time to take the journey into new home ownership, it is important to get all your ducks in a row. If you are currently renting a home, you need to check and see when your lease is up. If you already own a home, determine if it needs to be sold before you can make a move to a new place.
Ask yourself what your timeline is for finding a new property and how long you want to own it. Feel free to ask us any questions you have about purchasing a new place and let us know if you plan on performing a 1031 tax deferred exchange. Do you need the approval of family and friends before you buy your pad? If you do, we’re happy to include them in the buying process as soon as possible. We want to make this process as easy as we can for you. When it comes to purchasing a home, it is very important to have a solid plan in place before you even start searching through listings.
The next step is to become pre-approved from a lender. You want to get pre-approval for your loan amount for several reasons. One reason is, the best homes tend to sell very quickly and can have multiple offers. Sellers look for qualified buyers, and your pre-approval letter from the bank motivates sellers to pick you in a bidding war. We are more than happy to recommend great lenders that will match your needs.
You should also consider having a good-faith deposit that is equal to 1.5-3% of the home’s purchase price. The larger your good faith deposit is, the stronger your offer looks.
It is now time for you to decide what the requirements of your new home are. Make a wish list of location, type of neighborhood, square feet, lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, proximity to schools, garage preference and any other features you want your new home to have.
Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to begin your search. Our team is dedicated to helping you find your new home quickly, so we have you complete our home search outline. This outline is basically your wish list written out and given to our team. Once we have all the information we need, we can start an extensive search for your new property.
When it is time to narrow down your options, we have many ways to view properties; it’s up to you to determine which way is your favorite. We can notify you of properties by auto e-mails, by sending you pro-searched web results, phone calls, and texts. When you’re ready to preview a home with an agent, we put together a solid plan which gets you access to the best homes at the best times.
When you’ve found the home you want to buy, it’s time to start the offer process. The first step we take is to determine the property’s market value. After we have determined and discussed a fair price, we prepare the written offer and then present it to the seller. We will negotiate the offer until an agreement can be made between buyer and seller.
Once the offer has been accepted, we deliver any good faith deposits to the title/ escrow company. Your lender also gets a copy of the detailed contract. They will enter the purchase price, length of escrow and down payment into their system. They then order an appraisal for the home. An appraisal typically costs around $500 dollars, so make sure you’re prepared for that.
Finally, the lender will give you a cost breakdown for your purchase. It will provide you with the approximate monthly payment and inform you if any other money is needed at the closing.
You have now entered the home inspection phase which lasts about 10-14 days in Palm Beach County. It is very important to perform a home inspection on your new house. You don’t want to move in and be surprised by any unexpected damages that need to be repaired. Home inspections cost around $500 and we can order all of the desired inspections for you. After the inspections have been completed, we will provide you with copies of all of the findings to review.
Looking for the perfect home in the perfect place? Chances are you'll want to check here first.