I read a quote from Warren Buffet a few months back. He said:

“I would rather buy a great company at an average price than buy an average company at a great price.”

I found this one interesting. Often times within the first seconds of a conversation with a home buyer they say, “I’m looking for a deal!” Who can blame them in a market like this? If I was looking to buy a home I would be looking for a deal too. “Deal” means different things to different people. To me a deal is a home that I can buy for 80% or less of TODAY’s market value. A deal to someone else might be buying a home simply at market value. Because today’s market values are definitely considered “a deal” when compared to prices 4 years ago.

The problem comes when you want to find “a deal” along with a laundry list of other necessities like 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2500+ square feet, swimming pool, in a good school district, within 20 minutes of my work, on a cul-de-sac, built within the last 10 years, open floor plan, split plan and with a large yard. What are the chances of finding that? Probably pretty slim to none.

Homes buyers can usually find a smokin deal which means a home selling below TODAY’s market value however it is not in a great section of town, the home needs a ton of repairs, is too small, on a busy road, does not have a pool, has a choppy floor plan, was built a long time ago, and in a bad school district. Or they find the home that matches most of their needs and wants but can only be bought at TODAY’s market prices and not below it.

Home buyers should ask themselves:

“Do I want an average house at a great price or a great house at an average price?”

Marc Rasmussen selling Longboat Key Real Estate

CNNMoney.com came out with their list of the most overvalued and undervalued cities in the United States. You can read the article here or see the list of overvalued and undervalued cities. They listed Las Vegas, Nevada as 41.40% undervalued as well as the most undervalued city in the United States. In 2006, CNNMoney.com wrote a similar article where they said Las Vegas was 38% overvalued.

Good news for those who own Las Vegas real estate. If you are looking to buy a home this appears to be a very good time. These inventory levels won’t be this high forever. I know the same thing is happening with Sarasota real estate. Inventories are declining and sales are increasing.

Need a little rest and relaxation? Take a trip to the island oasis of Longboat Key. It is located about an hour south of Tampa and just off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. This is a pristine eleven mile long island surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. Vacationers from all over the world come to Longboat Key to enjoy a relaxing beach environment. It is a great place to unwind and forget about your daily worries.

Longboat Key Activities

There is plenty to do in the Sarasota, Florida area. Especially, if you want to play in the water and untie your knots. I just vacationed at Disney in Orlando with my family for 4 days. I had a fabulous time but I left there more tired than when I arrived. That is unlikely if you spent a weekend relaxing at the beach on Longboat Key. Below are some of the fun things to do.

• Beach
• Boating
• Golfing
• Tennis
• Shopping
• Fine dining
• Mote Marine Aquarium
• Selby Gardens
• Parasailing
• Jet skiing
• Fishing

Longboat Key Real Estate

Thinking about buying a vacation getaway? There probably is not a better time to do it. On Longboat Key you can find a simple home on the north end of the island near the beach, a penthouse condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico or a spacious waterfront mansion. Visit my Longboat Key real estate page to view hundreds of homes and condos for sale. Give Marc Rasmussen a call at 941.812.6272 if you need any help.

Are you looking to buy a home? The home buying process can be daunting but it does not have to be. Here are 5 easy steps to help you find your dream home.

1) Get pre-approved

Figure out what you can afford to buy. Either use a service online or sit down with a mortgage broker/lender or banker to figure out what is in you comfort zone. We all want to buy a home more than we can afford. Establish what you can afford and then get pre-approved for a mortgage. Your negotiating power increases when the seller knows that you are are for real and can get money.

2) Make a list of your needs and wants

You probably won’t get everything you want. Generally, everyone has to make compromises, regardless of their price range. People always seem to want more than they can have.  Getting your needs filled is the most important thing in a home. Figure out what you want.

3) Hire a good Realtor

Don’t hire your cousin or other family member who happened to get their real estate license but failed out of the real estate business. This is a big investment. Hire a professional who knows the market well. A knowledgeable Realtor can save you several headaches and tons of time. Explain your needs and wants in a home with your Realtor. They will also need to know your budget.

4) Be realistic

Hopefully through your internet searches and consultation with a Realtor you are more knowledgeable about the real estate market. Right now it is a buyers market however the number of homes that meet your needs and wants may not be that great. Inventories are dwindling in several areas of the country. Good properties with the right asking price see plenty of action. The media sensationalizes the news to sell more newspapers and advertising. A good Realtor can explain the true facts of the real estate market. Be realistic about the real estate market and what homes cost.

5) Make an offer

If you have done your homework, been pre-approved and hired a good Realtor it is time to go look at property. Make a  list of the best areas and look at homes/condos in those locations. If nothing is good wait for new listings to come on the market. When the right property is found make an offer. There is no such thing as a perfect house. Again, compromises have to be made.

Good luck.

Marc Rasmussen

Sarasota Homes For Sale & Sarasota Houses

The buzzword in today’s real estate market is Foreclosure. Here are some 5 tips to buying a foreclosure.

1) Don’t assume all foreclosures are great deals.

Just because it is a foreclosure does not mean that it is a great deal. I have seen many over priced bank owned properties. Many of the smaller community banks are overpricing their properties.  While the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac properties seem to be priced more aggressively. Hire a good Realtor and learn the market.

2) Don’t buy in the wrong area.

Location is still the most important thing in real estate. Just because you found a foreclosure in a less than desirable area doesn’t mean you should buy it. A good investment is finding an aggressively priced bank owned property in a good location. Price is not the only factor when buying a home.

3) Get an inspection

You need to know as much as possible about the home BEFORE you own it. Make sure you get it thoroughly inspected. Make sure your purchase agreement has an inspection clause.

4) Get a title search

Make sure your title company or the attorney representing you does a title search. Title insurance is worth the investment.

5) Hire a good attorney

It is good to have experts on your side. They are like insurance. Most of the time you don’t need them but the one time you do it is really good to have them. Be wise and surround yourself with experts – Realtor, Attorney and Inspectors.

There are some good deals out there in the foreclosure market. However, you should not ignore a great property with a realistic seller that is price right. You can still find a good deal with a traditional seller. Good luck.

Marc Rasmussen

Sarasota houses

I embedded a video to the right. The Housing Bubble bursts on a speculator. Parody using a clip with Hitler as the real estate investor. He bought a house to flip, faces foreclosure, and now wants to get bailed out. It is pretty comical, check it out.

Marc Rasmussen

Sarasota MLS

Thinking of selling your home? Here are 5 things to do prior to listing your home.

1) Make sure you really want to sell.

Yes, the market is improving. In many areas of the country it has become easier to sell a home. However, most cities still have too many homes on the market. If you are not really motivated to sell it might be best not to waste your time. Aside from a few exceptions it seems like only the motivated sellers are successful.

2) Research your market

You need to become an expert on the real estate market. Take an objective look at your home and your competing homes. Put your buyer hat on. Would you buy your home or the better home at a lower price? When you get an offer your market knowledge will help you respond wisely.

3) Clean and de-clutter your house

Many buyers have a hard time with vision. Don’t make them envision a clean and de-cluttered home. It is much easier to sell a home that is in model shape. Take down some of your personal belongings. You might need to remove some furniture if you have too much. Go visit some model homes and get an idea of staging. It does help sell real estate.

4) Hire a good Realtor

This one is important too. Some Realtors can mess up a transaction. Get a referral from someone or go online and research Realtors. Have they done any business lately? Have they sold any homes in your area? What is their marketing plan? Don’t let them buy your listing. Ask them to justify any asking price they give you with recently sold homes.

5) Think about where you will move to

Don’t get caught off guard by not know where you will move to. Let’s say a buyer comes along with an offer to close in 30 days. Do you know where you will go? Don’t mess up a transaction by needing 60-90 days because you don’t know where to go.

Marc Rasmussen

Sarasota Realtor

Thinking of buying a foreclosure? Well, if you are you looking to buy a home you might as well look at the bank owned properties for sale. There are plenty of bargains out there to be had on foreclosed properties. Here are 5 tips to buying a foreclosure.

1) Educate yourself on the market

This really goes for just buying in general. It is important to be knowledgeable about the market, neighborhoods, recent sales etc. Find yourself a good Realtor who knows the market. They can help you by sending information on sold properties and other market statistics. Just because a property is owned by a bank doesn’t mean you should buy it. If you buy in an area that’s losing jobs and is riddled with crime, home values are likely to take a lot longer to recover.

2) Get financing first

This is crucial. Lending guidelines have changed over the years. It is harder to get money to buy a home. It may even be harder to finance a bank owned property depending on the neighborhood, condition of home and current market conditions. Make sure you are pre-approved for a mortgage so you are not wasting your time.

3) Finding a foreclosure

You can sign up on various foreclosure websites like Realtytrac.com or Foreclosure.com. There is a charge to be a member of those sites. Most bank owned properties are listed on the MLS so if you are working with a Realtor they can help you find foreclosures as well. It is good to have a Realtor so you can also look at homes being sold by private sellers as well. Sometimes those are the best deals.

4) Get Inspections

When people have trouble paying their bills often times they don’t maintain there home like they should. Don’t assume the bank knows much about the condition of the home. If you are under contract on a foreclosure make sure you get inspections done. It is best to know what is wrong with the home before you buy it. It may seem like a lot of money to hire inspectors but that money could be a drop in the bucket compared to the money you have to spend to fix something.

5) Hire an attorney

When you are under contract on a foreclosure make sure you hire an attorney to represent you in the closing. It is just good to have someone on your side reviewing the closing documents. Don’t assume the bank is going to always do the right thing. The expense could be well worth the money.

Marc Rasmussen

Sarasota Foreclosures

Amazing how times have changed in the real estate industry. I remember years ago when Realtor’s still used the local newspaper, Homes and Land and other real estate publications as the primary way to market their listings. These publications are obviously still used today but roughly 9 out of 10 home buyers are starting their search on the internet now. They can access what is for sale 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. They can see multiple photographs. movies, addresses, home descriptions and Realtor comments. Information about new properties for sale, sold homes, new developments and other real estate news is readily available and spread more rapidly. The internet has definitely changed the real estate industry and how buyers find their next home.

Property searches continue to improve every year. I remember 7 or 8 years ago when it was innovative to find a MLS property search on a real estate website. Back then there were only a handful Realtors in my area that had a Sarasota MLS property search. Now it is an absolute necessity if you want to compete in the online world.

Demographics

My web guys just added some new features to my property search. Now home searchers can view neighborhood information, nearby schools and amenities for each property for sale on an overhead map. The map shows things such as nearby churches, schools, businesses and other services. It is amazing what home buyers can accomplish from the comfort of their home in front of a computer. I am just wondering what will happen in the next wave of change. Any thoughts?

I was writing an email this morning to a new potential client from England explaining how our real estate system works in the United States. Over in Europe it is typical for a buyer to work with several Realtors because each agent may only work a certain geographic area. If the buyer is looking in several areas they have to hire several agents to see all available property. They don’t use a central database to access all available properties for sale.

The point of my email was to explain how it worked over here and that it was unnecessary to hire multiple Realtors. I always have this conversation with Europeans because I have been burned by this before. But, that is the subject of another blog post.

The reason people only really need to hire one good Realtor is because we use (in most but not all) markets what is known as the MLS or Multiple Lising Service.

Multiple Listing Service

An MLS is basically a service that enables real estate Brokers to establish offers of compensation (commission) between brokers, facilitates cooperation with other brokers in an effort to market their listings, provides valuable information to enable appraisals for ease in valuing property and is a central database that stores information about real estate to serve broker’s clients, customers and the public.

In a nutshell the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a central database that participating real estate brokers and agents use to share information about properties and establish commissions. Most of these databases are now on computer. Years ago before the internet large books were published that displayed available properties for sale.

Here in Sarasota, Florida we use the Mid-Florida MLS which is one of the largest databases in the country. It encompasses properties over a large section of Florida. We used to have our own Sarasota MLS like many areas but that changed last year.

Marketing Your Home

The MLS is really the number one marketing tool for a Realtor. It is more valuable than a busy internet site, print advertisement, open houses, direct mail and all other marketing tools that Realtors use. When a property is listed in the MLS system thousands (depending on your market size) of Realtor instantly have access and information about this property. Typically the MLS contains multiple photographs, square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, age, agent remarks and most other information that a potential buyer may want to know about the property. Since most MLS’s are on the internet now this information is disseminated very quickly.

If you are looking to sell your home make sure you hire a Realtor that is a participating member of the MLS system. You really hinder your chances when your home is not listed in this powerful database.

When you visit a Realtor’s website and look at properties for sale you are probably not using the MLS system directly. Many agent websites claim that you are searching the MLS but most likely you are searching an IDX or VOW system which is essentially a database with limited information pulled from the MLS. Either way it is a great way to find your next home or help you measure up your competition if you are looking to sell.