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Clearwater FL Homes for Sale | Improvements that Increase Clearwater Homes Value

April 16th, 2010 Categories: Clearwater Florida, Home Seller Tips

Clearwater Fl Homes for Sale find Improvements Can Increase Homes Value

Clearwater Florida - Not all home improvement projects are created equalIf you have a Clearwater Fl home for sale, just know that  not all home improvements are created equal. Especially if you’re looking for “resale value” back from your improvements.

A recent from the Wall Street Journal lays it out cleanly. Function beats flash these days so be wary of where you spend.

A national report found environmental upgrades such as home insulation and energy-efficient steel entry doors are recovering a much greater percentage of their cost these days than major remodels including kitchens or bathrooms. This is especially true for homes that are already “over-improved” relative to the neighborhood.

Tip: Upgrading the biggest and best homes on the block can be a losing proposition when if comes to resale so if you upgrade your home do it to enjoy it while you’re in it not to get a financial benefit in the short run. 

The article’s findings include data from groups such as the National Association of Home Builders, Remodeling Magazine, and Consumer Reports. It lists the following home improvements among its top “paybacks”:

Energy-efficiency projects also recoup costs monthly in the form of lower heating and cooling bills. Locally we are also seeing things like new windows and roofs being important because of the impact they have on our insurance bills and the fact that those improvements come with significant insurance rate credits - some people see 20%+ drops - that’s real dollars for 5 years.

Remodeling Magazine says a larger number of homeowners will remodel their homes in 2010 with less emphasis on upgrading kitchens and bathrooms, and more emphasis on adding new rooms. From an appraisal perspective, this is a terrific way to increase your home’s value — especially if your home’s bed/bath count lags your neighbors.

Before starting a Clearwater Fl home improvement project, regardless of whether your goal is increase resale value, talk with a Clearwater Fl real estate agent about other homes in the area and how they’re built and what home buyers are looking for. At worst, you’ll gather some ideas you can work into your plan. At best, you’ll keep yourself from over-improving  - which many home sellers are suffering from during this post real estate boom time.

Got questions, just give us, your local Clearwater FL Realtors a call or talk to your loan officer about your pre-qualification/pre-approval letter before you bid on a Clearwater FL home.

Clearwater Fl homes search mls button

So if you’re looking for Clearwater FL Realtors we’d like you to know that we are passionate about being your Clearwater Florida real estate advocate. We’re committed to delivering Results daily based on Integrity, Knowledge & Experience - helping you find the perfect Clearwater FL homes for sale.

Call us today

We’d like to be YOUR Clearwater FL Real Estate Team!

Call Cyndee @ 727.710.8035 or Jack @ 727710.8036 

Warmly,
Cyndee and Jack Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty

Clearwater FL Real Estate Office
1545 S. Belcher Rd
Clearwater Florida 33764 
727-710-8035 (Cyndee’s cell)
727-710-8036 (Jack’s cell)

Posted by Cyndee Haydon | Currently No Comments »

Clearwater FL Homes for Sale | Is Your Tampa Mortgage Preapproval Stale?

April 11th, 2010 Categories: Clearwater Florida, Tampa Mortgages

Clearwater FL Homes | Buyers need to Update Tampa Mortgages & Preapprovals

Clearwater FL - It’s a busy weekend with the National Open House event. Lots of people checking out Clearwater FL Real Estate. Before you get too excited…have you checked if your Tampa Mortgage preapproval is still valid or is it stale? As the federal home buyer tax credit nears its April 30 end-date (19 days and counting down), there’s a lot of would-be home buyers in Clearwater FL still working to get a home under contract - both first time home buyers and those taking advantage of the move up tax credit. 

A piece of advice for all of you looking to buy a home right now: If your Tampa Mortgage pre-qualification and/or pre-approval letter is more than 8 weeks old, it would be smart to have your mortgage lender “re-pre-approve” you.  Here’s a short video I found on Youtube that explains the basic pre-approval process you may find helpful (of course you’ll want to talk to a local lender about your specific situation):

Why? Because we live in a dynamic lending market and the mortgage guidelines have been in flux and your original lender letter may now be invalid.

For example, over the past half-dozen months, the majority of Tampa mortgage lenders have reduced their risk tolerance can many of these items have tightened up with respect to:

For Clearwater Beach buyers of Clearwater FL condos for sale and co-ops, even the subject property itself is coming under tighter guidelines and tougher scrutiny. We’ve written about some of these changes before:

Clearwater FL Homes for Sale - Related Articles:

Today’s Tampa mortgages require applicants need to be strong on all fronts to make lenders comfortable based on the current risk and problems they’ve experienced.  Did you know that it takes more than just good income and credit to get approved anymore and today’s home buyers should revisit their qualifications.

Get Preapproved Tampa Mortgage ApplicationWhat passed underwriting to get a loan approved in January may not still pass in May. We recently had a client surprised by the fact that even though they had lots of income and verifiable assets their low credit score kept any lender from being willing to finance their mortgage even when planning to put 50% down. Luckily for them, in 3 months they were able to clean some things up and raise their score so we’re set to close next month.   

Being pro-active brings other advantages, too. If a mortgage re-pre-approval does unearth an issue, it’ll be easier for every party to the transaction to address and correct it up-front versus trying to clean up a mess once a home’s already under contract and racing the deadlines.

Got questions, just give us, your local Clearwater FL Realtors a call or talk to your loan officer about your pre-qualification/pre-approval letter before you bid on a Clearwater FL home.

Clearwater Fl homes search mls button

So if you’re looking for Clearwater FL Realtors we’d like you to know that we are passionate about being your Clearwater real estate advocate. We’re committed to delivering Results daily based on Integrity, Knowledge & Experience - helping you find the perfect Clearwater FL homes for sale.

Call us today

We’d like to be YOUR Clearwater FL Real Estate Team!

Call Cyndee @ 727.710.8035 or Jack @ 727710.8036 

Warmly,
Cyndee and Jack Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty

Clearwater Real Estate Office
1545 S. Belcher Rd
Clearwater Florida 33764 
727-710-8035 (Cyndee’s cell)
727-710-8036 (Jack’s cell)

Posted by Cyndee Haydon | Currently 1 Comment »

Clearwater FL Home Owners - Are You Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

April 5th, 2010 Categories: Clearwater Florida, Community News

Clearwater Fl Home Disaster Preparedness Reminder

Clearwater Fl - We are not strangers to natural disasters here in Clearwater Fl and Clearwater home owners go through the “preparation ritual” each summer at the start of Florida hurricane season. Sunday’s earthquake in was a reminder of the importance again because Baja California was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and the tremor felt as far away as Yuma, Arizona.  Friends of ours in Rhode Island and New Hampshire have been dealing with massive flooding. Winter storms are pounding the Colorado Rockies. It all reminds us that natural disaster can strike anytime and anywhere even Clearwater FL.

None of us can stop Mother Nature, so your best defense is to be prepared.

A terrific resource for families in Clearwater Fl and around the country is the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov, a website aimed at family, business and community disaster readiness. This includes defense against physical attacks, and as well as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods.

Other Helpful Clearwater - Pinellas County Resources

The Ready.gov website contains tips, notes and checklists, including the 3-minute “It Takes Just Three Steps To Get Ready For An Emergency” video featured above.

If you’ve never watched it, do it now. Then, test your Clearwater Fl home’s disaster readiness with this 10-question quiz. There’s no “passing grade” on the test but, via your own answers, you’ll see where your home has room for readiness improvement.

Disasters are unpredictable and most of us will face them at least once in our lives. Jack and I had a house fire 20 years ago on Christmas day and lost everything (however no one was in the house at the time or hurt) and I can tell you it pays to be prepared and also to know that stuff is just stuff it’s the safety of our family and loved ones that is always my top concern. Be prepared in advance, therefore. Protecting your household is simpler than you think.

Clearwater Fl homes search mls button

Your Clearwater FL Realtors - living and working here just like you. Passionate about being your local real estate advocate. We’re committed to delivering Results daily based on Integrity, Knowledge & Experience - helping you find the perfect Clearwater FL homes for sale.

Call us today

We’d like to be YOUR Clearwater FL Real Estate Team!

Call Cyndee @ 727.710.8035 or Jack @ 727710.8036

Warmly,
Cyndee and Jack Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty

Clearwater Real Estate Office
1545 S. Belcher Rd
Clearwater Florida 33764
727-710-8035 (Cyndee’s cell)
727-710-8036 (Jack’s cell)

Posted by Cyndee Haydon | Currently 1 Comment »

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