It takes more than a trained real estate agent to understand the needs and concerns of buyer clients. It takes someone who has been there, someone who has had the same concerns when they’re home shopping. There are many moving parts to a successful real estate transaction and every year it becomes more complex. Between government legislation, environmental laws, mortgage documentation requirements, and the legal aspects of a home purchase, the home buyer must be on top of all aspects of the process and that is best done with the help of a licensed professional. I'm here to assist residential buyers in the Space Coast area, and I am really good at my job, which is a good thing because there’s plenty to do!
SEARCH ASSISTANCE
Have you ever worked with a real estate agent who showed you where to search for properties and then told you to call them when you find what you want to see? That’s what we’d call Level 1 service. I have been recommended highly by my past buyer clients because I provide a concierge level of property search services!
Yes, I provide a search page on my site, but I do much more for my buyers. I provide help in knowing how to use the search for optimal results, including explaining some of the information fields and real estate jargon. From my search page you can request more information on any listings of interest with a quick and simple form. I help my buyers understand the many fields of information in a listing search. I guide them in making the most of searches with thousands of listings.
AUTOMATED SEARCH REPORTS
Once I have an idea of your criteria for a home selection and know the neighborhoods that you want for your property, I create a custom search for you that will alert you with emails as soon as new properties that meet your criteria hit the market. This same search will also alert you to price reductions and any properties that have become active again.
LENDER ASSISTANCE
I know how tough it is to get a mortgage and can help you find mortgage professionals who have been very helpful to my past clients. Please check out my page "Getting the Best Financing" as well.
PRICE NEGOTIATIONS
I’m with my buyer clients every step of the way. I will tailor the negotiation strategy to help pivot accordingly and will ALWAYS treat your money as if it were my own! I truly love helping Space Coast home buyers find the perfect property, but even more, I love the ways in which I can help them get it at the very best price and with the very best terms. Sometimes negotiations aren’t all price. A carefully crafted contract can involve other non-monetary seller concessions that create the right deal for buyer clients.
Buyers can’t be expected to make offer price decisions in a vacuum and this is where I get to let my geek flag fly! Once an ideal property has been identified, I spend an extraordinary amount of time and effort in collecting market data, the property’s sales history, and any additional data I can regarding the age and/or condition of the systems not readily identifiable in order to help my buyers in their price negotiations. This data involves not only sold property prices by neighborhood but also current listing pricing to determine the competitive nature of the market.
All this data is used to create a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which is done in two parts. The first is the comparison of the property you’re considering to similar properties recently sold in the nearby area. This gives me a firm grip on what has happened in the near past, but by nature, it is “past” data and possibly not accurate for the market as it is when you’re in negotiations.
Then I do another CMA process on the currently listed properties most like the one under consideration and in the same neighborhood or nearby. This gives me a current market snapshot I use to adjust my valuation model accordingly to reflect the current market situation and present several offer scenarios based on those findings and any other non-monetary components that can be used to sweeten the deal.
There are a lot of ways to negotiate a real estate deal, and they don’t always involve money – for either party. Perhaps the seller doesn’t have a lot of ability to work with you on price, but they can make other concessions that could result in a deal. I help you to take the best approach. Only through constant communication can I advise you properly in pricing negotiations. By understanding your motivations, timing, and financial capabilities, I can help you craft a price negotiation strategy with the highest probability of success.
It's impossible to know the seller’s financial limitations in many deals, but there are some key indicators a seasoned REALTOR® like myself can glean from in-depth offer research that will allow me to help you to negotiate from a position of strength. Some buyers are elated when they have locked in a fantastic low-priced deal on a home but then after inspections, they hit a brick wall in negotiations with the seller over repairs.
It's not over until it's over. The negotiation to purchase a home often isn’t over with the agreed purchase price on the contract, and it’s best to know that a real deal at the front end could result in less flexibility after inspections in the repairs discussion.
INSPECTIONS & REPAIR NEGOTIATIONS
Many buyers forget that the price isn’t the only or the last negotiation point in a real estate purchase. There are a number of contingencies and processes that happen before closing, and one that frequently causes deals to evaporate is the inspection and repair negotiation process.
Inspections in a real estate deal encompass many property aspects including:
While your deal may not require them all, and some may be combined and provided by a single inspector, it’s my job to help you to order the proper inspections, schedule them, and make sure that they’re completed on time. Failure to complete inspections and object to their results by deadline dates can result in the buyer’s inability to take any action based on the late results. I make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Once an inspection is completed, there can be issues uncovered that you weren’t expecting and want to have addressed by the seller. This becomes a second negotiation in the contract process. I go over inspection results with my buyers and prepare documents that are required to request seller action and corrections. Sellers do not normally have an obligation to undertake corrective action, so it becomes a critical negotiation, especially if the problems are significant.
I'm here for my buyers to assist in these negotiations as, next to the selling price, inspections and subsequent repairs are the biggest killers of real estate deals. Sometimes creativity needs to be applied to keep your home deal moving when the seller balks at your repair or corrective action requests. I'm an expert, as I do this every day. I also maintain an extensive contractor list that can yield just the right contractor to get a job done at a price the seller will agree to.
The key to keeping a deal going with inspection problems is for me to be involved every step of the way, as it’s something I do numerous times every year. I’ll make sure that every resource is employed to keep your home purchase on track and gain every possible concession from the sellers.
CONTRACT TO CLOSING
The myriad of deadlines, documents, and the very long list of tasks involved in a real estate transaction are all personally coordinated by me. From contract submission to getting your keys at closing and everything in between, I am with you every step of the way and do everything within my power to ensure my buyers don't spend one more penny than they have to throughout buying process.
Buyers in Florida’s Space Coast are frequently referred to me by previous clients who were highly satisfied with the 5-star concierge level of service I pride myself in. If you are interested in receiving that same level of service, please call/text me at 321-307-5416 or email me at Susan@BuySell321.com and let's see if we're a good fit to work together.
