Here are our tips to get your offer accepted in a very competitive bidding situation. Number one is get pre-approved for a mortgage. Not just pre-qualified, but fully underwritten upfront from your lender. This will allow you to write the offer, maybe as good as cash, or with a very short loan approval period. Those terms are really gonna stand out and could help you push your offer to the front of a line, even if you're not necessarily the highest offer.

Number two is be ready to make a decision and pounce on the right house when it comes available. You have to know your must haves and your wants, you have to know exactly where you wanna be. Homes today, they're not sitting on the market long so if you know exactly what you want and you're…

288 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

So you know the news today is all about inflation, it's something we feel in our everyday lives as prices go up for gas, groceries, and everything else. As the cost of living continues to rise, big purchases might not be worth it unless they're really important.

Hey, it's Andy with The Mandel Team at RE/MAX, and if you've been thinking about purchasing a home this year, you're probably wondering, should you continue down that path or does it make sense to wait? While the answer really depends on your situation, here's how home ownership can help you combat the rising costs that come with inflation. Investopedia explains that during periods of high inflation, prices rise across the board, things like food, entertainment, and other goods and…

1130 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

So you started looking for a home a few months ago and you finally found the home of your dreams. You have your preapproval letter ready to go 'cause you're smart and you know that you need that to write an offer. The letter says you're approved for up to $500,000 and that's the list price of this house that you love. You're so excited. You call me, your realtor, and you say, "Andy, let's write the offer for full price, $500,000." Hold up. Let's check with the mortgage lender to make sure everything still checks out. Hey, Mr. Lender. Yeah, we wanna make an offer on 123 Main Street. The purchase price is $500,000. What? What do you mean we don't qualify?

Hey, it's Andy Mandel with ReMax and as I'm sure you've heard, interest rates have gone up…

257 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

All of the contracts that we're writing down here these days are on what's called the As-Is with Right to Inspect Form. That means you as the buyer have the right to get a home inspection. The contract states that you as the buyer can back out for any reason whatsoever, during your home inspection period. So make sure you're getting a good, reputable home inspector to check out the house thoroughly during that period to make sure that if the home is not in good condition, you can back out and you get refunded all of your money.

Some of the things the inspector's gonna look for are roof, AC, plumbing and electrical issues. Those are the big, main four. So they're gonna make sure the home has no roof leaks. They're gonna make sure all the…

274 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Many people are wondering: will home prices fall this year? Whether you’re a potential homebuyer, seller, or both, the answer to this question matters for you. Let’s break down what’s happening with home prices, where experts say they’re headed, and how this impacts your homeownership goals.

What’s Happening with Home Prices? 

Home prices have seen 121 consecutive months of year-over-year increases. CoreLogic says:

“Price appreciation averaged 15% for the full year of 2021, up from the 2020 full year average of 6%.”

So why are prices climbing so much? It’s because there are more buyers than there are homes for sale. This imbalance is expected to maintain that upward pressure on home prices because homes for sale are a hot commodity…

224 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

According to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), one of the top challenges buyers face in today’s housing market is finding a home that meets their needs. That’s largely because the inventory of homes for sale is so low today.

If you’re looking to buy a home, you may have noticed this yourself. But there is good news. Recent data shows more sellers are listing their houses this season, which may give you more options for your home search.

Early Signs Inventory May Be Growing

The latest data from realtor.com shows the number of listings coming onto the market, known in the industry as “new listings,” has increased since the start of the year (see graph below):

This indicates more sellers are listing their…

395 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Interest rates in the twos and threes are fake news. Hey, it's Andy Mandel with the Mandel Team at Re/Max. And there's a lot of people waiting for those rates to return, but they don't really understand what makes interest rates go that low in the first place.Wait, Andy, I have a 2.75% rate on my home mortgage. They can't be fake. Well since 2009, the federal reserve has been heavily manipulating market rates trying to boost the US economy. Let me explain.

When banks loan you money and they give you a mortgage for your home, after you close, they sell your mortgage so they can get their money back to keep on lending it. On a high level without getting two technical, mortgage-backed securities are giant bundles of mortgages on people's homes from…

514 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Planning on buying a house? Here are our top five tips for home buyers. Tip number one, get pre-approved ahead of time. This is the most important first step you can take. Speak with a good, reputable lender. If you need a recommendation, ask your realtor for who they recommend, who they've worked with in the past. But having a preapproval letter upfront sets clear boundaries on what you want your payment to be so you know what price range you can be looking in and when you find the right house, you're ready to make an offer.

Tip number two, be ready to make a move. It's important to know all of your must-haves and your wants and be clear with what you're looking for and where you want to be. It's very difficult to be looking across two different…

284 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Is the housing bubble finally starting to pop? Are these skyrocketing interest rates finally starting to bring down home prices? Hey, it's Andy Mandel with the Mandel Team at RE/MAX, and I'm here to bring you this month's May 2022 Housing Market Update video. As always, for the purposes of these videos, we're gonna be talking about single-family homes only. So no condos, no townhouses, and we're not talking about any country clubs, or 55 and over communities, we're only gonna be discussing Parkland, Boca, and Coral Springs. Those are the areas where our team does the predominant amount of our business. Now, the stats that we like to give are typically the leading indicators of what's going on in the market right now to show you what the real estate…

667 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post