NetworkedBlogs

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Chronicle of a First Time Home Buyer Chapter 4

6/12, Cindy from D.R. Horton called to follow up on Rob and Tina. I explained that Rob was concerned that the monthly payment was at the top of the budget. I also told her that he was expecting a pay raise soon, but did not know how much it would be. Cindy suggested a 2 - 1 buy down, this is where the seller buys down the interest rate on the loan for the first 2 years. The first year the rate would be 2% below the going rate and the second year it would go up to 1% below the going rate, and finally it would lock in at the going rate for the remaining 28 years. The 2 - 1 buy down lowers the monthly payment for the first 2 year significantly.
I quickly calculated the monthly payments for all 3 interest rates and called Rob to give him the information. Rob quickly realized what a great deal they were offering, but still wanted to review their cart and make sure they saw the other homes they were interested in before they made an offer.

View Rob and Tina's cart click on this link: http://dabmls.com/day/plog.php?a=day&u=runter&p=3746

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Chronicle of a First Time Home Buyer Chapter 3

On 6/11, I went to the subdivision of Coquina Cove to meet with Rob and Tina. We were meeting at 5pm so I went a little early to meet with the D. R. Horton sales rep, Cindy. I have a good relationship with both of the sales reps because I sold 4 of their homes in 2008. I wanted to see how much we would be able to get off the $209,990 price tag. Cindy told me the best she could do was $5,000 off. I was hopping for $10,000 and would still try to get it if we made an offer.
When Rob and Tina arrived, Cindy and I took them over to 5317 Coquina Shores Lane, a Redwood model. It was still under construction, with a completion date sometime in August. It is a 2347 sq ft 4 bedroom 2.5 bath 2 story home. Rob and Tina both really liked this home despite the fact that it was only to the dry wall stage in the building process. Cindy and I also took them to a completed Redwood so they would have a better idea of what it would look like when it was finished.


Their comments: "We looked at the 4-bedroom D.R. Horton house that wasn’t finished with construction; we like this house a lot but had concerns about the quality of construction based on other people’s experiences with DRH; it’s definitely high on our list anyway."

One of the great things about D.R. Horton, is that they pay the closing cost for the buyer. This is about a $7000 savings on a $200,000 home, but more importantly it is cash that the buyer does not have to come up with at closing.


Rob and Tina both wanted to see some more homes before they make an offer, just to see what else is out there. I told them that we were still early in our search, but houses in this price range are going fast and if they find something they like they should put in an offer.




View Rob and Tina's cart click on this link: http://dabmls.com/day/plog.php?a=day&u=runter&p=3746



Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Chronicle of a First Time Home Buyer Chapter 2

On May 26th, Rob emailed me with his request;
Bill,

The one’s we’d like to see this Thursday are 100 Gala Circle and 1124 Champions Drive. We’d like to see a couple more but we have somewhere to be later that evening and these two are close to each other. Thanks for all your help!

Rob




We had an hour so I setup 3 showings between 5 and 6pm for the 28th. The first one we went to see was 100 Boysenberry Lane, in the Bay Berry Lakes subdivision. It is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 1944 sq ft home built in 2006, listed for $179,900. This home is a short sale, so the owners are working with the mortgage holder to sell it for less than what is owed. Rob and Tina did not care for this home.



100 Boysenberry Lane

Next we went to see 1124 Champions Drive. This home is in the LPGA subdivision. We were unable to view this home because the lock was broken.

From 1124 Champions Drive we went to 100 Gala Circle, also in the LPGA subdivision, the owner was suppose to meet us there and let us in, however he did not show. Rob and Tina informed me they would be out of town for the next two weeks but would like to see more homes when they returned. I gave them some floor plans of some new homes built by D R Horton and told them I would like take them to see the models when they returned. Home buyers should always have a Realtor when looking at homes, even new construction, the sale person at the model is representing the builder and his interest. The buyer needs someone to represent them, always take your Realtor with you.

View Rob and Tina's cart click on this link: http://dabmls.com/day/plog.php?a=day&u=runter&p=3746

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Chronicle of a First Time Home Buyer

In the next several postings, I will write about the process of working with a first time home buyer. Rob and Tina are a young couple who are tried of paying rent and want to take advantage of the first time home buyers $8000 tax credit. Rob is an Air Traffic Controller and Tina is a Pre-school Teacher. They are looking for a 3 bedroom home priced around $200,000. they are planning on using the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit for their down payment on a FHA loan. Since the FHA requires 3.5% down, the down payment for a $200,000 home is $7000. They would also like the sellers to pay the closing cost.

The first thing I did was set up a listing cart that they would have access to on the web. They will receive email updates anytime a new listing that meets their criteria becomes available. Rob and Tina can view the detail and the photos of the listings in their cart. They can also make comments for me to see or rate the listings. From their cart they can print the listings or share them with their friends and family by email. And finally they can delete the listings they are not interested in from the cart. To see their cart click on this link: http://dabmls.com/day/plog.php?a=day&u=runter&p=3746

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Sunday, June 7, 2009

CYPRESS HEAD PORT ORANGE FL

Cypress Head is a great golf community. The Cypress Head golf course which was built in 1992 is owned and operated by the City of Port Orange so the community of Cypress Head has all the advantages of a golf course but none of the expense. Cypress Head has 2 bedroom 2 bath golf villas and 3 and 4 bedroom homes. Several of the homes have 2 car garages with a golf cart garage. The golf club has a restaurant and there are tennis courts and a community pool. Part of the community is gated. There are currently 20 homes on the market starting at $169,900 for a golf villa up to $449,900 for a 4 bedroom 3 bath home. The residents love this community, it is one of the best kept secrets in central Florida. It is also conveniently located close to Venetian Bay, which has another golf course and will have shopping and restaurants.

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Wednesday, June 3, 2009

NEW URGENT CARE CLINIC OPENS FOR PORT ORANGE & NEW SMYRNA BEACH

New Smyrna Beach, Florida: Bay View urgent Care, a full-service urgent care clinic opened in New Smyrna Beach. The clinic is co-ventured by Bert Fish Medical Center and EMPros--the emergency physician group staffing the Emergency Department at Bert Fish Medical Center. Bay View Urgent Care is located at the rear entrance of Venetian Bay, at the corner of Pioneer trail and Airport Road. The upscale appointed urgent care center features six patient treatment rooms, a full laboratory and x-ray, and is staffed by board-certified family practice and emergency physicians.



"We think Bay view is ideally situated to help people living on the westside of I-95" remarked Dr. Chuck Duva, Managing Partner for the venture. "We know there are about 10,000 rooftops in New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange surrounding this facility." the plan is to relocate the clinic in a few years into the town center in Venetian Bay.



"We have already received calls from people asking how soon we will be opening." said Tara Montgomery, Clinic Manager. The clinic will be open seven days a week with hours of: Monday through Friday: 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Saturday hours will be 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. No appointments are necessary; walk-in anytime. Most major insurance plans are accepted. To learn more, the public is urged to come and take a tour or call the clinic at (386) 427-0396 or visit the website at: http://www.bayviewuc.com/

Bay View Urgent Care MEDIA RELEASE



Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/


Monday, June 1, 2009

Coquina Cove

Coquina Cove is located in Port Orange off of Williamson Blvd north of Dunlawton. It is convenient to shopping, the beach, and the Daytona International Speedway. There are single story and two story homes and townhomes to choose from. the single story homes start at $149,000 from the builder and are 1263 sq ft. The two story homes start at $190,000 and are 1937 sq ft. All the homes are built by DR Horton. The lots are smaller than I would like, but there are lakes and other common areas. This is a nice community and a great value for first time home buyers, especially with the USDA's 100% financing. As an added bonus DR Horton pays all closing cost on a new home purchase. Remember to call me before you go so I can help you negotiate the best price.

Visit one of my websites at http://selldaytona.com/ or http://www.venetianbay.org/