Jacksonville Real Estate

MY COMMITMENT TO YOU

Accurate Evaluation - The correct selling price of a home is the highest price that the market will bear. To assist you in determining the correct asking price I will provide with a compensative market analysis of comparable properties sold and offered for sale in your neighborhood.

Professional Advice - I will advise you of any necessary repairs and how you may best prepare your home for showing (this is known as staging). You will be kept up to date on the state of the market, the sale of similar properties and any other factors which may affect the progress of the sale.

Promotion of your home to other Realtors - The major selling points of your home will be distributed to other real estate firms throughout the community.

Signs - The highly respected CCarter Realty Group advertises your property 24 hours a day.

Notify Purchasers - I will use a advanced computer system to identify people who have been looking for homes in your neighborhood. They will be contacted and given the details of your property.

Open houses - If appropriate, open houses will be arranged and held during reasonable hours.

Advertising - I will advertise your home in appropriate publications and communicate our results to you. Also, I have a product called “Talking House” that would be used at your property that will be transmitted on AM radio 24/7.

Progress Report - Every step in the sales offer will be documented. My progress report will keep you up to date.

Pre-approved mortgages and financing guidance - Pre-approved mortgages which encourage buyers by letting them know the mortgage potential in advance. I will provide professional financing guidance to both the buyer and seller.

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CREDIT CARDS

Homebuyers uneasy about their credit scores sometimes cancel credit cards before applying for their mortgage. Is that a good idea?

No, say credit specialists. Such a move drives up the amount of their debt as a percentage of how much credit they have available to them, which created the widely used FICO credit scoring system.

Here’s why canceling cards can hurt a mortgage applicant:

As an example let’s say buyer, Mr. Jones, has five credit cards and a $10,000 limit on each of them, giving him $50,000 in available credit. Let’s suppose Mr. Jones owes $25,000 total. That means he’s using 50 percent of his available credit. If he cancels one credit card on which he owes nothing, he reduces his credit limit to $40,000 without reducing his debt. At the same time, having one fewer card means he’s using 62.5 percent of his available credit.

The bottom line: by canceling a card, Mr. Jones has given himself less wiggle room and cuts his credit score. So the bottom line is to keep all credit cards or work on getting your score higher by planning at least two years in advance before purchasing.

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VA LOAN

You’ve heard the cliche of Location! Location! Location! What’s most important first and formost is Prequalify, Prequlify, Prequalify!!! You will need to find out what pice you truly can afford. This will help you indentify neighborhoods you can live in at the price that you qualify for. You will eliminate frustration in finding a home that is within your means. Hence, you will only look at homes you can afford. Another important factor in prequalifying, there will be no surprises later on if any potential credit, income, debt-level problems and employment need to be identified. Taking care of these things you should have the feeeling of confidence when you decide to make an offer that your transaction will go through as you achieve the “American Dream” of home ownership.

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HOME WARRANTY

As with a new home warranty, you want to read the policy on a one-year warranty and understand what’s covered and what may be excluded. Usually, one-year warranties cover the “moving parts” of a home, like appliances, heaters and air conditioners, and do not include conditions caused by poor construction or bad maintenance.

There are a number of complaints on one-year warranties. Some of the most common: long response times and claims by repair people that the fixes aren’t covered under the contract. As a result, “The homeowner ends up spending a lot of time trouble calling, trying to get someone to do something.”

But others see value in the service, especially for buyers who’ve already sunk every spare dollar they have into the house. It is recommended and very important to have, as long as it’s a reliable company. And if the seller doesn’t pay for it, you should strongly consider if you’re the buyer to get it.

If you’re considering one, first research the warranty company. How will they select the people they send to your home? And what’s their track record? Check out the company with other homeowners, the state and any local or national consumer groups.

Are there complaints or pending actions? What are current and past customers saying about the company? If you have doubts, consider taking out a service contract for your heating or air condition with a local company that will actually perform the service. Another alternative: Put some cash aside specifically for home repairs.

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