About Martin County, FL

When you receive an Offer to Purchase your home or property, most people are likely to focus on the price alone. With a full price offer, you might be ecstatic enough that you don’t read the ‘fine print’, the contingencies, and how these can affect the likelihood of a successful sale.

As an example, most offers have a mortgage contingency, stating that the buyer will secure financing at a certain rate and for a certain term. These factors have to be realistic. A buyer seeking a 30-year loan at 4% with no points may be hedging their bets. Your real estate agent should know what the current terms are for financing and can advise you. Unrealistic terms can allow the buyer to back out if they get cold feet or find another property they prefer.

Another sticky contingency more common these days is when a buyer states that they must sell their home before they can finalize the purchase of yours. There has to be a realistic time limit, so the buyer doesn't tie up your listing.

It may be wise to respond with a "kick-out" clause that allows you to keep your home on the market while the buyers promote theirs, offering them a 72-hour period to fulfill the contract if you should receive another offer in the interim.

Other issues are inspection periods and seller concessions.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, so sit and discuss each line of the offer with your agent before making your decision.

Everyone is asking, "When are things going to return to normal in real estate?" Most don’t realize that we are getting very close to a normal market now. It’s taking a while to recover from the shady financial dealings that created the artificially inflated markets of five years ago.

The poor lending practices of the past are indeed making it more difficult for some to secure financing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those few years of lower standards and easy money led us into an unsustainable and inflated market. In the long term, it's good for housing and for the economy when banks become interested in whether loans will be repaid.

We are rapidly approaching the traditional normal market where home prices are stabilizing, the number of sales has been increasing, and more people are realizing the benefits that homeownership offers, for both personal and financial security. Because of historically low interest rates, affordable prices, government incentives, and motivated sellers, the housing market is experiencing solid signs of recovery.

All of these factors combine to get new first-time buyers the ability to afford a home and many are excited about a purchase. As these consumers enter the market, they will trigger other purchases, and the chain of transactions grows. Expect your real estate representative to reveal a wide range of affordable choices and guide you toward securing the financing you need to make your dream come true.

On Thursday November 12th, the kickoff party for the second annual Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism was a tremendous success. Hosted at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Resort at Indian River Plantation on South Hutchinson Island in Stuart Florida.

Over 150 guests, members and organizers were treated to a wonderful dinner while organizers outlined the plans for the 2010 Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism event to be held on March 20th at the Jensen Beach High School athletic field. We are planning for at least as successful an event as last year where we had over 2,000 walkers and raised over $100,000 for Autism Speaks. The leading advocate for understanding and a cure for this terrible affliction that now affects 1 in 94 children.

My partner Susan Maxwell of Premier Realty Group will once again co-chair this event and we are asking any of you that will be in the Treasure Coast are on March 20th to join us at the Jensen Beach High School for this worthwhile cause. Registration will begin at 11:00 AM and the walk will commence at Noon.

We also invite all supporters to join our team and make a contribution to this cause. The Premier Realty Group Walk Now For Autism Team can be joined on line at this link.

Or, if you desire, make a donation from my page here.

Thanks for your consideration and support.

The normally quiet skies of Stuart will be noisy this weekend with supersonic fighters, World War II vintage planes flying in formation, aerial acrobatic displays and much more. The 19^th annual Visiting Nurse Association, Veteran’s Day Weekend Air Show is this weekend at Stuart’s Witham Field.

This year the show is dedicated to Roberto Hernandez and Johnathan O’Neill, soldiers of the U.S. Army who were killed while serving our country in Afghanistan. There will be ‘Missing Man’ formation flown by the Shell Aerobatic team and this will be especially meaningful to one Martin County resident who was stationed in Afghanistan with the 549th MP Company, the same company as Hernandez and O’Neill. Charles Moon, U.S. Army Specialist 4th Class and son of Martin County Airport Director Mike Moon, was deployed overseas with the Company in April of 2008.

To view the schedule and information for this year’s event, please visit the VNA air show site here: http://vnaairshow.com/index.asp.

If you happen to be in or around Martin County this weekend, please stop by. I know you won’t regret it.

According to a recent report, about 75% of homebuyers surf the Web to begin their home search. That means home buyers are well aware of what properties are available on the market and the prices they are selling for. Therefore, now more than ever, pricing is the key to selling your home.

Some sellers think that a higher price will give them some negotiating room. But in fact many buyers don't even look at a property that is overpriced, much less make an offer on it.

This can lead to the property's becoming "shop-worn." Buyers often inquire about the length of time a property has been on the market. If it has been on the market a long time, they wonder if there is something wrong with it. The sellers then have to drop the price, taking less than they might have if they had priced it correctly to begin with.

Homes that are well-priced attract the buyers in their price range. The buyer's perception is that the home is a good buy, and then the seller is positioned to receive the listing price or close to it.

Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. I would be happy to provide you with a market evaluation on your home to make sure it is competitively priced in the marketplace so you will receive the best offer.

www.BrianSharkeyRealEstate.com
Brian@BrianSharkeyRealEstate.com