Haines City, FL

Tutas Towne Realty and Nathan Tutas just had another successful short sale closing in Southern Dunes, Haines City, FL with Bank United.

The Property:
Vacation Villa. 4 bed, 3 bath villa located in the Southern Dunes golf resort community in Haines City, FL. This home has 1,644 square feet of living space, and a private, heated pool. The property was built in 2005. Our buyers purchased this home as a short sale in February for $117,000.

Summary:
The short sale process was already somewhat completed by the time our buyers got under contract on this home so from contract to closing it took less than a month to get things done. The home was and is being used for short term rentals and the buyers haven’t skipped a beat. They now have a beautiful vacation home in a prestigious golf community to vacation in while they enjoy all that Central Florida have to offer.

If you are buying or selling a home in Southern Dunes feel free to call me any time. I’m glad to help.

Homes for Sale in Southern Dunes, Haines City, FL

Can you pay for my home inspection? I recently had an international home buyer ask me if I could pay for their home inspection for them because they were having a hard time arranging payment from overseas. They have a US bank account, but apparently the zip code they used for the billing was incorrect so their bank card was not working correctly.

The inspection was already completed and the home inspector was not willing to release the home inspection report until payment had been received. By the time the buyer brought the issue to my attention we only had 1 day left in the inspection period and they needed to know whether the home had any major problems.

While my paying for the inspection would have been convenient for the buyer, it also would have been inappropriate and unethical for me to do so. A home inspection is your chance to have an independent inspection performed and evaluate whether the home has any problems that might become financial risks later on.

Since a real estate agent gets paid only when the home closes, the home inspection should be a completely separate transaction to avoid the risk of any commingling of the buyers needs with the agents needs. As a Realtor it’s also important to avoid even the perception of impropriety concerning a home inspection.

We can’t let convenience outweigh the importance of doing business the proper way.

Image courtesy of dok1 at Flickr

Opened in 1993, Southern Dunes is a lovely, gated golf community located in Haines City, FL. Located just south of Orlando’s theme park area, Southern Dunes is a relaxing change of pace for those who want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the Kissimmee and resort areas.

The community features a pool, fitness center, tennis courts, and a playground, so the whole family can enjoy the beautiful Florida weather.

You can also choose to spend your day on the award winning Southern Dunes golf course. The clubhouse features a southern cuisine restaurant which serves breakfast and lunch daily and features a full bar. The restaurant also serves dinner on Friday nights, and offers a breakfast buffet on Sunday mornings.

Within walking distance, you will find grocery shopping, banking, and a variety of dining options.The community is located 15 miles from the Walt Disney World Resort, 29 miles from Universal Studios, and 38 miles from the Orlando International Airport.

There are currently only 315 single family homes for sale in Haines City, Florida for an average listed price of $159,566. 259 of these are regular equity sales, 13 are REO/Bank Owned foreclosures, and 43 are short sales. There are fewer distressed listings in Haines City than some other communities in the area. There are 102 homes in pending status in Poinciana Florida which means they are under contract and waiting to close. 22 are equity sales, 17 are REO/Bank Owned foreclosures, and 63 are short sales.

There were 25 homes sold in Haines City, Florida during the month of August 2011. 17 were equity sales, 5 were REO/Bank Owned foreclosures, and 3 were short sales. The chart below illustrates the price trend over the last year for homes sold in Haines City, Florida.

The average sold price for a home in Haines City, Florida during the month of August 2011 was $92,595 while the average listed price was $98,903. These homes were on the market for an average of 133 days. The sales prices in Haines City have been very stable over the last year. There have been some dip and rises but all in all it has been pretty steady. Won’t be long now before our price begin to rise again and hopefully at a nice slow and steady pace.

While the NFL season might have been in jeopardy, there was never any doubt we would have some football happening in Haines City, FL. This was a good year for Hornets football. Our very own Jah Reid was selected in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft this year by the Baltimore Ravens.

Our first game is a home game this Friday Aug 26th at 7pm versus Frostproof. Here is a link to the entire Haines City Hornets Football Schedule. Go on, head on out there and support your local team. Can you think of anything better to do on a Friday night then eating some hot dogs and chips, and watching some good old American Football? I didn’t think so. Kids playing for the love of the game...what could be better?

Have a great season Hornets!!