Damion Boyce

Real estate agents across the country are learning new ways to sell homes and satisfy sellers in a real estate market different than any other. Banks are in control of the most sellable real estate. The rest of the inventory consists of short sales and the occasional relocation sale. As a real estate agent with 15 years of experience, the toughest part of my job is explaining to sellers that the most important goal for them is to quickly determine what the real value of their home is.

Most sellers start the process of selling their residential property the same way. Sellers shop for an agent that has experience, sounds aggressive, and believes in getting top dollar for the property. The homeowner's focus is on the agent being in agreement with the homeowner's needs as it relates to price or value. Unfortunately, 99% of homeowners I have spoken to in the past have a value determined for their home before I walk in the door. This is a huge problem for sellers and usually devastates the sale because the sellers are almost always wrong. It is natural for a seller to hope their home is worth more, but sellers need to focus on finding the value instead of starting high and hoping for the best.

Take a moment and imagine being a real estate agent. A homeowner calls and expresses interest in selling their home. You, as the agent, are excited to have a new listing and can't wait to get started. You set an appointment to meet the seller and tell them "why they should list their home with you". Actually, this is an interview and you don't want to blow the interview. You want to be hired. Be careful because if you tell this homeowner that their home is worth less than they think it is, you will not get the job. Most agents tell the homeowner they (the agent) can get top dollar. Most agents agree with the owner when the owner tells the agent what they need the price to be. If the owner will not tell you what their opinion of value is, start high. After all, if an agent tells the owner a high number, they will actually be flattered and hire you (the agent). This is how the listing process goes most of the time. The sellers hear the value they need to hear. This is not how you quickly find the real value. However, this is exactly how sellers set themselves up for disappointment and lose money in the sale of their home.

I am not writing this to explain how to find the right agent to help you sell. I have faith that homeowners will find a trustworthy realtor that does not use an inflated price to get the job. When selling a home, the most important goal is to find the value of your property. This concept is a little difficult to digest because sellers are 100% attached to the outcome of the sale and this creates fog in reasoning for most sellers. There are countless factors that contribute to opinion of value for a homeowner. None of these factors really matter in the end because the real value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay. Sellers are in control of their price, but not in control of the value of their home. Most sellers get confused by this. Buyers determine what a property is really worth by outbidding the homeowner in price. I repeat, buyers determine what a property is really worth by outbidding the homeowner in price. Some sellers actually outbid the buyers. When this happens, the seller (maybe unknowingly) decides to stay in the home, keep it, and not sell.

How does a seller quickly determine the value of his home? The answer to this question is complicated because most sellers don't really want to know the answer. Sellers do want to know what their home is worth, but the desire for that number to be a higher number is overwhelming. It is similar to knowing there is bad news coming, but not wanting to deal with it right now. If Plan A is reality, most sellers would rather exhaust Plan B and C first.

Sellers should have a discussion with one or more professional realtors and ask the question, "What should the price be in order to sell in 60 days?" The answer will be much different than if the seller asks the agent what the home is worth. A great follow up question is, "so what I hear you saying is my home will sell in 60 days if listed for sale at that price?"

Keep in mind sellers should be trying to find the real value quickly. Routine price reductions of $10,000 will have a positive impact on showings and offers. For example, if the seller prices the property at a fair or even aggressive price and proceeds to lower the price every 2 weeks by $10,000, the seller should see signs of interest in the property. Take this idea a little further. Most sellers have a bottom line when pricing their home. Don't be afraid to continue price reductions well below the bottom line. It is not a comfortable thought to let that price fall until an offer comes in, but this is exactly what we are hoping for...an offer or reality. What I am about to say next is very unorthodox, but hear me out. Consider letting the price fall until you get an offer even if you do not plan to sell at the lower price. You are not under any obligation to sell your home to any buyer until you have signed a contract with that buyer. This means you can put your home on the market for sale and change your mind even if you have 10 offers. The only time you are obligated to sell your home to a buyer is after you have signed the contract for sale and purchase. The point is to find out what buyers are willing to pay for your property. Once you have answered that question with an offer in hand, you get to decide whether you still want to sell your property. Countless sellers have their homes on the market for 1 or 2 years and still have no idea what a buyer is willing to pay. They only know what buyers are not willing to pay because the price never stimulated an offer at all.

In summary, sellers should focus on attracting buyers to the property with a very competitive price. Curb appeal is very important, but buyers demand good value with great curb appeal. Sellers may instinctively argue with the last sentence and in the end, those sellers might outbid the buyer for their own home. Sellers should explain to their agent that they want to know what buyers are willing to pay and find this answer very quickly. An appraisal probably won't explain what the current buyers are willing to pay. The best way to find out what buyers are willing to pay for a property is to stimulate an offer or two. If you don't like the offers, don't sell. Hopefully, it will take you only 60 days to determine the real value.

HELOC, in fact, stands for Home Equity Line of Credit. But what is a HELOC all about? For those living in the Lakeland real estate area, is it a good option?

Obtaining a HELOC is similar to taking out a second mortgage on your home, but obtaining the funds themselves is more like using your credit card. Generally, a limit is set as to how much money the homeowner can get on their line of credit. This limit is determined by such things as your credit history, your income and debt, the value of your home, and the amount you still owe on it.

A HELOC is a good way to get money for such items as ongoing medical bills or college tuition, since they let the homeowner get a lump sum as needed. The HELOC is then paid off in monthly payments in the fashion of a credit card with a minimum balance due. There's also the option to pay more or even all of the balance off, eliminating interest charges.

Interest rates for a HELOC are based on the Prime Rate, often with an added "margin" which is actually an increase in the interest rate. While interest rates are usually lower for a HELOC than for a regular bank loan or credit card loan, the rates are usually higher than those for a first mortgage.

Interest paid on a HELOC is often tax deductible (talk to your tax person to be sure), and there are usually no closing costs. There may, however, be an annual fee, so ask questions when you shop for your HELOC.

If the equity you have available on your Lakeland real estate gets too low for you to take out more money from your credit line, the bank may have the option to freeze your HELOC. It should also be noted that some banks have been accused of using "automated valuations" to unfairly determine the equity in your home as being lower than previously thought. At this point, they may again freeze your line of credit. If you were planning on this money to make a payment, the freeze on your account could become a huge problem.

Another way of getting into trouble with a HELOC is by taking out more money from your line of credit that you can readily repay. Don't forget, your home is the collateral for this money and if you can't pay it back, you're putting your family's home on the line.

There are lots of options available for homeowners. Whether you want to stay where you are and perhaps get a HELOC, buy a new home, or sell the one you're in, The Boyce Team can help you decide what's best for you. Contact Damion Boyce today and set up an appointment to see how they can help you.

In a recent taste test of orange juice, conducted by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, Florida's liquid sunshine was the big winner. The top three winners of the taste test all have connections to the Lakeland real estate area.

Just so you know, Americans drink over 1.6 billion gallons of orange juice every year. Much of this liquid sunshine is made from Florida oranges, best known for their juiciness, unlike California oranges, which are good "eating oranges".

And the Winners Are:

Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Company Gourmet Pasteurized Orange Juice easily took first place. Made of 100% Florida orange juice, Orchid Island juice is squeezed, pasteurized and shipped, never frozen or stored for later. No wonder one of it's winning points was its "fresh-squeezed" taste.

Based in Fort Pierce, the Orchid Island Juice Company recently helped Central Florida and Lakeland non-profits raise thousands of dollars for the Special Olympics and Camp Aurora by providing juice for the 25-mile Paddler's Challenge as well as a kayak that was raffled off.

Florida's Natural Premium Home Squeezed Orange Juice came in second place. This company is based in Lake Wales, one of Lakeland's neighbors, where visitors get a chance to see how juice is made, buy juice and other souvenirs and get a taste of this winner. Anyone looking for Lakeland real estate will be happy to find it in this great citrus area.

Noble Organic Juice, with its "smooth" taste, came in third. Noble Juice is based in nearby Winter Haven and produces the popular Blue Lake Citrus Brand of juice. It is 100 percent organic orange juice and even the bottle you buy it in is organic. It's made from 100 percent corn!

Another winner in the Lakeland area is the Boyce Team. While not known for producing orange juice, they do produce great real estate deals. Whether you have a house to sell or want to buy a home, contact Damion Boyce to learn how they can help you buy or sell a home in the land of liquid sunshine.

Keller Williams Realty of Lakeland recently took up the cause of Treats for Troops in an effort to collect items to be sent to American troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Donations Pour in From Lakeland Association of Realtors Members

Local realtors were eager to contribute to the cause, and over $5,000 worth of non-perishable food and personal hygiene items were collected. These were put into ziplock bags by members of the Keller Williams office including Eleni McLean, chair/coordinator of the event known as RED DAY, along with volunteers Evelyn Broxterman and Kristi Lawrence.

Over 600 bags of goodies were prepared. Some bags contained personal items such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, razors, and playing cards. Other bags contained snack foods including beef jerky, granola bars, pretzels, tea bags, and candy.

Some Lakeland real estate community members also contributed letters of thanks to the troops to be included in the bags, while members of the Lakeland Association of Realtors also donated cash to this great cause.

Treats for Troops Sends Packages to Troops Overseas

Lands O' Lakes-based Treats for Troops receives the prepared bags from contributors and ships them to the troops. They spend an estimated $60,000 per month on shipping costs alone, so the hundreds of dollars that Lakeland realtors contributed in cash was greatly appreciated by Treats for Troops.

Packages Arrive in Afghanistan and Iraq

Packages are a welcome arrival for the troops. But the giving doesn't always stop there. Troops often hand out the candy they receive from Treats for Troops to local children where they are stationed because, according to Eleni McLean, "Many of these kids have never seen candy."

Plans are now in the works for Keller Williams of Lakeland to collect ongoing contributions, in hopes of having another shipment ready to go in July.

Damion Boyce and the Boyce Team are members of the Keller Williams of Lakeland office and would welcome your business. See what the Boyce Team is all about or contact Damion Boyce to learn more about the Lakeland area.

If you've been in or near downtown Lakeland real estate lately, you may be seeing some new signs of the times popping up in downtown Lakeland. The new signs are designed to help visitors find their way to and around downtown Lakeland a bit more easily.

The price for the 50 new signs, including 20 in a "You Are Here" style with maps to downtown restaurants, cultural and educational spots and businesses, is $63,860, including installation. Bunting Graphics of Pennsylvania won the bid to create and install the signs.

Most of the "You Are Here" signs will be installed on lampposts while six other signs in the area simply point the way to downtown. These directional signs will appear on major streets near downtown including near Lake Morton and Lake Wire.

In an effort to make the downtown Lakeland area more visitor-friendly, there will also be 16 "Welcome" signs around the edge of the area.For those wanting a place to park while they shop, eat, or enjoy some of the beautiful art and parks in downtown Lakeland, there will be six signs to help visitors find parking.

So why not spend some time exploring downtown Lakeland real estate, perhaps having lunch at a restaurant with sidewalk seating, enjoying the swan and butterfly art (as well as a variety of sculptures that line the streets), and shopping for antiques or other specialty items for sale in the downtown area?

Downtown Lakeland has a way of attracting people and making them want to stay forever. When that happens to you, contact Damion Boyce to help you find the perfect home in the perfect city, Lakeland. The Boyce Team has lots of lovely Lakeland homes to show and sell, and one is sure to be just right for you and your family.