Apollo Beach Real Estate

The Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home

That’s exactly what should be happening if you’re selling a home and you have an appointment for an agent to show your home! The lights should be on and no body should be home!

Even though you listed your home, and maybe haven’t had much traffic through it, your home should ALWAYS be in showing condition. When you list your home, it should always be ready to show at a moments notice, especially in today’s market. However, if for some reason you are slacking, here are some things you need to do to prepare for last minute showings.

Turn on ALL the lights. You want it to be bright during the showings. The worst thing you can is give the feeling that your home is like a cave.
Open up ALL the blinds and/or curtains. Again, if someone walks in and all the lights are off and all the blinds are closed, it kinda feels like walking into the black hole. Not a good impression!
Boil some water on the stove and add a few cinnamon sticks or a few drops of vanilla.
Or if you’re not going very far, maybe just to a neighbors or a walk around the block when they get there, then light some candles.
Turn on some music, like smooth jazz or classical. It sets a nice tone when someone walks in.
Vacuum the carpets!!
Empty ALL the garbage cans
Clean the litter box!!! No one cares to see the litter-box with fluffy’s little surprises in it.
Make the beds. ALL of them.
Close the lids to the toilets.
Put all the clean and dirty clothes away. No one cares to see your dirty underwear. Or clean underwear for the matter.
People look in closets, so don’t hide stuff there. Stuff things under the bed if you have to.
If you haven’t bothered to wash last nights dinner dishes, you need to. If you don’t have time and you don’t have a dishwasher, shove them in the oven and pray no one looks in there. At least they will be out plain sight. (Don’t forget to pull them back out when you get home).
If you have a dog, take fido with you. If for some reason you can’t, then put fido in a dog crate or if fido is small enough and doesn’t bark, put a baby gate up in the laundry room or a bathroom and leave fido in there. HOWEVER, if fido likes to bark, try to get him out of the house. It’s very distracting to have a dog barking non-stop from the time you walk in the door until you leave. And whatever you do, DON’T let the dog roam free. Many people are scared of dogs regardless of size.
Make sure all the magazines, mail, remotes and other clutter are put away somewhere and not left out in plain sight.
If you have kids, make sure all their toys are picked up and out of the way.
Now here’s the big one. Are you ready? And I can not stress this one enough!!! LEAVE THE HOUSE!! Yes, you need to leave during all showings. If you’re there, buyers will not feel comfortable looking through your home, opening cabinets and looking in closets because they feel like they are invading your home when you are there. You being there can be a deal killer!!
So there you have it. A quick list of things to do in case of a last minute showing. You only have one chance to make a great first impression. Make it count!!

So…..Are the lights on in your home, but no body’s home? I sure hope so!!

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Apollo Beach Home Buying Process

Below is a list of events that will occur before you start looking for a home, while you are looking for a home and after you have found a home and have it under contract:

1. You need to find out how much of a home you are pre-approved to purchase.
2. Before you find a home and put it under contract, you need to choose a lender that you will be getting financing through and who is going to give you the best terms and conditions.
3. This is a list of the documents lenders typically ask for, the sooner you get these to them the easier the process goes. I suggest giving a copy of these documents to them right at the start.
a. Last 2 years work history
b. Last 2 years W-2’s
c. Last 2 years verification rental history or mortgage payments
d. Year to date pay stub
e. If on disability, social security or pension and you are claiming that income you have to show proof of that income
f. Bank statements from the last 12 months
g. If you are divorced or separated, you must provide either the divorce decree or separation agreement.
h. If claiming Child support income, you need to show proof of receipt
i. If you have filed bankruptcy, you will need to provide a certified legal copy of discharge
j. Any judgments or tax liens must be paid off
k. If you are paying child support, you must show proof that you have been paying in a satisfactory re-payment plan
l. If you have any 401k, IRA, Stocks & Bonds or savings accounts, you will need to provide statements from those accounts.
4. You need to get a copy of a pre-approval letter without a dollar amount on it to accompany any offers you make on a home so the sellers are aware that you are already pre-approved.
5. Now it’s time to start looking for a home. Your agent will set up an automated search for you and email you all the active listings in the MLS that fit the criteria of the home you are looking for based on the amount you have been pre-approved for. This saves you time from having to drive around looking for homes that are for sale.
6. Once you find the home you are looking for and make an offer on it, and the offer is accepted, you are now under contract to purchase that home.

NOTE: Additional documentation may be requested depending on your situation. Your lender maty also require you to pay any outstanding bills as well before closing on the home. You lender will let you know if this is required. Do not change your job, charge your credit card or affect you credit in any way, this will stop the loan process and no money will be funded. The mortgage company runs a second credit check right before lending the money, for this reason you will need to wait until after the closing for any change or purchase.

7. The Home Inspection and the Termite Inspection will be ordered. You are more than welcome to be there when the inspections are being done.
8. The lender that you chose to do your financing through will order the Appraisal. You are also welcome to be there for that as well. Survey will be ordered by the Title Company.
9. You will need to purchase homeowners insurance for a year, and provide the Declaration page to the Title Company as proof you purchased before they will allow you to close on the home. Your Insurance Company can fax a copy of that page to the Title Company.
10. Once the Home Inspection report comes back, your agent will meet with you to discuss the findings, and evaluate which items need to be repaired depending how the contract was written between the buyer and the seller. The seller will then make the requested repairs if the buyer and seller agreed that the seller would make repairs.
11. One day before closing your agent will do a final walk through of the home with you to make sure the home is in the condition it is suppose to be in and repairs were completed (if required)..
12. Your agent will go over the HUD-1 statement with you to make sure all figures are correct.
13. The Title Company will advise you of the dollar amount you need to bring to the closing in CERTIFIED FUNDS, personal checks will not be taken You will also need to bring your drivers license to closing.
14. Congratulations on the purchase of your home!!

As a reminder….It is imperative that you know what financing company will be doing your financing before you put a home under contract so the lender will have time to get all paperwork completed in a timely manner and it does not hold up the closing. The lender will also be able to provide your agent with the correct amount of closing costs so it can be written into the contract if you are expecting the seller to pay your closing costs. The more you get done ahead of time, the smoother your closing will go.

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MiraBay / Mira Bay in Apollo Beach Florida

MiraBay features deep-water boating access to the Bay and Gulf of Mexico, and saltwater canals leading to Florida-style homes.

MiraBay is located in the south shore area of Hillsborough County, 14 miles south of downtown Tampa and 20 miles east of St. Petersburg via the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

MiraBay features deep-water boating access to the Bay and Gulf of Mexico, and saltwater canals leading to Florida-style homes.

Upon completion, MiraBay will include 1,300 single-family homes, paired villas and town homes ranging from the $200s to over $2 million. Three-quarters of these residences will overlook spectacular views of the water & conservation areas, which include a 135-acre freshwater lagoon.

The builders at MiraBay include Alvarez Homes, Bayfair Homes, David Weekley Homes, Hannah Bartoletta Homes, John Cannon Homes, Morrison Homes, Nohl Crest Homes, Sabal Homes, and Westfield Homes.

The MiraBay Club features an array of modern-day activities for boaters and non-boaters alike, and presents a palm tree-lined resort pool, separate children’s pool and zero entry pool, as well as The Boardwalk for moonlight strolls along the water.

Additional amenities include; The Outfitter’s, a coastal bait and tackle shop, a fitness center, banquet facilities, Admirals Club, The Racquet Club, parks and Fort Wilderness Park play area.