Real Estate Blog

At Armor, our customers’, agents’, families’ and our staff’s safety and well-being are our most important concerns. In light of this, we will do what many other businesses and offices have done and will change the way we conduct business. Effectively immediately, the office doors will remain closed and locked until further notice.

As a result, I will work remotely from home. While not at the office, I will be working and continue to help buyers and sellers through virtual meetings, virtual tours and online transactions. I’m available through Google Hangouts and other means. Send me your Gmail email and I’ll connect with you.

Please do not hesitate to call, text me or find me on Hangouts, if you need anything at all or have questions.
https://www.timothykelly.com – 850-445-1192
Google Hangout (voice, video, chat): timothykelly.com@gmail.com

You don’t just need a realtor.

You need a realtor who listens to your needs, one who knows the market, and one who will make the process easy and beneficial to you. I have been helping people make the most of their real estate investments in the Tallahassee area for over 15 years, and I would like to do the same for you.

I know my way around the industry and how to get you the most out of your investment. Here are 5 reasons why you should let me help you through the process of buying or selling a home:

1. I make sure the proper information is uploaded to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen false information floating around the real estate industry. It’s important that your Listing Agent has a full grasp of what information is important to include in the MLS for your property that will catch the most searches in it’s net. The information must be accurate and all-encompassing to attract the most buyers and their agents.

2. I use all real estate websites that major agencies are using.

Don’t let an agent tell you their company’s marketing service is superior to any other. Most all, companies websites link to all of the other home search websites. A lot depends on the skill of the Realtor® in entering the pertinent information to the MLS. From there, the information propagates to the web services and social media. At Armor Realty, we are full partners with Realtor.com® for MLS propagation and Circle Pix for social media. As long as the information inputted into the system is accurate and useful – which is always the case for my customers – your home will be sent to over 150 websites and all the social media that I use.

3. Open Houses, Signage, etc…

I can and do hold open houses, use proper signage, provide informational pamphlets and guest books for all my listings as part of my service and marketing. From my experience, I’ve learned that open houses, signage and informational pamphlets are mostly fluff that help listing agents gain other customers – rarely does it attract a potential buyer to your home. While they can be effective in certain situations, marketing to other professional, full-time Realtors® is what I focus on to get your home sold quickly, and for the best price with the least amount of stress.

 

4. Pricing Your Property Correctly.

The most important thing you can do in selling your property is to list it at the most compelling price you can. Good appraisers say “A home is worth whatever a buyer is willing to pay”. If you price your home too high, it will keep many buyers from taking a look at it or it may not even fall within their search criteria. The longer your house sits on the market, the more YOU are paying. A full-time Realtor® like me will use their years of experience with the local market to make a buyer compelled to step inside and take a look.

Most home purchases include the buyer acquiring a loan through a bank, and as a result, the bank will require the buyer to buy and pay for an appraisal. If a home doesn’t appraise for the amount stated in the contract, the deal will likely fall through unless the seller is willing to come down to meet the appraised price.

Pricing the property right the first time saves resources and reaches more qualified buyers. My listings sell at an average of 97% of their original listing price while the MLS average is around 95%. This means that on average, I sell homes for more, with less appraisal issues.

5. Keeping the Deal Together.

There can be so many pitfalls during the time you negotiate an offer, accept the offer, navigate through the various inspections and help facilitate the lending process. These issues are arguably the most important reason for having a professional Realtor® that you can trust by your side.

There are so many moving parts to transactions these days from navigating through 9 to 40 page contracts to having to communicate with mortgage professionals to help keep deals together. Many buyers’ Realtors® neglect to properly inform their clients of the fact that no home is perfect. Even brand-new homes can have issues! As a listing Realtor®, it’s important to be prepared to see these issues in advance, be proactive in addressing them, deal with the emotions of buyers and sellers, therefore keeping the deal together. This is one of my strengths as a Realtor®.

Inventory in the real estate market has reached historic lows, especially here in Tallahassee. That means if you are on the fence of selling your house, it is a great idea to look into your options as now could very well be the best time for you to sell your house since you’ve owned it. But timing is only part of the equation. If you do not have a realtor that knows the market

When selling a house, the key to selling it fast is pricing it right! Buyers these days are savvy and they are not going to be scared by the cry, “inventory is low!” They and their Realtors will do the research and make sure they will not overpay for a home. In addition, appraisers are not alarmed by low inventory either. They will base their opinions off of facts and figures, not the thunder of impatient home buyers trying to find their dream home before the price goes up.

The moral of the story is yes, inventory is low and that helps the seller tremendously, but the key is to make sure you price it well. At the end of the day, buyers will still only pay what they feel a home is worth to them, and although that evaluation process may include the amount of inventory available, and that is why you need a Realtor who knows how to price your house correctly.

My listings sell at an average of 97% of their original listing price while the MLS average is around 95%.

Interested in seeing what your options are in this market? Contact me today and let’s talk!

If you are interested in investment property, there are new financing options available to you.  These options can lower monthly mortgage payments and with interest rates expected to rise, now is a great time for investing.

“WASHINGTON – Jan. 15, 2018 – Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced programs to provide long-term financing at competitive interest rates that could encourage more investors to acquire single-family rental (SFR) properties, the National Real Estate Investor reports.

“Folks who dipped their toes in the market in 2015 or early 2016 and bought one or two single-family rentals are now buying more,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of property data firm ATTOM Data Solutions.

Fannie and Freddie have launched lending programs to help small-portfolio owners find financing with competitive, fixed interest rates and loan terms as long as 10 years. Prior to this, SFR investors often had to rely on bank loans with shorter loan terms and higher interest rates.

“It should help lower mortgage rates for single-family rental operators, helping them to increase their rate of return on current rentals without having to raise the rent, and also opening up more potential rental acquisition opportunities that may not have penciled out previously with higher mortgage rates,” says Blomquist. “Fannie and now Freddie’s backing of the single-family rental market is a game changer.”

Source: “Smaller SFR Investors Will Benefit from Agency Financing for New Acquisitions,” National Real Estate Investor (Jan. 8, 2018)

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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates reversed course this week, averaging 3.90 percent.

“After holding relatively flat last week, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending Aug. 10:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.90 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.93 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.45 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.18 percent, with an average 0.5 point, the same average as last week. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.76 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.14 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.15 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.74 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

There are some homeowners that have been waiting for months to get a price they hoped for when they originally listed their house for sale. The thing they might want to consider is… If it hasn’t sold yet, it may not be priced properly.

It’s hard for some sellers to realize that you must set a COMPELLING and INTRIGUING price for your home in order to sell it quickly. If your house isn’t priced to sell, consider this: $10,000 can seem like a huge concession when negotiating the sales price on your home, and while that is understandable there are other variables to consider. For instance, if your mortgage payment is $1,600 per month, and it takes 6 months to sell, you may have already spent $10,000. And don’t forget the additional costs of utilities and upkeep. Even on a smaller scale, if you put your home up for sale and get an offer in the first few weeks it can take from 30 to 45 days to even close on the home. That means you have made 2 mortgage payments totaling $3,000.

I know the market as well as anyone in town. I can help you find the price to sell your home quickly.

13,808 houses were sold yesterday, 13,808 will sell today and 13,808 will sell tomorrow.

13,808. That is the average number of homes that sell each and every day in this country according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) latest Existing Home Sales Report. NAR reported that sales are at an annual rate of 5.04 million. Divide that number by 365 (days in a year) and we can see that, on average, over 13,800 homes sell every day. The report from NAR also revealed that there is currently only a 4.4 months supply of inventory available for sale, (6 months inventory is considered ‘historically normal’). That means less competition for buyers who are out in the market now, but more houses will hit the market soon with spring right around the corner.

Bottom line is, we realize that you want to get the fair market value for your home. However, if it hasn’t sold in today’s active real estate market, perhaps you should reconsider your current asking price.

Don’t waste your time, call me today and let’s get started.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 13 – Mortgage interest rates hit 4% mark:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.03 percent, with an average 0.5 point, increasing from last week’s 3.96 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.42 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.29 percent, with an average 0.5 point, increasing from last week’s 3.22 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.72 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.28 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.21 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.76 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

 

Why do I need a Realtor®? The key to a quick sale is determining what your home is worth.

“Everyone knows that!”, you say?

Anyone can go online and determine the value of a home but knowing what a Buyer is willing to pay for your particular property will get your home sold quickly.

A Realtor® can help you price your home competitively with other similar homes in your area. In our current real estate market it is imperative that your home not only be the best quality but the best price. With so few homes on the market right now, buyers have little to choose from. Make the right move and hire a real estate professional to help you sell your home to get the most for your home and you can save yourself a great deal of time, effort and stress.

You need a Realtor® who can be up front and honest about the value of your home. Many sellers feel if their home sells too quickly, that they are leaving money on the table, but it could be that the home is just priced right. This way you can get the best price for your home along with a quick sale, saving on any additional mortgage payments you may incur if it stays on the market too long. You can expect an accurate analysis based on my experience with the Tallahassee Residential Market and help to speed the sale of your house, after all, it is YOUR home.