Get Expert Real Estate Advice

Find answers to your home buying, selling, and real estate questions from trusted professionals.

Ask An Agent

Get answers from licensed real estate agents on buying, selling, loans, appraisals, contracts, and market trends.

Post a Question

Recent Questions

197 questions found

Advice Topics:

State:

Sort By:

Is my deposit safe if I buy a pre-construction condo? Signing next week and getting cold feet

We're about to sign on a pre-construction condo in Fort Lauderdale, around $1.1M, with a deposit schedule that hits 10% at signing, another 10% at groundbreaking, and 10% more at a construction milestone. That's $330k tied up before we ever close.nnI know the first 10% has to sit in escrow, but the contract has some bolded language about the developer using the rest for construction. So really, how safe is my deposit if I buy a pre-construction condo and the thing stalls out? I keep thinking about that Boca project that's been dragging on since 2015.nnAlso, how much digging into the developer is actually reasonable here? They're a name I've heard of, but that's about it.

7 Answers

What does it really cost to sell a home in South Florida? Is 7.5% about right?

We're getting ready to list our place in Boynton Beach, probably around $625k. Been trying to figure out what it actually costs to sell a home in South Florida and a neighbor who sold last year told me to just figure roughly 7.5% off the top for everything, commissions plus closing costs, and whatever's left is my number before the mortgage payoff. So I'm penciling in about $578k.nTwo things I'm unsure about. First, everybody keeps saying buyer agent commission is negotiable now, but do sellers around here actually still pay it? Feels like I'd scare off buyers if I didn't.nSecond, I keep hearing title insurance falls on the seller in Palm Beach County but not in Broward. Is that real, or does it just depend on the contract?nAppreciate any honest takes before I sign a listing agreement.

11 Answers

Need to buy a home before selling mine in South Florida, bridge loan or buy-before-you-sell loan?

Transferring to Palm Beach Gardens, start date is Sept 8 and it's non-negotiable. We own in Coral Springs, worth about $540k, owe $260k. Found a house in PBG at $760k but there's no way we sell and close on both before the deadline, and a sale contingency is dead on arrival with this seller.nnLender pitched a buy-before-you-sell loan at 2%, around $15k , with a guaranteed backup purchase of the Coral Springs house if it doesn't sell. Sounds almost too good. Is that backup a real safety net or a lowball you'd never take?nnAlso, for buying before selling in South Florida on a hard deadline, is a bridge loan or a HELOC actually cheaper than paying that 2%? And how do I keep the buyer's side from sniffing out my timeline and squeezing me?nnAppreciate any honest takes.

9 Answers

Downsizing from a $1.3M Boca house to a $700k condo. How much of my tax cap follows me?

Hi all, hoping someone can sanity check this for me. We've owned in Boca since 2006. Market value is around $1.3M, assessed is about $610k, so there's a big Save Our Homes gap sitting there. Now that the kids are out we're downsizing, looking at roughly $700k in Delray. I always assumed the whole cap just comes with us. A friend says no, if you buy cheaper you only get a portion of it. Is that right, and roughly what would actually transfer on those numbers? Other thing is we were planning to sell first and rent for a year while we figure out where we want to land. Does that gap cost us anything, or is there a deadline I should be watching? Thanks in advance, this is the part of moving I understand the least.

11 Answers

Can I choose my own title company, or does the seller usually decide who handles the closing?

My real estate agent mentioned a specific title company they usually work with, but I’ve heard that shopping around might save me some money on closing costs. I am curious about the standard practice in different states and whether the buyer or the seller typically has the final say in this selection. I want to make sure I understand the relationship between the title company and the escrow process.

11 Answers

How long will it take to sell my home in South Florida? 3 weeks in, tons of saves, almost no showing

We listed our Boynton Beach single family at $749,000 about three weeks ago. Zillow's showing around 2,100 views and 61 saves, but only 4 showings and zero offers. Photos are good, there's a video tour, and it's up on all the major sites, so I don't think marketing is the problem.nnMy agent keeps quoting the 95-day average around here and telling me to be patient. But the median days on market for Palm Beach County is closer to 59, and that gap feels like overpriced listings sitting forever dragging the average up.nnSo realistically, how long will it take to sell my home in South Florida if it's actually priced right? And does a pile of saves with almost no showings mean I'm already sitting above market?nnStill learning the selling side of this, appreciate any straight answers

10 Answers

how much do I actually have to give up to get an offer accepted here?

Okay, need a reality check from people who do this for a living.nnWe're buying in Fort Lauderdale, pre-approved, looking in the $500-600k range, and we've now been beaten on three houses in a row. Each time we came in at or near asking and still got passed over. Our agent keeps saying it's not really the price anymore, our offers "look riskier" than the competition, and sellers are taking cleaner terms even when the dollar amount is basically the same.nnSo now I'm trying to figure out how much I actually have to give up to be taken seriously without setting myself up to get burned. From what I'm gathering, sellers want a bigger earnest deposit (like 5%), a short inspection window, and the loan commitment locked in well before closing instead of dragging it to the end. The inspection part is what scares me, if I cut it to 7 days and something major turns up, am I stuck?nnWe can't keep losing homes, but I also really don't want to waive protections and eat a $20k surprise after we close.nnSo for the agents here:n1. What actually makes an offer read as "clean" to a seller beyond just the price?n2. Is a 7-day inspection genuinely enough to protect me, or am I giving up too much to look competitive?n3. Does bumping the deposit to 5% really move the needle, or do sellers care more about the contingencies?

9 Answers

Agent wants us to drop $14k on carpet, paint and staging before we list. Is that money we ever see

Hi all, first time posting. We're selling the house we raised our kids in (Delray Beach, single-story, owned it 22 years) and moving closer to the grandkids, so bear with me.nnMet with our agent and she came back with a whole prep list before we go live, new carpet to replace the worn stuff, fresh neutral paint, a deep clean, a couple small repairs, and a staging rental for the main rooms. All in it's around $14k. Money's a little tight heading into the move, and honestly it stings to sink that into a house we're about to hand to someone else.nnMy thinking is, whoever buys it is probably going to redo it to their taste anyway. So why not list it as-is, price it a touch lower to account for the wear, and let the buyer make it their own? My agent says that's exactly how you get lowball offers and buyers "mentally discounting" the place before they even negotiate. I can't tell if that's real or just a way to make the listing look prettier for her.nSo for the agents here:nn1. Does prep money like carpet, paint and staging actually come back to you at sale, or do you just eat it?n2. If a buyer's going to renovate anyway, why would fresh paint and clean carpet change what they'd offer?n3. Is it smarter to just knock the price down and sell as-is instead of spending upfront?nnNew to selling in this market , appreciate any honest takes.

9 Answers

what are the steps in selling my home AS IS?

Ive had my home for 38 years and Im ready to move on. I know it needs work. I do not want 1000 calls around the clock but I do want to start the process.

16 Answers

What should I do with my stuff?

I'm buying my first place but it is much smaller than my current rental and I have a ton of junk I got second hand that I don't really want anymore. what can i do with it? Can i just say that it is the problem of the next guy?

15 Answers