Hello again!  In this blog, I will share my final pieces of advice for you as a homebuyer in today’s crazy market.  

Expand Your Search Area

After getting your expectations in line with your budget, my next piece of advice is to be open to expanding your search area.  I know, EVERYONE wants to live in South Tampa, but with “starter homes” selling basically for the lot price, at just shy of $400,000 for a major fixer upper, this is most likely NOT where you are going to land. 

There are lots of great areas of Tampa to explore, including some still affordable homes within Tampa’s urban core.  It is important to evaluate each potential home by looking at the area in the immediate vicinity because some areas do show pride of ownership and progress a little more than others.  Also, look at what is immediately around the home.  If you are a light sleeper and noise bothers you, considering a home on a busy street or near a busy commercial property is probably not the best fit as these are features that will not change. 

Right now, I firmly believe that looking anywhere in East Tampa would be a great investment.  East Tampa is actually pretty large, measuring approximately 7.5 square miles.  There is so much attention being paid to East Tampa right now, with so many projects in the works and located so close to Ybor City, that I really don’t think you can go wrong purchasing in this area.  And with the other areas just to the west increasing in price so quickly, this is the next logical area of expansion.

DON’T Give Into the Hysteria - But DO Be Prepared to Act FAST!!

Next piece of advice, don’t give into the hysteria.  I am a firm believer that if you are patient, you will find the right home for you.  Again, it may not be your dream, forever home, but it will check most of the boxes of your must haves - even in this market. 

But DO be ready to act fast!  Unfortunately, in today’s market with so much competition and so little inventory, you will need to make an offer in a very short period of time.  Many listings call for best and highest offers to be received by a certain time, so understand this and put your best foot forward with your offer.  If priced right, there is not going to be room for negotiation, unless it is for a higher price.

Work With a Strong Negotiator

Make sure you have a strong, confident negotiator on your side, a professional Realtor with a good reputation.  With more people currently licensed in Florida than there are properties available, not every person carrying a license has the experience and knowledge that is needed in this especially competitive market.  In a future blog post, I will provide you with tips on how to make sure your offer stands out from the others, especially in a Seller’s market.

Wait, and Possibly Lose Out BIG TIME

And finally, you can choose to wait for the prices to come down, and risk having the interest rates AND prices continue to increase.  No one has a crystal ball to know what may come, and many of the leading and trailing indicators that the experts would normally look to for trends are not performing like they usually do. 

If buying a starter home means that you are basically paying the same as you would pay in rent, then realistically what do you have to lose?  You have a roof over your head, the monthly payment will remain pretty much steady over the course of many years, and history shows that over time, homes appreciate approximately 3.5% year over year. 

In the areas that you will most likely be looking in, my personal opinion is that these areas are not yet overheated like other areas of Tampa, and I have a hard time thinking that the values are ever going to go back to what we saw after the last recession where homes could be purchased for as little as $75,000. 

Have you thought about investing in real estate to build your wealth?  I don’t know about you, but real estate excites me a LOT more than 401Ks and IRAs.  It is something I can improve over time, grow equity in, receive rental income from, while essentially having someone else make the mortgage payments.  Think about your first home purchase as your first investment property purchase and it might put this purchase a little more into perspective.

Stay tuned for my next blog posts where I will discuss the two types of construction you are most likely to find in Tampa’s Urban Core.

If you’d like to download a list of the advice I shared in this blog series, click on the link below.

And if you have any questions about Ybor, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, or Tampa’s Urban Core, or about real estate in general, do not hesitate to contact me. Until next time!