Buyers and sellers both ask me some version of the same question: "how did you actually land on this number?" Whether it's an appraiser's report or the comparative market analysis I put together before we write an offer, the underlying method is more similar than most people expect. Here's what's actually happening behind that number. It starts with a walkthrough of the home itself An appraiser...
These two terms get mixed up constantly, and in Florida the stakes are a little higher than in a lot of other states, because one of these reports can directly affect your homeowners insurance premium. Here's the difference, and why both matter more than buyers often expect. An appraisal exists for your lender, not for you An appraisal determines the home's market value so your lender knows the loan...
If you're relocating to the Tampa Bay area from out of state — which describes a lot of the buyers I work with — you don't always have the luxury of flying in every time a promising listing hits the market. That's where a video tour comes in, and it's become a genuinely useful tool rather than just a pandemic-era stopgap. Here's how it actually works, and how to use it well. A live video tour puts...
New construction has become a bigger part of the Tampa Bay market than it was a few years ago, especially further out in Pasco County and around New Port Richey, where builders have been putting up entire communities from the ground up. Buying new comes with real advantages — nothing to fix, modern layouts, builder warranties — but it also comes with a negotiation that looks nothing like negotiating...