Several times every week, one of the Round Table Realty agents shares a story in the office about a buyer who waited to make an offer. It’s a nearly identical story every time. A Round Table Realty agent shows their client a hoe in the Jacksonville or St. Johns real estate market, the client loves the home but decides to wait a day or two to “think about it,” and the home ends up under contract before the client can make an offer. The client is disappointed. The agent is sad for the client. The entire experience stalls or stops altogether.

If you’re in the Jacksonville or St. Johns market for a home, there are a few things you should know:

1. According to Trulia, homes are on the market an average of 64 days. That’s not listing-to-offer time;

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Home inspections are one of the scariest parts of the real estate transaction for both sides of the sale. Why? Because we've all heard the horror stories of an entire deal falling apart because of the dreaded home inspection report!

Recently we chatted with BJ Johnson, owner of Inside & Out Property Inspectors, because his is a company our Realtors know well and use often. His thorough inspections, including the use of an infrared camera, keep many invisible issues from hiding. We asked him what a home inspection report is, what details of a report could indicate major problems, and what BJ considers "fixable" issues that he sees in many of the homes he inspects.

While Inside & Out's inspections (like all inspections) are only visual in

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Whether you’re changing jobs, starting a family, or looking to retire, Northeast Florida real estate has been steadily growing and improving over the past 10 years. New construction is everywhere, and it’s far more affordable than you might think. Our clients are often surprised when they find out a brand new home is in their budget!

Jacksonville New Construction Real Estate

Jacksonville proper is filled with beautiful home developments, condominiums and apartments lining the St. Johns River, and a cultural explosion has left residents clamoring over local theatre, concerts, and art. A centralized Town Center means shopping, entertainment, and pleasure all in one place. Don’t forget Jacksonville is home to the NFL football team the Jaguars, the

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From Jody Caputo, Round Table Realty Realtor: Three years ago, I had a beautiful two-story home listing, complete with a pool on an acre of land. I received a call from an older gentleman named George who wanted to see it. I met him at the house one morning and after walking through it, I felt prompted to ask him why. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why would you want to buy this particular house? This is going to be a lot of maintenance for you." He smiled and asked me if I had time to sit and talk to him, so we pulled up chairs. This is where our friendship began. "I debated for 3 solid days before calling the number on your sign. I really dislike Realtors because of past experiences with them. But my wife Judy, is the love of my…

             From a real Round Table Realty client:

            My wife and I were looking for a house in 2016. The market seemed to be coming back in Jacksonville and while we weren’t positive our financial position aligned us with the house of our dreams, we both felt ready to invest in something that was ours.

           

          After finding a FSBO (for sale by owner) home that we both absolutely loved, we discussed with the homeowner how the sale would proceed. An older couple, they both suggested we simply get a lawyer to draw up and review the paperwork associated with the sale. As we got closer and closer to making an offer in writing, my wife and I started feeling uncomfortable. “What if we’re missing something here? We can’t know if

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Your Realtor is your guide, in charge of helping you navigate around all the possible pitfalls and not-so-fun surprises that could cost you money when you're buying a new home. But your Realtor should also be taking into consideration the money you might be paying after closing day. We're talking about...homeowners insurance!
Before you even put an offer in on a home, your Realtor should be able to tell you how the age and location of the house will affect your insurance premiums. They ought to help you spot potential issues that would cause an insurance company to deny you coverage. If your Realtor isn't sharing these most important concerns regarding homeowners insurance with you as soon as you get serious about buying a house, then this video will help

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Our own Tiea Vincent is not your average property manager. Not only has Tiea earned her Residential Management Professional designation, she also earned the title of Master Property Manager. That's the highest designation given by the National Association of Residential Property Managers! There are currently less than 200 designated MPMs in the entire world!! (Are you starting to understand just how amazing she is?)

 

Even with people like Tiea in the world, there are still those who choose to try and manage their own properties. It can be stressful, sure. But what's worse than the stress is making small, simple mistakes you might not even know are mistakes. Tiea has watched home owners allow their beautiful investments to become bottomless money…

Websites like Trulia, Realtor.com, and Zillow have made the market transparent; literally anyone can see when a house goes on the market and do their own research to determine if a home is fairly priced. Of course, these types of public websites aren’t as accurate or efficient as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a website that is only available to Realtors, but they do educate the general public in ways we’ve never seen before.

But now, these sites aren’t just offering you free information about the market: they’re getting into the business of buying and selling your homes. For example, Zillow’s “Instant Offers” program allows you to receive several offers on your house within a few days, and all you have to do is send details and a few photos.

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There are hundreds of intricate details that go in to buying a home. But did you know that the timing of your purchase agreement can play a huge role in how much money it costs you to purchase a home? An experienced Realtor can (and should) help you to write a contract according to the timeline that saves you the most money upfront. 

Here are three examples of how timelines can play into your purchase, and how your Realtor can step in to advocate for you:

1. Buyers must pay for the appraisal of the home they want to buy (meaning a determination of how much the home is actually worth). If the home does not appraise for the agreed-upon sales price, the buyer has the option of removing their purchase offer. BUT! The buyer has already agreed to put

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After the housing market began to collapse in 2006/2007, home values plummeted. Lenders needed to protect themselves, so folks who would have qualified for a home loan in the years prior were now out of luck. Foreclosures were rampant.
Now, almost 10 years later, we at Round Table Realty are watching homes regain value and buyers are racing to scoop up houses within days of hitting the market. We can help buyers make financially sound offers based on market value, but we also have incredible relationships with mortgage lenders in our community who know how to make our clients stand out amidst of sea of hungry buyers. 
In this video, Carlos Wilcox from Movement Mortgage chats with Howard about the different financing qualifications:
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