You can spend a weekend on the couch watching HGTV and take notes on home trends. Chip and Joanna or those Property Brothers are a great resource, but unless you are a professional carpet-straightener with an all-in investment of $800,000, there's a good chance you won't ever achieve those levels of trend-greatness. 

 

In better news, having a Realtor on your side will actually give you a tremendous advantage. Realtors are going in and out of houses all day every day. They're watching trends in real time. So while the following trend tips can help, your specific home might call for different trends. First and foremost, find a Realtor who can tell you if this list applies to your home...

Trend #1 -  Backsplash Take a chance on your…

In a case filed this year against one of New York's most prestigious Real Estate companies, Houlihan Lawrence, plaintiffs are arguing that the brokerage duped them into signing dual agency forms. Dual agency is when a Real Estate agent can represent both the buyer and the seller in a single transaction, which means that neither party has the benefit of full-disclosure, loyalty, or confidentiality. The agent is working for the deal, not for the people involved. The law in New York states that both the buyer and seller must be fully informed if a Real Estate agent is acting as a dual agent. While the case is still pending and it's possible the plaintiffs did sign documentation that their agent was acting a dual agent, it doesn't mean they understood the

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"Just up the street from me there is a beautiful, 5 bedroom/4 bathroom home with lots of space and a beautiful layout. But I was shocked when I actually walked through the home. There were so many thing I would have changed to help the home show better. Sometimes a listing agent doesn't explain the importance of a few basic upgrades and house-cleaning issues to the homeowner prior to listing a home, and sometimes a homeowner just doesn't listen because they believe they know better than the agent. At this point that home has been on the market over 100 days..."
-An RTR Agent

 

We see it happen more than we'd like - beautiful homes sitting on the market because an agent didn't do their job or a homeowner is afraid to take their agent's advice.…

What's the first thing buyers look for when they're searching for a new home?
Home prices.

It's the most obvious answer because most of us have a budget we must keep our monthly expenses under. While buyers are typically accurate with what they can afford, they miss the mark when it comes to understanding how much a home actually costs. They leave out figures like taxes, which are often applied to their monthly payments. They leave out home owners' insurance and home owners' association fees, also billed monthly. And they don't take into consideration the ongoing maintenance costs that come with owning a home (often because they were previously renting and weren't responsible for those fees!).

When you begin your home search, get in touch with a…

The home buying process starts well before an offer makes it to the table; most people know that. But when a buyer is ready to begin the home search, what do they do first? "Zillow," the agents at Round Table Realty chuckle and say.  Zillow and the other website we digitally peel through looking for houses for sale are great resources for getting started: choosing a neighborhood, a home style, a price range... It's amazing that you and I can see inside of a house the day it goes on the market. It also creates a sense of excitement, and let's face it - urgency. Buyers want to be the first to get into these newly-listed homes because they don't want to lose the chance to put in an offer. Buyers then call their local, friendly Realtor. The…

It seems so easy. The property taxes are listed right there in the city records! Our clients regularly check those records to get an idea of what their taxes will be when they purchase their new property or home. The trouble? Most real estate agents never even go over property taxes, let alone put a blinding STOP to clients trying to figure them out on their own. Eek!
The taxes on the property you're purchasing are simply-put not the same as the taxes were for the previous owners. In some cases they're far more than what the previous owners were paying, depending on how long they'd been in the property and whether or not they rented it out. And to determine how you'll be taxed on your new property, you need an expert.
With so many nuances involved in

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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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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 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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