1. Tips on Buying a Lakeland
Fl Home In A Buyer’s
Market
Petra Norris
Realtor® Lakeland
FL Homes for Sale

2. Tips on Buying a Lakeland Fl Home In A Buyer’s
Market
Home prices and mortgage rates are still at historic
lows, now is the best time to buy a Lakeland Fl home
while the overall existing housing market in Lakeland
FL is still a buyer's market.
In some places, it may be still a buyer's market with the
number of sellers growing more than the number of
potential buyers. This results in home price
decreases, which makes buyers even happier. But on the
other hand, this could also complicate things for buyers
since it gives them too many choices for homes. Buyers
are also getting confused if they should buy now or wait it
out a few more months to see if prices of homes will
continue to fall.

3. Here are some tips to help you in buying a Lakeland Fl
home in a buyer’s market.
1. When you find the right home at the price that's just right, BUY IT
Taking a more active approach rather just waiting will help you
get thatLakeland Fl home of your dreams faster. Being active
means actively shopping for homes and negotiating deals with the
sellers, while the opposite is just passively browsing for houses
and waiting to stumble upon a good deal.
Waiting for home prices to fall before buying a home has its
risks, since someone might beat you to buying the house you
want while you are waiting out for the price to go down.
Remember, more than looking for the best price, you are really
looking for the best home. So once you find the home that meets
your needs and fits your budget, then make an offer!

4. 2. Use a good Lakeland Fl agent and the power of technology.
Aside from using the web to search for property listings, other
technological innovations are available to agents and buyers on the
internet such as valuation tools to estimate the market value of a home.
This will save you a good $300 in home appraisal costs if you were to
hire a professional to do it.
Websites like Zillow and Trulia are good resources to help homebuyers
find listings and have a free home appraisal on the Lakeland Fl home's
market value. Ask your agent about what is the best way to search for
homes.
But with so many listings and a wide variety of tools online, it could get a
bit overwhelming for Lakeland Fl home buyers, so it would be helpful to
hire a Lakeland Fl agent to help you sort them out and narrow down
your options based on your needs and capacity to buy. Make sure to
ask the agent about their experience, how long they have been in the
market, and if they are knowledgeable about the Lakeland Fl
neighborhoods and market conditions.

5. A good Lakeland Fl agent will be able to perform a comparative market
analysis, which is usually more accurate than free online CMAs. This
will then help you come up with the best deals narrowed down based
on your needs and budget.
3. Negotiate Effectively
In a buyer's market, there is more room for negotiation because
competition is stiff and home prices have been going down. But this
doesn't mean the buyer could just make lowball offers because sellers
will refuse to negotiate if they feel insulted. Buyers must be able to
defend their offer just as the seller should be able to defend the selling
price of the Lakeland Fl home for sale. This is where the CMA will come
in handy. You should be able to show the seller that this neighborhood
has 15 comparable Lakeland Fl homes for sale and though their home
is top on the list, it is priced 10% above the other homes. This will give
the buyer the leverage in establishing a reasonable and objective
negotiation.

6. Petra Norris - REALTOR®, SFR
Managing Broker - CDV
TransAtlantic, Inc. (863) 712-4207

7. 4. Avoid gimmicks.
Remember that you are buying a home and not a car or a holiday
package. You will find all sorts of gimmicks and incentives from
sellers these days like offering a flat screen TV or free stays at
vacation homes that has nothing to do with the transaction. Make
sure that the incentives the seller is offering is related to the
home, such as upgraded kitchen countertops, payment of closing
costs, or furniture and appliances that the seller will leave behind
upon selling the home.
Also avoid gimmicks called "magic loans" such as interest-only
loans or pay-option ARMs. If you can't afford the home with a
mainstream loan like a fixed rate 15-year, 30-year loan or a 5/1
ARM, then it simply means you can't afford it.