Parkland Parrot

City Of Parkland Launches New Website – CityOfParkland.org

The City of Parkland Florida launches a brand new more aesthetically pleasing website at: CityOfParkland.org

The new homepage boasts a new large calendar of events, updated Parkland city information, community activites, groups, and much more.  We welcome all of our readers to visit the new Parkland City website.  You can also register to receive email notifications for upcoming events and news.

To stay updated with all of the current Parkland real estate home information, receive our blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing to the squawk.

If you are interested in buying or selling a real estate property in Parkland, please give the Parkland Real Eestate Team a call at 954-609-0591 or send a note to the squawk.

Sellers Riding Parkland Real Estate Roller Coaster?

Price Your Home Accordingly From Day One And Don’t Ride The Real Estate Roller Coaster

After closing our recent Pine Tree Estates home located at 6213 N.W. 63rd Way, Parkland, FL 33067 last week, I thought about how this particular seller rode the real estate roller coaster for the past few years.  He had gone through three top-producing local Realtors, before our team listed and sold his home in under 50 days!  He told me that they had an offer a year and a half ago for 1 million dollars, which he did not take!  As a result, he ended up selling his home in the $800,000’s, which is top-market price today!

I performed some further research using the 33 single family homes that sold in December, 2009. On average, each home ended up selling for approximately 25% less than it was originally listed for.  Of course, some sellers had their homes on the market in 2005 and had unrealistic expectations.

But, many of your fellow Parkland neighbors decided to ride the Parkland real estate roller coaster.  Unfortunately, the price of the ticket costs tens of thousands of dollars!

We recently went to contract on our listing in North Pine Tree Estates located at 6920 N.W. 66th Ave, Parkland, FL 33067.  We provided our sellers with this useful information about proper pricing.  Fortunately, both of our recent sellers had their homes under contract in under 50 days!! Best news is that they did not have to ride the Parkland real estate roller coaster.

As home values continue to settle this year, sellers need to understand that pricing is imperative in today’s real estate market.  It is very important to interview the right agent for the job of selling your home who is looking to actually SELL your listing and not just take your listing! Or else, you, your family, and your Realtor should be prepared to buckle up and ride the real estate roller coaster! Are you afraid of heights?

If you are thinking about selling your home, or know someone looking to sell, please give us a call at 954-609-0591 or send a note to the squawk.

To stay updated with all of the current Parkland real estate home information, receive our blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing to the squawk.

Buyers That Are Prequalified or Preapproved?

Should A Buyer Be Prequalified or Preapproved?

With banks becoming even tighter on their financing criteria, many Parkland sellers and their real estate agents MUST make sure that buyers are truly qualified to purchase a home before entering into a purchase agreement.

Prequalification is the process where a lender or mortgage broker pulls credit and looks at the complete credit report of the borrower, as well as the  buyer’s income and debts.  As a result, a lender will be able to use this pertinent information to determine how much mortgage the potential purchaser can really afford. But, there is no bank accounts or employment verified during the prequalification process.

Preapproval occurs when ALL employment and credit is verified and approved by the lender or mortgage broker.  During the preapproval process, the potential buyer provides more detailed information in order to verify their statements.  After this information is verified, then the mortgage is approved, subject to a home appraisal.  The final loan is approved after the property appraises, and the bank receives all documentation and satisifes the contingencies and conditions of the loan before closing.

It is important for all sellers and Realtors to understand that a prequalification letter does not mean that a buyer is 100% able to purchase the said property.  When receiving offers on our Parkland property listings, we ask that ALL buyers are preapproved for a loan.  I really do not understand why a buyer would not make sure that they are truly approved to purchase a property in a particular price range and understand their exact terms and conditions of the loan.  As a result, the “prequalification letter” is just a piece of paper.  I want the preapproval letter and still have questions from the buyer’s mortgage lender before I even present the offer to my sellers!

The moral of the story is that with the lending institutions tightening their financing criterias, it is essential that all buyers get preapproved before looking at properties or at least before submitting a formal offer!

To stay updated with all of the current Parkland real estate home information, receive our blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing to the squawk.

If you are interested in buying or selling a real estate property in Parkland, please give us a call at 954-609-0591 or send a note to the squawk.

Parkland Real Estate Roundup January To Date

Parkland Real Estate Home Market Activity

As we get closer towards the end of the calendar year, I wanted to research what types of homes have been selling in Parkland.  After further research, there have been a total of 274 single family sales year to date.  Among the 274 sales, 107 were distressed sales (Short sales or bank foreclosures), and 167 were regular sales.

It is amazing to believe that distressed sales are becoming even more prevalent in Parkland.  Almost 40% of the total sales were foreclosures or short sales in 2009.  Even in a luxury market like Parkland, distressed sales are going to continue to grow in 2010.

I also researched and found that there are currently 78 pending short sales, and 16 pending bank foreclosures, where potential buyers and sellers are anxiously awaiting approvals from the banks.  There are ONLY 31 pending regular sales awaiting to be closed.

If you have owned a home in Parkland for an extended period of time  and are not in financial distress, it may be a perfect time to list your home on the market.  Many buyers want to close sooner than later and do not wish to experience the long process of purchasing a distressed sale.  Your home may be worth more than you think! You may also be able to take advantage of portability on your taxes to another property.  Please give us a call at 954-609-0591 for a free comparative market analysis.

To stay updated with all of the current Parkland real estate information, receive our blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing to the squawk.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Parkland, please give us a call at 954-609-0591 or send a note to the squawk.