How to find and buy a house in the Ocala Marion county Florida area including 55+ retirement homes, golf course homes, short sales and foreclosures.

Punxsutawney Phil 2022

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I always found it fascinating and fun to see my favorite little ground hog on the television.  The whole affair of predicting the weather without radar, Doppler and satellites is amusing.  Seeing Punxsutawney’s handlers all dressed up with their suits and top hats has always brought a smile to my face.  I mean, who wants another 6 weeks of winter, right?  All that cold, windy, snowy stuff to deal with is not fun.  Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning so there is 6 more weeks of winter for folks in other parts of the country.  The good news (and don’t ruin it for the little ones) is he is only 40% accurate.  I heard he took the first flight to Florida he could today to get out of the cold!

We don’t really worry about 6 more weeks of winter in Central Florida.  We had a freeze for a couple of nights last week and they tell us one of those nights was the coldest in 4 years. It was pretty cold!  However, as it always happens in Florida it warms back up again.  Tomorrow we are going to experience 80 degrees and sunshine!  I have a lunch date with a colleague tomorrow.  I am going to head over in my golf cart because I can.  Talk to you soon!

 

Buying a house in Ocala in 2021

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It’s getting harder and harder to buy a house in Ocala. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months now and the following are random thoughts.

Unless you live in Ocala or within reasonable driving distance you’re screwed. No one will hold a house while you jump on a plane and come down here. You can’t even trust that a home that looks active doesn’t already have an offer.

I don’t see the market changing anytime soon. This is pure supply and demand. There is also a catch 22 thing where people are afraid to sell even at high prices because they don’t know where to go next.

If you are out of state and absolutely want to move there are a couple of things you can do.

  1. You could make an offer on a house sight unseen. Yes people actually do that but it’s highly dependent on your personality.
  2. You could sell your existing home. Store you furniture or sell everything but very important and personal items. You could then try and find some sort of rental which is very difficult or stay on a hotel for a month or two. I have heard there are rentals in The Villages in the summer off season. Some people have relatives to stay with or a few lucky ones might have an RV.

I did an informal survey of the community I live in, Stone Creek. A few homes are selling below list price but most are selling at or above list price. There were a lot of cash sales but sellers are still taking offers where the buyer is getting financing. I can’t tell if sellers are taking a contingency on the sale of an existing home or not.

Buying in a sellers market

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A few random thoughts about options and potential problem when making an offer in a sellers market.

Cash. Cash offers without a doubt gives the buyer an advantage. In Ocala though cash offers are not that unusual. We see them often. Cash with no contingency other than an inspection can’t be beat.

Contingencies. Contingencies are a disadvantage. An offer with a contingency on the sale of an existing home is the worst. Even before the current sellers market list agents and sellers were nervous about the sale of a buyers home. Finance contingency will lose out to cash every time. A loan with a local lender is usually look on as better than a big national bank.

Inspections. I put this in it’s own category instead of as a contingency. I have heard of buyers in super competitive situations skipping an inspection and I think that is just crazy. Maybe and just maybe if a house was a year or 2 old but even then I think an inspection should be done.

AS IS. An AS IS contract means that you do an inspection but the seller makes no repairs. The buyer can take it or walk away. Some list agents don’t like AS IS because unlike the traditional contract that locks the buyer in unless the repair limit is exceeded, in an AS IS the buyer can walk away during the inspection period. If a seller is open to AS IS it can be an advantage for the buyer.

Sight Unseen. By that I mean making an offer based on what you see online without actually visiting the house. I’m not a fan and don’t think I would buy a house like this but some people do. I have sold 6 or 7 sight unseen homes. I do a walk through looking for things that you can’t see on MLS images. I have also done short video walk throughs to get a feel for the property. I only do walk throughs and videos for buyers who are drop dead serious about making an offer on a specific home.

Renting. There are few to none short term rentals here in Ocala other than an Air B&B. Ocala 55+ communities have various restrictions against renting short term. Renting long term is hard to find and during the lease term home prices will go up and you’ll be spending $1500 to $2000 a month during the lease. I’ve been told there are short term rentals down in the Villages but that’s all I know. I don’t do rentals at all.

A sellers market here in Ocala

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The real estate market here in Ocala has changed dramatically since the fall. For example in the 55+ community I live in, Del Webb Stone Creek, last October there were at least 40 listings and today there are just 7.

I had a couple of buyers over the last couple of weeks. The first buyers had their house in another state under contract. They found 3 homes to see. When I went to make appointments 2 had contract but weren’t put as Pending into the MLS yet. They did like the one we saw and made an offer that was accepted. The 2nd buyer from South Florida found 4 homes. Once again when I went to make appointments 2 had just got under contract. A third stated in the Realtor remarks that they had multiple offers. My buyer decided to postpone her trip.

Inventory is limited. The lower your price range the harder it’s getting to find listings and when you go they go fast.

 

Sellers Market vs Buyers Market

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My real estate career has come full circle. I got my license in 2006 during a crazy real estate boom. In 2008 the bubble burst. I survived the next few years selling cheap homes for low commissions. Finally things picked up and prices went up and things were good. Now here in Ocala we are in a serious sellers market. By that I mean low inventory and homes selling in a few days in some cases.

I wrote this in May of 2009 and it holds true today. Sell high and buy high or Sell low and buy low

Is now the time to buy a house in Ocala FL ?

Think of it this way.

In a sellers market you sell high and generally in a short time. BUT then what do you do? Unless you’re headed to the nursing home or planning a backpacking trip to Tibet you’ll probably have to buy another house. You go out into a sellers market with few choices and pay top dollar for your next house.

Now in a buyers market you may sell lower than you’d like and maybe a lot lower. But you can go out into a buyers market full of inventory and pay an equally low price. That’s why I think a buyers market is actually better than a sellers market………….

The real estate crash in 2008 was not at all the same as today. In 08 a lot of people were buying homes with no down payment and poor credit. In Ocala people were actually speculating by putting money down on a new house and planning to flip it in 6 months after it was completed. There is none of that now.

Today is more supply and demand. A lot of people are leaving northern states and even South Florida because Ocala still has reasonable home prices when compared to other areas. Actually compared to my home town in Massachusetts prices in Ocala are cheap.

 

And yet another bank screws up a sale

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This is a follow up to my previous blog post Not all banks are the same.

My buyers selected at large national bank where they already had an account. We wrote a contract with a 45 day close. In Florida we pick a closing date at the time of the offer and that is the date we are supposed to close unless the sellers and buyers agree in writing to change that date. The loan officer assured my buyers right up to a couple of days before closing they would close on time. It’s important to know that the loan officer usually has little authority over the closer and underwriters. The people in the back room who in the case of big banks are in different cities started asking for more documents. For the 3rd time they asked the buyers for proof of funds they needed for closing in addition to their loan. Those funds were in a different bank. The buyers gave them proof but it took a week for it to go through the bureaucracy. We were now past the closing date. The sellers were furious. Did the bank do anything to expedite things ? No the buyers had an existing home they owned and gave that address to mail the home insurance bill to for their new Ocala house. The underwriters made them change that address with their insurance company. You might think something like that could be done in hours but no it takes days for the bank to respond. Then the bank wanted to see the insurance policy on their other home, a home they had no mortgage on. You might think it is none of the banks business what you do with another home you own but at this point the buyers were at their mercy. The point of this post is that big banks have no mercy. No compassion. They don’t think a state real estate contract terms apply to them. The buyers eventually closed almost 2 weeks after the agreed on date. Both the buyers and sellers were under a lot of stress. The sellers had moved out before the original closing date and needed their money.

Think long and hard before you pick a lender. Interest rates and fees are not the only thing to consider. A local lender is almost always a better choice than a national lender. You can go with any lender you want but ask them if they have a guarantee to close on time, not a promise.

Not all banks are the same

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This is an updated post that I originally wrote back in 2014. I just had another instance where a large national bank dropped the ball created endless stress and expense for my buyers.

My buyers told me they were getting financing from a large bank where they had all their accounts in the mid west. I warned them that their bank may have trouble closing on time. They said they knew the loan officer for years and he assured them he could do loans in Florida.

First the bank said they didn’t need a survey. Technically maybe they didn’t but if you don’t get a survey in Florida there is an exclusion on the title insurance noting there was no survey provided and the bank’s underwriters won’t approve a mortgage with an exclusion like that on the title insurance. Someone sat the bank should have known that. I had to tell the buyers who in turn had to almost fight the bank over something they should have known.

Secondly the bank at first said they didn’t need an appraisal. I told my buyers that was really odd and they should double check with their loan officer. Then the bank decided they did need an appraisal and it was not ordered on time. The appraisal didn’t come back until almost 2 weeks after our closing date. In Florida we set a firm closing date and need to get an extension signed by all parties to extend that date. The seller was frustrated but agreed to 2 extensions.

My buyers were rightfully frustrated. They had to live in a hotel for 2 weeks and their furniture had to be put in storage. They suffered over $3000- in expenses all because this large national bank was incompetent.

Below from a July 23 2014 post.

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Buying a house online in the age of the Coronavirus

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In this weird new Corona world I’ve been reading that people are shopping for and buying real estate sight unseen online. I’m not a big advocate of sight unseen but as it so happens I’ve sold several such properties. Being experienced in this area I thought I’d do a blog post describing how I’ve done this type of sale in the past.

  1. I send you listings or you contact me out of the blue with a home you’ve already found online.
  2. I will go over to the house and look it over. As you know the list agent takes pictures and writes a description putting the house in the best light and minimizing any negatives. I go and take pictures of anything I see as a negative for you the buyer. I have also in the past made short cell phone walk through videos.
  3. My looking at the home should not be confused with an inspection. I am not there to find structural, electrical, plumbing problems ect. You would hire a home inspector for that. I am just looking for things you cannot see online.. I can look for permits that may show the age of the roof and AC though.
  4. You can make an offer long distance by electronically signing a Florida purchase and sale agreement. This is pretty easy as long as you have minimal computer skills.
  5. Once the offer is negotiated you have a contract and can schedule an inspection. I go to all inspections so just in case there is an issue I can see it in person. The inspector will email a very detailed report to you and will be available to answer questions via cell phone. A lot of buyers who see the house in person go home and we do the inspection much like this.
  6. We do long distance closings here all the time. A title company will be selected by the seller. The seller pays for a title search and gives you a full warranty deed. The seller also pays for Doc Stamps (a tax ) and Realtor fees. If you are a cash buyer there are very few closing costs, inspections, survey and register the deed. HOA fees and taxes are pro rated. If you get a loan there are a lot of closing costs and they are all from with your lender. The title company will either mail or email closing documents and you will have to send them back by over night mail.
  7. I go to all closings. I will get the keys to your house and either hold onto them until you get here or mail them to you.

Ocala New Home Buyers Beware

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If you are looking at new homes and want to have the help of a Realtor beware ! If you contact a builder to request information be it on the phone or online they will register you as a customer. They do not disclose that they will not pay a real estate commission once they claim you as their customer. Builders do pay real estate commissions but only if the Realtor brings you into the sales office or pre registers you.

A Realtor can be a big help in buying a new home. The builders sales people are employees just like car sales people.

A Realtor can provide the following services.

  1. Show you resales that might exist that are only a couple of years old with upgrades beyond what you get in a new home from the builder.
  2. Show you sold comps to see what new and recent resales sold for.
  3. Realtors can help you select the best community for you. They will tell you the bad as well  the good unlike getting a one sided view from the builders employees.
  4. Help you select a good lot. I often scratch my head and wonder why with all those lots to pick from someone bought the one they did.
  5. Advise on options. Some options are a must and and others are just crazy over priced.
  6. Help find contractors for all those things you end up doing after closing.

There is no selling season in Ocala

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Unlike other parts of the country Ocala has no selling season. Up north home sales are slow in the winter. We don’t have a winter in Ocala. People don’t buy homes with the idea that they have to close before September so their kids can get into their school. Sales are a little slow during the holidays. For me personally most of my sales are between January and June. Sellers don’t list their homes during any one season.