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Tract Home VS. Spec Home VS. Custom Home

Tract Home VS. Spec Home VS. Custom Home

Tract Home VS. Spec Home VS. Custom Home

Tract Home VS. Spec Home VS. Custom Home

 

Buying a newly constructed home is exciting, but there are a lot of different options. Finding the right home style is important, whether it’s a custom-built house on a plot of land you just bought or a move-in ready home in a brand-new, cookie-cutter neighborhood.

Tract, spec, and custom homes have their differences, and understanding these differences can better inform your homebuying decision.

“Understanding the differences in home type is as essential as understanding your true costs, from monthly mortgage payments to insurance to electric bills. Home type needs to be matched to your preferences and budget with a long-term perspective,” says Megan Fox at Compass.

Each type of home might fit better with a certain type of buyer. Which build you choose ultimately comes down to buyer preference, budget, and stage of life. Here are some things to know about the main types of new-home construction.

Tract home

A tract home is a residential development where several homes with the same design are constructed on a large plot of land. Tract homes typically have two or three different layouts.

“The buyer for a tract home is someone who wants to live in a newer home in a development. They are not as picky about the design,” says Fox.

Filippo Incorvaia, founder/broker with FI Real Estate in Miami, says the intended buyer of a tract home is usually a first-time homebuyer or someone who is looking for an affordable option.

Tract homes are typically constructed in suburban areas and are more affordable due to cost-saving measures of constructing multiple homes with the same design.

“They are the least expensive of all three types,” says Fox. “There are usually several homes available as many are built at the same time.”

The advantages of this type of new construction are that it tends to be located in areas with amenities like parks, schools, and shopping centers. Tract homes are usually built in established neighborhoods with easy access to transportation.

But on the flip side, tract homes lack customization because their designs are predetermined, giving buyers limited choices on finishes and features. They can have a cookie-cutter feel and lack personality. Then there’s their lack of privacy.

“Tract homes are often built in densely populated areas,” says Incorvaia.

Spec home

A spec home is a newly built home that doesn’t have a specific buyer in mind.

“These are usually marketed toward buyers who want a new home without the hassle of building it themselves,” says Incorvaia.

This type of home is typically built on a property the developer already purchased in new developments or neighborhoods. Since the homes are newly constructed, they meet the latest building codes and have modern features. Plus, they often come with warranties for appliances, HVAC systems, and other features, giving buyers peace of mind, says Incorvaia.

But spec homes have limited customization options since they are often built before a buyer is secured, and they can lack character since they are often built quickly without a specific buyer in mind.

There might also be additional costs to ownership.

“Buyers may be surprised by additional costs associated with purchasing a spec home, such as upgraded features or HOA fees,” says Incorvaia.

Custom home

A custom home is one built to the exact specifications of a buyer.

“These homes are intended for buyers who have specific design preferences and are willing to pay for a one-of-a-kind home,” says Incorvaia.

But there is a downside to custom homes. They cost more than other types of builds because of the higher level of customization and attention to detail. Plus, their construction can take more time since they’re built from scratch.

“It can take a long time to complete and will generally be the most expensive type of new construction,” says Fox.

And there’s more risk.

“Since the buyer has more control over the design and construction of a custom home, there is more potential for errors or changes that can lead to additional costs or delays,” says Incorvaia.

Experts in Residential Real Estate in Orlando

If you are BUYING or SELLING real estate it’s quiet often the single most important financial decision you make. For the last 30 years we have helped clients buying and selling property in Orlando and the surrounding areas. Put simply, this means the knowledge and expertise accumulated over this time ensures our clients get the best representation possible.

Our experienced agents will help and guide you through the entire process providing valuable support every step of the way.

Ready to make a Move?

Bardell Real Estate are the experts in helping you with your selling, buying or renting needs near Orlando, Florida. Make your Disney area experience a forever memorable one. Call us now to speak to a real estate agent.

 

Spacious PoloPark East Home Just Listed

Spacious PoloPark East Home Just Listed

Spacious PoloPark East Home Just Listed

449 Dreama Dr, Davenport, FL

$167000

2bed – 2bath – 4256 sqft lot
Photos | Maps & Local | Schools | Print

Spacious 1,342 sq.ft 2 bed, 2 bath home. The flowing open floor plan comprises a large living room open to the dining area and kitchen. Double doors lead from the living area into the Florida room which then accesses a further screened room. Both bedrooms are oversized and both offer walk-in closets. The utility/laundry room completes the picture inside and gives access to the storage area. Outside you’ll find ample parking, a 12′ x 43′ carport and a large 19 x 11 attached shed with double doors leading to a rear patio area. The home benefits from a NEW hot water heater and NEW laminate flooring in both bedrooms. A/C was replaced in 2016. NEW ROOF WILL BE INSTALLED PRIOR TO CLOSING. What are you waiting for? Call to arrange a viewing today!

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Perfect PoloPark East Home Just Listed

Perfect PoloPark East Home Just Listed

Perfect PoloPark East Home Just Listed

800 Polo Park East Blvd, Davenport, FL

$169900

2bed – 2bath – 4012 sqft lot
Photos | Maps & Local | Schools | Print

Location! Location! Location! Ideally situated between the community amenities center and golf course and lake front with fishing pier and boat ramp and storage. What a great location! This community is truly Florida living at its best! This two bedrooms / 2 bathrooms manufactured home has an open plan design making the home feel larger than the actual square footage. Off the living room is the screen room with river rock flooring and vinyl windows. The home backs onto the perimeter of the community so you do have plenty of space between yourself and any rear neighbors in the adjoining community. The property also benefits from a single car garage with electric door open as well as a golf cart or workshop which can be accessed from the garage but it does have it’s own up door and cart track to this part of the garage. A new roof will be installed prior to closing. Ideally located close to grocery stores, restaurants, theme parks, medical facilities as well as easy access to highway 192, I4 and 429 toll road. Enjoy the amenities and activities that this beautiful active adult community offers. Time to start living the Florida lifestyle!

Follow This Home

agent
RE/MAX HERITAGE
RE/MAX HERITAGE
863-424-2309
Contact Me

Useful Links
Davenport Homes For Sale
Clermont Homes For Sale
Free Home Values
Search All Homes For Sale

Ready to make a Move?

Bardell Real Estate are the experts in helping you with your selling, buying or renting needs near Orlando, Florida. Make your Disney area experience a forever memorable one. Call us now to speak to a real estate agent.

 

Median Prices Up in February

Median Prices Up in February

Median Prices Up in February

Fla.’s Housing Market: Inventory, Median Prices Up in February

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market in February continued to show increasing inventory (active listings) and higher median prices compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data.

Still, economic uncertainty, inflation and interest rates fluctuating above 6% impacted the state’s housing sector. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide last month totaled 18,627, down 21.3% year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 7,665, down 30.2% from February 2022, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

“The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was in the 6- to 6.5% range for much of January, which helped spur some renewed activity in the existing home sales market,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “While closed sales were still down substantially year over year, the numbers for February were much more favorable than what we saw in January.

“One area where we worsened compared to last month, however, was in new listings. The last time there were this few new listings in the month of February was in 2013, in both property type categories. This lack of new listings kept inventories from expanding much at all. Single-family inventory actually declined month-over-month though it was still higher year-over-year.”

In February, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $395,000, up 3.5% from the previous year; for condo-townhouse units, it was $315,000, up 8.6% over February 2022. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

“The supply of for-sale homes is slowly building, which is easing inventory constraints in many markets across the state,” said 2023 Florida Realtors® President G. Mike McGraw, a broker-associate with RE/MAX Central Realty in Apopka. “As more inventory becomes available, it will begin to ease some of the pressure on home prices – and that helps buyers dealing with higher interest rates and affordability challenges.

“Working with a local Realtor means consumers have an expert guide who can help them understand the complex and emotional process of buying or selling a home.”

Statewide inventory in February was higher than a year ago for both existing single-family homes, increasing by 131.4%, and for condo-townhouse units, up 106%. The supply of single-family existing homes was at a 2.7-months’ supply while existing condo-townhouse properties were at a 3.2-months’ supply last month.

Source

Ready to make a Move?

Bardell Real Estate are the experts in helping you with your selling, buying or renting needs near Orlando, Florida. Make your Disney area experience a forever memorable one. Call us now to speak to a real estate agent.

 

What Does ‘Fee Simple’ Mean?

What Does ‘Fee Simple’ Mean?

What Does ‘Fee Simple’ Mean?

What Does ‘Fee Simple’ Mean?

The term “fee simple” is typically found on a house’s official deed, one of those nondescriptive real estate terms whose meaning is not clear immediately—or even after a few hours’ pondering. You might have a dark suspicion, as a cash-strapped new homeowner, that fee simple means more fees. Well, rest assured it does not.

As a matter of fact, having a fee simple estate is a good thing when it comes to property ownership. It means you own the property outright, and no one else has claim to it. It’s described by many different sources as the highest form of land ownership in common-law countries. “Fee simple” may be only three short syllables, but it packs a lot of power.

Here are some of the main characteristics of a fee simple ownership:

1. The property—and everything above and below it—is yours

The house and the land it’s on is yours and yours alone. You may do with it as you please—although you’re still subject to laws and restrictions (more on those later). Not only do you own the property on the surface of the land, but you also own the air rights above and the mineral rights in the ground below.

“The mineral properties may include oil, gas, mineral rocks, or coal,” says real estate journalist Marie Huntington. That’s right. If you strike oil on your fee simple property, the proceeds are all yours!

2. You can pass the property along to your heirs

If you have fee simple ownership of a property, it becomes part of your estate, and you have the right to decide who inherits it after you die. Whether you pass it along to a friend, family member, charitable foundation, or your dog, the decision is yours alone. The recipient might have to pay inheritance taxes, and your heirs can challenge one another in court for interest in the property, but you can minimize these complications by consulting a probate attorney shortly after you acquire fee simple ownership.

3. You can sell the property without restrictions

Put your property on the market and sell it to any person or organization at whatever price you find acceptable. No one (except the government in certain instances) can tell you who can buy it or what price you can ask for it.

Be aware that if you’ve purchased a townhouse, co-op, or condo, you probably don’t own it fee simple; your deed is likely to say “lease ownership.” While you own the residence or unit itself, you probably don’t own the land on which the development is built. Check your covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs, to find out what type of ownership you’ve purchased. They may require you to get approval from a board or committee before you can sell your unit.

4. The government still has a say

Although you have fee simple ownership interest, be aware that Uncle Sam still has the right to make demands of you and your property. For example, you have to pay taxes (duh), and you’re still subject to compulsory purchase (if the city decides to build a freeway through your property and offers to pay you fair market value for your place) or police action (as in, “Open up! This is the police!”).

Local zoning laws can also come into play; certain structures and types of businesses cannot be built near a school or park. And then there are building codes and restrictions you have to adhere to, such as easements, zoning ordinances, and fire regulations.

But while you won’t be completely free from restrictions, know that fee simple ownership is the most complete form of ownership we have here in the United States. In nutshell: You bought it, you paid for it, it’s yours.

Experts in Residential Real Estate in Orlando

If you are BUYING or SELLING real estate it’s quiet often the single most important financial decision you make. For the last 30 years we have helped clients buying and selling property in Orlando and the surrounding areas. Put simply, this means the knowledge and expertise accumulated over this time ensures our clients get the best representation possible.

Our experienced agents will help and guide you through the entire process providing valuable support every step of the way.

 

Ready to make a Move?

Bardell Real Estate are the experts in helping you with your selling, buying or renting needs near Orlando, Florida. Make your Disney area experience a forever memorable one. Call us now to speak to a real estate agent.

 

Steps to Buying a House for the First Time

Steps to Buying a House for the First Time

Steps to Buying a House for the First Time

Steps to Buying a House for the First Time

The steps to buying a house for the first time might seem complicated—particularly if you’re a home buyer trying to purchase real estate with no prior experience. Between down payments, credit scores, mortgage rates (both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate), property taxes, interest rates, and closing the deal, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There’s so much at stake with a first home!

Still, if you familiarize yourself with what it takes to buy your first home beforehand, it can help you navigate the real estate market with ease. So let’s get started!

Ready to buy a house? Follow these steps to buying a house for the first time

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn what it takes to buy your first home, from beginning to end. Whether it’s your first time in the real estate market or you’re an experienced homeowner who wants to brush up on your skills, this is everything you need to know about how to buy a house.

Step 1: Start saving a down payment

One of the most important steps to buying a house for the first time? Figure out your finances. Buying a new home (particularly for the first time) requires a mortgage, where a lender fronts you the money and you pay it back over time. However, in order to get a mortgage, you’ll need some sort of down payment.

So how much do you need?

Ideally a down payment on a mortgage should be 20% of the home’s price to avoid added fees, but if you don’t have that much of a down payment, don’t worry. A mortgage down payment can be as low as 10%, 5%, or even 0% for certain types of mortgages (e.g., VA loans or a USDA loan).

If saving up a downpayment is a real challenge, find out everything you can about government programs. A HUD home is a property owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They require lower down payments for eligible participants, and often sell at below market prices.

Step 2: Check your credit score

Did you forget to pay off a couple of credit cards? Unfortunately, it’ll affect your credit score.

In addition to having a down payment, a first-time home buyer will need a decent credit score. This three-digit number is a numerical summary of your credit report, a detailed document outlining how well you’ve paid off past debts like for credit cards and college student loans.

A lender will check your score and report in order to estimate the odds that you will deliver your monthly payment, too.

In turn, the lender will use this info to decide whether or not to loan you money, as well as how much and at what interest rate. If a lender sees some late payments on your credit cards or other blemishes in your credit report, this can lower your odds of getting a loan with a great interest rate, or perhaps even jeopardize your chances of getting any loan at all.

So it’s essential to know your credit score, and take steps with those overextended credit cards and high-interest debts to bring your credit score up to snuff.

Step 3: Get pre-approved for a mortgage

Another one of the most important first-time home buyer steps? Seeking pre-approval from a lender for a home loan. This is where you meet with a loan officer, ideally a few at various mortgage companies.

Each mortgage lender will scrutinize your financial background—such as your debt-to-income ratio and assets—and use this info to determine whether to loan you money, and what size monthly payment you can realistically afford. This will help you target homes in your price range. And that’s good, because a purchase price that’s beyond your financial reach will make you sweat your mortgage payment and puts you at risk of defaulting on your loan.

As a buyer, just keep in mind that mortgage pre-approval is different from mortgage pre-qualification. Pre-qualify, and you’re undergoing a much simpler process that can give you a ballpark figure of what you can afford to borrow, but with no promise from the lender. Getting pre-approved is more of a pain since you’ll have to provide tons of paperwork, but it’s worth the trouble since it guarantees you’re creditworthy and can truly buy a home.

Step 4: Find a real estate agent

Want a trusty home-buying guide by your side? Most first-timers will want a great real estate agent—specifically a buyer’s agent, who will help them find the right houses, negotiate a great real estate deal, and explain all of the nuances of home buying along the way.

The best part? The agent’s services are free to first-time home buyers (because the seller pays the sales commission).

Note: There is a subtle difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor®; the latter is a member of the National Association of Realtors® and adheres to a code of ethics. Consider having a Realtor additional insurance that you’ll get the help you need to ace the process.

Step 5: Go shop for a home!

This is the fun part! As a home buyer, you can peruse thousands of real estate listings on sites such as realtor.com, then ask your agent to set up appointments to see your favorites in person.

Since the sheer number of homes can become overwhelming, it’s best to separate your must-haves from those features you’d like, but don’t really need. Do you really want a new home or do you prefer a fixer-upper? Make a list of your wants and needs to get started, and whittle down your options.

Step 6: Make an offer

Found your dream home? Then it’s time to make an offer to the seller. Be prepared to write a check to the seller—it’s called “earnest money,” and it’s different than the deposit.

Here’s more on how to make an offer on a house that a seller can’t refuse.

Step 7: Get a home inspection

A home inspection is where you hire a home inspector to check out the house from top to bottom to determine if there are any problems with it that might make you think twice about moving forward. Think: termites, faulty foundation, mold, asbestos, etc. Sure, a lot can go wrong, but rest assured that most problems are fixable.

Step 8: Get a home appraisal

Even if you got pre-approved for your home loan, your lender will want to conduct a home appraisal. This is where the lender checks out the house to make sure it’s a good investment. It’s similar to a home inspection, but for your lender.

Step 9: Head to closing

Closing, which in different parts of the country is also known as settlement or escrow, brings together a variety of parties who are part of the real estate transaction, including the buyer, seller, mortgage representative, and others.

Closing is the day you officially get the keys to your new home—and pay all the various parties involved. That will include your down payment for your loan, plus closing costs, the extra fees you pay to process your loan.

Closing costs can be sizable, averaging anywhere from 2% to 7% of the home price.

Step 10: Move in!

Done with closing? Got your loan? Congratulations, you’ve officially graduated from a home buyer to a homeowner! See, the long-term process of buying a first home wasn’t so scary after all, right? Now it’s time to kick back and enjoy the many benefits of becoming a homeowner.

 

Experts in Residential Real Estate in Orlando

If you are BUYING or SELLING real estate it’s quiet often the single most important financial decision you make. For the last 30 years we have helped clients buying and selling property in Orlando and the surrounding areas. Put simply, this means the knowledge and expertise accumulated over this time ensures our clients get the best representation possible.

Our experienced agents will help and guide you through the entire process providing valuable support every step of the way.

Ready to make a Move?

Bardell Real Estate are the experts in helping you with your selling, buying or renting needs near Orlando, Florida. Make your Disney area experience a forever memorable one. Call us now to speak to a real estate agent.