Common Mistakes First Time Homebuyers Make During The Closing Process

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Buying a new home is exciting, but it is also a very serious financial transaction that needs to be handled with extreme attention to detail. Even the slightest oversight during a real estate sale can lead to years of frustrating issues and tremendous expense for the new homeowners. The closing process can be an especially precarious part of the deal.

Surrounding yourself with a team of experts in handling real estate closings is an important first step, but ultimately, you, as the homebuyer, must take all the appropriate steps to ensure your closing goes as planned. To make the process smoother, avoid these common mistakes made by first-time homebuyers during closing: Read more

What Are Jumbo Loans?

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When you’re in the market to finance a piece of real estate, the variety of mortgage options available can be overwhelming. Mortgages can be conforming, non-conforming, prime, subprime, adjustable rate, fixed… it’s like you need to learn a whole new vocabulary just to figure it all out!

How Much is a Jumbo Loan in Hillsborough County?

However, a jumbo loan, or jumbo mortgage, is pretty straightforward. If you imagine a jumbo loan is simply a loan for an extra large amount of money, then you’d be right! In most areas of the United States in 2022, including Tampa Bay, a jumbo mortgage is any mortgage that exceeds $647,200. The only area of Florida where a conventional mortgage can exceed this limit is Monroe County (home of the Florida Keys). Read more

How to Prepare Your Home for Buyers

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When you’ve made the decision to sell your home, (and now is a great time to do so!) you want to be sure to get top dollar. Even in today’s seller’s market, little details can make a big difference in your final sale price. 

Here at Benefit Title Services in Tampa, we’ve seen firsthand how sellers that go the extra mile get the most profit possible out of their homes. You too can get top dollar for your home by following our four C’s of home sale prep: Read more

Do You Get Taxed on Rental Properties?

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If you’re considering getting into rental properties, you need to educate yourself on all of the laws and rules that are involved, especially about taxes. The income that you make on any rental properties you own is considered taxable income. When it comes time to sell that rental property, you’ll pay capital gains taxes on your net profit from the sale. These tax obligations can quickly turn your profitable venture into a loss, so it’s very important to know how they work before you purchase a rental property.

Let’s look more into these different taxes and how they may affect you as a landlord: Read more

How Do Capital Gains Taxes on Investment Properties Work?

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Owning investment property is a dream for many people and is often seen as a way to gain passive income and financial security. The formula seems simple at first – as long as you can rent the property out for more than your expenses, you’re in the money… right?

Well, not always. Many people fail to consider the impact that taxes can have when it comes time to sell an investment property. And, if you’ve owned that property for less than a year, that impact can be quite large. Let’s take a look at how the IRS taxes your profit from selling investment property, known as capital gains taxes, and some ways you can lessen your tax burden. Read more

What is a Turnkey Property?

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The simplest definition of turnkey property is a property that is ready to move into immediately. Turnkey is usually only used in reference to properties for sale, not those for rent. However, real estate investors may seek out turnkey properties to purchase and then immediately rent out.

Turnkey properties are highly desirable for both home buyers and investors, as most do not want to spend extra time and money renovating a property. For this reason, property developers often strive for turnkey status when preparing a property for sale, as this commands the highest sale prices. Read more

The Benefits of Buying a Foreclosed Home

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You may have heard stories of people finding spectacular foreclosed homes for extreme bargains, or perhaps you’ve heard of someone taking a risk on a foreclosure just to get burned with serious repair bills. 

Everyone has their own opinion of foreclosures, but the reality is that they are just like any other real estate deal. Buyers who don’t do their due diligence have a much greater chance of regretting their purchase later on.

So, what is so different about a foreclosed home? Well, it depends on what stage of foreclosure the home is in. The three stages of foreclosure are: Read more

What Are Closing Costs?

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Whenever you buy a home, many pieces must come together for the property to be appraised, sold, and transferred to a new owner. While you may only communicate with your realtor and a representative from your lender, many professionals are working behind the scenes to make sure the home buying process goes smoothly. Closing costs cover all the fees these professionals charge for their services.

Since closing costs is a blanket term that covers a variety of different fees and charges, there’s no way to give someone a definite answer as to how much their closing costs will be until they actually close on the property and sign all of the required documents. However, lenders do try to be transparent about estimated closing costs by providing all mortgage applicants with a Loan Estimate (formerly known as a Good Faith Estimate) a few days after submitting an application. This Loan Estimate will list all the expected closing costs associated with the prospective mortgage loan. The Loan Estimate is the best tool available for estimating your closing costs so you can budget appropriately. Read more

What is a Conventional Loan?

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A conventional mortgage loan is a mortgage loan that is not backed by a government agency. Conventional mortgage loans can be categorized in many different ways, including conforming v.s. non-conforming, fixed-rate v.s. adjustable-rate, and more.

Conventional mortgage loans are great for potential property buyers who don’t meet the requirements for other mortgage types, such as debt-to-income ratio or credit score. Since conventional loans are backed by private financial institutions instead of government agencies, they don’t always have to follow the strict regulations set in place by government officials. Depending on the buyer’s current financial situation and intended use of the property, a conventional loan may offer a lower interest rate and more favorable terms than a government-backed loan. Read more

In Real Estate, What Does “Exclusive Right to Sell” Mean?

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Selling your home can be very overwhelming and confusing. In addition to navigating the various laws and deadlines, there’s also a completely new language to learn. When you first speak to a realtor or start researching selling your home on the internet, you may be overwhelmed with all the jargon. If you decide to go with a realtor, they will probably present you with an “Exclusive Right to Sell” contract during one of your first meetings. Before you sign anything, you need to know exactly what that means.

What is an “Exclusive Right to Sell”?

When you sign an “Exclusive Right to Sell” contract with a realtor, you’re agreeing that only the realtor can market, promote, and sell your home until the contract’s end date. No other agent or broker can list, promote, or market your home, and all buyers must go through the exclusive agent. This also means that they get paid no matter who brings in the buyer for the house.  Read more