(954) 547.4601

Rathe.S@EWM.com

This grand executive home has 6 bedrooms and 4 full baths. Elegant two-story entrance with formal living and dining rooms. New laminate wood flooring throughout 2nd floor.  Wrought iron railing and crown moldings are stunning accents.  New lighting was just installed in all baths and hallway. Upper floor was just painted and has new custom blinds. Home has a beautiful large pool.  This gated community has many amenities including miniature golf, clubhouse, tennis, and much more.

This home is offered at $459,000. Please contact Sandra Rathe at 954-547-4601 for more details.

According to research by Realtor.com homes that have multiple pictures will have increased traffic by 3 fold.  Of these homes with multiple pictures 72% will receive requests for more information about the home.  When determining which listings to send buyers we often select the homes with the most pictures if we have too many homes to choose from.  We as agents, also eliminate homes with poor pictures that are blurry or have too narrow of a view of the rooms.  Make sure your agent has the capability and willingness to have professional pictures taken of your home, this is the first impression everyone will have of your home.  First impressions are lasting impressions!
 

During the first half of 2011 Sunset Lakes had 43 single family homes and 5 townhomes sell through the MLS system. This is on track with the number of homes that were sold in 2010. The more shocking information is the mix of types of sales. During 2010 we saw regular sales accounting for the majority of all single family home transactions at 44%. For the first 6 months of 2011 we have seen the percentage of regular sales drop significantly down to just 37%. Short sales have remained fairly steady with just a slight drop from 34% last year to 33% so far this year. The more dramatic change is in the increase in foreclosures from 22% last year to 30% this year. Despite our efforts to help homeowners save their credit and take financial responsibility by doing a short sale, we are seeing an increase in people just walking away from their homes. The short sale really is a much better option for the owner, the bank, and the community. If you want more information about doing a short sale contact me at your earliest convenience. Unfortunately we have hundreds of homes in Sunset Lakes that are in some stage of foreclosure. Even if foreclosure proceedings have begun, its not too late to do a short sale. The vast number of foreclosures will continue to put downward pressure on our prices until we can eliminate the majority of them. If you know someone in financial distress please encourage them to call me and I will do my best to help them.

Remember when you had that new AC put in, or had that new walkway made, or maybe it was a new fence in the backyard? Sure it was several years ago and you hired what seemed to be a reputable company to do the work, but did they actually do everything that was needed? In May alone I closed 5 homes in Sunset Lakes, of those 5 homes 4 had violations of some sort on them that the home owner was completely unaware of. The contractors came and did the work and got paid and the clients were happy with the craftsmanship but what they didn’t know was that the contractors never filed for the proper permit or never had the permits closed out.

What does this mean to you the homeowner? If the city were to catch the violation at a later date they can require you, the homeowner, to pull a permit which costs money, then also have the permit properly documented and approved by having a city inspector come out and then close out the permit. The city may also fine you for not having had the correct permit in the first place. When you go to sell your home this can create a significant problem for you. In order to sell the house all violations need to be taken care of prior to close. If you are in a contract with a tight closing date you could find yourself out of contract if you can’t resolve the violation quickly. Most often we see the issue is just a missing permit. But sometimes it can be a more serious problem if something was done out of code and your contractor is long gone. The contractors were paid years or months ago, they have no incentive to come back and fix the problem. In a lot of cases the contractors are no longer in business and you will be stuck having to correct the violation yourself.

This type of added stress is not something anyone needs the week or two before closing and while trying to pack and plan your life in your new home.

One of the homes I closed in May had an AC installed two years prior but the contractor never pulled the permit. The client had a really hard time getting a hold of the AC company and getting them to resolve it. They were fortunate to get the contractor to do the right thing but it took more than a week, in a shorter closing period this could have effected the closing and put the seller at risk. A second home that I closed in May had a violation for an unpermitted walkway. We were notified of this just 4 days prior to closing, in this situation the seller chose to fix the problem himself and pay for the permit to avoid the risk of being out of contract. It was an extra $100 he should not have had to spend if the contractor had done the right thing.

To avoid these pitfalls ask your contractor to provide you with proof that he/she did in fact pull a permit and to provide you with a copy of the final approval by the city. This will save you a lot of headaches later on and could save you a significant amount of money if permits do need to be opened and will help prevent finable violations from the work not being performed to code.