Who's best match for seller?

Central Florida continues to see the trends of low inventory and high demand carry over into 2013. In many markets and neighborhoods sellers are noticing their home values (finally!) starting to rise. If the home for sale in question is a hot property and priced right sellers are often finding themselves fielding multiple offers.

A new trend in Central Florida specifically is that of investor groups and even some very well known hedge funds buying into the market in bulk. Cash investors, whether large investment groups or family members looking to maximize their IRA through real estate investing, are acquiring homes in Central Florida at an increasing rate. As a seller, you may have questions as to what this means for the market in general, and if one type of buyer is a better than the other. Here are some of the pros and cons of accepting a cash offer versus a financed owner occupant offer.

Cash offers typically close faster. One benefit of dealing with a cash investor, they tend to close quickly, usually in around two weeks. You can wrap things up and move on to your next destination almost immediately. Now, on the flipside, if you are not yet prepared to move on (i.e. your new home isn’t completed yet, your closing date for the next place isn’t for 45 days, etc.) this may not be a plus for you specifically. In the case that you are not in a hurry, a financed offer is equal in that regard.

Investors aren’t emotionally attached to your home. The plus to this is that if it needs a little work, an investor crunches the numbers and moves forward based on the bottom line of them being profitable. If your carpet has a stain they won’t care, and they aren’t going to ask you to leave your heirloom chandelier and draperies. The flipside to that of course is that a buyer with an emotional attachment to your home in some instances may be willing to do just about anything to seal the deal. Translation; an owner occupant using financing may be comfortable paying more for their new home.

Investors mostly don’t need an appraisal, as they are almost always using cash. The upside here is that if the inspector they hire finds some repair issues, they can proceed if they wish. The contrasting angle to this is that financed deals do require an appraisal, and if certain repair items are identified the lender may require they be either fixed prior to closing, or that the buyer place funds in escrow to complete the repairs immediately after closing.

All in all, the facts are sellers have many more options these days, and that’s great news! And all you buyers out there, interest rates are still at record lows so you’ve got sun shining your way too. Ultimately cash investors and financed deals ought to be considered and weighed on a case by case basis. Investors are breathing new life into Central Florida’s real estate market, and with low interest rates many more people have the chance to finance their first home. The cherry on top? Economists and real estate experts concur, these positive market trends are projected to continue well into the future.

Christina Rordam is a local Realtor. Contact her at 407-928-8294 or ChristinaSellsOrlando.com