Hello,

We must’ve missed spring. I think it only lasted a few weeks. We’re already into typical hot summer days with highs in the 90’s. I don’t mean to complain about our hot summer weather but it’d be nice if spring stuck around just a little longer.

The rental and sales season is in full swing with lots of contracts pending and closed. Properties in good condition and priced correctly sell within a few months. I think some appraisers are having a hard time keeping up with the uptick in prices as I’ve seen some appraisals come back for less than what the buyers are willing to pay. I find that interesting because what the buyers are willing to pay is one of the biggest determining factors in market price.

I recently attended a class on pricing properties in a competitive market and the instructor made a very good point when she suggested you can help the appraisers by providing them with a packet of info showing them your comps and how you determined the list price. If you can provide them with copies of comparable properties along with notes on the comps of what adjustments were made for condition and what improvements have been made to the subject property since the last sale, it may help the appraiser be able to provide a more accurate sales value in the appraisal.

Of course being sure the property is in the best possible condition is a must even in a good market. Maybe even more so than in a slower seller’s market. If your property’s condition isn’t good and buyers continue to pass on your property and buy the neighbors’, other buyers will note the amount of days your property has been on the market and assume there’s something wrong with it.

If you have made improvements that require a permit, I recommend you check the public records to make sure the permit was closed and recorded. Don’t assume your repair person filed for it. It’s better to tackle those issues and clean them up before putting the property on the market. Otherwise, it may hamper or even kill the deal.

The rental and sales season is going to continue to be hot thru July so it’s still a good time to make improvements first then put the property on the market. Vendors in Gainesville get swamped with work during the summer and in a market where construction is booming there are fewer repair/renovation type vendors available.  You don’t want to wait too long or you’ll have a hard time finding qualified people to do the job timely.

Because we have a full portfolio of managed properties, we’re able to keep our vendors busy all year which allows and motivates them to be loyal to us and continue to make our properties a priority even in the busy season. Without good vendors that will handle your work with quality and timeliness your success in getting properties rented or sold in good time is in jeopardy. We know the value of a good vendor and are always working to strengthen that relationship as well as cultivate new ones. We’re always looking for good vendors so if you are one or have one you’d like to recommend, we’d always appreciate hearing from you. Likewise if you need help getting your property fixed up and put on the market for rent or sale, we can help you there too. We do offer free evaluations designed to let you know what you can do to position your property to rent or sell timely.

I hope you enjoy your summer! This year on my annual girlfriend trip we took a long weekend and did a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas. It’s been a while since I’d been on a traditional big cruise line and when I walked out onto the lido deck with the pool and all the people and action I thought to myself….WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING HERE! OMG… way too many people in one place for me. But of course we had a good time. Spending a lot of it on our private balcony just chatting. It’s the reason we get together every year anyway….just to enjoy each other’s company and reconnect. It never matters much where it is. I have included a few videos from the trip in the link below. Bon Voyage!