As a listing agent in the Tampa Bay area, I have suggested that some of my sellers have a professional home inspection conducted before we even plant the sign on the lawn. It is a good pre-emptive strike and I think it sets them up for success before the eventual buyer hits them with a list of repairs that they never saw coming... 

Basically, one of three things happens with pre-listing home inspections:

• Nothing significant will be found
• Your seller gets a heads up about a possible problem and has time to fix it
• Your seller is able to have repair estimates ready to present to the buyer in the contract negotiations

By being proactive you're more likely to keep your contract on track and get to the closing table on schedule!

A tremendous tax advantage that is often overlooked when buying property is the tax deferred opportunity commonly known as a 1031 Exchange. While the guidelines are very specific, they are relatively simple to manage.

Basically, a 1031 exchange allows the buyer to strategically sell a qualified property and buy another within a specific timeframe. Since the IRS views the transaction as an "exchange" and not a sale, it permits the taxpayer to defer the capital gains tax on the property they sell.

We are seeing more and more clients taking advantage of this opportunity; it is not a complicated process, it just has its own set of ironclad rules.

When can you do a 1031 Exchange?

•         If you plan on acquiring a replacement (or what is commonly referred to as a "like kind") property after selling an existing investment property

•         If the total purchase price of the "like kind" property is equal to or greater than the total net sales price of the existing property you are selling

•         If all the equity that you receive from that sale is used to acquire the replacement "like kind" property

How are the monies handled?

The proceeds from the sale of the investment property must be held by a "qualified intermediary" and do not get handed over to you or your Realtor. These funds are in a sense "escrowed" pending their application to the purchase transaction.

What are the 1031 Exchange Timelines?

There are two:

•         The Identification Period - You must identify a selection of other replacement properties that you wish to buy. This period is exactly 45 days from the day that you sell the property; no exceptions.

•         The Exchange Period - This period ends exactly 180 days after the date that you close on the sale of the home (or is the due date that your federal tax return for the year in which the transfer of the property has occurred, whichever situation is earlier). This is the time period you have to finalize your new purchase transaction.

Please note that while none of these time frames are negotiable, it is a very clear cut process that can save you an extraordinary amount of money and even adds more appeal to this buyers' market.

Buy low and sell high -- that is an investor's strategy. What is a homeowner's strategy today? Sell low and buy low? This approach is certainly working well for some.

To compete in this market a home needs to: be priced right, be in the best possible condition, and be properly marketed. Sellers over the past two years have had a tough time of it, especially with the competition from the tide of foreclosures and short sales.

And emotions can run high; even though a seller may understand that the market dictates the price, it is hard to swallow that the place they care for and make a mortgage payment on every month is not getting its just due in the marketplace.  

However, there are sellers that are "getting their move on" by taking advantage of the current real estate climate on the other side of the balance sheet. Basically, the loss on the property a homeowner sells is really only a paper deficit; the next property he or she buys will also be at a bargain price.

We're seeing more and more homeowners willing to suffer the loss on the front-end, only to take the opportunity to trade up and buy a home that has more amenities and is often located in an area that was previously out of their price range.

So the buyer of the seller's home may be getting a deal, but so will the seller when the seller becomes the buyer. With a realistic sale and a well-considered purchase, the seller will ultimately wind up in better shape when real estate values increase again.

This market can cut both ways and a savvy seller with the proper real estate advice can actually do quite well for themselves by playing the game a bit like the investors do, by becoming a buyer.

Buyer's Market, Foreclosure Market, Investment Opportunity Market....whatever you call it, it's a vulnerable market; one full of opportunity for the disreputable who want to take advantage of homeowners in peril.

If you or someone you know is in danger of losing their home, there are very specific steps to take. However, they need to be taken under the guidance of a professional.

First of all, the worst tactic to employ is to ignore communications from a lender. Instead, a willingness to make good on the mortgage debt and the motivation to address the problem head on will bode well for the person and their predicament.

Short sales are an option, but they need to be handled by someone certified in distressed properties. These specialists understand the nuances of this still complex process and know how to effectively present the materials to the lender.

But, be aware of the foreclosure prevention companies out there who are only interested in themselves. Add to those a good dose of foreclosure recovery scams, and you'll find homeowners: out money, wasting precious time, and with problems nowhere closer to resolution than they were before. Like looters in a disaster scenario, unsavory characters come out in force to capitalize on the misfortunes of others.

If you know of someone who feels they are sliding into a bad situation, there are even HUD-approved-housing counselors who can review their circumstances and advise on options.

If none of these situations apply to you, but you need to sell your home in the traditional fashion, the techniques to present your home in this market require that everything from pricing to marketing is calculated like never before; but the right Realtor will make all the difference.

What's the bottom line here? Tread carefully in a market where opportunists readily surface. A strong and effective plan can be formulated if the right resources are contracted and if they have their allegiance in the right place. 

Every market is inundated with percentages and statistics and predictions. In the real estate market you've got yet another layer comprised of: information about available inventory, the interest rates, hurricanes, and tax incentives.

The icing on these layers of course is the emotional component that comes into play. Some sellers think their property is not regarded highly enough, while some buyers think they are getting ripped off. We've unfortunately seen negotiations fall apart over some pretty minor things because feelings get involved.

Not to mention, if you're a buyer in today's market you may be under the impression you can easily move on to the next property. It is not always that simple anymore. You would think that buying and selling property would be a fairly simple transaction; it used to be. But there are many stars that need to align these days to get the deal done. All the new laws and guidelines (most of which were put in place to protect people), have had far reaching ramifications that can complicate the process to the point of impeding it.

What I'm trying to say is: if you're a buyer and have found a home you love or you're a seller and have found a buyer that is qualified - you should try to work it out with both parties under the expertise of your realtors and the lender. Emotions get in the way too often. If you are fortunate enough to have found one another, try to stick together because you may be hard pressed to find someone else to meet over a conference room table anytime soon.

While no one should settle for a sale or a purchase unless it is really right for them, I'd like to suggest that you may regret it if you give up on the deal too easily for the wrong reasons.