Port Orange Real Estate Buyers and Sellers: Good News!

Port Orange real estate buyers and sellers, I have some good news for you. I've been tracking the Daytona Beach Area MLS records regularly, so I've known for a while that Port Orange was faring better than Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, or any of the other local cities.

Last week I sold a Port Orange house that's been on the market for a long time. It's a great house on 1 acre, in a fantastic location near Spruce Creek High School. And the sellers were (and still are) great people. But the sale took so long because the price was always slightly ahead of what the market would bear. 2 other agents had it listed before me, but were not able to renew the listing each time it expired. I believe I was able to renew and eventually sell this house because I was honest with the sellers about their pricing, and I maintained contact with them about market conditions. I did my job! But there's an interesting story about the sale of this house...

While I had this house listed, the sellers reduced their price 4 times. But with each price reduction, it was still priced just slightly over the market value. And while it had many showings, it didn't sell... Although we did receive 2 reasonable offers that just didn't pan out, and then 2 absolutely ridiculous offers for $100,000 BELOW the asking price!

Pardon me while I vent for a moment. Being in a buyer's market, does not mean that buyers can go around making offensive offers and expect a positive response from sellers. Not every seller is desperate, no matter how things may look from outward appearances. AND, if the REALTOR® for the buyers that made the lowball offers had asked me a few questions, I could have provided some information that the sellers had given me permission to divulge. This information would have saved the REALTOR and the buyers time, effort and Gas Money! This information was...

1. The house was owned free and clear. There was no mortgage.
2. The sellers were NOT desperate and were also NOT interested in lowball offers!

I believe some assumptions were being made, based on the fact that the house was vacant, and had been on the market for so long. But as you're discovering as you read this, things are not always what they seem. Maybe some REALTORS® should remember this, when working with buyers. One phone call can save you hours of wasted time, and costly gas money that could have been saved.

OK. I'm off my soap box. Now, back to the happy story. This beautiful house has finally found it's new family who will enjoy it for many happy years to come. And here's something that makes this profession worth the headaches we often endure. THIS buyer said she has lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years, and every time she has driven by this house, she has wished she could have it. For 10 years, this house has been her dream home. But she couldn't afford it in the past. So let me share a fascinating turn of events that led to this sale.

As I already stated, there were several price reductions during the time I had this house listed. And before the final price reduction, these buyers had made an offer on a house just 2 blocks away. That house was a Short Sale. The buyers waited for 3 months to get an answer from the bank that was holding the 2nd mortgage. They had received promise after promise regarding the time frame for which they would have an answer. But these buyers were not only buyers; they were also sellers. And they had a contract on their own house. They were running out of time!

• Now let's hesitate for just a moment and think about who was holding up the process on the short sale. It was the 2nd mortgage holder. With a Short Sale, the 2nd mortgage holder would not see one penny of what they had loaned the owners of the home. So they were stalling for time, in hopes of getting a better offer that would put some money in their pockets as well. They didn't care one bit about the holder of the 1st mortgage.

Well, after 3 months of waiting, prompted by a rumor amongst the neighbors that my listing had been reduced again, I received a call from this buyer and heard their story. The buyer told me what she could afford to offer, and told me she was afraid to offer it because she felt it was too far below the asking price. She also happened to mention the agent who had been helping them with the short sale. So I encouraged her to call HER agent to view this house, and to make her offer! So they took a look, but the husband wanted to wait a little while longer, to hear from the 2nd mortgage lender on the short sale since that house had a pool and my listing didn't.

So a couple more weeks went by, but the buyers finally ran out of time since they would have to close on their own home very soon! The buyers finally had to cancel the Short Sale contract. And with very little negotiation this buyer was finally able to purchase her 10 year desired dream home, and since they had already been fully approved for financing on the other house, we were able to close in only one week.

There are so many lessons that can be learned from this story. Only it's not just a story, because it actually happened.

Now, who of you are REALTORS® in DeBary or Sanford? I just got a bilateral contract on my brothers house today and he's going to need to move in that direction ;)

For any real estate buyers or sellers in Port Orange, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa C. Hill with Adams Cameron & Co.