David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

A recent study from Realtors in June 2019 shows that 76% of real estate sales contracts close on time. There are 4 reasons they don't close on time, which are: 1) Financing issues; 2) Appraisal; 3) Home inspection or environmental issues; 4) Title and deed issues. Financing issues usually arise from the buyer purchasing a big ticket item during the escrow period, which changes their debt to income ratio or affect their credit rating.   Appraisal issues involve the home's negotiated price versus what an appraiser says it's worth.  An important part of my job is to make sure you aren't paying too much, so the property does appraise. Home inspection and environmental issues can occur from a home owner not agreeing to make repairs, or the discovery of unknown issues on the property.  For example, one of my clients selling their home in the DC area had his closing delayed after a buried 1940's gas tank was found in the yard. Title an...

I get a lot of hits on my website about real estate closing costs in Sarasota. Are any costs negotiable? The state of Florida imposes taxes on both buyers (both US citizens and foreign nationals) and sellers of real estate.  For buyers, there is the intangible tax on mortgage and doc stamps on mortgage.  Along with the owner's title policy, these three items make up the largest portion of the overall buyer's closing costs. Buyers should be prepared for additional fees such as a home inspection, termite inspection, mold inspection, well or water testing, septic tank inspection, home or condo association application fee, and various recording and administrative fees. In our area, many of the large franchise real estate companies, like Coldwell Banker, charge the buyer a fee of $250-$350 at closing.  This is a junk fee, and goes straight to the bottom line of the brokerage.  Buyers should NOT have to pay any fee for a Realtor to represent them in a transaction. ...