Things to consider when hiring an agent in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Here’s what you need to know.

You might be starting your home search or looking to sell a property to relocate, and you may be wondering how to find a knowledgeable and reliable agent in the St. Petersburg area.

Choosing an experienced real estate agent is important. They know the market, trends, prices, and neighborhood details, helping you make informed decisions. Good relationships with your agent improve communication and trust, leading to better results. Experienced agents can handle challenges during transactions, making the process easier. They have useful connections that enhance your experience. Additionally, skilled negotiators can help secure better sale prices and terms. Ultimately, picking a proven agent offers peace of mind and support throughout your journey. Building a strong relationship with your agent can greatly impact your real estate success.

Here are the top 5 things that you should focus on when you choose a real estate agent:

1. Local Market Knowledge:

   It’s important that a real estate agent is familiar with the neighborhoods and local market. You may want to look for an agent that has lived in the area a long time and understands the dynamics of each neighborhood. Local real estate agents gain knowledge through experience and knowing the areas will help to provide you with expertise on certain factors such as flood zones, insurance concerns, traffic patterns, annual events and community lifestyle.

2. Values:

   Get to know your real estate agent. Do they share the same values as you? It’s important that you find an agent you feel understands your needs. If you’re new to an area — your real estate agent will be able to help find you the perfect community or neighborhood feel. Are there certain types of activities, social or economic that you are looking to engage in? The right agent will be a great guide to help you integrate in a new city.

3. Integrity and Transparency:

   Integrity is incredibly important when finding an agent. Relationships with other builders, agents and vendors is part of our job. A great agent will have an incredible team of resources to support you from title, inspector, lender, etc. Transparency is equally important. Asking your real estate agent about various aspects of the home buying or selling process can provide you with valuable insights and guidance. It is important to encourage open communication to ensure that all of your questions and concerns are addressed promptly and thoroughly.

4. Sales Experience:

   Agent’s develop comprehensive understanding of the market dynamics that drive successful transactions through sales experience. Knowing how long an agent has been in the business and number of transactions in the area may help to show that they have experience.

5. Time

   Do your schedules align? Are you going to be working with them directly or with a large team of people. You may have a personal preference of working exclusively with someone or okay being handed off at separate areas of the transaction. Also, since this is the most important transaction of someone’s life, it is important to find an agent that is employed full-time.
   

I can’t stress enough how important it is to get to know your agent and feel comfortable with them. In addition, here are some questions to ask when interviewing an agent to learn about their services:

• What inspired you to start in real estate?

• How long have you been an agent?

• Are you full-time?

• How long have you lived in the area?

• Do you have sales experience in the area?

• What can I expect our of the process?

• What is your communication style?

• Will I be working with you exclusively throughout the transaction?

• Do you have a vetted team of vendors?

• What is your specialty?

• What strategies do you use to compete in today’s market?

• How do you keep up with legal changes, real estate news, market trends?

Lastly, checking on websites to make sure that the agent has positive reviews. Ratemyagent.com is a great snapshot at past reviews, sales and experience that verifies an agents transactions.

If you are looking to buy, sell or relocate to St. Petersburg, Gulfport, Tampa, Sarasota, or the surrounding areas I would love to talk more! You can fill out this form for a free consultation.

Talk to you soon,

Ashley Marbet

Florida considering historic tax credit

Did you know that Florida only has a federal historic tax and not a local one for historic homeowners?

Filed as house House Bill 499 and Senate Bill 288, The Main Street Tourism and Historic Revitalization Act” would provide a tax credit of up to 20 percent of total eligible costs for rehabilitation of a certified historic structure and a tax credit of up to 30 percent of total eligible costs for rehabilitation of a certified historic structure that is physically located within the official district boundaries of an active, certified Florida Main Street community.

The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation has identified ways for you to help:

1. Call or email your state representative and ask them to sign on to Rep. Stark's House Bill 499 as a cosponsor. As we continue our advocacy efforts, we will be seeking bipartisan support through cosponsors. You can locate your state representative here. Because we want every House member’s support don't feel limited to contacting just your representative, please contact any House member you may know and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor House Bill 499.

2. Call or email your state senator and ask them to sign on to Senator DiCeglie’s Senate Bill 288 as a cosponsor. The same as the House Bill, we need as many Senate cosponsors as possible. You can locate your state senator here.”

You can copy and paste the message below to send as emails to your representative and senator. Or, if you would like, feel free to share your own message about why a state historic tax credit is important for Florida's historic places.

Historic places are a vital part of Florida's story. They build and strengthen communities, increase wellbeing, support local economies and encourage tourism. They can be part of the solution for affordable housing, place building, driving main street business and lowering our carbon footprint. To make all this happen, Florida needs an economic incentive to make preservation a viable solution for our historic places.

I am writing you today to ask you to cosponsor the Main Street Tourism and Historic Revitalization Act. This historic preservation initiative is a non-partisan solution to preserving our state's historic places. Currently, Florida is one of only 11 states that does not offer a historic preservation tax credit. 

While this Act benefits all of Florida, it is especially important for Florida's Main Street communities, which would see a 30 percent tax credit for eligible preservation and rehabilitation costs. It would be an important tool to strengthening the Main Streets which are at Florida's heart.

Please consider joining your colleagues in sponsoring the Main Street Tourism and Historic Revitalization Act House Bill 499 and Senate Bill 288.

3 steps to buying your first home, second home or dream home.

1. Schedule a home buyer consult with me! This is where you'll learn everything you need to know about the buying process from start to finish.

This is where you get your questions answered and a plan mapped out (even if you're not ready to press play on your home search for several months).

2. Take note! It's time for some research! Make a list of the things you're looking for in a neighborhood to narrow down your search.

Start checking out locations you're interested in. The subdivisions, nearby amenities, where the schools are, how far it is from work. Scope out some specific neighborhoods you have in mind to make sure the layout and lots are desirable to you!

There's so much you can do to prepare for your home search before you actually start looking at houses. This will help increase your confidence when the time comes to lock in the home you love! It will also eliminate any surprises like "I didn't realize you could hear the freeway from this neighborhood, ugh!"

Doing some pre-house hunting homework will help you decide if you absolutely love the area (as in YES I want to live here, there's a coffee shop in walking distance!) or "Actually, it's probably a little too busy for our family".

Knowing what is most important to you will help narrow down which area you want to search. What’s most important to you walkability? New construction? Good school zone? This will save you tons of time.

3. Have a conversation with a local lender. Don't be scared, you don't have to get pre-approved yet if you're not ready!

Most pre-approvals only last 90 days so if you're not wanting to move for 9-12 months, you might just do some preliminary research!

However, meeting with a lender will help get you prepared for how much you'll need to have saved, how you could potentially improve your credit score to lock in a better interest rate and all the financing details you'll need to know to buy with confidence!

Any questions?

Ashley Marbet

Buying your first home?

I love working with first-time home buyers. Helping you find your first home, learn the home buying process, and guiding you from house-hunting to move-in day gives me the warm fuzzies. Here are three things you should know before you start looking.

1. Work with one real estate agent. It’s best to have one agent who is helping you with your search. Your agent will be dedicated to finding you the right property, and then negotiating on all the terms of your transaction on your behalf. You want that person to get to know you and your family’s needs and preferences, rather than starting over with someone new each time you go look at a house. Keep in mind that the agent who shows you a home is, ethically, the one who should continue the transaction. Also, when you call an agent from a yard sign or advertisement, you are dealing with the seller’s agent. While most real estate professionals are adept at handling both sides of a transaction professionally, it makes more sense to deal with someone you have already taken time to get to know and who has your best interests at heart as the buyer. You aren’t paying your agent; unless otherwise stated, he or she is paid by the seller upon closing. Still, you are hiring someone to work for you, so feel free to interview multiple agents and pick the one that you feel fits you best.

2. You need to be pre-approved for financing. Unless you are paying cash for your home, you do need to talk to a lender before you start looking at houses. One reason is that it helps you set an accurate price range for house hunting. Looking at homes that you can’t afford to make an offer on just leads to frustration. A mortgage lender will not only tell you what amount you can borrow, but also your projected monthly payment, your closing costs, and what you should or shouldn’t do with your finances to maintain your eligibility throughout the lending process. Another reason for having an up-to-date pre-approval in hand is so you don’t lose out to another buyer. If you find the perfect house, you will want to get an offer in before someone else gets it, and that pre-approval letter must accompany your offer. I would be happy to provide you with names of mortgage lenders in our area who have provided excellent service to my clients.

3. There are some up-front costs. When you find the right house, and you and the seller have agreed on the price and terms and have signed the contract, you will first need to make your escrow, or “good faith” deposit. This is money you are risking if you back out of the deal for reasons not protected in the contract. Usually it is between 1% and 5% of the sales price but can be more or less depending on what you and the seller agree to in the contract. Your agent will help you with this during negotiations. The escrow deposit counts towards the sales price.

4. Next, you should have an inspection of the property done by a certified home inspector. This cost varies depending on the size, condition, age, and features of the home, but is usually a few hundred dollars. You will need to pay this at the time of service. You may elect to pay for other inspections based on the results of the initial inspection. For example, if the inspector notes an issue with the HVAC system, you may need to pay a service fee for an HVAC contractor to look at the system. You want to get as much information during your inspection period as you need to confidently move forward with the purchase.

5. An appraisal and a survey of the property will be ordered, but these are usually added to your closing costs and not expected to be paid in advance. However, you may be asked to provide a credit card number to be charged in the event that the closing does not take place.

I will guide you through all of these steps throughout your home buying journey. Ready to get started? Give me a call!