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Tampa2Enjoy.com

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How To Hire A Great Home Inspector

June 8, 2018 by Lance Mohr

One of the biggest mistakes home buyers makes when they hire a home inspection to inspect their home is thinking all inspectors are the same. This is a HUGE mistake that can cost your thousands of dollars. Watch this video to get some great home inspection tips so your hire a GREAT home inspector. Not all inspectors are the same. You have to do your due diligence to make sure you are hiring the right inspector for the task. This video will help you.

Transcription

Hi everyone. It’s your Tampa Bay Realtor Lance Mohr and in this videos, I want to talk about how to hire a great home inspector. I know this is really hard looking at buying a new home or a pre-owned home if you don’t know a home inspector but I’m going to talk about what you need to do to make sure you get a really good home inspector. That’s going to rip the home apart. That’s what I’m going to talk about in this short video.

I think when you’re buying a home, whether you’re buying a pre-owned home, whether you're buying a new home you need to get the home inspected. It doesn’t make any difference. A lot of people think while I’m buying a brand new home why do I need to get the home inspection before? Why do I need a home inspector? Well as I always say it’s a new home, it’s not a perfect home. So get a home inspector but don’t go out there and just get anybody and let me give you an example.

A while back, I had one of my clients and they hired their own home inspector and it was a 3,000 square foot home. Is about 10 years old. The inspector went out there and did the inspection in 55 minutes on a 3000 square foot home. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it would take him a nap short of a time to do an inspection. So I was curious I asked the buyer I saw how much did you for the home inspection and he said $250 and they’re like oh well there you go.

See there are two types of inspectors in my opinion. Number one is you have the inspector that just goes out there. Tries to cram as many appointments in a day as they can. Maybe they do hour inspections or an hour and a half inspections they charge $250 or $200. They can knock out three or four of them a day and a lot of them do that. There’s a lot of those out there. That’s not what you want. You want someone you might have to pay him a little bit more money or at least fair market rate but if you want someone’ who’s going to be in there a while.

If my inspector went out to that 3000 square foot home he’d probably be there a good three and a half hours. Maybe four hours just depending. You want someone to go in to check the irrigation system. You want them up on the roof. Crawling through the attic. You want them looking at everything. The home inspector is pretty much at least in Florida they’re licensed, they’re insured, they’re bonded but you get what you what you pay for.

So I would say like my inspector he’s four hundred dollars. He would approximate let’s say $400 to $450 on a 3,000 square foot home. He would probably have been out there three and a half to four hours maybe more. I’ve talked to mine 2,500 square foot home where he’s been out there five hours before. He only does on to two inspections a day. Where this one was out there 55 minutes and it was $250.

So first off on how to hire an inspector, you get what you pay for. If the going rates about 400 dollars and you’re going to pay 300 or 200 or something like that. You got a figure you’re not going to get the most detailed inspector out there. Now the other thing I would highly recommend doing. Now but of course you might get the inspector from your real estate agent. You might get them from a family member, from a friend, from a co-worker but you want to do is ask them for an inspection report. So they should have an example inspection report that they could give you. So you could hoe detailed it is. Do they go over and above? Do they not only go through what’s on the state form but that they go through their own form? Do they take a lot of pictures that they give detailed explanations? What about the inspectors done can the selling agent call him or can you call him back.

I’m sure you can, you should be able to. Can the seller of the home call him or is it just like hey we’re one and done sorry I’m on to my next inspection unit pay for a bunch of people to be calling me. So you got to really look at it like you get what you pay for but always do your due diligence. Talk to people get an idea how long the inspector will generally be there for the inspection and get a copy of one of their inspections so you could see how detailed they are. You can see what the inspection report looks like.

I hope this video helps you. If it does and you like this video please do me a favor. Give me a thumbs up so I know that. If you have any questions. There you have anything you want to say leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you. I’d do this videos for you. The home buyer and the home seller. So I hope this helps. I hope you have a wonderful day. If you are in the Tampa area and you’re looking a great aggressive agent don’t hesitate to reach out. Give me a call (813-317-4009) I would love to help you. Have a great day. For more educational real estate videos please visit my YouTube Channel.

Filed Under: Home Buying Tips Tagged With: florida, home, Home Buying Tips, inspections, inspectors, real estate, tampa, tips

Florida Property Taxes and Florida Homestead Advantages

June 6, 2018 by Lance Mohr

This video should clear up a lot of misunderstandings about Florida Property Taxes and the Florida Homestead advantages. I wanted to do this video on Florida property taxes, homestead benefits, and CDD fees because there is SO much misunderstands on these 3 areas. I will explain each advantage to you. Watch and let me know what you think

Transcription

Hi everyone. This is your Tampa Realtor Lance Mohr and in this video, I want to talk about Florida property taxes and more specifically the homestead in Florida. How it works the advantages of it and then how you could get more detailed information on the property taxes if you have any questions. I’m to go over all this in this short video.

People are very confused when they’re moving to Florida. They’ve never been here and don’t understand homestead of us. Don’t understand property taxes. So let me talk a little bit about our homestead law and it’s a lot different than other states. I’ve lived in California where they have the homestead. I’ve lived in Texas where they’ve had the homestead and it’s so much better in Florida.

So let me go backward from 3 to 2 to 1. The number 3 benefit of having homestead is the $50,000 exemption. Let me give you an example and how the taxes work out here. Let’s say you’re buying a home for once to say $300,000 and you witness a new home or it could be a pre-owned home and you’re looking at it. You’re trying to figure out what your property taxes are. The best thing to do is not look at what they are right now. So someone’s living in it that’s what their property taxes are and I’m going to explain a little bit more this a little later.

If you don’t want to pay any attention to theirs so you buy the home for 300,000 the best thing to do is the figure they’re going to assess you 85%. They’re going to assess you $250,000 for the home. Now it may even be more like in my cases it’s lower on many of my properties. Anyhow you’ll look at 255 and then you’ll want to take the $50,000 homestead exemption off of that. You’re basically a tax base of $255,000 then depending on what can you live in and what their millage rate is. When I say millage rate so example, Hillsborough County in Florida. The millage rates about 21. So 21 would about two point one percent. If you have a two point one percent. If you have $205,000 dollar estimate you take 2.1% that’s your taxes.

Now if you have CDD fees on top of that you’re going to have to add those in. Now keep in mind CDD Fees are included in the property tax bill. Let me repeat this because there’s a lot of confusion out there. CDD Fees which stands for Community Development District fees are included in the property tax bill. A video on CDD fees. If you’re not really sure what they are you definitely want to watch this video because pretty much all new and newer homes have them. You could watch it up here but they are included in the property tax bill. So you just need to get an estimate on what they’re going to be.

The second thing that’s really nice about our homestead law out here is that creditors can’t go after your primary residence. If something happens and you have a lawsuit and not an attorney so unique legal advice but if that does happen, creditors can’t go after your primary residence if its homestead hence years ago OJ Simpson moved to Florida why’d he moved to Florida his home protected. Anyhow, at least that’s why I think he moved to Florida. So that’s the second thing.
The number one thing that’s probably the biggest advantage is they cannot tax you over 3% of your assessed value. So if your home is worth let’s say $300,000 and you buy it and that the home prices are continuing to go up they can’t assess it for more than 3%. That’s why you never want to use what someone else’s tax base is because if their home is homesteaded and they’ve owned they’ve lived in it for many years their tax base is going to probably be very low. See it didn’t work like this other states I lived in but it’s a huge benefit for women in Florida.

Now if you want to get more information on the taxes you just need to look at the tax bill. It’s public record. I’m going to give you an example just in Hillsborough County you go to Hills tax org you do a search for the property. You put the address in there and then you just take the most recent bill and it will be in a PDF format. You open it up and you could look at it’s going to say what all the different taxes are. So it’s going to say what the school taxes are and what percentage and what’s the dollar amount then it’s going to give the phone number if you want to call someone about it and what this is really helpful for is when you’re looking at CDD Fees. If you want to get more information and you’re in a community that has CDD fee when you open it up. It will usually say calm Devon it will have the phone number and then you can just simply call the phone number talk to them.

Ask them what’s all in the CC you know what type of bond do they have in there? How long is the bond going to last? Is it 20-year bond? 30-year bond? When was it taken out? What else is in there like maintenance or if it’s a homeowners association dues that are in there. You might want to see if that’s in low homeowners association dues. Ask them if some of that’s wrapped into the CDDP. Get an idea but that’s where you go and get it.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to give me a call (813-317-4009). If you like this video give ma thumbs up or leave a comment below. I appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck and I hope this helps you. Have a great day. Click here for more educational real estate videos.

Filed Under: Florida Tagged With: florida, homestead, property taxes, real estate, tampa

#1 Home Builder Complaint

May 23, 2018 by Lance Mohr

This is the #1 home builder complaints I have heard over the past 20+ years from new home builder reps. Do NOT make this buyer mistake.

Please leave a comment and let me know what builder complaints you have.

Transcription
Hi everyone! This is your Tampa Bay Realtor Lance Mohr. In this video I’m going to go over the number one complaint by virtually all new homes sales representatives and why you need to know this. Where you could lose the home you and your family want. I’m going to go over that in this short video.

Now this number one complaint. I’m going to tell you. I’ve been in the business for over 20 years and I sell a ton of new homes and this complaint is told to me by virtually every new home representative I ever talked to and I don’t talk to them just on business level when I’m in their home. A lot of time they’re friends of mine. I’ll go up to dinner with them. I’ll go up to lunch with them etc. and we just talk about what problems they are having is.

What the problems the builders having and the number one complaint that they say over and over again is when he real estate agent the buyer comes into the home and the buyer finds a home they really like. A lot of time the realtor is like okay let’s go, let’s go we got four more homes to look at. We got to go at them. We have appointments. Now if you like the home. If you go into a builder with your real estate agent. You need to stay focused on what you like because if you like that home and then I’ll let’s say you walk out the door and you go to your appointments and they all turn out to be duds.

Then another buyer could actually walk in and buy the home or buy the lot you like or maybe buy one next door but it’s the same floor plan with the same elevation or maybe it has the same color scheme which means you’re not going to get that floor plan with that elevation or you’re not going to get that color scheme. So I would just tell you a real estate agent. I understand as an agent we’re on time schedule and we want to adhere to that time schedule.

That’s why a lot of times when I’m pretty much all the time when I’m working buyer. If we’re looking at 3 owned home and new homes. I’m always trying to see the new homes last because I don’t know how long it’s going to take. You know, we could see four pre-owned homes and we could be done with those in an hour to an hour and a half but if we go out to a builder’s hone and the buyer likes that builder. They like the floor plan we’re talking about it. It could take an hour. It could take two hours because you’re going to have a lot of questions.

You’re going to want to go look at the lot. You’re going to want to see what’s included. You hopefully have a real estate agent that’s educating you along the way. So just make sure if you’re working with a real estate agent and you’re looking at pre-owned homes, you’re looking at new homes. The safest bet is just to look at the pre owns first. Look at the new homes last. So you don’t have your real estate agent saying he come on we got to go, we got to look at four or more homes or five or more homes or whatever it is.

So I hope this helps you. I do these videos for you. If you have any questions whatsoever don’t hesitate. Leave them in the comments. I’d like to do a video about it or answer your question. If you’re in the Tampa Bay are I would love to help you. I’d love to work with you. I wish you the best of luck have a wonderful day. Click here for more educational real estate videos for both home buyers and sellers. Don’t forget to subscribe.

Filed Under: New Homes Tagged With: florida, for sale, home builders, new construction, new home builders, new homes, new houses, tampa

#1 Concern With Mortgage Lenders – In Today’s Real Estate Market

May 18, 2018 by Lance Mohr

A lot of loan officers in the Tampa area are very complacent with the real estate market so good. Learn what to do and what questions you need to ask. With the real estate market being so hot in Tampa Bay many loan officers (lenders) are becoming more and more complacent. So I have been doing their job for them and explaining the different loan programs and closing costs to my buyer for them. Thank goodness I was a loan officer and I know a lot about mortgage loans, closing costs and programs.

What you need to do when you talk to a loan officer is get a Loan Estimate (LE). This will give you a breakdown of all your reoccurring and non-reoccurring closing costs. Then ask the loan officer to go over the different costs with you so you have a good understanding.

It’s also a great idea to ask the loan officer if there are other loan programs that you are qualified for and to go over the pros and cons of each loan program.

Transcription

Hi everyone. This is your Realtor Tampa Bay Lance Mohr. In this video, I want to talk about why loan officers in Tampa and probably everywhere in the United States right now are very complacent and what you need to do about this.

I wanted to do this video because this week I had several buyers. A couple that was local first time home buyers and then some that we’re relocating to Tampa and one thing I noticed just how complacent loan officers have gotten now. I talked about this a weeks ago but I want to bring up a little bit different twist and what you need to do about this.

In Tampa right now our market is really busy. So I think again everybody is getting complacent. Realtors, loan officers, builders, inspectors, everybody and I’ve just noticed a lot of time when first time home buyers are going in and getting a loan. The loan officers are not taking the time to really explain the different loan programs to them. They’re not taking the time to explain the lender's estimates called the LE and going over different closing cost and when someone’s coming in from out of state they’re used to different closing cost or different procedures in the state they are coming from and the loan officers. What they are doing is they’re basically directing everybody to their website. They’re saying fill out an application. They’re filling out an application. They may send them a lenders estimate, they may not. They’re supposed to but even if buyers are calling and getting pre-qualified. They’re not really going over everything with them. They are not explaining things to them like different types of state taxes and how things work here.

What I would say is this. When you talk to a loan officer and you get a quote. Whether it’s on the interest rate of closing costs. Get everything in writing from him. Ask him to send you a lenders estimate and go over all the different cost with them and have him explain it to you. I know when I was in lending years ago. I always did this to people and when I was working with them whether they’re a first time home buyer or a second time home buyer. I always went over the different options with them on loan programs and told them the advantages, disadvantages and let them pick out what was best for them. And a lot of cases they just simply asked me well what one would you go with and why.

So you need to start asking questions because I see so many buyers out there they are just getting information from these lenders and what’s happening is I’m having to step in as a real estate agent and explain the different loan program, the different closing costs and it’s okay because I understand this. I was a lender for so many years. I was a co-owner of a mortgage company but very few real estate agents understand anything about loans and most of them just say oh we’ll just ask the loan officer. It’s unfortunate and I know a lot of people that are watching this video are not in Florida or certainly not in the Tamp Bay area but just make sure to talk to the lender. I mean the loan officer and ask them.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to give me a call (813-317-4009). I’d be more than happy to help you or just shoot me an email. If you like my videos subscribe. Hit the bell button and you’ll be notified and give me a thumbs up or leave a comment. Have a great day! I hope this helps you. Here is my YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/tampa2enjoy for more educational real estate videos.

Filed Under: Mortgages Tagged With: lenders, loan officers, loans, mortgage, mortgage loans, real estate, tampa

Learn All About The New Home Process

May 2, 2018 by Lance Mohr

The New Home Process Explained

Click for Free Infographic

Buying a new home can and should be one of the most exiting purchases of your life. But for a lot of new home buying it’s a frustrating and expensive ordeal for them and their family. Not to mention, time consuming.

That's why I put together this free information graphic for everyone that is looking at buying a new home and wanting to learn more about the new home process. Just click the image to get your free copy.

I put links in the infographic to very important and money saving YouTube videos. In the videos, I go in a lot more depth on that part of the new home process. This way you have a better understanding on not only the process when purchasing a new home, but how to save a lot of money, time and/or frustration.

Click image to get your free infographic or Click here

New home process

Building new homes involve a lot of processes which I will explain in this guide. Here are the processes involved in building your new home:

Choose a Realtor

When you are constructing a new home, you will definitely need a Realtor. The Realtor understands everything that has to do with purchasing or building new homes, so experience is priceless. Your Realtor can get you a better deal and do everything in your best interest. With a Realtor, you can avoid last minute surprises. So don’t go through the complicated home building process without a Realtor. After getting a Realtor, start looking for your new home. Your Realtor will be critical in the process.

Write a contract

After deciding to build a new home, you need to sign the construction contract. Before you put pen to paper, make sure you review the contract and ask your Realtor anything that is not clear to you. Your realtor will help you negotiate any terms you want to negotiate to get the best deal.

Financing

When it comes to building a new home, many benefits come with it. From low repair costs, higher energy efficiency to the chance to customize several features, building a new home is better than buying an old house and renovating it. So after deciding to build a new home, you need to get a loan to get the job done.

Start your loan approval process. Meet the lender to get pre-approved for the amount you need. Unless you are paying in cash for the new home, you need to get a mortgage loan.

Personalize your new home

You will have a private appointment with a design consultant to help you with color schemes, options, upgrades and all other features. Here is where expertise comes to play. If your land is smaller than your specifications, professional design consultant knows what to do to accommodate your specifications. So make sure you personalize the home and customize it to your taste.

Pre-construction & Meeting your construction manager

The builder will apply for the building permit, prepare your home site and order materials. After the site has been prepared and the materials are ordered, you need to schedule a meeting to check the site and the quality of materials that will be used to build your home.

You will learn about the construction process, review specific information about your home and confirm your option.

Foundation will be poured

Often, preparation and foundation of your site are carried out by the same workers, but it may not be the case if there are woods on your site. If your site is wooded, you need bulldozer and backhoe crew to clear the trees, rocks and debris, as well as leveling the site. After clearing and leveling, footings will be installed and the concrete will be poured.

🎥 Watch our YouTube Playlist – Learn everything about buying a new home from A – Z.

The concrete will be allowed to cure and after it is cured, the waterproofing membrane will be applied to the foundation walls. The drains, plumbing that needs to go into the basement, water taps and sewer will also be installed.

After the concrete is cured, a city inspector will inspect it to ensure the components are installed properly and up to the standard. Depending on the type of foundation, there may be multiple inspections at this stage.

Framing

The walls, roof and the floor system are completed (the skeleton of the new home). OSB or plywood will be applied to the exterior walls and the roof, exterior doors and windows will be installed. Then the sheathing will be covered with a house wrap to New Home Processprevent water from penetrating the structure but allow water vapor to escape. After the walls, doorways and windows are framed, your home will start to take shape.

Frame dry-in

Once your home is framed, the roof and exterior walls of your home are installed to protect the interior from the weather, thus assuring that work can start indoors without the materials suffering damage as a result of snow, wind, rain, etc.

If it is a high-rise building, dry-in may be confined to the part of the building where interior work is being carried out. In most cases, engineer, contractor or architect may specify a temporary building protective measure to allow certain interior work to commence.

Rough mechanicals

Once the shell, roofing and siding are completed, it is time for plumbing and electrical contractors to run the wires and pipes through the ceilings, floors and interior walls. Sewer vents and lines, as well as water supply lines will be installed. At this point, one-piece tub/shower and bathtubs units will be put in place.

Most of the electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and ventilation are installed. HVAC vent pipes will be passed through the roof and insulation will also be installed in the ceilings, walls and floors.

After the roofing is up, the building will be considered “dried-in.” So electrician can install receptacles for switches, lights and outlets. Wiring for cable TV, music system and telephones will also be included in the electrical work. Note that both plumbing and HVAC are usually installed before the wiring will be completed.

After the plumbing, electrical, mechanical and rough framing, there will be another inspection to ensure compliance with the building codes. The framing inspection will be carried out separately from both electrical and mechanical inspections.

Open wall tour

Your construction manager will walk you through your framed home. You will be able to look at the work they have done so far and see if everything is going according to your specifications. And if you have any complaint, this is the time you can make complaints.

Interior trims

The builder will complete the drywall finishes. Interior doors, window sills, door castings, baseboards, stair balusters, fireplace mantes and moldings will be installed, as well as the cabinets, trims, countertops, paint, electrical, plumbing fixtures and flooring.

Generally, patios, walkways and driveways are formed at this stage. Although several builders prefer waiting until the end of the building project before making the driveway because heavy equipment can destroy the concrete, some builders construct driveway immediately the foundation is completed. If the driveway is poured, the owner will not get his or her shoe muddy when visiting the construction site.

Wood flooring, vinyl and ceramic tile are installed and the exterior finish grading is also completed to make sure there is proper drainage.

Final quality assurance check

Your construction manager walks you through your new home for quality and will resolve issues. When building new homes, several things can go wrong and if you don’t identify those issues along the way, they may become big problems later. You need to inspect the building to ensure any issue with the project is corrected before the project is completed.

Best Tampa home inspector3rd party inspection

Hire your own personal third-party inspector. You also need an expert to check for you. Get an independent, licensed, qualified quality assurance to inspect the building for you to ensure everything in your new home is of high quality and built according to the US building codes.

You may be asking why you need a quality assurance to inspect your home. New homes are huge investment and the building process is generally emotionally stressful for the property owner. You may not be able to figure out everything that may be wrong with the new house, hence the need for an independent inspector to inspect the home for you. The quality assurance service will ensure high-quality workmanship and identify defects to be rectified.

It is always hard to rectify problems that are not identified before the completion of the home. For instance, if wall framing is not right before the framing is covered by plasterboard or insulation, it is often too late to rectify it. So quality assurance inspection is important.

New home presentation tour

Your construction manager will walk you through your home to demonstrate the features and functions, as well as confirm the quality. The manager will also explain your maintenance responsibilities and upkeep, as well as warranty procedures and coverage. This is known as a pre-settlement walkthrough. When the manager is walking you through, be attentive; so that you can spot the things to be adjusted. Check the surfaces of the fixtures, walls, floors and countertops for possible damage.

Also, learn how to use add-ons such as the house security network. This is also the period to ensure more safety is integrated into your new home. When you are walking the property, view it through the lens of a burglar to determine where you need more lighting. You should also meet your neighbors and consider adding security items like motion sensor lights, window & door sensors and security cameras. Once you’ve completed this stage, you can close. But make sure to ask for the adjustment of anything you feel is not right before you close and receive the keys because, after you have received your keys, adjusting anything may be difficult.

Finish ready

After you have been walked through the new home and you’ve listed things that needed to be corrected, the builder will complete any last minute repairs and touch-ups. After everything is completed, it is time for the new home delivery tour. Your construction manager will walk through your home with you and go over maintenance of your home.

Closing/ receiving the keys to your home

Real estate closing means settlement. It is the process by which you receive the title of the new home. Depending on where the closing takes place, attorneys, a title agent, real estate agents, you and the lender’s representative will be present at closing. The title company could also handle the signing of your final purchase and loan document. After signing the documents, you become the owner. Congratulations! The home is yours.

Registration / warranties

Building a new home is a very exciting thing, but you must register your home into the statutory warranty program. Make sure you fill out warranty cards (register online) for all application.

Customer care/warranty department

Make sure you read and understand the builder warranty booklet. Complete an online warranty ticket if you feel anything is not right.

The American Dream

It's the dream of Americans to own a new home and if you are ready to build your home, you need an experienced real estate agent that can walk you through the new home construction process. If you are looking for a reliable real estate agent for your new home project, Mohr Home Group can help. Although there are several agents out there, experience and integrity matter when it comes to choosing a real estate agent.

Mohr Home Group has the experience, integrity and the expertise to help you build your dream home. If you are looking to build a new home in Tampa, We are always available to help you. If you have any question, contact us.

Although purchasing an existing home looks appealing because you don’t have to wait for it to be constructed, building a new home has several advantages. If you doubt that, continue reading to see the benefits of building a new home.


Advantages of building a new home

1. You will start with a blank page

You read that right! With a new home, you will be presented with a blank page which gives you the power to fill what you want and need. You can select floor you want, the layout and features. You will be able to choose the type of home you love with preference, as well as square footage. Building a new home is better because buying a resale home is like fitting a square peg into a round hole.

2. A chance to add a personal touch

Building your home from scratch will give you a chance to add a personal touch. You can choose the fixtures, appliances and finishes you like, as well as the color scheme of your choice. With a new home, customization is easy because you will monitor every stage of the building

3. The new home is backed by a warranty

One of the biggest advantages of building a new home is that you will get protection because it will be backed by a new home warranty. New homes in Tampa are backed by a warranty program that will cover your new home for up to 10 years.

Your new home is truly new!

Getting your home built from scratch means it will be built to the latest building codes. It also comes with top quality materials, while older home will have different unseen issues like lead paint, asbestos, cracking foundations and more. New energy codes mean foundation, insulation and efficient systems like HAVC, air filtration and plumbing. You can even go green!

Whether you are looking to build a luxury home or a simple starter home, construction of new homes contain several unknowns which can be overwhelming. It can be more overwhelming if you experience hiccups in the planning process or you are not sure of where to start. Depending on the weather condition, availability of worker, square footage and supplies, the new home process can take about three months to a year or more.

One amazing thing about new homes, is that most of them are built based on standardized building practices. Although the quality outside is always consistent, the quality inside is also important. Not all homes are built using quality materials inside. So if you are looking to build a new home, you need to ask someone who knows about new homes.

If you have any question about the process of building a new home are about buying a new home in Tampa please contact me at www.tampa2enjoy.com/contact-us/.

Filed Under: New Homes Tagged With: construction, new home, new homes, new house, process, tampa

April 27, 2018 by Lance Mohr

I got asked this question last week. “What's the most important quality for a real estate agent to have?” So I thought I would answer it in this video. There are so many things a buyer and/or seller should look for when hiring a Tampa real estate agent. Some that come to mind are:
1. Honesty
2. Knowledge
3. Experience
4. Availability
5. Negotiating Ability

Transcription

Hi everyone. This is your Tampa Bay realtor Lance Mohr and in this videos, I want to go over a great question I got the other day from a home buyer and that is. What is the number one quality a real estate agent should have when you work with them? Iím going to go over that in this video.
I just thought that was a really good question. I just, of course, wish I could really narrow it down to one quality and I am going to do that. I would say if you're looking for a real estate agent whether you are a buyer or a seller you really need to look for an agent that has a lot of great qualities. Not just one or two of them. You know thereís so many things. Do they have great communication? Are they honest? Are they looking out for your best interest? Do they know what they are doing? If they been in the business a while and happened a lot of experience. Are they are going to be available to show your property? What happens if they go out of town? Do they have someone in their team or someone in their office or someone they could get you in the home so you donít lose it? Do they have to know how, how to negotiate?

What is the single best quality you could have? Now before I answer that. I do want to just give a side note here. I just have to say, I think most agents out there are honest and they are really trying to do the best their home buyers and home sellers. Some of them just donít have the experience level. I want to sort of put that off because at the end of the day you to hire an agent that's honest or forget it. I just want to assume that every agent that youíre talking to that you have a good feeling that is least theyíre honest but if we take away and just put that off to the side.

I would say the number one quality an agent could have would be their knowledge. Not just book smart but more knowledge on experience. If they did, if they have been through is this our first rodeo or is it their thousands of rodeo and how do they. What experience level do they have because of weíre in a different market right now and thereís a lot of people out there? They just donít know what they are doing and I think thatís okay. I mean everybody has to learn but you want someone who knows what they are doing. Someone whoís knowledgeable. So out of everything except honesty and I'm just going to say, I think everybodyís going, to be honest out there. There are a couple bad apples but not many of them out there but put it aside honesty I would just say knowledge. That would be my number one quality. I think any real estate that youíre looking whether youíre buying a home or whether youíre selling a home should have.

Iím curious to find out what do you think. Do you agree with that? You think knowledge? Do you think availability? Do you think I should just say honesty and forget everything else? So in your input, Iíd like to know what you think. I hope this helps you. If you have any questions. Don't hesitate to reach out and contact me. If you like my videos please subscribe to my channel Click here. Click the little bell icon and youíll be notified of my videos. I wish you the best of luck whether youíre buying a home or whether youíre selling a home. Have a great day.

https://tampa2enjoy.com/blog/16148/

Filed Under: Tampa Cities Tagged With: florida, honest, quality, real estate agents, realtors, tampa, tampa real estate agents, tampa realtor

Save 3% – 6% When Buying A House – How To Buy A House In Tampa

April 21, 2018 by Lance Mohr

Check out how to save 3 – 6% when buying a house in Tampa, FL. Here's how you can save dollars when buying a home.

Transcription

Hello home buyers. Your real estate expert, Lance Mohr and today, I want to talk about how you could possibly save 3 to 6% when buying a home. As a real estate agent, I am always trying to get my home buyers a competitive edge so they could get a better deal or if it’s a multiple bid situation, beat out other buyers from buying their home. And as you probably know by now, the National Association of Realtors, take statistics every single year. They spend millions of dollars and talk to home buyers, home sellers, see what there likes are, dislikes, concerns. And they have shown that home buyers that are pre-approved for a mortgage can save an average of 3 to 6% but let’s just say you are not going to save anything, but you get the home a beat out another buyer in a multiple bid situation.

Pre-approval means so much in today’s real estate market. Now the difference between a pre-approval and a prequalification is when you go to the lender, prequalification is just based off of the information that you give the lender but pre-approval is based on the information that you give the lender and they verify it. So you are essentially a cash buyer. And at the end of the day, you are going to have to get approved for a loan sooner than later. So you might want to do it sooner than later and use it to your advantage.

Think of it this way, if you are going out to a home seller, and let’s say there is another buyer, you are both offering $200,000 and the other agent says, “Well my buyer talked to lander a few weeks ago and they told them they could buy the home with $200,000.” And we go in and we say, “Well, my buyer is already fully approved for a mortgage. Everything is verified, they are basically a cash buyer. Would you like to close this month or next month?” I’ll tell you 1000 out of 1000 times, they’re going to take the pre-approved buyer. So if you’re going to do it sooner than later, you might as well get it done sooner than later.

I hope this helps you. If you have any comments, any questions let me know. If you are looking for a great real estate agent to work with, give me a call, my contact information is below. I wish you the best of luck in the home buying process. Thank you very much. Here is my YouTube channel https://youtube.com/tampa2enjoy. We have tons of educational real estate videos. You can also visit my podcast https://www.spreaker.com/show/how-to-buy-a-house-series.

Filed Under: Home Buying Tips Tagged With: buying a home, home buyers, Home Buying Tips, tampa

The Oldest “Listing Agent” Trick In The Book

April 16, 2018 by Lance Mohr

At the end of the day, you are boss and you are the decision maker on the price of your home. Not the real estate agent, but you. So, do not get fooled like so many homeowners and hire the wrong agent based on what he or she is telling you.

Watch this video so you don't get FOOLED by the oldest real estate trick in the book.

Transcription

Hi everyone. This is your Tampa Bay Realtor Lance Mohr and I’m going to do a little bit of an unusual video today because I really want you as home sellers or future homes sellers to think about this question. Who’s really the boss? The homeowner or the realtor? I’m going to go over that in this short video.

Okay so I know this is a bit of a question you know who’s the boss the Realtor or the homeowner? I mean look right off the bat of course it’s the homeowner. It’s their home but the reason why I asked this question is because as real estate agents when we go into people’s homes to list. We all know the questions that are coming at us. And the number one question in every single solitary seller will ask is, what do you think my homes worth? What do you think it will sell for and a lot agents will go out there and they know they stopped in this answer that the homeowner may hire them based off of this? So what they’ll do is they’ll just over inflate the price because the homeowners a lot of them I should say and I know this is tough to hear.

I’ve just been in the business for so long and I talked to homeowners. I’ve talked to real estate agents and they’ll say I picked the agent because they thought it was worth this and I talked to realtors sand they say he if I basically just over inflate it or give them a little higher price they’ll pick me as a real estate agent and I’ll get the listing. So you know that does go on. So I say who’s really the boss and who’s out there making the decision certainly it’s the homeowner. You’re the owner, you’re the boss, and you’re the decision maker. At the end of the day, you’re the one determining the price of the home. Not the real estate agent. So don’t pay attention to what the real agents say at the price. Take it with a grain of salt. You want an agent that’s going to help educate you. To show you how the process works. Show you the comparable. To explain things to you then at the end of the day you’re going to put the price on the home.

There’s a video I did a while back and I’ll put it up above. It’s why do realtors take over price listings. Anyhow, you could check that out but you need to hire the agent and you need to look for an agent-based off their marketing and their negotiation skills not what they will tell your homes worth because anybody could go out there and say oh yeah it’s $350,000 home and then say oh yeah it’s worth about $400,000. I would list it for $400,000 we’ll keep it on the market a little bit then we’ll drop it. Look I don’t agree with this tactic at all. When someone asked e what their home’s going to sell for. I’ll tell them, I’m going, to be honest with them I know I may not get the listing. I don’t know they may not like it but at least you’re going to hear what you need to hear not what you want to hear but not everybody’s like that out there and I understand. I’m not knocking the real estate agents they do what they do. Sellers do what they do etc. but I wanted to give it to you straight in sort of an unusual video.

If you have any questions at all don’t hesitate to reach out. If you’re in the Tampa area looking for a good aggressive agent to sell your home? I’d love to interview for the job and if you know anybody looking at buying a home or selling a home share my videos with them. They may get some use out of them as well. I hope this helps you. Thank yours for watching my videos. Have a wonderful day.

My YouTube channel https://youtube.com/tampa2enjoy has hundreds of educational real estate videos. From buying, selling a house to tips for first time home buyers. Don't forget to share these videos with your friends. Thank you.

Filed Under: Selling Tips Tagged With: florida, listing agent, listing realtor, real estate agents, realtors, tampa

The Truth Above Home Builders In Tampa

April 14, 2018 by Lance Mohr

I did this video because new home buyers have a lot of unrealistic expectations from home builders and they just don't understand what the builders and their contractors are going through. Most all home buyers do not understand what is going on in the real estate market (now) in regards to new construction home builders. Everyone knows that it's a crazy seller's market and home prices are going up. I will help you understand what is really going on right now.


Transcrption

Hi everybody. This is your Tampa Bay realtor Lance Mohr and in this video I made a go over about the truth about new construction homes in Tampa. What’s really going on and I'm going to be talking about some stuff a lot of you may not want to hear and personally won’t like but that’s what I’m going to talk about in this short video.

So as most of you know, we are in a sellers’ market. In other words there’s a lot of buyers out there and not a lot of inventory and not a lot of inventory and a lot of people are starting to lean, have been leaning toward new homes in the Tampa area. The reason is because a lot of sellers just aren’t realistic on their price. If you look at a lot of pre-existing homes they’re either overpriced or they’re not nice condition or their assumption something functionally wrong with them and it’s just drawing people to new construction homes but the problem we have here and it’s not just in Tampa, it’s not just in Florida, it’s in a lot of places across the country is that everything is going up up up. So labor cost is getting higher. Prices that people want is getting higher. Material cost a whole bunch of different factors and there’s not enough qualified people around the country to build homes or having to do a lot of training. Then of course people get the training they want to go somewhere else and make more money.
So this is coming up everywhere. Now this is something, if you watch my new home videos. I talk about all the time, inspections, inspections, inspections, but I’ll give you a couple of examples. The other day I was talking to a representative with multi-home. He showed me this upgrade on the home and he said “see that upgrade over there?” and I said “yes” he said “last week that was $3800 this week it’s $5,200”. He said “that’s not something we’re doing”. He said “the company that we go to that does that their cost to us went up $1,400”.

I was talking to another builder and he was telling me where I always tried to get my buyers to get their scheduling if they’re coming in from out of town to go into the design center and take a look at everything before their appointment and a lot of builders will actually let you go in before you even write a contract. So I had buyers go into this one company before they even wrote a contract and I had them take the pricing catalog to get a good idea. The problem was the builder just cut that out, they said “You know, what we’re not when people in our design center. If they are on the fence there’s no more of that. You have to be under contract with the home. Once you’re under contract with a home then you could go to the design center and just look around before your design center appointment.”

So things are starting to change and a lot of this because a lot of the builders especially the good builders and the good areas are just busier than they know what to do it. They have so many buyers out there and there are so many consumers. I’m going into this model homes and I’m walking in and there may be on or two cars in the parking lot all of a sudden I’m walking out an hour late. The entire parking lot is full of people parking on the streets. So it’s just something to keep in mind when you’re looking for a new home just take everything with a grain of salt because things are changing. They are always changing, it’s not that the builders trying to be mean, it’s just that they’re very very busy right now and they’re really taken their pick and going with buyers that are ready to buy right now opposed to sitting on the fence in another six months or a year. And this happens when the market is busy. So hopefully you’ve had a chance to watch some of my new construction videos and how to save money and understanding the process. I’ll put a couple up above.

If you have any questions at all don’t hesitate to give me a call (813-317-4009). If you like these videos give me a thumbs up and if you’re in the Tampa Bay area and you need a good real estate agent let me know I’d love to talk to you, help you out. Thank you very much for watching my videos. I wish you the best of luck no matter where you’re building a new home.

For more education real estate videos. From home buying tips, new homes and new construction, seeling a home tips etc. Please visit my real estate YouTube channel. Share my videos and don't forget to subscribe. You can also visit my podcast https://www.spreaker.com/show/how-to-buy-a-house-series. Thank you.

Filed Under: Home Buying Tips Tagged With: builders, florida, home, new construction, new homes, tampa

Sales Price vs DOM – Does It Really Matter?

April 13, 2018 by Lance Mohr

The answer to this questions is, YES! I say this for 3 reasons:

1. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) statistics show that the number of days a home is on the market (DOM) effects the sales price. The longer a home is on the market for sale the less money the owner will get.

2. After being a Realtor for 20 years in can tell you for a FACT that this is true. I always tell sellers that they should not rush into a sell, but they need to sell with a sense of urgency.

3. It's just common sense. Would you want to pay full market value for a home that’s shopworn? You have to wonder what’s wrong with if it’s not selling. Right?

Transcription

Hi everyone. This is your Tampa Bay Realtor Lance Mohr and in this video, I want to talk about sales price versus days in the market. In other words, how long is your home been on the market?

All right, I remember over 20 years ago when I first got in this business. I’ve always heard the longer a home sits on the market the less money the seller will get. So that truth or is it the myth? I’ll just get straight to the point. It’s the truth and there are three reasons why.

I say that the reason number one. Every single year since before I got into real estate the National Association of Realtors has been taking surveys in every single year. They state this so statistically, it’s just true. The longer a home stays on the market the less money a seller will actually get from the fair market value not from what they listed it for but for fair market value.

The second reason. I say this is just from being in the business so long, from working with so many buyers, so many sellers. This is absolutely true. I see it over and over again that’s why I tell every seller. You don’t want to rush into a sale but you have to sell with a sense of urgency. A lot of people say well I’m not really in a hurry to get my home sold but you don’t want it sitting on the market because when buyers come to your home and they see a home’s that’s normally selling in your neighborhood. From maybe one week to four weeks and all the sudden yours has been on for three months or four months. You’re not going to get as much money and this leads me to the third reason.

It’s just common sense. If you got out there and you look at homes and you’re a buyer, you like a home and it’s been on the market like two or three days there is probably isn’t much-negotiating room in it. I’m not saying there won’t be but chances are sellers tend to think and you probably know this if you’re the seller. Well I just got an offer in three days I’m going to continue to get offers and it’s the same thing if it’s been on the market a week or two weeks it really depends what the markets like in your area and how fast homes are selling in that area. Sometimes I’ll go out and I’ll look at a $150,000 home in the area and they are selling within one or two or three weeks but then here’s a home that’s been on the market for 50 days and the buyers just say what’s wrong whit it? Why doesn’t anybody want it? They don’t understand the seller started off at $180,000 lowered it to 170 then 160 now it’s at the fair market value at 150 and this goes for any price range.

Now obviously the higher the price of the home the longer it’s generally going to take. You can’t say a home that you know it’s been on the market for at least in our market In Tampa if a $500,000 home has been on the market 30 days that isn’t a super long time for a $500,000 home even though the market is extremely tight and that higher price bracket but if I get a home in it’s a hundred and twenty thousand and it’s not under contract within a week in this market there’s something seriously wrong with it. So again at the end of the day and I tell all my sellers you’re the owner you’re the decision maker, it’s your home, it’s your price. You need to figure out what you need to do for you and your family but you have to sell with this sense of urgency because you have to understand the longer home sits on the market the less negotiating power you’re going to have and eventually it’s just going to get chopped born and you’re going to lower and lower and the lower the price.

So hopefully as I always say in my videos to sellers interview smart. Get an agent that knows what the heck they’re doing someone who’s going to tell you the truth, not just someone who tells you what you want to hear and someone who really understands the market. Who understands negotiation and has a phenomenally written marketing package. I hope this helps. If you know anybody looking at selling a home show this with them. I do these videos for you. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful day. Visit my YouTube channel for more educational real estate videos.

Filed Under: Selling Tips Tagged With: Days on market, DOM, home, sales price, selling, tampa

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