If you are looking to buy a home in Florida, this is now playing a larger roll in your home buying experience than ever before.

I am currently working with a FHA first time home buyer.  They are qualified to purchase a home for $100,000.  We are looking for a minimum of 2bed/1bth and a decent size yard.  Believe it or not, there are about 150 possibilities with that criteria between Bradenton and Venice.  They both work in Sarasota and don’t mind a small commute.  North Port and Parrish/Palmetto areas have many homes with this criteria, however, they feel the commute with the gas prices would be more than they can afford.

Here are your flood zone codes:  AE is very high risk.  A and V are high risk.  B, C and X are good.  However, you can be in a high risk area as long as your BFE (Base Flood Elevation) is above 12 feet.   You can find your BFE on your survey, if you have one.

You need to know what amount your lender is planning on for home insurance.  If it is low, have them rework the numbers to make sure you still qualify for the $100,000.00 or whatever your number is.

Now that we know what codes to look for, our available homes have dropped substantially.   We were left with about 15 financeable options.  Remember, we are financing and a bank WILL NOT finance a dilapidated home.  If there is a tarp on the roof… move on!  If you are paying cash… great!  you can get a great deal.

Back to my First Time Home Buyers…  We have placed a bid on two homes now.  First home wanted more and my buyers did not want to go higher due to location.  Now we are into the second bid on a Homepath home.  The first home has called back three times and his higher offer did not pan out apparently.  So we wait for an answer from the seller which could take a week or more.  (I will do my next blog on the difference between short sales, foreclosures, homepath, homesteps, hubzu and so on)

We are well prepared and these buyer understand the process.  I always spend the first hour with the buyers explaining to them what to expect.   After we talk about the process and they have a clear understanding, then we talk about their needs.

Here is my home buying tip for today;

Always put your I before your E when purchasing a home…  Intelligence before Emotions…  That will keep you from making poor decisions.

Happy Home Buying!!!