When you begin your house-buying journey here in Florida, you might ask yourself: Why do you need a Realtor? After all the DIY home-buying tutorials on YouTube and other extensive online resources on the matter, what can a Realtor bring to this real estate transaction that you cannot do on your own?
Misconceptions and truths
Can DIY home-buying can successfully be done? Some quarters agree to this. They may even contend that at the end of the day, there are more savings to be earned from this Realtor-less transaction.
While it is true that homebuyers have the option to have a go at the process on their own, the reality is that a single mistake committed here can have costly repercussions. Whatever savings there were from avoiding agent commissions may simply be outweighed by costs for delays, endless back and forth with the seller, negotiation blunders, and eventual buyer remorse – to name a few.
A Realtor’s expertise proves to be most valuable, especially in such a massive investment as real estate. Not only money is saved with their assistance but also one’s time and energy.
In Florida, the numbers speak volumes about the value of Realtors to local clients’ home-buying endeavors. As stated in a 2020 report by the National Association of Realtors, 85% of Florida homebuyers needed the services of a real estate agent or broker in the past year.
Especially with homes for sale that are as luxurious and as exclusive as those in enclaves such as Alaqua Lakes, you will need a specialized and experienced Realtor with a huge network of colleagues in the industry to help you navigate this high-end market.
What’s inside:
- Living in Alaqua Lakes
- Why you need a Realtor to buy a house
- Tips on how to find a good Realtor
- Signs that you’re hiring a good Realtor
Living in Alaqua Lakes
Nestled in the heart of Longwood in Central Florida, the prestigious community of Alaqua Lakes is home to gorgeous custom properties, state-of-the-art amenities, and 750 acres of exquisite landscaping that blends almost seamlessly with the lovely natural backdrop.
Known as a luxurious, family-friendly community, Alaqua Lakes provides its residents with top-notch community recreation areas, including:
- A resort-style swimming pool;
- Five Har-Tru tennis courts;
- A beautiful 7-acre community park, complete with a multi-purpose field, basketball and volleyball courts, a well-equipped playground, and an open-air community pavilion; and
- The Legacy Club, an 18-hole golf course designed by the renowned golf course architect, Tom Fazio.
Alaqua Lakes is a tranquil community where you can enjoy peace and safety with its round-the-clock security and quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods. However, it’s still a short drive away from bustling urban centers like Orlando.
Overview of homes for sale in Alaqua Lakes
Alaqua Lakes raises the bar in terms of its premier location and amenities. But more than these, the whole community was designed and developed by Taylor Woodrow – a division of leading construction giant, VINCI.
Most of the properties in this master-planned community consist of custom single-family homes built by Central Florida’s top builders. Here’s what to expect from Alaqua Lakes’ luxury homes:
- Lot size: Properties range from 0.5 to more than 1.5 acres.
- Architectural styles: Most of the homes in the community sport distinct Florida architecture but some properties here have Mediterranean influences or employ the contemporary craftsman style.
- Number of rooms: Homes usually have 5 to 7 bedrooms, including a master suite on the first level, and 6 to 10 bathrooms with spa-like features.
- Indoor amenities: Most of these luxury homes have a gourmet kitchen and formal dining room, as well as an office space, a great room with vaulted or cathedral ceilings, home theaters, and a formal living room with a separate family room.
- Outdoor features: Luxury homes in Alaqua Lakes often have their own private in-ground pool with a covered porch or lanai area designed for entertaining guests.
With these amazing features and amenities, Alaqua Lakes is, undoubtedly, one of the most in-demand communities among Florida homebuyers. According to Realtor.com, this community is completely a seller’s market, with a 100% sale-to-list price ratio as of June 2021.
In a market this competitive, hiring the right Realtor can give you an edge over other buyers, thus increasing your chance of getting the best deal.
Why do you need a Realtor to buy a house?
They are experts with in-depth experience and a wide network
Real estate agents spend years building deep connections and a repository of specialized information in their respective areas. For exclusive communities like Alaqua Lakes, the knowledge your Realtor possesses is crucial, especially in finding a home that best suits you and your family’s lifestyle.
For example, most homes in Alaqua Lakes are built in the early 2000s, but some date back to the beginning of the community’s development in the 1980s. Are the houses you’re eyeing updated or renovated? Does the home need extra repairs? What kind of ownership did it have in the past? Can these aspects help renegotiate the home’s selling price?
Only your Realtor can answer these questions and provide the necessary resources and connections that can help you achieve your real estate goals.
They can help keep the buyer’s emotions in check
Buying a home can be an emotional process for anyone. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a veteran in the real estate market, each home-buying journey entails a huge investment, a new environment, and a change in lifestyle.
It’s not bad to feel emotional during the home-buying process but it does become a problem when it affects your judgment. You might find yourself loving a certain Alaqua Lakes home that’s way over your budget. Or you can go all-in on a home, fixating on one golden feature while overlooking other serious structural issues.
A Realtor possesses a trained, critical eye that could help you to make wise decisions. A good one will lay out the truth to you about the property you’re eyeing in a frank but honest-to-goodness way.
They will negotiate the best offer for you
Understanding how the winds of the local market can blow towards – or away from – your favor isn’t something you can look up on Google. And unless you’re blessed with strong negotiation skills, you will find yourself struggling to close a deal without a Realtor.
When you hire a real estate agent, they have a fiduciary responsibility to put your best interests first. This goes double for Realtors, who are part of the National Association of Realtors and are required to uphold the Association’s Code of Ethics.
Luxury communities like Alaqua Lakes that feature homes near the lakefront are like gems to a seasoned real estate investor’s eye. Thus, the competition for available homes here tends to be fierce. A Realtor who specializes in this area can give you an edge over other buyers – even if you’re a first-timer to real estate. Their expertise allows them to help you prepare more attractive offers and to represent you in the best way possible.
They can find ideal homes to match your needs and budget
Crunching numbers and analyzing market data are some of the key services a Realtor can provide you. While you can research online for property details and market trends, interpreting the technical data and laying these out to you in the most understandable terms in relation to your home-buying plans are things that only a Realtor can accomplish.
This technical information includes pulling up sales data, property profiles, list-price reports, and annual facts and trends in the area. They also filter and analyze all this information to show you those that are relevant to your needs.
Since Alaqua Lakes is a master-planned community composed of luxury properties, you can expect base prices here to be set at approximately $1 million. An expert Realtor will make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. They’ll also provide you with a rundown of other expenses that come with buying the property (house inspections, HOA fees, maintenance costs, repairs or renovations, property insurance, etc.) so that you can make room for these in your budget.
They will help with the paperwork
The sheer amount of forms and documents needed in purchasing a house can become overwhelming, especially for those not familiar with the jargon and legalities involved in this transaction.
Your real estate agent or Realtor has years of experience reading and processing these kinds of papers. They can also easily detect legal loopholes and vague fine print – a skill that’s crucial when purchasing a home in Alaqua Lakes. Any mistake or overlooked detail in your papers can result in additional costs, complications, and setbacks that can jeopardize the deal.
They know the ins and outs of home inspections
Let’s say that you’ve successfully accomplished a huge chunk of the home-buying process in Alaqua Lakes and you’ve come to the point where the seller accepted your offer for their home for sale. While you’re in a celebratory mode, your Realtor is still hustling on your behalf. Why?
The moment a seller accepts your offer, the countdown to closing the deal also begins. There is still a lot to accomplish and a deadline to follow. This deadline could be the date when the previous owner has to move out of their home, the date when you need to move in – or whichever date comes first. The nitty-gritty details of the purchase from going into escrow to home inspections also need to be attended to. All these critical points can be expertly addressed by a real estate professional.
A good Realtor with years of living and working in the locale of Longwood, FL will also be very much aware of potential risks in the area that could affect your decision to bat for homes in Alaqua Lakes. Since this area is extremely susceptible to hurricanes and flooding, they can determine if a potential property has hurricane-resistant structures in place. They can also point you to reliable insurance providers in case the forces of nature wreak havoc on your home.
Tips on how to find a good Realtor
Looking for your dream home in Alaqua Lakes starts with looking for the right Realtor. Since they will be handling your personal information and your future dream home, it’s important to hire one who’s trustworthy, easy to work with, and can address your needs. Here are several things to keep in mind during your search:
Get referrals from your network and trusted resources
The best way to start is to ask for recommendations from friends and family. If someone in your personal circle had a good experience with a particular Realtor, chances are that this Realtor will know how to accommodate your needs, as well. But don’t just take their word for it – it’s important to still do a thorough background check on them.
Research potential candidates
If you’re not from Florida, it might be difficult to find a trustworthy Realtor through your personal network. In this case, you can go through the National Association of Realtors’ official Realtor directory and other real estate platforms like Trulia and Zillow. Having a great online presence is also a good sign, so you should look through their website, social media accounts, and online reviews.
Inspect their credentials, license, and experience
While researching potential Realtors, make sure to examine their experience and training. Are they licensed? What kind of certifications do they have? Do they specialize in communities like Alaqua Lakes? How many years have they been working in the area? Are they part of local real estate organizations? Inspecting all these details can help you assess whether the Realtor has the skills and experience you need.
Invite them for a formal interview
Once you’ve narrowed down your options, subject these Realtors to a formal interview. This is a good opportunity to see who among your candidates for real estate agent will work best with you. Bring up topics like their communication style and work ethics, as well as their proposed strategy for finding a home within your price range in Alaqua Lakes. You can also request for contact details of their recent clients for your background search.
Evaluate their customer service
After conducting a formal interview, you can start calling the references your potential Realtor provided you with. Ask them how their experience went, what they can say about the Realtor’s knowledge and capabilities, and how well the Realtor negotiated for the client’s current home. Their feedback will give you a glimpse of a potential Realtor’s skills, capability, and effectiveness in connecting with clients.
Follow your gut and hire someone you like
Having an objective point of view is important. But considering that you will be working with someone for a couple of months – as well as entrusting them with your critical information and future home investment – it’s also important that you like your Realtor. Your compatibility with your Realtor is just as crucial as their knowledge and experience in navigating the real estate market in Alaqua Lakes.
Study your contract closely
There are two things to focus on in your working contract with your chosen Realtor: the real estate commission rate and the length of the contract. In most cases, it is the seller who pays for both agent’s commissions, which usually amounts to 6% of the property’s selling price. Also, your contract should only be less than six months. A longer time frame than that should raise red flags about the real estate agent’s capability to jump on good property deals.
Signs that you’re hiring a good Realtor
After you’ve done your research and conducted several interviews, how do you figure out which among your candidates is the best fit for you? Here are characteristics to look out for:
- They listen and ask questions. Your Realtor should get to know you just as much as you are getting to know them. See if they ask questions about you and your motivations in looking for homes for sale in Alaqua Lakes.
- They make their availability clear to you. A good Realtor will immediately lay down the expectations for your real estate transaction, from preferred communication methods to established meeting dates and house showings. Moreover, they should also be amenable to striking compromises in case of disagreements between them and the client.
- They explain all the parts of the process to you. You should feel at ease with your Realtor. This will depend largely on their ability to explain all the steps you need to take in purchasing an Alaqua Lakes home. They should detail their negotiation strategies, as well as problems that you might run into.
- They should inspire confidence. Confident Realtors are successful ones. They should make you feel confident in your property deal, as well. They should regard you with the utmost professionalism and clear guidance throughout your house-buying journey in Alaqua Lakes.
Find your dream home in Alaqua Lakes with a top Realtor
The luxury real estate market can be a challenge to navigate as a buyer, especially one with a competitive seller’s market like Alaqua Lakes. But with top Realtor Frank Benevento to help you out, you can expect nothing but a smooth sailing home-buying process with his in-depth experience, great customer service, top-notch negotiating skills, and professionalism.
Frank is a leader among Central Florida Realtors with his world-class marketing strategies and a sharp business acumen that has earned him a stellar reputation in Central Florida’s luxury-home niche. He has numerous awards under his belt, the most recent of which is the #1 Single Agent in Seminole County in terms of volume for 2020. This, after a home-selling spree totalling a whopping $35 million.
For more of Frank’s work ethic, Heather B. – one of his clients – has this to say:
“Simply put, Frank is the BEST real estate agent I have worked with in my extensive history of buying and selling homes. He is easy to work with, professional, punctual, patient (especially with my kids!), and thorough and timely in his communications. Coming from out of state on short notice, he made the showing, offer, and closing processes as stress-free as possible. He knows the market, understood our needs, and offered advice without attempting to direct our decision-making. I am confident recommending him to friends and family.”
When looking through luxury homes for sale in Alaqua Lakes, you should put your best foot forward. Get in touch with Frank today by calling 407.492.5153 or by emailing frank(at)listedluxury(dotted)com. Feel free to connect with him on Facebook, Youtube, and Zillow, as well. You can also send him your inquiries here.