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Guidelines for Buying Cocoa Beach


Whether you are a seasoned veteran of real estate transactions or a first time buyer, my advice is the same: Know the Market, Know Yourself and Rely on Experts to give you the whole picture of what you are buying.

Know the Cocoa Beach Market. Another way of stating this is Research, Research, Research. Of course the Internet is a great way to give an overview of Cocoa Beach homes or homes in any given area but may not be enough, especially if you are looking to buy a home some distance from where you currently live. If you are looking to buy locally you can drive the neighborhoods that you are focusing on to get an idea if there are any problems you need to be aware of. Does part of the development back up to a busy highway? If so and if you want to avoid looking at homes in that area, know what streets are involved so you can recognize listings that may be involved.

Cocoa Beach Homebuyers Quandry


Before you begin your next home search, make sure the Cocoa Beach you have is Market Ready. If painting or landscaping or repairs need doing, get them done. If you are going to go out house-hunting you may save yourself a lot of heartache and headache if your house is ready to be listed at a moment’s notice.

In many cases the amount you expect to realize from your existing Cocoa Beach real estate will determine the price you can afford to pay for your next home. Start with a Comparative Market Analysis so you will know about how much you can afford to spend.


Cocoa Beach Homebuyers Quandry


Armed with the Comparative Marketing Analysis, it is time to approach your lender to see if you can get financing without selling your current Cocoa Beach. In most cases, financing will be contingent upon selling your home but you may be able to obtain interim financing sometimes known as a Bridge Loan.



Green Remodeling Your Cocoa Beach


Energy conservation. The average Cocoa Beach today uses systems for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and most homes are not built as efficiently as they could be, resulting in high energy consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy believes if current buildings were green-improved, they would use $20 billion less in energy per year. Cocoa Beach green remodeling puts a strong emphasis on making homes as efficient as possible with modifications such as energy-efficient appliances and thermostats that can be programmed at different temperatures for different times of the day.

Rent or Buy Cocoa Beach


In the early years of your Cocoa Beach mortgage, nearly all of every monthly payment is interest. This means you are only paying off a tiny bit of the loan principal, but it is good news in terms of tax savings.

The monthly payment for a $100,000, 30-year, 8% mortgage on your Cocoa Beach would be about $734. In the first year of your mortgage, $7,970 of your $8,805 payment or 91% would be deductible as mortgage interest. Even in the tenth year, almost 81% of your payments would be deductible. What this is worth to you depends on your tax bracket but this tax savings built into the home-buying equation is why you can afford to make higher mortgage payments than your current rent payments without squeezing your budget. There is no similar tax subsidy for renters.


What Makes Cocoa Beach Sell?


The Condition affects its salability and possibly price. Cocoa Beach that is in move-in condition will usually sell for a higher price than a home that suffers from deferred maintenance.

The Home’s Accessibility refers to just that. Is the Cocoa Beach accessible to shopping and local transportation? For some this would be a necessity and for others, the more remote the better.

Marketing Exposure refers to how Cocoa Beach is advertised. Today the Internet is a fantastic way to market a home but it is still true that the best service a listing agent can do for sellers is to promote the home heavily with local brokers and agents. The Internet and other advertising certainly help, but it is still true that in most cases it is the agent that sells the home by making sure the right buyers know about it.


Robin Taylor Ritchie
Broker Associate
GRI, ABR, e-Pro

Licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Florida

Titusville, FL 32780
321-698-8731