Making Homeownership Accessible And Affordable

Another Happy First-time Homebuyer!

January 19, 2024

We recently helped a couple buy this beautiful home in Aberdeen, a beautiful community nestled in Saint Johns County, Florida.

As new parents and first-time buyers, the couple had unique housing goals that their ever-professional agent, Shelby Florenz, skillfully guided them into.

Tyler and Karly are new parents and first-time home buyers. They tried to buy a home about a year ago but crashed and burned with a horrible experience. Needed a beer to put out the flames! Then, they heard about Bee Mortgage App and decided to give it another shot.

Karly applied for both of them on her iPhone and they were easily pre-approved in minutes. They also got an unbeatable low rate with Bee, and had their pre-approval letter quickly in-hand to shop with. On Christmas day, they got a home under contract (on the third try), locked in a low rate, and were clear-to-close in 8 days.

Closing was fast and easy, and the celebration started shortly thereafter!

All About Aberdeen, Saint Johns, Florida

Located amid the longleaf pines of northwest St. Johns County’s many conservation areas, Aberdeen has homes for everyone, regardless of family needs, living preferences, or budget. In addition to repot-style amenities, condos and townhomes are available from the mid-$200’s along with single-family detached homes that start in the low-$400’s. Surrounded by preserve and wooded areas, serene ponds are stocked with fish and visited by native animals and wading birds.

Amenities
Large lap pool
Large recreational pool
Water slide
Fitness center
Playgounds
Basketball courts
Club house

Community Events
Christmas celebration
Pics of Santa
Fall Festival
Spring FestivalEaster celebration
Food truck Fridays
Farmers Markets
And many others!

Aberdeen Stonehaven - Townhomes (map)

Aberdeen Greenstone - Condominiums

Aberdeen Sutherland Forest - Single Family Designers

Aberdeen Stirling Bridge - Single Family Discovery (map)

Aberdeen Highland Point - Single Family Designers (map)

Aberdeen Castlegate - Single Family Designers (map)

Grandholm Point at Aberdeen - Single Family Designers (map)

Saint Johns County schools nearby:

Freedom Crossing Academy
Grades: PK-8
Distance: 0.2 mi
9/10
Bartram Trail High School
Grades: 9-12
Distance: 3 mi

What Buying A Home Can Feel Like

In addition to buying in any high-demand market, buying a home can be stressful and challenging for first-time buyers. Having skilled professionals assisting and advising you along the way makes for the easiest and smoothest possible process. This certainly was the case, and we and Shelby were honored to work for Tyler and Karly.

It pays dividends to work with a good agent, and gives you a major advantage over those who don’t. This can mean the difference between getting the home of your dreams, or overpaying for it. Regardless, as the home buyer, you don’t pay the your agent’s commission. The seller pays their agent and your agent.

Saint Johns County is one of the best counties to live, work, and reside in all of Florida. Ranked a healthiest county for many, many years in a row, It’s also the wealthiest county and the #1 school district in all the state.

Bee’s technology and efficient processes take the guess work out of getting a mortgage, and make it fast and easy. Most loans are closed, or are ready to close, early. Tyler and Karly’s mortgage got clear-to-close in just 8 days. By working with a trusted Saint Johns County mortgage broker, like Bee Mortgage, homebuyers have the peace of mind knowing they’re getting the best deal possible, along with the most personalized service from start to finish.

Bee is Florida's leading mortgage broker and let's you to be:

Instantly pre-approved
Get a super low rate
And close fast!

This gives you a major competitive advantage over other buyers you're trying to beat out for the home you want. If you don't know what a Florida mortgage broker does, that's okay.

What is a Mortgage Broker?

A mortgage broker works with more than one lender. By shopping around, you are guaranteed to get the best rate and service possible. Unlike going directly to the lender yourself, using a mortgage broker has a distinct set of advantages, similar to shopping wholesale at Costco, Sam’s, or BJ’s.

Brokers are better

Sure, you can spend hours shopping around yourself, applying with multiple lenders, reviewing rates and terms. But who wants to do this when a broker does it faster and better for you? By leveraging existing relationships with lenders, brokers can easily shop your mortgage around to find the best rate, terms, and service available.

Home buying can be a stressful thing to do. You have your heart set on a home, only to be out-bid by a cash buyer. This is a very real thing in hot property markets such as Florida and Indiana. While we can’t help you win an offer against a cash buyer, we can make the other parts of buying a home as smooth and stress free as possible.

Not All Brokers Are The Same

The home you buy will the be biggest purchase of your life. Don’t make a mistake and say too much for it. You want to go into homeownership with the peace of mind that you got the best deal you could when you bought, that you are happy with the overall mortgage experience, and that you don’t have any regrets. To accomplish this, you need to work with the best people you can; the best financiers.

Just as there are good and bad real estate agents, not all Indiana mortgage brokers are the same. You can tell a effectively skilled broker in three primary ways.

They process pre-approval loan applications fast.
In some aspects of bidding on a home, speed wins. The faster you can get pre-approved, the faster you can submit an offer before the deadline expires. Bee Mortgage is known for instant pre-approvals empowering you to act fast when you find the home of your dreams. If you lose a bid, no problem, we’ll get you a new pre-approval letter any time, 24/7, so you can move forward quickly.

They work with the lowest rate lenders in America.
Since rates have gone up over the past two years, finding the lowest rate possible is supremely important to smart Indiana home buyers. After all, your home is the biggest purchase of your life, and the last thing you want to do is get stuck with a high rate.

They close quickly.
Bee Mortgage Indiana closes most of their loans early. With ultra-streamlined processes and partnerships with the fastest lenders in America, Bee customers can be cleared to close in as little as 8 days. More importantly, closing early is a sign of efficient processes and expert loan advisors pushing your file to the finish line.

Persevering Through The Home Buying Process

The current real estate market is not the market of your parents or grandparents. In a lot of ways, the market is crazy and unpredictable. No one really knows what rates will do or where home prices with be in the near or long term. Forecasts are constantly changing, and the Fed is going to have to admit defeat of not being able to hit its 2% inflation target. On top of all that, you are competing with cash buyers from out of town, eager to out bid you on a home.

With homeownership affordability the worst it’s been in history, Indiana home buyers need to look out for small positive market movements, and take advantage of them when they occur. And one recently happened.

The average U.S. homebuyer has gained est. $40,000 in buying power over the last 3 months as mortgage rates have cooled off. An Indiana homebuyer with a $3,000/mo housing budget can afford an est. $453,000 home according to Redfin.

There is a bright side to the tough housing market, and it’s this: You don’t buy a home when rates are low. You hope they’re low when you’re ready to buy, but you buy a home because it’s your home, the place you’ll raise your family and build your dreams in. So long as you can afford the monthly mortgage payment, buy!

You’ll waste more money renting waiting for rates and home prices to come down then you ever will entering the market. Building equity versus renting is always the way to go, and you’ll never regret it. But you will regret wasting money renting when you could have bought and simply refinanced if rates dropped in the future.

Competing With Cash Buyers

The housing market in Florida and Indiana is hot, and not showing any signs of cooling off that much. If you’re buying a home here, you might find yourself competing with peopling from out of town who are cash buyers. Homebuyers that are moving here from states such as New York, Illinois, California, and Massachusetts are getting a lot more home for their dollar. Combined with higher rates, a lot of buyers are choosing to pay cash for the home, giving them a big advantage over someone who is using financing to buy the home.

Cash Buyer’s Advantage

Because there’s no home loan to qualify for, they can close faster; sometimes in as little as 10 days.
The seller get their money faster than waiting for the buyer’s loan to close, which usually takes about 30 days for most lenders.
The seller knows right up front that the buyer has the cash to purchase their home.
Many of these out of town buyers are bidding more than the asking price of the home, and willing to do it because of how much more home they get in Indiana or Florida compared to where they used to live.

Cash buyers are a reality of a competitive market. There’s nothing you can do to get rid of them; but there are some unique ways Bee Mortgage lets you compete with them on a more level playing field. Because of Bee’s incredible technology, speed, and exclusive client focus, winning an offer against a cash buyer is easier than ever.

Bee Customer Advantage

Instant pre-approvals 24/7. Loan applications are processed immediately after a loan application is received.
Credit, income and assets are all verified up front electronically most of the time. This shows the seller right up front that you have the financial ability to close.
Bee can close 17 days after everyone signing the contract. We recently got clear-to-close on a loan in 8 days.

By letting the seller know that you are fully vetted and qualified, right up front, and that you can close super fast, this makes your offer almost as good as a cash buyer’s offer, with a few exceptions. Then, the responsibility is on your agent to negotiate a good price that’s within your budget, and convince the sellers that going with you will be best for the community and the neighbors they’ll be leaving behind.

It All Starts With Homeownership

People who build long-term wealth start with their home. All of wealth creation begins with homeownership, your nest egg. Studies have shown that people who buy early in life build more wealth than those who don’t. This is because of how much money you waste renting compared to building equity in your home, which you can do in any real estate market, good or bad.

Based on what the Fed does, the mortgage market is cyclical as rates rise and fall periodically. And while home prices have historically risen, with a few exceptions such as the great recession, waiting for home prices to come down before you buy is a losing strategy. After all, homeownership is a long-term thing, a holding you’ll possess no matter where the market is. When buying a home, you don’t buy the dip and sell the top; you buy and hold, forever.

If you’re paying $2,000/mo in rent that equals $24,000/yr in wasted money that could have gone into building your home equity. If you rent for 2 years, that’s $48,000 wasted, and 3 years is $72,000 wasted.

Don't waste time and money. Buy today and start building long-term wealth.

Another Instantly Pre-approved Homebuyer in Jacksonville, Florida

Thatcher and Melissa are first-time buyers looking at homes in the beautiful San Marco area of Jacksonville. This historic district boasts some of the most elegant houses, dining and shops in all of Florida. This luxurious area of the First Coast has attracted some of the most affluent people and influential business leaders from all over the United States. In fact, franchise founder and first owner the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wayne Weaver, lived on the river in this area.

Beautiful San Marco home

San Marco is one of Jacksonville's most historic neighborhoods. Located on Downtown's Southbank, couples stroll along San Marco Square and discover incredible dining, upscale trendy clothing boutiques, and sensational art galleries. The San Marco movie theatre and Theatre Jacksonville and the oldest community theatre in the country dating back to 1938, and are also located within the square. Riverfront park in San Marco is a wonderful location for city views, especially during the sunset.

Take a ride down River Road to tour some amazing riverfront estates. Don't miss the San Marco fountain of lions, which reflect the neighborhood's association with the Venice, Italy business district. Save your appetite and visit the new San Marco dining district, it includes some of Jacksonville's best restaurants. Don't stop at just dinner, the area is emerging with trendy craft cocktail bars and brewery hot spots.

Top San Marco Restaurants

Matthews