Sellers

How I sell Central Florida homes.

Priced honestly, prepared properly, and with the problems found before a buyer’s inspector finds them for you.

The market rewards accuracy, not optimism

Homes have been selling at a median of 99% of list price after a median four weeks on the market — a week longer than the year before. That combination tells you something specific: buyers are paying close to asking, but only when asking is right to begin with.

An inflated list price doesn’t get you more money. It gets you three weeks of silence, then a price cut that signals weakness, then offers below where you’d have started. I would rather have an uncomfortable conversation with you in week one than an expensive one in week six.

  • 99%Median share of list price that sellers achieved
  • 4 wksMedian time on market
  • 91%Of sellers used an agent — the highest on record
  • 5%Sold without an agent — an all-time low

Where would you like to start?

A number, a plan, or a look at what your neighbourhood is actually doing. Any of the three is a sensible first move.

What actually decides how your sale goes

In Central Florida right now, most deals that fall apart fall apart for one of these five reasons. All five are knowable before you list.

  • Biggest factor

    The list price, set from evidence rather than hope

    I’ll show you the comparable sales, what they actually closed at, how long they sat, and where your house genuinely fits. If my number is lower than you hoped I’ll say so and show you why, rather than buying the listing with a flattering figure and renegotiating with you a month later.

  • Deal killer

    Whether a buyer can insure your house

    This is the one most sellers don’t see coming. Your buyer’s lender requires a policy, and if a carrier declines the house — usually over roof age — the financing collapses and you’re back on the market having lost a month, now with a stale listing.

    Florida premiums average around $3,815 a year and roof age drives underwriting more than anything else. I’d rather know your roof’s insurability position before we price the house, because it changes both the number and who your realistic buyer is.

  • Now required by law

    Flood disclosure

    Since October 2024, and expanded again from 1 October 2025, Florida sellers of residential property must give the buyer a flood disclosure at or before the contract is signed. It covers flood insurance claims relating to flood damage, any assistance received to remediate flood damage, and — the 2025 addition — knowledge of any flooding that damaged the property during your ownership, whether or not insurance was ever involved.

    I’ll make sure this is prepared properly and on time. For what your specific history means, your attorney is the right authority.

  • If you own a condo

    Milestone inspection and reserve study status

    Florida now requires a milestone inspection for residential condo buildings of three storeys or more — at 25 years within three miles of the coast, 30 years elsewhere, then every ten years. A Structural Integrity Reserve Study is also mandatory for those buildings.

    This matters to your sale directly: a building missing its reserve study can face mortgage ineligibility and insurance problems, which shrinks your buyer pool to cash. Reserve funding under 30% makes special assessments likely, and buyers’ agents now ask. We should know your association’s position before we list, not during a buyer’s due diligence.

  • Found in inspection

    Work that never got permitted

    Enclosed lanais, added bathrooms, a re-roof by someone’s brother-in-law, a panel swap. After eleven years of ownership — the current national median — most houses have something. Far better to find it in my pre-listing walkthrough and decide how to handle it than to have a buyer’s inspector find it and use it as leverage three days before closing.

What you get from me

The buyer side of my business gets a written due diligence report. This is its equivalent for sellers — the work that happens before your house is ever visible, and the reporting while it’s on the market.

Before we list

  • A written valuation with the comparable sales behind it — what they closed at, how long they took, and where your house genuinely sits
  • A pre-listing walkthrough report, split into three lists: fix, disclose, or leave alone
  • Your roof’s insurability position — because a carrier declining your buyer’s policy is the most common way a Florida sale dies
  • Your disclosure package prepared in advance — flood disclosure, permit history, and association documents if it’s a condo

While we’re on the market

  • Professional photography and full MLS syndication to the major portals, plus video where the house earns it
  • A weekly written update — showings, feedback, and what I think it means. You shouldn’t have to chase me
  • Offers compared side by side — financing type, deposit, contingencies, timeline and insurability, not just the top number
  • Someone on the inspection period, which is where sales are actually lost

What changed about commissions, plainly

The 2024 NAR settlement changed how buyer-side compensation works, and most of what sellers have heard about it is muddled. The short version:

  • Broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law. That was always true; it now has to be said out loud, so here it is
  • Offers of buyer-broker compensation can no longer appear on the MLS. That channel is closed
  • You can still offer buyer-side compensation — just not through the MLS. It’s negotiated deal by deal
  • You can still offer buyer concessions on the MLS, such as a contribution toward the buyer’s closing costs, which is often the more useful tool anyway
  • Every buyer touring your house has signed an agreement with their own agent, with that agent’s compensation already written into it
  • Whether you offer anything is your decision, and I’ll give you the honest trade-off for your house and price point rather than a policy

How the sale runs, in order

Seven steps. The first three happen before your house is ever visible to a buyer, and they decide most of the outcome.

  1. A valuation you can argue with

    Comparable sales, what they closed at, how long they took, and where your house sits among them. Not a range so wide it means nothing, and not a number chosen to win your listing.

  2. A pre-listing walkthrough

    I go through the house the way a buyer’s inspector will. Roof, panel, water heater, soft spots, anything that reads as deferred maintenance, anything that was done without a permit. You get a list split into three: fix, disclose, or leave alone.

  3. Preparation, kept proportionate

    Paint, decluttering, landscaping and small repairs earn their money back. Kitchen and bathroom renovations usually do not, and you risk choosing finishes the buyer would have changed. I’ll tell you specifically where to stop — including the jobs where doing nothing is the right answer.

  4. Pricing and positioning

    We set the number, decide whether to offer concessions, and agree the disclosure package — flood disclosure, permits, association documents if it’s a condo. All of it ready before day one, not scrambled for mid-contract.

  5. Marketing that reaches actual buyers

    Professional photography, MLS syndication to the major portals, video where the house deserves it, and my own database and network. Plus honest listing copy — overselling a house in the description only irritates the people who then walk through it.

  6. Offers, and what they’re really worth

    The highest number is not always the best offer. Financing type, deposit size, inspection and appraisal terms, closing timeline, and whether the buyer can actually insure your house all matter. I’ll lay them out side by side rather than just forwarding you the top figure.

  7. Inspection period through to closing

    This is where sales are lost. Repair negotiations, appraisal issues, the buyer’s insurance and financing, title. I stay on it and keep you told — you shouldn’t have to chase me for an update.

My promise to you

I’ll give you the price the evidence supports, even when it’s the number you didn’t want to hear.

Agents win listings by flattering sellers, and then spend six weeks walking the price back down. I’d rather lose the listing in the first meeting than take it on a figure I don’t believe. If I think you should wait a year, or fix the roof first, or not sell at all, I’ll say that too.

Questions sellers ask

What’s my house worth?
Start with the instant valuation tool below for a ballpark — it reads public and MLS data, and it’s a starting point, not an appraisal. For a real number I need to see the house, because condition, updates, roof age, view and floor plan move the figure in ways no algorithm can see. That visit is part of my representation and it costs you nothing to have the conversation.
How much should I fix before listing?
Much less than most people assume. Paint, decluttering, landscaping and anything that reads as deferred maintenance earn their keep. Full kitchen and bathroom renovations generally don’t return what you put in. The exception worth taking seriously is the roof: if its age will cause a buyer’s insurance to be declined, that isn’t cosmetic, it’s the difference between closing and not.
Do I have to offer to pay the buyer’s agent?
No. It’s your decision, and since 2024 it can’t be advertised on the MLS in any case. What you can do on the MLS is offer buyer concessions, such as a contribution to closing costs, which is often more useful because it helps buyers who are short on cash rather than short on price. I’ll give you the honest trade-off for your specific house and price point — in some segments it widens your buyer pool materially, in others it changes nothing.
What do I legally have to tell buyers?
Florida requires sellers to disclose known material defects affecting value that aren’t readily observable. On top of that there is now a specific flood disclosure covering claims, remediation assistance, and any flooding that damaged the property while you owned it. Condominiums carry further document obligations. I’ll make sure the package is complete and delivered on time — but for what your particular history means, and for anything contested, your attorney is the right authority, not me.
Should I sell before I buy my next place?
It depends on whether you can carry two properties and how you feel about uncertainty. Selling first tells you exactly what you have to spend and makes your next offer far stronger. Buying first means one move and no rental. There’s also a middle route people forget: a negotiated leaseback or a longer closing, which buys you weeks to find the next place. If you’re downsizing, there’s a homestead portability angle worth understanding before you decide.
Will I owe tax on the profit?
Federal rules let many homeowners exclude a substantial amount of gain on a primary residence, commonly cited as up to $250,000 for a single filer and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, subject to ownership and use tests. After a decade in a Florida house plenty of sellers owe nothing. But the tests matter and so does your basis. This is a question for your CPA — my job is to make sure you ask it before you sign, not after.
What if I change my mind?
Then you change your mind. I’ve had sellers get four weeks in, look around the living room and decide they’re not ready. That’s a legitimate outcome, and I’d rather you reach it honestly than be talked past it. Talk to me about the listing agreement’s length and terms up front — those are negotiable, and you should treat them that way.

Start with a number, or start with a conversation

Get an instant ballpark from the valuation tool, or book an hour and I’ll walk the house and give you the real figure with the reasoning behind it.

What’s my home worth? Book a call Call (863) 271-8700

Vince Reina, Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate · FL #SL3302950
Haven Realty — Licensed Florida Real Estate Brokerage · (863) 271-8700

Equal Housing Opportunity REALTOR® · MLS

Broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and are not set by law. Figures on this page are current as of September 2026 and come from public sources including the National Association of REALTORS® 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, Florida Realtors® guidance on flood disclosure under sections 689.302 and 83.512, published summaries of Florida condominium milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study requirements, and published Florida insurance market reporting. They are general market information, not a prediction, an appraisal, or a quote for any particular property. Disclosure obligations, condominium association requirements, insurance underwriting and tax treatment vary by property and by owner — verify your own position with an attorney, your condominium association, a licensed insurance agent and a CPA or tax adviser. Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.