Star of Selling Tampa dishes tips for homebuyers

The hype around Rena Frazier is just as real as our hot housing market.

State of play: Frazier, a real estate agent with the all-female, Black-owned Allure Realty, is one of the stars of the Netflix reality show "Selling Tampa."

• After Selling Tampa premiered last month, Frazier has been trying to manage newfound stardom while being an agent everyone wants in the wild west of the Tampa real estate market.

Here are her tips for buyers and other real estate agents — no matter what your budget is:

• Expect to make an over-ask offer. "In this type of seller's market where it's so competitive, there's a good possibility you're going to be coming in over asking price if you really want the house."
• Sweeten the deal: Shorten your inspection period or waive an appraisal if you can.
• "Cash offers are king right now. If you're able to buy the house fast, that's going to give you a bump up for the sellers."

Old school tip: Write a letter to the seller on why you love the house. "It's a personal human touch that sometimes, if you've got someone who's open to it, can cut through the noise."

• And always follow up. That call or text from a buying agent can go a long way, especially if you've built rapport from the beginning.

Hot take: She doesn't recommend people go the route of what she calls the "sight unseen guy," who made our headlines earlier this week.

• "At a minimum I will do a video tour of the house and do research to get as much information on a house as I can."
• "There are big inherent risks in purchasing property sight unseen. You could be stepping into a money pit, a lawsuit or a host of other things."

The bottom line: "It's really such a special time for Tampa. It seems like lightning just struck. … All around, (the interest in Tampa's market) bolsters our community holistically. It's wonderful to be able to be a part of that."