I wonder......

Do people really mean it when they say "If there's ANYTHING I can do for you, please let me know."?

How could you test that?

Please tell the truth......

I've mentioned before that we are able to assist people who are facing foreclosure by initiating a "Short Sale" - meaning we ask the bank to accept an offer for less than what is owed on the mortgage. I also mentioned that these sellers, whether they choose us to work with them or another brokerage, should be as honest as possible about their financial situations. As the agent is working closely with the lender in these transactions, it is important the agent have all of the necessary information to effect the deal properly.

Recently, I have been unable to reach one of my Short Sale sellers. I knew they were moving, but I needed to get a key from them in order to show the house. Days went by with no contact. I left voice mails, emails, sent letters. Nothing. These sellers told me the bank had not started foreclosure proceedings yet, but they could no longer afford the mortgage and wanted to avoid the foreclosure.

In checking and updating the files of all my listings, I regularly check the tax record to ensure nothing has changed. This particular property now showed foreclosure proceedings and an auction date set - meaning the bank was going to sell the property at auction because the sellers had stopped paying mortgage payments.

I again attempted to contact the sellers with no response. I withdrew the property from the MLS and our listings. When I went to pick up my "For Sale" sign yesterday, the sellers had written in magic marker their OWN phone number right across my sign - destroying the sign.

The house was empty. They had taken off. They had tried to pull one over on the lender by saying the property was listed. They had no intention of working with me in an honest and ethical nature.

Lesson learned.

So I urge all of you considering contacting an agent to help with a Short Sale to be honest, work with your agent and be in contact. It only serves you.

Friday forecast.....

Interesting information has come from the year-ahead forecast by Pending Home Sales Index - interesting to me anyway.

Existing home sales are expected to be 5.67 million houses this year compared to just over 6 million in 2006 (remember, we were still in our hot market in 2006). The exciting news is that the Northeast market is seeing a resurgence which is important because that market was the first to slump.

Interest rates are expected to climb back to 6.4% by year end with a rate cut expected by the FEDs for short-term loans. This reaffirms the notion that the time to buy is NOW before interest rates start their hike back up.

It doesn't look too good for the new home market - with only 788,000 new homes expected to sell this year. This is an indication that people are taking advantage of the tremendous values of existing homes that are on the market or will be on the market.

Home price growth (the amount your home's value will increase) is expected to rise one to two percent above the rate of inflation! That's amazing news! That puts homeowners ahead of the game. Remember, still not the market of 2005, but good news at any rate.

I'm EXCITED! People who do this type of forecasting for a living are making projections even BETTER than I have.

Buy it!

I told you.......

As I predicted, renters have been calling me in DROVES over the past two weeks. Many of them are finding that there aren't many realtors willing to work with renters, but as a full-service real estate company, we fulfill EVERY real estate need.

Now, I'm going to say it again; if you have the ability to purchase an investment property which can be rented, DO IT NOW! There are fantastic deals still to be had, interest rates are still historically low and the renters need places to live.

I suggest purchasing sturdy, relatively well-conditioned single family homes. This is what today's renter is looking for as they climb the property ladder. They are yearning to leave apartment type living in search of privacy, their own yard and the homeownership experience without the full responsibility. These renters will, in turn, purchase a home of their own down the road, but in the meantime you make a little extra cash while waiting for the market to stabilize and then make a tidy profit on your investment. We're not talking about the outrageous profits of 2005, but a respectful return.

You'll be kicking yourself next year and be one of those people who says "I had the opportunity and didn't do it!". Don't be.

Call me.

Farewell, Fidel......

You may have heard that Fidel Castro, the long-reigning leader of Cuba, has resigned due to health issues. Why is this subject found in a blog about Real Estate?

I personally believe this action will have a great impact on not only the real estate market in this area of the nation, but the overall economic status everywhere. We are fortunate in Florida to have a large Hispanic population bringing with it fantastic foods, diverse cultural morays and a distinct ethnic flair. Many of the Florida Hispanics are of Cuban descent and have harrowing tales of fleeing the communist-lead country by raft, by feigning mental illness or worse.

Many of these refugees have left behind family members who were not able to escape. They have been waiting patiently for bi-directional access to their loved ones for years. I believe the US will step up its efforts to incorporate Cuba into Democracy and Free Trade, which will be a boon for those wishing to come to the US legally, or those wishing to visit friends and family back in Cuba.

Remember, Cuba is closer to the US than Puerto Rico is. It only makes sense that the US sees Castro's resignation as a golden opportunity to open those doors once again. But, I'm no politician.

I foresee an influx of would-be citizens, a staggering increase in the rental and re-sale market, open trade creating a spike in our economy and yet another vacation destination.

What do you think?

Make ONE phone call.......

I received several phone calls this weekend on properties I either have listed for sale or for lease. Unfortunately, the majority of these calls were from people who were randomly calling other realtors as well and asking for information or for the availability of other properties.

Ethically, if a client is working with another Realtor, others should back off. It's a tough call when buyers or renters don't understand how the business of real estate works.

I want all buyers and renters to know that any agent can show them or provide information on ANY property that is listed through MLS. It is beneficial for the client to build a rapport with ONE agent so that agent can learn his needs, wants, etc. The agent can then diligently begin working to find the perfect property for the client.

As a buyer or renter, if you call an agent and feel you could have a good working relationship with him, stick with HIM. Let him do all the work of research for you and in the long-run, you'll be much happier.

Time to stand out......

Ride down any street in any town in the nation and you'll notice one thing; more than one "For Sale" sign. If you were a buyer driving through a neighborhood, think about what would set one house apart from another.

With the weather (in this area anyway) being so conducive to outdoor work, I thought it was time to give you a few tips to make your listed property stand out in the crowd.

First, go to the street and look back at your house. Is the yard cluttered with lawn ornaments, toys, bikes? Get rid of them.

-Keep the grass cut.
-Trim bushes and hedges.
-Get rid of weeds.

Now see if there is any splash of color in your yard. Do you have flowers planted or blooming bushes? If not, there are tons of cheap flowering plants you can install today that will make a huge difference in the appearance of your front yard. Do you have mulched areas in your yard? Is that mulch faded or washed away? Replace it with fresh mulch. This gives the look of a well-tended yard.

Now look at the house. Could it stand to be pressure-washed? And while you have the washer out, give the driveway and sidewalks a going over.

Have any torn window screens? Replace them pretty inexpensively.

What is the condition of your front door. Here's a Realtor secret; buyers develop their first feeling for a home by the appearance from the street and the second feeling when getting ready to open the front door. Paint your front door with glossy paint. Replace the hardware with shiny brass and while you're at it, buy a brass "kick plate" for the bottom of the door. It gives a rich appearance and they are easy to install.

In short, there are several inexpensive methods you can use to make your house scream "I'm different - look at me FIRST!". Take the time to see your house through the buyer's eyes and your property will be showing more than the others.

To get loyalty, give it.....

When a seller hires a real estate agent to represent her in the sale of her property, the seller expects that the agent will do all in his power to sell that listing. After all, real estate is the only industry where the professional performs all of the duties necessary for the job in the HOPES of getting paid when the job is done. The seller expects that her property is high priority for the agent.

Recently, I had cause to speak with a seller who had a property listed through another brokerage. She told me if I had a client that was interested, to phone HER instead of the listing agent as she could then "cut the listing agent out and save some money". A listing contract is known as a "bilateral" contract; meaning that both parties to the contract have obligations to perform and are agreeing to perform them. The listing agent agrees to do everything in his power to market, promote and sell the property and the seller agrees to allow the agent to sell the property and to pay a commission for his hard work.

Besides this seller showing no regard for a legal contract she entered into, she also demonstrated she had absolutely no loyalty to the agent with whom she contracted. There are certain ramifications for her actions, should she have gotten as far as a contract which excluded her listing agent, but the fact is that she was WILLING to slight the agent in order to save money.

If she wanted the agent to work hard on her behalf, she should have been on his side.

Sad.

Capital Gain not necessarily your loss.....

I am asked frequently by sellers what the Capital Gains tax ramifications would be if they sold their homes. I want to clear up a few misconceptions.

Let me start by saying I am not an accountant or Tax attorney (my schedule would be CRAZY if I were!) and you should consult one or the other for definitive information.

If you have been in your home for two years or more, it is your primary residence (meaning you live there at least 6 months of the year), and are a single individual, you can deduct up to $250,000 of profit on the sale of your home. If you are a married couple, that number increases to $500,000.

The famed and now mythical "property flippers" were finding that a quick flip didn't necessarily add up when it came time to pay Uncle Sam, unless they directed the profit of the sale into a "1031 Exchange", whereby they could roll that profit into another Like and Kind real estate investment thus DEFERRING the Capital Gains tax as long as the new property was a primary residence and met the other restrictions of the Exchange. Whew! That was a long sentence!

I am also asked what percentage of profit would be owed if there was a tax. I have no idea. There are so many variables to that, I wouldn't begin to offer advice or speculate.

With the new Homestead legislation in this state, the new revisions to the tax code and the amazing bargains to be had for buyers, it is time for sellers to drop the fear factor and sell. We most likely won't see the type of market we had in 2004 and 2005 so it's time to be logical and reasonable.

I've got some "For Sale" signs available when you're ready.

The Number 1 place to buy a house.......

The online edition of Forbes magazine, with help from business prognosticator Moody's Economy.com, touts the Tampa Bay area as the No. 1 place in the country to buy a house. Come again? Aren't we supposed to be in the throes of housing agony? Hear them out: Because of our area's overall strong, growing economy and comparably modest housing prices, Forbes calls Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater a prime bounce-back market. It predicts our area will experience what it calls a V-shaped recovery, where a market experiences a free fall, but rebounds strongly once it hits bottom. Other regions will chart U-shaped or L-shaped courses. U-shaped recoveries are those in which prices fall slowly and recover gradually. Think Boston and Sacramento.

Think you better start looking? Give me a call.

What happens when the Bank says "Move Out"....

I've talked about "Short Sales" or Pre-Foreclosure sales of property being on the rise in this state. To refresh, this is when the bank agrees to accept a purchase price less than that which is remaining on the mortgage. Lots of people are asking how they can find Pre-Foreclosures, and this is certainly something we can help with - but you might be missing an opportunity.

With all of the Short Sales taking place, the sellers find themselves with "bruised" credit reports. As advised, they most likely should rent for 2 years before attempting to purchase another property. This means an increase in demand for rental properties!

These sellers are moving out of single-family houses most times, and would be looking to rent a single-family home.

With all of the bargains out there right now, it is the perfect time for anyone thinking of getting into property investment to purchase homes as rentals. In this market, you place a "For Rent" sign in the yard and get immediate results.

So, low interest rates combined with rental property demands equal an excellent opportunity for investors.

It adds up.