Housing survey shows link between consumer attitudes, experience

WASHINGTON – Nov. 4, 2011 – Fannie Mae’s third quarter National Housing Survey provides in-depth findings on attitudes of consumers who know of people in their area or neighborhood that have defaulted on their mortgage. This latest survey shows that those exposed to default have similar attitudes about buying a home as those who do not know people that have defaulted.

However, the survey also finds greater pessimism about the economy and personal finances among consumers who know defaulters.

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Florida’s existing home and condo sales up in September

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 20, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued their upswing in September, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 10 percent last month with a total of 15,036 homes sold statewide compared to 13,723 homes sold in September 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

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Q3, 2011: Cumberland Trace Townhomes of Largo update

In Q3 of 2011 there were 2 sales in Cumberland Trace of Largo:

1. 13304 Thoroughbred Loop sold for $72,000
2. 13309 Thoroughbred Loop sold for $73,000

As of 10/03/2011 there are 4 townhomes for sale in Cumberland Trace of Largo:

1. 13123 Thoroughbred Loop is Active at a current list price of $74,000
2. 8038 Thoroughbred Loop is Pending with a current list price of $77,900
3. 8013 Appaloosa Dr. is Active with Contract with a list price of $84,900
4. 13058 Thoroughbred Loop is Active with Contract listed at $90,000

UF: Rise in Florida’s consumer confidence

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 28, 2011 – Florida’s consumer confidence index rose this month to 64, up three points from a revised mark of 61 in August. However, confidence still remains low, according to the University of Florida (UF) survey.

Of the five components used by UF researchers to measure overall confidence, four edged upward. Expectations that personal finances would rise in the coming year went up five points to 78, and consumer anticipation that the U.S. economy will improve in the coming year rose by one point to 52. There was also a four-point increase to 66 in the overall expectation that the country will see economic gains during the next five years. Confidence that now is a good time to purchase retail big-ticket items, such as laptops and cars, rose six points to 74.

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Can I save money by using the sellers old survey? Is this wise?

There are a lot of things you can do that you probably should not do. Using an old survey may be legal and acceptable to your lender but is it wise?

I’d like to suggest that using a past survey, as opposed to ordering your own fresh survey, is a risky endeavor that you might want to think twice about. Yeah, people are doing it a lot these days. But people do all sorts of foolish things. If your neighbor jumped off a bridge….

So why shouldn’t you use the sellers past survey? They are offering it for free and last time you checked free is a wonderful price. All the seller has to do is sign an affidavit saying there haven’t been any changes to the property since the last survey was conducted and you just saved about $375.00.

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Obama challenged by RE/MAX broker

What do you think about tiny houses?

Can you imagine living in a house with less than 100 square feet?

Tiny houses are gaining in popularity as vacation homes, homes for children returning from college, and for environmentally conscious people that want to minimize their cost of living and carbon footprint.

These miniature homes can be as small as 65 square feet but most appear to be between 80 and 200 square feet.

If you want to learn more about tiny houses visit Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

Cumberland Trace Townhomes of Largo – Market Update

A few people have recently been inquiring about current market numbers for Cumberland Trace Townhomes in Largo, FL so I’m going to answer their questions right here.

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Why won’t Realtors return my phone call?

One of the hardest aspects of being an independent real estate salesperson is deciding how to spend my precious time each day. There are only so many hours in each work day and if I am marketing myself properly (and I am) my cell phone will be ringing from morning till night. On busy days I can take a few dozen incoming calls that can range from a few minutes long to over an hour in length.

On any given day my phone will ring when I am driving my car, eating dinner with my wife, changing my babies diaper, or taking a shower. My phone rings every single day of the year including, amazingly enough, most holidays. People call me at 7:30 in the morning, before I have even had my first cup of coffee, and at 10:00 at night, as if am supposed to get out of bed and go back into real estate mode.

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Statistics showing bank-owned and Short Sales sell more than normal listings

I’d like to share some interesting statistics with you all. I’ve selected to run these stats for the city of Clearwater, but just about any city in the Tampa Bay area will give you the same results.

Let’s start with the total number of homes in Active status. This gives us 685 single-family houses listed for sale in Clearwater, FL.

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REO agents using low prices like chum to attract buyers

Recently I’ve noticed a trend with bank-owned listings. It seems the listing agents are pricing their foreclosures way lower than the bank would ever accept in order to cause a feeding frenzy to ensue.

I liken it to chumming to attract sharks or larger fish. Once the sharks or home buyers and investors have arrived on the scene the biggest shark or buyer with the highest bid wins.

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In 65 seconds why you need to hire a Realtor

Cumberland Trace of Largo – May 2011 Update

So you’re looking for an update on Cumberland Trace townhomes of Largo? You’ve come to the right place.

I get frequent phone calls from potential buyers interested in buying a Cumberland Trace townhome so I thought I’d make a post updating everyone on the current availability of townhomes in this subdivision. If you’re in need of more specific info just give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d be happy to help you.

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Thanks for the referrals everyone!

Just a quick note to express my gratitude for all of the buyer and seller referrals that have been coming my way in 2011. It really is flattering and as you know I’m doing my best to take good care of each referral. Even though the Tampa Bay real estate market is still in a slump I’m still able to help buyers and sellers meet their personal real estate goals. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much.

Tampa Bay, FL Home Prices over the past 5 Years

Tampa Bay, FL Home Prices over the past 10 Years

Are backup offers worth the gamble on short sales?

There is no simple answer to the question of whether or not you should make a backup offer on a short sale. Many factors are involved and you really need to consider them all before you make a decision. Are you looking for an investment property or do you plan to live in the property yourself? How long are you willing to wait to close on the short sale property?

As a general rule you should avoid short sales entirely if you’re in a hurry to buy a home. There is nothing “short” about a short sale, with most taking between 3 to 6 months from contract to closing. And some can take even longer. If you’re not willing to wait a minimum of 120 days you should not waste your time, the seller’s time or the bank’s time. Yes, often short sales get done in less than 90 days, but more often than not you need to expect a more lengthy wait.

If you’re considering placing a BACKUP offer on a short sale all of the relevant factors get amplified. To start with most short sale listings never sell. Most end up going into foreclosure with the owner being forced out of the home. At this point the home will go back on the market as an REO or bank-owned listing. But truthfully it will usually take 4 or more months after the seller is forced out of the house before you will see the home back on the market as a foreclosure property. And then when it goes back on the market the bank will want the house to be exposed to the market for a month or more before they will accept offers. So if you’ve got your eye on a short sale and are hoping to snatch it up after the sellers are kicked out and it becomes a foreclosure listing you will have a long wait. Read more

Secrets to Buying REO Listings

An REO listing is a real estate listing owned by a bank typically obtained by the bank via foreclosure on the previous owners. REO stands for “Real Estate Owned,” which if you ask me, is a really stupid name. Why not call these type of listings, “BORE” for Bank Owned Real Estate?” I suppose REO sounds more exciting than BORE now that I think of it.

There are a couple secrets to buying REO’s successfully. And they are worth understanding because foreclosures are the best deals on the market today. Anyone serious about buying for the lowest price should be focused on REO’s.

Secret 1: Don’t trust the MLS listing report
Just because MLS says the listing is Active and available doesn’t mean it really is. If you’re working with a Realtor and you are about to go view some REO listings do yourself and that Realtor a favor by insisting that they call each REO and verify that the REO is really active and available.

Quite often the REO listing agent received a contract already on the property, submitted it to the bank, received a verbal acceptance of the offer, and is simply waiting for the bank to sign the contract. The time between the contract being submitted and being signed by the bank is what we call “REO limbo.” Don’t get sucked into REO limbo! Request that your real estate agent takes the time to call each and every foreclosure that he or she plans to show you and verifies they are really available. You don’t want to waste your time and emotional energy going to see houses that are actually sold. And when a bank “verbally accepts” an offer it is as good as sold. Read more

What do I need to do to sell my Florida home?

If you’re interested in selling your Tampa Bay, Florida home in 2011 you’re going to need to learn how to look at your situation as objectively as possible. By “objectively” I mean “Uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices.”

Easier said than done? Tell me about it.

But you’re going to need to do it nonetheless, so perhaps now is the time to start practicing. A good place to start is by walking out of your home and then back in the front door, pretending you’re an actual home buyer seeing the “property” for the first time. You’ve never been in the house before so look around at what you think a buyer would look at if they were seeing your home for the first time.

Is it clean and organized? Are there unfinished repair or maintenance projects obvious? How does the home smell? Is it light or are all the windows covered making the place feel more like a cave than an inviting home?

These are the physical steps to attempting to see your home objectively – as buyers might see your home. You might also ask some friends to do the walk-through with you and to be honest about what they think a buyer might think. Read more

Deed restrictions protect the value of your home

Last week I was visiting with a client when I noticed the neighbor had a beautiful collection of toilets adorning his or her driveway. These porcelain thrones appear to be in great condition and are very colorful. But why are they sitting out in the front yard like this? Had this been a deed restricted community these commodes would have been a violation and unacceptable, but because this is not a deed restricted subdivision the neighbors can only look on in frustration.

Buying a Home: The Missing Manual

Home ownership is a cornerstone of the American dream, but it’s a complex process that, without the right guidance, can seem like a nightmare. This Missing Manual takes you through the process of buying a home, from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll use the book’s expert advice and fill-in forms to identify the house you want, figure out what kind of neighborhood you want to live in, determine what a target home is really worth, make an offer, and close the deal. Throughout the process, this book helps you:

* Realistically determine how much house you can afford
* Assemble a real estate team that’s looking after your interests and not the seller’s
* Understand the different ways to finance your house, and which is best for you
* Create an attractive offer with the best chance of acceptance
* Learn what lenders look for so you can get your mortgage approved
* Inspect your new home to uncover potential problems
* Prepare all the right paperwork for a smooth closing

The New Masters of Real Estate: Getting Deals Done in the New Economy

The New Masters of Real Estate is a collective MasterMind effort of America’s leading real estate experts teaching their best strategies on how to profit from real estate in the new economy. From how to find the right properties and tie them up with no money down, all the way to marketing and selling properties to cash in on current opportunities, this book will teach you the secrets you need to know (including pitfalls to avoid). The book taps the minds of twenty-four leading experts who have figured out how to profit from real estate in the new economy. Your newfound knowledge gained from this book will allow you to intelligently shift your money to your most effective investing options, discard wasted strategies that don’t produce, and show you how to increase your profits on the real estate in which you invest.

Buy, Close, Move In!: How to Navigate the New World of Real Estate

The rules have changed, but your dreams haven’t. You can buy the home you want—let award-winning real estate guru Ilyce Glink show you how!

With her books, syndicated newspaper and Internet columns, radio show, blog, Web site, and numerous media appearances, Ilyce Glink has become the go-to expert Americans rely on to help them successfully navigate the tricky world of real estate—a marketplace made even more complex today thanks to the Great Recession. Sure, there’s a maze of new regulations. Sure, it’s harder than ever to find a great deal or get the best loan. But you can do it. All it takes is a little expert advice from Ilyce.

Clear and concise, Buy, Close, Move In! cuts through confusing red tape to provide the essential inside information you need to make the best decisions, and answers commonly asked questions about every step of the process, including:

* Credit—from raising your score to identitifying theft protection
* Real estate investments—trends and opportunities
* Foreclosures, short sales, and auctions
* Appraisals, closing costs, and other fees
* Mortgages—fixed rate versus adjustable rate and other financing options

Where is the Shadow Inventory?

WASHINGTON – Sept. 20, 2010 – For the last year, the real estate industry has been talking about shadow inventory and the coming flood of distressed properties. Where are they?

Here’s what’s happening, according to a recent paper by Alan Mallach, a senior fellow the Brookings Institution:

• Some delinquencies have been resolved through loan modifications or people working out the problems on their own.

• Banks are getting better at managing short sales.

• Investors are aggressively buying up properties, sometimes in bulk, directly from the banks or at courthouse auctions so they don’t hit the market.

The likeliest outcome, Mallach predicts, is a steady flow of foreclosures over a long timeframe that will prevent another crash in home prices – but it will probably lead to low or no appreciation in home prices for a while.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiaros (09/16/2010)

Bill could speed up short sales

WASHINGTON – Sept. 17, 2010 – Homeowners underwater on their mortgage may find relief through a bill strongly supported by the National Association of Realtors®. The bill, if passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, would force lenders to respond to a short sale request within 45 days.

The legislation, H.R. 6133, “Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2010,” was filed yesterday in Congress by U.S. Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.).

“The short sale, which requires lender approval, is an important instrument for homeowners who owe more than their home is worth,” says NAR President Vicki Cox Golder. “While the lending community has worked to improve the size and training of their short sales staffs, they still have a long way to go on improving response times. As the leading advocate for homeownership issues, NAR believes that quicker attention to the short sales process is vital to help homeowners … as well as the nation’s economy.”

The number of potential short sale properties is rising across the country. According to NAR data, in the second quarter of 2010, four states have a significant share of properties with short-sale potential: Florida has 27 percent, Nevada 32 percent, California 28 percent, and Arizona 24 percent.

“Unfortunately, homeowners who need to execute a short sale are severely hampered because lenders (loan servicers) are unable to decide whether to approve a short sale within a reasonable amount of time,” Golder said. “Potential homebuyers are walking away from purchasing short sale property because the lender has taken many months and still not responded to their request for an approval of a proposed short sale price. Many consumers have mentioned that the delay in short sale price approval exceeds 90 days, and in many cases never arrives.”

Golder says she commends Reps. Andrews and Rooney for their efforts on the bill and urges Congress to pass the bill quickly.

Buying a Listing

You’ve decided to sell your home and you think you know what it’s worth. So you set up a few appointments with the local Realtors that have been mailing you their postcards for years. Each real estate professional provides a “Competitive Market Analysis” for you showing their opinion of the current market value of your home.

Oddly enough the first two Realtors have come up with probable sales prices similar to one another, yet below what you feel your home is worth. You’re quite frustrated. But then you meet with the third Realtor and he presents his Competitive Market Analysis which shows your home worth significantly more than the first two Realtors seemed to think it was worth.

If you’re like most people the news the third agent brings puts a smile to your face. You hire him on the spot. Clearly he is going to work harder for you to bring in top dollar for your home. If the first two agents had such a low opinion on the value of your home how are they going to negotiate and bring in the best and highest contract?

The third Realtor just engaged in a practice called “Buying a Listing”

He “bought” the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. More than likely he knows fully well you will never sell at the suggested list price. But he knows once he secures the listing (buys it!) he will probably be able to convince you to reduce the price over time.

Why do some agents buy listings?

Because it works. It is human nature to want to be around people that say things that make you feel good. The liar that tells you that your home is worth more than it really is worth is taking advantage of basic human psychology. He says what you want to hear, which makes you happy, and you hire him. Then, over time, he slowly breaks it to you that your home mysteriously isn’t attracting any buyers and he suggests repeated price drops.

As a Realtor who doesn’t believe in buying a listing I strongly suggest you don’t reward the liar by giving him or her repeated price reductions. His dishonesty and unethical behavior cost you time and money.

How long can you breathe underwater?

Inman News

Top 10 states with highest share of negative equity mortgages

1. Nevada (68 percent of 592,000 mortgages)
2. Arizona (50 percent of 1.3 million mortgages)
3. Florida (46 percent of 4.5 million mortgages)
4. Michigan (38 percent of 1.4 million mortgages)
5. California (33 percent of 6.9 million mortgages)
6. Georgia (28 percent of 1.6 million mortgages)
7. Idaho (24 percent of 243,000 mortgages)
8. Virginia (23 percent of 1.2 million mortgages)
9. Maryland (22 percent of 1.4 million mortgages)
10. Utah (20 percent of 470,000 mortgages)

Has the Gulf Coast oil spill affected Tampa Bay real estate?

This is a question I’ve been asked many times over the past few months. Has the oil spill out in the Gulf of Mexico had a negative impact on demand for real estate in the Tampa Bay area?

From what I know there haven’t been any reports of the oil spill reaching Tampa Bay beaches. At least not yet. Most of the oil damage was up in the Florida panhandle. Scientists are warning everyone that there is a tremendous amount of oil still to wash ashore and it could be years and years before we have any idea about the extent of damage to the environment.

With that said there has been a definite affect on the demand for waterfront real estate in the Tampa Bay area. Buyers for waterfront property have been much more reserved and cautious lately. Nobody wants to buy a waterfront home only to have the white sands and blue waters soon after closing turned into a tar field. This is a rational fear and one I’m not sure how to address. My advice is for buyers to do their homework and make their own educated decision on what they want to do. I share the same fears and cannot predict what will happen with the massive amounts of oil still out there in our Gulf. We can all only hope it doesn’t find its way to our beautiful Gulf beaches.

Largo Florida Townhomes & Condos

Are you looking to buy a condo or townhome in Largo, Florida? You owe it to yourself to take a look at Cumberland Trace townhomes. Built in 2004 Cumberland Trace is one of the newest and nicest townhome or condo subdivisions in the city of Largo. Next time you’re out take a drive through the community and you’ll see that Cumberland Trace not only makes a nice investment, but it’s a fantastic community to call home.

Town houses, by definition, have 2 stories. The town homes in Cumberland Trace of Largo all have 1,271 square feet (not including the 1-car garages) with both huge bedrooms upstairs. The master bath is incredible featuring dual sinks and a garden tub larger than I have personally EVER seen in any townhome, condo or even house. You can almost swim in it. The master baths also have volume ceilings so they feel extra large. Walk-in showers too.

Cumberland Trace has a great swimming pool – and it’s heated year round! The pool is fenced in and private to residents only. There are bathrooms and a shelter for family BBQ’s.

If you’re interested in additional information about the townhomes of Cumberland Trace please call Chris at 727-804-5319. I’d be happy to help you find your next home, whether it be a purchase or a rental.

National Flood Insurance Program and Homebuyer Tax Credit Closing Deadline Both Extended

Congress has passed an extension of the closing deadline for the Homebuyer Tax Credit, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension; the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the tax credit closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.

Additionally, the Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569), an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. NAR members sent more than 250,000 letters to Members of Congress encouraging them to extend the program.

Source: National Association of Realtors, Community and Political Affairs & Government Affairs

http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/

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