Hi folks. I was on the phone early today speaking with a Legal Process Server, you know, the people that serve foreclosure papers. This server, Tammy, was talking to me about her job and how busy she has been, swamped, was the word she used. According to her she has been spending most of her days delivering papers in Poinciana and Davenport FL. 

Poinciana, of course, is my market area and Davenport is an area near Disney World that is predominately short term rental vacation homes. This market has also been hit real hard. With the declining economy, folks are just not spending money on vacation and the owners of these properties, mostly from the UK, are not generating enough income to pay the mortgages.

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Hi folks. Tutas Towne Realty is now hiring. That's right....we are looking for experienced REALTORS® who are ready for a change. Are you? If you are this is what we are looking for: 

• Full time and experienced REALTORS(R).

• Internet savvy. Computer, email, cell phone and fax capabilities are a must.

• Member of the Mid-Florida Regional MLS.

• Able to work from a virtual office.

• Strong communication skills.

• Thorough understanding of real estate laws and our REALTOR® CoE.

• Open to positive critiques.

• Strong lead generation skills.

• A sense of humor!!! 

If you can bring these attributes to the table I will provide you: 

• Direct Broker access Mon-Sat 8am to 8pm.

• Company website with personal blog.

• Individual advanced training and coaching as needed.

• Free E&O Insurance.

• Free company branded video tours. 

My job as your Broker will be to help you succeed in any way I can. I will use my 14 years of experience and knowledge to help you become the best REALTOR® you can be. All I ask, from you, is a sincere desire to help folks with their real estate needs and complete honesty and ethics in all of your dealings. 

If this opportunity interest you, you can call me direct at 407-873-2747 or pop me an email at brokerbryant@gmail.com. Let's talk. Any questions?

COME ON DOWN TO TUTAS TOWNE!!!

Hi folks. Today is the big day!! This is the official launch of my new social network BBsWorld.com. This social network is open to all and is all about ME, ME, ME, ME!! OK....just kidding. While that does sound like an excellent theme for a social network it'll have to wait for another time.  

Today I'm launching a social network at http://poincianapeeps.ning.com. And fortunately, it's NOT about me. It's about Poinciana. This social site is being provided free of charge as my gift to you.....my Poinciana Peeps(friends).  

Poinciana Peeps is a place where residents and friends of Poinciana can go to share their thoughts, ideas, news, videos, music or anything that may interest Poinciana Peeps. 

I'm hoping that with time this will be the go to spot for everything Poinciana.  

So....take a minute and click on the link below and come join us at Poinciana Peeps!!!

POINCIANA PEEPS COMMUNITY SOCIAL NETWORK

OK....this one should be fun!! This post is to explore current market conditions in Poinciana FL. Also, this is my opinion of what's happening in the Poinciana FL market and where I think it's heading. 

First let's get into some cold hard data.
All of this data was pulled from the Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service (MFRMLS) on 5-20-2008. It is deemed reliable but is certainly not exact. The data is for Poinciana neighborhoods and does not include Solivita, Crescent Lakes, Cypress Woods or Lake Marion Golf resort.

• Today, there are 1,170 properties for sale(active). The average property being a 3 bedroom 2 bath home built in 2004 with 1,777 sq ft living area priced at $165.051 or $95.72 per sq ft. 

• There are 144 properties under contract(pending). The average property is a 4 bedroom 2 bath home built in 2004 or later with 1,914 sq ft of living area priced at $134,721 or $71.94 per sq ft. 

• There have been 131 sales this year. The average property sold was a 3 bedroom 2 bath house built in 2004 or later with 1,791 sq ft living area and sold for $136,000 or $78.43 per sq ft. 

OK, the first thing I notice is price per sq ft. The active listings are at $95.72. The sold listing were at $78.43 and the pendings are at $71.94. What does this show you? It shows that properties on the market today are over priced on an average by $17 a sq ft or 1,791 sq ft X $17= $30,447. 

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Calling all Investors!! Housing prices in Poinciana Fl. Are low. Real low. In fact, there are about 35 homes, available right now, that are less than $100,000. These are bank owned properties (REOs) and are NOT short sales. This means they can and will be purchased quickly. 

A great example is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with 1809 sq ft living area built in 2006. This house has never been lived in and is priced at $96,900 or $53.57 per sq ft!!! Folks, that's incredible. You can't build a house for that price. This property would easily rent for $900 per month. I'm also sure that by the time you read this it will be sold. It hit the market yesterday and won't last long. 

This particular house sold for $206,500, brand new, in April of 2006. The person that buys this house will get a great property at a great price. 

Now, in order to purchase a house like this, you have to be ready to make an offer immediately. When I say immediately, I mean immediately. There will be no time to go look at it. That's why we have inspection periods. Usually you will have 7 to 10 days to do your due diligence AFTER you have placed it under contract. 

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Welcome to¦..The Price is Right! Come on down Poinciana Buyers….we have homes to sell in Poinciana Fl. Not only do we have homes but we have cheap homes. That’s right folks CHEAP.

Folks, these are some really nice homes that we are selling in the low $120s. Most are only a couple of years old and average about 1550 sq ft living area with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. 

You can’t find a house like that any where else in Central Florida, for these prices. Not only are our prices low but if you want to buy one of these homes you may qualify for a USDA Rural Housing Loan. That’s right folks¦..USDA, the same folks that stamp the meat at the Winn Dixie also have mortgages.

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Today, I thought I would post a blast from the past. Below is my very first blog post. I wrote this article on July 8, 2006. It still rings true today.

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My market area is Poinciana one of the fastest growing PUDs in the country located in  Kissimmee,Fl.  As of this morning there were 1434 homes on the market in our two zip codes ranging from $135,000 to $650,000. Twelve months ago there were approximately 250 homes on the market. Where have all the Buyers gone? Have they floated away? Or are they just letting out a deep breath after a hectic buying frenzy? Based on what I am seeing they are still here but spending more time weeding through all the overpriced properties trying to locate the Sellers that need to sale.

Poinciana like many other markets of affordable housing and strong rentals is over saturated with Investor owned properties. Investors who got into the game to late. Their initial plan of purchasing and flipping for a quick profit has now flopped. Their overpriced properties are easy to spot.

The “For Sale” sign is sun baked and askew. The wildlife is running rampant through the jungle like yard. There are still lock boxes on the front door, garage door, water spicket, chain link fence and back door from Realtors who have tried and failed. As you pull up with your Buyers to show this “Brand new, cute doll house in excellent condition. Priced to sale!” with the “Motivated Seller. Bring all offers.” the hostile neighbors armed with gardening tools confront you wanting the grass mowed and the garbage picked up. The Buyers wisely stay in the car and politely yell out the window “Think we’ll pass on this one”. Hey, they are in hurry there are 75 properties that meet their parameters and they want to see them all.  So after a quick stop at the CITCO to put another $95 worth of gas in my SUV we head on down the road to the next “Pride of ownership shows” listing.  

I just saw this yesterday and thought you may find it interesting. Poinciana is certainly going through a difficult time right now. When will it end? I wish I knew.

Check it out: POINCIANA FORECLOSURE NEWS 

If you are struggling with your mortgage payments¦.give me a call. I may be able to help.

Hi folks. Richard Zaretsky wrote a great post yesterday titled “Back to Basics…a Review on Short Sales”. If you haven’t read it please take a few minutes to do so. It is a very good perspective on Short Sales from an Attorney.

Richard’s post brought up two very good points for me. Both were light bulb moments.

The first was the 1099 “thingie”. Whether you receive a 1099, or not, has no bearing on whether you have income to declare. Well…duh!!! Why would it. All a 1099 does is reports the income to the IRS for you. If it’s not done for you….it is still YOUR obligation to report it. A perfect example of this is the way Title Companies, at least in Florida, handle our commissions. They are not required to 1099 me for commissions paid….BUT…I still have to claim the income. So wouldn’t the Seller have the same obligation? They certainly may not have to pay any taxes BUT they would still have to claim the income.

The second light bulb moment was the promissory note. Some lenders will require the Seller to sign a promissory note for all of the “short” or part of it. So my thought was, why not sign it if the alternative is a foreclosure? What difference does it make? You would go from having a foreclosure on your credit to having a “no pay” promissory note.

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