You may be asking yourself, "What the heck is a blog?" Well, let me tell you. A blog is what I describe as a  "living and breathing" website. It's a place where information is shared in a more personal way and it's updated more frequently than a web site. I will be writing new articles (posts) on this site 2 to 3 times a week. I use this site to write about anything and everything related to Real Estate. Or I may just tell you something about myself. By reading my blog posts you will get a real good idea of who I am and how I conduct my business. It will also keep you updated on market conditions in Poinciana Fl.  

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OK it's time for me to repost an "oldie but goldie". I was sitting down to write a post today, based on conversations I had this morning, with two potential Sellers. As I started writing, it was sounding very familiar. Then I remembered I had written about this same scenario almost 2 years ago!!!! Funny how things remain the same. 

THE SHARKS HAVE HAD THEIR FILL.......
First posted 9 September 2006

I just got off the phone with Mr. Ive B. Screwed. Seems like a nice young man from South Florida, I could hear babies crying in the background. Mr. Ive B. Screwed bought a house in Poinciana, January of 2006. He's never been to Poinciana but based on advice, he received from one of his neighbors, he decided Poinciana would be a great place to purchase a new home, then turn around and sell it for a small profit. Well, unfortunately for Mr. Ive B. Screwed, he was connected with a builder, WeRipOff, Inc. who just happened to be building homes in Pionciana. Not only would they build you a house but they would finance it as well, with only $5,000 down and pay all the closing costs. What a deal!! And to sweeten the pot even more, they work hand in hand with a Real Estate Company named GetRichToday, LLC.

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Hi folks, below is a little chart I made today that I want to share with you. I made this so I could see where my business is coming from. This is important to track because I need to know if folks are pleased with my service. A good indicator of this is how much of my business is from referrals and repeat customer/clients. 

What this chart shows me is that 45% of my business comes from referrals and repeat customers, 35% comes from my expired letter, 15% comes from the Internet and only 5% came from a sign call. 

It also shows me that 35% of my current business is in Short Sales(SS). 85% is with Sellers and 15% is with Buyers.

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Hi folks. This post is about finding your MoJo. As most of you know, Poinciana FL has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. I heard it could be as high as 1 in 7 homes. That's about 15%. So needless to say it has been a very difficult year for selling real estate, thus far. BUT......I'm starting to get my MoJo back!!! 

About 3 months ago I decided I needed to quit my whining about the market and make changes in my business. Based on what was happening in the market I had 3 areas that I needed to concentrate on:

1. Picking up some REO(bank owned properties) listings.

2. Working short sale listings.

3. Expanding my Investor base and increasing Buyer activity. 

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Hi folks, today, I'm writing to pick your collective brains a little. With the huge amounts of distressed property owners in this current real estate environment "new" business opportunity seems to have been born, The Short Sale Negotiator. 

If you are like me, I'm sure you get numerous emails, from these companies, offering to assist you with short sale negotiations. They go something like this: 

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Are you facing foreclosure? If so, you need to be proactive because it will not just go away. Please remember that having a financial hardship does not make you a bad person. It happens to all of us. As a Real Estate Broker, in Poinciana, I talk to folks every day who are having difficulties. If you are struggling please feel free to give me a call. I'd be happy to meet with you to go over your options and of course, our conversation will be kept confidential. I'm here to help if I can.

.....that's what my seller asked me today. I had set an appointment to meet with my Sellers because they had just been served the "20 days to respond" foreclosure "thingie". We knew it was coming since they hadn't made mortgage payments in a long time. 

The reason for my appointment was to go over their options, discuss lowering the price and possibly attempt to get a short sale. I like these sellers a lot and have been trying to sell their property since January. We've actually had lots of showings and received, what I thought was a very good offer, within 30 days of placing the property on the market. But alas....one of the spouses was not in agreement and the buyer walked and bought another house. 

The property is now priced very near to being in a short sale situation, so, with the foreclosure looming, it is time to lower it on down and try to get a short sale approved. 

BUT......about a month ago, my Seller had to go to the emergency room, for the second time in about a month, due to stress related to this situation. They are elderly folks and their credit is already shot. After talking a bit today I started feeling that going through a short sale would be too much stress for them.  

After I had delivered my spiel, the Seller looked at me and asked, "Do you believe in miracles". Then he proceeded to tell me how they had decided to raise the price on the property by $40,000 and pray for a miracle!! Holy moly!!!!

My Seller has been praying about this and has been inspired to raise the price and hope for a miracle. They are fully aware of the fact that they may be losing their house. They are also not willing to go through the short sale process and, in my opinion, shouldn't. 

Fortunately, at my suggestion, they had moved out of the house a couple of weeks ago and into a rental. They needed to do this to at least ensure they had a place to live if the house didn't sell in time. 

So.....as a Broker, my options are: 

• Tell them there isn't a chance in heck of their house selling for 15% more than it's listed right now and walk away from the listing.

• Try to convince them that they are being foolish and that a "miracle" will not get their house sold.  

• Agree to raise the price and pray for a miracle.

Sometimes we just need a miracle. 

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. 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