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 Central Fl.  

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Making offers on Multiple properties. Do your Buyers do it? Mine do. And heres why.

In the Central Florida market right now REOs (bank owned properties) make up a HUGE percentage of the saleable inventory of homes. Most sell very quickly, for higher than listing price and with multiple offers. 

This can be very frustrating for Buyers and their agents. It seems like every time you make an offer on a REO property it is either pending or a bidding war is going on. So what do you do?

What I do is have my Buyers make offers on numerous properties at the same time. We dont even look at them. If a good property comes on the market I send an offer for my Buyer to sign and then we forward it right on to the REO agent. We want to get into the game.

Last week I presented 14 offers for one Buyer alone!!! My Buyers intent of course was to only purchase one property. Luckily we received acceptances on 2 of the 14. My Buyer was so excited he changed his mind and decided to buy both!! You just have to love it when that happens.

It happened to me this week too. So….submitting multiple offers turns out to be a very good thing. The Buyers are not only getting the property they want but they also getting a second one as a bonus!!

Now listing agents are probably not thrilled about this as we end up withdrawing a lot of offers. I had a conversation with one of the REO agents last week who asked me if the Buyer had seen the property. My answer was “no". He seemed to be a little perturbed and actually said I couldnt do that. Said I was “playing dirty".

Now folks…..I dont think I have ever seen a law that stated a Buyer needed to see a property in order to make an offer on it. Have you?

We look at the property between the time the offer is verbally accepted and the time the bank sends us over the final addendums. As you know, if you sell a lot of REOs, this could be a day or 2 weeks. Whatever it is its plenty of time to pop over and check out the property.

Ive been primarily a Listing Broker my entire career. I think Im getting pretty good at this Buyer stuff though.  Am I playing dirty or am I just doing the best I can for my Buyers? What say you?

Are you a Florida REALTOR® looking for a change? Check it out. http://TTRealtyNet.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR® OPPORTUNITIES

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Hi folks. Here are some excerpts from my day. Nothing special really. Just a normal day with trying to sell REOs in my market. ALL of these properties were active in the MLS and had been placed on the market in the last 48 hours.

My Buyers made cash offers ALL well above asking price. Some as high as 20% above list price. Frustrating for the Buyers to say the least. Not to count the hours of my time spent writing and submitting offers. Oh well. The day is over and I am now relaxing by the pool with a good book. Enjoy!!!!

• This is a just a courtesy E-Mail Letting you know that we have received your offer. There are Multiple Offers on this property and we will be getting back to you within 2 -5 business days with the banks response. Have a great day.

• Thank you.. we just got an offer accepted today in the morning pending seller’s signature..I will keep you offer as a backup.

• Good Afternoon. The seller has accepted another offer on the above property,  I will advise should anything change with the accepted offer.

• The bank has accepted another offer. Thank You for all your efforts. We look forward to working with you in the future.

• I already have an accepted offer on this property.

• Offer receive it, thank you. Please be advice that this property has multiple offers. The lender is reviewing offers at this time they will choose the highest and best offer

So how was your day?

Thank goodness I placed a couple of my Short Sales pending.

What a difference 3 years makes. Right now the average price in Poinciana Florida is $73,000.

You can still do 100% financing but only with VA, USDA(rural housing) or FHA with a gift from a family member or employer.

3 years ago I wrote this: (I highlighted the statements that truly show how far we have fallen)

No money? No problem. Negotiated a deal on one of my listings yesterday. The Buyer is purchasing using 100% financing with Seller paying closing costs. My market is affordable housing with the majority of homes priced from $190s to $250s and it seems like most of the Buyers lately have been purchasing with no money down.

Now don’t get me wrong I am in favor of home ownership for everyone but I fear a lot of the Buyers are going to have financial difficulties in the near future. With high insurance costs, property taxes and mortgage payments I am seeing payments of close to $2,000 per month for a starter home. That’s a pretty big nut to crack every month in my area where most families are regular working class people and don’t have any reserve funds if they should encounter a financial setback. Also, a good number of these purchases are being made with ARMs with the Buyers basing their ability to pay on future raises at work or a part time job that they may or may not be getting.

In my opinion Mortgag,e Brokers and Realtors are being overly aggressive in selling these folks on the advantages of home ownership without really taking the time to counsel the Buyers on the true costs involved. And since they don’t have to come up with any money at closing they are sitting ducks for Mortgage Brokers who are charging them sometimes outrageous fees for doing these types of loans.

So my challenge to Realtors who are dealing with first time Home buyers with a little or no money down is to really take the time to explain the pros and cons of purchasing a home. If the Buyers are fully informed and are wanting to move forward then help them to negotiate fees or guide them to the myriad of programs available that can help them with financial assistance. Placing a Buyer in a home he can’t afford can damage them for years. It can cause bankruptcies, divorces and even illnesses. So let’s “Protect the public” it’s what Realtors are supposed to do. END

Maybe I really am psychic! What do you think?

All I can say is WOW!!! Poinciana is down to 648 active listings. Considering there were almost 1100 in January this is incredible. Thats a decline in inventory of 59%. Yowsers!!! Inventory is flying off the shelves.

Heres another goodie. There were 132 closings in May. To put that in perspective, last year from January through May, there were 162 sales TOTAL for the 5 month period.

This year for the same 5 month period there have been 559 sales. Thats an increase of 345%

AND…..values are UP!!! Not much. But they are up. 2.5% from April to May of this year.

Now folks, I personally feel this change, while very positive, is temporary. My opinion is that another huge wave of foreclosures will be hitting the market after the summer. I truly hope Im wrong.

Anyway, lets enjoy a little positive news while we can.

Heres the lowest priced home in Poinciana Florida today.

3 bedroom 2 bath built in 1989 with 1274 sq ft of living area. Its a bank owned property priced at $24,900. It came on the market this morning.

The most expensive home is this 2658 sq ft home built in 2002 with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths ands a pool. This is a Short Sale priced at $350,000!!! Yikes!

OK thats it for me. See ya!!!

***All data was pulled from the Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service and covers the Poinciana Neighborhoods excluding Cypress Woods and Lake Marion.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE INFORMATION

MAKE AN OFFER ON ANY FLORIDA PROPERTY LISTINGS HERE

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Hi folks,. I sell a lot of properties sight unseen over the Internet. Including this one. Of course it’s prudent to go have a look before the final paper work is signed. If not…..well……you may end up with this ‘"Needs TLC” property.

Beautiful Foreclosure “For Sale”

Hard wood flooring throughout.

Very open and roomy kitchen.

His and Her “Spickets” in the master bath

.

Reinforced storm windows

AC pad included at no extra charge.

So what do you think? Need TLC or total Rehab needed?

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Buying an Investment property in Florida right now can be lucrative but not easy. Here is some information that may help.

If you want to purchase a Foreclosure you will not have time to look at the property prior to making an offer. The “deals” will have multiple offers within hours of being placed on the market. If the numbers work….go for it.

We suggest making strong offers and making them quickly. You may also want to make offers on multiple properties to increase your odds of getting one accepted.

However, the offers must be realistic. If the property is priced right we will not present offers for less than 97% of the asking price. Its a waste of your time and ours.

Properties priced well will sell very quickly and usually with multiple offers. It is very common for them to sell for more than the asking (list) price. When you see a property you are interested in our job is to complete a market analysis to see what it is worth. We will then advise you on how to make an offer that will be accepted or at least considered.

• You do not have to be here to buy or close (complete) a purchase.

In order to make offers you will need POF (proof of funds) and the ability to wire a deposit in the amount of $2,500 to First American Title (escrow company). Your POF must be stated in USD (dollars).

Foreclosures are sold “As Is” with right to inspect. this means that once a property is placed under contract you have 10 days to have it inspected (surveyed). If you deem the property unacceptable after this inspection you have the option to cancel the contract at your sole discretion and get your deposit back. This 10 day period gives us time to thoroughly check out the property, on your behalf, including a complete interior and exterior photo shoot.

All offers are presented on a “As Is” offer to purchase contract that we prepare and send to you for signatures. This signed offer is then sent, with your POF and the confirmation of deposit, to the Seller’s Broker. They present it to the Seller (bank). It will take the Bank any where from 2 days to 2 weeks, or more, to respond.

Their response can be:

1. Acceptance
2. Rejection
3. Counter Offer
4. Request for “Highest and Best Offer". This is normally how multiple offers are handled.

When your offer is accepted the Bank will send over a stack of addendum that will need to be signed/initialed and added to the contract. These addendum may have 5 pages or 30 pages depending on the Bank.

When purchasing Foreclosures “Time is of the Essence". If you need time to think things over then purchasing Foreclosures is not for you. We do this everyday. Let us use our years of experience to help you get a good property at a good price.

Other than these things purchasing a Foreclosure is pretty straight forward.

That’s it. I hope this helps. Any questions?

CENTRAL FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE INFORMATION

MAKE AN OFFER ON ANY FLORIDA PROPERTY LISTINGS HERE

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Watch List your house cheap in Comedy  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

A recent article I wrote had some interesting comments about Limited Service Listings. Here’s a portion of my favorite one:

“I can’t understand limited Service at all. It’s stupid to say the least! Wreckless at the worst. Just plain neglegent at best. Limited service implies low ball commission. Either list for full service or let em go!”

It’s my opinion that the consumer SHOULD have choices as one size does not fit all. In addition to the Traditional Real Estate Company here are a few of the more popular choices that a consumer has.

Internet Companies: This business model is basically a virtual Real Estate Brokerage. Usually they charge less commission and offer less service than a traditional Real Estate Company. These types of businesses may be a good choice for an educated consumer. I have sold many homes sight unseen over the Internet. All were my own listings and I was able to pass a savings onto my Seller which in reality saved the Buyer money because the Seller was able to accept a lower purchase price. These ABMs normally offer an incentive to the Buyers by way of a commission rebate and may offer the Seller an incentive by charging less. Redfin.com is a good example.

Buyer Rebate Company: These companies usually concentrate their efforts on working with Buyers. This could be in an Agency (Fiduciary) capacity or in a non-agency relationship (Transaction Brokerage). Their business plan is to entice Buyers to work with them by offering a rebate or credit at time of closing. They may very well offer the same Buyer services as a Traditional Brokerage. It’s a numbers game. Lower gross commissions mean they have to do more business. By being on the Buyer side only, they may have lower expenses, since they are not in the business of marketing listings. It puts them in a good position to pass some of this savings on to the Buyer. In my opinion, this too is a viable business plan and has a legitimate place in the market. The downside to this business model is that they are very much dependent on a Traditional Brokerage offering “full” co-broke commissions. If we didn’t they would have a hard time surviving. A good example is Buyer Rebates Realty.

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“There is no state or federal law that requires a seller to provide any disclosure forms for a short sale.”

This is from one of the attorneys for our Florida Association of Realtors. I wonder how he reconciles that statement with this:

A Seller of a residential property, whether a bank or an individual and regardless of whether the seller occupied the property, is obligated under Florida law to disclose to a buyer all known facts that materially affect the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer. The disclosure obligation can be fulfilled via either a verbal or written disclosure.

Now I know for a fact that a propertys value is affected negatively if a “short sale” is required in order to be sold. And this is certainly NOT observable.

So…….the answer to the question is……YES!! We have to disclose that we are sellling your property as a Short Sale.

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Beautiful 5 Bedroom, 3 bath home with screen enclosed, in ground and heated pool. Ceramic tile floors in all wet areas. Kitchen with breakfast bar opens to family room. Separate formal living room. Privacy fenced back yard. The home is being offered fully furnished with short term rental licensing and bookings in place. Turn key holiday home located 10 minutes to the Disney area less than 1/4 mile south of I-4 on HWY 27 in Davenport. Sunset Ridge is a quaint gated community right down the street from restaurants and shops. Don’t miss this one! Call today to arrange your private tour.

SOUTHERN DUNES GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB IN HAINES CITY FLORIDA

Beautiful vacation home in Southern Dunes Country Club. World class golf course, tennis courts, club house all in a gated community about 25 minutes to the Disney Area. Furnished, licensed and ready for short term rentals. The homes features a very open floor plan with eat in kitchen and inside laundry room. The pool are has a covered lanai and the pool is screened and heated with a privacy wall in the rear and down one side. Perfect for a Florida Holiday home or primary residence. Don’t miss this one. This is a ‘Short Sale". Listing price may not be sufficient to cover all encumbrances, closing costs, or other seller charges and sale of Property at full listing price may be conditioned upon approval of third parties

CENTRAL FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE INFORMATION

POINCIANA FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORTS

MAKE AN OFFER ON ANY FLORIDA PROPERTY LISTINGS HERE

MORE INFO FROM BROKER BRYANT… THE SOURCE FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA REAL ESTATE

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