Working with buyers must start with making sure that they can obtain a mortgage and for how much. I love the buyers that inform me that they know how much they can afford. I am never satisfied with that answer so, I introduce them to my lender to do the qualifying. I always spend about two hours with them taking notes and explaining my agency agreement. Then I have them sign an exclusive buyer/broker agreement. They want me to work with them, and the only payment I receive is if they buy a home and the seller pays my commission. I feel that I deserve to get paid at the end of my hard work, so for the next 3-6 months we are contracted. I have had buyers buy from another Realtor when under contract and it is still not a lot of fun getting my money. I will refuse to work with buyers if I f... 11/26/2007

It has been years since the average person, with the average job, from an average family could afford an average house, anywhere in St. Cloud.  Osceola County in Florida has experienced record setting growth over the past five years.   St. Cloud went from being a sleepy little town in the shadow of Disney nestled along the 192 Corridor between Melbourne Florida to the east, and Disney to the west.  Once word got out, that St. Cloud was affordable.... the boom hit.  Suddenly, the sleepy little town, was a town under construction.Fast forward three years.  The builders are clearing out.  The renters are waiting patiently, and the prices in St. Cloud, Florida are  heading back to the "Good Old Days".   That is great news for the people who saw unprecedented escalation in home prices from 2... 11/26/2007

How many Sellers know more about Real Estate advertising than their Realtors? I think that number is directly correlated to the amount of time a home sits on the market.I had an over priced listing a few years ago. The sellers reason for selling was very emotional. When the proper sales price was discussed at the listing appointment, the seller wanted $35,000 more. The listing was taken with the understanding that every two weeks the home and the market would be reevaluated.It took 2 months, and the correct sales price was offered on the listing. The listing sold in one week after the correction to the initial price that was adjusted to the CMA price at the listing appointment. During the two months that it took to get the buyer to a realistic sale price was trying. The seller wanted c... 11/25/2007

When listing a home for sale it is imperative that the home be priced correctly. All homeowners want the most from the sale of their home. With this objective, and the feeling that a buyer will want to negotiate, the homeowner persists on over pricing their property.   A homes value is not determined by the seller or the seller’s Realtor, but in fact by what a buyer is willing to spend in any given market. By pricing a property too high, no one will view or submit an offer. Pricing a property too low usually produces multiple showings with multiple offers and the interested buyers will start to bid the sale price up to the value that a buyer is still willing to pay. The market always adjusts the value of the property.   If, in fact the home is listed at a price that is higher than mark... 11/24/2007

 The place to find out what's happening in Central Florida is just a click way @ http://www.residentteam.com/l_happening-orlando-kissimmee-st-cloud-florida-real-estate.aspJust copy and paste into your browser.  Or go to www.residentteam.com to local info, and click on What's Happening in Central Florida.With the calender updated monthly be sure to check out the up and coming events! We Really Have A Lot To offer. A great place to vacation, and raise a family.          The Resident Mark  11/22/2007

Yep that's right...I am out of houses. Sold Out. What's in the inventory?  Nada, zip, zilch, squat.  I have had to turn down more upside properties in the last three months than I have been able to take.  What is in short supply these days, are homes which were purchased before the market boom.  Sure, we have a lot of inventory clearance deals on new houses being made.  It is nearly impossible for a resale to compete with the builders who are packing up to leave town.  The party for them is over. A sigh of relief as the last of the models is sold.In certain communities, the over building crippled the housing market. St. Cloud was one of them, as was Poinciana.  The glut of new homes choked the life out of resale properties.  The lack lustre performance of buyers entering the home market... 11/21/2007

Now you have learned what a short sale is, where to find them, and how to qualify them, I will take you from contract to closing.Once an offer comes in, a HUD1 must be completed to be submitted with the offer. Submit the offer with the HUD1 and mortgage acceptance letter from the buyer. A HUD1 must be submitted to both lenders in a case where a second mortgage is held on the property. Until an offer is submitted, the lender may reveal requirements that they did not share until that point. The Lender will then order a BPO (Brokers Price Opinon) to determine the current value. Some lenders call an appraiser. Send in only your highest offer. Multiple offers might make the lender hold out for a better offer thinking that the property may bring more money being so desirable.  If the offer is... 11/21/2007

  I have been predominately a listing agent the past four years. My advertising arsenal consists of My Web Site which up loads to over fifteen other sites as well, Realtor .com, Craig's list, Zillow.com, Talking House, The MLS,Virtual Tours, and now on  Active Rain.                                                                                                              Yes, there is an expense that comes with advertising listings. Do any of these places work better than others, I couldn't tell you. I can't say that I can contribute a sale to anyone of these tools. I think that the combination of all is what works. Who knows. If anyone on Active Rain has the sure fire way to advertise, please share.                                                           The Resident Mark          ... 11/20/2007

Part 1 we defined Short Sales, Part 2 we went over identifying candidates and where to find them. Today in Part 3 we will open communication with the lender. If the home owner has been served the default notice, the loan should be in the loss mitigation department and out of customer service. Note: if it is still in customer service, they don’t have the authority to approve a Short Sale. If this is the case, ask for the loss mitigation department when you call in. The first call is to get the contact information, name of the person in charge of the file, the direct phone number, and direct fax number. This is probably all you will get. Then fax the authorization to release information to your contact. Until you are authorized, no one will speak to you. The second call is to identify you... 11/20/2007

 You don't have to be a bassett hound to sniff out a good deal in Osceola County, Florida these days.  Great deals are everywhere.  But like this Bassett, most buyers are laying and waiting for the bushes to stir a little before investigating what their money can and does buy.  In doing so, they are missing opportunities.  It is like trying to find a Bassett Puppy at the pound.   Chances are you'll miss the one that may show up.  Bassetts are in demand, simply because there are so few of them to be had.Sure, there are tons of dogs out there.  Large ones, small ones, mixed breeds all day long. But when seeking a particular breed, the task becomes a bit more difficult.  Now Bassetts may not be for everyone, just like every house is not for everyone.   Sniffing out a deal takes patience, a... 11/20/2007

Yesterday's discussion was about the definition of a short sale. Today we will cover identifying candidates and where to find them.The best place to find candidates is from marketing and prospecting. I advertise that I'm a foreclosure specialist on my website. Most homeowners that are going thru this process do not think anyone can help them, or they are ashamed what people will think of them for being in foreclosure. So therefore they do nothing and they are foreclosed on and they lose their home. Remember that before the default notice is filed, this is a private matter. Only with permission can you list a client's home at this point with words like Short Sale, Third Party Approval, or Pre-foreclosure. Once the default notice is registered with the court, and Lis Pendens Is filed can ... 11/19/2007

There are many misconceptions about short sales. I am going to try and give you a good idea of what constitutes a short sale. First of all, a short sale is only approved by the lien holders. Real Estate agents don’t make these decisions, homeowners don’t make this decision, and home buyers don’t make this decision. The lien holder has to feel that a short sale is in their best interest. They need to determine that they are going to take a loss and how to minimize it. The lender isn’t going to approve a short sale if the home owner hasn’t missed any payments in most cases. They need to review the financials of the home owner. They typically ask for the two most recent pay stubs, prior years’ tax returns, and the two most recent bank statements. The home owner is also asked to submit a ha... 11/18/2007

For the second day in a row, Talk.Realtor.com has chosen my blog as the featured blog of the day. I can't thank the community of Active Rain enough for explaining to me the impact of bloging. My post Working with Buyers Purchasing Real Estatewas chosen. Many of my Active Rain posts are copied to my blog on Realtor.com. This is talk.Realtor.com's feature of the day!Yesterday I read a blog here on AR that thought a featured blog should be singled out on AR daily as the featured blog. The feature blog on Realtor.com has increased my blog hits 10 fold.Thank you all at Active Rain for making bloging fun!  The Resident Mark 11/16/2007

I am hearing in the press, strategies for approaching offers to purchase Real Estate. The blanket strategy that I heard was that Florida has the most over priced homes in the United States. The financial community that broadcasts to the public these strategies are suggesting to offer 40% lower than the asking price. I have to ask myself, what if the home is priced properly already below appraised value. The Sellers are already biting the bullet by asking a lower price for a good value.Blanket strategies work only if you are trying to steal a house and you don't really care what it looks like, but only that a great deal was struck. Families are attracted to certain homes for various reasons, location, size, upgrades, and personal tastes. Their motivation is much different.If you are tryi... 11/16/2007

I have had at least 2 comments on my blog Tuesday about teaching short sales. The interest was that I blog the class in parts. I can do this, but if no one is interested I don't want to start something if the training isn't needed or a good idea. So let me know. I will try and do it at the same time every day so that nothing is missed. Let me have an idea of what time you think will be good. Please respond.The Resident Mark 11/16/2007

 On November 13th, 2007 Levitt & Sons declared bankruptcy.  A case of soft shell or empty shell?   The builder is one of the Nations largest and the first to declare bankruptcy as a result of the current crush in the housing market.  Unable to repay creditors the builder laid off over 400 employees before filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.   Established back in 1929 selling luxury housing, the company boomed in the post war housing market developing "communities" in the late 1940's. Levittown was established as low cost housing for returning G.I.'s.  It started in New York and later a second community was established in Levittown, Pennsylvania then expanded to others areas including Florida.Osceola County will be effected by this as will many other communities Levitt & Sons was building in. ... 11/15/2007

I started writing in my blog just 14 days ago. My motivation was to get more exposure, help my branding, and maybe get a buyer or two. I searched AR to find out what Tags were and how could they help me with organic searches. This community was very generous with tips and advice. I really didn't understand what this was going to accomplish but it was free so what did I have to lose. I got my hit report back today from my main team website.  www.residentteam.com.Last week I had more unique visitors and requests than my site had seen in any 7 day span over the last 12 months. Hey, this is really working! Tonight while checking my other blog   www.talk.Realtor.com I was surprised to see that they were listing me as the featured bloger of the day! I cannot thank all of you at AR enough for ... 11/15/2007

Buying investment homes in a college area is a good idea. A great idea if they are for your children and they stay in school. Well, this parent has two properties on two college campuses and I need to sell both. But, it appears that I missed the market. Both are sitting with no activity. I didn't think logically. Students need housing from September to June. The housing market is seasonal. Maybe in late November or early December when the 2nd semester there will be a small interest. I hope so, July is way too far away to wait for the students to return for the fall semester. So, when marketing a property near a college campus, expect a short selling window. Something I neglected to think about, but now understand. The Resident Mark 11/15/2007

I was recently on a listing presentation in Kissimmee, Florida. The sellers and I could not come together on the list price of their home. They were stuck on what they thought their home was worth in 2005. I was stuck on what price it was going to take to sell their home today! Unfortunately we were $65,000 apart.I asked them what they were going to do. They needed to relocate to Orlando. They told we that they will wait until the value comes back to where it was in 2005. I informed the that the property that they were going to purchase was also lower in price today. And if they were upgrading to a more expensive home, they would be losing in the spread.Let me simplify. Sell home at $275,000 now or wait until it increases to $340,000 (amount of time is unknown)Purchase a home at $500,00... 11/14/2007

The students in my class today were few in number. I'm not sure what to make of this. Are agents loosing interest? Are we loosing more agents in this office than I thought? Or are agents looking to stay far away from short sales. I can understand if you have a buyer, and you have a need to be paid in the near future. But, the short sale transaction is starting to be a lengthy process. Lets reflect on what has been happening.You get a listing and it qualifies for a short sale. You figure what is an acceptable loss to the lender and you list it at that price notating that the listing price is the selling price, per the criteria of acceptance from the lender. Then agents start to view the property because it's a great deal. Offers come in 40% below the list price. Agents demand that their ... 11/13/2007