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| SEPTEMBER 2010 |
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54 ACRES ~3 BARNS BROOKSVILLE:54 ACRES & CUSTOM COUNTRY HOME, 6 Stall Center Aisle Barn, 4 BED/3 BATH $1,150,000.00 http://pro.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=901514299&s=PRO&t=PRO |
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BEACH FRONT CONDO INDIAN ROCKS BEACH~3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH, GULF FRONT $759,000.00 http://pro.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1919710128&s=PRO&t=PRO |
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SINGLE FAMILY HOME TAMPA~4 bedroom 3.5 bath 2 car garage, 2803 sq ft,$750,000.00 http://pro.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1655350673&s=PRO&t=PRO |
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INTRACOASTAL Largo~4 bedroom 3 bath, 2718 sq feet. $699,000.00 http://pro.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=552948450&s=PRO&t=PRO |
Articles and Advice |
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| Loan modification “blackmail” By Benny L. Kass DEAR BENNY: My wife and I received from our lender a repayment agreement for our original mortgage. This was a result of the bank initiating a foreclosure sale, which was temporarily suspended because we agreed to enter the Home Affordable Modification Program. But the bank is asking us "to acknowledge that they are the legal holder and owner of the Note and Security Instrument and further acknowledges that if Lender transfers the Note, as amended by this Agreement, the transferee shall be the 'Lender' as defined by the agreement." It should be noted that this is not the original bank we signed the mortgage with. We obviously won't sign this amendment and supplement to the original mortgage until we have an attorney review the documents. What do you think we should do? --Brian DEAR BRIAN: Your lender is trying to protect itself by having you sign that document. Over the past several years, lenders sold their mortgage loan papers in bulk to such groups as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac who "securitized" those loans and resold them to investors all over the world. No one knows the whereabouts of the original promissory note that you initially signed.. And many judges throughout the country have told lenders, "If you cannot show me the original note, I will not let you foreclose on the property." So, your lender is basically "blackmailing" you. If you want the loan modification, you have to sign the agreement. You really should get a lawyer to assist you. The lawyer will determine whether judges in your state require the original note. If they do, you may be in stronger bargaining position with your lender. It should be noted that not all courts have adopted this position. The bottom line: You don't want your house to be foreclosed upon. Only you can make the decision, but get some legal advice before you sign that agreement. DEAR BENNY: In 2006, the assessed value of my house had climbed to $756,000 and then dropped to $714,000, trailing the declining market. I filed an abatement based on erroneous information that my town was using, and was successful. My house was reassessed at $531,300, very close to my suggested valuation. About the same time, I refinanced my house based on a bank appraisal of $678,000. Since then, my house valuation has decreased each year and it now has an assessed value of $442,600; our area is being re-evaluated this year. Here is my dilemma: I firmly believe, based on almost daily research, that the market value of my house is somewhere in the low $500,000s. I think by filing this abatement, I shot myself in the foot. I know buyers look at the assessed value, which is easily accessed on our town Web site. In my case, this differs dramatically from two years ago as well as the appraisal I had during the same month my abatement went through. Can I realistically list my house at what I consider to be market value and expect a real estate agent to explain these events to potential buyers, or am I stuck with an asking price closer to the current assessed value? --Karen DEAR KAREN: I don't think you shot yourself in the foot; in fact, you have been paying real estate tax on the lower assessed value. You can list your property for any amount you feel it is worth. Some real estate agents may balk if your valuation is too high, but if you have the research (comparables) showing what other similar houses in your area are selling for, you should be able to convince the agents of the value of your house. From my experience, assessments in many parts of the country are not consistent with a home's true value. Many older homes are not carefully inspected, so the government assessor does not always know what kind of improvements have been made. Keep in mind that based on today's economy we are in a buyer's market. Regardless of the price you set for your house, potential buyers will lowball their offers. Obviously, you do not have to accept any offer and have the absolute right to counter with a higher price. When an offer is made either to a seller or a buyer, the recipient has three alternatives: you can accept it, you can counter, or you can reject it outright. One suggestion: Because most buyers do not pay all cash, they will need to get a mortgage. Lenders will obtain an independent appraisal before committing a loan, and appraisers are coming in very conservatively with their valuations. So, to satisfy yourself, I suggest that you consider obtaining your own appraisal before you sign up with a real estate agent. It will be worth the $300-$500 dollars that most appraisers will charge you. DEAR BENNY: I own a condominium unit in a fairly large association. Over the years with good management, we have amassed a sizable reserve account. Recently, the board announced that because we are earning only a very small amount of interest on this account, it wants to start investing these funds in the stock market. The announcement stated that with interest rates starting to increase, the board believes that the stock market will be a good place to earn more money for our association. Can the board do this? --Charles DEAR CHARLES: If absolutely every owner in your association agrees to go to Las Vegas and gamble with your reserve account, I would reluctantly have to say this would be legal (although clearly inappropriate). Notice that I said that every owner must affirmatively agree. Your board of directors has a fiduciary duty to all of the owners who elected them to their positions on the board. If they want to spend their own money on the stock market -- or in Las Vegas -- that of course is their business. They certainly have the right to spend their own money as they see fit. But your reserve account does not belong to the board; it belongs to every owner in your association. The clear obligation of the board of directors is to invest your money in secure, insured investments -- even if that means that your money may not be earning as much as everyone would like. Reserve accounts are very important to the well-being of any community association. If, for example, your elevator or your roof needs replacement, and if the association does not have enough money in reserve to pay for these matters, each owner -- including you -- may be faced with a special assessment. This may cost you a lot of money. More important in today's market economy, lenders are insisting that a condo association have adequate reserves before they will commit to a mortgage loan. Indeed, the FHA loan -- which today is probably the most important mortgage around -- requires associations to have a minimum reserve requirement of 10 percent of the annual budget. For example, if your association's budget is $400,000, you have to allocate $40,000 annually for future reserves. A reserve simply means that the association should have money set aside "in reserve" to cover the cost of future emergency or major repairs. Reserves are (or should be) an essential part of every community association. Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column. |
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| Pricing to sell in today's market By Dian Hymer Putting yourself in the right mindset to sell is essential. It's the most difficult aspect of selling for most sellers. Your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay, which may not be what you think it is worth. Detaching yourself emotionally from your home is difficult. Clearing out years of clutter, depersonalizing your home by removing personal memorabilia, and staging your home for sale can help you step back and view the home as a commodity that needs to be sold rather than as your personal sanctuary. Putting your home on the market at a price that reflects what you want and not what the market will bear can cost you time and money as it sits on the market unsold. The home-sale market is a localized phenomenon. The only way to get a clear picture of what your home is likely to sell for is to find out which listings are selling in your neighborhood and for how much. The most recent sales -- those that closed within the last three months -- will be the most informative. Be sure to take a hard look at the list prices of homes that are new on the market. If the list prices are lower than they were two or three months ago, this indicates that prices are declining. This needs to be taken into account when you select a list price. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Pay close attention to your competition. Don't fall into the trap of pricing your home higher than your neighbor's home because yours is better. If your neighbor's price is too high for the market, neither of your homes will sell. Ask your listing agent to call the listing agents of properties similar to yours to find out what kind of showing activity they are receiving. Have they had offers? If so, why weren't they accepted? Were the offers too high? If so, you should set your sights lower. Some listing agents recommend that you list considerably under market value in order to stimulate multiple offers. In some cases, this can be an effective strategy. For example, in the low-end foreclosure market, this was common practice at the end of 2009. Some listings priced way below market value received more than a dozen offers. However, it can be risky to price significantly lower than market value on a more expensive property for which the demand is lower. You could end up with more than one offer, but you could also receive under-market price offers. Your home needs to be perceived as a good value to a buyer to sell in this market. However, you could shortchange yourself by discounting the price too much. Your home is most marketable when it is new on the market. Buyers wait anxiously for the new crop of listings. Listings that don't sell relatively quickly often languish on the market. Price reductions often follow as the sellers try to find market value. A listing that has been on the market for months is likely to receive a low offer -- if a buyer makes any offer. A listing that receives a lot of showing activity when it first hits the market but gets no offers is probably overpriced for the market. In this case, it's best to lower the price to market value as soon as possible while the listing is still fresh in agents' and buyers' minds, even if this is within two to four weeks of the listing date. THE CLOSING: Listings in neighborhoods where sales activity is slim require a longer marketing period. Even so, pricing right for the market is imperative. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Pay attention to home inspection By Paul Bianchina For just about anyone, a home is the single-most expensive and single-most complex thing that you'll ever own. So when making that purchase, you certainly want to do everything possible to be an informed buyer and to protect yourself and your investment. One of the ways to do that is to have a home inspection prior to closing the deal on the purchase. A home inspection will give you a lot of information about the physical condition of the home you're considering buying, and should alert you to any potentially serious problems. But as a potential home buyer, it's important that you understand what a home inspection includes and doesn’t include. There are certain things you legitimately can expect your inspection to provide for you, and certain things that it won't. And you also need to understand that the more you participate in the inspection process, the more you'll get out of it in return. Finally, understand that just like there are good and bad contractors, there also are good and bad home inspectors. Expect to have to do a little homework to find one of the good ones. What is a home inspection? A home inspection is a visual inspection of the home you're thinking of purchasing, performed by an objective third-party inspector. The inspector will examine the physical structure of the home from top to bottom, as well as the home's operating systems. Typically, a home inspector will look at the following things: • Outside: The exterior home site; general condition of the foundation and basement walls; condition of the exterior walls, including the siding, exterior trim, windows, exterior doors and exterior paint; type and condition of the roofing; condition of gutters, downspouts, flashings, and vents. • Inside: The condition of the attic, roof support structure, attic insulation and attic moisture issues; condition of the basement and crawl space, including insulation and moisture issues; garage and carport; electrical system; visible plumbing system; heating, cooling and ventilation system; general interior condition of the home. A short time after the end of the inspection you'll receive a written report detailing the inspector's findings. Any defects the inspector identified will be noted. Inspectors never should attempt to sell you anything, such as their services to come in and fix anything that was identified in the report. To do so would be a clear conflict of interest. It's important to understand that inspectors do not do what is known as "destructive testing." In other words: they don't cut holes in walls or otherwise open up inaccessible areas to look inside. Everything is based on their visual inspection of whatever they can access. They're also not there to comment on anything that's readily apparent from a cosmetic standpoint, such as a sloppy paint job. What types of things does the inspection not cover? It's equally important to understand what a home inspection doesn't cover, because this is where you need to be sure that you continue with your due diligence when you're buying your home. For example, your home inspector will point out any obvious signs of visible mold or mildew in the home. However, he will not be performing any type of actual mold inspection. If you suspect a mold infestation in the home, you need to have testing done by a trained hygienist. Home inspectors will point out structural problems that have been caused by insect damage. But they're not there to perform a complete termite inspection. They also don't do inspections for the condition of the well, septic tank, or any type of soil contaminants. You also need to be very aware of the fact that a home inspection has nothing to do with code violations or zoning issues. You need to check those things out for yourself with the local building and planning offices. It's up to you to assure yourself that any prior work on the house was done with the necessary building permits. It's also up to you to check that there are not any issues when it comes to how the house is currently zoned, or how the current zoning might affect your use of the property in the future. What do you need to do? You have a couple of other responsibilities in this process as well. First of all, know who your inspector is, and what's required of him. Different states have different regulations pertaining to how home inspectors are regulated, so find out what's required. Interview the inspector before you hire him. Be sure he complies with all those requirements, including whatever license, insurance and bond is needed. Ask for and verify references. Ask for and read a sample report. Be sure it gives you the type of information you need, in a format you can understand. Find out if the inspector belongs to any professional trade organizations, and what their standards and codes of ethics are. The other important thing is that you need to attend the inspection. Follow the inspector around, even up into the attic and into the crawlspace if you're physically able to do so. See what he's looking at. Understand the potential problems. Ask questions and take notes. When you get your report, read it over from cover to cover at least twice, and be sure you understand it. You paid for it, and it's one of the most important documents you'll ever have. So if you don't understand any of it, be sure someone explains it to you. |
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| Playing the real estate waiting game By Dian Hymer Buyers often are reluctant to make an offer to buy a home they find early on in their search. After looking for months and not finding anything comparable, some buyers regret not having moved quickly on a listing even though they saw it early on. In most cases, you should consider yourself lucky if you find the home you want to own for years relatively quickly. It's not uncommon in some low-inventory markets for buyers to look for a year or more before they are able to buy. For the last few years, sellers who haven't had a pressing need to sell have been waiting for a better market before putting their homes on the market. In one case, the inventory was so paltry that buyers who purchased in the Upper Rockridge area of Oakland, Calif., looked for four years before finding the house that would work for them in the long term. In high-demand niche markets, there can be a shortage of listings and a lot of buyers waiting for the same kind of home. A couple who purchased in the Oakland Hills looked for more than a year in an area where not much that suited their needs was available. They made two offers during that time and ended up losing in multiple-offer competitions before they were finally able to secure a new home. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buyers who find the right home soon after starting their search need to get a quick education about the local market in order to be able to keep from making a bad decision. You don't want to pass on a house and kick yourself later for doing so. You also don't want to buy a house that doesn't work out for you, particularly in the current market. You'd be unlikely to sell the home again soon and break even. Find out how often a listing like the one you're considering comes on the market. High-quality, well-located homes in coveted locations come on the market infrequently in some areas. Ask your real estate agent how many listings like the one you're interested in came on the market in the last six months or one year. How long did it take them to sell? Were there multiple offers? In other areas that have lots of homes for sale similar to the one you like, you have the luxury of shopping the market awhile. If someone else buys this home, you'll be able to find another in a reasonable period of time. There's no urgency, unless interest rates are rising and locking in a low rate is key to being able to afford the home you want. To ease your concern about buying a home before you've seen many, scour the Internet for other similar homes for sale in the area. Ask your agent to show you any other homes currently on the market that might work for you. This is how to determine the range of housing options in the area as well as understand local pricing. Buyers from out of the area are at a disadvantage if they are not familiar with the housing market in the new location. The Internet helps buyers gain information about what kinds of homes and how many are available in the new location. THE CLOSING: Although no one likes to make an interim move to a rental before buying, it does have the benefit of letting you live in the new community and decide which neighborhood will work best for you. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist. |
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VA Home Loan Benefits VA Home Loan Benefits: 1. Up to 100% financing on purchases with NO down payment required. Note: Credit and income qualifications required 2. No expensive monthly Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) required on most conventional loans with less than 20% down. 3. Competitive Interest Rates. 4. Seller is allowed to pay up to 4% of the loan amount for the veteran closing cost on purchase transactions. Thus allowing most veterans to get into a home with little or no out of pocket cost. 5. More credit flexibility with lower credit scores, bankruptcies, foreclo- sures, and collections than most conventional loans. 6. Loans up to $417,000 with NO down payment and $625,500 for transactions in Hawaii and Alaska. 7. VA enforced restrictions against excessive lender "junk" fees. 8. No prepayment penalties. 9. VA refinance streamline loan process available. Your eligibility must be verified through VA by obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). This is obligatory for all VA purchases and refinances. There are different requirements that are needed to be met for active members vs. reservists, for those who served before or after certain dates, or during wartime or in peacetime. Visit: http://www.va.gov |
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AMERICAS MIGHTY WARRIORS Marc Alan Lee First Navy SEAL killed in Iraq By DEBBIE LEE Please visit this website and read Marc's very touching last letter home. http://www.americasmightywarriors.org |
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MILITARY DISCOUNT TO ALL ACTIVE DUTY PERSONNEL By DENISE $$ UNITED STATES MILITARY DISCOUNT $$ Attention all ACTIVE DUTY Military personnel: You will receive a $200.00 Bonus check at closing from me just for allowing me to help you with your real estate purchase or sale!! You must show me your Military I.D. card in order to verify your Active Duty Military status. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND FOR KEEPING THIS GREAT COUNTRY SAFE!!! |
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ARE YOU LOOKING TO RELOCATE TO SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN FLORIDA?? CHICAGO By DENISE DENISE IS A RELOCATION SPECIALIST. DENISE CAN HELP YOUR RELOCATION EXPERIENCE RUN SMOOTHLY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. JUST GIVE HER A CALL OR SEND HER AN EMAIL! |
| Is “do it yourself” in your DNA? By Paul Bianchina In many ways, this is a tough time to be a homeowner. Finances might be tight, but that doesn't stop the roof from wearing out, or the plumbing from starting to drip. Or perhaps you're thinking of selling your home, and you need to add a deck or replace some windows or siding in order to be competitive in a tough real estate market. But you can't really afford to hire a pro. That may have left you giving some serious thought to undertaking some do-it-yourself projects that in the past you might not have considering tackling. There are some pros and cons to that. Doing things yourself saves money and adds value to your home. It can also bring a lot of personal pleasure, and a definite sense of pride. But there are risks. A poor job can actually detract from the value of your home. In some cases, you can even end up paying more for wasted materials and correcting mistakes than you would have paid to have a contractor do it right in the first place. So before you break out your tools and head to the home center for a stack of lumber and paint, take a moment for some honest assessment. Do you know how to do the work? This is the obvious first thing to ask yourself. Do you know what steps are involved in the project? All of the steps? There are lots of great columns (you're here, right?), books, videos, TV shows and other sources of information that will help tell you how to get from point A to point Z in a project. Take the time to check out a few of those sources. Understand what's involved. Then ask yourself if you know how to do those things. If you don't, can you learn them? Do you have the right skills and abilities? OK, you figured out the steps involved. Now, do you have the skills and the physical abilities to accomplish those steps? Remember, they're two different things. You might easily read about how to re-roof a house, and fully understand all of the steps involved in doing it. But if you're not able to handle the rigors of working for hours at a time on a steep roof, then understanding the theory of how to do it won't be enough. Can you commit the necessary time? This is a tough one for a lot of homeowners. For one thing, it's really hard to understand just how long some of these projects are going to take -- especially if you've never done them before. For another, the time commitment to the project means time that's going to be taken away from something else. It may be that re-siding the house takes the entire summer, simply because you can do it only on the weekends. Will that work for you? Will that work for your family? If the purpose of doing the re-siding work is to sell the house, will you end up missing the prime selling season? Time creates other risks, as well. Take re-roofing, for example. If you can commit only small chucks of time to the project, you may be leaving your home vulnerable to sudden rain storms if the roof isn't adequately protected. Or your home may not be secure if you're taking windows or doors out, but temporarily replacing them with plywood or, worse yet, sheets of plastic. Have you thought about the physical side? Most building projects, even the simple ones, require some amount of physical labor. Are you up for that? Climbing, crawling, lifting, carrying and all the other things that go along with getting the work done? Then there'll be those times when, despite your own willingness to do the work, another set of hands is going to be necessary. Do you have a helper you can call on? What about getting the materials? Can you pick them up at the home center or the lumber yard by yourself? Can you get them delivered? Once they get to the house, can you get them where they need to go: onto the roof, into the house, or into the basement, attic or crawl space? And don't forget that once things get under way, there's the obvious need for tools and equipment, which you'll need to buy, rent or borrow. You might want to go back to the first question, and look at all of the steps involved in the project. That might help you better understand the physical side of things, as well as those times when a helper might be needed as well. Do you want to do it? Be honest here. Your real estate agent may have said that your house will show better with a fresh coat of paint. You can't really afford to hire a painter, so you decide to do it yourself. Unfortunately, you hate painting more than root canals, and the only thing you want to do is hurry up and get it over with. Do you really think that the appearance of the finished product is going to help you sell your house? None of this is meant to dissuade you from tackling a do-it-yourself project. Just the opposite. Taking responsibility for their own homes is something I encourage people to do every day. But so is honest assessment. So just take a moment before you start, and make sure your eyes are open before you get started. You'll end up with a better finished project as a result. |
| Hot Links |
| TAMPA BAY ON LINE ~ LINK TO ALL THE INFO. YOU NEED ABOUT THE BAY http://www.tbo.com/ SCHOOL CHOICE~PINELLAS COUNTY http://www.pinellas.k12.fl.us/Choice/ CLEARWATER/PINELLAS COUNTY PHONE NUMBERS http://www.pinellaslife.com/Clearwater/ImportantPhoneNumbers.htm PASCO COUNTY INFORMATION http://www.pascocountyfl.net/ HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml |
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