Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl 's Blog

Trouble with Regions 2nd

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:01:51 -0700

We seem to have worked out something with the 1st note holder but are having difficulty with Regions which holds the 2nd. They are insisting the sellers have to take an unsecured note back. They can't. Wife will be leaving work due to a child on the way. Her income is the only that can be considered since she is the only one on the mortgage.

Anyone have any luck with Regions or any idea of what I can do?

Freddie Mac Loans...

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:43:22 -0700

Is Freddie Mac requiring for the homeowner to take an unsecured loan back when doing a short sale?

American Home Mortgage help

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:35:03 -0700

Does anyone here have any hints as to get a short sale working in a timely manner with American Home Mortgage?

Any info would be GREATLY appreciated. :)

Our school rating is.... A!

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:45:34 -0700

Well, lookie here!

I often am asked by buyers relocating...what about the schools? I need GOOD schools for my kids. Well, look no further. Flagler County School District got an A rating. It's a fantastic achievement and my congratulations to all the administration, personnel and teachers for a job well done! Keep up the good work.

For more information visit: http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/default.asp

Call me for any information you need on homes here in Palm Coast, Fl

386-793-7302 or visit my website www.palmcoasting.com to check current listings and register for automatic notification of homes coming on the market!

FREE homeowner foreclosure assistance in Florida

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:40:10 -0700

Many homeowners today are facing difficult times but help is here. And it's FREE.

Florida Legal Services and the Florida Bar Association have partnered in establishing a toll-free hotline - (866) 607-2187 - to assist homeowners facing foreclosure. If you're having difficulty or can see you will be having difficulty in the near future it is *always* best to start a conversation with your lender. But that can be scary and emotionally taxing. So, get some FREE help from an attorney that is donating their time to assist you. More than 10,000 attorneys are volunteering their services!

If your goal is to stay in your home and/or avoid foreclosure, give them a call. When you first call you will be asked some questions about your situation. This will enable the service to place you with the attorney that can best assist you in keeping out of foreclosure.

An open house is going to cost HOW much??

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:18:01 -0700

The City of Palm Coast, in it's infinate wisdom has come up with a plan. We have a sign ordinance here that doesn't allow signs advertising various things...unless of course it's politically connected and we're in an election year.

The Realtors® and homeowners went to the City and pretty much said..."Hey. Back off. Times are tough, we need to be able to place signs to direct people to open houses since our streets are winding and difficult. Hey. Back off. We want to be able to place signs for yard sales...times are tough and we want the leeway to direct people to the right location". The City relented and put a moratorium on the ordinance.

Well, fast forward to today. A City council member, who STRONGLY opposes any signs, has now come up with a plan. And it goes like this:

$250 per address registration for an open house.

$30 per directional sign per open house.

No more than one sign per corner. (so if another Realtor® already has an open house registered for that day, you're out of luck)

City employees will place and remove the signs.

The City will start advertising the open houses on their website, which of course takes traffic off of the Realtor® websites.

There will be one day per month designated as open house day.

Say WHAT? You're going to pay city employees overtime to place and remove the signs with an offset of the funds you collect?? You're going to interject government into private enterprise and advertise open houses on the city website?? You're going to put yourselves in the middle of the mix and what, hold arbitration hearings when you mess up or call and apologize to the homeowner? You're going to decide, in a city that is known for visitors coming here looking to move here permanently or purchase a second home throughout the year, that only one day per month open houses will easily be found?

So, let's see. That's $250 for the permit and at least $120 for the signs. That's $370 to the city. Add an additional $50 for the ad in the newspaper. Let's see..beverages (at least water in this weather) and a little something for the visitor to munch on, another $20. Total: $440

Missed clientel that may have come to the open house if it wasn't regulated to one day per month: PRICELESS

So, be prepared sellers in Palm Coast. The price of selling your home may just go up.

I'm not showing your listing, the commission isn't high enough.

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:50:39 -0700

I just got a call from a Realtor® regarding one of my listings. The property has been on the market for some time... listed with various Realtors®, with me quite some time ago actually, and she recently relisted with me because "you're the only one that tells me the truth". We reduced her pricing $30K and had a discussion about the commission/co-op. We went over the numbers. She would be coming to the table with funds and she decided to pay a 5% commission with 2.5% offered as the co-op. The average here in our area is 2.5% to 3% for co-op in the price range of this home.

So tonight comes a call about the listing. "I want to talk to you about your listing at such and such address". "Great!" I say..."Bring an offer!". He says, well, I have to show it first. I tell him wonderful, when do you want to go, it's a great house, I'll make the arrangements.

"Well, I want 3%" he says. I let him know the co-op is 2.5% and started to explain, when he interupted with "Look, I've been doing this for 20 years, and I DON'T show homes under 3%". He hung up.

Now, I'm thinking... yes, it's correct to call in advance and negotiate your commission in advance if you feel you should be paid more. No, it's not correct to state you won't show houses paying a commission less than that percentage. No, I'm not kicking over .5%, I'm the one paying all the costs, you're just paying for the gas. No, the seller can't pay more, but it could be negotiated in the pricing I guess or your buyer could pay you the .5% for all that work you're doing. But I didn't get to say any of that because your negotiation skills stink. :)

Now I'm left here thinking...am I doing a disservice to my customer by not calling him back? By not calling the seller and asking if she would pay an additional .5% to this sales associate? I want to do the right thing, get the house sold.

What say you?

You can show it, but let me tell you....

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:13:08 -0700

I just had a very interesting conversation with a listing agent. I had called the office to make an appointment to show a listing that I personally think is well priced and my buyers are interested in seeing it. They are qualified to purchase, looking to be in a home within the next 30 days.

The conversation went something like this: "I'd like to show the listing at 21 yadda yadda street tomorrow at 2pm" I get connected to the listing agent. She goes on to say "well, you can show it, but I just want to tell you, we're going short sale. I advised her to stop paying the mortgage so she's now one month behind. We'll be lowering the price in a month or so." So, I asked the logical question: "So if my buyers put in an offer around this price, she can't sell it?". "Oh, of course she can! She'll make money on that. It's a gorgeous house, it's immaculate, blah blah, blah" and elaborating (finally) on all the good points of the home.

I sit here thinking a couple of things. Who in their right mind ADVISES a customer to stop paying their mortgage? Why would you 'go short sale' when the price is set properly, things are moving, and the seller can make money with it being sold as a resale? And THEN, why the heck, when someone wants to show it would you part with the information that you are going short sale down the road?? How in heavens name is that in the best interests of your customer/client?? I have to tell you...if I hadn't been listening carefully and asking the proper questions, I might very well have passed on showing the property at all.

Is there an ethics violation here?

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:03:57 -0700

I am the listing agent and now property manager for a commercial building that is 90% complete. There was a previous listing agent. She had brought in a certain number of leases that 70% of have fallen apart, the tenants are not coming in. She was paid full commission on some, and is suing for the balance of them. That's a different issue but it's necessary to put it out there so you understand the friction going on.

Anyway. There was a lease signed by one of her customers. (We're in Florida, we're transaction brokers). When she had the listing, it stated on the listing that they would do credit checks on the prospective tenants at the expense of the landlord. They were never done, he was never charged.

Once the listing period ended, the developer signed up with me. As the property manager and listing agent trying to keep everything going and looking to see what stores were and were not free to lease, I asked for the contact information of the leasees. The requests were never answered. The developer asked for the information, his request was never answered.

I checked online and in the phone book to get the telephone numbers of those that signed leases. I was able to get three of them, two of which told me that they had notified the original listing agent 'months' ago that they were not going in. She had never conveyed that information to the developer. I told them I needed releases signed for the deposits, they both told me, great, send it over, we don't want them back. I sent the releases, they immediately sent them back.

At the same time, I sent out letters to the other tenants letting them know who I was, who the developer was, that the project was near completion and that they needed to make an appointment to come to the site and start their buildout process. In addition, they were informed that they were behind in their obligation to put up the balance of securities and that they must do so. These additional deposits were required months and I mean like 5 months prior to me getting the listing. Anyway, from that point, I've had one person comply and they are on their way with their buildout plans.

So now we come to the next business that was obligated to two store spaces. I tried to get the phone numbers again from the original listing agent because those people did not respond to the letter. After days of calling she finally returned the call and told me 'those are my customers and I'm not giving you the numbers.' I explained I was acting in the capacity of property manager and representative of the developer and both the property management and developer have the right to the contact information of people who are leasing the space. I was asked what the problem was, other than that they needed to get in their additional deposit. I explained besides the required deposit, they also had to meet with the GC for buildouts and I needed the insurance company they would be dealing with, and I need their contact information for the files. I was told again 'I will not release that information, those are my customers and I'll find out what their status is and speak with the attorney'. (The developers attorney who was originally holding the deposits in escrow). And that was that. No phone call back, no phone call to the attorney....that was last week.

Then this morning I get a call from one of the partners of the business that is leasing and he was quite annoyed. He said he had gotten the letter I had sent and didn't understand what the problem was, that he had notified the other agent a month ago that he wasn't going in and that he was demanding his deposit back and didn't I get the letter? I said, no, I have no letter. He explained at that point that he was told there were extra funds going to be due for changes to the build out and when asked by whom he said it was by the Realtor®. I told him that was incorrect information and to please come in and we'll get it all cleared up, his reply was that it was too bad it was incorrect information but that he's not going to rent there, he's leasing elsewhere and that's that, he wants his deposit back and we've caused him harm. Now, of course, he's broken the lease and he's not getting it back but that's neither here nor there. And I don't know if we can believe him that he told anyone anything.

But.. here are the questions.

1. Even though the previous Realtor® no longer represented the developer on new leases, didn't she have an obligation to release the information he requested regarding the people he was in contract to lease with while she was in charge of the listing?

2. If she had been informed by the three stores that are not coming in and did not let the developer know that, didn't she have a responsibility to do so? Even if it was after her listing ended?

3. Wasn't she supposed to follow the listing contract and get the credit checks on these people done?

4. Wasn't she supposed to be following up on the additional deposit requirements and informing the developer that they were not made while she still had the listings?

5. Wasn't it her obligation to release all files, which would have contained contact information for the leasees to the developer when her listing was up? All he was given were copies of the leases she had prepared with only names, no phone numbers.

And last but not least, he would like to file an ethics complaint. What actual ethics articles would these violations, if they are violations, fall under?

While this is not the way I would conduct business I'm not sure that there are actual NAR Ethics violations..I just know it's a crappy way to do business and would make sure that I'm EXTREMELY careful if ever dealing with her or her firm in the future.

Your responses are appreciated, I'm sorry this is so long winded...I just wanted to make sure you had the background on the whole thing. The developer knows he could sue her in court for various things but it would take a lot of money to do so...but he does want to make sure that if there are violations he files the complaint.

Where to find default info?

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:52:33 -0800

I'm in a discussion with someone regarding the jumbo loans.

I'm wondering if someone could direct me to the stats on how many jumbos were taken and how many are in default vs the 'regular' mortgage loans?

Thanks in advance. :)

Cyd Weeks, Realtor®
Palm Coast, Fl 32164
www.palmcoasting.com

Questions about Title and Ownership in Palm Coast, Flagler?

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:38:48 -0700

Questions about Title and Ownership in Palm Coast, Flagler?

LET REALTOR CYD WEEKS ASSIST YOU IN FINDING YOUR NEW HOME, CONDO, LOT OR INVESTMENT HERE IN PALM COAST AND FLAGLER COUNTY! CALL 386-793-7302 OR VISIT http://www.palmcoasting.com/ TODAY!

I invited Sue Rogers of First Choice Title Services to give us all a little explanation about ownership here in Florida. She will be helping to educate us on various subjects that come up when looking at buying or selling and how this effect title.

I contacted Sue to find out about husband/wife relationships and how that effects ownership of the property and here is what she had to say:

SUE: Most married persons own property as husband and wife, which means, tenancy by the entireties in the state of Florida. On the Warranty deed you do not have to specify tenancy by the entireties, using husband and wife is sufficient.

Tenancy by the entireties is a tenancy created between husband and wife and by which together they hold title to the whole with right of survivorship, so that upon the death of either the other takes the whole without probate to the exclusion of heirs, or homestead claims. Neither party can alienate (sell) or encumber (mortgage) the property without joinder of the other spouse in the conveyance.

Once the property is homestead, each spouse has the rights of the property. If the spouse's decide to divorce and one spouse is granted the homestead property, it would be wise at that time to have the other spouse sign off on a quit claim deed to that property, to avoid problems down the road when the other spouse who was awarded the property decides to sell the property.

If a property is homestead and the couple is married and only one spouse's name is on the deed. The other spouse still has tenancy by the entireties rights, even though their name is not on the deed. So the other spouse can not sell or mortgage the property without the other spouse signing off on the documents.

Question: If the people are NOT married when, let's say the man, purchases the property, and then they marry, is this still tenancy in the entireties? If the property was not homesteaded does that effect the situation at all? If the husband had homesteaded and then married, how does that affect it?

Answer: To the first question is yes, if it is homestead. If it is investment property they could have some rights depending on how long they have been married and how long before they got married was the property purchased. With investment property they can sell and mortgage the property with out the other spouse approval.

If the husband had homestead and then married yes it takes effects. He would not be able to sell the property with out the wife's signature on the deed. Even if her name is not on the deed, she would still have to sign off of the deed.

Question: If the man lives in the house but has not filed any paperwork to signify it's homesteaded and did not file paperwork for the homestead exemption, is it assumed this is his homestead?

Answer: No, he would have to actually file with the appraisers office for Homestead.

If you have any questions you would like to ask of Sue, please feel free to email me at cydweeks@palmcoasting.com and I will try to have it answered here on the blog. What you might be wondering, someone else probably is also. Please remember, these questions and answers are for informational use only and do not constitute an attorney's opinion or legal advice. If you have legal issues you need addressed it is best to contact a local or Florida attorney for answers pertaining to your specific situation.

You can always visit Sue Rogers at her website: http://www.1stChoiceTitleServices.net

LET REALTOR CYD WEEKS ASSIST YOU IN FINDING YOUR NEW HOME, CONDO, LOT OR INVESTMENT HERE IN PALM COAST AND FLAGLER COUNTY! CALL 386-793-7302 OR VISIT http://www.palmcoasting.com/ TODAY!

Landlords and Tenants...Beware

Cyd Weeks Realtor® Palm Coast, Fl (Palmcoasting.com Real Estate Corp) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:34:00 -0700

Just as you might think you need to be careful in purchasing or selling real estate, you need to be careful in renting (tenant) and renting out (landlord).

These days, it's just so easy to get scammed. There are reports of tenants losing money to a "landlord" who isn't actually the owner of the property. They somehow have the key to the property, show it, take your deposit, write and sign the lease and then at move in time...bingo! No landlord, no key, no money. As a landlord, the proposition is just as precarious. If you aren't in the position to check on the references (real ones), do a credit check and a background check, you are leaving yourself open to disaster.

How can these pitfalls be avoided? Use a REALTOR, use a property management company. The management company should be running background and credit checks with the charges for the search going to the tenant. Make sure they are using a multi-state program as we all know those with criminal backgrounds, bad check reporting, etc are likely to move around from state to state. The only way to protect yourself is to make sure the check is throughout most of the states in the US. We all know some people can go through hard times and their credit may not be up to par. It could be from a couple of years ago, it could be from last month. A professionally run credit check allows the property owner to determine if the prospective tenant is a "good risk" or not. Often times, extra security is required to ensure payment.

For tenants, knowing the property is registered with a management company gives you peace of mind that the management company is dealing with the owners of the property. You know that if you give a deposit it is held according to state laws and if it's not, you have recourse and are protected.

Make sure you do yourself a BIG favor and protect yourself!

Realty Exchange offers property management services and does all of the above. If you have a property you would like managed here in Palm Coast or Flagler County, give me a call at 386-793-7302. If you do not want property management but would like for us to find and screen tenants for you, we have a program for that also.

And tenants...our properties are screened and researched to make sure the property is actually owned by our customers. Your deposits and securities are held according to state laws.

Cyd Weeks

http://www.palmcoasting.com/

Let Real Estate agent Cyd Weeks assist you with all your Real Estate needs in Palm Coast and Flagler County. Serving you with homes, lots, rentals, condos and investments.