George's Blog

Orlando - Market Plus

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:14:58 -0700

What a difference a year makes, July 2011 to July 2011, Inventory DOWN 38%, New Listings DOWN 33%, Under Contract DOWN 14%, Under Contract UP 8%, Back on the Market DOWN 36%, Expired DOWN 44%, Withdrawn DOWN 35%, Closed Sales DOWN 15% and finally Aversge days on the markert is UP 20%. Now is a good time to SELL!

International Reprecussions

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:32:29 -0700

Working with a client in the $1.3 to $2.3 million range from Europe. Is very concerned about investing in US because of political infighting and debt issue! Has decide to put off making any decision.

New Developments

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:18:12 -0700

Two of Orlando's newest master planned communites are back in the mix. Old story of once I am here, close the door and no new development! Yes there are issues and they can all be addressed. Always a mix bag of growth, taxes, environment but in the end to grow you need people and places to live.

3 to get 1

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:04:16 -0700

SW Florida is talked about on CNN, and other media as having a fire sale. $500,000 homes on a direct access canal to the river for $85,000. Sorry but that does not exist. Yes we have a lot of homes in various stages of the short sale process or foreclosure but the low low pricing does not exist. There are new homes at very reasonable pricing, most need work of some kind, but still worth the price. A buyer can not expect to find a home and then low ball the offer and expect it it work. In a short sale the seller will sign it but will the bank take it? Not. Right now if the home is in good shape and reasonably price there will be multiple offers well over the asking price. Our inventory is being reduced but new product will be coming on the market. It is a good time to be in real estate and we welcome all the referrals and business we can get. www .freeloveteam.com

Were are they! $8,000

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:20:15 -0800

You would think that when someone could get up to $8,000 cash in there hands for buying there first home when prices are astoundingly low, people would jump at the chance. Yet I have not seen or heard of any mad rush to purchase. If I find someone who qualifies I have to inform them of the program and tell them they would qualify. Why is the media not pushing the program every day? All I read or hear about is the foreclosure mess. Probably because it is bad new not good news. Bad news sells, good news is just good news. How do we get the media to sell the positive? georgefreeloveteam.com

Price Rising

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:09:26 -0800

There is a definite up tick in pricing here in SW Florida. Traffic is up and buyers have decided that the pricing on homes may be close to bottom. Homes are selling for more that asking price, but you can understand that when they are very low. Hard to go much lower than say $70,000 for new never been lived in 3 bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage home. Or a fixer upper 2072 sf for $65,000. Leads are up, traffic is up and houses are selling. Referrals are the key! georgefreeloveteam.com Call 239-292-5862.

SW Florida - BUSY

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:13:31 -0800

SW Florida, Ft. Myers, Naples area is BUSY! Being one of the top foreclosure areas in the country we are very busy. Granted homes are selling a very low pricing even higher end homes are selling for half of original pricing. New homes can not be built for any where close to what foreclosures and short sales are being sold for. So the moral of the story is NOW is the TIME to BUY! Homes form $50,000 to $1,000,000 plus are on SALE! FIRE SALE! Contact me georgefreeloveteam.com 239-292-5862

Referrals

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:18:20 -0800

I find agent posting on Active Rain Referrals to be non responsive. I e-mail them back to never hear anything, if they leave a phone number I call and leave a message and do not hear back or the phone number does not work. I wonder why they post something if they never follow up. I have heard that postings get a lot of responses. If that is so they should accept one and then mark it as accepted. To leave it on for days and not respond is why houses do not get sold. Or is this just me?

Open Houses

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:09:43 -0800

I am finding that working in Open Houses is very effective in finding buyers that are out there to actually buy. Yes listings are good, if they can actually sell, but with a qualified buyer in hand is very good. Notice I said qualified, making sure they buyer is ready, willing and able to purchase is the key. I find may Realtors are taxi cabs, and I have done that myself, showing people properties that they can not or will not purchase. They have there wish list and you are the transportation. Make them meet with a lender, find out what they can afford, get them to commit to if the find a home they like, write an offer. I recently told a client, we found the home you liked, now lets write a contract. Only to find he disappeared off the radar. Yes I wasted time, and money but learned a valued lesson.

Open Houses

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:53:13 -0800

Cape Coral - Utilities

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:24:06 -0800

The Cape Coral City Council is to be commended to move forward on the utility project. Yes it may be unpopular with some residents, but havingthousand of individual wells and septic tanks is crazy. Homeowners can be charged $50.00 a month on there tax bills starting in 2011 to have city sewer and water. It is hard to understand the fuss. It will create a better environment, it will create jobs, therefore a win win for everyone. Homes are available in all price ranges in all locations on and off the water. www.georgefreeloveteam.com and I can show you or your clients homes.

SW Florida

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:15:35 -0800

SW Florida is now on fire! As lenders lose 70% of there principal when they foreclose, this creates great opportunities for new sales. I was one of those who bought in 2005 when I was transferred here and my house has gone down in value every day since I closed. Sales in MTD/YTD are up 100% over 2008. Single family inventory has fallen 1000 homes in 60 days. When someone asks if they should wait, I would say no. Check out my web site www.georgefreeloveteam.comand see inventory available. Banks are getting serious on short sales and speeding up the process. Act now if you want a great home at a great price.

Time to Buy

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:28:21 -0800

Lenders

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:26:14 -0800

I am finding it interesting when showing homes how bad of shape they are in. If a lender has a short sale some one needs to make provisions to get them clean and keep them clean. Putting there heads in the sand and saying well we don't own it yet, is DUMB. The house will not sell when it looks, smells and feels like crap, literally. Lenders it appears would rather let a house sit, keep going down in value instead of finding a way to get it fixed, kept clean, and therefore ready to sell. I would like some lenders to respond and give me there feed back on why they can't assist in making a house sellable.

SW Florida

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:22:22 -0800

Overbuilt, well that's news. NOT, anyone in this market could have told you we have way to many homes on the right now. In fact a 10 month supply, only Miami-Fort Lauderdale with 12.6 has more. Now the real facts are that it will not be to long that there will actually be a shortage! No new permits have been pulled in any number. I believe there were around 1,600 for all of 2008, down from 28,000 in 05. With the possibility of a new race horse track and other expansions we will recover to a stable and growing market. Even at this time phones are ringing and sales happening. Prices are way down, but that makes more homes more affordable.

Referrals

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:45:17 -0800

You can tell how much people are working the system. I contacted a potential lead source and he said he was flooded with responses! This was a short sales and he had over 50 responses. Then is client is having second thoughts. Interesting enough if you price a home to sell it will. I have clients looking at a home, listed at $134,900, they offered 10% less thinking the owner would counter. Well there were multiple offers, and we resubmitted over the asking price, quick close not contingencies and still was out bid. That should tell you a lot. Houses are moving if priced right and kept is good condition. Good condition is the key, many houses I see are filthly and not presentable. No wonder they do not sell.

Sales

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:06:21 -0800

Week three of 2009 and I have written 2 contracts and one listing. I need to do much better and it will come. Prospecting is the key. SW Florida is the land of beautiful beaches, warm weather and very inexpensive homes. If you know of anyone who wants to live is a great place all the or part time, this is the place to be. So much is going on it is hard to write about it all. Let me know if you are anyone you know wants to live in paradise. There are close to 20,000 + foreclosures on the market and short sales galore. Now is definitely the time to buy!

Creditability

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:15:02 -0800

In our business we must be up-beat and positive. Each day presents a new and exciting challenge. Especially when many of our associates fail to perform the duties. Today I was told, "I have so many short sale listing I can not keep up with the paperwork for renewals". What does that say to the client and the lender? If the agent can not keep up then he needs to opt out. The owner rarely heard from the agent unless the owner called for the agent had a Contract to present. The follow up after the contract written was minimal. We all know lenders take a long time to get answers back, but we need to communicate with our sellers regardless. Excuses are just that excuses!

Just a Little Work

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:13:56 -0800

It pays to be on top of things. I had a buyer who purchased a home. He had seen another home and liked it alot so he called his borhter. He wanted to go see the home I pulled it up on the MLS and the lisitng had expired 2 weeks ago. I tried to call the ower for an appointment but the number was un-listed. I was able to get the lock box code and showed the home. I got the home address of the owner and went to his house after dinner. Luckly he was home, I told him his lisitng had expired which he was not aware of. He had not heard anything from his prior realtor excpet they working working on a contract. I got a lisitng contract out of my car, and he listed it with me on the spot. I have 2 interested parties, a willing seller and a bank that wants the house off there books. Makes you wonder why people say this is a hard market.

Mortgage Rates

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:50:17 -0800

Today's paper says mortgage interest rates are below 5%, 4.96% is unbelievable. Take into account we have new 1700 square foot homes for $50,000 and up is incredible. Yes we have thousands of foreclosures and short sales but then this is a BUYERS market. SW Florida is a heaven for anyone, owner or investor who wants to purchase a house. The job market is the only real problem as I see it. When people loos jobs and there are none to be found, keeping a home or buying is a problem. Can we really adjust the price of a home bought in 05 by 40 or 50%? Time will tell how this will all play out. My goal is to help any and everyone who wants to buy a house.

SW Florida

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:37:36 -0800

I am amazed why banks even in a short sale situation will not fix a house to sell. Yes prices are low but if they will not fix them then they will not be sold and more problems will manifest themselves. You wonder what lenders are thinking, or not! Weeds high, grass not cut, interiors are horrible, who would but one? Not many it seems even at low prices.

Busy

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:34:45 -0800

SW Florida is truly a place for real estate sales. Having been home builder, developer for many years general real estate is the only viable way to make a living today. In the first 3 weeks since I joined Keller Williams I have written 2 contracts and am working with 5buyers. Activity is good. Granted prices are hit hard and it take 2 or 3 to make up for one 3 years ago but 3 years ago was not a real market. We have 20,000 distressed properties on the market and that means more people can really afford a new home. One of the sales was cash ans the other VA. VA/FHA is a great way to purchase a home in today's environment. George

SW Florida

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:09:51 -0800

It is January 9th and a busy week! SW Florida with thousands of homes on the market is busy with activity. Granted the sale price is low, I have not shown a home this week over $99,000 but wrote one and will write a second Saturday. I also got 4 new referral leads for potential sales. I would say a successful week. The realty is that I had to market myself to get the leads. I made the initial call and asked if they knew anyone. I also got a call from Atlanta from someone I met on an airplane. Moral is get out there and ask for the sale!

Why it is Good

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:31:59 -0800

Why is it good to be in real estate today, plain and simple, in SW Florida there ware on average 2,100 foreclosures everymonth last year. that is over 25,200 properties that are distressedand must be sold. Try a new 1408 square foot home, never been lived in for $47,000. Yes it needs a compressor, $2,000 so you are in for under $50,000. In 2005 the lot alone sold for over $40,000. So business will be very good jn2009. People still want to buy a new home and prices are LOW. SW Florida weather is perfect, sun is out, grass is green and home prices are good.

Career in Real Estate

George Freelove, George (Freelove Enterprises) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:55:36 -0800

It is amazing how often I see individuals like my self looking for a "job" or "position". I should have done this long ago, but there is never a time like the PRESENT! As more and more "agents" get out of the business I find it the best time to start. Prices are low and getting lower, just how low is anyone guess. Houses that were for sale a short 2 years ago for $265,000 are now $75,000. Interest rates are well, lets say, very low. The people wanting to purchase real estate is high. I have closed 2 single family building companies in the last 3 years in SW Florida. I have sent out resumes but of course no one is interested in a highly motivated, skilled, educated, individual who has been through the early 70's, 80's, and 90's building adjustments. I have seen the up and the downs, the frantic hiring and the firing. Now I can build a business that rewards those that produce and I do not have to worry about other peoples overhead. Yes it is scary, yes it is hard, yes it takes a lot of self determination but then if you want to succeed what dosen't. Here I am Saturday morning and I am the only person here in the office besides Sharon the weekend receptionist. I have an "Open House" this afternoon, the same one I worked New years eve 12 to 4 and got 3 solid leads. Tells you something doesn't it! Now is the best time to succeed. the motto "Just Do It" says a lot. If you want real estate in SW Florida I can help. George