central florida realtor: Flip this house - Post #13
- 04/13/08 03:31 AM
I have not posted much lately about the house flip. As I stated before with the market slow, there is not much to talk about until I can get a qualified buyer ready to do something. Our average days on market in Central Florida is nearly 4 months, and this house has only been on the market about 2 1/2 months now. The price has been reduced to $154,900 as of last week which puts it as one of the cheapest houses within miles that isn't a fixer-upper or a short sale. (The price of a short sale property does not mean the bank … (6 comments)
central florida realtor: A poll - What will you spend your income tax rebate check on?
- 04/10/08 04:20 AM
If you haven't already heard the news, the federal government will be issuing IRS tax rebate checks to most people this year. President Bush and the feds are hoping that people will spend their checks buying goods and services. By doing so, this will hopefully stimulate the economy and help financial conditions to improve. In order to get a rebate check you must file a tax return with the IRS this year. Even if you don't normally file a return you have to file this year in order to get a check. You can get specific details about how much, when, … (6 comments)
central florida realtor: National Hurricane Conference meeting in Orlando
- 04/04/08 09:38 AM
The annual National Hurricane Conference is meeting in Orlando this week. Dr. William Gray is again predicting that 2008 will be another active year for storms (just like he did in 2006 and 2007 which were fortunately quite inactive). Apparently he just likes to look silly by making incorrect predictions??? Thank goodness for him that he has tenure at his university. There was a rumor last year that Central Florida hotel owner, Harris Rosen, was considering suing Dr. Gray because his forecasts were chasing off potential tourists. I did a write up on the accuracy of the storm forecasts at the end of last year's … (3 comments)
central florida realtor: Fed cuts rate by 3/4 of a point
- 03/19/08 12:52 PM
Yesterday the Fed cut the Federal funds rate by 3/4 of a point. The Dow Jones proceeded to shoot up some 400 points. Today it dropped nearly 300 points. Another Wall Street rollercoaster ride. I hope that one of these days it settles down. At least with these interest rate cuts, it encourages foreigners to invest in United States assets. We have so many British and Brazilians buying in Central Florida over the last few years it gets kind of ridiculous. Hopefully that will help our real estate market a little bit. At least my credit line interest rates have dropped considerably over … (5 comments)
central florida realtor: Flip this house - Post #12
- 02/29/08 08:07 AM
The punch out list for the house is completely done now. So the house is ready for a new buyer to move into. The hard part in this market of course is finding that qualified buyer. You have to be flexible on price and terms in order to make a deal happen. We have had lots of calls from marginal or unqualified buyers, but nobody solid that is ready to do something. 3 Realtors have shown the house in the last 2 weeks, but no solid bites. Because we are motivated and want to get this house sold and move onto the next one, we … (0 comments)
central florida realtor: Central Florida real estate investment association spotlight - Investors Resource Center
- 02/20/08 01:38 AM
The Investors Resource Center a/k/a IRC is a real estate investment association that covers the metro Orlando Florida area with chapters throughout the United States. Our firm has been a business member with this association since it was founded about 5 years ago. They have a monthly newsletter that is filled with many great articles and lots of fresh ideas on how to be profitable in this crazy market. Last year I started writing articles for their monthly newsletter as well to cover local real estate topics and have enjoyed every minute of it. The association's founders are all experienced investors. Their main meeting is … (0 comments)
central florida realtor: Flip this house - Post #11
- 02/18/08 09:49 AM
Now we are into the challenging part of this transaction, finding a retail buyer that can qualify and afford this house. I have had another dozen or so calls on this house since last week and yet another buyer who has told me they love the house and they want to buy it. The challenge of course is getting someone who can actually qualify for a mortgage. With the banners and bandit signs you get lots of calls from totally unqualified prospects. (Sort of the wild wild west of the real estate buyers.) These buyers are sent directly to a loan officer who quickly screens them out. One small … (3 comments)
central florida realtor: January 2008 market update for Orange & Seminole Counties FL
- 02/13/08 07:38 AM
The latest market statistics for Orange County and Seminole County, Florida are out for the month ending January 31, 2008. You can get a full version of the report here. The inventory of listings continues to remain around the 25-26,000 mark for the 9th month in a row. The inventory dipped a little bit in December mainly because December 31 is typically a huge day for listings to expire (probably the biggest expiration day of every year). The home inventory in the MLS for January 31, was 25,274. The number of new listings jumped in January 2008 (5474), but not nearly as … (2 comments)
central florida realtor: Flip this house – Post #10
- 02/09/08 10:36 AM
There are lots of new and exciting changes to the house this week. Most of the punch out list is done, the kitchen is done, and the house is officially on the market as of this Monday just passed. So far this is the marketing plan: We have an ad running in the Orlando Sentinel for 4 weeks. A copy of the ad in in previous post #8.For Sale signs in the yard - both a Realtor sign (my office) and a creative financing sign. You can see examples of these signs in previous post #'s 7 and 8.Little "bandit" for sale signs … (1 comments)
central florida realtor: Attention builders - 100+ vacant platted lots for sale in Florida -- many lots sold, call for updated list
- 02/05/08 09:15 AM
Over 100 vacant lots for sale. All high & dry and buildable. Lots range in size from .21 acres to 1.38 acres. Prices range from $6,900 to $125,000 with most lots priced under $30,000. They are located in Citrus, Highlands, Levy, Leon, Marion, and Polk County, Florida with most of the properties being either in the Sebring/Lake Placid area or in the Ocala area. Click here for a PDF file linking directly to the list of vacant lots. Once you pull up the PDF file you can click on each individual listing to see an aerial map of each lot. Seller is realistic and wants to … (0 comments)
central florida realtor: Abandoned on the MLS
- 02/04/08 06:03 AM
I have been out showing properties to investors the last few weeks. Most of the properties I have shown are vacant and the MLS indicates that they are in some stage of foreclosure, either pre-foreclosure or bank-owned. One thing that truly shocked me were the number of listings of "short sale" properties out there that have literally been abandoned by everyone. I went to probably a dozen or so houses that you could tell nobody had been inside the house in months. Not the owner, not any buyer agents, and not the listing agent. I could tell this because there are old cobwebs, … (5 comments)
central florida realtor: Flip this house – Post # 9
- 02/02/08 02:27 AM
Just in time for the Super Bowl, we are down to the one-yard line with this house. The house officially goes on the market on Monday. We have been doing some preliminary advertising via signs in the yard and a newspaper ad in the Orlando Sentinel and gotten a few calls. 2 prospective buyers have looked at the house so far, but they are apparently just tire kickers. They stopped by while our workers were at the house. The house is not yet listed in the MLS though because it isn't quite ready just yet. I don't mind listing a house … (4 comments)
central florida realtor: The property tax amendment passed. Now what?
- 02/01/08 03:44 AM
So amendment #1 passed on election day. 64% For and 36% Against - almost 2 to 1. So what does this mean for the Florida economy and real estate market??? I would love to believe what the Florida Association of Realtors and Governor Crist have stated about this stimulating the market, but I am a realist. I do expect there to be some slight stimulation, but I don't think it will be nearly what FAR and the Governor claimed. Taxes definitely won't be dropping "like a rock" as Governor Crist was quoted last Spring. The rock may have gotten to the edge of … (2 comments)
central florida realtor: Buy only the real estate services you need - here is our menu
- 01/23/08 03:21 AM
Many real estate firms offer a one-size-fits-all service to their customers. It is a free marketplace, so that is their right. Some customers do need all those services provided to them, and those customers will normally pay a higher price for doing so. Our firm is different. Of course we do offer the full service package just like the other firms do, but we also offer a menu of services for you to choose from.
Many people just want the exposure from MLS, Realtor.com, and similar websites. We can provide that for a reasonable flat fee. In fact our flat fee MLS … (0 comments)
central florida realtor: Huge Fed rate cut
- 01/22/08 08:36 AM
Today the Fed cut the federal funds rate a huge 3/4% . This is the biggest rate cut they have made since the the early 1990s. You can read more about it in USA Today. The announcement didn't seem to help the markets much as the Dow dropped below 12,000 and world markets have been having big sell offs as well. This market has been quite a roller coaster.
The winners with the rate cut though will be people with business lines of credit, HELOCs, and credit card debt. Rates on these should drop quite a bit. I have a few outstanding lines … (5 comments)
central florida realtor: Cleaning service for Central Florida
- 01/20/08 03:35 AM
My mother-in-law has a cleaning service for houses and buildings. Rates are very affordable. She has been cleaning my rehab and rental properties for 7 or 8 years now and does a fantastic job! Once I started using her services, I literally never cleaned one of my own properties ever again - and I love that 8-) . She does sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, minor trash removal (no dumpster jobs), wiping down, bleaching, cleaning windows inside and out, blinds, kitchens and baths, etc. Typical cost for a 1500 square foot or smaller house that needs medium cleaning is $125, but she will have to … (0 comments)
central florida realtor: Flip this house – Post # 7
- 01/19/08 02:36 AM
Hopefully one more week and we will be ready to start running ads and get this house listed. The goal is to have it completely rehabbed by the end of January. The exterior of the building is completed except for some final touch up painting. Notice the shutters on the window to the right. They will also be going on the window to the left and then painted the same color as the trim. Landscaping goes in last, so that will probably start showing up next week. We did sprinkle some grass seed in the yard, so that should start greening it … (5 comments)
My thoughts on the real estate industry, real estate investing, rental properties, mortgages, listing houses in the MLS, government and legislative issues affecting real estate brokers and investors. Serving metro Orlando & most of Florida.
Rob Arnold - ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, PHP - Managing real estate broker, Notary Public
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational, entertainment, and yes blatant advertising purposes. Read it at your own risk and enjoyment :-) It is not meant to be construed as legal or financial advice. These are my personal views and opinions only. Regarding any properties advertised on this blog site - all information is deemed reliable but is not warranted nor guaranteed - price, terms, and availability are subject to change without notice.
I have not posted much lately about the house flip. As I stated before with the market slow, there is not much to talk about until I can get a qualified buyer ready to do something. Our average days on market in Central Florida is nearly 4 months, and this house has only been on the market about 2 1/2 months now. The price has been reduced to $154,900 as of last week which puts it as one of the cheapest houses within miles that isn't a fixer-upper or a short sale. (The price of a short sale property does not mean the bank … (6 comments)
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