POSTIVE POSTING AND POSITIVE IDEAS ARE REALLY THE KEY TO SUCCESS! READ Activerain successes!

I cannot tell you how many people are tired of hearing how "DEPRESSED" the market is...REALITY CHECK. Yes there are some area's of the country that are not recovering and are still losing values, but not every state and not every county can be considered "all-inclusive"...we're not on a vacation.

Here in South East Florida, we have enjoyed quite a nice increase in values of differing communities. Values have changed very little on the beach from Hillsboro to south Broward county east of Federal Highway.

Ooopppssss...now that is where property values have adjusted positively within a 5% margin.  Then again, if they went down at all it has only been 10% through out this who market crises.

Let's move west to cities like Weston and Tamarac.  Property values there have gone up in some cases 15%.

So when everyone else is thinking negatively about this market...call me.  I'll give you the true values of homes and condo's in the area and stop listening to the news...after all...what qualifications do the national news writers know?

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

No depressing results for SE, Florida, we're doing just fine and property values are up!

Totally AMAZING!  SE, Florida is down to close to 13,500 properties for sale in Broward County.  The property values are up from 5-15%...amazing 15% increase in value in Tamarac...which is 12 miles west of the beach.

Yes, I agree, the banks are holding back some of their inventory as some of my investors continue to beat me up with...if they are correct.

However, if the investors are wrong and the economy here is what is protests to be..,we are doing very well.

It's within about 10% either way condo's or homes.

We are without much new inventory and when it appears...it's gone.

So, SE, Florida is the place to buy because our location is always warm, always cordial, and always where snowbirds love to hang out in the winter.

If you want a seasonal rental call me soon b/c there are not many left.

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

NEW LISTING:  La Foret, Woodmont Golf/Tennis Country Club, Tamarac, FL - 5/3/2 pool home.

HUGE 5bedroom/3bath, POOL HOME w/2 CAR GARAGE, in the Tamarac, Millenium, Taravella School Districts.  La Foret is a beautiful community of 45 homes in the Woodmont Country Club! Memberships (golf/tennis) are available at a nominal fee.  This house has been tastefully redecorated with TLC by the current owner. There is a working fireplace in the "conversation pit" which is the center piece of this vaulted living area. New A/C's(2), New Appliances, Self-cleaning Pool. AGENTS PLS SEE BROKERS REMARKS (Bonus)!

 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2208748231292.121218.1625051191&l=72db67dd68&type=1

The listing number is F1152595 and is located in Tamarac, Florida.

For more information call me:

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

954-464-4194 cell

Dining room with custom created wall.

Furniture is negotiable.

Interesting original conversation "pit", a/k/a, "The love pit", snuggle up in the cooler winter evenings in front of this working fireplace.

New flat top stove.

Inviting master soaking tub in the master bathroom.  Separate shower.

Tub is approximately 5X7' in size with 2 faucets and a water tank large enough to fill this with hot water.

There is a skylight over the tub with a window to the left and a door to the left of the window for access from the pool if you choose.

Screen enclosed pool area 1,620 square feel in total with a 30' X 17' self cleaning pool.  Back yard is totally fenced in.

Call Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS for more information and more pictures at 954-464-4194 cell.

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

Coldwell Banker Fort Lauderdale Beach

4757 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

954-464-4194 cell

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

CONGRATULATIONS AR!  YOU'VE BEEN MENTIONED IN the FLORIDA REALTOR MAGAZINE...AS....

One of the most visited sites on the Web...as reported by Richard Westlund!  The article is called "Ka-ching Best Marketing for the Money", and it was an article in our most recent Florida new's magazine.

The article was talking about marketing dollars and where to put them. It also talked about marketing strategies and where to put your dollars or where you don't have to - that is to benefit by proxy...

What Richard Westlund says are the most visited sites in the real estate arena are the following:  Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, and Live, according to an online tracking site called "Alexa". 

HOWEVER,  the BEST part of the article stated that the "TOP FIVE REAL ESTATE SITES ARE:  Zillow.com, Realtor.com, ACTIVERAIN.COM, Loopnet.com, and AOL Real Estate (realestate.aol.com)...

WOW, When I read this article, I was so proud to have been a member of AR pretty much from the onset that it made me teary eyed.  I have to say that many of the members I met from the very beginning of AR have become some great friends.  Even though I have never met many of them, I consider them family.

To be listed in a real estate magazine as one of the top 5 real estate sites, with less than 300,000 members is just awesome.

Congratulations to the AR staff and the members of this community as being a class act and being one of the greatest communities out there for the public to appreciate.

I was overwhelmed with emotion when I read this article.

Thank you all for building and making this one of the top 5 sites in the world!

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

Prayers again to our friends in Louisiana and Alabama.

Katia that horrific hurricane is about to hit them again...New Orleans just cannot get a break!

That being said the south just cannot get a break.  Their levies that have been put into place just cannot handle the rains and flash floods.  Even though they have put some new levies in place, they are still being breached.

Let's all say a prayer for our friends in Louisiana and even to the Florida panhandle.

Imagine 20 inches of rain or more...

Haven't they've had enough from Katrina?

Prayers again to our friends in Louisiana, Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida...they just need a break!

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

BROWARD COUNTY MARKET REPORT - June 21, 2011 by Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

Broward County:

   Direct Ocean properties:

      Homes:  15

      Condo's:  402

   Direct Ocean properties by location:

      Fort Lauderdale:

         Homes:  7

         Condo's:  155

      Pompano Beach:

         Homes:  5

         Condo's:  50

  Ocean View:

      Homes:  160

      Condo's:  1122

    Fort Lauderdale:

         Homes:  10

         Condo's:  406

      Pompano Beach:

         Homes:  7

         Condo's:  160

All the following statistics are in Broward County.

Homes - under $100,000.00                                 934

Condo's - under $100,000.00                             3505

Homes - between $100 - 200,000.00               1718

Condo's - same as above                                    2166

Homes - between $200 - 300,000.00              1261

Condo's - same as above                                     928

Homes - between $300 - 500,000.00              1259

Condo's -  same as above                                    766

Here is todays market report with the available inventory in Broward County.  If you have any questions or need a SHORT SALE SPECIALIST...I AM A CERTIFIED SHORT SALE SPECIALIST.

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

Isn't it great that a father gave his son a kidney for Father's Day? Isn't it great that a father in Orlando gave his son a kidney on Father's Day?

My ex-husband received a kidney from his nephew several years ago and is doing well.

KIDNEY AWARENESS! It is so important.  There are over 50,000. people if not more in the US who would have a better chance of survival if someone would take the time to get test to see if they were compatable to give someone the chance of life.  After all, everyone has 2 kidneys and you only need one.

I, for example, had kidney (Renal Cell Cancer) cancer in 2002. Fortunately because I was a nuclear medicine technologist and the Radiologist that I worked for let me do a Bone Scan (on initial study it shows the kidneys) on myself.  I saw what was abnormal on the "flow study" (which is the part that shows the kidney structure because the isotope goes through the kidneys first) and saw what looked like a big problem.  Not to go into much more detail as to not alarm anyone...I successfully had that kidney and the tumor removed...and have been fine since...Thank God!

However, my point here is that more people should realize that it is not that difficult to donate a kidney...it is relatively easy surgery with usually no complications.

Keep donation in mind...it might save a child, it might save a relative, it might save a friend.

Do you have family or friends that need a kidney...get involved - you have 2...why not give others a chance at life!

All of us Cancer survivors would thank you! and also those that are born with diseases that can't be cured!

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

So, how does Fort Lauderdale rank according to Trulia?  Fort Lauderdale , Florida is on of the most wanted area for International buyers.  Why, because of the beaches, the close location to Miami and Palm Beach.

Fort Lauderdale has a lot to offer.  The Swimming Hall of Fame, Butterfly world, lots of wonderful restaurants, Las Olas (restaurants, boat rides, boutique shops and more).  The location is 3 hours to Disney World in Orlando and 4.5 hours to Key West.

Most of the most recent purchasers are from Canada, Brazil, and many areas of Europe.  Some are also from the New England states and I've seen quite a few from Colorado lately.

The top 10 of 24 most popular areas according to Trulia are as follows"

1. Cape Coral

2. Miami (east coast)

3. Fort Lauderdale (east coast)

4. Naples (west coast)

5. Fort Myers (west coast)

6. Miami Beach (east coast)

7. Kissimmee

8. Orlando (central)

9. Jacksonville (north Florida)

10. Tampa (mid-west coast)

If you are interested in North Miami, Fort Lauderdale, south Palm Beach counties....call me for information.

South Florida is a wonderful place to live or vacation.

How does your area rank?

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

How many properties can your customer digest in one afternoon?

I often hear agents in the office say they are going out to show a customer 10-12 properties in one afternoon. Really? WOW!  That's a lot for one person to digest in one afternoon, don't you think?

Only one time did I show more than 5 properties at one time.  The time I did that was because the customer was only going to be with me for one day. She was not sure if she wanted ocean front or Intracoastal front, so we saw 5 of each.

In preparing for these showings, I decided to prepare an EXCEL SPREAD SHEET, where I listed each property in the order we would be seeing them with 5 columns where she could rate each property. The columns were to rate the kitchen, each bathroom, style of floors, square footage, and overall condition of the units.

I made her a notebook so that she had the ease of writing on a hard surface rather than just a CB folder.

After we saw each property, we took 5 minutes to answer the questions pertaining to the property that we just viewed. She also took her own pictures of things that she wanted to remember when she returned home to go over the properties with her husband. Before she started taking pictures of the next property, she took a picture of the address on the MLS sheet that I also provided her for each listing.

Even with all this additional preparations and note taking, she still on occasion had some questions about which property was which.

After she went home, two of the listings that were her favorites (and apparently some others) already had offer's by the time she discussed the listings with her husband and called me with her list of favorites.

SPECIAL NOTE: With all that, I ended up finding her one that she had not viewed while she was here with me in Florida.  I sent her pictures of the unit and extra pictures of the view.  They made a full price offer - SITE UNSEEN, based on my understanding of what she liked.  They arrived a week later, we had the appraisal done the day after the offer was executed, had the inspection the next day and [unbelievably] had their condo interview the next day. We closed 3 weeks later for her 50th birthday. Thank goodness, it was just perfect for them!

My point here though is about the number of listings to see in a day is that less is best.  Showing to many properties at one time leads to confusion and on occasion - NO OFFER at all.

I choose what I am going to send to each customer based on my interview with them. I ONLY SEND them 10 listings at a time and tell them to choose the top 5.  Prioritize for me so we are not wasting either of our time.  This has worked out well for me for the most part.  If after the first 5 don't work, we sit back down and preview other available listings in the office in front of the computer.

What are your thoughts on how many properties your customers can digest in one showing period of time?

Karen Monsour, REALTOR(r), SSRS, 954-464-4194 cell

www.KarenSellsFloridaWaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

But this offer is contingent on the sale of our home? Really? NOTE: This is a buyer from another state, so I have no idea if it is or not.

So my next question is:  "Would you mind if I talk to your agent?"  Answer, "Why?"

Why? So then I went on to explain that if his/her current home was not priced to sell or if it was an unrealistic price that it would be difficult for me to convince the listing agent here, that their current home would sell quickly.  If it was priced right and in selling condition then I would think about this a little further.

My buyer has a home in ABC, USA  and was not being cooperative with the situation at all.

I told the buyer that it was very important for me to know if his/her current home had a chance at all to sell in this market, so that it was important for me to talk to his/her listing agent.

I asked him/her for his/her current address [thinking I could investigate through one of my AR friends] and he/she didn't say a word. Then, I tried another angle...as...perhaps I knew someone that was looking for a home in ABC/USA who would be interested... however, that didn't work either.

So, I told him/her that his/her offer probably wouldn't be considered but that I would think about some other options.

Would you write the offer up anyway? What would you do? Was I wrong to ask to talk to his/her listing agent?  Do these deals even exist anymore?

Karen Monsour, 954-464-4194 cell

www.KarenSellsFloridawaterfront.com

(Copyright© 2011 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)