I'm a broker in SW Florida and I recently began marketing buyer rebates.  I have been searching the internet to find out exactly what the disclosure requirements are for my state and I finally called the legal hotline.  They directed me to the Florida Administrative Code 61J2-10.028 Kickbacks or Rebates.

Reads as follows:

(1) Any real estate licensee who receives, or makes any arrangement or agreement to receive, directly or indirectly, any kickback or rebate, for the placement of, or favor in, any business transaction which forms a part of, or is incident to, any transaction(s) negotiated or handled by said licensee, is a violation of Section 475.25(1)(b) or (d), Florida Statutes, or both of said subsections of the Florida Statutes, unless prior to the time of the placement of, or favor in, said business transaction, the licensee shall have fully advised the principal if any and all affected parties in the transaction(s), which the licensee is handling, of all facts pertaining to the arrangement of kickbacks or rebates.

(2) The sharing of brokerage compensation by a licensee with a party to the real estate transaction with full disclosure to all interested parties is not considered a violation of Chapter 475, Part I, Florida Statutes.

A lawyer at the legal hotline said the disclosure does not have to be on the sales contract or the HUD.  However, I assume the lender will want it on the HUD.  If the lender objects to the rebate then I cannot give the rebate because I would be committing loan fraud. 

If you are a real estate broker who has been giving buyer rebates please drop me a line and let me know how it has been working for you. 

Mark Hetrick www.listinmls.com

Receive a Buyer Rebate of 2/3rds of my commission when you find the property you want to buy on your own.  Most listed properties offer 3% to the buyers' agent.  In which case, you would get 2% and List In MLS Realty would get 1%.   On a purchase price of $300,000 that would amount to $6,000 for you to use however you'd like.  List In MLS Realty will assist you with home tours, pricing advice, offer presentations, negotiations, financing, inspections and the closing process.  

What you need to know

Not all commissions are six percent.  Seller's set the commission rate at the time of listing so the percentage will vary from property to property.  Once you find a property you would like to buy, we will let you know what the actual commission rate is and calculate your refund amount. 

List In MLS Realty keeps one third of the commission with a $3,000 minimum and refunds the rest to you. 

Home Tours

We will show you up to six properties in one session free of charge.  Thereafter, the cost is $200 for up to six additional properties or $100 for a single property.  Buyers can access the entire MLS in several different formats at http://www.listinmls.com/ and are encouraged to drive by properties before scheduling a showing and to visit open houses in the communities they are interested in.

List In MLS Realty, LLC also works with buyers on a more traditional basis where buyers do not receive rebates.  If you do not request the rebate prior to scheduling showing appointments or if you don't pay for additional showings as specified above then you will not be eligible for a rebate.  The purpose of this rebate program is to compensate buyers who find the property they want to purchase on their own. 

Making an offer

Once you find a property you would like to purchase we will work with you to draft the offer and go over all the terms with you.  If you need assistance determining an offer price we can e-mail you a list of comparable properties and familiarize you with the market.  We will contact the listing agent to confirm the property is still available, and ask about any other offers they may have received and what terms the seller is looking for.

Offer Presentations and Negotiations:

List In MLS Realty will submit the offer to the seller or sellers' agent and negotiate the terms of the offer on your behalf.  Once the buyer and seller agree on all of the terms of the offer, you will need to deposit the earnest deposit in an escrow account.  It's usually easiest to deposit the earnest money with the title company that will handle the closing.  In Lee County it's customary for the seller to pay for title and thus choose the title company.  Once the offer is accepted, the seller will usually let us know who they want to use for closing. 

Financing:

Most buyers will require financing.  You are welcome to use whomever you'd like or we can recommend some great mortgage brokers.  We recommend mortgage brokers based on their ability to close loans on time and give our clients exceptional service and competitive rates.  When shopping for a mortgage be sure to request a Good Faith Estimate.  This is a document that will disclose the interest rate and fees associated with the loan and can be helpful when comparing one lender to another.   Once you find a lender that you are happy with, you'll want to request a pre-approval letter.  Sellers will often request a pre approval letter to confirm that their buyer is able to purchase their property.  In order for a lender to issue a pre approval letter they will usually require documentation from the borrower including recent pay stubs, two years of tax returns, and a thorough credit check.  The cost to the lender is about $20 to run your credit and approve you for a loan.  There should be no upfront fees to the borrower to apply for and get approved for a loan.    

Home Inspection

A home inspection is a thorough review of the property from attic to foundation and is recommended on all purchases of homes and condos.  Professional inspections typically cost around $300 depending on the type and size of the property.  We will assist you in ordering and scheduling the home inspection and will often be present during the inspection.  Most purchases are contingent on the buyers' approval of a home inspection and allow a timeframe in which this must happen.  It's usually 20 days from the effective date; however it is negotiable and can vary from deal to deal.  Regardless, it's recommended to get the home inspection out of the way as soon as possible.    

Appraisal

Any purchase requiring financing will almost always require an appraisal.  The appraisal is typically ordered by the mortgage broker or lender and paid for by the purchaser at the time of closing.  Appraisals typically cost around $300. 

Home Owners Insurance

In order for a lender to fund your loan they will require you to have homeowners insurance.  For condo purchases your insurance will usually be covered by your condominium association and be verified by the lender prior to closing.  For purchases of single family houses involving a mortgage you'll be required to purchase home owners insurance.  We can recommend an insurance provider or you are welcome to use whomever you choose.  List In MLS Realty will assist you in obtaining homeowners insurance if necessary.     

Home Owners Associations

If the property you want to purchase is located in a deed restricted community requiring mandatory inclusion in a Home Owners Association or Condominium Association you'll want to be familiar with the rules, regulations, restrictions, fees and benefits of the Association.  Prior to making an offer the MLS listing and seller will provide general information about the Association.  Once the contract is "effective" the seller will usually deliver to buyer the Association documents.  Sellers will often want the buyer to sign a document approving of the Association documents.  We will help you work through this process. 

 Closing

Closing will take place at a title company or attorneys office in the county in which the property is located.  The closing agent, also called the escrow agent, is typically selected by the seller to perform the services involved with transferring title from the seller to the buyer.  The seller will purchase title insurance from the title company for the buyer to ensure that the title is free and clear of any deficiencies.  The title company will complete a HUD-1 form prior closing which will detail where all of the money is coming from and going to.  Prior to closing I will review your HUD-1 form and make sure everything is as we expected.  Title companies often charge anywhere form $200 to $700 to both the buyer and seller for handling the closing. The buyer is typically charged more in closing and processing fees because the title company has to deal with a new mortgage on the buyers behalf.

For more information about purchasing real estate through List In MLS Realty visit www.listinmls.com

Property Tax

Property taxes are paid in arrears.  This means that you pay for them after you use them.  For example, 2007 taxes are billed 11/2007 and due as follows: 4% discount if paid in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, and 1% in February.  If your property taxes and insurance are escrowed with your loan, your lender will pay the taxes as early as possible to get the best deal. 

When purchasing real estate the seller will compensate the buyer for the amount of taxes the seller incurred while they owned the property.  For example, if the closing date is May 30th, the sellers would pay the buyer for 5 months worth of taxes because the seller owned the property for 5 months of the year and did not yet pay property tax for the current year.  This will show as a credit to the buyer on the HUD-1 form prepared by the title company.   

The Lee County Property Appraiser will send you a TRIM notice in August and you have 25 days from receipt to petition the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) if you feel the assessed value of your property is too high.  Keep in mind that there is a lag time when assessing values.  Taxes are paid on the assessment of value during the previous year. 

 Homestead Exemption Lee County, Florida

• Initial fillings must be filed by March 1^st
• Must be your primary residence.
• Worth $450 to $550 in savings.

 Save Our Homes

Homesteaders automatically get to take advantage of Save Our Home which limits the taxable value of your homestead from increasing more than 3% each year.  This bill also encourages people to stay in the same home for longer than they otherwise would due to the property tax savings they receive.  The newly proposed Portability legislation will allow homesteaders to take that savings with them to their next homestead. 

These two house are in pre-foreclosure.  Bank will Consider short sale.  Bring all offers.  We just lowered the price to the current $175k today.

	Prop Type	Residential	Prop Subtype(s)	Single Family
GEO Area	CC42 - cape c	Subdivision	Not Applicable
Beds	3	Living Area	1481 Seller
Baths(FH)	2 (2 0)	Price/Sq Ft	118.16
Waterfront	No
Year Built	2004	Lot Sq Ft (approx)	10019 ((Tax Data))
PID	084423C1040190640	Lot Acres (approx)	0.230

	Prop Type	Residential	Prop Subtype(s)	Single Family
GEO Area	CC42 - cape c	Subdivision	Not Applicable
Building Des	Remarks
Beds	3	Living Area	1481 Seller
Baths(FH)	2 (2 0)	Price/Sq Ft	118.16
Waterfront	No
Year Built	2004	Lot Sq Ft (approx)	10019 ((Tax Data))
PID	094423C2037640340	Lot Acres (approx)	0.230

"Listed property sells faster and for more money than FSBO property".

The days of having to pay high real estate commissions are over.  Today, you can list your real estate in the Realtor® MLS for a flat fee and only pay a commission if a Realtor® sells your property.  Listing in the MLS is the only way to get main stream exposure for your property and the only way you can list your real estate in the MLS is through a real estate broker who is a member of your local Board of Realtors®. 

In Lee County the dominant MLS is administered by the Realtor® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach.  If you are selling real estate in Lee County, listing in this MLS is a must if you want top dollar for your property in the least amount of time. 

List In MLS Realty, LLC will list your property in the Realtor® MLS for a flat fee of just $495 until it sells.  If a Realtor® sells your property you pay just 3 percent and best of all, you retain the right to sell on your own and pay No Commission. 

Our flat fee MLS listings include the following:

• Complete listing in Realtor® MLS (Multiple Listing Service) until it's sold.
• Property featured on the top real estate websites including Realtor.com, MSN, News-Press.com, Google Base, Trulia, and many more.
• Color photos in the MLS and on affiliated websites. 
• Installation and removal of our professional Yard Sign (where permitted).
• Lockbox (if desired)
• Color "For Sale" flyer and copy of your listing. 
• Buyers Pre-Qualifications and Pre-Approvals.
• All necessary contracts and disclosure documents to list and sell your home.
• Your property featured on all Broker Reciprocity member sites including Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and all other member sites.
• Friendly customer support via e-mail or phone at (239) 936-LIST (5478). 

With our flat fee listings the seller works directly with the buyers' Realtor® to coordinate showings (if applicable), negotiate the contract and see the deal all the way to closing. 

We also offer full service for 1% to meet the needs of even the most demanding sellers.

Our full service listings offer the following additional services.

• Coordinate showings
• Follow up with Realtors® who show your property to solicit feedback and hopefully and offer. 
• Receive and negotiate offers on your behalf. 
• Verify the buyers' ability to purchase your property. 
• Coordinate inspections, appraisals, etc.
• Coordinate closing and make sure everything goes smoothly. 

For more information or to list your real estate in the MLS visit http://www.listinmls.com/ 

Welcome to the group created exclusively for ActiveRainers in SW Florida.  If you live, do business in, or are otherwise interested in Fort Myers I encourage you to join this group.  Feel free to post about any topic you like that somehow pertains to SW Florida.  The main purpose of this group is to facilitate "networking" among Realtors® and Realtor® affiliates.  If you have a business in SW Florida, feel free to advertise it via this group. 

I look forward to blogging with you. 

Mark Hetrick

Fort Myers Real Estate

This group was created April 2, 2007.

List In MLS Realty (http://www.listinmls.com/) is seeking enthusiastic real estate agents in SW Florida, Tampa and Orlando.   Start earning income immediately!  Get paid for listings at the time of listing.  Unlimited earning potential!  Plenty of "hot" buyer and seller leads.  Work from the comfort of your own home. 

We are not your typical real estate company.  We offer sellers both flat fee and full service MLS listings and thus do a large volume of listings.  We need buyer agents to work with buyers generated from our current listings and we need listing agents to follow up on listing inquires and solicit new listings. 

Must have a Florida real estate license.

Fax resume to Mark Hetrick at (239) 939-5478 and/or e-mail to mark@listinmls.com

I get about 10 unique visitors to my website everyday.  That's a tiny number that I am trying to grow exponentially.  I have been doing a lot of research and decided that I need to be listed on some real estate directories.  I googled real estate direcoriesand choose websites that have a high PR on the page I would be listed on.  I submitted to 13 sites a few days ago and I am already listed on seven of them.  Most of the directories will list you you for free and the ones that do charge only charge a nominal fee around $20-$40.  After all the research I have done I have no idea what to expect.  Will my PR, which now 0, improve?  Will  this increase traffic to my site?  We'll see what happens.  I have provided a log of the directories I choose and my experience with them.  Stay tuned to this blog to see if this actually works.  List In MLS  I encourage you to visit my website and give me any feedback you have. 

Directories I have submitted to: 

Listing is live.  Reals.com  -  Paid $20.00 when I submitted listings 3/22/07  Should be good for a basic listings displayed for 1 year.   http://www.reals.com/state/florida/fortmyers.htm

Listing is live.  epoweredprofessionals.com - Paid $39.00/year + Requires link back.  Link must be on page indexed by Google.  Received confirmation e-mail and submitted info for photo listing. 
http://www.epoweredprofessionals.com/fl-real-estate.html

Listing is live.  overlyreal.com - submitted free basic listing 3/22/07.  Requires Back link.http://www.overlyreal.com/9-1.html

Listing is live.  RealestateABC.com  - Submitted free basic listing 3/22/07  Requires Link Back http://www.realestateabc.com/realtorsearch/FL/Ft.%20Myers.html
http://www.realestateabc.com/realtorsearch/FL/Fort%20Myers.html

Listing is live.  realestatebig.com - Submitted free basic listing 3/22/07  Requires Link Back.  http://www.realestatebig.com/Agents_and_Brokers/Florida/Fort_Myers/Fort_Myers.html

Listing is live.  estateround.com - Submitted free basic listing 3/22/07.  Requires link back.  Submitted to Agents and brokers page with a 4PR.  FL page has lower PR.  This company sells featured and regular links in addition to free links but I can't tell the difference.  Rejected per e-mail.  I replied asking Why? Submitted to the wrong directory.  Corrected and submitted to http://www.estateround.com/For-Sale-By-Owner/Discount-Brokers.html

Listing is live.  realestatewebmasters.com -submitted free basic listing 3/23/07.  Requires Back link.
http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/agents/United-States/Florida/    validated e-mail address. 

Realestatelinkexchange.com - Submitted free listing 3/22/07.  Site only accepts free listings. Requires Link Back
http://www.realestatereciprocallink.com/links/index.php?sid=326435449&cat=381&start=10&t=sub_pages

justrealestate.org - Submitted free basic listing 3/22/07  Requires Link Back.  Could take weeks
http://www.justrealestate.org/usa/florida/

ibsteam.net - submitted free basic listing 3/22/07.  Requires Back link. 
http://www.ibsteam.net/wsnlinks/Real_Estate_USA/Florida

national-real-estate-directory.com - Must have Google PR of 1 or greater before being considered.  Free Requires Back link.  http://www.national-real-estate-directory.com/directory/Florida_Real_Estate.html

real-estate-agents.com  -   submitted free basic listing 3/22/07.  Requires Back link.
http://real-estate-agents.com/in/US/Florida/

ired.com - wants $25 for basic listing.  No free listings.  Main page is 6pr and FL page is 4
http://www.ired.com/usa/national.htm

us-realestatedirectory.com - submitted free basic listing 3/22/07.  Requires Back link.
http://www.us-realestatedirectory.com/Florida/

I have recently realized how important it is for a webpage to have a high Google Page Rank (PR).  If you don't know what PR is you'll want to download and start using the Goggle toolbar.  Once you have the toolbar installed every page you visit will will show the page rank on the toolbar.  My website (www.listinmls.com) currently has a PR of 0 as of today 3/23/2007.  Hopefully by the time many of you read this bloq it will be higher.  Every time it changes for the better I am going to celebrate and I will post a blog with the good news. 

It's my understanding that if websites are competing for placement for a particular keyword, the site with the higher PR will be listed first.  Their are many factors which make up how Google ranks your page the most important being the amount of high PR sites that link directly to your site.  I manage another website (www.stillwatercharters.net) for a friend with a fishing guide business and his page somehow already received a PR of 2 I think it's because we had one PR3 liking to it.  Please give me some feedback on these websites as we are constantly trying to improve them.  I recently began using IDX Pro to display interactive maps with listing data overlayed in an effort to make my site more attractive to home buyers shopping on the internet.  It's a really neat tool you can check out at www.listinmls.com/listingspro.htm    I'm trying to get to the top of Google for general terms like "Fort Myers Real Estate".  My website listinmls.com is currently listed 5th when searching for "list in mls" which is my actual URL and other companies are coming up first.  Somehow, my Active Rain profile comes up first for another keyword I have been targeting "list in mls fort myers".  This is something I can't even get my website to do....yet.  How is your website rated? 

This is my first day on AR and I am excited about the wealth of information available here.  I am not very familiar with blogging but it looks like it's time to learn.  They are pretty generous with the points, I wish google was that easy.  As of late I have been working on SEO mainly for google and I still have a zero PR. 

I look forward to blogging with you all.