Palm Beach Real Estate and Loans - Marc Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

Do You Want to Buy Palm Beach Real Estate - Or Just Play Games?

Don't Lose the Palm Beach Gardens Property That You REALLY Want!

2008-06-29T08:50:42Z

Back in February I wrote an article:

It was basically about making serious offers for property that you and your family are interested in.

There is something that needs to be added to it - the importance of not waiting FOREVER to make a decision.

I would never want anyone to buy something that they really don't like, can't afford or aren't sure about. Let's face it, we're talking about one of the biggest transactions you will ever make.

However......

Once you find the Palm Beach Gardens real estate that you like, you had better make an offer!

So, what's the rush?

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate - BallenIsles and Mirasol Open Houses for 6/8/08

2008-06-29T08:42:46Z

If you've been looking for the best in Palm Beach Gardens real estate, you'll have plenty to choose from this weekend-

We'll be featuring luxury properties in both BallenIsles and Mirasol - two of the area's most desireable communities.

ADDRESS	COMMUNITY	TIME
127 Remo Place	Mirasol	2-4 PM
11514 Villa Vasari Drive	Mirasol	1-4 PM
125 Playa Rienta	Mirasol	2-4 PM
111 Talavera Place	Mirasol	2-4 PM
277 Porto Vecchio Way	Mirasol	2-4 PM
317 Sunset Bay Lane	BallenIsles	2-4 PM
106 Coconut Key Court	BallenIsles	2-4 PM
101 Banyan Isle Drive	BallenIsles	2-4 PM

I will be at 127 Remo Place - you can call me at 561-282-7406, or just drop by between 2-4.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate - BallenIsles Open House 126 C Palm Bay Dr - 5/25/2008

2008-05-24T16:38:27Z

Yes, it is possible to live in BallenIsles - the best in Palm Beach Gardens real estate - for under $500,000!

This gorgeous Palm Bay property will be Open to the Public this Sunday, May 25th, from 2-4 PM.

Click HERE for the full set of photos.

This 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 garage unit features:

private elevator
kitchen with granite countertops, tile backsplash and cook's island
marble counters in the bathroom, roman tub in Master
tile floors in main areas - bedrooms are carpeted
LARGE screened patio with QUIET garden view
wide open living area with high ceilings
formal dining room

All levels of Club Membership are currently available.

Call me @ Leibowitz Realty for more details or visit this Sunday.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

Head's Up for Palm Beach Real Estate Owners - DON'T Fall for Foreclosure Rescue Scams!

2008-05-20T07:40:59Z

Its unfortunate, but some real estate owners are not only facing foreclosure, they are also being preyed upon by companies offering BS 'foreclosure rescue'.

A recent update from the Florida Association of Realtors stated the following:

"The meteoric rise in foreclosures has spawned a number of foreclosure rescue scams. So-called 'foreclosure rescue' companies charge an upfront fee, usually $1,000 or more, to solve a homeowners foreclosure problems, and then does little or nothing, pocketing the money."

This stuff never ceases to amaze me - people see a way to make a dishonest buck and they jump all over it.

A Bill (HB 643) was introduced by Representative Clay Ford (R - Pensacola) that will require:

"foreclosure rescue companies to enter into a written contract with consumers that spells out services provided, payment terms and total charges, and provides a three-day right of cancellation period. The bill also bans foreclosure consultants from demanding payment before promised services are delivered."

(The Bill does need to be approved by Govenor Crist)

People that are facing foreclosure are already under a great deal of stress and the promise of an easy out can be tempting - which is exactly what the predators look for.

This brings me back to the old 'If it sounds too good to be true....'

Always make sure you know EXACTLY what is being offered and never, EVER, pre-pay for this type of service.

A Sure Way NOT to Sell Your Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate-

2008-05-17T11:42:03Z

This is one of those things that sounds like a bad joke - until you realize that the person that you're talking to ISN'T kidding!

Client: "I think I'll take my home off the market for a little while."

Me: "Why is that? Have you changed your mind about selling it?"

Client: "Oh no, not at all - I just think that taking it off the market will ________________________________ (fill in the blank with flawed logic)."

Makes absolutely no sense. There is still quite a bit of Palm Beach Gardens real estate for sale so the only thing this temporary change does is remove ANY chance you have of getting an offer!

Some Sellers think that this is sort of a tease - as if the people that have been tracking their ‘one-in-a-million home' will feel like they lost out and they need to spring to action! Not at all.

If the inventory levels were low, this might not be so laughable. But if your home falls off the list, any potential Buyer will just move on to the next AVAILABLE one.

Remember this - we are still in a Buyers Market and misguided Seller ‘tricks' like this (and the equally poor ‘Price Increase') only hurt your chances of selling your home.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

205 Coconut Key - BallenIsles - Palm Beach Gardens FL 33418

2008-04-25T15:50:41Z

This gorgeous Courtyard Home in the Coconut Key subdivision of BallenIsles is one of Leibowitz Realty's newest offerings. It is listed for $1,299,500.

At almost 4000 sq ft, this property has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a 2.5 car garage with room for your golf cart. The large, circular brick paver driveway leads right up to the entrance and blends right in with the courtyard.

A spacious poolside cabana with full bathroom is there for your Guests (or In-Laws!).

A full golf membership is available.

The large courtyard with pool, spa and a summer kitchen.

Of course - all the kitchen countertops are granite and the stove is gas.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-627-5100 Office

(561)-627-9385 Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Moving Up In Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate -

2008-04-25T10:14:59Z

Great news - I've changed to a new brokerage - as of this week I am now a Real Estate Agent for Leibowitz Realty Group.

Their reputation as a leader in the luxury golf/country club market is un-paralleled in Palm Beach County. You can read about the Company's history here.

They just opened up a new office at Midtown @ PGA Boulevard - a perfect location that will allow me to easily continue to service my main focus areas of:

BallenIsles
Mirasol
PGA National

Their other office is at 210 Brazilian Avenue in Palm Beach - just a few blocks north of Worth Avenue.

To see my, or any of the other Agents', listings just take a look at the Meet the Team page.

There will be several changes to my personal website over the next few weeks. If for any reason you can't find what you need just call me at 561-282-7406 or email me at: marc@leibowitzrealty.com

Palm Beach Gardens Mortgage News- Knightlines Mortgage Services Opens it's New Branch

2008-03-29T18:00:50Z

Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC has just opened it's new branch at 3309 Northlake Blvd, suite #201, in Palm Beach Gardens.

Considering all of the bad news that's been around lately - starting with the sub-prime disaster of last year - people might wonder how we can actually be expanding.

It's easy.

We started up our main office with the intention of cutting through all of the BS in the mortgage industry. Sounds like a lofty goal - but it's really not that difficult. Over the last few (?) years, all of the hype, the ridiculous advertising and plain old-fashioned greed had gotten things to the point that a mortgage almost seemed like a mystical thing.

When you come right down to it, the entire mortgage loan process is pretty easy - ESPECIALLY on the residential side.

It didn't take us very long to settle on our motto:

"Financing the way it's SUPPOSED to be".

The term 'transparency' is thrown around quite a bit in the mortgage world - a lot of companies spout it, but very few actually operate in a transparent manner.

This is what you can expect when using Knightlines:

no guessing - you're always kept updated
no surprises - especially not at the closing table
we operate 7 days a week - things don't stop at 5:00 PM on Friday
you will be fully educated on the loans that you qualify for so that you can choose what's best for you - we can make suggestions, but the final choice is yours
we only advertise realistic loan terms - no 'bait' ads about loans so outrageous that nearly no one can qualify
your Broker will be with you from the beginning all the way to the actual closing and that includes being AT the closing.

We offer both Residential and Commercial financing - private money is also available.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Short Sales and Foreclosures on Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate - Part 2

2008-03-23T10:32:09Z

Yesterday I started to talk about foreclosures and short sales - there is way too much confusion about them, so I'd like to simplify things a bit.

I finished up by mentioning the case of owing more on your real estate then it's actually worth or "Being Upside-down". How could that happen?

Several ways:

Regardless of your loan type, if you live in an area with extreme depreciation, the value of your home could be going down faster then you can pay down the loan.
If you have an interest-only mortgage, ANY amount of depreciation would make the home worth less then the loan balance since the principle never gets paid off.
If you have been using the minimum payment on an option-ARM you would be experiencing negative-amortization - you're making monthly payments, but they don't cover the amount of intrest owed each month. This increases the outstanding balance. So even if your home's value didn't go down, the amount owed would be increasing. If you're one of the many that has that type of loan, I hope your Broker / Lender made that perfectly clear.

Of course, the lower the initial Loan-to-Value (LTV) the safer you would be, regardless of the loan type.

So what is FORECLOSURE?

Let's start with PRE-FORECLOSURE - you've stopped making your monthly mortgage payment, now you are in DEFAULT on the loan. A red flag goes up at the bank and they let you know that you had better get back on track, quickly. At this point, get in touch with the bank DO NOT just ignore the problem! The bank isn't going to say "You seem like a good person - don't worry about it!" - but you could possibly work something out with them before the worst happens.

You could go the route of the SHORT SALE - it's called that because by taking less then what they are actually owed, the bank is taking 'a short'. Here's where it gets a little complicated. You can't sell the house for what's owed so you list the property and any offers that come up go straight to the bank to approve or disapprove - you as the owner have no say in the matter.

The banks really don't want to take your property from you, they already have more than enough and then they have to pay their lawyers for their work, re-list the property and try to sell it themselves (and pay more agents). So, yes, they will take less then what is owed in many cases - but how much less?

More information on short sales -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Take a look at HAVE to Sell vs. WANT to Sell.

Short Sales and Foreclosures on Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate- Part 1

2008-03-09T13:16:26Z

I would like to talk a little about foreclosures and short sales today.

First of all - contrary to what the newspapers seem to want to you to believe, not every homeowner is in a finincial crisis and not every home that is listed is being sold out of desperation!

Are there foreclosures and short sales in Palm Beach Gardens? Certainly - but it's not the free-for-all that way too many people seem to expect.

Now that I'm done with that, I'll cover the basics.

You might own your real estate free and clear -GREAT!
You could have a mortgage on the property - you're making the scheduled payments without a hitch. Again, good for you.

The majority of people fall into those 2 categories.

For those of you that might not fit in the above categories, continue reading -->>

Marc J Blasi

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Do You Want to BUY Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate - Or Just Play Games?

2008-02-22T08:32:18Z

Last week I talked about being serious if you really want to SELL your Palm Beach Gardens real estate-

Today I'm going to go over the other side of the tranaction - Buying - and try to cut through some of the BS that is slowing down the whole process.

Many people have recently written about how real estate needs to be looked at LOCALLY not NATIONALLY.

When the media talks about how bad real estate is on a national level they are doing a great disservice to everyone - the AVERAGE is one thing, every city needs to be looked at individually.

There is quite a bit of real estate for sale in Palm Beach Gardens - are there some great deals available? Absolutely! But this is not Forclosure Central.

Since the beginning of the year the number of Buyers that I'm working with has increased, the # of showings on my listings has gone up and the number of offers received has increased also - just as predicted, BUSY SEASON is here.

The biggest current problem as I see it is that the average person has been convinced that every home can be bought for pennies on the dollar and that wastes their time, the Sellers' time and the Agents' time.

Why is this? As I already said, there's the 'national vs. local' misunderstanding and then add the fact that too many people also neglect the difference between sellers who WANT to sell and sellers who HAVE to sell.

What's the difference?

Read on if you're serious about Buying Palm Beach Gardens real estate -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Do You Want to Sell Your Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate or Play Games?

2008-02-14T11:12:50Z

If that title didn't catch your eye, I don't know what will......

You and your family have decided to sell your Palm Beach Gardens real estate and I'm going to cover some things that should help make the process smoother and faster.

The most important thing is pricing the home correctly. If you didn't hear me, I said

PRICING

One of the biggest problems facing Palm Beach Gardens real estate right now is the fact that so much of it is soooooo overpriced!

As I've said to many people, when you're considering what your property is worth NOW:

What you paid for it doesn't matter
How great you think it is doesn't matter
What you owe on it doesn't matter
And what it was worth 2 years ago doesn't matter either.

That might sound rough, but I've got no reason to sugarcoat things.

When I meet with you to to get the listing on your home I'm going to recommend a price based on the following:

Comparable sales: what homes similar to yours and in the same neighborhood as yours have sold for in the last 6 months
Comparable listings: what are homes just like yours currently listed for
Since no 2 homes are exactly the same, those #'s will be adjusted for any variations- water view or not, on the golf course or not, pool, etc
How quickly do you want to sell?

In addition, I always suggest having a formal appraisal done if you'd like a second opinion.

Based on that information you and I will decide the exact listing price.

Too many Palm Beach agents will take a listing - regardless of how overpriced it is - and then hope that you will go for huge price drops in the future. Will they sell the property? Maybe - but only after it's been on the market for a long time and the price is dropped to what it should have been in the first place!

Don't get me wrong, price adjustments are not always bad as long as you start with a realistic price to begin with and update accordingly based on new / changed listings and market conditions.

Laurie Manny recently wrote an article - Chasing the Market Down - Are You Guilty?. In it she discusses the problems with REACTIVE price changes. As she demonstrates that's NOT the way to go. Proactive = GOOD, reactive = BAD.

OK - we've beat up on price enough for now.

More on Selling your Palm Beach Gardens real estate -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Palm Beach Florida is one of the TOP Places to Buy a House - I Told You So.....

2008-02-11T19:31:11Z

I can talk about how great Palm Beach real estate is until I'm blue in the face - and I often do.

But it never hurts to have another opinion, so I was thrilled to see what well-known real estate investor and analysist Dr. Danielle Babb had to say last week on Enterpreneur.com -

The article was titled "The Best and Worst Places to Buy a Home" and you can read it HERE.

This is how the article starts out:

"Whether you're looking for an investment property or a place to live, here's a look at the cities you should seek out and avoid in 2008".

And right there in the list of 'The Top Places to Buy' is Palm Beach, Florida - and she says the following:

"Palm Beach, Florida: I'm taking a risk here because this area has been pummeled by foreclosures in 2007. But there are a lot of Boomers retiring and Palm Beach is looking mighty attractive. If you don't like this high of a risk (which translates to great prices), check out Tampa or Clearwater in the same state"

Did you notice the part about the great prices? Even if you did, give it another read and make sure it settles in.

Other other top rated areas are:

Killeen, Round Rock and Austin, Texas
Mission Viejo, California
Las Vegas, Nevada.

I can certainly tell you the same things, but I think it's important for my potential Buyers to see this advice coming from someone who is primarily in analysis, not day-to-day sales.

Continue reading this Palm Beach real estate post -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Making Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate Even More Attractive - BallenIsles

2008-02-08T11:42:50Z

People who regularly read my posts will know that I, along with many, many other Agents, am no fan of mass media - mainly due to the fact that they push negativity to an extreme. Face it - negativity sells! Newspapers - not real estate.

So, when a newspaper prints something POSITIVE about Real Estate, I feel that I should give credit where credit is due.

This weekend The Palm Beach Post featured BallenIsles as it's 'Neighborhood of the Week' and gave readers a look into one of the best Golf / Country Clubs available.

I've written several posts about BallenIsles -and I've got to say that it is already an extremely desirable community, but as the Post's article points out, the $48.7 million dollar renovation to the Club's Facilities and the East Golf Course will go a long way to keep the community attractive to both current Owners and future Residents.

The work is scheduled to begin in April.

For more on this premium Palm Beach Gardens real estate -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Help ME to Help YOU Find the Palm Beach Real Estate that You Really Want

2008-02-07T09:25:10Z

I don't mean to go off on a rant (with apologies to Dennis Miller) -

BUT......

And I do realize that you have to take the good with the ~~BAD~~ not-so-good -

BUT......

Let's go over 2 recent Customer contacts that I have had.

Both want to buy real estate in Palm Beach Gardens, one doesn't need a mortgage the other one isn't sure.

Easy so far -

Customer 1: I'm looking to buy a home -

Me: Fantastic - let's go over your specific wants / needs and we'll take it from there-

Customer 1: It's going to be for me, my wife and 2 children. We want a single family home, 4 bedrooms would be perfect. We'd need a 2 car garage, a pool would be nice, but not necessary. The quality of the local schools is very important, so I'll need as much information on them as possible. Close to shopping and the beaches would be great and I really don't want to pay more then $600,000. I'm currently selling my home, but that won't interfere with the new purchase. Oh yeah - I'll be able to pay cash so financing won't be a concern. Do you need anything else?

With a tear in my eye I said "No, that pretty much covers the basics.". I quickly found several homes and we set a time to meet up in the next 2 weeks.

Now, from behind the next curtain -

Customer 2: Hi, I'm looking to buy a new home for my family-

Me: Fantastic - let's go over your specific wants / needs and we'll take it from there- (sound familiar to anybody?)

Customer 2: (a bit upset) I just said that I was looking to buy a new home.

Continue -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & e-Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Selling Your Palm Beach Gardens Home - Don't Make this Mistake!

2008-02-07T08:33:13Z

You are trying to sell your real estate in Palm Beach Gardens and you're sure you've done everything right.

I talk to Clients all the time about pricing, legalities - the BIG things.

But you'd be shocked at how many people need to be reminded about the LITTLE things - such as making sure that your house is CLEAN!

Yes, that was thinly-veiled sarcasm....

I previewed several homes the other day for a client that will be coming down to buy in 2 - 3 weeks.

Several were OK, but one was a mess - actually pretty dirty and the other Agent didn't seem to think that it was a problem!

(Can you say 'moron'? I knew you could!)

If you want to show your home off and have a chance to sell it in ANY market your home needs to be SPOTLESS- no excuses.

That home that was a mess? I'll never waste my time showing it to anyone. The Owners lost a chance for a sale in the busiest time of the year in Palm Beach Gardens because they didn't spend a few hours cleaning up.

Continue reading -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Continue the article -->>

You Checked the Facts on Your Current Mortgage.. What Did You Find? Part 3

2008-02-04T14:19:08Z

Happy Friday Everyone-

The last 2 days I've been talking about checking on your current mortgage - I want you to be sure that you know exactly what you have and I discussed several ways that you could have been tricked.

Now, if you looked through all of your paperwork and everything checks out.... GREAT! That's how it should be.

However, if the mortgage on your Palm Beach real estate is NOT what you thought you had then it's time to fix things.

The most frequent issue is that someone has an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) - but they thought it was fixed.

If that's the case, the next thing to check on is how long the initial period is before the first adjustment can take place. That is generally 2, 3, 5, 7 or as long as 10 years.

What happens when that term is up? The interest rate can increase - it doesn't HAVE TO go up, but this is one of those times that you should assume the worst - that way you won't get next month's bill and see that the payment has gone through the roof!

Marc J Blasi

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Make Sure You Know What Kind of Mortgage You Have - Don't be Surprised in 2008 - Part 2

2008-02-02T10:32:45Z

Yesterday I started asking people the following: Do You Know What Kind of Mortgage that you currently have?

Quite a few Palm Beach real estate owners would say "Sure!" without hesitation.

However......

I would tell EVERYONE to double-check your paperwork before you get a surprise.

After several years in the business, I've lost track of the number of people that have come to me to refinance their home loans because they were shocked that 'all of a sudden' their monthly mortgage payment increased.

The majority of the time the person was scammed, tricked or just flat-out lied to. It's disgusting, but Mortgage Brokers and Lenders have a rotten reputation for a reason. (I do believe that the majority of the people in the business ARE ethical - it's just that the ones that are bad are SO BAD that they wreck the whole industry's reputation.)

I'm talking about the 'salesmen' who could sell you an air conditioner, in Alaska, in the dead of winter.

There are a bunch of ways this can happen- typically they'll show you that they can get you a much lower rate (and payment) then their competitor..... The trick lies in the fact that they are showing you a rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage and comparing it to a 30 year fixed rate loan. Too often the customer sees nothing but the RATE and falls for the trick.

Continue Reading -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

What Kind of Mortgage Do You Have? Are You SURE??

2008-02-01T08:33:37Z

What kind of mortgage do you have on your Palm Beach home?

Is it fixed ?

Is it adjustable?

Are you 100% sure of your answer?

As crazy as it may seem, too many Palm Beach real estate owners really don't know the exact details of their home loans.

Start the year off right - dig up your paperwork, and check everything out NOW to avoid any nasty surprises in 2008.

Tomorrow I'll be going over some of the most common mistakes and what you can do to solve the problem - it can be very easy - just don't be one of the masses that waits for the last possible second!

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Top Real Estate in Palm Beach - BallenIsles Club Information

2008-02-01T08:26:04Z

In the past few months I've written several articles about BallenIsles-

I consistently get more inquiries about the homes in there then any other Palm Beach real estate.

Not only are the homes fantastic, but BallenIsles is also well known for it's Member's Club.

I recently received an update from Cheryll R. Plotkin, the Director of Membership Services - here are some of the main points:

"BallenIsles Country Club is a private, member-owned residential country club with three 18-hole championship golf courses, 23 tennis courts, pool, bocce court, three dining venues, great food, very attractive social program, and plenty of space for card playing. BallenIsles Country Club began in 1962 as the P.G.A. National Golf Club and later was named J.D.M. Country Club by the original owner John D. MacArthur. The Club was opperated by developers until turnover to the residents in 2005 and BallenIsles became a mandatory membership community in 2006.

BallenIsles Country Club ranks number 5 nationally among residential country clubs and number 17 among all of the 6000 clubs surveyed by the Club Leaders Forum in 2006. The United States Tennis Association honored BallenIsles Country Club as their #1 Member Organization of the Year in 2004. We operate very active golf and tennis programs for our members."

Continue -->>

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

100% Mortgages for Palm Beach Real Estate - Good or Bad?

2008-01-04T16:47:40Z

Before we go over the GOOD vs BAD parts of the 100% Home Loans I want to discuss the availability of this particular Mortgage.

A lot of things have changed in the Mortgage Industry in 2007 - the subprime mess at the beginning of the year is still on everyone's mind.

You'll see and hear different Palm Beach area mortgage companies advertising that they "STILL HAVE" 100% mortgages as if they were something special - uhhhh, not quite. Virtually all mortgage brokerages still offer the loan, however the requirements to qualify for the loan have tightened up a bit.

Now, here's the important part: Who is the Mortgage good for and who is it bad for?

Keep in mind, I'm not talking about an exact science here, I'm going to discuss the 2 extremes - every borrower will fall somewhere in between.

Selling Palm Beach Real Estate - Let's Look at Another Widespread Myth-

2007-12-14T12:15:39Z

Palm Beach real estate - not only is it not sold by having Open Houses - it's also not sold by using Print Advertising!

So then, why is it all over the place?

Well, let's go back a few years. My generation (I'm 40) was introduced to computers early in high school. Our grandparents and parents knew no other form of real estate advertising than the newspaper ads - there certainly wasn't anything to look at on-line, because there was no 'on-line' yet!

Habits tend to change over the years, but people still think that if there isn't an ad in the Sunday paper, they're missing out.

So - why do you still see so many ads if they're THAT ineffective?

It's kind of the same thing you encounter with the Open Houses - they comfort the Client. They see their wonderful real estate in print and assume that that is the end-all be-all of of promoting their home. It's an easy out for Agents who would rather not waste their time educating the Client. I prefer to tell my Clients what DOES work and it's not print!

Also, by not using print ads, my costs are much lower - a savings that goes directly to the Client.

So far I've only explained one reason ----- here is the BIGGIE:

Print ads are for the AGENTS to show themselves off, which generates more listings - but it does not help to sell them! Think about it, you go into the grocery store, you pick up a flashy Real Estate Magazine, and you become entranced by the fantastic pictures. You think about buying that multi-million dollar property for your family - fantasy time...... then you snap out of it when the Cashier tells you your total. On the way out, the magazine goes in the trash. You may remember the Agent that you saw in the magazine and give him or her a call when you want to list. It's advertising for the AGENT not the property.

The most effective place to advertise these days is the Internet. Estimates vary, but roughly 90% of all Real Estate searches start ON-LINE.

I once had someone say that they thought I was being 'overly thrifty' by not running print ads........

BUT, when you put some thought into it, I don't get paid until a deal closes.

So wouldn't I want it to sell as quickly as possible?

Makes sense, doesn't it?

Like the great Linda Richman was so fond of saying - "Call me, we'll talk.".

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

Open Houses DO NOT Sell Real Estate... Surprise!

2007-12-14T09:11:37Z

It's unfortunate that so many Sellers still hold on to the notion that having an Open House is an absolute must if you are going to be able to sell their home.

Things might be slightly different in your area, but in Palm Beach, having an Open House is a big waste of time. (There I go, telling the truth again....)

So, why do so many Real Estate Agents still do them? Two big reasons:

One - it makes the Client happy. They THINK that the Open House will work, so you'd better agree to do them. Too many people just want their 'rears' kissed. Ask yourself something: Would you rather use an Agent who just blindly agreed with you, or one that would tell you what really WILL get your home sold?
It can be good for the Agent, because if people do show up, the Agent can meet them and get their contact information to add to their database - however, this does NOTHING to sell the property.

If your property is in a gated community, the general public will not be allowed in to look around anyway! So the traffic that you get will be from people that already live there, out for a walk, that just want to see how their neighbor's home looks.

In addition, when you're talking about expensive, luxury properties, the people that can afford to buy them rarely have the desire or the time to find them themselves. They get an Agent, give the Agent their requirements / desires and then the Agent will create a focused list of homes that meet the Buyers' criteria. Much more efficient.

Enough ranting for now...

If you want to sell your Palm Beach Real Estate this season - get in touch with me and we'll discuss what REALLY works.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax

Realtor® - Luxury Homes FL - A Thomas Real Estate Company

A New Restaurant to Enjoy in Palm Beach Gardens- Amazonia

2007-12-13T15:27:04Z

When it came time for Thanksgiving last week, I couldn't bear the thought of turkey AGAIN.

I had to do something different - I had heard of restaurants like Amazonia before, but I'd never been to one.

It's a 'Churrascaria' - which is Portuguese for steakhouse, but this is no ordinary steakhouse.

First of all there is no menu - there's a Wine List if you want one but the food is served in a completely different way then most people are used to.

You start with the 40+ item salad bar. Very high quality - Lobster Bisque, prosciutto, jumbo asparagus, portobello mushrooms - and you can go back as many times as you want. BUT the trick is not to overdo it because the best is yet to come!

There is a small block on each table - you start with the red side up. But when you are ready to move on to the main course you turn it over to the green side and the Gauchos (carvers) start to come to your table.

One by one they bring out large skewers of beef, lamb, pork, chicken and sausage and individually carve as much or as little as each person at the table wants.

I suggest starting out slow if you want to sample everything because they will have up to 15 different cuts to serve to you.

Everything we had was fantastic - my favorite was a garlic-crusted pork filet and the filet mignon and....

While the meats are being brought out, sides of Brazilian cheese bread, fried bananas with cinnamon & sugar, garlic mashed potatoes and fried polenta are delivered to the table.

After all of this they actually brought out a dessert menu - my Mom went for the cheesecake, no big surprise! Actually, my Stepfather ordered the cheesecake, my Mom just said 'Nothing for me - I'll just have a bite of his'. (Uh, yeah - anybody heard THAT one before?)

The whole experience was fantastic - the food was some of the best I've had in a long time and the customer service was tops.

There certainly are a ton of restaurants for Palm Beach real estate ownersto pick from - Amazonia should definitely be at the top of the list.

Amazonia is located @ 11300 Legacy Avenue - just off of PGA Blvd.

It's open daily from 4 til 'late' - reservations are suggested, just call (561)-694-9400.

Marc J Blasi

Mortgage Broker - Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC

(561)-282-7406 Cell

(561)-282-3330 Office & Fax