"Criminal" Is Not A Protected Social Class - 06/21/11 12:44 PM
This subject came to mind today when I checked out the new Trulia Crime Map Tool. The subject line in their email read "How to answer your buyers' questions about Davenport crime rates". I had a go at their crime maps and read through their blog post as well.
Once all of the data for every city is compiled and mapped this will make a great tool which will make discussing crime in a certain area much more convenient. I will give it to Trulia, they got it right as far as the map is concerned.
However, my issue … (10 comments)

IT'S ACTIVERAINING LEADS!!! - 06/16/11 08:58 PM
It's raining leads! I had quite a productive day today and I wanted to share it with all of you. I had three calls and one email off my AR Blog today! For me, that is outstanding.
As the members of ActiveRain know, the site has had it's issues with stability of late. Proxy server error anyone? However, lately, the site has been just great. I was down to posting about 2 or 3 blog posts per month for the last 7 months or so. I just didn't have time to blog around the errors and so on.
My … (12 comments)

Banks Giving Short Sale Leads? - 06/15/11 03:51 PM
I read an article on FloridaRealtors.org this morning entitled "Banks Giving Agents Short Sale Leads?". In a nutshell, more and more lenders are giving short sale agents leads for sellers who may be open to the idea of short selling their home rather than be foreclosed on. What this means is that these lenders have been in contact with home owners and asked them whether they were open to the idea of a short sale. If the owner is open to the idea, the lender would then get in touch with a local short sale agent who can help the seller … (15 comments)

Are Davenport, FL Short Sales Worth Less Than Market Value? - 06/10/11 06:20 PM
Are Davenport, FL short sales worth less than market value? That's a good question, and I'm going to try to answer it for you. There were 362 houses sold in Davenport, FL between March 1, 2011 and June 1, 2011. They sold for an average price of $134,157. Of those, 68 were short sales. These 68 Davenport short sales sold for an average price of $118,810. 151 of these homes sold were REO/Foreclosures and sold for an average price of $109,632. Lastly there were 143 equity sales (regular sales) which sold for an average of $167,352.
Obviously short sales and … (5 comments)

The Media Is Full Of Crap! Here's The Real Story - 06/09/11 09:18 AM
If you've ever bought a house you've probably had a conversation with your neighbors about how much they bought theirs for. Hopefully that conversation didn't end with you yelling "you bought it for how much?!!". But either way, there is a reason you're talking to your neighbor about home values and not some stranger half way across the state.
That is because real estate is hyper local by nature. What that means is every real estate market is different and there are markets inside markets.
For instance, in the 34759 zip code, most of the homes are part of a … (80 comments)

Short Sale Shortfalls; Hiding Income And/Or Assets From The Lender - 06/08/11 04:23 PM
Recently I've been discussing some of the things that can slow or derail a short sale. Today's subject is Hiding Income And/Or Assets From The Lender. This is a bad idea all around. Not only could this jeopardize your short sale, but it could be considered mortgage fraud.
Short sales require lender approval, that much you know. Some of the things a lender requires on a short sale are a hardship letter explaining why you can no longer pay your mortgage payment, recent bank statements, most recent pay stubs, and a financial worksheet listing your income and assets.
Today … (3 comments)

Selling Real Estate Doesn't Have To Feel Like Work - 06/07/11 05:47 PM
If there is one thing we can all agree on it's this, LIFE IS TOO SHORT! It's too short to be stressed out by work. The good news is you don't have to be. Work stops feeling like work when you start having fun doing it.
Do you remember those long summer days when you used to go out at 7am and stay out until 9pm? Your mom would call you in because it was getting dark and you sat there thinking to yourself "how did the day go so fast, I wish this day could last forever." That's what … (7 comments)

Can You Sell Real Estate In Shorts And Flip Flops? - 06/06/11 08:01 PM
How do you define professional? Is it what title you have behind your name? Is it what company you work for? Is it how your email address comes across? Is it what you drive? How about what you wear? Or is it a combination of those things?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, I hate to tell you this, but you're wrong. Big time, dead wrong! Professionalism is an action. It's a way of doing business and doing it properly. It's about doing the things that will create lasting success in any walk of life.
No matter … (132 comments)

Short Sale ShortFalls; Slow Response To Document Requests - 06/05/11 02:54 PM
Selling a Davenport, FL short sale takes time and patience from everyone involved, from the seller all the way to the buyer and everyone in between. Lenders work at their own pace and almost nothing you do will hurry them up. This is a frustrating reality for home sellers who are stuck with a home that is worth half of what it was worth 5 years ago when their mortgage payment is half what it used to be.
A short sale is a good option that will hopefully help you settle your debt with your lender, but it won't be … (1 comments)

10 Houses To Show 5 Buyers, How's That For A Market Update! - 06/04/11 03:34 PM
  Talk about a market update you can sink your teeth into! About a week ago I was looking for homes to show to a few different buyers in Poinciana, FL. OK, five buyers to be exact. It was going to be a very busy week. They were all looking for pretty much the same type of home in pretty much the same price range. A nice 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home in Poinciana. They were looking in the 60k-70k range. I know that might sound funny to someone who doesn't live in Poinciana, but that's what a nice newish home … (4 comments)

Davenport, FL Short Sale Expert? How Do You Know? - 06/02/11 10:58 AM
Davenport, FL Short Sale Expert...How do you know if your agent is a Davenport, FL Short Sale Expert? That is a very good question. And I'm going to try to answer it for you. Try this:
1. Ask him. That's right, just cut to the chase and ask him whether he's a short sale expert. If his next sentence starts with uh, umm, well..., or any other stalling tactic you'll know right off the bat. If he's an expert he'll have enough confidence in his abilities to tell you yes and why.
2. If you're too shy for that … (2 comments)

Should You Offer On A Strategic Short Sale? - 06/01/11 06:48 PM
  My father, Bryant Tutas, wrote an article a few days ago about strategic short sales. In it he covered some of the reasons why a seller may or may not want to do a strategic short sale and how to tell whether it might be a good option for you. If you haven't read it already I encourage you to have a look through the article and the comments. They are very enlightening. It can be found here: Play Strategically. Don't Let Your Mortgage Place You In Checkmate!
I am going to come at this from a buyers agent's … (2 comments)