I am attending a seminar on Short sale and Foreclosures and we are discussing way to save peoples homes and fixing loans before exploring the Short Sale route.  It is amazing how many people just walk away from their homes without even speaking to their lender or a Realtor.  I wish that more people would reach out and let us try and help.  I am so glad to have this knowledge to be able to help others. 

Working hard to preserve the American Dream of home ownership.

Hey folks!  After a long awaited approval process, we finally have approval for this awesome deal and all buyers couldn't wait any longer so they ALL backed out.  Need buyer to close in 30 days.  Property specs below.  Contact me asap for more information on short sale.

1862 SQF townhome in NW Tallahassee, FL

Built in 2006

3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 1 car garage

$150,000 AS-IS, in great condition priced 20k below llowest comp in neighborhood.

Enjoy the spacious family room with hardwood floors & the stylish kitchen with corian countertop & Brazilian cherry cabinets. The master suite boasts a jetted tub,upgraded river stone tile & separate shower, walk-in closet & dual sinks. Upstairs is 2 bedrooms & 1 bath w/ a loft space for a home office or sitting area.

Contact me asap for more information on short sale.

Text messaging 101-I have to say that the people that came up with all these really have alot of time on their hands...but I am glad for it because it is really neat!  Tought I would share to get everyone up to spead.

Smiley Faces -  Showing Emotions In Text Chat
A 'smiley face', often called a smiley or emoticon, is used in text communications to convey an emotion with a text message. Smiley faces are used in the same way that a person's voice changes or how facial expressions are used in face-to-face conversation. For example, if you were joking with someone and send a text message saying "GAL (get a life)" the person receiving your message may think you are making a rude comment to them. If you send the same message with a "happy smiley" : ) following the text, the person would then understand you were "smiling" - or joking around when you said that.  GAL :)

Showing emotions through characters in text messaging helps the receiver correctly interpret your intent and meaning.

To create a smiley face you use your standard keyboard characters and punctuation marks in sequences that look like facial expressions might. When viewing text smiley faces, they are all sideways. Here are some basics to get you started in understanding what the faces are:

The close bracket represents a sideways smile   )
Add in the colon and you have sideways eyes   :
Put them together to make a smiley face  :)
Use the dash  -   to add a nose   :-)
Change the colon to a semi-colon ; and you have a winking face ;)  with a nose  ;-)
Put a zero 0 (halo) on top and now you have a winking, smiling angel 0;) with a nose 0;-)
Use the letter 8 in place of the colon for sunglasses  8-)

Some chat and instant message programs will automatically translate text smiley faces into graphical emoticons. In AOL Instant messenger (AIM), for example, if you type out the characters to make a "happy face" followed by "sad face" followed by "cool sunglasses"  you would enter the following characters:

:)   :(   8-)

Once you've entered the text however, AIM converts the smiley text to graphics, if it can recognize the smiley pattern, and what you see on the screen in your AIM window will look like this:

Here are few examples of different smiley faces and their meanings:
 

While doing some BPOs for Bank of America this weekend, I stumbled across some pretty amazing deals in some Multi-family units near the Florida State University and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL. 

These units had low vacancies due to the proximity to the Universities and produced good rents.  Due to the low turn over in Multi-family sales, the prices has retracted back substantially making them GREAT cash flow investments. 

I need some investors to capitalize on some of these opportunities. 

Know anyone?

So many investors have been burned on some deals in the last 2-3 years and are reluctant to get back in so soon.  My feeling is this... The opportunities presented to us today may be the type of opportunities you will be "kicking" your self for passing up in the years to come...

Many investors are taking advantage of the market opportunities to TOP GRADE their portfolios.  This is where one would sell off their poorly performing assets and replace them with ones with higher yields.

Want more information, e-mail me.

Til Next Post!-

 Reduced to $150,000

9162 Stonehenge Trail Tallahassee, FL 32312

3 bedrooms 2 baths 1 car garage 1292 SQF built in 1999

USDA 100% financing eligible, this well cared for house in The Glen offers exceptional value. Bright open floor plan with wood floors throughout and recently painted. Large master bedroom & bath with a spacious walk-in closet. Can't forget about the huge tiled screened patio overlooking the privacy fenced backyard. Property overlooks open green space in the front. Sold as-is. Subject to lien holders approval.

Visit www.MakeYourMoveWithMike.info for additional information and pictures

When you really take the time to think about it.  A real estate transaction is very much like building a house.  A real estate transaction involves, home inspectors, property appraisers, lenders, tittle company, attorney, insurance company, land surveyor, termite inspector, repair persons, real estate agents and the number of people that work for them.  The real estate agent really acts as the Contractor coordinating the Sub-contractors to complete they job in the manner and order necessary to close the deal on time.

Each person playing an important part to the transaction and must complete their job in a certain order and time line.  Here is an example of what I mean; You have to have the inspections before you have the repairs done, and you have to have a signed contract before you have an appraisal and survey.  An appraisal is usually required before getting insurance and a loan and so forth.  Like in home building the permits have to be obtained before laying the foundation and foundation dried before the walls put up and so on.

I never really thought of myself as a real estate "contractor" but once the house is sold, a Realtor has to take their Salesperson hat off and put their hard hat on.

I guess that is what the GREAT Realtors stand out amongst the good Realtors, is their ability to get everyone to work together to make things happen right and on time.

-Until next post!

I am happy to report that I closed another short sale today and have another closing tomorrow.  Many buyers and agents fear the short sale process and shy away from it.  The general perception is that the deal will drag on forever and will never close.  Buyers are fearful that if they make an offer on a short sale and it doesn't go through they will have wasted all this time and passed up other opportunities, especially with the nearing deadline for the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers.

Well, here is what you should know about the short sale process.

-Most cooperative lenders will turn a short sale approval around in less than 45 days.

-Buyers usually purchase the property 10% or more BELOW market value.

-Lien holders often allow seller paid closing costs on behalf of buyer.

-If handled properly, a full commission is usually approved, and it is a win-win for everyone.

-Sellers should beware of companies that request up front monies to handle your short sale or ask that you start making your payments to them.

-A qualified and experienced Realtor can help you determine all your options and handle the process for you on a commission for performance basis.

-There is also a free legal hot line that can our clients with legal advice in short sale/Pre-foreclosure situations.

Call me if you or someone you know need to find out more information about that options might be available to them.

Always happy to help and share the good news of the Tallahassee Market.

This summer has been great for the Tallahassee real estate market.  We have seen some signs of improving conditions.  By that I mean homes have been selling a little bit faster than previously because there has been more buyer activity.  There has also been a small retraction of the total number of homes for sale which is also a good sign.  However there has been no sign of prices going back up just yet, as we still an over supply of homes for sale and the foreclosures and short sales are still putting downward pressure on prices.

Here is what to watch for... The next 4 months are generally the slowest for the market so we have that to face at the same time that the first time home buyer tax incentive comes to an end.  Some say the end of the year could bring about a sharp decline in prices to reach the bottom and start seeing more "natural" buyer activity on a continuing basis once that happens.

Overall the Tallahassee market has fared well compared to other markets and it is fair to say that if we are nat the bottom we are near it and it is only a matter of time before tides change and we start the long road to recovery.

Til next post-

Mike

--
Mike Carlos
REALTOR, CHMS, AHWD
Mike Carlos & Associates
Keller Williams Town & Country Realty
(850) 251-7397 Phone
(850) 531-8362 Fax
www.MakeYourMoveWithMike.info

***If you know anyone looking to buy or sell real estate, please call me so I can help them.  I can also help people avoid foreclosure on their home so please think of me when you talk real estate.

These days I wish I was a first time home buyer.  With the low interest rates, 100% loans available with no mortgage insurance and the $8,000 tax credit... it is such a great time for buyers to take advantage of all of these incentives and get a great deal.  For example, presently there are 18 single family homes for sale between 109k-150k in great neighborhoods in NE & NW neighborhoods.  Combining the 100% financing and seller pais closings costs buyers can still buy a home with little to no money down.  As a matter of fact get paid $8,000 to buy a home.  Doesn't get much better than this...!!!