Carlos "Chaz"'s Blog

Why bother with REO's?

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:37:41 -0600

What is the use of showing REO's? BY the time you place an offer after it is listed they always have 10-15 offers. Your client gets excited and they even bid higher than asking price but don't get the property anyways.

Buyer's now want to deal directly with the REO listing agent because they feel they have a much better shot at getting the home. I think there are some real ethical questions concerning inside information on REO properties.

I have found it a lot better to deal with a regular listing and negotiate them down close to the price of a foreclosure. Those homes are in much better shape anyways and makes for a much smoother sale.

For example a 3/2 REO single family home gets listed for 210K, they receive multiple offers and it ends p selling for 235K. Why not find the same home which is a regular sale for 260K and negotiate them down close to 235K? Even if you spend a few extra bucks, almost always the home is in much better shape.

Chaz

It's getting a little bit better....

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:20:43 -0500

As a Full_Time Realtor® for the past 11 years I never saw a downturn like the one we saw in 2007. For about a year and a half I couldn't get anyone to consider buying anything. The newscasts predicted that the market would keep bottoming out for some time to come. So everyone of my buyer's were just sitting on the fence.

Well lately things have started to change. I have a lot of buyer's calling me that want to buy a home NOW.

I have Realtors® in my office that have a lot of pending deals also.

I hope this is a good sign for all of us. After 10 years I almost was forced out of the profession I love. Now it looks like things are getting back to normal. :-)

Chaz Mena
RE/MAX Premier Associates
Weston, FL.
954-804-1284 Direct

Paying off your Mortgage in record time.

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:36:50 -0500

Is it possible to effectively pay off a 30-year mortgage

in as little as 8 to 11 years?

Most homeowners realize they will pay about twice the purchase price of their home on a traditional mortgage-a mortgage that will take about 30 years to pay off.

Now there is a way to break that cycle of financial drain-the Money Merge Account. Developed by a team of financial experts with years of experience in the mortgage industry, the MMA rapidly reduces the principal of your mortgage, practically eliminating the interest from accruing on your loan. Your 30-year mortgage can now be paid off in about 8 to 11 years, with no change to your lifestyle or refinancing of your existing mortgage.

The Money Merge Account is not a bi-weekly payment or debt roll-down system. It's an entirely new approach that gives homeowners flexibility with their money and complete financial freedom.

A side-by-side comparison of a traditional mortgage repayment shows the savings potential using the MMA system. A 30-year, $136,000 mortgage at 5.25%, when paid through conventional monthly payments, will result in a 30-year total repayment of $270,784 - nearly twice the cost of the home.

The MMA program can repay the same mortgage in 11.3 years with a total repayment of $181,217. An incredible savings of $89,566 is realized on the same income, with the same mortgage, at the same interest rate, and without any changes to your standard of living. MMA is simply one of the fastest ways to repay a mortgage and be on your way to financial freedom.

United First Financial is an innovative company that helps American homeowners reach their financial goals. Our interest reduction solution puts the deed of your home in your hands in a fraction of the regular time by utilizing banking strategies, which have been around for decades.

The Money Merge Account (MMA)-a powerful tool to help you fulfill your dream of home ownership and save money for your future. The average MMA customer will pay their 30-year mortgage off 100% within 8 to 11 years-with little change to their day-to-day spending habits and without increasing their monthly mortgage payments.

A mortgage-free future is closer than you can imagine.

Carlos "Chaz" Mena is an independent agent with United First Financial and a Florida licensed Realtor with Re/Max Hometown in Weston. To learn how United First Financial can work for you, please call Chaz at 954-804-1284 or you can visit http://www.mergeyouraccounts.com/.

Is the Real Estate Market bouncing back?

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 08:15:57 -0600

I have been reading a lot of articles like this one: http://southflahomes.com/blog/index.asp that says that the South Florida market seems to be bouncing back.

I have noticed lately that I am getting more showings on my listings and more calls from buyers looking to purchase homes. I n fact on Monday Feb 5, I got 3 emails from different buyers interested in purchasing new homes in the South Florida area.

I hope that this is a sign of things to come. The market is still flooded with properties for sale but if buyers start scooping up the good deals we might finally level off and the market could start turning.

How is the market in your areas?

Good luck to all,

Carlos "Chaz" Mena
Remax Hometown
954-804-1284
www.SouthFlaHomes.com

Real Estate coaching

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 11:24:15 -0600

I have heard from many Realtors that Real Estate coaches really work. I have never used a coach but am considering trying it out to see if they work. I know that some are affordable and others are very expensive.

I would appreciate any comments on this and any recommendations on specific coaches.

Thanks,

Chaz Mena

Remax Hometown

http://www.southflahomes.com/

The Tides are turning

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:51:17 -0500

The South Florida Real Estate market has been going down since the beginning of the year. One obvious reason is due to the torrid pace the market was going through during 2004-2005. Sellers were are trying to get more than the appraisal amount cause buyers were in frenzy and abided with the sellers wishes. Starting at the end of 2005 article after article was posted in every newspaper publication about how the housing bubble was about to burst. Buyers started getting afraid to buy figuring that market would continue to fall.

But now I suddenly see a change coming. I have noticed articles now are becoming more encouraging towards our market. For example;

September surprise: Housing starts rise 5.9%

By Bob Willis
Bloomberg News
Posted October 19 2006

http://southflahomes.com/blog/index.asp

Existing home sales could start bouncing back in 6 months in S. Florida

By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted October 12 2006

http://southflahomes.com/blog/index.asp

I see the tides are turning and I see the market turning around sooner than we think. Let’s hope for all of this is true, I am looking forward to a bright future for our profession.

Carlos “Chaz” Mena
Remax Hometown
954-804-1284
http://www.southflahomes.com/

Building bonds with Repair Technicians

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:44:00 -0500

Why do Air Conditioners only break at night? It always seems to happen that if an AC is going to break it will always break after hours when no repair technicians are available and if you can get someone to come out it will cost you an arm an a leg.

As a value added service to my clients I make sure to find repair technicians in every field that I can trust and refer business to. Over the years I have made good relationships with AC technicians, plumbers, electricians, handy man etc. I make my clients aware that I know people thank can help them in a time of need and to call me if they ever need anything.

During the course of a year I usually get 8-10 calls from my clients and I refer them the appropriate person. This has helped me to build a stronger bond with my clients and have turned them into more like friends. In the past few years I have received more referrals and have built a better rapport with my past clients.

Just food for thought.

My Sunday Thoughts

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 08:05:38 -0500

The other day I was thinking to myself this buyer's market that we are in can be good or bad for Realtors depending on whether you are listing type of agent or a buyer's agent. A lot of the listing agents I know are having a rough time right now because listings are just staying on the market forever.

I have a listing that just finally went under contract that I have had since March and another that doesn't even get shown at all since April. The listings are lower than previous sales and in great conditions. My other listings get shown but no contracts yet.

So lately I have gotten aggressive towards finding buyers. Since I have been mostly a buyer's agent my whole career it can now be very rewarding with the higher commissions and bonuses that are out there. Fewer sales but more money in commissions.

In Real estate you just have learn to roll with the changes.

Good Luck,

Carlos "Chaz" Mena
Remax Hometown
http://www.southflahomes.com/

Having a Producing Website

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 09:04:56 -0500

Having a website now in our business is mandatory. Statistics show that more and more people everyday search the Internet to purchase their next home and to sell their present home. I started my own website back in 1999 and although at the beginning I didn't start seeing results, in the past 3 years the return I get off my website for the advertising dollars I put into it every year is more than 10 fold. It is a no-brainer to me.

Now I advertise my website on cable and print advertising and I also pay an Internet marketing company $250.00 per month to work on getting my website ranked higher and higher in the search engines. My website now gets thousands of unique visitors a month and is producing like I thought it would at the beginning. It also gets me a lot of clients from out of town that are planning to move to the South Florida area.

It takes so time and effort and a little patience, but having a website that produces is essential in our business.

Good Luck,

Carlos "Chaz" Mena
Remax Hometown
http://www.southflahomes.com/

The Good Title company

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 08:50:39 -0500

When I first got into real estate back in 1999 I started using a Title Company I will call ABC Title and Escrow. They were the best they were very attentive to my clients needs, they charged very competitive fees and also gave me the best attention possible. Whenever I called I got help right away and if someone was busy they would return my call within 30 minutes. I use to always close right on time and never had to call to make sure that everything was being done.

In the past year everything has changed. My clients started calling me all the time saying that they would call but nobody would ever call them back. I would have to make several calls on behalf of my client in order for them to get a call back. It got to the point where they would not even call me back and I would have to call the President of the company to complain. The Title Company has grown immensely but unfortunately the services have gone down hill.

I had several talks with the President who I have known for years and he promised me everything would be taken care of. Unfortunately things did not change and I was forced to find another Title Company to use for my closings.

I have recently started using another company, which has been in business for about 5 years and is relatively small (About 10-12 employees). I am back to getting excellent service and my clients are all happy as well. I hope this time things don't change again. Sometimes when you get too big you forget the Realtors that brought you all the business at the beginning.

My Life as a Realtor

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 13:30:35 -0500

Have you ever noticed how so many people in other professions don't respect Realtors? They think we take a listing, it sells itself then you go to the closing table and collect that "Big" commission check for basically doing nothing.

WOW... they have no idea what we do.

Let's see reality now......

One of your old clients calls you and they want to sell their home and want you to list it for them, but of course they want you to immediately take a reduced commission. You show up at the listing and the house looks like crap. The floors are dirty, the house is full of clutter, it is in bad need of work and you can smell the cat's litter box when you open the door and by the way the litter box is in an upstairs bathroom. Your client tells you he wants top dollar for the listing. At this point I feel like saying , "You guys live like pigs", but of course I can't so I give them tips instead to make sure the home looks good when it is showed. I fight hard to not reduce my commission and in the end I explain to the client that in these market conditions we need to expose the home to as many potential buyers as possible. He agrees.

The home now starts to get shown and you field about 100 calls from Realtors and you schedule every appointment for the next 3 months until finally you get an offer. The offer comes in lower than you expected and you go back and forth for 3 days until finally a contract is executed, by now the contract has been faxed so many times that you can't even read it.

Now is when the works starts.

At this point you have to start dealing with the other Realtor, Mortgage Company, Home Inspector, Title Company, Appraiser etc...

You field about 368 calls in a 45 day period before closing, by now you have sent or received about 124 pages of faxes which require you to get some more $45 toner and that is if the Home Inspector doesn't send you his 84 page inspection report which require even more toner.

The deal is going smooth to this point but all of sudden out of nowhere, the appraisal doesn't come in for the selling price. My client doesn't want to hear it; we have to lower the price by $5,000. The buyer doesn't want to budge either so you go back in forth for the next 3 days until finally you are exhausted, but you get your seller to give in and lower the selling price.

We are back to sailing along until the home inspection report comes in. The house needs $6,500 in repairs. My client says are you crazy this home is in perfect conditions as your nose hairs start to singe from the awful urine smell of the litter box.You finally get your client to agree before any further damage is done to your nostrils and you leave.

Your back to sailing along until the other Realtor calls you and says that his client is trying to back out of the deal because he is not happy with the interest rate he is getting. You tell the Realtor that he is still under contract and he has to convince his client like I did on the appraisal and the inspection reports to go forward with the deal. The other Realtor does a great job and it looks like clear sailing from here to closing.

The closing day. The closing company forgets to schedule it properly the parties involved can not make it to the closing table at the same time and why is that? Because the closing company forgot that this was a "mail away" closing due to the fact that one party is in another state. Great now the closing date gets moved for 3 days no one is happy and I have to go back and forth to get addendums signed. By now I am frustrated, my blood pressure keeps climbing and my wife asks me, "Are you going to drink again tonight"?

Finally everything gets signed at the closing table and I finally am about to receive my commission check, but wait. The deal had not been funded and I have to wait until tomorrow to pick it up. By now I would drive to North Pole to pick it up.

I think I need to raise my marketing fee again, this is too much damn work........

Reduced Commissions

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:50:19 -0500

In this buyers market it is hard for me to figure out why a Broker would discount his or her commission in order to get a listing. Listings are staying longer and longer on the market and I find myself working 2 or 3 times harder to sell the home. Not to mention the cost of advertising dollars have increased in order to get the listing to sell. So why would I want to work longer hours and have to put out more money then go ahead and reduce my commission.

Sometimes I find it insulting when a Realtor is offering me a reduced commission to bring them a client. If you want to reduce your own commission that is fine but why lower the selling agents side?

Makes no sense to me.... Go figure.

My Deal and the Church

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:23:06 -0500

The other day a long time friend of mine called me and he wanted to know if I could help a friend of his from church sell his home in Miami Springs. The elderly male was living alone in deplorable conditions. His wife had died 2 years ago and right afterwards there was a flood in the home. When I walked in the home the floors had buckled and the drywall was broken and falling down everywhere. There had been a roof leak in the past and the ceiling looked like it was about to come down. The home also had mold and termites.

I told my friend that before I could take the listing I wanted my home inspector to come over and give me his opinion on the home. I was told the old man had no money for the home inspection so I told my friend I would take care of it. The home inspector arrived several days later but told me the house needed numerous repairs and that it would be a waste of time and money to do a full inspection.

I then studied the market to see what I could list a home for in theses conditions in a nice area of Miami Springs. I came to the conclusion that the home would be worth in its present conditions for about $250,000. I listed the property on a Friday and received about 15 calls over the weekend. By Monday I had received 4 written offers and 1 verbal offer. All of the offers were between $240,000 and $255,000. The higher offers had financing contingencies and the others were cash deals. I advised the client that I did not feel that a home in these conditions would probably not pass inspections or appraisals, so I advised him to negotiate with one of the cash contracts, which we did, and by Tuesday we had a fully executed contract.

But the story does not end here.....

Several days after we had an executed contract I started getting a lot of phone calls from my seller's "Church and Bible Study Classes" friends who were questioning my sale. They wanted to know why I was selling the home and why my seller never notified them. I told them that my seller had contracted with me as a Realtor to work on his behalf with the sale of his home. I continued getting phone calls over the next few days about why my seller had no attorney representing him and basically questioning my practices. They wanted me to fax them copies of the contract along with my client's paperwork. I told them that if my client decided to retain an attorney I would gladly send him or her copies of my file but I could not send it to them since legally they had no right to receive such copies. The phone calls kept coming even now from the church president himself who basically was accusing my friend, who referred me the seller, and myself of trying to take advantage of the old man. Things started getting nasty, but through it all I never raised my voice and kept working in a professional manor. The church friends finally convinced my seller to use an attorney that was also a church member to review my deal and handle the closing for my seller. The attorney called me one day and said she was representing my seller. I told her to send me a copy that my seller signed to retain her, which she did.

I then quickly sent her all the copies of my file with everything the seller had signed.

I finally stopped receiving calls from the "Church Buddies" who finally had to come to the realization that all of the work I had done was professional and I had held myself to highest standards and code of ethics as a Realtor.

I don't know what you learn in Bible Study classes these days, but I am sure it is not to make accusations first then have to say your sorry later.

South Florida Hurricanes

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:18:39 -0500

Well we are finally in the active season of hurricanes again down here in South Florida. Some people tell me that retirees might be frightened off by this act of nature. I say they won't be.

Although hurricanes can cause severe damage to homes, there are much worse natural disasters that linger out there. With a hurricane you at least have to time to prepare. Sometimes as much as a week before it makes landfall. With tornadoes or earthquakes you hardly if at all have time to prepare.

The baby boomers start retiring now and I don't believe they will stop retiring to South Florida because of a fear of hurricanes.

Hurricanes are just part of life in South Florida, you just have to be aware and be prepared.

Time to weed out the "newbee" Realtors.

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:24:24 -0500

Over the past few years a lot of people have gone out and gotten their Real Estate License because they saw the big boom and thought to themselves, "Wow, it is easy to make money in real estate. I got tired with how many times people told me that their sister or mother or girlfriend just got their license and was going to list their home for them. I explained to them of the downside with using an inexperienced agent and fortunately I was able to convince some of them. I am not saying anything bad about people who get their license to work part-time, but I definitely would not use a part-time Doctor, Attorney or any other important profession. To most people buying a home is the biggest investment they will ever make in their lives. A full time professional Realtor in my opinion is the only person I would ever use.

Well, now the times have changed and those people are either already out of the business or not making any money at all. Real Estate is definitely not a part-time business. The market changes daily and if you aren't working in it full time you will never make any money in it. You will also be doing a disservice to your customer.

Not to be mean, but to all the people that are out of the business I say, Ce la vie, sianara, good luck and good bye. Oh and please don't forget to biggie size that order for me.

Current South Florida Market Conditions

Carlos "Chaz" Mena (RE/MAX Premier Associates) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 18:13:28 -0500

This Buyer's market that we are in is BOOMING. More and more properties are staying on the market an average of 3-6 months at the least. Sellers are complaining and buyer's want to make you go out and show them 100 homes before they make a decision. What is a Realtor to do?

I start off by being very honest with my Sellers. I advise them of the present market conditions and the length of time their home might be on the market. I also advise them of the importance to pay out a commission that would make other agents want to show it before another home in the same area. I also suggest to the seller that if we have already lowered the list price and the home is priced fairly, it might be a good idea to try and offer a "bonus" to the selling agent instead of another price reduction in order to stimulate more showings of the property.

In this market the average homeowner is already making a good return on his investment and Realtors have to work much harder to sell homes. So it just makes sense to reward the selling agent with an additional incentive instead of having the home sit stagnant on the market for a long time.

With my buyers I make sure to qualify them as good as possible before I start setting up showings. There is a lot of homes on the market and if you don't qualify them good you will end up showing them a lot of homes that they wouldn't want anyway. My suggestion is to Qualify, Qualify and then Qualify them again. Make sure you go over precisely what they are looking for so you don't waste your time or your buyers time.

Once I find a home that my buyers wish to put an offer on, I make sure to go over with them how legally binding a Florida Real estate contract is and make sure they want to go ahead in writing the contract. The reason I do this is because in this market you can run the risk that a buyer places on offer with you on a property than before the closing date a friend or relative tells them about a home that might be a better price or a foreclosure in the same area. The buyer then is trying to do everything he can to try to get out of the contract you wrote. It can become a very sticky situation at that point so be prepared to have all your I's dotted and T's crossed.

These are hard time for our market but if we work hard and do our homework we will make it through with flying colors.

Don't forget, the Baby Boomers start retiring now and another boom is lurking in the near future.

Good Luck :-)

Chaz Mena
Remax Hometown
954-804-1284