Karen 's Blog

Foreclosure in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:44:02 -0600

Here is a list of foreclosure condos for sale in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Al. http://tinyurl.com/yhjgpwu If you would like to be included on my weekly update of foreclosures and sales in the area you can visit my web site at KarensGulfProperties or email me at kjharrison@gulftel.com

Foreclosure Slow?

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:45:31 -0600

We have been seeing many great buys with the many foreclosures for sale along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. With in the last few weeks those foreclosures have begun to decrease. Every week I update those who would like to have my weekly report on sales and foreclosures in the area. For the last few weeks the number of foreclosures are definately down. If you would like to have a copy of that email and be updated on the sales for the week as well as the available forelosure listings in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach areas please email me and I will be happy to add your email to the mailing.

The Beautiful Gulf Coast of Alabama

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:24:44 -0500

If you want to have a view like this for a relaxing weekend at your leisure or for a permenant residence it is time to buy along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. The best deals are really getting picked over. If you would like to be updated on a weekly basis of currently sold prices or foreclosures that area available for sale please send me an email and I will add you to my weekly Gulf Coast Update

The Long of the Short Sale

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:52:11 -0500

I have been working on a short sale since May. It is now October the 23rd. It is extremelty frustrating to me, the buyer, the seller, and the other Realtor. The only people that seem to be content to hold a mortgage that they are now not receiving payment for is the mortgage company. We turned in all our paper work and were told they had a COMPLETE package. A few weeks later they asked for something else and then they asked us to re fax everything......when they continually said they did not receive the fax (even though our fax machine said it went through) they gave us a new fax number. After a few faxes there it was determined that we should try emailing........................................................................

Do the mortgage people not know how to use a fax machine???

This property has been with the negotiator now 8 weeks and we are told this investor is slow. Well all of the sudden the investor looks at it and would you believe that everything is now OUTDATED AGAIN. Now we need to re fax all current information .... oh and we need to send the same distress letter but just put a new date on it DAH!! We need a new BPO which supposedly was ordered on the 8th of Oct but no one has contacted anyone to do it. So now the mortgage company has ordered it again and still no contact has been made. Once again we go through the fax thing where we fax directly to the negotiators fax and she don't get it even though 3 times our fax says that all pages were transmitted successfully!

WAKE UP AMERICA!

If Sellers Only Knew What Buyers Have To Say

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:32:55 -0500

Being in Real Estate sales along the Gulf Coast of Alabama is a unique market. It is generally very easy to do a market analysis or appraisal due to so many properties that are exactly alike. They are alike all but personal touches of the owner such as paint and furniture. If you have a 20 story building on the Gulf Front and the 02 column of the building holds all 2bd units and one of them just sold then you got yourself a comparable property. The problem comes in when you go to list a property and the seller believes that their property is better. They spent more on furniture and they just painted and their view is better.

Here is the thing .... all sellers think they have the best property and all buyers want a deal. If one just sold for 300,000 and you want 400,000 it just is not going to happen. There is just no way. First of all no one will ever even call me to see that property. Many sellers tend to believe that making a new picture or putting a slightly different angle of a picture or adding comments to the listing such as their furniture was imported from New Zealand will cause someone to view their property as the better deal. Buyers just don't get past the price to even look at the pictures or read the comments.

The other problem is that the appraisal just want work for an overpriced property. Now days the appraisal industry is very regulated. If a buyer is getting a loan the property must appraise for the sales price and if the buyer is not getting a loan (with today's market) the buyer definately wants to know they are not over paying.

If you are a seller and you want to sell your property it is in your best interest to price your property to sell. If you would not like to sell your property at that price then you should wait as the market will eventually take a turn. Leaving an overpriced property on the market can make buyers believe that the market is still drastically dropping and therefore make them afraid of purchasing at all. While some buyers are really getting good deals and it is frightening for a seller to see things go for that low of a price, that sort of thing must happen before the market can go up. We have got to get the most motivated and most desperate sellers out of the market to get the prices to go up.

While some sellers truly do have properties that are definately a cut above the rest it is still a bargain basement market. The yard sale will be over soon!

Bottom Of The Market

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:26:29 -0500

I believe along the Gulf Coast of Alabama that the Real Estate Market has seen the bottom. While I say that I must also say that there are still properties on the market that are overpriced. But, we have seen properties begin to sell for more than the last sold prices. This is great news and hopefully the entire country is seeing the same. Interest rates are beginning to increase again this may send us through another slow time. All in all it seems that we are seeing a bit of light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Search my web site to find properties in my area at KarensGulfProperties

Continuing To Change The Market

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:27:06 -0500

In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama we are starting to see more cash buyers. Thank goodness since mortgage loans for 2nd homes and investment properties are difficult. I will tell you that Vision Bank in Gulf Shores is doing a great job getting things financed. They do in house as well as have other lenders they can send things to. I have found they are one of the few getting deals done at the moment.

Changing Market

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:19:08 -0500

Around September of 2005 one day I got up and got ready for the usual busy day, answering phone calls and finding deals for new prospects. Well it wasn't business as usual at all. The phone just stopped, there were no more calls. I became frantic wondering what had happened to my phone. I remember calling my office line and my cell phone just to see if it was really ringing??? Well it was, there was nothing wrong with the phone just the market had totally stopped. The days, weeks, and months to follow were scary. They were scary for me and my clients. It was tough times but we all knew it was just a phase. Finally a year went by and phone calls and sales were more difficult than ever. We had a few pre construction things to close and people weren't wanting to come and close. We worked through that and finally before you knew it another year had past. Now we were wondering will it ever be back and if so when??? Then around November of 2008 the stock market just fell through the floor. What now?? What a difficult time it has been the last few years for investors, realtors, service people, builders, etc.

There is good news. Almost as quickly as the phone stopped it started again. It may stop next week but I thank God for His blessings!! These past 2 weeks have been a total change for me and most realtors I know. Everyone has clients. Sellers that are realistic have buyers and buyers have a dream market. Buyer Be Ware the tide is turning quickly things are changing as quickly as they changed in 2005. It is time for the deal.

Auctions

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:57:49 -0600

There is an upcoming Auction scheduled for Feb. 7, 2009 at San Carlos Condominiums on the beach in Gulf Shores. These condos have been selling for around 275/sq ft. According to the advertising there will 30 Condos auctioned absolute. If anyone would like more information please contact me at 251-942-3764 or check out the auction company web site at www.nationalauctiongroup.com Happy Bargain Shopping!!

Gulf Front Condos

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:54:09 -0600

I just can't believe the deals out there right now. There are short sales, foreclosures and just out right great deals. Check out my web site for my listings and check the mls listings on my site for general listing information.

I have scheduled lots of showings on my listings this year and most everyday I add a new showing to the list. I have put one of my listings under contract and am working on getting a buyer a really great deal for a Gulf Front 1bd unit. This has been a somewhat stressful time for Realtors but if you are patient people are really getting some great deals.

Short Sales

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:23:55 -0600

Hello Fellow Realtors! I would like to hear from you guys and find out how many short sales are you are experiencing. I am currently working on a short sale and it is very frustrating, the lender already has all the information they need and they are now on vacation or something like that and not responding at all. The buyer is getting antsy!! Do the banks not understand or are they just ADD and can't realize that if they let a property foreclose it cost them a lot more than taking a good offer on a short sale? This offer was put in early Dec. and now a month later we don't have anything finalized. I expect delays but come on with it!!!

Exciting New Prospects

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:54:36 -0600

Hey Guys, I hope all of you are experiencing the same as us on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. This market seems to have hit bottom and I am scheduling appointments right and left. I scheduled 11 showings on New Years day and 5 the day before. This is good news!!! The market is at the bottom the interest rates are at the bottom and buyers are in the business of buying and sellers are in the business of selling!!! Great news!! It will be a great 2009!

Gulf Coast Real Estate

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:39:07 -0600

I just wrote a blog a few days ago about it now being time to buy. In the following days, unrelated to my blog, I wrote 2 offers. I have now lowered a price on a gulf front 1bd property to an all time low of 189,900.00. I have already recieved my first call. Yep, It is time to buy!

Interest Rates Down Down Down

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:26:01 -0600

Buyers are you sitting on the fence??? Interest rates have never been this low, do you think they will ever be this low again? Prices have never been this low, what more do you need? There is now, once again money to be made in Real Estate. I am sure it will not be an overnight success but what worth the time and effort is?? I predict that by March of 09 Real Estate will stabilize and begin to gradually increase. With this turn there will be more positive movement with the economy. Just as the economy has come to a hault with the decline of the Real Estate Market it will the same way begin to make a come back with the come back of the Real Estate Market. Buy now!!! Once the market begins to move it will be too late to get the best deals. Now at the time of the seasons with Real Estate notoriously being slow many sellers are nervous. What better time to make an offer to a nervous seller and get the best possible deal ever!

Karen Harrison

RE/MAX of Orange Beach

251-942-3764

Repair Your Price

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:24:47 -0600

I specialize in selling Gulf Front properties. People are always asking me should they fix this or fix that because after all there are 20 other properties on the market that are just like theirs and they want to SELL. FIX YOUR PRICE. Condo properties are easier to price than most properties because everything in that building is basically just like the other. When we have the type of market that is currently happening I see sellers being very emotional. When the market is a sellers market the buyers are more emotional. What this means is it is very difficult for sellers to realize that yes, Mr. & Mrs. Seller you have a very nice place but Mr. & Mrs. Buyer are looking for a great deal. Mr. & Mrs. Buyer are 90% non emotional, don't have to buy, and don't care if they have to spend $1,000.00 to make your unit look exactly like the one that is priced $5,000.00 more. YOU MUST BE THE LOWEST PRICE!!! To get the looker. Hey someone may still decide to make the offer that they might have made on yours to the person that is priced $5,000.00 more and they may get it and they may pick that one over yours. But you must do everything in your power to be the most appealing property. When there are 20 other units that are basically just like yours execpt for paint and drapes do what you can to control the buyer. What can you do???? FIX YOUR PRICE.....That is all that is in your power. The market may continue to drop if it does you still must fix your price.

How Many Properties Should You Show

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 08:52:01 -0500

Well, How many properties should you show in one day? I spoke with a Real Estate Agent yesterday who had showed one of my listings. I called to follow up on the showing so that I could give my sellers some feed back. This agent said "Now which one was yours, I showed 18 properties". 18 properties???!!! How could you possibly sell anything if you show 18 properties in the same day. The agent didn't even remember exactly what my listing even looked like so......how could the prospect possibly know or remember what they saw?

Please feel free to give me all your feed back. I want to know if other agents do this sort of thing? Now it just so happens that I am showing today and the prospect has near that many that she wants to look at also. However, I have given her more information on the properties and she has narrowed them down. Then we went a little further to age and location and I was able to narrow them down even further. We are now down to 5 properties that actually interest her. She wants to make an offer and has picked the best buys, properties, and locations to see.

Wouldn't it be easier on selling agents, listing agents, buyers, and sellers to cut out some of the properties that just don't qualify first and save a lot of time not to mention greatly improving your chances of writting an offer? Now I do know there are clients who you just can't tell any different and they may be buyers too. My suggestion is to show these properties over several days and everyday rule out the ones that just won't work.

This web site has some articles about how pictures can help narrow your prospect down to more specific properties before they start to look. www.technologyevangelist.com

GO ZONE ELIGABLE PROPERTY

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:55:29 -0500

Here is a property that is go zone eligable. It is the lowest price in this building for the size. It is a penthouse in a new building in Orange Beach and is on the back water so it is perfect for those who love boating. The unit boast of 2 master suites over looking the water. This property is listed at 1,199,000.00. This would be a $600,000.00 tax deduction for the person who would qualify. Go Zone Opportunity ends at the end of this year!

http://www.navica2.net/displays/?n=234&i=3249992&k=vKYK

or visit my web page at www.karensgulfproperties.com

Go Zone Ends Dec 31 2008

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:38:28 -0500

Hey All!! I just want to remind everyone or anyone looking for a tax break that the Go Zone tax benefit will end at the end of this year.

Go Zone is a tax benefit that was brought about due to hurricane's Rita, Wilma and Katrina for certain effected counties in Alabama, and Mississippi. This means that if you qualify and the property qualifies you can take a 50% tax deduction after your purchase. Do you want to deduct 250,000.00 in taxes??? Then purchase a 500,000.00 rental income producing new property in a county that qualifies for this deduction. Take your tax deduction then rent out your property and you just created yourself a gold mine, especially in todays reduced priced market.

This web site may be a good source of information http://www.gozoneonline.com/?gclid=CP2MxqzpvpYCFQIyxwodrWuixA

Click on the above link for more information. I have properties listed that may apply and I have information on other properties for sale that may also apply. Check out my web site or contact me for more information at www.karensgulfproperties.com

Hope to hear from you ALL soon!!

What To Ask For When Purchasing a Condominium

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:36:23 -0500

There are a few important documents that you should ask for when making an offer to purchase a condominium. You really need to know what kind of financial stability the association has and there are several documents that can help you check this out thoroughly.

1. Financial Statement of the Association

2. Budget

3. Exactly what do the monthly fees cover?

4. Minutes of the last few association meetings

5. Ask the Seller to disclose any upcoming assessments

6. Find out if there are any units currently in foreclosure in the building and what the status of those dues are.

7. If you are purchasing an income producing property you would need to get a copy of any rents booked and you would also want a rental history to see what the income history is for the property.

8. Condo Docs - Very Important. You need to know what the rules are about parking, pets, etc.

9. Insurance Information - How much of the building insurance does the monthly fees cover - are there yearly additional assessments to cover the insurance?

10. What sort of maintenance issues need to be addressed for the building or have been addressed in the past.

11. Pending Litigation - Are there currently any legal battles looming?

These items that are very important and will help you to uncover any potential surprises before you close.

Great Buys

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:46:24 -0500

I am sure we all could share a good bit of Great Buys!! Here are some investment properties and residential homes in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area along the coast of Alabama. My Motivated sellers

There are rental histories available for most of these properties.

Please share some of your properties with me.

Real Estate Trades

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:35:01 -0500

This is a subject I get a lot. I work in a market that is mostly vacation rental propery (investment property) and with the current economic situation most people need to sell and can't really do a trade. If there WAS someone willing to trade don't sell yourself short by settling for a property that isn't just perfect for you when you could have just what you want.

For example.....I believe that people think, Ok I will trade my property and get top dollar but I will get the other persons property for exactly what it is worth in todays market. WRONG!! It is dollar for dollar. So if you are going to have to bring 100,000.00 to the table anyway why not get what you want? A trade is just finding 2 people that like each others property enough to switch. Hey that is what a buyer and seller is too just involves more people!!! Just sell your property, as my broker says, for the "haircut" price then go out and give someone else the same "haircut"!! Then everyone has what they want.

Here is a great listing to consider if you want to purchase along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. A Tradewinds Gulf Front Condominium 1bd/2ba, complex has indoor pool and outdoor pool and is located centally on the beach in Orange Beach, Al. Asking price is 239,000.00 and the potential rental income is $18,000.00 - $22,000.00 per year. This unit has done a little less probably needs a little spruce up but seller motivated. Check this listing and others out at www.karensgulfproperties.com

Can Someone Help Me With Remax Web

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:43:12 -0500

I have just joined the Remax team in Orange Beach, Al. I am very excited to be here. I worked with Century 21 years ago and had forgotten about the perks of working for a national company. Remax is great! The web materials and the lead generation are very exciting to me. I do have some questions if anyone would be able to help??

Other agents in my company are getting leads from the web site. Our site in our office is set so that we get randomly distributed leads for the zip code. I have been here a month and haven't gotten any leads. I have gone over my site with my office manager and we can't find anything wrong. Does anyone have any possible answers?

Also I have checked out my name on the web to see if I can find my site with google. The only way I come up in any search engine is to type in the web site domain exactly. Is there anything I can do through the SEO part of the site to help this situation?

Thanks, Karen Harrison Remax of Orange Beach

Foreclosure Deals At The Beach

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:20:33 -0500

Have you ever thought about owning a gulf front property on the beaches of Alabama? Well even if you hadn't now would be the time to think about it. Foreclosures aren't just plauqing the housing market but they are also happening on high end properties on the beaches. These are properties that you can get into just right and cash flow with rental income.

In the past years it has been difficult if not impossible to find a property that would actually cash flow at the beach. However, with the decline of the housing market it is increasingly a possibility to find that sort of situation. If you can find a property that will cash flow why not!! You put money into something that will appreciate and while you are waiting on the appreciation you collect rent.

Just last week a 2bd unit that would do around 25,000.00 gross in rental income a year was listed for 199,000.00. This was a direct Gulf Front property in a building with an indoor and outdoor pool! Not too many deals to be found that good but it is possible. If you do decide to be in that kind of market be ready to act. This property was only on the market for 4 days with multiple offers before it went under contract.

For properties along Alabama beaches check out my web site at www.karensgulfproperties.com or email me or give me a call and I can help you find a foreclosure that might be of interest to you. It is sometimes difficult to find updated current information on the web. Some foreclosure sites may require you to sign up and / or pay to be a member.

Vacation Rentals By Owner

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:31:44 -0500

Has anyone heard of this web site?? www.vrbo.com This has become a very popular site for a lot of vacation type property owners along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. If you have an investment property that you are looking to rent yourself, this is the place to be. My clients that have signed up on this site are doing probably 25% more rentals than they are doing with local large rental management companies.

This is huge!!! These property owners sign up on this site for a couple of hundred $$$ per year and they rent their properties themselves. One client told me that the down side was that people call trying to rent for less. This particular client has made it possible for his people to book on line. If they book on line he offers a discount, if they call they don't get the discount.

Here are a couple of pointers for doing this sort of rental yourself....

1. Make sure you connect with someone in the area that can do your cleaning.

2. Sometimes there are small rental companies in the area that will charge you a very small fee for making sure your guest get a key and the cleaning is taken care of.

3. Have a list of local businesses available incase of problems.

4. If you are using a lock box system make sure your cleaning person changes the lock box after every cleaning and gives you a new code. This will protect you from those people who may think they can drop in anytime.

5. Along the Gulf Coast of Alabama, vacation rental management companies charge an average of 25% to the owner for their services. A few hunderd dollars a year is a huge savings, not to mention that more people will book by owner just because they think they are getting a savings.

Condominium Ownership

Karen Harrison (Remax of Orange Beach) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:54:34 -0500

My primary area of expertise is condominium ownership and vacation properties. I can't tell you how exciting it is to work with condominiums on the beaches of Alabama. I have been in business here since 1999. I have met so many new people from all over the country. People really like being able to enjoy the experience of purchasing and owning a condominium. The huge advantage to owning a vacation property that is a condominium is the worry free maintenance aspect. Oh yes there is upkeep but the association is in control of all that. Each month you pay a fee for all of the upkeep and management on your condo. Some of you may say you want to purchase something that doesn't have the fees....well....the fees go for things you are going to be paying for anyway. The fees cover things like insurance on the building, common area taxes, water, sewage, trash pick up, pool maintenance, lawn upkeep and pest control. Some fees even cover cable, internet, and phone services. Basically when you own a property in a condominium along the coast of Alabama you can expect to pay your monthly payment, if you have a mortgage, your electricity for your individual unit, possibly telephone service, on a yearly basis the contents insurance policy and your own personal taxes for you unit, and most importantly the monthly association fees.

Purchasing a vacation property is probably easier than you may anticipate. For example when you purchase a condo it is generally already furnished and many are already in an established rental management program. So you can close at home in Illinois or where ever you live and never even interrupt the rental process.

You can check out my web site for my listings and you can also search the MLS from my web site as well.