If you are thinking of selling your Tampa area home, it is important to have your home looking its best for showings. You only have one chance to make a great first impression with a home buyer, and of course the best way to make the best first impression is with great curb appeal. You have to be able to get the buyer into the front door, and of course the curb appeal achieves that.
Though there are many ways to improve the value of your home, the video below presents three very simple low cost methods to achieve great results.
I had buyers who came to town and they decided early on that they did not want any short sales or foreclosures.
They did not want to wait months to get an approval for a short sale, finding out some day in the future whether they would get the home or not. They also had friends who purchased a foreclosure home only to go through headaches with issues after they moved in and did not want to buy a home with no disclosures.
Over two days we went to see 17 homes all resales, not in foreclosure and not being sold as a short sale.
My buyers found their right home, I verified with the listing agent that this is not a short sale and will not become a short sale, and then an offer was written and presented through the listing agent. The sellers gave a verbal acceptance but said they would not be able to access their email to get the paperwork during the weekend but would sign it Monday evening when they get home.
On Monday I get a call from the listing agent saying we have a problem. The seller was happy with the offer and based on the net sheet showing the mortgage payoff and the other costs of selling the home they were fine, until the seller asked “how will we pay the home equity loan we took out to pay for a new roof and other repairs.”
Suddenly, we go from a regular resale, to the seller will accept the offer, but now it will have to go through as a short sale.
Obviously, the buyers are not thrilled and now need to go see more homes, find one they like and make another offer, hoping that the next one will turn out better.
One big problem though. I scheduled four days to work with these buyers, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Now I have out of town buyers already scheduled for the rest of the week. Maybe we might finish early one day, or maybe they will find the right home early and I could help my other buyers, but of course I can’t plan on that.
I can’t in good conscience make them wait and of course they do not want to wait. They want a home while they are here.
So now there are two options, find an agent that is available to show them homes each day, or provide the buyers the names and phone numbers of the listing agents so they can schedule showings direct. I personally believe buyers should never buy a home directly through the listing agent, but in this case it might be a necessity.
Working with these folks over the past few months, I have become very aware of just what they are looking for, their needs and wants. They have also become very comfortable working with me, knowing how I work. Things like this of course do happen and they are out of our control, however these are the things that can give us a bad name and of course nobody wins in these situations.
An article in the Wall Street Journal shows the massive issues foreclosures are having in the 23 states that require the foreclosure to go through the judicial process including Florida. There have been many other articles and stories on TV that have also discussed these issues.
Due to the Robo-Signing scandal the private banks and the Government-Owned Mortgage Giants including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fired the law firms that were handling a huge number of their foreclosures.
One firm, The Law Offices of David Stern handled about 20% of all foreclosures in Florida, and were fired by the lenders. The law office now tells judges they cannot do the paperwork required to withdraw from 100,000 cases. Attorney General Pam Bondi is investigating whether the law firm forged notarized documents.
The effect of all this unfortunately is that it is holding up foreclosures which can cause a worsening of the owners credit scores, and can also delay or nullify loan modifications and may result in some foreclosures which are already in the process to have to start over, costing the lenders, investors and the U.S. taxpayers many billions of dollars.
Anything that delays the foreclosures also delays the housing market recovery.
Search for foreclosures, short sales, new homes or resales in the Tampa area.
The article describes several items pointing to better times ahead.
One is the inventory of new homes is extremely low. That is certainly true here in the Tampa Real Estate Market, with many builders having no inventory homes available, or not ready for a few months.
The second is the huge price declines. Could some prices have declined too much? Driven down by the large numbers of foreclosures and short sales we are now facing, we see brand new Tampa area townhouses that were selling for $150,000 in 2006 now being sold for $40,000 – $50,000. For a monthly mortgage payment less than what renters are paying for the same home, it could be prices have gone too low. And these declines are seen across price ranges and types of homes. Even luxury homes that sold for $1.2 million now are going for about $500,000.
Fortune, even picked the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area the fifth best city for home buyers, saying that renters will pay 31.6% more to rent than to own the same home.
Though there are many unknowns with our economy, there are lots of signs that now might be a great time to buy a primary or vacation home in Tampa, or along the beaches of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Imagine waking up in the morning, taking a few steps to the wet bar, where a fresh pot of coffee has just been brewed. Out on the balcony, enjoy the fresh sea air with peaceful views of Tampa Bay including the skylines of downtown Tampa & Saint Petersburg off in the distance. Watch the dolphin and manatee as they pass by. Enjoy watching the sailboat races and the cruise ships as they leave or head back to Tampa.
Maybe play a game of tennis, or head out in your yacht and enjoy fishing in Tampa Bay, or head to one of the gorgeous beaches with blue-green water in the Gulf of Mexico.
Enjoy the incredible sunsets and views of Tampa Bay from your waterfront pool and spa.
This beautiful Mediterranean style home offers the most incredible views, amazing luxury, in the guard gated subidvision of Andalucia, the jewel of Apollo Beach.
We have compiled a FREE list of all townhouses for sale in Wesley Chapel, FL. This list is updated daily, and if you click on the save search link on the list and enter in your name and email address you will automatically receive any new townhouse listings and price changes in your email.
Wesley Chapel, FL is located in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, Florida. Wesley Chapel is a quickly growing area with two malls, a third on the way, lots of restaraunts and shopping, and just short commute to downtown Tampa and the best beaches in the country.
Some of the great townhouse subdivisions in Wesley Chapel, Florida include; Bay at Cypress Creek, Meadow Pointe, Saddle Creek Manor, Santa Fe at Westbrooke, and Seven Oaks.
With the townhouse prices extremely low, in many cases mortgage payments will be lower than renters are paying. Now may be the perfect time to make a townhome purchase.
For those looking to buy or sell a home, it is always a good idea to know how the real estate market is doing locally. The market can be very different from one county to another, and even one zip code to another.
We are providing the February 2011 year over year Housing Market Statistics for Hillsborough County which is where the city of Tampa, FL is located.
Single Family Homes for Sale:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 3,799 homes, down 4.7%
Short Sales – 2,198 homes, down 2.3%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 765 homes, up 171%
Single Family Homes Under Contract:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 521 homes, down 2.3%
Short Sales – 479 homes, up 20.1%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 517 homes, up 166%
Single Family Homes Sold:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 347 homes, down 3.6%
Short Sales – 146 homes, down 11.5%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 333 homes, up 80%
It is important to realize that there are big differences between the types of listings such as regular sales, short sales and REO/bank owned foreclosures.
For buyers we are happy to provide statistics for the neighborhood(s) you are considering, rather than the entire county, along with much more detailed data and information that will help determine the optimal offer to make. And of course when you use Jeff Launiere of Charles Rutenberg Realty as your Licensed Tampa Real Estate Agent our services to you are FREE.
For those looking to buy or sell a home, it is always a good idea to know how the real estate market is doing locally. The market can be very different from one county to another, and even one zip code to another.
We are providing the February 2011 year over year Housing Market Statistics for Pinellas County which is just west of Tampa, FL and south of Pasco County along the Gulf of Mexico.
Single Family Homes for Sale:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 3,905 homes, down 10%
Short Sales – 1,569 homes, down 4.3%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 489 homes, up 117%
Single Family Homes Under Contract:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 413 homes, up 1.5%
Short Sales – 337 homes, up 33%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 325 homes, up 119%
Single Family Homes Sold:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 283 homes, down 1%
Short Sales – 102 homes, down 14%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 228 homes, up 126%
It is important to realize that there are big differences between the types of listings such as regular sales, short sales and REO/bank owned foreclosures.
For buyers we are happy to provide statistics for the neighborhood(s) you are considering, rather than the entire county, along with much more detailed data and information that will help determine the optimal offer to make. And of course when you use Jeff Launiere of Charles Rutenberg Realty as your Licensed Tampa Real Estate Agent our services to you are FREE.
For those looking to buy or sell a home, it is always a good idea to know how the real estate market is doing locally. The market can be very different from one county to another, and even one zip code to another.
We are providing the February 2011 year over year Housing Market Statistics for Pasco County which is just north of Tampa, FL and Hillsborough County and north of Pinellas County along the Gulf of Mexico.
Single Family Homes for Sale:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 2,635 homes, up 1.6%
Short Sales – 1,288 homes, up 4.8%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 483 homes, up 320%
Single Family Homes Under Contract:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 279 homes, up 3%
Short Sales – 209 homes, up 13.6%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 251 homes, up 311%
Single Family Homes Sold:
Regular Sales (no short sales or foreclosures) – 165 homes, down 21%
Short Sales – 76 homes, down 18%
REO/Bank Owned Foreclosures – 200 homes, up 233%
It is important to realize that there are big differences between the types of listings such as regular sales, short sales and REO/bank owned foreclosures.
For buyers we are happy to provide statistics for the neighborhood(s) you are considering, rather than the entire county, along with much more detailed data and information that will help determine the optimal offer to make. And of course when you use Jeff Launiere of Charles Rutenberg Realty as your Licensed Tampa Real Estate Agent our services to you are FREE.
New York Yankees star Derek Jeter's new 30,800 square foot mansion is completed here in Tampa, FL on Davis Island and ready for Derek to live in while here for spring training.
Can you imagine having a master bedroom that is 2,500 square foot, equal to or larger than many homes, with the master bath so far away that you have to be fully awake to get to it.
It has definitely become a tourist attraction and probably will for many years, and it is being called St. Jetersburg by many.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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