Hi Everyone!
Are you thinking about buying?
So here we are, mid May 2008 and we are hearing rumblings saying that we are at the bottom! I think I'm starting to believe it too. To me one of the big signs that the market is starting to turn is the amount of offers on contracts. More and more these days we are seeing multiple offers on many properties. Ok, now those properties are listed below everyone else in the market, but they are selling and lots of buyers want them!
So what does it mean to you? I don't know! If you have been waiting for the bottom, this may be it. This may be the best possible time to ever buy a home again. I do know that Interest rates are still hovering around 6%. How do you know if you are buying at the bottom? You don't! Well you do actually, it's when the market is going back up. Yes, the only time you can be for sure that we are at the bottom, it will be to late because we will be on the way up. They say that you never really buy at the bottom. You either buy on the way down or on the way up.
Here is the reality. If you are looking to buy a home that you plan on living in for an extended time period (more than 5 years), then we are close enough to the bottom that it shouldn't matter. If you are looking for investment, there are tons of homes that are great prices and won't last long! Either way, this is a great time to buy a home and actually if you need to sell, price it right and it will sell!
Do you need to sell?
Right now there are only two aspects of selling a home. First and foremost is price. Second is exposure. If you are listings your home, price it right and make sure that your Agent (Hopefully a Tropical Realty Agent), is using the best tools available to market. If your Agent isn't using the Internet in a big way, you are not getting maximum exposure. A well marketed website is going to get your home exposed more than anything. We tell all our customers to price their home at least 5% lower than the competition. Of course many don't want to hear that, but then they can't really want to sell their homes.
I do want to spend a second talking about price. For each month that your home is on the market, it becomes more difficult to sell. Therefore if you price your home to high to begin with, it may not receive any traffic from potential buyers and you will waste valuable time. If your Realtor shows you comps that your home is worth $200k and you need to sell it, don't tell your Agent that it's worth $240k. It's not. In fact, if your Realtor says $200k, you should list for $190k. As I said, we suggest 5% below the market.
We are averaging less than 5% of the single family homes on the market selling per month and even less condos selling. The ones that sell are "IN" the market. The ones that don't are "ON" the market. If you are going to sell your home, it's imperative that you are "IN" the market. Don't fool yourself that your home is so much better than your neighbor who sold his house in 2005 for $295,000. That was then...this is now. I don't like being so blunt, but I have found that their really isn't any other way to be when talking with our customers. Fortunately I"m not a Broker that is willing to inflate the price to you so we can get your listing and then have it sit there without any action. Thirty to forty-five days later that Realtor is going to be asking you to reduce your price if you want to sell. That's the most important selling days you have just thrown away. Price it right to start and sell it quickly!
That's it for now. As always, if you need anything please let us know. Have a great week!
Mitch
Monday, May 12, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another Successful Tropical Realty Charity Golf Tournament!
Hi Everyone!
Sorry I haven't been writing lately as things have been extremely busy at the office and in putting on our 4th annual Charity Golf Tournament. First the tournament:
Every year we seem to get a little better at running these tournaments. This year was very smooth and we had so much fun. We will have pictures on the site shortly from the tournament.
As you may or may not know, this year our tournament is supporting Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS). SWS is a very rare disease that can be noticed by the port wine stain on its victims. Unfortunately, my granddaughter, Lola, is one of its victims. In very rare cases, the stain gets into the brain and begins to calcify. At that point, the child will develop seizures (Lola has had two in her two years of life) and possibly learning disabilities, mental retardation, stroke and possibly death. The hardest part for my family is the fact that there is no diagnosis. There is no way to know what and when this will attack Lola.
We have been blessed that so far Lola's two seizures were not damaging at all. She is and will always be on anti seizure medicine twice a day, every day. We pray daily as do many of our friends that when she does have another seizure, it's not her last.
So the tournament this year is very personal to me. Lola is the light of my life and is always smiling and laughing. She is great! Our tournament this year had a record 112 players from all over the area and even my closest friend of 40 years from Boston. Everyone had a great time and everyone was very generous. We haven't figured out the totals yet but we are sure that we are around $11,000 in donations. My wife has also raised an additional $2,000 or so. Lola spent her day running around the golf course smiling and laughing and warming the hearts of everyone there. It's hard to believe when looking at her that there is anything wrong with her. She is the perfect two year old!
Business
Business has been great! Buyers are finally realizing that this IS the best time to buy a home. The prices are amazing. I just sold a home to one of my long time customers that would have been over $500k two years ago for $325k. It's an amazing house at an amazing price. There are so many opportunities for the buyer. Of course that is one of the downfalls for us too. There are so many great deals out there right that everyone is having a hard time making decisions on which great house to buy!
Are we at the bottom? I believe so, but you know that it's impossible to know until we start going up. At that point you have missed the bottom. That is why I tell everyone that if you wait to see where the bottom is, you will have missed the bottom. The only thing I know for sure is, right now you can buy a home with a 6% mortgage. If you wait until homes appear to be at the bottom, usually on the way up, we don't know what the mortgage rate is going to be.
If you have been on the fence, this is the time! If you have wanted to invest in real estate, this is the time! If you are thinking about buying your first home, this is the time! If you are moving to Florida to retire, this is the time! If you are looking for a vacation home, this is the time. Finally, if you are thinking about a condo, it's even better...this is the time!
From time to time I like to tell you a little about my thoughts in business. It is amazing to me that most Real Estate Brokers are not really business people. They were great at selling houses, but selling homes and running a company with employees, mass marketing and Agents is not the same. For that reason I will be starting a new company called eHomes Realty. Originally I was going to use this company to franchise my Real Estate company. After a lot of thinking and talking to advisers, I have decided to create a membership company that will allow independent Brokerages who are not affiliated with a franchise to reap some of the franchise benefits. So far the response from chatting with people has been great.
As with everything I do, by building this company will allow our customers to have a better opportunity to seek out Real Estate in different areas. Currently we have a good amount Brokerages to help our customers that would like to live out of the area. eHomes Realty will expand our network of reputable Agents that we would feel comfortable allowing our customers to use.
I'll keep you posted on the new business as I get closer to launch date. The beauty of it, is that it will be almost all online and can grow online. I will also be appointing one of my experienced Agents to be my team leader and assist me in managing the staff while I am out of town on my business travels. One thing for sure you can know is my Real Estate customers will always be my main priority and their success in finding or selling their home will be my first and foremost goal!
That's it for tonight. I'll try to write more but you know how life gets in the way!
Have a great day and take care!
Mitch
Sorry I haven't been writing lately as things have been extremely busy at the office and in putting on our 4th annual Charity Golf Tournament. First the tournament:
Every year we seem to get a little better at running these tournaments. This year was very smooth and we had so much fun. We will have pictures on the site shortly from the tournament.
As you may or may not know, this year our tournament is supporting Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS). SWS is a very rare disease that can be noticed by the port wine stain on its victims. Unfortunately, my granddaughter, Lola, is one of its victims. In very rare cases, the stain gets into the brain and begins to calcify. At that point, the child will develop seizures (Lola has had two in her two years of life) and possibly learning disabilities, mental retardation, stroke and possibly death. The hardest part for my family is the fact that there is no diagnosis. There is no way to know what and when this will attack Lola.
We have been blessed that so far Lola's two seizures were not damaging at all. She is and will always be on anti seizure medicine twice a day, every day. We pray daily as do many of our friends that when she does have another seizure, it's not her last.
So the tournament this year is very personal to me. Lola is the light of my life and is always smiling and laughing. She is great! Our tournament this year had a record 112 players from all over the area and even my closest friend of 40 years from Boston. Everyone had a great time and everyone was very generous. We haven't figured out the totals yet but we are sure that we are around $11,000 in donations. My wife has also raised an additional $2,000 or so. Lola spent her day running around the golf course smiling and laughing and warming the hearts of everyone there. It's hard to believe when looking at her that there is anything wrong with her. She is the perfect two year old!
Business
Business has been great! Buyers are finally realizing that this IS the best time to buy a home. The prices are amazing. I just sold a home to one of my long time customers that would have been over $500k two years ago for $325k. It's an amazing house at an amazing price. There are so many opportunities for the buyer. Of course that is one of the downfalls for us too. There are so many great deals out there right that everyone is having a hard time making decisions on which great house to buy!
Are we at the bottom? I believe so, but you know that it's impossible to know until we start going up. At that point you have missed the bottom. That is why I tell everyone that if you wait to see where the bottom is, you will have missed the bottom. The only thing I know for sure is, right now you can buy a home with a 6% mortgage. If you wait until homes appear to be at the bottom, usually on the way up, we don't know what the mortgage rate is going to be.
If you have been on the fence, this is the time! If you have wanted to invest in real estate, this is the time! If you are thinking about buying your first home, this is the time! If you are moving to Florida to retire, this is the time! If you are looking for a vacation home, this is the time. Finally, if you are thinking about a condo, it's even better...this is the time!
From time to time I like to tell you a little about my thoughts in business. It is amazing to me that most Real Estate Brokers are not really business people. They were great at selling houses, but selling homes and running a company with employees, mass marketing and Agents is not the same. For that reason I will be starting a new company called eHomes Realty. Originally I was going to use this company to franchise my Real Estate company. After a lot of thinking and talking to advisers, I have decided to create a membership company that will allow independent Brokerages who are not affiliated with a franchise to reap some of the franchise benefits. So far the response from chatting with people has been great.
As with everything I do, by building this company will allow our customers to have a better opportunity to seek out Real Estate in different areas. Currently we have a good amount Brokerages to help our customers that would like to live out of the area. eHomes Realty will expand our network of reputable Agents that we would feel comfortable allowing our customers to use.
I'll keep you posted on the new business as I get closer to launch date. The beauty of it, is that it will be almost all online and can grow online. I will also be appointing one of my experienced Agents to be my team leader and assist me in managing the staff while I am out of town on my business travels. One thing for sure you can know is my Real Estate customers will always be my main priority and their success in finding or selling their home will be my first and foremost goal!
That's it for tonight. I'll try to write more but you know how life gets in the way!
Have a great day and take care!
Mitch
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Golf Tournament and a Great Conversation I had with a customer
Hi Everyone!
We are a few weeks away from our Golf Tournament so if you are going to play please call Debbie at 321-749-7786. We are on pace to have our largest tournament yet and I can't thank all of you enough for signing up this year. My granddaughter will be at the tournament so you will be able to see why you are actually playing golf on April 26th.
So I had a great conversation the other day. One of the most frustrating part of being in Real Estate is the fact that some people think that we work as hard as we do just for fun. Don't get me wrong. We do have a lot of fun and probably more fun than most. If you remember in one of my past blogs, when I hire Agents one of my rules is they must be fun! However, this business is very hard and sometimes grueling. We shoulder most of the stress of the transaction so the consumer can have a smooth and painless transaction. If people actually knew how many times we saved their opportunity to buy a new home they would be amazed. As I was saying, one of the most frustrating things about being in Real Estate is that some consumers have no loyalty and don't think what we do is work. Let me say again, it's some of our customers. The majority of our customers are very respectful and loyal to us.
The other day I was talking with one of our customers. He is working with Charlie and he wanted to let me know that Charlie is doing a great job for him. He also let me know that he went to a builder that morning without Charlie. As soon as we hear that, our hearts usually sink. Many times our Realtors will show a customer multitudes of homes only to have the customer call us (sometimes they call) to let us know they either went to an open house, called a listing sign, stopped by a FSBO or dropped in on a builder and bought a home. This happens all the time and it's very tough on our Agent who has put so much work into helping the customer find and buy a home. All of the sudden, we are out of the transaction and our relationship ends. Of course the customer expects us to be very happy about this. We do put on the "that's great!" face but inside the Agent is struggling with what they may have done wrong do be so disrespected by the customer. If you put yourself in the Agents shoes, I'm sure you can appreciate the pain. Not to mention the cost it takes these days to drive people all around our county at $3.30 per gallon!
Ok, let's get back to the great conversation. Charlies customer went to a builder and before he even talked about buying their home, he let them know that he has a Realtor and he was not prepared to cut Charlie out of the deal. The builder was very happy to include Charlie which they all do. As with all builders, the Realtor commission or marketing fee as they may call it, is already built into the price. There are no special deals if you don't use a Realtor. In reality, most people who bypass their Realtor thinking they will get a better deal never do, they actually pay more for the home than if they were with their Realtor. Remember that the employee at the builder is legally bound to work in the Builders best interest and is legally not allowed to represent you at all in the transaction. There is nobody on your side when you don't use your Realtor. While talking to Charlies customer he told me how hard Charlie has worked for him and that they had been in touch for many months prior to them coming down to buy a home. He would have felt terrible having Charlie do all the work he has done and not get paid for all his efforts. It was very refreshing to hear. After all, when you cut your Realtor out of a the transaction they do not get paid for any of the job they had done for you. It's very disheartening when this happens. However, when I talk to people like Charlie's customer, it makes me feel good that someone respects and understands the amount of work we do for our customers. Can you imagine working 40 hours at your job and your boss decided to give your check to someone else?
In closing, our Realtors are going to give you 150% effort in buying or selling your home. We all work extremely long hours and are accessible to you any time and day of the week. All we ask from our customers is the same respect and loyalty that they expect from us.
As always, I'm here to help you in any way I can. If you live in Brevard County or are going to be in the area on April 26th, please give us a call about playing in the golf tournament. If you don't play, please pass the info along to someone you know that plays.
Take care and have a great night!
Mitch
We are a few weeks away from our Golf Tournament so if you are going to play please call Debbie at 321-749-7786. We are on pace to have our largest tournament yet and I can't thank all of you enough for signing up this year. My granddaughter will be at the tournament so you will be able to see why you are actually playing golf on April 26th.
So I had a great conversation the other day. One of the most frustrating part of being in Real Estate is the fact that some people think that we work as hard as we do just for fun. Don't get me wrong. We do have a lot of fun and probably more fun than most. If you remember in one of my past blogs, when I hire Agents one of my rules is they must be fun! However, this business is very hard and sometimes grueling. We shoulder most of the stress of the transaction so the consumer can have a smooth and painless transaction. If people actually knew how many times we saved their opportunity to buy a new home they would be amazed. As I was saying, one of the most frustrating things about being in Real Estate is that some consumers have no loyalty and don't think what we do is work. Let me say again, it's some of our customers. The majority of our customers are very respectful and loyal to us.
The other day I was talking with one of our customers. He is working with Charlie and he wanted to let me know that Charlie is doing a great job for him. He also let me know that he went to a builder that morning without Charlie. As soon as we hear that, our hearts usually sink. Many times our Realtors will show a customer multitudes of homes only to have the customer call us (sometimes they call) to let us know they either went to an open house, called a listing sign, stopped by a FSBO or dropped in on a builder and bought a home. This happens all the time and it's very tough on our Agent who has put so much work into helping the customer find and buy a home. All of the sudden, we are out of the transaction and our relationship ends. Of course the customer expects us to be very happy about this. We do put on the "that's great!" face but inside the Agent is struggling with what they may have done wrong do be so disrespected by the customer. If you put yourself in the Agents shoes, I'm sure you can appreciate the pain. Not to mention the cost it takes these days to drive people all around our county at $3.30 per gallon!
Ok, let's get back to the great conversation. Charlies customer went to a builder and before he even talked about buying their home, he let them know that he has a Realtor and he was not prepared to cut Charlie out of the deal. The builder was very happy to include Charlie which they all do. As with all builders, the Realtor commission or marketing fee as they may call it, is already built into the price. There are no special deals if you don't use a Realtor. In reality, most people who bypass their Realtor thinking they will get a better deal never do, they actually pay more for the home than if they were with their Realtor. Remember that the employee at the builder is legally bound to work in the Builders best interest and is legally not allowed to represent you at all in the transaction. There is nobody on your side when you don't use your Realtor. While talking to Charlies customer he told me how hard Charlie has worked for him and that they had been in touch for many months prior to them coming down to buy a home. He would have felt terrible having Charlie do all the work he has done and not get paid for all his efforts. It was very refreshing to hear. After all, when you cut your Realtor out of a the transaction they do not get paid for any of the job they had done for you. It's very disheartening when this happens. However, when I talk to people like Charlie's customer, it makes me feel good that someone respects and understands the amount of work we do for our customers. Can you imagine working 40 hours at your job and your boss decided to give your check to someone else?
In closing, our Realtors are going to give you 150% effort in buying or selling your home. We all work extremely long hours and are accessible to you any time and day of the week. All we ask from our customers is the same respect and loyalty that they expect from us.
As always, I'm here to help you in any way I can. If you live in Brevard County or are going to be in the area on April 26th, please give us a call about playing in the golf tournament. If you don't play, please pass the info along to someone you know that plays.
Take care and have a great night!
Mitch
Monday, March 17, 2008
It's that Time! Tropical Realty Annual Charity Golf Tournament
Hi Everyone!
So for all of you that know me, you know that I run my business on my sleeve. What do I mean by that? I'm a pretty emotional guy that likes to have fun and help people. If I accomplish both those things, then I feel that life is pretty good. It's basically my definition of success!
Every year we have had the pleasure of running our annual charity golf tournament. The response we get is always exceptional and the support of our sponsors is excellent. The past three years we have raised approximately $30,000 for MS.
This year we are supporting a charity that is very close to my heart. My two year old granddaughter has been diagnosed with a very rare disease called Sturge-Weber. The most notable sign of Sturge-Weber is a Port Wine stain on the child's head and face. In very rare cases, 1 out of 20,000, this stain results in Sturge-Weber.
Sturge-Weber can be devastating. In most cases it causes learning disabilities and a lifetime of seizures. In some cases it can cause mental retardation, paralysis and even death. The hardest part for the family is that there is no way to know what is going to happen in the future. We had thought after we got through Lola's first birthday that we had a good chance of dodging the bullet. Unfortunately a few days after her first birthday she had her first seizure. It was extremely tough to see. This past Christmas she had her second seizure while out with her mom and dad looking at Christmas lights. She is currently on anti-seizure medication, twice a day, and will be for life. Luckily neither seizure brought on any permanent damage. We are hoping, because her birthday is today, St. Patricks Day, she has a little luck of the Irish!
This year our tournament is on April 26th at Savannahs Golf Club in North Merritt Island. Our goal is to sell out at 144 players. Our average has been around 120 players so this year I'm looking to raise a little more cash. For more information, go to: http://melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Charity_Golf_Tournament
All the proceeds will go for research on Sturge-Weber. The top researcher in the country, Dr. Comi, has been a great resource and we want to do all we can to help her efforts. She is the specialist we use for Lola and she is always there when we need her. As you can see, we love her!
Thank you as always for reading my blog. I really appreciate all the support our customers and friends have given both professionally and personally. You guys are great!
Have a great week!
Mitch
So for all of you that know me, you know that I run my business on my sleeve. What do I mean by that? I'm a pretty emotional guy that likes to have fun and help people. If I accomplish both those things, then I feel that life is pretty good. It's basically my definition of success!
Every year we have had the pleasure of running our annual charity golf tournament. The response we get is always exceptional and the support of our sponsors is excellent. The past three years we have raised approximately $30,000 for MS.
This year we are supporting a charity that is very close to my heart. My two year old granddaughter has been diagnosed with a very rare disease called Sturge-Weber. The most notable sign of Sturge-Weber is a Port Wine stain on the child's head and face. In very rare cases, 1 out of 20,000, this stain results in Sturge-Weber.
Sturge-Weber can be devastating. In most cases it causes learning disabilities and a lifetime of seizures. In some cases it can cause mental retardation, paralysis and even death. The hardest part for the family is that there is no way to know what is going to happen in the future. We had thought after we got through Lola's first birthday that we had a good chance of dodging the bullet. Unfortunately a few days after her first birthday she had her first seizure. It was extremely tough to see. This past Christmas she had her second seizure while out with her mom and dad looking at Christmas lights. She is currently on anti-seizure medication, twice a day, and will be for life. Luckily neither seizure brought on any permanent damage. We are hoping, because her birthday is today, St. Patricks Day, she has a little luck of the Irish!
This year our tournament is on April 26th at Savannahs Golf Club in North Merritt Island. Our goal is to sell out at 144 players. Our average has been around 120 players so this year I'm looking to raise a little more cash. For more information, go to: http://melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Charity_Golf_Tournament
All the proceeds will go for research on Sturge-Weber. The top researcher in the country, Dr. Comi, has been a great resource and we want to do all we can to help her efforts. She is the specialist we use for Lola and she is always there when we need her. As you can see, we love her!
Thank you as always for reading my blog. I really appreciate all the support our customers and friends have given both professionally and personally. You guys are great!
Have a great week!
Mitch
Thursday, March 13, 2008
More on Short Sales!
Hi Everyone!
Well the short sale market is in session and there are a lot of buyers getting very frustrated. It seems no matter what I say, people are still listening to the media telling them to buy foreclosures or shortsales.
My goal is not to tell you to avoid shortsales like the plague, but to make sure you understand the negatives to the short sale.
First, based on last month sales, short sales are only about 3%-5% lower than regular sales. They are not really much of a bargain. Basically they are selling at market rate. Based on the amount of time involved and the frustration, that savings can quickly be lost.
So why am I so down on Short Sales. The biggest issue is that they are an unknown. I will point out the issues below:
1. In most cases the soonest you will hear if your offer was accepted is 45 days or more.
2. The listing price has nothing to do with the actual price that the bank will accept. The bank does not give Realtors a price that they will accept when the Realtor accepts the listing. The Bank will not give out a price until they have received offers.
3. Many people are offering the bank much lower than the listed price. The reality is, the bank will be selling that home at very close to market rate. They will do an appraisal on the property prior to accepting any offer.
4. While you are waiting for an answer on your offer, the listing remains active and the bank is usually receiving multiple offers.
5. When the bank finally does come back with an answer, there usually is no chance for a counter offer, they usually accept the best offer. (that is if any are acceptable at all)
6. The bank will usually turn down most offers that are asking them to pay anything toward closing costs.
7. The bank will usually not do any repairs on the property...they are mostly "as is" contracts.
8. The bank still may require the seller to sign a promissory note to pay the difference. So after all this time and even potentially at the closing table (read last months blog), the seller walked away from the deal and it fell apart after almost 6 months.
I don't know about you, but this is no way to buy a home!
Before I run off to a Real Estate Board of Directors meeting, I wanted to share a short sale experience from the selling side. An Agent in the office recently took a short sale listing. We talked with the bank and submitted all the sellers paperwork to the lender and then we waited. After a week and a half we finally got hold of someone at the bank and they told us it would be at least another month before it was assigned to a loan negotiator. Once assigned, it would most likely be another month or so before we are contacted by that loan negotiator. They also threw in that if we didn't answer the phone when they called, it could be another month before they got back to us. We are not allowed to contact the loan negotiator. By the way, this is just to see if the bank will accept the sellers request to do a short sale. Meanwhile, the property is listed and when we get offers, the buyers will be waiting several months to see if they will accept the seller doing a short sale, and then the buyers offer.
Point of this story. Short sales aren't just bad for buyers, they are also quite the pain for the seller. Ok, I have to run but please remember this information when you are out with your Realtor. Be prepared for the long haul if you want to buy a home through short sale. I have seen so many buyers get emotionally beat up over these things and I really feel bad, but there isn't anything I can do if you don't listen to me.
As always, if there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to call or email me. My email is mitch@mitchrealty.com.
Have a great day!
Mitch
Well the short sale market is in session and there are a lot of buyers getting very frustrated. It seems no matter what I say, people are still listening to the media telling them to buy foreclosures or shortsales.
My goal is not to tell you to avoid shortsales like the plague, but to make sure you understand the negatives to the short sale.
First, based on last month sales, short sales are only about 3%-5% lower than regular sales. They are not really much of a bargain. Basically they are selling at market rate. Based on the amount of time involved and the frustration, that savings can quickly be lost.
So why am I so down on Short Sales. The biggest issue is that they are an unknown. I will point out the issues below:
1. In most cases the soonest you will hear if your offer was accepted is 45 days or more.
2. The listing price has nothing to do with the actual price that the bank will accept. The bank does not give Realtors a price that they will accept when the Realtor accepts the listing. The Bank will not give out a price until they have received offers.
3. Many people are offering the bank much lower than the listed price. The reality is, the bank will be selling that home at very close to market rate. They will do an appraisal on the property prior to accepting any offer.
4. While you are waiting for an answer on your offer, the listing remains active and the bank is usually receiving multiple offers.
5. When the bank finally does come back with an answer, there usually is no chance for a counter offer, they usually accept the best offer. (that is if any are acceptable at all)
6. The bank will usually turn down most offers that are asking them to pay anything toward closing costs.
7. The bank will usually not do any repairs on the property...they are mostly "as is" contracts.
8. The bank still may require the seller to sign a promissory note to pay the difference. So after all this time and even potentially at the closing table (read last months blog), the seller walked away from the deal and it fell apart after almost 6 months.
I don't know about you, but this is no way to buy a home!
Before I run off to a Real Estate Board of Directors meeting, I wanted to share a short sale experience from the selling side. An Agent in the office recently took a short sale listing. We talked with the bank and submitted all the sellers paperwork to the lender and then we waited. After a week and a half we finally got hold of someone at the bank and they told us it would be at least another month before it was assigned to a loan negotiator. Once assigned, it would most likely be another month or so before we are contacted by that loan negotiator. They also threw in that if we didn't answer the phone when they called, it could be another month before they got back to us. We are not allowed to contact the loan negotiator. By the way, this is just to see if the bank will accept the sellers request to do a short sale. Meanwhile, the property is listed and when we get offers, the buyers will be waiting several months to see if they will accept the seller doing a short sale, and then the buyers offer.
Point of this story. Short sales aren't just bad for buyers, they are also quite the pain for the seller. Ok, I have to run but please remember this information when you are out with your Realtor. Be prepared for the long haul if you want to buy a home through short sale. I have seen so many buyers get emotionally beat up over these things and I really feel bad, but there isn't anything I can do if you don't listen to me.
As always, if there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to call or email me. My email is mitch@mitchrealty.com.
Have a great day!
Mitch
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tropical Realty's Marketing Stats
Hi Everyone!
Now that we have decided to actually start taking listings again, I thought I would share with you some of the stats that help us to sell homes. Firstly though, it is important to know that there are really only two things that will help sell a home in a slow market....price and exposure.
Price
We have been very selective about the homes we choose to list. Unlike most Real Estate companies, we will not take every listing that presents itself to us. Don't get me wrong, I used to do that like everyone else. It was then, while sitting on 50 listings or so, getting yelled at by every owner, that I realized I need to change our philosophy on Listings.
As most of you know, we do things quite differently at Tropical Realty. Over the past few years we have spent all our efforts on helping buyers buy homes. Because of the scenario above, it just wasn't worth it to carry listings. Besides that, it just wasn't fun. I'm a firm believer that if my customer and I are not having fun, I really don't want to be involved!
I heard a saying a few months ago that I truly love. "Do you want to be IN the market or ON the market". With less than 250 homes selling out of 7200 homes on the market in January, you can see that only a few sellers choose to be IN the market. Since our goal is always to help our customer, we will only take listings of customers who want to be IN the market. So how do you become IN the market?
In this market, it's really all about price. We have been testing our marketing and have found that if a home is priced at 5% below everyone else in their market, the home should sell within 90 days or less. We have seen that a few of the homes we listed in January are now under contract using this rule. The others are getting showings and it's just a matter of time before we should get offers. It's actually very exciting and our customers love us!
One problem with our Industry is that many Realtors will tell you what you want to hear. Fortunately we don't fit into that mold. We are going to be upfront and honest every time. Unfortunately most sellers do not want to hear what we have say! We are not going to list a home for $250k when we know that it is going to get $200k at the most. In fact most Agents will tell you that you should be able to get $250k and they are the first ones to call you in 30 days or less letting you know that you have to lower the price. They are not doing any type of service for their customers. Price your home right and it will sell...it really is that simple!
Exposure
Most Agents will put your home in a magazine and list your home in the MLS...and then what....they just sit back and wait for another Agent to sell the home or for someone to call off the sign in the front yard of the home.
Tropical Realty of Suntree owns and operates two websites currently with two more in the works. The stats I am going to give are a combination of both sites.
Now that we have decided to actually start taking listings again, I thought I would share with you some of the stats that help us to sell homes. Firstly though, it is important to know that there are really only two things that will help sell a home in a slow market....price and exposure.
Price
We have been very selective about the homes we choose to list. Unlike most Real Estate companies, we will not take every listing that presents itself to us. Don't get me wrong, I used to do that like everyone else. It was then, while sitting on 50 listings or so, getting yelled at by every owner, that I realized I need to change our philosophy on Listings.
As most of you know, we do things quite differently at Tropical Realty. Over the past few years we have spent all our efforts on helping buyers buy homes. Because of the scenario above, it just wasn't worth it to carry listings. Besides that, it just wasn't fun. I'm a firm believer that if my customer and I are not having fun, I really don't want to be involved!
I heard a saying a few months ago that I truly love. "Do you want to be IN the market or ON the market". With less than 250 homes selling out of 7200 homes on the market in January, you can see that only a few sellers choose to be IN the market. Since our goal is always to help our customer, we will only take listings of customers who want to be IN the market. So how do you become IN the market?
In this market, it's really all about price. We have been testing our marketing and have found that if a home is priced at 5% below everyone else in their market, the home should sell within 90 days or less. We have seen that a few of the homes we listed in January are now under contract using this rule. The others are getting showings and it's just a matter of time before we should get offers. It's actually very exciting and our customers love us!
One problem with our Industry is that many Realtors will tell you what you want to hear. Fortunately we don't fit into that mold. We are going to be upfront and honest every time. Unfortunately most sellers do not want to hear what we have say! We are not going to list a home for $250k when we know that it is going to get $200k at the most. In fact most Agents will tell you that you should be able to get $250k and they are the first ones to call you in 30 days or less letting you know that you have to lower the price. They are not doing any type of service for their customers. Price your home right and it will sell...it really is that simple!
Exposure
Most Agents will put your home in a magazine and list your home in the MLS...and then what....they just sit back and wait for another Agent to sell the home or for someone to call off the sign in the front yard of the home.
Tropical Realty of Suntree owns and operates two websites currently with two more in the works. The stats I am going to give are a combination of both sites.
Tropical Realty of Suntree – Quick Facts
Did you know that over 80% of homebuyers start their search on the Internet?
Tropical Realty of Suntree is the leader in Brevard County for Internet Traffic and Buyers.
Currently Tropical Realty websites receive approximately 55,000 visitors each month.
www.MitchRealty.com is ranked 14th in the nation for Real Estate websites according to Ranking.com.
Tropical Realty of Suntree was the Number 1 office in Brevard County in closed transactions with buyers in 2007.
There are over 500 registered Real Estate companies in Brevard County
Tropical Realty currently has over 25,000 people in our database with approximately 10,000 buyers actively looking to buy within the next year.
Tropical Realty spends more money on Internet Advertising than most companies spend on print Advertising.
All our listings are found on Google, Yahoo, Homegain, Craigslist, Trulia, Lycos, AOL, Zillow and many more sites with a total of over
Our goal is to have 100,000 visits per month by the end of 2008 with an additional 20,000 new customers in our database.
As you can see there is a lot of great stuff here ! I have more stats but don't want to put to much writing on here as I try to keep these blogs to a reasonable length. As always, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Have a great night!
Mitch
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Short Sales - Are they worth the wait?
Hi Everyone!
It's Sunday night and I should be sleeping, but there is so much happening in the Real Estate world right now it's hard to go to sleep. As most of you have seen, Short Sales have now become very popular. Currently about 25% of all our listings are Short Sales.
First, let's spend a minute and explain exactly what is a Short Sale? Let's say you bought your home in 2005 for $300k. Three years later the market has crashed and the home you went out on the limb to buy is now worth $200k. To make matters worse, you may have bought your home with zero money down and an adjustable rate mortgage to boot. Your rate has gone up and that hope of your home going up in value $100k like your friends did only a couple of years ago is gone. You now qualify as so many do these days, to ask the bank to let you sell the home for the current market value of $200k. Once approved by the bank, you can now list your property to sell. So, a short sale is selling a home for less than what you owe on it. The seller has to prove to the bank they are a hardship case.
The benefit as a seller is they have the opportunity to get themselves out of their bad investment. It will still hurt their credit, but not quite as much as a foreclosure. In many cases the bank will not let you out of the home unless you sign a note saying you will pay the difference back to the bank. Most of the people put in this situation will choose to foreclose because they don't have the money to pay the bank. However, most banks are not asking for a note and they realize, in hind sight of course, that they should have been a little more conservative when deciding who they should or shouldn't give loans.
The benefit to the buyer, or at least the perceived benefit, is they will get a great deal on a property. Granted, there are some great deals to be had through Short Sales. However, most of the banks are not going to take much of a hit below current market values. Many times the bank will receive offers, then do an appraisal on the property to determine if they will accept any offers.
The Problem
It all sounds so simple doesn't it? Well it isn't! Short Sales have proven to cause a lot of heart break and distress. Let me tell you about a couple that we have dealt with recently.
The first couple put an offer of the home of their dreams. They fell in love with this home from the moment they walked through the front door. Their offer was full price based on the advertised listing price. They were very excited. The offer was submitted to the bank the following day. At this point we hadn't done many Short Sales and when we had, they were handled within a few days at most. So we waited for the banks answer....and waitied....and waited. Six months later we finally heard that the bank would not accept the offer. Yes, you read correctly, six months later. After some quick thinking from my Agent, she was able to convince the bank to take the offer. Our customers were full of emotions going from depressed to very excited again. Everything from there until closing went great. Our customers had their home inspection ($300), Termite Inspection ($75), appraisal ($300) and survey ($350). The got to closing and the seller found out she was going to have to sign a note for the difference in the short sale...around $57k. She refused and walked out of the closing room leaving our customers with their mouths hanging down and the tears flowing. They were devastated. To make things even a little worse, the next day the seller said she would sign. Our customers emotions were doing what you would expect by now. The got to closing and the seller again refused to sign. They were destroyed. Don't worry, there was a very happy ending to the story. We found them another house they loved even more and they closed in 10 days through our mortgage company. Everyone was happy in the end.
The second story won't be as long. It's basically the same as the first story in the beginning. They fell in love with the home and put an offer $3k above the asking price. We thought for sure they would get this home. After waiting for about three weeks, the bank came back and said they wanted $265k. This is $8,000 higher than our customers offer and $11,000 that the other Realtor had it listed in the MLS. Our customer was extremely upset and thought it was a bait and switch by the listing Realtor. The reality is the banks will not give us the dollar figure that they will take until we bring them an offer. Realtors can only do their best at guessing what the bank will take and list it around that price. It's really a mess.
The point I"m trying to make here is that Short Sales sound good on the outside but you have to be prepared to wait a very long time and possibly not get the home or pay more than you had offered. The banks are understaffed trying to handle an ever growing number of homes coming to them for Short Sales.
Now let's go back to the beginning of the conversation when we talked about the situation inwhich one can try to sell as a Short Sale. The reality is that the bank is not going to take less than market value in most cases. You are going to pay the same price for this home as you might with a regular resale with no issues.
My Advice
So what happens if you fall for a Short Sale home? Keep looking is what I've told most of our customers. You can put an offer on the Short Sale home, but you should keep looking for your perfect home while waiting for the answer from the bank. Chances are, with the amount of homes on the market, you will find another home with not so much baggage as the Short Sale home. In the end you will pay approximately the same amount of money for either home.
I know that everyone wants to get the best deal they can get. That is human nature and the American way! However, there are better ways to get good deals then doing a Short Sale. For instance, there are so many builders who have homes for sales less expensively than most resale homes. Also, look at homes where the owner has bought their home before 2002. Chances are they didn't pay much for their home and even wtih the market crash, they still have plenty of equity. The more equity they have, the better chance you have of buying the home at a better price. Of course if they don't have to move, they won't be going down to much either. But if the do have to sell, they have the flexibility to lower than price.
Hopefully that will clear up any thoughts and or questions that you may have had on Short Sales. I know it can get quite confusing out there. Believe me, when this first started happening we were all confused and we sell houses for a living. Now that we have done so many of them, we can help you though with ease. However that doesn't make the bank go any faster. We can just prepare you better for the possible heartache you might feel. So take my advice...Make your Short Sale offer if you want, but keep looking for your ferfect home. I know we have one available for you right now.
As always, feel free to call the office at 321-259-9115 or email me to answer any questions you might still have on Short Sales or anything else that I can do for you.
Have a great night!
Mitch
It's Sunday night and I should be sleeping, but there is so much happening in the Real Estate world right now it's hard to go to sleep. As most of you have seen, Short Sales have now become very popular. Currently about 25% of all our listings are Short Sales.
First, let's spend a minute and explain exactly what is a Short Sale? Let's say you bought your home in 2005 for $300k. Three years later the market has crashed and the home you went out on the limb to buy is now worth $200k. To make matters worse, you may have bought your home with zero money down and an adjustable rate mortgage to boot. Your rate has gone up and that hope of your home going up in value $100k like your friends did only a couple of years ago is gone. You now qualify as so many do these days, to ask the bank to let you sell the home for the current market value of $200k. Once approved by the bank, you can now list your property to sell. So, a short sale is selling a home for less than what you owe on it. The seller has to prove to the bank they are a hardship case.
The benefit as a seller is they have the opportunity to get themselves out of their bad investment. It will still hurt their credit, but not quite as much as a foreclosure. In many cases the bank will not let you out of the home unless you sign a note saying you will pay the difference back to the bank. Most of the people put in this situation will choose to foreclose because they don't have the money to pay the bank. However, most banks are not asking for a note and they realize, in hind sight of course, that they should have been a little more conservative when deciding who they should or shouldn't give loans.
The benefit to the buyer, or at least the perceived benefit, is they will get a great deal on a property. Granted, there are some great deals to be had through Short Sales. However, most of the banks are not going to take much of a hit below current market values. Many times the bank will receive offers, then do an appraisal on the property to determine if they will accept any offers.
The Problem
It all sounds so simple doesn't it? Well it isn't! Short Sales have proven to cause a lot of heart break and distress. Let me tell you about a couple that we have dealt with recently.
The first couple put an offer of the home of their dreams. They fell in love with this home from the moment they walked through the front door. Their offer was full price based on the advertised listing price. They were very excited. The offer was submitted to the bank the following day. At this point we hadn't done many Short Sales and when we had, they were handled within a few days at most. So we waited for the banks answer....and waitied....and waited. Six months later we finally heard that the bank would not accept the offer. Yes, you read correctly, six months later. After some quick thinking from my Agent, she was able to convince the bank to take the offer. Our customers were full of emotions going from depressed to very excited again. Everything from there until closing went great. Our customers had their home inspection ($300), Termite Inspection ($75), appraisal ($300) and survey ($350). The got to closing and the seller found out she was going to have to sign a note for the difference in the short sale...around $57k. She refused and walked out of the closing room leaving our customers with their mouths hanging down and the tears flowing. They were devastated. To make things even a little worse, the next day the seller said she would sign. Our customers emotions were doing what you would expect by now. The got to closing and the seller again refused to sign. They were destroyed. Don't worry, there was a very happy ending to the story. We found them another house they loved even more and they closed in 10 days through our mortgage company. Everyone was happy in the end.
The second story won't be as long. It's basically the same as the first story in the beginning. They fell in love with the home and put an offer $3k above the asking price. We thought for sure they would get this home. After waiting for about three weeks, the bank came back and said they wanted $265k. This is $8,000 higher than our customers offer and $11,000 that the other Realtor had it listed in the MLS. Our customer was extremely upset and thought it was a bait and switch by the listing Realtor. The reality is the banks will not give us the dollar figure that they will take until we bring them an offer. Realtors can only do their best at guessing what the bank will take and list it around that price. It's really a mess.
The point I"m trying to make here is that Short Sales sound good on the outside but you have to be prepared to wait a very long time and possibly not get the home or pay more than you had offered. The banks are understaffed trying to handle an ever growing number of homes coming to them for Short Sales.
Now let's go back to the beginning of the conversation when we talked about the situation inwhich one can try to sell as a Short Sale. The reality is that the bank is not going to take less than market value in most cases. You are going to pay the same price for this home as you might with a regular resale with no issues.
My Advice
So what happens if you fall for a Short Sale home? Keep looking is what I've told most of our customers. You can put an offer on the Short Sale home, but you should keep looking for your perfect home while waiting for the answer from the bank. Chances are, with the amount of homes on the market, you will find another home with not so much baggage as the Short Sale home. In the end you will pay approximately the same amount of money for either home.
I know that everyone wants to get the best deal they can get. That is human nature and the American way! However, there are better ways to get good deals then doing a Short Sale. For instance, there are so many builders who have homes for sales less expensively than most resale homes. Also, look at homes where the owner has bought their home before 2002. Chances are they didn't pay much for their home and even wtih the market crash, they still have plenty of equity. The more equity they have, the better chance you have of buying the home at a better price. Of course if they don't have to move, they won't be going down to much either. But if the do have to sell, they have the flexibility to lower than price.
Hopefully that will clear up any thoughts and or questions that you may have had on Short Sales. I know it can get quite confusing out there. Believe me, when this first started happening we were all confused and we sell houses for a living. Now that we have done so many of them, we can help you though with ease. However that doesn't make the bank go any faster. We can just prepare you better for the possible heartache you might feel. So take my advice...Make your Short Sale offer if you want, but keep looking for your ferfect home. I know we have one available for you right now.
As always, feel free to call the office at 321-259-9115 or email me to answer any questions you might still have on Short Sales or anything else that I can do for you.
Have a great night!
Mitch
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