Real Estate News
Most expensive home in Pinellas County
December 19th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News
It’s interesting how listing prices get so much publicity. There have been a lot of articles lately about the Snell Isle home that is listed for $18 Million. This morning I was looking over old blog posts and found an interesting one from the summer of 2006 for a $25 Million luxury listing in Pinellas County. Now, three and a half years later, that property is on the market for under $14 million. And that’s still a listing price, not a sold price. There are currently 5 homes in Pinellas County listed at $10 Million or above.
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What real estate trends do we need to prepare for?
August 14th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News
Stefan Swanepoel shared his observations on trends affecting the real estate industry. His appearance this morning at The Tampa Club was sponsored by Engel & Voelkers. Swanepoel covered topics such as the information overload on the internet, foreign real estate companies expanding around the world, the consolidation of Multiple Listing Systems and the potential of an MLS for buyers, mastering short sales and foreclosures and of course, social media. The internet is growing exponentially and it’s critically important to distinguish yourself in the social media and to arrange the various social media into a harmonious orchestra.
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Largo – Lake Seminole
June 29th, 2009 categories: Buyer Tips, Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
Perseverance. Some times it takes a while to get someone in their new home. I remember receiving a call in July 2007 from a woman who was getting ready to move to Florida. They lived in Massachusetts, but wanted the warmer weather of Florida. The husband had a job offer and they were ready to move. They came down, we looked at properties and everything looked good. But then life happened. Things changed and the move was off. Always the optimist, I kept in contact and every few months I checked in. Mrs. Buyer continued to check out her Gateway to see what homes were coming on the market and life went on. Then this spring, I noticed a increase in activity on her Gateway. I called and things were looking up. By the beginning of April, Mrs Buyer called to say they would be down for a house-hunting weekend. After two days of looking, we had to revise our search to find the right house. Then we were down to the final two…and we made an offer. Sellers were ready to sell, buyers were ready to buy….deal was made. Finally, after almost two years they have their dream house in Florida. I’m thankful I was able to help them make it happen. My best wishes to them in their new home. I hope you enjoy many sunsets over Lake Seminole from your beautiful new home.
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Bank Owned
June 27th, 2009 categories: Buyer Tips, Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
Sometimes you get great clients. In January I talked to a nice couple that were renting a house in Clearwater. They wanted to buy a house around their daughters school. That was the only neighborhood they wanted to look at. They had a specific budget and wanted to buy now!. I met with them several times, each time when we were done, we made an offer on a short sale or bank owned property…but no luck. On our fourth trip out, we were successful. Bank owned property, they accepted our price, everything is great. No six month wait for a decision on a short sale, they could be in their house in a month. Not so fast. First, the bank needed an extension as we asked for a closing date too soon. Okay, we can wait. Then the title company needed more time. Finally we made it to the closing table a month after our original proposed closing date. Everybody’s happy-Wrong. Turned out some title issues were not resolved. So the waiting game begins. It’s good we insisted on a title commitment so that our buyers were protected! We had to sign extensions and still keep waiting. My great buyers really wanted this house. Last week we had a second closing (or was it the first, as the title company pretended the first one never happened). Finally the UPS driver came to our office this morning with the HUD statement and our commission check. I called my clients and congratuated them on their new home…only took an extra four months.
My ninth sale of the year…don’t believe any of them have been easy. But I do know that I’ve made nine clients/families very happy in helping them find their dream home. It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. Now need to get to work to keep number 10 on track for August 5th.
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Broadwater
June 24th, 2009 categories: Broadwater, Buyer Tips, Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
For the team, Broadwater has always been important. Mom has lived there for 15 years and knows the neighborhood better than any agent I know. For me, I’ve sold homes from Sarasota to New Tampa, from Apollo Beach to Madeira Beach, but the neighborhood that I’ve sold the most homes in is Broadwater. So when a nice couple contacted me several months ago to say they were moving here from Texas and were looking for a nice waterfront home, in a neighborhood that would be right to bring up their two children…Broadwater was my first choice. They quickly agreed, so the job was to find them the right house. They key to any buyer’s agent is to listen to their clients. Even though they said they could live with a 3-bedroom house, that is not what they needed. Broadwater doesn’t have too many 4-bedroom homes, and then matching up all of the other criteria…water, not too much sun, nice dock, right floorplan…it all narrows down the possibilities. One house came to my mind, but it wasn’t even on the market yet. The team had talked to the owners and told them all the things they needed to do to get the home ready for the market.
The opportunity for a perfect match was here. I called the owners and said, yes I know the house is not ready and is a mess, but your home is perfect for this family. They let us in, and it was the perfect house. The sellers were ready to move, the buyers wanted to buy, the deal was made. Had a long closing to allow time to sell the buyers home in Texas….and yes, it sold! One week later, our closing happened and everyone is happy. Broadwater welcomes their newest family. They will be a great addition to the neighborhood. I wish them many happy years in their new home.
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6th
May 16th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
Had my 6th closing of the year this morning…always a nice way to go into the weekend. A very nice couple from Maryland bought the beach bungalow I mentioned a few days ago. Marisa is very excited. When I left then they were off to Target to buy a blow up mattress so they could sleep in their new vacation home tonight. I like helping nice people find what they were looking for. Just called the agent who referred them to us to thank her again for thinking of us. I even sent her a link to the photos I took of the house, so that when she calls to congratulate them, she can talk about the house in detail.
Now my goal is to find their friends a similar house nearby for their vacations. Have one in mind already.
Have a great weekend. Looking forward to my usual walk along the beach for sunset with my lovely wife. Nice that after 22 years we still enjoy each others company…helps when you marry your best friend.
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Beach Bungalows
May 13th, 2009 categories: Beach Condos, Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
Everyone on our team has strengths and specialties. Due to our location on Beach Drive, we all know a lot about Downtown condos and I love spending hours with clients or just interested “walkers” who stop by our inviting outside table and chairs and just want to talk about the market, real estate in general, or downtown condos. My wife is a beach person, always has been and always will be. My dream is to find her a beach front condo that we can rent (in our limited budget) so that she can wake up and fall asleep to the sound of waves (if anybody knows of one that is coming available in August and won’t cost me an arm and a leg, give me a call). Because we spend many of our evenings walking St Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Madeira Beach, I have learned more and more about the Beach and the individual condo developments.
Recently I have seen a lot of interest in beach “bungalows.” We are not talking about those right on the sand and their million dollar price tag, but rather small 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom houses that are within walking distance to the beach. You would be surprised at the nice little places you can now buy for less than $250,000. Have one under contract right now that closes on Friday that was listed for under $200,000. Small, but a very cute house. As they showed it off to their friends, they have tasked me to find another one just like it for them. The best I have found for them is ½ mile north for $219,900. The best thing of all is that neither is a short sale. If you add short sales into the mix, there are several nice homes under contract around the $150,000 mark. But then you are waiting for months on end for the bank to make a decision, and in most cases the bank hasn’t even agreed to sell at the list price, let alone the offers that are usually considerable lower than that.
I think the lower prices are what are finally bringing some of the second home buyers back into the market. When they had to spend $400,000 plus for a home they were only going to use 2 or 3 months a year, they can’t justify the expense. But as the prices have dropped, I have seen a significant increase from those folks from up north looking for that get-away home that we can provide along our beautiful beaches.
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Limitations
May 12th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
When I first started selling real estate 3 ½ years ago, I tried to do everything for everyone and go anywhere for anybody. It is funny how things change after putting over 100,000 miles on my car and seeing gas prices go over $4.00 a gallon. I still tell stories about two sisters from up north. They came down here not knowing where they wanted to live. They wanted two homes, one in the $600,000 range with all the bells and whistles, the other in the same neighborhood; with a pool for under $300,000 (mind you this was 2006 when the prices were still relatively high). I ended up driving with them over 1,100 miles during the course of six days. We went from Spring Hill in the north to Port Charlotte in the south, and almost every community in-between. They even went to the east coast, down to Miami (I did not go there with them), before they decided they preferred Tampa Bay. They came back two months later for another 3 days of searching…even made an offer, but the two sides were too far apart to make it happen. Next thing I know, I get an email thanking me for everything, but they were moving to Virginia. Oh, the stories I still tell. The biggest thing I learned was that I had to have limitations.
While I still venture to Manatee and Hillsborough Counties for the right clients, these days I center on Pinellas County.
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Downtown Condos
May 8th, 2009 categories: 400 Beach, Downtown St Petersburg, Real Estate News, Signature Place, Vinoy Place
Notes from Rob:
Usually I sleep very well, but from 4 a.m. on this morning, I could not get downtown condos out of my mind. Can’t explain it, maybe just because so many conversations at the office lately have been on the topic. I keep telling clients about the great deals at Signature Place if you want to get into a stunning new building at a low cost. The building should be finished this month and owners start closing on the units next month. Will be nice to see some real activity in the building other than construction crews.
This week lots of talk about 400 Beach and the financial situation of its developer. If you like modern and want a view of Tampa Bay, this is your chance since they are taking unsecured offers on all the units still unsold. Don’t know what they will accept, but if you loved the $850,000 unit, you could offer $550,000 and see what they say. No money down and no commitment…could be a great opportunity.
Then my mind would wonder off to Vinoy Place. I want to sell one unit that I think is special. Had some clients that I thought were very interested…turned out the “buyer” was just showing off for his girlfriend and was in no position to buy. Oh well, we keep trying. But one of these days I am going to find the right buyer for the unit. We actually had clients in it years ago, but had to sell when they moved overseas. They still miss the unit. On the 5th floor with great views. The seller just lowered the price $100,000. Someone is going to get a good deal.
Don’t know why these buildings were keeping me from sleep this morning, but they were. One of the nice things about our office is that I can see all of these buildings from out front and when I am discussing them with clients, I can just take them outside and point to them all as I go over the pros and cons of each. Because if you know me, you know I like to talk, and I love to talk about real estate, St Petersburg, and my family.
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Safety Harbor
May 7th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News
Notes from Rob:
Called Jeff today to wish them a happy 1-year anniversary for the cute townhouse they bought last year in Safety Harbor. They still love the house and location. Enjoyed talking to Jeff about the upcoming addition to their family. I think it was so considerate of him and Sonna to plan the birth for my 22nd anniversary on July 25th…very touching that they would want to remember me that way. Of course, if their future addition is anything like Matthew was 12 years ago, he won’t arrive on the scheduled date. It is great when good things happen to nice people.
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