Real Estate News
Flood insurance extended again – short term
July 1st, 2010 categories: Real Estate News
Flood insurance has been extended again – short term. Both the Senate and the House have extended flood insurance to September 30, 2010 and made it retroactive to May 31 and it’s now waiting for the President’s signature. Note that this extension doesn’t even run through the end of the hurricane season this year.
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Congress still hasn’t renewed flood insurance
June 28th, 2010 categories: Real Estate News
Congress still hasn’t reauthorized flood insurance through their NFIP National Flood Insurance Program, which has been in limbo since May 31st. Flood insurance seems to be held hostage as an add-on for other bills in Congress. Meanwhile, real estate closings are affected as well as flood insurance renewals. Lenders MAY close loans based on the receipt of a completed flood insurance application and funds for a year’s premium, but that’s only one of their options.
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Wachovia makes a short sale short
April 6th, 2010 categories: Real Estate News
We received an offer on one of our listings on March 10, which was signed by by seller and buyers on March 12. It was a short sale, and subject to the bank’s approval. Usually this is months is getting a response from the lender so short sales are notoriously LONG in closing though short in money. Anclote Title Services has two full time short sale negotiators who are diligent in pursuing each one of their short sale contracts. They coach the seller and Realtor to be sure that the package going to the lender is complete to the smallest detail, submit it in a form that can be easily reviewed, and stay in touch with everyone throughout the process.
Today we closed on that sale – yes, it was approved and closed in less than a month! Hurray for Wachovia, for Tami and for Anclote. Thanks for making this work the way it should.
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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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