Cobia Cay, Apollo Beach - Announcing a price reduction on 6602 Blackfin Way, a 3,697 sq. ft.,4 bdrm, 2 Full & 2 Half Baths, 3 Car Garage, Heated Pool & Spa, single story. Now 
MLS® $700,000 USD - Waterfront with Dock, minutes to Tampa Bay.
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Homesteads of Saddlewood, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 8232 West Drive, a 2,528 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm colonial. Now MLS® $400,000 USD - Country Living.
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Northwood, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 1243 Caladesi Drive, 2,091 sq. ft plus an additional 672 sq. ft Florida Room., 3 bath, 4 bdrm, 3 Car Garage single story. Now MLS® $269,900 USD - .
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Northwood, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 1247 Caladesi Drive, a 2,455 sq. ft., 3 bath, 4 bdrm, 3 car garage single story with heated pool and spa. Now MLS® $309,900 USD - .
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With gas prices at or around the $4.00 per gallon mark we are all frustrated with these prices. As a Realtor I go through approximately $120 to $180 per week just for gas.
I was looking at what other countries pay and then thought, wow am I glad to be living here. When converted to gallons many countries are paying $10 or more per gallon. The reason is the amount of taxes paid. We pay federal taxes of 47 cents per gallon, while the tax per gallon in other countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom range from $4.50 to more than $6.00 per gallon just in federal taxes.
The benefit to high prices though are that people are now conserving gas, buying more fuel efficient vehicles and the push toward alternative fuels are being sped up.
Willow Bend, Lutz - Pasco County - Announcing a price reduction on 23218 Cypress Trail Drive, a 2,648 sq. ft., 2.5 bath, 4 bdrm single story with solarr heated pool and fenced yard and conservation lot. Now MLS® $330,000 USD - .
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In surveys Realtors often come in at the bottom of the list. I feel that is unfair as many of us treat this as our profession and seriously try to do the right thing by our clients.
However, I am distressed with the unprofessional way some Realtors run their business. As they always say, it just takes a few bad apples to make the majority look bad.
In the past few weeks on some of my listings agents representing buyers have called to schedule showings. Anyone who has moved knows what a pain in the neck it is to keep your home in showing condtion. Those with kids must pick up toys, turn on all the lights, adjust the blinds, get the pets and the kids loaded in the car, and leave the home for an hour or two. Sometimes they need to do this a couple of times a day, and of course with homes being on the market longer, they may have to do this for an extended time.
Anyway three agents scheduled appointments and gave a timeframe for example showing between 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Of course the seller leaves as 12:30 PM in case the buyers get there early. And they may come back at 3:00 PM in case the buyers and the agent are running late. This is normal since when you are scheduling calls you do not know if the buyers will spend 5 minutes in a home, or they may spend an hour. Sometimes you can run ahead of schedule or run late. On these three showings the agents and their buyers never showed up. We do have times where a buyer as we are driving up the street will say I do not like this neighborhood or do not like the look of the house. Normally I and most agents, when this happens call the listing agent on the phone and say I am very sorry but we are not going to show the home today. I tell them I will call them back later to explain. This way the listing agent can call the seller and say you can go home. The buyers agent called me and said they are not showing the home and will call me later to let me know why.
However, with these three agents no phone call. One of them I called when I found out and asked what happened. They said the buyer did not like the neighborhood. I asked why she did not call so that I could let the seller return home. She said she had not thought about doing so. I found out it was a new agent so I understood this. The next one was an agent who when I called said his buyer was getting tired and did not want to look at any more homes. When I asked why he did not call, he told me where to go. He said that his job is to schedule calls, and that if his buyer decides their tired, he does not owe anyone a call. The third agent has never returned my call or e-mail, so I have no idea why she did not show the home. I just cannot understand how agents do not believe in common courtesy.
It makes us all look bad when our sellers leave their home, the home does not get shown, and nobody lets them know why, and the agent does not even have the courtesy or professionalism to call and say please tell your sellers we are sorry, but we will not be showing their home today. Please let them know they can go back home, and please apologize to them for the inconvenience.
I also had a fourth incident that was even more disturbing. I have some luxury home listings where I must attend all showings, even if the buyer is coming with their agent. Last week an agent called saying that she hates to ask but is there any chance of seeing a home in about 15 minutes. She explained that she had just shown a home and they were driving by my listing and the buyer wanted to see it. I said I normally have to meet her there, but could not be there at that time. I said let me see if the owner is home. If he is, he will be glad to show the home. I said I would call her right back. She said if you get my voicemail just leave me a message that it is okay or not. I called her back about a minute later and left her a voicemail saying just knock on the door and the seller will show them the home. About an hour later the seller calls me and says nobody ever showed up. Here she was supposedly right outside the door. I called and got her voicemail but this time it said her voicemail was full and would not accept any further messages. For the next several days I called and got the same message about the voicemail box being full. I finally reached her about a week later and she said they just decided to get a bite to eat instead.
If any agents or sellers are reading this please make a comment on whether this has happened to you. And if any agents are reading this and thinking this is about me, hopefully you will think about common courtesy and professionalism.
I know this is a Real Estate Blog and I usually only post things relevant to the area and real estate. However, on this day (June 7) I always like to pay tribute to my mom, who passed away four years ago today.
Mom, thanks for all your love over the years. Some of the great memories were our family vacations, the beach, sending you to Bermuda for your 25th anniversary, you helping me buy my first home, our trip to Aruba just a few months before you went to heaven, and of course your coming down to visit us in Florida just a couple of months before your passing.
I'm also thankful that I got to speak with you on the phone for a couple of hours the day before your aneurysm, and finally I am thankful that I got to spend your last nine days of your life with you. We got some great visiting in and lots of laughs.
It's funny because even though my boss at JP Morgan Chase gave me permission to fly up and be with you since Yale said you only had about a week to live, three days later human resources called me at 11:00 PM and said that they wanted me back to work tomorrow. I explained what was happening and she said I know, but your priorities are misplaced. She said if I was not at work tomorrow, they expect my resignation and if they did not have it then they would charge me with insubordination. To me it seemed that their priorities were misplaced, but they did me the best favor of my life. It is funny mom because you owned so much JP Morgan stock and thought they were such a great company.
It's funny as I thought how can people be like this, but soon after since I had no job, I decided to become a Realtor, something my mom and I always spoke about, as I always wanted to become a Realtor. I don't know why, but being a Realtor was my dream for many years. My moms passing got me fired, but at the same time got me the best career I could ever imagine. Throughout life you always told me things work out for the best. You always trusted everyone, as did I. Even though I found out there are bad people, your passing actually gave me the career I wish I had gone into twenty years ago.
Although I am sad that you are gone, you raised me to be the person I am today. I look forward to seeing you, dad and the rest of the family in heaven some day.
Know I will never forget you.
God Bless you mom!
Oak Creek, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 6749 Pine Springs Drive, a 2,561 sq. ft., 4 bdrm, 2 bath, 3 car garage single story home overlooking pond. Now MLS® $269,900 USD - .
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• 2,561 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm single story - MLS® $289,900 USD
Oak Creek, Wesley Chapel - This beautiful Kingfisher model built by Cardel Homes has four bedrooms, 2 baths and 3 car garage. One of the first things you will notice as you enter is the beautiful arches, columns and open floor plan. The formal dining and living room is perfect for casual use or for entertaining guests. There is upgraded 18 inch tile and carpet throughout, and the gourmet kitchen has granite countertops, cherry cabinets with 42 inch uppers, an island, built in desk, stainless Kenmore appliances and breakfast nook. The elegant master suite with sitting room is incredible and the master bath has a luxurious tub accented with columns and arches, a huge separate shower, dual vanities and a large walk-in closet. Each of the guest bedrooms is large with good size closets, and the second bath is a pool bath that leads to the lanai. The fenced backyard and lanai overlook a peaceful pond. The home also has in wall pest control tubes, 140 mile per hour hurricane rated double pane windows, premium ceiling fans and gutters.
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First, it is important to understand what a short-sale is. Quite simply a short-sale is when the lender is willing to accept less than what the owner owes on their mortgage. Although many listings state in them short-sale of pre-foreclosure the two terms are not the same, although many Realtors use the terms interchangeably. If an owner cannot afford to make mortgage payments for three months there may be a foreclosure process started, but if they sell they do not necessarily need to sell short. That is because they may be able to sell the home for more than they owe on their mortgage. It is only a short-sale if more is owed than the home can sell for.
I recently saw and article explaining how the National Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Issues & Policies Committee will be meeting in May and one of the things they will be considering is how to define a short-sale.
In our MLS and in many others we are required to put in the words "subject to lender approval" and often more wording.
The issue according to some NAR committee members is the following. First, when a Realtor lists a home for sale, the Realtors Fiduciary duty is to the seller. This may include getting the most money, quickest sale, etc. It would definitely exclude doing or saying something that would cause the home to sell for less. And that is one of the points that will be discussed at the meeting. Is the Realtor really doing their fiduciary duty if they tell the world that the home is a short-sale or pre-foreclosure. Normally this will result in a sale at a lower price. In a sense then, the MLS's are requiring agents to ignore their fiduciary duty of not hurting the seller? Or are they? In a short-sale the seller owes more than the home will sell for. By selling the home quicker, their credit score may take less of a hit than if the home took much longer to sell, or especially if the bank took ownership. In a short-sale the owner accepts the offer, but then the offer goes to the lender for either final acceptance or rejection of the offer. If the lender makes the final decision does the Realtor fiduciary duty extend to the lender? Many questions to answer.
I can see the NAR committee members view though in that by saying the home is a short-sale we are automatically bringing the price down. The article also states the banks do not like the disclosure of a possible short-sale as it encourages low-ball offers. The lender may be able to get a better price if these words were never used.
Then the Realtor along with the owner and lender could set the asking price. If after a period of time it does not sell then reduce the price and continue doing this until it sells. Without the words short-sale the home very well could sell for more money and likely in about the same amount of time.
One other point they make is that you actually do not have a short-sale until the lender has accepted the offer and you have a sale. So should it be marketed as a short-sale before you have a sale?
My thoughts on this are as follows. I do think it would be preferable to not have anything in the listing about short-sale or pre-foreclosure. Any Realtor will tell you that any home will sell if the price is right. There is a market value for every market, whether it is a sellers, normal or buyers market. When the home is at the current market value the home will sell.
By listing the home as a short-sale we are likely artificially bringing the final sales price to a point somewhat below the current market value, and of course this now becomes the comparables that Realtors and appraisers will be using to determine market value for future listings and sales. Therefore every short-sale that goes for less than the current market value creates a new market value. Are we getting into a viscious circle of we are actually helping to bring home prices down faster and hurting all sellers, which then of course helps buyers coming into the market.
Although I personally believe that the values would be better maintained without short-sale placed in the listing, I feel that these words are necessary at this time due to the slow respone of lenders to offers on properties where the home would sell for less than is owed. Presently, when we have a buyer make an offer on a short-sale the acceptance or rejection of the offer can take 4 - 6 weeks. If rejected then the buyer makes another offer and waits. This can often go on multiple times. Normally when a buyer makes an offer we put a deadline of 24 - 48 hours for a response by the seller. With a short-sale we cannot put in a tight deadline, and if the buyers did not know that the offer could take weeks there would be real issues, especially if they need a home now.
Therefore, although it is likely a good idea for not disclosing short-sales in listings, it would cause multiple problems unless the lenders were made part of the process and would have to approve the asking prices before the listing is marketed. Then lenders would have to be held to the same deadlines that private owners usually get when they get offers.
Florida's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission Puts Tax-Swap Plan on November Ballot. If approved by 60% of the voters of Florida depending on where you live your property taxes would be reduced by 25% - 50%. Tax assessment increases for non-homestead property would be capped at 5 percent per year. Currently is capped at 10% and homesteaded property is capped at 3%. The state sales tax would likely be increased by 1% to help pay for education and other services, though there would likely have to be further budget cuts or some current sales tax exemptions might be repealed. though legislators say the exemptions would remain on food, health services, prescription drugs, the sale of real property and items for resale.
Northwood, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 1243 Caladesi Drive, a 2,091 sq. ft., Plus 672 square foot Florida Room, 3 bath, 4 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $279,900 USD - .
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Northwood, Wesley Chapel - Announcing a price reduction on 1247 Caladesi Drive, a 2,455 sq. ft., 3 bath, 4 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $319,900 USD - .
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Rural Dade City, Dade City - Announcing a price reduction on 14521 Starbright Drive, a lot / land "Ten Acres". Now MLS® $350,000 USD - Ten Level Cleared Acres.
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