Clermont, FL

I went to the Tower Eatery in Clermont Florida today for lunch. I was looking for a place where I could get a decent meal that abides with my P90X nutrition plan (for more on the P90X nutrition plan, follow my progress here: http://operationbodyrestoration.com).

I knew I wanted something with turkey, but the same old same old (subway, publix, quiznos, etc...) sounded boring. I had been in the Tower Eatery before and remembered they had some really good sandwiches at decent prices. Plus, I like to support the mom and pop places around South Lake County.

I snagged a menu to show you all what the Tower Eatery has to offer:

Next time you are driving by the Citrus Tower and you are having some hunger issues, stop by the Tower Eatery and support your locally owned restaurant.

Johnny Davis

Davis Signature Realty LLC

Broker/Owner

www.davissignaturerealty.com

What is a "Short Sale"? Am I eligible for a "Short Sale"? These are a few questions that I have been asked recently. Actually, ever since I became a Certified Short Sale Professional, I have been getting these questions ever more frequently.

In short, a short sale is when the lender (bank, mortgage company, etc...) agrees to take a lower amount than what you owe to accommodate the sale.

Why would the bank take a lower amount than what I owe? There are actually a few reasons:

Banks don't want your house. They don't want to foreclose on your home. There are a ton of legal fees that are involved in the foreclosure process.

They don't want to get involved in the eviction process.

They don't want to rehab the house. Have you been in any REO homes? Alot of them have been stripped and trashed. I dread showing bank owned homes, because you never know what you are going to find in them. Here is a picture of a bank owned home that I saw on www.uglyhousephotos.com:

With a short sale, the owner is usually still living in the home until it is sold. There is still a bit of "Pride of Ownership". The home owner believes they are "working" with the bank to solve the problem, rather than just dumping the house in the banks lap.

The bank may agree to a short sale because they know that a short sale price may be the highest price they are offered. Banks know that the foreclosed sale price will be significantly lower than the short sale price.

Why should I try to talk the bank into agreeing to a short sale? Why not let them foreclose on me and drop the house in the banks lap? Sometimes foreclosure and bankruptcy are inevitable. However, why not try and help the bank out with the house you purchased? Also, look at it credit wise. If you miss 2-5 months payments while you are negotiating your short sale, recent reports show that your score will drop 30-60 points. If you get foreclosed on, your credit will drop 140-200 points. Recovering from a short sale seems to be a little easier than recovering from a foreclosure.

Am I eligible for a short sale? Are you delinquent or in default? Have you experienced a hardship? The hardship doesn't have to be monumental, but it does have to be proven. You will be asked to fill out a financial statement. Is the value of the property less than what is needed to pay off your loan(s), any liens or encumbrances and all real estate selling costs?

There is also a lengthy package that you will have to fill out and submit to the bank once you receive an offer on your "short sale". Be sure your real estate agent is aware of the package. A poorly put together package can be the difference in your home selling in 3-5 months or a year later.

I hope this has given you a better understanding of what a short sale is.

Johnny Davis

Broker/Owner

Davis Signature Realty LLC

www.davissignaturerealty.com

I just got an email from a friend of mine that the Central Florida Kidfest & Family Expo 2009 will be Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. If you are like me, you probably have no idea what the Central Florida Kidfest & Family Expo is. I took a quick glance at their website and found the following tidbits:

There will be child safety highlights that will include: Fire Safety Demonstrations, Child Fingerprinting, Electrical Safety, Child Identification, Car Seat Safety, Firearm Safety, Swimming and Pool Safety and many more safety ehibits.

There will be balloons, ice cream, cotton candy, funnel cakes, food, drinks, face painting (I think I will let my little girl get her face painted for the first time!), clowns and much more!!!

This event has FREE admission.

For more information on this great event, contact Jimmy Williams at 352-394-2855 or email him at jwilliams@celebrationofpraise.net

The event is being held at Celebration of Praise in Clermont.

Hope to see you there!

Johnny Davis

Broker/Owner

Davis Signature Realty LLC

www.davissignaturerealty.com

Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel had a very interesting article this morning titled "Unsold Mansions Bedevil Builders". The article goes on to talk about home some custom home builders, who built extravagant "spec" mansions back in 2007, are now struggling to get their homes sold. She mentioned one home in Orlando's Baldwin Park that was originally listed for $4 million in 2007 is now currently listed at $2 million.

Her article made me think about the million to multi million dollar homes we have here in South Lake County. I was curious to see how many $1 million to $1 million+ homes we actually have listed in our area, how long they have been listed for (the longest was 1,739 days) and what they look like. Here is what I have found:

Currently, in South Lake County (Clermont, Minneola, Montverde, Groveland, Mascotte), we have 48 homes listed that are $999,000+.

Only 1 home has sold this year for over $999,000:

21 homes with price tags of $999,000+ have sold in South Lake County since 2006.

Of the 48 that are currently listed, here are a few virtual tours for your enjoyment:

9400 Laws Rd. Clermont - Be sure to check out the gym. Better than some luxury hotels!!

16615 Arezo Ct. Montverde - Pool too crowded? No problem, check out the down stairs pool.

12919 Sugar Bluff Rd. Clermont - Budget cuts at school got the football field worn down? Come play on this field!!!

16321 Pendio Dr. Montverde - Check out the pool. Very inviting.

Davis Signature Realty LLC

Certified Short Sale Professional

www.davissignaturerealty.com

Has the market for luxury homes in Clermont Florida been picking up? Well, looking at a few stats from the Mid Florida Regional MLS, it appears that the Luxury Market may be starting to pick up a little steam.

What is the Luxury Market? Well, if you google "Definition of Luxury Homes", it will give you this definition: "The real estate market niche targeted at the highest socio-economic group of consumers". Ok, again, what is the Luxury Market? My definition of the luxury market for this blog post is "any residential home sold for $500,000 or more".

So, with a definition that we can actually understand, let's do a little research. Going back to 2007, there were only two homes sold in Clermont, Florida that were equal to or greater than $500,000. One home sold for $888,000 and the other sold for $635,000. In 2008, there were zero homes sold in Clermont Florida that were over $500,000. Currently, there have been eight Luxury Homes sold in Clermont Florida in 2009.

Here is a quick look at the homes and their sold prices:

1. 17527 Cobblestone Lane. List Price: $597,000 Sold Price: $555,000.00

2. 17532 Cobblestone Lane. List Price: $1,799,999. Sold Price: $1,575,000.00

3. 10239 Thompson Pl. List Price: $625,000.00 Sold Price: $560,000.00

4. 12906 Magnolia Pointe Blvd. List Price: $799,000 Sold Price: $700,000.00

5. 10419 Lake Louisa Rd. List Price: $730,000 Sold Price: $730,000.00

6. 1692 Orange Thorpe Lane. List Price: $789,900 Sold Price: $735,000.00

7. 11517 Osprey Point Blvd. List Price: $550,000 Sold Price: $550,000.00

8. 11911 Falcon Crest Court List Price: $889,000 Sold Price: $675,000.00

Of the eight Luxury Homes that have been sold in 2009, four of them have been sold since June!!!

We still have a long ways to go to get to the number of Luxury Home sales that we had in 2005 (73) and 2006 (86), but it is definitely good to see that we are already past the levels of 2007 and 2008...combined!

Johnny Davis

Davis Signature Realty LLC

Certified Short Sale Professional

www.davissignaturerealty.com