Fort Walton Beach, FL

I’ve heard this on more than one occasion from home sellers: We've done Lots of upgrades! NOT!! And while I appreciate the time hard work and money you’ve invested in your home, I am going to have to give you the disheartening news that all your “upgrades” are actually maintenance.

• New carpet throughout – 5 years old now, and the only reason your replaced it was because it was covered with so many stains you didn’t even want to walk on it in bare feet anymore
• New roof—You had to repair the leak. You got a new one after Hurricane Ivan in 2005!
• New furnace/ac system – it finally just quit working
• New water heater—you guessed it, it stopped working
• New kitchen appliances- 5 years old isn’t new anymore
• New electrical system- had a fire did you?
• Freshly painted—after your son left you could re-paint his black room
• New garage door- husband ran into the door one night with truck!
• New garbage disposal/faucets/shower heads- yeah… you get the point.

Folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but these items are NOT upgrades, this is what’s called “deferred maintenance”. They are things we are required to do to maintain our homes. Things in our homes wear out or become outdated over time. They need to be replaced, (sort of like clothes and shoes. I know that suit is “like new” because you’ve only worn it 5 times in the last 15 years), but your stove isn’t and they do not add any additional value to your home as far as profit is concerned because you can’t add the cost of this maintenance to the price of your home and expect to get it back.

I know you paid $35,000 for that in-ground pool 15 years ago, and no we can’t add $35,000 to the price of the house for the pool after we’ve come up with value for your home. If your upgrade requires too much upkeep, buyers may view it as more of a nuisance than an asset.

An upgrade as defined means “to raise to a higher grade or standard” So some upgrades that might enhance the value of a home may include things like these:

• New roof (50 year, metal roof pays for itself and reduces insurance as well)
• New furnace (high efficiency, high-conductivity radiant warm board heating system)
• Freshly painted (“Green” feature with low VOC paint)
• New water heater ( again going “Green” high-efficiency, tank-less or heat-on-demand)
• New bathroom (walk-in tub, re done in marble or granite etc)
• Upgraded kitchen (Bosch ultra-quiet dishwasher, Viking gas stove with warming drawer, sub-zero refrigerator, New Cabinets)
• New windows (windows replaced with Pella energy star windows)
• New A/C system (upgraded from a 12 SEER to 18 SEER energy efficient system)
• New garage door and opener (insulated and exceeds hurricane standards garage door with whisper quiet opener)
• New Flooring (“Green feature” Cork, wood or tile)
• Counters (Granite, Concrete, Marble, other solid surface)

Note: if you replace laminate counters with new laminate… it’s not an upgrade. So like I said, if you replaced it because it was broken it’s called maintenance. If you replaced it with something better then it can be considered an upgrade. And believe me a buyer knows and upgrade when they see one and so does the appraiser who has to give it value. So wouldn't you rather me tell you in advance or have the appraiser reduce your value right before closing by several thousand $$$ and possibly cost you a home sale?

This beautiful Fort Walton Beach Florida home, near Lowe's and Sam's, was sold in just over 60 days! Part of the appeal of 728 Hart Dr. was the fantastic remodeling, especially in the kitchen. Granite counters, tile backsplashes, new cabinets and new appliances were some of the upgrades. The home, built in 1987, was over 1700 square feet, and was impeccably maintained. The lot was about one-half acre, which is unusual for Fort Walton Beach, where most lots are smaller. Listed at $177,900, there were multiple offers.

728 Hart Dr., Fort Walton Beach sold for $170,000. The sellers contributed $5,500 toward buyer closing costs. Why is that important to know? When using this sale as a "comparable" sale to price other properties, the significant seller credit means, in essence, the home sold for $164,500. For example, if a homeowner with an identical property asked me what their home would sell for, I would not tell them $170,000 - that would be too high. I would suggest they keep in mind that relocating military buyers coming into Eglin Air Force Base, typically ask for seller credits to help pay closing costs. That must be kept in mind when anticipating net proceeds. I hope that makes sense to you. If not, send me an email and I will explain further.

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Call toll-free 1-877-487-9639 or local 850-650-7883 ext 204
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Fort Walton Beach real estate

Fort Walton Beach short sale agent

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, is a short sale and pre-foreclosure specialist and has been featured in "Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine" and "Florida Realtor Magazine". She has successfully helped hundreds of families avoid foreclosure through short sale along the Emerald Coast of Florida. Wendy Rulnick is knowledgeable in all aspects of short sale, including VA Compromise Sale, FHA HUD pre-foreclosure sale, HAP military PCS, HAFA, Bank of America Coop program and more. She is also co-founder of www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com and short sale instructor to agents across the United States. Wendy Rulnick sells real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Crestview, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Panama City Beach, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.

As I continue to receive calls and e-mails asking the question, “is this for real” or “is this a scam” I’m amazed at the lengths companies will go through to make homeowners think the information they are receiving is from their own mortgage lender or the VA or another legitimate entity. While there are some companies out there that are trying to help, there are twice as many out there with ill intent.

While I try to advise people carefully, on these things, I was happy to find that Freddie Mac has identified the same things to people.

Following are six red flags identified by Loan Modification Scam Alert^TM, a national public education campaign, to indicate that you may be dealing with fraud:

• A company/person asks for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance or reinstate your mortgage.
• A company/person guarantees they can stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified.

(many have paid $1700 and more to have people tell them this, and suddenly there is a foreclosure notice on the door)

• A company/person advises you to stop paying your mortgage company and pay them instead.

(what causes the damage to your credit scores is the not paying the mortgage, not the short sale for example)

• A company pressures you to sign over the deed to your home or sign any paperwork that you haven't had a chance to read, and you don't fully understand.
• A company other than your lender claims to offer "government-approved" or "official government" loan modifications.

(If you receive something that causes you to raise your eyebrows... shred it!)

• A company/person you don't know asks you to release personal financial information online or over the phone.

Freddie Mac is the co-chair of the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network that is working with the new Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and others to track and prosecute mortgage fraud.

Call your lender with questions about loan modification scams – knowledge is your best defense. You can also follow the fraud alert folks on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/loanscam

Karen@KarenButler.com

850-830-8780

Military Relocation Specialist

Fort Walton Beach, Fl

But I almost want to... You have got to be kidding me! I received an e-mail alert that someone mentioned me on Twitter today. Hmm, I wonder who, was it in response to something I posted earlier? Noooo, it said:

"Happy #FF to great local tweeps @KarensMyRealtor" Now I obviously have no clue to what #FF means, so like the good school girl that I've always been, I go and look it up. Sorry I GOOGLE'D it. LOL. Okay, I found a definition that says it means "follow Friday" WTH? Well that cleared things up for me... NOT! Okay, now I have to figure out what that means and why does it pertain to me? Let's look that up, and yes, I'm feeling like a caveman right now.

The definition of #FollowFriday is every friday you can use #followfriday to suggest people to follow, e.g. you would write #followfriday @sarahlane @KarenButler @JoeDonut.

And in case you didn't know this (#) is called a HashTag. You'll see something in a tweet that has # as a prefix. For example, if you've seen tweets related to the recent college football scandal you will notice some have a #Sandusky in them. So basically a hash tag is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. Example, if you type in #Lost (it's not case sensitive by the way), a list of tweets related to the TV show. What you won't get are tweets that say "I lost my keys, my wallet or my dog", because they aren't precedd by the hash tag.

The flip side is that if you search using the #, and someone wrote a tweet about the show Lost without including it, that tweet won't show up in your result, even if Lost appears in the tweet eg, "Do you think Lost has more fans than project runway?"

So in essence, it gives you a way of doing some targeted searches like #Floridaopenhouse. Technology is only as good as what you can understand.

Now, don't we all feel smarter? I know I do!

Water's Edge is my featured complex today. Located at 520 Santa Rosa Blvd. in Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548.

It has 6 floors and 106 units. There are 40 one bedroom units, 42 two bedroom units and 24 3 bedroom units. There is covered and non-covered parking available. Today there are a total of 14 active listings in this complex. Two are one bedroom units, 5 are two bedroom units and the rest are 3 bedroom units. Listing prices range from $211,900 to a high of $525,000.

The complex is directly on the Gulf of Mexico with 410 feet of dedicated beach frontage. It has a 5,000 square foot pool with 1,500 square feet heated during the cooler months. There is a 6,000 square foot terrace, an on-site office, exercise room, three level parking and beach walk over. The units feature porcelain tile, granite countertops and tile in the kitchen and foyers. It was built in 2002.

It is close to nearby restaurants, shops, and the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island and just a short drive to Destin, FL.

I work Exclusively as your Buyer's Agent and can assist you with a purchase at Water's Edge if you so desire.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warmly yours,

Kelly Klein, Lifeguard Real Estate, Inc. 850-420-2480

Http://www.KellyKleinSoldMine.com