Melbourne, FL

So is this really the year to make that move up or purchase for the 1st time? I know, we have heard this each of the last 3 years as the market has continued to slide. After all a broken clock is right twice daily, so maybe the clock will be right after this :-)

There are always two sides to this kind of subject. I can only hope that to those out there do not put off their purchase because they think rates will stay low or they think home prices will keep falling. Now is the time to take advantage of a home in the area you want to live in, on the street you want the home site you want. Real Estate is a long term investment and to be able to buy a home at price levels not seen in years, in some areas prices are 50-60% below the peak price. Couple that with super low rates plus tax credits makes this the chance we may not see for a very very long time.

If we dig deeper than just emotions we can find some strong facts that would support a very favorable time for those looking to buy a home. The slow down of home building due to all the short sales and foreclosures have forced home builders to become much more lean in order to compete with the short sales and bank owned properties. New Home Builders are able to make some really good deals right now, this can be a great time to get a home with Lot's of upgrades and the energy efficiency that many other homes do not have.

In parts of Florida some areas the home builders our at prices below where they were before the boom started in 2002-2003. There are home builders that offer homes starting at $99,000 complete with homesite. These are fantastic deals for FIRST TIME BUYER that can have a payment for under $800.

For the higher price homes there are also some really good deals, there are many homes that were over $1 million now selling for close to $500,000 due to the overwhelming supply we had caused from the easy lending back up to 2006. Once again the home builders have been virtually shut down for the last 3 years and since the supply has come down along with prices. The home builders are offering huge discounts in this price category and even in some cases you can build a new home for less than what a resale would go for. This type of situation is what it will take to re balance the markets again. in 2001-2004 you were able to build new for less, thus the influx of new home buyers building and then flipping at higher prices.

If your clients might be in the market for a new home In Central Florida, please send a message and I will send you some information and help in anyway possible. LET'S SELL HOMES!!!

Steve Vitani

www.SteveSellsFlorida.com

Power Realty, LLC

THE ANSWER SHOULD BE: I CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO OWN IN TODAY'S MARKET.

IS THIS A QUESTION YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT TO YOURSELF IN THE MAYBE SOME 5-10 YEARS OF RENTING? MAYBE YOU TRIED WHEN THE MARKET WAS MUCH TOO EXPENSIVE AND WAS OUT OF YOUR BUDGET. OR MAYBE YOUR CREDIT WAS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH, MAYBE THESE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

1. HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR CREDIT OR HAD A PROFESSIONAL REVIEW WITH IN THE PAST 12 MONTH'S?

2. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY FIGURED OUT A MONTHLY BUDGET THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO OWN A HOME?

3. WHAT CAN I DO IF I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR A DOWN PAYMENT?

HOME OWNERSHIP IS A REAL PRIVILEGE AND DOES COME WITH SOME TERRIFIC REWARDS AS WELL AS SOME EXPENSE BUT THE WAY HOME PRICES ARE NOW IN SOME AREAS IT IS ACTUALLY LESS EXPENSIVE TO OWN, THAT'S RIGHT! WITH THE LOW INTEREST RATES AND LOW HOME PRICES TODAYS AFFORDABLE OPPORTUNITIES ARE JUST TOO DARN GOOD TO IGNORE.

IF YOU'RE READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO OWN, CONGRATULATIONS!

HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL TIPS TO PREPARE YOU:

FIRST THING; HAVE YOUR CREDIT PULLED VIA A MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL AS A TRI-MERGE OR REQUEST YOUR OWN FREE CREDIT REPORT FROM EACH OF THE AGENCIES: EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN AND TRANSUNION.

SECOND: IF YOU HAVE NOT SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH A LENDER, GATHER YOUR INCOME AND ASSET ITEMS TOGETHER SUCH AS: 2 YEARS TAX RETURNS, 2 YEARS W-2, RECENT PAY STUBS, BANKING STATEMENTS OR OTHER ASSET ACCOUNTS PAST 2 MONTH'S

MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR HOUSHOLD BUDGET IN ADVANCED, TO MAKE SURE TO GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH CUSHION IN CASE YOU NEED TO PURCHASE SOMETHING ADDTIONAL FOR YOUR HOME.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ENTIRE DOWN PAYMENT? FOR FHA THE REQUIRED DOWN PAYMENT IS 3.5% OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. FOR VA LOANS NO DOWN PAYMENT REQUIRED! IF YOU QUALIFY BUT NEED DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, THERE ARE 3 OPTIONS; 1. SAVE UP ENOUGH TO HAVE THE DOWN PAYMENT, 2. GET A GIFT FROM A FAMILY MEMBER, 3. SEEK A DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE LIKE FLORIDA THERE IS A POOL OF MONEY CALLED THE FLORIDA HOUSING AND FINANCE THAT HAS A CONTINUOUS POOL OF FUNDS, BUT YOU MUST USE A LENDER THAT IS APPROVED TO HANDLE THOSE LOANS LIKE SHELTER MORTGAGE.

SO NOW YOUR PRE-APPROVED WITH CONFIDENCE! FIND YOURSELF A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL THAT CAN MEET YOUR NEEDS AND MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR HOME SEARCH!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE INFORMATION REGARDING THE HOME BUYER TAX CREDITS OR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME!

STEVE VITANI- POWER REALTY, LLC

WWW.STEVESELLSFLORIDA.COM

As I take my regular walk with my dog, Bailey the Boxer, I enjoy the crispness in the air. It's a bit chilly. Blue jeans, a T shirt with a sweatshirt on is quite comfortable.

One of my favorite places to visit with Bailey is Wickham Park here in Melbourne Florida.

It's a favorite place for many. There's always a bustle of activity in the park.

I love the 50 minutes that it takes to get around the whole park.

This includes a stroll passed the playground, the shuffleboard courts, and the archery range.

There are 2 lakes that are safe for swimming. Although it's a bit chilly for that right now.

There's are picnic benches right next to the lake.

Or, you can rent a pavilion, and have a party, complete with a barbeque pit.

The park has an exercise relay that allows you to do different types of cardivosacular activities, including jumping jacks, sit ups, chin ups.

You name it, it's there.

There are beautiful foot bridges scattered around the park.

The park boasts volleyball courts, and horseshoe pits.

People come to the park to bicycle, or walk or some take the running course and go jogging.

Campers come from all over to enjoy the peaceful surroundings at the park.

There are new horse stables that have been built, however they are not yet in use. If you're lucky enough on the weekend, you can catch a horse show in the horse ring, complete with stadium seating.

There is now an ampitheater, where an occasional free movie is featured on a Friday night on the lawn.

Bring your frisbee, so you can get in a game of frisbee golf. The guys love it!

And last, but not least, don't forget to bring your dog to Wickham Park.

They love dogs. This is Bailey the Boxer's favorite place to go.

If you choose, there is a dog park, where you can let your dog loose in a fenced area and let him/her socialize with the other dogs.

Spend an hour or spend a day at Wickham Park. Admission to get into the park is free.

Camping costs extra.

Short sale, the sale of a property in which the proceeds of the sale fall short of the amount of money owed to the mortgage company. It often happens when an owner can no longer continue to make the payments on the home.

We talk to buyers each day that see properties being offered for short sale. Many want to jump right in because they look like great deals. But, we have found that there is a lot of misinformation in the marketplace about short sales.

>Typically, there is nothing short about the length of time that it takes to do a short sale. They can take 2 months or they can take longer, often up to a year. A buyer for a short sale property typically must be very patient and have some flexibility.

>The advertised price on a short sale, is not necessarily the price that the lender is going to take for the property. Often short sales are priced 10% to 15% below market value. This is to encourage a flurry of activity and often a bidding war when the house goes on the market.

>You, as a buyer may not be the only one that has an offer in on the property. You may be competing with multiple buyers for the same property.

>Typically, a short sale lender is not agreeable to doing or paying for any repairs on the property. They are normally sold in AS IS condition. Depending on the types of repairs needed on a house, this may rule out a VA or an FHA buyer. Typically, buyers that are using government insured loans are not allowed to do their own repairs on a property they are buying.

>The lender's BPO (brokers price opinion of value) must be in line with the appraisal that your lender has to order for your loan. If the property doesn't appraise or fall within the percentages of what the short sale lender determines they must get for the property, you may have to come to closing with money above and beyond the purchase price or your lender may refuse to finance the purchase for you.

>If the short sale takes too long, and the lender's BPO is over 90 days old, the short sale lender may have to order a new one. Or, they may have to go back and ask that it be adjusted for value or recertified because of it's age, especially in a declining market.

>If your Realtor or the title company that is doing your short sale negotations for you, is assigned to a difficult loan mitigator, with the seller's lending institution, that person can make the short sale incredibly tedious.

>Short sale mitigators can be slow to respond to requests. Remember, you're not special. You're just another file number to them.

>Just because a short sale listing in your MLS is advertised as APPROVED by the bank, that doesn't guarantee the short sale is approved for you. It can mean that there was a previous buyer for the property, and the lender approved the terms of that previous buyer's contract. One approval isn't a guarantee of an approved price/contract with you.

>Just because the property is advertised for sale, doesn't always guarantee that the seller's lender will agree to a short sale on the property. Typically a short sale is approved because of financial hardship, illness, death, military transfer, job loss, etc. Not all short sales make it to closing.

Short sale rules are ever changing.

Is there a first mortgage on the property?

Is there a second mortgage on the property?

Every situation is different. Every lender is different and every short sale mitigator is different. The banks, the mitigators, the negotiators for buyers, Realtors and anyone else involved in the short sale process are learning everyday.

Buyers are purchasing short sale properties everyday. Some are purchasing lovely homes at attractive prices.

Remember, the agent/negotiators representing you in the purchase of your short sale or in the sale of your short sale property are working incredibly hard for you. So, hang in there and try to be patient.

For sellers considering a short sale, it is always advisable to contact a real estate attorney BEFORE entering into a short sale agreement on your property. In states like Florida, courts allow mortgage lenders up to 5 years after a short sale is closed to file a deficiency judgment against you. Read the article at Bloomberg.

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County, Florida's Space Coast Real Estate & Investing

I specialize in Residential, Investment & Relocations. We can help with your Short Sale.

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property

We see them all the time, those houses listed for sale that need a good cleaning. The carpets need to be shampooed, a room or two needs a coat of paint. The yard needs a good mowing and the bushes need to be trimmed back. The house needs some of the junk cleared out of it. Box it up and get rid of it. The house is unkempt and/or poorly maintained. It may be like this for any one of a number of different reasons: divorce, family illness, elderly owners or a death. Or the owners just may not be the tidiest people on the block.

The buyer walks in, takes one look, and cuts $5000 off the price for painting. Hey, wait a minute, only one room needs to be painted.

They cut $5000 off of the price for new carpeting. Wait, the carpets just need a good cleaning.

The house is in a state of disarray. Another $5000 because the house is poorly maintained. Wait, nothing a good cleaning wouldn't take care of.

The buyer walks back outside, the lawn in not cut, nor have the bushes been maintained. There goes another $5000 off the price of the home.

The buyer begins to get nervous. Then, the buyer thinks about it a while longer. Well, if all these things haven't been maintained that I CAN see, what deferred maintenance is there on this home that I CAN'T see?

What else is wrong with the house?

What about the big ticket items? Has the A/C been serviced and the filters been regularly changed?

What about the roof? Maybe there are leaks that I can't see.

Have the appliances been kept in good working order?

What about the electric and the plumbing?

What hasn't been taken care of over the years that will break after I buy this house?

It's valid thinking and these are very real concerns when looking at a home in less than desirable condition.

Then the thinking becomes, these sellers are desparate. They need someone to take this property off their hands.

If the buyer makes an offer on this poorly maintained property, it typcially will be a low one.

Or what if the buyer just says, 'Oh forget it, I don't want to buy this place. There are just too many things wrong with it."

The buyer walks away.

This home may sit on the market for many months, unsold.

How different would this scenario have been if those rooms had been painted, the clutter had been removed, the carpets had been cleaned, and the lawn and bushes had been properly mowed and trimmed BEFORE this home went on the market?

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County, Florida's Space Coast Real Estate & Investing

I specialize in Residential, Investment & Relocations. We have a team of professionals that can help with your Short Sale.

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property