Andy Tolbert Orlando Waterfront Homes for Sale

Weirdness is Running Rampant in Our Office...

Have you ever had one of those days...

I've been having one of those WEEKS in our office!

First, one of our owners (remember, we manage rental units too) has been foreclosed on. Except... OOOPS... it was supposed to be the neighbor's unit, not his! He's never missed a payment! Hmmm...

Second, my title company catches an issue on one of my short sales. Seems that back in 2008 when my seller got divorced, the paralegal she hired to handle the documents accidentally left someone elses name in one of the spots on the deed, so now we have to track down Carlos, who is now part owner of the home, and who ALSO has a judgment against him that will now need to be paid to clear title. Bad news... nobody knows who Carlos is and we can't find him. Good news... the attorney that is foreclosing also didn't know about Carlos, so the foreclosure is filed wrong and they'll have to start all over on the foreclosure! Yayyy! Delayed so I can close the short sale!

Third, one of my other files the title company found that the LAST FOUR DEED TRANSFERS have had the wrong legal description on them, so again... sale postponed, need to fix title, then close on the short sale!

And the list goes on... a seller that wants me to pre-approve a buyer THEN they'll list with me. (not sure how I find a buyer if I haven't listed the property yet... Hmmm...)

Some days I love my job... others I think about moving to a log cabin in the woods (actually, a beach cabana on a private island! :)

What craziness have YOU seen lately?

By the way... this just goes to show that consumers HAVE to have an experienced professional on their team in today's crazy market...

Another Loan Mod bites the dust! My New Listing (again!)

Back in the summer of 2010 I listed a home. It was a HAFA short sale deal where the bank had already given us the price and approved the seller, I just had to find the buyer.

We got a buyer within the first week, but before the seller could even sign the contract, an attorney contacted her and told her that he would be able to do a loan modification for her and let her keep her house at a payment she could afford. (remember she had already been turned down for a HAMP mod, that's why we were in the HAFA program!).

Well, guess what? Friday I got a call from her, and Monday evening I re-listed her home. Want to know what the attorney was able to get for her?

Her old mortgage payment was $1,650 per month. The Mod that the attorney negotiated? If she sends the bank $3,200 down, they will lower her payment to $1,634. Yes, you read that right. She gives them $3,200 and they will lower her payment by $16 per month. Wow, that's really a help to her budget I bet!

Don't get me wrong... I think that GOOD modifications are a great solution to what we're experiencing in our market, but some of these attorneys are feeding a line of crud to home owners and giving them false hope. How much did this false hope cost her in this case? $2,500 to the attorney!!! They take people's money and tell them "we'll try" and then when they get no results they say "we tried"

Use this example when you're talking to clients and share with them the success rates that you've personally seen clients have with modifications.

Please share with us what success you've seen in people getting loan mods, also, do you know of ANY non-owner occupied homes getting loan mods?

How Are You Doing On Your Goals So Far?

Here Are Some Tools To Help You Out!


OK. It's 2 weeks into the new year. Most people's resolutions (if they even bothered this year) are long-forgotten pipe-dreams already. They're up to their neck in "life" and can't focus on improvement. Sound familiar? Hit too close to home for you? Here are some tools you might find useful to stay on track:

2011 Realtor Power Planner by Andy This is a goal setting planner that I developed over 10 years ago and I've been using and sharing it ever since. It takes a thorough look back at the last year's accomplishments in your real estate business and guides you into setting acheivable goals in the new year. Make copies and share it around your office. (click on the "2011 Realtor" link for the download)

SWOT Assessment for your business This is a simple planner that you'll want to spend some serious thought-energy on completing. SWOT stands for Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. If you're in the Orange/Seminole/W. Volusia area, I'm offering you a NO COST 30 minute SWOT assessment appointment. Together we'll pull up your data on transactions from 2009 and 2010 and take a good hard look at the SWOT in your business and help formulate a plan for 2011 and beyond. This might be an eye-opener for you and the benefit of having an outside neutral party look at your business is priceless!

100 Day Challenge Program. It's not too late to get started! I'm currently using this program as well as my husband and several other agents here in our office. Whatever goal you've set for yourself... financial, educational, fitness, business etc. this program is a tool to help you get there! Use the code group97 to save $50 off the regular price of $147. CLICK HERE for more info!

Between these 3 tools there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to reach your goals in 2011 and beyond.

I've heard people say "make this your best year ever" but that's too limiting, I like to say "make this your best year SO FAR!"

Andy

Andy's Foreclosure Interview Reunites a Family After Years & Years!

Wow, this is a story you probably don't hear every day. Yesterday I was contacted by email by someone stating she was a relative of someone I had interviewed about losing her house. Through some back searching I found the article she was referring to, and it wasn't me that had interviewed the lady, I just happened to be interviewed in the same article. I never met her relative. In several emails back and forth though, I explained that I had never met her, but did a quick Google search and sent her a link with some local contact info including an email address and place of employment (all public records here... not disclosing any secret info!).

Well, today I just got this email:

"Andy

You have just been used by God to help two sisters fine each other and to discover that there are two more sisters My daughter and her sister are so happy right now it is unbelievable. They are both Managers and have two children thanks thanks and more thanks

My The Lord bless your life and family

Pastor Nissi"

Isn't that unbelievable?

Out of the tragedy of this young lady losing her home, a single mom and her 2 kids are now reunited with their family because of the story that was written about her.

And I had the honor of bringing them all back together.

Wow.

That's all I can say right now. Wow.

Is it safe to buy a foreclosed home?

Right now that is what's on most of America's minds... Is it safe to buy a foreclosure home? Several of the large lenders have frozen foreclosure proceedings because of possible mis-steps in the filing of the foreclosure case file. Some people argue that the entire foreclosure might be invalid, even on some homes that have already been resold to a new homeowner!

Last week I was interviewed by the New York Times for an article on this very topic! Writer Ron Lieber asked me what were some of the things that someone thinking of buying a home needs to be aware of when buying a bank owned home. Here's some things to watch out for:

• Right now in Central Florida there are about 400 homes that were recently pulled and coded as "temporarily off the market" in our MLS system. I can't say they were all a part of the freeze, but it's probably a good guess! If the home you're interested in was NOT pulled off the market, it's most likely not one that is affected.
• There is often a lot of damage to the homes, both from neglect and being vacant for so long and from vandalism and even sabotage. Some people take their anger out on the house and you might be buying the result of their anger. Make sure you hire a good home inspector to check the property out thoroughly before closing.
• If you are getting a mortgage to buy a home, a bank owned home may have challenges in the condition of the house. If it needs repairs it may not be financeable by a traditional loan and you may need an FHA 203K rehab loan that allows for the repair money to be included.
• The seller, in this case the bank, has the right to dictate the terms under which they will sell you their house. The banks are taking this to the extreme and will put numerous restrictions on you such as:
  • You can't resell or refinance YOUR house within a certain time frame
  • They won't pay certain closing costs that a seller normally pays. This means you will pay more to buy the house
  • If you don't close on time they will charge you $50-100/day for an extension
  • If you don't close they can keep your deposit (which by the way THEIR attorney will be holding)
  • They won't even give you a written contract... you will need to start your inspections and other costs based on a verbal acceptance... the written will follow in a week or two.
  • With your written acceptance, they will send you the "bank addendum" which changes all of the terms of the original offer. These can be a few pages to over 20 pages long. You must review this very carefully before signing. Once you've signed it you've accepted it.
• Often the properties are priced very low to drive competition and after you put in an offer you'll be told that there are "multiple offers" and they are asking you to come back with your "highest and best" offer. Often these properties will sell at or above the asking price, sometimes even 20-30% OVER asking price!
• Make sure you buy title insurance to cover any possible mistakes in the title.

I don't want these things to scare you from buying a foreclosed home. Many of my clients AND myself have bought foreclosed homes and have had no problems with them. It is intended to just make you aware of some of the things to watch out for before buying a bank owned home.

As you can see it is very important to have a Realtor® working for you that knows the ins and outs of buying a foreclosure home. Ask them how many buyers they've worked with and how many years they've been buying foreclosures.

If you're in the Central Florida area, I'd love to answer any questions you have about buying a bank owned home, either as a home to live in or as an investment property. Call me at 407-260-8800 ext. 107 right now!