Foreclosure Specialist Andy Tolbert

5 Crazy Things That May Be Making Your House "Un-Buyable"

In my recent adventures working with several buyers looking for homes, I have seen a few things that have been a little offensive, disturbing (to both me and my buyers) and even a little scary!

Whether you are a listing agent or a seller, there are several little things you can do to make your house look better than the thousands of others that are undoubtedly for sale in your city.

#1 Excorcise the "Pet Cemetary" in the back yard. Yep, seriously. I showed a foreclosure the other day and in the back yard is a little wooden cross with a name on it. My buyer did not feel comfortable with that AT ALL. She liked the house enough that she has gone to contract on it anyway, but she still asks what she's supposed to do about the "grave." I hope you realize that some people would have seen that, and based on their personal beliefs, not purchased that home. Period. Tip: Talk to the seller about removing. (I just thought of something! I hope is was a pet, and not the ex-husband!)

#2 Your home should be inviting and friendly, but NOT "420 Friendly" Last year someone responded to one of my Craigslist postings for a rental and asked if we were "420 Friendly" and since I didn't know what that meant, I Googled it. It means is ok with Marijuana Smokers in the house. Last week I went to meet with a potential listing, and in one of the teenager's rooms painted in black high gloss paint were the numbers 420 on the wall. I don't know if the father knows what that means or not, but I told him it needs to go (as well as all of the pictures of girls in g-strings hanging on the wall.

#3 Don't make us feel uncomfortable if you'll be home during a showing. A few weeks ago we had an appointment to see a house and I had been told that the parent and child were home sick (but it was ok to show). When I knocked on the door, nobody answered, so I thought they had gone out to leave the home empty for us. When I came in I even called out "Hello! Anybody Home?" and there was no answer. We walked all around the downstairs and the back yard and then when we went upstairs, we heard someone moving around in one of the bedrooms that had the door closed and the hall bath had the door closed and the light and fan were obviously on. We felt very uncomfortable and left quickly. Tip: If your seller will be home at a showing, coach them on how to act: Answer the door politely and just tell the agent/buyer that you will be in the back yard/living room/whereever if they have any questions.

#4 Go Gators!!!! But not when selling your home. Take down things like collegiate and pro team paraphernalia (what if your buyer is for the "Other" team? we don't want ANYTHING to turn them off of your home), Political references (same reason), and "stuffed animals" like deer heads on the wall and mounted fish (some people are highly offended by these items, not me, but I'm not willing to risk a sale over it!). Tip: When I list a property, I walk through the house and point out everything that I would like to see packed away. I explain to the seller my reasoning behind it, and they are usually just fine with the idea once explained.

One listing I previewed for my clients via photos in the MLS has a bonus room (converted garage) that the photo had every inch of the walls with beer signs and other posters and a pool table in the middle of the room. Hanging over the pool table was: a taxidermy shark with a skull in it's mouth and a rebel flag on the ceiling. I don't know of anybody that would look at that picture and say "Honey, let's go look at that one...it really looks nice!"

#5 What's that smell? 2 weeks ago we had an appointment to show a property and the sellers were leaving the home before we got there. When I walked in I was slapped in the face with the strongest perfume smell in the world. Not air-freshener, PERFUME! I think the seller had walked around the house and sprayed perfume right before they left. Great! I know you want your home to smell good, but remember, many people are allergic or sensitive to perfumes! They can't look at your house if their eyes are watering and they have to leave the house to sneeze! Tip: Coach your sellers. Vanilla seems to be a fragrance that smells good and most people are not affected by. My favorite is the plug-ins or the oil-plug ins in the vanilla fragrance.

Hopefully you read these 5 tips and say "Duhhhh" but obviously there are at least 5 realtors out there that need to read this (and maybe you have someone you'd like to forward it to!)

(My Blurb: I write a weekly e-newsletter on ideas, tips, and market changes we're facing. If you would like to subscribe, go to www.AndyTolbert.com and you can also download my free report: "The 6 Critical Questions that every real estate professional needs to aks about foreclosures"

Tonight at 7pm the City of Sanford will hold a first reading and initial vote for a whole slew of new ordinances that will affect ALL property owners in Sanford AND EVERYWHERE ELSE IN FLORIDA!

What we've seen in the past is that when one city passes things like this, other cities just follow (like lemmings!) In fact, Sanford's is based partly on one enacted in Palm Coast in Flagler County.

Here are a few of the things they are proposing:

1. Install the 2006 International Housing Maintenance Code. This will affect ALL homeowners, not just investors. All homeowners will need to bring their homes up to 2006 codes, and they are NOT proposing any kind of a "grandfather clause" if you have an older home. This will cause many homeowners to "walk away" because they don't have the money to upgrade their homes.

2. Increase the maximum daily fine for code enforcement violations from $250 per day to $1,000 per day! So everyone that can't fix their house under item #1 may have fines racking up at $1,000 per day.

3. Every owner of an investment property in Sanford will either have to live in this county or one of the ones immediately touching it OR designate a local representative that has authority to speak and act on your behalf (almost like a power of attorney). You will also have to register that person with the city.

4. All rental property owners will need a city occupational license under the new regulations

5 (my favorite, you're going to love this one!) Because of all of the vacant/foreclosure houses, they came up with this one. As soon as a lender starts the foreclosure (defined as the court filing OR sending a demand letter) the lender will now be responsible for the maintenance on the house (everything installed under item #1 above including trash, windows, yard, peeling paint, etc.). The lender will also need to have a local representative within 20 miles of the property and pay a $100 registration fee to the city. They also want the lender to have a physical address in the State of Florida so they can serve code enforcement notices easier. Do you believe that!

I can't get a lender to respond when I've got a ready-willing-and-able cash buyer! How does the city think this is going to work?

If you are anywhere close to the City of Sanford and can show up tonight at 6:30pm (even if you don't have property here) then please do! The Orlando Regional Realtor Association is against these regulations as well as the Investors Resource Center and the Central Florida Realty Investors.

In a time where convincing buyers to buy is already an uphill battle, these measures will make Sanford even less attractive, and if it passes in Sanford, don't be surprised if you see it soon in YOUR city!

Details:

City of Sanford City Hall at 300 N Park Ave Sanford, FL 32771. We will be congregating at the North Side (by the waterfront) at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7.

If you need more info regarding this notice, please call Andy right away at 407-842-7700

I just got the most recent stats from Foreclosures.com for the Florida Market. Here's the top 10 Counties based on percentage of households with an LP filing against them in '08.

#10 Palm Beach 10.37% of all households

#9 Hernando 10.47%

#8 Dade 10.96%

#7 Orange 11.06%

#6 Pasco 11.46%

#5 (tie) Broward 11.71%

#5 (tie) Walton 11.71%

#4 St. Lucie 16.4%

#3 Flagler 16.58%

#2 Lee 21.59%

And the #1 County in all of Florida #1 Osceola 23.33%!

Many areas of Florida are seeing HALF of their MLS are either pre-foreclosure or REO. I guess it can't be ignored anymore...we ALL need to be foreclosure experts in this market!

To join my weekly newsletter for RE Pros, go to www.AndyTolbert.com and enter your name and email. I'll also keep you updated about local Florida continuing education trainings!

Well, it's 12:37 am on Friday morning...I just got home from Gator's Dockside with a few friends ( in the picture from left to right is: Peter, Eric, my husband Tim, and Me...I'm the one with the long hair!).

The University of Florida Gators just won the national championship game...and it was no easy task.

They had to overcome bad calls, awful refereeing, disgusting (thank you Fox) television coverage and lots of trash talking for a very long time leading up to this game...

does that sound like any industry you know of? maybe even one that you work in every day? We've faced awful markets and even worse media coverage but this year is our year to shine... so Realtors are just like the Gators. We're tough, we'll overcome our critics, and we'll win in the end.

Thanks for reading this, and stay positive on what 2009 has in store for you...the best is yet to come!

Andy & Tim Tolbert.

P.S. Go Gators!

P.S.S. I'll be shopping tomorrow for a new GATOR national champs t-shirt!

Hey All! I am so excited! I was interviewed 2 weeks ago for a nationally syndicated TV spot by Smart Woman on what a homeowner should do if they are facing foreclosure.

They came to my house and brought their TV crew and everything! We filmed in my "home office" (which happens to also be my guest room, we have a 2 bedroom home!)

It is supposed to air in January, I'll let you know when I know more.

It's important that we all do our part to tell the public that there ARE options available... I heard that 60% of all foreclosures that the banks take back NEVER attempted a single phone call to their lender for help.

60% don't even TRY!!!

I think at this point we all know that short sales are better for the seller AND the neighborhood values, so let's get that word out to as many people as we can.

Later 'Gator!