Amy Soto, CDPE

I have a listing that is a short sale that has a fast approaching court date for the judge to set the date for foreclosure. The seller wants me to go with her to please with the judge on how hard we havebeen trying to get this home sold and how we had an offer that the bank would not accept but no one in three months has offered what the bank wants. in desperation I lowered the price incrementally and hope to get an offer tomorrrow, but the court date is in three days.

Does anyone have any experience going to the courthouse with the seller to try to forstall the sale? ill the judges even listen to a real estate agent?

Wonderful 4 bedroom pool home with a pond view! All appliances in the home including washer, dryer and water softener. Large screened pool with pool service included and a fenced backyard are just perfect for enjoying warm summer evenings! Close to Tampa for an easy commute! You will love the tranquil setting of this small neighborhood that is so close to everything! Home is available for move in on October 1st!

Lake St Charles is located in north Riverview ,Florida- just south of Bloomingdale Rd off of Highway 301. What makes this neighborhood so great? Well, the first thing is it's proximity to the interstate! it is Just a couple minutes to the Riverview entrance of I-75 and from I-75 you can get to to the other interstates to get where you need to go very quickly. Downtown Tampa, Macdill AFB, St Petersburg, Bradenton and Sarasota are all a short drive away! But Lake St Charles doesn't just have the interstate access going for it, the neighborhood itself is a wonderful place to be! The amenities are awesome- a two and a half mile biking and jogging trail is a safe place for my family to ride their bikes or walk the dog. There is also a dog park we can take the dog to to let her run around. My kids love to meet their friends at the community pool and play the afternoon away. On the cooler days the hot tub is great! Sometimes we grab the tennis rackets and go down to the courts to play a little tennis- they are even lighted for night time use! here is also sand volleyball, basketball, baseball and soccer fields. We have so much to do we don't even have to leave the neighborhood!

In addition to all of our wonderful amenities, our community fees are much lower than many other newer neighborhoods so it costs less to live in Lake St Charles. The schoold are close by with several options to choose from, including local Charter Schools and we have a grocery store right at the front of the neighborhood for those quick trips to get somehting we forgot!

Oh did I mention the wildlife? From foxes to rabbits to sand hill cranes and eagles, we have it all. there is nothing like seeing a den of baby foxes playing in the distance as we walk the trail!

In addition to having lived in the neighborhood for the past ten years, I also sell homes here! If you are thinking about buying or selling in the Lake St Charles area, please give me a call or visit my website at http://www.Riverviewhomes.com. And if you just moved to the neighborhood, Welcome Home! You'll love it!

In the last few weeks I have seen a huge upswing in people looking for rental homes, as well as owner's deciding to rent their homes rather than selling in the present market. Despite all the news reports of people "walking away" from their homes, there are many people who do not want to destroy their credit (or their security clearances) and choose renting their homes and hiring a property manager as an alternative.

Conversely, so many people are afraid to purchase with the uncertainty of the current market that renting has become quite attractive. If an owner prices their home competitvely we can often get it rented within just a few weeks or less- it becomes a win- win situation for both parties!

We thought it would never come but I think we might finally be starting to see the bottom of the market in the Riverview and Brandon areas of Florida! In a recent four week and 5 offer jaunt with a pair of wonderful (and wonderfully partient ) first time home buyers I could not believe we faced such brutal competition. My buyers had done everything right- they had already been fully approved for a house through a major bank- all we needed was the house. We put an offer on the first house only to find out after constant efforts to get in touch with the agent for 5 days that the house had a contract on it already for several weeks. She was on vacation in Australia and evidently the person she left to handle her business did not even know what was going on with her business and her office did not either!! How professional is that??

Our second offer was on a short sale, but wouldn't you know it the agent would not let the seller sign it - he just wanted to submit it to the bank unsigned- another person came along three days later with a higher offer!

Offer three was a duplicate of offer 2- same agent - different house-same outcome!

Offer four was an REO on a bid process that was not accepted.

Offer 5? Well offer five was the gem! A brand new house still being built in which we got a price reduction , 6% in closing costs, upgrades, and a buydown to a fixed interest rate of 5.25%.

So, it took us a while but we are finally locked into a contract and I have learned a valuable lesson with buyers in the lower price ranges of this market- FIND A BUILDER HOME! I am sold, no hassles, instant answers, instant contracts, satisfied buyers. What more can we ask for?? Mission complete- almost!