Andrea & Darrin Mills YourHighlandsCountyRealtors 863-202-0729

It's already November, how could the last 10 months slip by so fast? It is true, times flies when you are busy and time has been lightening fast for us and, according to the lastest numbers for Highlands County, this holds true for many of our fellow Realtors.

93 sales in October, that's 30 more than in September, which wasn't a bad month either. Surprisingly, despite the increase in sales, there is a noticable decrease in distress sales. At the same time, the average sale price for all of Highlands County dropped by $7,000 and the average time it took to sell a home was only 135 days, compared to 148 in September.

We believe non-distress sellers have begun to realize that it only makes sense to put their property on the market if they are able to compete with the distress sales, which can be had at unbelievably low prices.

We can't wait to see what the end of the year numbers have to say!!!!!

Darrin & Andrea Mills
www.millsrealestate.net/blog

Last week we were contacted by an absentee owner looking for a realtor in our area with a buyer for their bank approved short sale. The property is a beautiful townhouse located in one of Sebring's most prestigeous communities, The Sebring Country Club.

Upon speaking with the owners, residing in the Ft. Lauderdale area, we learned that they had hired a Ft. Lauderdale agent to list, market and sell the property. Also involved was a Ft. Lauderdale paralegal to negotiate the sale with the lender. The Ft. Lauderdale agent had found a buyer for the town house. There is no doubt in my mind that both the agent and the paralegal are highly regarded professionals even though the bank didn't approve the offer and the buyer ended up walking and purchasing townhouse. Sometimes things just don't work out, right?

We work with a local paralegal and closing agent to negotiate all our short sales and so far 100% of our short sale transactions have closed successfully.

Here's why using local professionals is always your best bet:

1. A local agent knows his local market. He or she will be able to defend the listing price with carefully selected comparables.

2. A local agent knows local buyers. He or she will be able to substitute a local buyer with another local buyer.

3. A local agent knows his fellow local agents. If he or she can't find a substitute local buyer, he or she will know which fellow agent has a local substitute buyer.

4. A local agent will likely have a trustworthy working relationship established with a local paralegal.

5. A local paralegal will have access to the local MLS to pull comps, listing history and whatever information the lender might require in order to approve a sale.

6. A local paralegal and closing agent will be able to close the transaction in the county where the property is located.

Legally, we are licensed to sell real estate in the State of Florida. This literally means we can list and sell property in Miami even though we are located in Sebring, about 2 hours northwest of Miami. Practically, is this a good idea? Probably not! We have no knowledge of the Miami real estate market. We are not familiar with local customs, we are not familiar with the local agents and other real estate related professionals. We also do not have the time and financial resourses to travel back and forth to Miami to service the listing.

We live in Highlands County. We know our market, we know our fellow agents and we know how to list and sell real estate in our area.

If you own property in Highlands County, consult local professionals!

What? Buyer Agents work for FREE?

This question comes up quite often when working with buyers, especially if they are from out of town or from out of state. Now before we go any further, let me say this:

Every state has their own rules and regulations regarding buyer agents and listing agents.
Every region within every state might have its own customs regarding many things pertaining real estate.

This is how it works in Highlands County, Florida:

Generally, buyers do not pay their buyer agent! The buyer agent gets a percentage of the commission the listing agent earns from the seller.

Let's say you are from up north and are looking to buy a retirement home in Highlands County Florida. You call us up and we discuss your wants and needs. After we have identified several properties that are of interest to you, we go out and take a look at them. As I have said in an earlier post, we are not limited to our own listings or office listings. We will show you any home for sale through any agent and any office. Now, once we have found your dream home and have written up an offer that was accepted by the seller, we move towards the closing table. You will not have to pay us a dime! Our services are completely FREE to you, the buyer!
The listing agent offers a split of their commission to acooperating broker once they enter their listing into the MLS. This is how the buyer agent gets paid. It will show up on the top portion of page 1 on the final closing statement and it will be paid out of the seller's proceeds.

Now it makes even more sense to call us to help you find that dreamhome in Highlands County - it doesn't cost you dime to work with a pro!

Most of our closings are mail-outs and we hardly get to see the closing table. Yesterday, I had the honor of taking some very dear clients to the closing table and hand them the key to their new home. Priceless!

It had been a very eventful transaction from the time we first met with Paul & Judi. They made an offer on one of our listings, a short sale in a very active and well kept adult community in the heart of Sebring. They loved the home and they were very familiar with the neighbors. In fact, the neighbor across the street from our listing called Judi on the phone the second my husband Darrin put our sign in the frontyard. Goes to show that sign in the front yard IS important!

Paul and Judi were in the process of selling their previous home and the offer we wrote was not only contingent upon financing but also on the sale of their home. We submitted to the lender an addendum of removal of "sale of home contingency" after their home sold. Soon thereafter, our clients grew impatient with the short sale process. They had moved in with Paul's lovely Mom and not knowing whether or not the sale would be approved and how long it would take made them antsy.

We started looking at other homes, priced within their range and without the short sale waiting time. Why do they call it s-h-o-r-t sale anyway? This is a rhetoric question! After we had looked at a number of homes, Paul and Judi zeroed in on a lovely 2 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. The privacy fenced yard was perfect for their two little dogs and what do you know...the screened lanai had a doggy door, perfectly sized for the bubbly pooches. We wrote an offer after getting a release from contract on the previous home.

The initial offer was countered by the sellers and after some soul searching, our clients accepted the seller's counter offer. Paul and Judi were happy and so were we! The home appraised for purchase price, homeinspection only revealed some minor issues, no termites found - ready to close!

We're happy to see our clients move into their new home. We're happy to see them excited and we're happy we were able to help them along the way. We will miss them and we hope Judi will continue emailing with us. Btw, if you are in Highlands County and looking to get beautified, stop by Judi's Place of Hair and Nails, 271 US 27 N (inbetween Highlands Today and the Chamber of Commerce). Call ahead for an appointment: 863-382-9911

Highlands County Real Estate - It's a great time to sell your Sebring home!!!

Looking back to January 2009, we can definitely tell a big difference in market activity in Highlands County and Sebring specifically. Our phones have been ringing off the hook for showing requests from cooperating agents and interested buyers as well. It's no wonder with all those great deals waiting for new owners.

Our own listing inventory is shrinking steadily because we almost can't list homes as fast as they go under contract and sell. We all remember the days where even the well priced homes wouldn't sell under 90 days and you were lucky to get an offer, even if it was a shaky one. These days, we get multiple offers after only a few weeks on the market and we have agents ask us to notify them once we get another "great deal" on the market or to let them know if one of our deals falls through so they can get their buyers in place to make an offer. So, if you are thinking about selling your Sebring home, give us a call! Due to high volume of offers, we need to replenish our inventory! Btw, we list and sell Avon Park homes as well as Lake Placid homes!.

Whether you are looking to just move on or avoid foreclosure: It's a great time to sell your Sebring home! We find many first timers among our buyer clients, eager to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit with it's looming deadline. Most popular with the first time buyers are the short sales and foreclosures. While a short sale is not for everyone, there are most certainly some really great deals available and a thrifty buyer can end up with a true dreamhome with only a bit of sweat equity invested. If you are looking to purchase, let us help you find your Sebring home. Btw, we can also assist you in finding your Avon Park home or Lake Placid home!


With around 140 - 150 foreclosure filings per month in Highlands County, we don't expect there to be a shortage of short sale, pun intended, for quiet some time. Homeowners that find themselves unable to keep up with their mortgage payment are well advised to explore their options and take advantage of some of the alternatives to foreclosure, such as Short Sales. We find that while many homeowners have heard of the term, only a few understand how short sales work. We believe that most homeowners walk away from their home because they believe they have no other option. We work with investor owners as well as owner occupants and there is no cost involved to meet and speak with us about your situation.