Jim Hirschman

I would like to introduce everyone to the best Tennis and Racquet club in all of Sarasota Florida, Serendipity Racquet club. The club is great for a number of reasons first of which is the cost of membership, a mere $2000 per year for a family.

Now that's cheap! I lived in north of Boston for a dozen years or so, and to join a country club up there was $10-20k just for initiation not to mention the monthly dues were extra. Serendipity has 18 clay courts , an olympic size pool, a state of the art fitness plus a very active bar and social scene. If you're in real estate this is a great networking place. I would recomend to all of you realtors to invest in this type of club in your local area. And, I certainly recommend to all my clients to join up as well. My motto is, play tennis, have a drink , and sell'em a house. So, far I've picked up 2 listings and sold one home since I joined up 6 months ago.

Almost everytime I walk in there somebody is asking me how the market is, of course I tell'em it's perfect time to buy an investment property. You can buy condos real cheap on Siesta Key for less than $300k and make that your little weekend getaway or, rent it out and make some money. Either way it makes perfect sence to invest especially while interest rates are low.

I've been working with some Luxury home buyers on Longboat Key, Fl who want to find a beach property and are willing to spend $4million . You're probably saying "so what's your problem Jim"? My problem are sellers who still think they are entitled to make a $1million profit on a home they bought in '05 at the height of the market and haven't come to terms that we're in a real estate depression.

Since I primarily deal with buyers, this is what I envisioned a seller my might look like. There's 30 homes on Longboat Key that are priced over $3million and only 2 have sold since June.

When is this madnees going to end? One would have thought when the economy collapsed 3 months ago sellers would realize that if they bought in "04 or "05 that they might have to take 25% off and list it accordingly. I see sellers adjusting their price and the lower levels especially around the 500k mark and below. But it seems the Uber Rich are from another plant and believe they can wait this out. I guess will just have to wait and see.

A lot of my colleagues don't use them. I use them all the time and they work! Usually after I've taken my clients around all afternoon and we're just about to say our goodbyes I'll present them with the Buyer/Broker agreement. I like to do this after we're are done. After spending 3 or 4 hours in the car they feel comfortable with me and are more apt to sign versus presenting it to them at the beginning.

Explain the document to them and how it protects them and I'll also tell them that it protects me as well. I usally don't put any percentages in for "options" and I don't ask for a retainer. All I am really looking for is their word that if the buy a home in Sarasota even if they find the home buy themselves that they will go thru me.

When I first started as a realtor I didn't use them and a few of my first clients bought homes directly from the listing agent after spending days with me. I am sure if you're reading this post this has happened to you. Try the agreement if they feel uncomfortable signning , then ask for a handshake. If someone shakes your hand you have what you need too, a loyal buyer.

Good luck and let me know if it works for you too.

If you did see 60 Minutes last night you heard Whitney Tilson say we are probably only half way through the mortgage crisis. Tilson an investment fund manager saw, a year ago that the subprime mortgages were just the start. From his investment research firm Amherst Securites which specializes in mortgages it found that subprimes loans were defaulting. But, he also expanded on this reasarch to all the jumbo and exotic loans that were bundled up and sold during the boom years that are now coming to maturity.

All in all he says there's about $1.5 trillion loans coming due and he thinks 70% will default.