Johnny Davis

What is going on with some real estate agents these days? This is not a lie or even an exaggerated story. Yesterday, I had a buyer who was interested in looking at some short sales. I don't know about the area you are servicing, but in my area, a lot of the short sales have owners who are MIA (missing in action).I guess a lot of them have completely given up, so they just leave the area and their agent has no idea how to reach them. I don't want to waste my buyers time on those properties. I also don't want to waste their time on short sales that are still in the "fishing" stages. You know the houses...the ones where the agent puts a low, low price, trying to attract that initial offer so he/she can submit the package and get the negotiation under way.

Well, our MLS has the "Request A Showing" button where we can get the lock box code and register to show the house. That is fine and dandy, but I need to talk to the agent in charge to get my questions answered. I must have called on at least 20 short sales yesterday to find information...I TALKED TO 3 AGENTS. I did leave messages and 2 called me back. So out of 20 attempts to talk to the agent, I got a hold of 5 of them. A whopping 25% success rate. Does anybody answer their phones anymore? If you are that busy (which I doubt you are), hire an assistant. I want to sell your home, but I need to talk to you first!!!

Maybe I should change my whole advertising strategy to the following: Davis Signature Realty LLC...We aren't the biggest, but at least we answer our phones!!!

Here is a little excerpt from Jacob Riis "Stone Cutters Credo". It is a great little excerpt for those of us in the real estate profession. Really though, it could be applied to many people, many occupations.

Are you getting tired of marketing because nothing is happening with it? Are you getting tired of sending out your farming letters because you never get a response from them? Are you inviting people to church, but nobody will come? Are you dieting and eating right, but can't lose that last pound?

If any of those are you, maybe this will give you that little boost you need to keep on working hard!

"When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

Today is one of those days where it seems as if I have a ton of things to do and nothing is going quite like I had planned. Here is a nice little inspirational adversity quote for you to think on.

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum

Well, I didn't break my neck, I just ate lunch at the Cracker Barrel and I don't think my house is on fire. I guess my day is a little better than I thought!

I recently had the buyer for a house on 1566 Pier St., which is located in the Lakeview Pointe Subdivison in Clermont Florida. A couple days before closing, the title company called me and asked if I could find some information on the Home Owners Association. Since the house was bank owned, the listing agent had no information on the HOA.

Looking online, I found nothing. Frustrated by the lack of information online, I decided to walk the neighborhood and ask the homeowners if they knew anything about the HOA. Fortunately, I came across a very nice lady who pointed me in the right direction. So, for those people living in Lakeview Pointe or considering a move into the Lakeview Pointe Subdivison, here is where you can find all of the information on your HOA.

Lakeview Pointe Subdivision

Leland Management

HOA Documents

What can $200,000 get you in Clermont, Fl.? Well, let me show you the house that we found for our buyer that they closed on today!!

1566 Pier St. Clermont, Fl. 34711. Lakeview Pointe Subdivision. 2900 Sq. Ft. Pool. $162,500.

This was a Bank Owned home that we found a couple weeks ago. The buyers loved it, made an aggressive offer to the bank and we closed on it today.

One of the drawbacks of buying a bank owned home, is that sometimes the previous owner has taken all appliances. Still, they got a really good deal!