Pam Keen

BP announced the availability of state-specific websites designed to offer information to residents of communities affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Residents are encouraged to visit these sites frequently and sign up for the mailing list to receive the most current information about the spill response.
These websites provide up-to-date information about activities and events most important to residents of each state. Residents can sign up to receive email updates, follow an RSS feed, a Twitter feed or a Facebook page with this information. The sites will provide updates on BP's state and local response plans, activities, information about opportunities to be involved in clean-up efforts and information from the many participating agencies and organizations in each state.
Alabama: www.alabamagulfresponse.com
Florida: www.floridagulfresponse.com

In Pensacola we currently have the Perdido Beaches under a health alert and visitors have been asked to avoid contact with oil or the water, but Pensacola Beach is still open. The oil slick is just offshrore so this may change by the weekend.

It is still too early to tell how this will affect our real estate sales values and number of sales inland, but I feel that the beach real estate which has already suffered over the past couple of years will continue to decline, and our local economy will be affected for a long time to come due to tourist eservations for this summer that are being cancelled.

I am happy to report we still have a very active rental market and we intend to continue to solicit new properties for our long term rental program. Clean up workers will likely need a place to live, and the military will continue to transfer people in and out of our area so there will always be a need for this type of housing.

I live in Gulf Breeze Florida and am sad to see that this oil spill in Louisiana is going to be affecting our beautiful coastline, our wildlife and our economy for a long time to come. As if Florida did not have enough problems. Today at 3 pm a state of emergency was declared for our area. Local areas are expected to begin seeing the impact of the Deepwater Horizon collapse sometime Monday, May 3, with Escambia County affected first. For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov

Citizens can sign up to automatically to receive breaking news alerts from Santa Rosa County Emergency Management via e-mail or as a text message on their cell phone at: www.santarosa.fl.gov/emergency/publicwarning.html.

With the downturn in the real estate market, I have been focusing on two things in my real estate business:

1.) helping investors find great deals on homes they can lease for a positive cash flow and future appreciation. Some of the investors are using self directed IRA's to get the money to pay cash and fix up distressed properties.

and

2.) my property management business. Providing property owners and renters in the Pensacola area with quality management services has paid off for my company. I am happy to report we have achieved the status of number one for our MLS area for homes rented for the past 12 months. I am thankful to all my clients and my property management team for their dedication.

Market Penetration By Company 3/25/2009 - 3/25/2010 Status: R, Category: Rental, Side: Both Sides Rank Code Name SidesVolumeAverage% Sides% Volume

Category:5
1	ALLS01	REALTY MASTERS	504	$423,158	$1,679	5.65%	5.25%
2	OLDS01	OLD SOUTH PROPERTIES INC	498	$417,538	$1,676	5.58%	5.18%
3	RMAX01	RE/MAX HORIZONS REALTY	396	$310,694	$1,569	4.43%	3.85%
4	MD&K01	MARK DOWNEY & ASSOCIATES, INC.	306	$276,700	$1,808	3.43%	3.43%
5	SHOM01	CENTURY 21 SOUTHERN HOMES RLTY, INC	294	$233,100	$1,585	3.29%	2.89%
6	TSBR01	TEAM SANDY BLANTON REALTY, INC	294	$179,628	$1,221	3.29%	2.22%
7	SUNQ01	SUN QUEST PROPERTIES OF NWF,I	290	$247,830	$1,709	3.25%	3.07%
8	BEUM01	BEUMER REALTY	270	$256,780	$1,902	3.02%	3.18%
9	CBU002	COLDWELL BANKER UNITED, REALTORS	268	$273,960	$2,044	3.00%	3.39%
10	PRSI01	PERDIDO SAND REALTY, INC.	248	$308,410	$2,487	2.78%	3.82%

Important News!

 Effective for all sales contracts dated on or after February 1, 2010.

Certain property may be resold and financed using FHA insured financing without waiting 90 days.

FHA has temporarily waived the 90 day wait period, on certain transactions. These recently purchased homes may be sold and financed with FHA insurance

•Ø  Private sellers and investors are now eligible to take advantage of this waiver.

 •Ø  These transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and the seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.

 •Ø  In cases where the sales price is 20% or greater than the seller's acquisition, the lender must justify the increase in value with supporting documentation of renovation, repair and rehab work.

 •Ø  If no work was performed the appraiser must provide an appropriate explanation of the increase in property value since the prior title transfer.

 •Ø  The lender must order a property inspection and provide that report to the home buyer. Buyer's may be charged for the cost of this inspection.

If you have transactions meeting this guideline you are advised to read the waiver in its entirety here: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf

 

Pam Keen has two websites Http://www.PamKeen.com and Http://PensacolaFloridaHomesForSale.com They have both been updated with a new look and more information on buying and selling as well as featured listings. We are still working on finishing touches to both of these sites but I hope you will find them to be a valuable resource regarding buying, selling, renting and investing in the Pensacola area. I also have started a Blog, which you can access through my website under the About Realty Masters tab. I am not that good at it, but I will try to provide some good information to anyone who wants to subscribe..

2009 was a challenging year for real estate, but Realty Masters team of professionals rose to the challenge. We have managed to keep our properties rented and I closed 30 sales transactions, became a National Association of Realtors Certified Short Sale and Foreclosure Specialist as well as obtained the CRS designation and learned a lot in the process. I also attended both the Florida and National Association of Residential Property Managers' Conventions and brought back a wealth of information to my staff. I have completed several short sales this year, and am in the process of working on several more that we hope to close. If you need any info about short sales, email me and I can provide you a packet for your review. I am aware that many people have lost their jobs or had their income reduced, if you are in a hardship situation please contact me and lets discuss it. If you have decided you need to liquidate any properties, we are hoping this year will be better than the last year has been.

It is still a buyers market, but the $8000 first time home buyers tax credit was a boost for us and we were glad to see that it was extended and expanded to include $6500 tax credit for people who have been in their homes for over 5 of the past 8 years.

It may not be the best time to sell, but our inventory has been steadily coming down. Most prices are still lower than they were in 2004, condos and waterfront homes are the biggest bargains in our area, but there is a bargain for anyone who really wants to invest. I have several owners including myself who are using self directed IRA's to purchase real estate and the returns are really looking good, if you have an interest in this type of investment give me a call any time.

Pam Keen