Sheila's Blog

Most of the listings in my local market of Tampa, Florida are short sales.  Nobody particularly likes them, but they are unavoidable.  Listing agents who represent sellers in a short sale are responsible for negotiating the seller's debt with their lender (or lenders in most situations).  This is a tedious and long pursuit that often takes three months to a year to get an approval from the lender.  During this time, sellers are receiving letters from their lender's attorney advising the home is entering or is already in foreclosure.  Many sellers throw the letters to the side and think nothing of them and do not advise their Realtor of the letter.  I understand sellers are fed up and just want the mess to disappear, but sellers must understand they cannot completely wipe their hands and let the Realtor handle everything.  The Realtor is busy with calling the lenders every few days and marketing and showing the property.  I have run across many sellers who do not keep track or respond at all to the lender's attorneys because they think the Realtor is going to handle everything.  Sellers must stay involved in the short sale of their home and they need to stay in contact with their Realtor for regular updates on what is going on with sale of their property before it goes into foreclosure.  As a rule, I always go onto the County Clerk's website to check the status of the foreclosure proceedings but I advise the seller that I rely on them to keep track of what is going on with their home because they will be notified way before I would possibly check. 

Don't let your home go to auction while you're in the process of a short sale.  Keep track of what is going on while your home is in foreclosure.  A simple phone call to your lender is sometimes all that is needed to delay the auction and the foreclsure.  A phone call that could be 2 to 3 years of bad credit compared to 7 to 10 years of bad credit. 

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For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com

Looking for a new home? Search the Tampa Real Estate market for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

If you are planning to attempt refinancing your mortgage loan and have your home on the market, you may be surprised that your lender will not be as willing to help as you think.  If you have had your home on the market less than six months ago, most lenders will not bother to help you refinance and will tell you to check back when six months has passed.  The frame of thought behind this is they will only help homeowners refinance their primary residence, not investment or second homes.  If you show that you have recently tried to sell it, they think you are not using the home as your primary residence any longer.  We all know that lenders are being very careful these days and going through the underwriting process of reviewing a loan application is costly.  Of course, not every lender will require that you wait six months so I would recommend shopping around so you don't miss out on a great interest rate that could save you hundreds in your monthly payment.

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Tampa Real Estate | Tampa Foreclosures | Tampa Real Estate News | Tampa Real Estate Blog

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com

Looking for a new home? Search the Tampa Real Estate market for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

It is little known to the consumer just how hard a good Realtor works for their buyers and sellers, especially in todays market.  Real estate transactions are one of the most important transactions a person can enter into, but some are determined to go at it alone.  I know there are websites out there that will tell you everything you need to know to sell your home, but these websites and the information contained in them will never replace the actual professional.  I could read all day on the internet on how to perform heart surgery, but would never be able to actually perform the surgery.  I know that knowing how to sell real estate does not begin to compare to doing heart surgery, but you get my point.  A Realtor working in the trenches everyday will absolutely make a big difference in a successful realt estate transaction.  As for buyers, there is no reason to go at it alone.  Most of the properties on the market today are either short sales or bank-owned properties.  A short sale, in particular, is not the easiest transaction for a buyer so it is very important a buyer has a good Realtor representing their best interest. 

So you see, I play an important role in this crazy real estate market we're in!

It is true, we are in the midst of the worst financial crisis in a generation.  People are losing their homes, their jobs and their investments.  Housing affordability hasn't been better since 2003 and there is money to loan.  Since the government has decided the $700 billion bailout money will now not go to purchase troubled mortgages, but to stregthen the loan power of banks there will be plenty of money to loan in order to stimulate our economy.  Buyers who could not even dream of owning a home a few years ago are coming off the fence.  Renters with relatively decent credit can qualify for one of several types of FHA loans that require very little down and offer great interest rates.  First- time homebuyers are also being offered a $7500 incentive to purchase a home before July 1, 2009.  The $7500 is currently considered a no-interest, 15-year repayment loan, but the National Association of Realtors is fighting to get the repayment feature removed and to get this credit offered to everyone.  If you are a buyer who is still waiting for the market to "bottom out," you may lose out.

For further information or if you have any real estate related questions, please email me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Almost every single person who purchased a home from 2000 to 2006 over-paid for their home.  I am one of the victims.  I purchased my home at the peak of high prices in 2006 and find my home is worth more than a $100,000 less than what I paid for it.  I know this for certain because I am a Realtor and the exact same house on the street behind me sold for $117,000 less than what I paid.  The bulk of my business is working with homeowners who are behind on their mortgage and in fear of foreclosure.  Foreclosure will wreck your credit so homeowners are opting to try to Short Sale their homes.  A short sale will hurt your credit, but no where near as bad as a foreclosure or a bankruptcy.  I received a call from a homeowner who stated they are considering falling behind on their mortgage because their home isn't worth what they paid for it.  They want to intentionally stop paying their mortgage solely to get out from under their home.  Our economy is already falling apart because of people who bought more house than they could afford and now people who can actually afford to pay their house payment who signed a 30 year mortgage, knowing they would be paying a certain amount for 30 years are now thinking about just quitting?  This is a dangerous mentality.  I do understand, however, that people are frustrated (like myself) that their largest investment is now in the negative and will stay that way for possibly 10+ years. 

I have absolutely no plans to default on my mortgage (as long as I am able...knock on wood), but where's my relief?  I believe our economy depends on people fulfilling their contractual obligations, but I feel I am being punished while others who bought more house than they can afford on one salary are now getting their loan principle lowered and given instant equity.  I won't see equity in my home for many, many, years........all for what?  Doing the right thing?

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

This is my first year in the real estate business in Tampa, Florida and do not understand why an "MLS Fee" is taken out of the buyer's agent commission. I was told by other senior agents that there is no such thing as an "MLS Fee."  I understand from what I have been told that there was a fee associated with MLS, but it is no longer charged.   I have asked listing agents why I am paying them this fee and was told it is being used to recoup their advertising, etc. cost.  I feel that charging this fee to your fellow Realtors is not fair and I have not charged the fee on any of my listing.  I am sure alot of Realtors are charging it simply because they are having to pay it when they are on the buyer side.  I just don't understand why it is allowed if there isn't really an MLS fee.