http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Tampa_FL-298754/The latest answers submitted by Sheila to questions asked on Trulia Voicesen-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/I_moved_into_a_place_a_year_ago_after_the_owners_f-143232Answer by Sheila: If the owner is in the process of short selling the home, you need to start looking for another home to move into immediately. You are going to have to move sooner or later so you may as well get it over with as soon as possible. I doubt you will get your deposit back on the home if you put one down. When looking for a new home to rent, try to make sure the owner is isn't behind on their mortgage payments. The owner, of course, may or may not be honest with you, but a good bet is to rent a home the owner has owned for more than a few years. You can check out when the owner purchased the home on your local property appraiser website. Also check out the tax records to make sure their taxes are current. Good luck!Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:02:32 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Where_is_the_best_area_to_buy_a_home_in_South_Tamp-4875Answer by Sheila: I may be difficult to find a nice townhome or condo in S. Tampa for under $200k, but if you afford $50k more you may be able to find a short sale. You should look at the highrise condo on Bayshore named 345 Bayshore, Parkcrest on Harbour Island or drive around the cool condos in Channelside - The Place, Ventana, Victory Loft, Grand Central. Also, look at Skypoint located downtown on Ashley St. These condos are located in a great area and would have alot of single people living there. You can search for condos/townhomes at http://www.buytampafl.com/search/main-property-search.shtmlThu, 11 Dec 2008 15:58:57 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Looking_for_a_BR_bath_at_minimum_Ranch_home_-34899Answer by Sheila: I don't know how much you are looking to spend on a home, but South Tampa is expensive and 4BR/3BA homes will run well over $300k. You may be able to find a home in the Port Tampa area, which is very close to the AFB but the schools aren't the best. If you live in St. Petersburg, the drive will be very hectic and traffic will be bad. I would recommend the Brandon/Valrico area where there alot of new homes priced at $140k and up. It would be an easy drive with light traffic on the Crosstown Expressway and should only take you 20 minutes. Brandon/Valrico has great schools and is a very family-oriented, safe place to live. You can search for Brandon/Valrico homes on my website at http://www.buytampafl.com/search/main-property-search.shtml. The zip codes for Brandon/Valrico are 33510, 33511, 33594.Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:37:31 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/How_do_Short_sales_work_-69636Answer by Sheila: Your first call should be to your lender to see if there is anything they can do to help you stay in the home and continue making mortgage payments. Several large lenders are coming to the realization that it is in their best interest to work with their customers on revamping the loan. Chase, for example, just announced that they are placing a moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days so they can work with their customers to help them avoid foreclosure. If your lender is uncooperative or doesn't seem to want to offer any assistance, you should call a local Realtor who is familiar with doing short sales.Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:24:11 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/What_if_the_seller_s_agent_doesn_t_have_a_good_wor-66405Answer by Sheila: Lenders are over-saturated with short sales and are very slow to respond. Getting a lender to approve an offer is very difficult and time consuming. If the seller's agent is dealing with the lenders, they are on the phone with the lender for hours just to get one small thing accomplished. I doubt the seller's agent is giving you the run around on purpose - they are getting the run around from the lender. Since short sales are becoming more prevalent, banks will streamline their procedures to hopefully help make the process less painful. You have to remember that if you are interested in a pre-foreclosure or foreclosure property, you must be ready to wait up to 90 days to hear anything from the lender.Wed, 5 Nov 2008 10:08:07 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Using_a_Buyer_s_Agent-66258Answer by Sheila: Just remember that when dealing with a foreclosure, you must be willing to wait up to 90 days just for a response from the lender. The lenders are extremely busy, the listing agent is extremely busy trying to get in touch with the lender and your buyer's agent has to depend on the listing agent for information. I know it is hard, but hang in there!Wed, 5 Nov 2008 09:59:07 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Market_Conditions/Is_it_a_good_time_to_buy_a_house_when_the_interest-66061Answer by Sheila: Interest rates have been at an all time low so now is a good time to apply. Rates, however, do seem to fluctuate everyday. Keep in mind, lenders are getting strict so you must have a good credit score to get approval. You should order your credit report from the three major agencies (Experion, TransUnion, Equifax) and make sure there are no mistakes that could cost your points.Mon, 3 Nov 2008 08:41:52 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Is_this_bid_too_low_that_it_would_insult_the_selle-66038Answer by Sheila: It definitely never hurts to put in a low offer because you never know what the seller's motivation is. I agree with Scott's post that the seller probably owes more than what they are asking and can't go any lower (unless they are trying to short sale it). You should ask your realtor to research how much they paid for the home and how much they mortgaged.Mon, 3 Nov 2008 08:36:25 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/I_have_my_property_for_short_sale_I_have_two_mort-60895Answer by Sheila: Cristina, I use a great real estate attorney for all of my short sales. He can help you with the 2nd mortgage and charges his fees to the lenders. His name is Anthony Surber and his phone number is 813-908-6800. Email is awslaw@tampabay.rr.com. Good luck! SheilaFri, 31 Oct 2008 09:33:10 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Foreclosure/My_husband_and_I_would_really_like_to_relocate_Ri-19142Answer by Sheila: I have lived in Tampa for 15 yrs. and I grew up very close to Atlanta. Tampa and Atlanta are two completely different areas. I personally think Tampa is a much nicer place to live. Like Atlanta, Tampa offers a wide array of restaurants, shopping and cultural arts but Tampa has something Atlanta doesn't..............beaches!! The beautiful gulf beaches in St. Petersburg and Sarasota are a 30 minute drive from Tampa and they are some of the best in the nation. Everything you need is at your fingertips in Tampa without having to fight the hideous traffic in Atlanta! Feel free to look at all properties available in Tampa and St. Petersburg at my website below. Sheila Calistri Keller WilliamsMon, 20 Oct 2008 16:40:08 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/what_website_would_best_suit_me_to_find_investment-63160Answer by Sheila: Also, check out http://tampa.homevestors.com/contactus.php (there's a local office in Tampa). if you don't want to deal with a short sale properties, they buy alot of investment properties.Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:24:55 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/what_website_would_best_suit_me_to_find_investment-63160Answer by Sheila: I offer a free list of all pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, bank-owned properties in Tampa. You can narrow your search to the Town & Country area on the website. Go to http://www.buytampafl.com/short-sale-foreclosure/tampaforeclosures-search.shtml If you have further questions, please contact me at 813-841-2000 or sheila@buytampafl.com. Thanks! Sheila Tampa Realtor Keller WilliamsMon, 20 Oct 2008 11:32:43 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Any_builders_or_other_sellers_taking_existing_ho-24116Answer by Sheila: I doubt it. Most builders and sellers do not want extra inventory.... -Sheila http://www.buytampafl.comSun, 13 Jul 2008 12:22:07 PDT