Lorraine Bennett, REALTOR

Hi Nicholas,

I noticed you've asked about rental rates before but with different locations. May I ask if you are looking into purchasing a property as an investment that you intend to rent? Or do you currently own these properties and are re-evaluating their rent potentials? Without having more information it is difficult to respond adequately. I have lots of valuable information for you however a rule of thumb for me is that a property should get at least 1% of the purchase price in rental income to be considered a prudent investment. I would love to speak to you a little more in detail about your real estate needs but not through this medium. If you feel so inclined, please call me at 813-716-3997 and I would be happy to speak with you.

Best regards,

Lorraine Bennett, REALTOR - Sat Jul 19 2008, 21:30

Shelly, The realtor should not submit an offer without there being an actual buyer so I'm not sure I understand your question. If you are saying that the listing agent has made an offer to purchase the short sale property for himself, then yes he does qualify as a legitimate buyer. I know there are agents who will submit a "dummy" offer to the lender when they initially take a short sale as if there actually were a buyer making the offer in order to begin the arduous short sale process and ascertain what the lender is looking to bottom line on the sale. I'm not going to comment on the implications of an agent doing something like this but this may be what is occuring in your daughter's circumstances. In any event, if an offer is accepted by the lender the buyer is expected to close however if the buyer fails to deposit the escrow monies or fails to perform in any other way according to the terms of the contract, the lender will more than likely not pursue this. Their goal is just to move on and get the property sold. - Tue May 20 2008, 07:39

Hello Shelly... (again!). I just wanted to comment on Bill's response regarding your soon-to-be agent daughter representing your home-buying daughter (is this confusing or what?)... Section 475.42(1)(a), of the Florida Statutes, provides that “a person may not operate as a broker or sales associate without being the holder of a valid and current active license. …” It is a 3rd degree felony to do so. Until such time that your daughter passes the State licensing requirements and is employed with a Broker she should not be showing property, etc. And she can not be compensated for having referred her sister to another agent prior to having been fully licensed and employed by a Broker. Speaking of which, I would love the opportunity to talk with your daughter that is in the process of getting her license about opportunities at Keller Williams. We are an exceptional company with very high commission splits (I currently keep 100% of my commission with the exception of a $50 transaction fee which goes to my broker) and we have terrific mentoring programs for newer agents to have the close supervision and training that they need and unfortunately most brokers have failed to provide them to help them succeed in this business. Please have her call me at (813) 716-3997 or e-mail me at Lorraine@MyHappyRealtor.com and I'll be happy to buy her lunch and tell her all about Keller Williams and how we can help her become a real estate success! - Sat May 17 2008, 11:33

Hi Shelly. I am a Real Estate Professional with the Plant City Keller Williams office on Alexander Street. Before I respond to your question, I feel it would probably be best to explain what a short sale is and how this process works so please bear with me. A short sale occurs when a property is being sold and the outstanding note is more than the property will currently get on the market should the home be sold. Because of the accelerated appreciation we experienced during the period of 2003-2005, values have steadily dropped over the years of 2006-2008 in order to allow the market to stabilize. However, this situation has caused many homeowners who either purchased or refinanced their homes while values were up to suddenly be in a position where they were upside-down on their homes. Any homeowner having to sell in this situation would be a potential short sale. Let's just say that the seller of a short sale purchased their home in 2004 for $175,000 and did 100% financing. They currently owe about $173,000 but their home will only sell in today's market for about $150,000. There is still $23,000 of outstanding debt which would need to be paid off in order for a transfer of the property to occur to a potential buyer at a sales price of $150,000. Most sellers would not have this kind of money to be able to satisfy the debt so in order for a sale to occur, the lender that currently owns the note on the home must agree to forgive the $23,000 of debt in order for a sale to occur. Should the homeowner place his home on the market for sale, any offer for purchase not sufficient to pay-off the note and closing costs would need to be approved by the seller's lender. It can be quite the process if there are not just one but two mortgages on the property which is very often the case. It is important to note that a seller in this position must be able to substantiant financial hardship in order to be forgiven the debt and this is why many of these homes are in a pre-forclosure status. The process of negotiating a short sale can be a very complicated process and therefore it is necessary to engage the services of a real estate professional or a short sale negotiator. I suppose that a homeowner could attempt to do this on their own if they were fortunate enough to procure their own buyer but I would not recommend it. Regarding your daughter's specific situation, the fact that the home is currently listed with a realtor means that either the homeowner or their lender has employed the use of the realtor's services in order to facilitate the short sale. Your daughter does not have to use this realtor but she will need a realtor to assist her in making an offer on this home. She cannot deal directly with the homeowner and quite frankly the homeowner has very little say in the entire matter. Unfortuantely it is the homeowner's lender who must approve any offer for purchase who holds all the cards. For instance, back to my example, let's say the home that should sell for $150,000 gets an offer in of $125,000. After all it is a buyer's market and the buyer of this home is looking for a deal. Why wouldn't the seller accept it? Whether the offer is for $125,000 or $150,000 it is still not going to be enough to pay off their loan. They have absolutely nothing to lose in most instances. It is the lender who will analyze the market data and have the property appraised to determine if the offer is reasonable and if the lender determines it is not, then it doesn't matter that the homeowner accepted the $125,000. If the lender doesn't approve the sale price, the sale cannot occur. The lender may come back and counter the offer and attempt to negotiate but if they cannot come to agreeable terms with a potential buyer they will in most cases allow the home to go into foreclosure. So to answer your question, no, your daughter or any buyer may not go directly to the seller of a short sale home which is listed with a realtor. However, she may use the services of her own realtor whose fees will be paid by the lender approving the short sale as part of the seller's closing costs. My suggestion would be for your daughter to contact her own realtor for assistance and if she does not have one, then I would love to help. She may reach me directly on my cell at 813-716-3997 or by e-mail at Lorraine@MyHappyRealtor.com. I wish you all the best Shelly and please do keep me in mind should you need any real estate assistance in the future. - Sat May 17 2008, 00:30

Hello Home Buyer! I am a Real Estate Professional in Plant City and I would like to respond to your question. First of all, I want to say that while I may be more knowledgeable than the average person regarding mortgage programs and first-time buyer programs, I am not an expert. My expertise is related to the process of buying and selling real estate, of which obtaining a mortgage is a very crucial piece. However, in order to serve you best I would need to refer you to a specialist in this area, namely a mortgage broker or officer. Programs and their guidelines are constantly changing and I would be doing you or any other buyer a disservice by not giving you accurate information. I do want to make you aware that as a militray reservist you may be eligible for VA financing which is the only program at this time that I am aware of which allows for 100% financing (no down payment) and zero PMI. However, I also know of conventional financing programs which require a 3% down-payment, also waive PMI (Primvate Mortgage Insurance), and are currently offering a 4.875 30-year fixed interest rate for first-time home buyers if they qualify. Just because you are eligible for a certain program such as VA financing doesn't necessarily mean that it would be the most advantageous for you. I would love to refer you to a mortgage professional within my trusted network of other professionals for more information. Please either call me directly at 813-716-3997 or e-mail me at Lorraine@MyHappyRealtor.com and I will be happy to do so. Best regards... - Sat May 17 2008, 11:50

I'm an agent in the Tampa, Florida market. I've had seven closings in the last two months! I'm not sure why the activity has picked up. I thought it could possibly be due to some new property tax legislation in our state but that would not explain why you are seeing this increase in California. I have no idea why but I do love it! - Wed Apr 23 2008, 19:38

Hi CJ, My name is Lorraine Bennett and I am a Real Estate Professional employed with Keller Williams Realty in the Plant City area. I would agree with Sandy that you need to be very careful when dealing with someone claiming to do anything and asking for money up-front to do it! However, this is a very valid service and if you find the right people to help you, you could very well be buying a home this time next year! In fact, I just closed on a home for a young woman who shared with me that she used a service last year to help her do this exact thing. Now, I hate to disagree with another agent but I would also be careful of following Matthew Bunt's advice and endeavor to handle this yourself! That would be akin to him suggesting that you try to sell your own home or represent yourself in purchasing a home! You need a professional and the right one will be able to advise you how you should proceed. I refer my clients to Consumer Protection Law Service (http://cplsonline.com/). This is a very reputable service that I am personally familiar with. I feel confident that they will be able to assist you or at least provide you with valuable information that will steer you in the right direction if you are going to attempt to try your credit repair on your own. CJ, I'd also ask that if you do contact them that you let them know I referred you. This way they will keep me apprised of your progress and when you are ready to start your search I'll be ready to assist you! Please don't heisttae to call me if you have any more questions and would like to speak personally. I can be reached at (813) 716-3997. - Tue Apr 1 2008, 16:35