Jeff Launiere's (sweethometampa) Blog

It seems that this question is one of the biggest arguments among Realtors, Appraisers, Lenders, Buyers and Sellers. This article is not about whether now is a good time to buy or not. It is not about whether prices are still too high, or if now is a good time to buy. This is strictly about whet...

Any time supply is bigger than demand, businesses start looking for a way to set themselves apart from the competition. If you have a Tampa home for sale, you're probably doing the same thing. What is the competition like, though? Are you looking for similar houses, similar neighborhoods - or is...

The following for sale, sold and pended graph shows the number of single family homes for sale, sold and pended (under contract) with the most current housing data available. This graph covers the most recent 15 months of data. Below the graph is the percentage of change over 1 month, 1 year and...

We now have results that compare the actual versus what the Obama administration had predicted for their Mortgage Modification Program. The Obama administration said the program would cost a total of $75 billion, which would modify the loans for a total of 4 million homeowners at an expected cos...

Often you hear Realtors say this is the best time to buy a home. Is it? Unfortunately, many Realtors always say it is the right time to buy. They said it in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. They will continue to say it in 2010. This unfortunately is the line given to the Realtors by Realtor Asso...

There was a last minute provision inserted in the Senate Health Bill that could hurt the fragile housing and construction industry, but specifically the smaller family type businesses. All small businesses are exempt from having to buy health insurance for their employees as long as they have le...

According to a new study, Florida has ranked as the third happiest state in the country. The study combined life satisfaction surveys with economist's quality of life data. Although the link above gives all the happiness rankings for all the states, the five happiest and least happy states are li...

Picking a Tampa real estate agent is a big decision. Buying a home isn't something most people do on a regular basis and rarely do they know agents personally or have one on retainer like they may have a lawyer for regular business purposes. If your job doesn't entail a lot of property transacti...

A lot of owners who have their homes for sale in Tampa are taking advantage of the remodeling sales going on around the nation. From tools and building supplies to the remodeling agencies themselves, they're finding they can save money. Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners are also choosing to for...

All Realtors and Appraisers are aware of HVCC, aka the Home Valuation Code of Conduct which of course is governments attempt at regulating the appraisal process. The purpose of course was to keep lenders and others from having undue influence over the appraisal process. In the high times of Real...