Chase the Lender, a real pleasure! I closed on a short sale today for a client of mine and it was truly a daunting Short Sale. The property wasn't an easy sell as it really didn't stick out and say "buy me"; not visually appealing, no upgrades, ground level porch faced a parking lot and the condo association didn't allow this unit to ever be rented. Oh my gosh, who wanted such a home. We found a first time home buyer who couldn't wait to move in and out from home! Perfect. The Lender was Chase, very organized and on the ball. I received approval after 56 days. Good. Now we had to close. Buyer's Agent pushed for financing and the day before we were to close we found out that the Buyer was scheduled to go out of the country the next day. Oh my gosh! Final Title was pulled and what did we ... 06/27/2008

I go on vacation and don't log onto AR for a day a so, and find out we now have outside blogs. Wow, when did this happen? How did I miss this? Ifound out by reading one of Mike Mueller's post then went searching and found Brad Andersohn had posted about it. It was late last night when I read about it. Mind you I am still on vacation. So I figured I will look on it in the morning. Well I have been trying to upload a banner and my picture. I haven't been able to figure it out yet, but I know I will. I think this is great. I am hoping to use it as a website rather than a blog. Can I do that? I know Brad has a ton of questions on that post. And has a while before he gets to everyone. I am hoping to figure it out real soon.  I still have to work on my challenge and manage to work on my profi... 06/26/2008

Well I started my vacation on Monday!! Yeah taking the family to Disney. On Sunday we tried to finish getting things prepared. Got the kids into bed early to get up early. And of course when the kids go to bed is when you can get all your work done! My husband's hair grows fast and he usually cuts his hair short. So while I was packing he was in the bathroom cutting his hair. He called me in to help him finish up which I usually do as well. Well when I walked into the bathroom and saw him I had to walk LAUGHING!!! You see he look like Jeff Turner only much darker!! I have NEVER seen my husband bald.  I told him, wait till the kids wake up tom. When one of my sons woke up in the morning he asked his father what happen to you!! I just had to laugh. I remember my dad doing that as a child ... 06/25/2008

We have been a severe water droubt for a while now. That we are limited to when we water our lawn. Some places here it looks like the desert they way the grass is dead and the plants are no longer there. I love to sit in my mother in laws backyard and look at the canal, but lately that canal is dried up and ugly. We had wished for so long that they would add water to it. But we are coming into the rainy season and knew that at one point during the summer it would get better. Well yesterday we had one heck of a rainstorm. My kids sat next to my mother in law on the couch and would not move. My dogs said hidden under my bed, that I never saw before! It was lightening and thundering so bad that even of couple of jolts gave me a scare. I went out into the garage and recorded what it was lik... 06/21/2008

I was doing some research today for a buyer that Marc Grossman sent me the other day. While doing so I came across some bad pictures. It makes me think What were these agents thinking? Come on people, if you want to sell your listings these pictures aren't going to help you, they are going to hurt you! If you have taken bad pictures because it was a bad day, how much time does it take to re-take them. A few seconds?         Almost looks sicadelic or something.                                                                   OK it is not always smokey here. Couldn't this agent have gone back and taken the picture again?                                   I don't know about you, but most of us are now using a Digital camera. This must have been taken with an old 35MM. What do you think?   06/20/2008

The other day I got an email from my sister. You see I am going on vacation next week to Orlando. We are going to visit Mickey and Mini Mouse. Then also going to Sea World. Any one who has ever been to these two places knows that they are really crowded. I have three young children.  When I got this email I thought how great it was. Its called Safety Tattoos. All you have to do is input your cell number when you place the order and they are mailed to you. You get 30 tats for 19.95. They are water proof and last for days. Here are a couple snap shots in order       These are all the different tats you can get.                                Simply plug in your phone number you wish to have on the tattoo.                           Then just submit your order and you are set to go. I belie... 06/20/2008

Where did the month of May go as we're well into summer now? We've seen some changes again this month; not major changes but those worth noting. You'll notice that the number of homes sold dropped just a bit as you see the average price of sold homes inched up. Is this telling us that less homes are sold when prices inch up? Do lower prices mean more home sales? We're seeing in this Buyers market that the Buyers entering the market want a good deal - they want a home on sale. Take a look below to see where the Buyers are moving. Once again in May, we continue to see an increase in sales of homes as a Short Sale. Who says that Short Sales don't close? The proof is in the pudding! The average number of days that it took homes to sell is still hovering around 7 months. The following is in ... 06/19/2008

How many of you usually shop with those that have a better name or what we think, those who have a better brand name? I know I do. When I shop for clothes, I love shirts made by Polo. And yes, I generally pay for it in price, but I am also buying very good quality. But what about it when it comes to you shopping for a mortgage? It doesn't matter if it's an FHA loan or a conventional loan, do you go for the best recognized name? Such names as Countrywide, Wells Fargo, Bank of America? Here is the skinny of it.  No matter how big nor small may that company be, we all get our money from the same place when all said and done. With that said, you should seek out a mortgage professional. One who is honest and ethical. By not doing so, could cost you thousands of dollars in the long run.     ... 06/18/2008

Right now may be one of the best times to purchase a property in the city of Coral Springs The Real Estate in the city of Coral Springs, is offering for those who want and can buy now, opportunities hard to believe a couple of years ago.  Coral Springs as any other city in USA, couldn't escape from the foreclosures and "short sales" market. At this time when I'm writing this blog there are 78 properties Single Family Homes in the city of Coral Springs under $250,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of them offer from 3 to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This numbers are to give you a general idea of the Real Estate opportunities.   Short Sales Market or also called pre-foreclosure. Foreclosures Market and real sellers that want to sell at the right price, those are you multiple choices in the real Estat... 06/16/2008

OK this weekend I went to Mini Takes the states. What's that you ask? Well its an event for those who own or will be owning a Mini Cooper. It has been my dream car for so long. When my husband told me about this event I told him we HAD to go. So we got the tickets the other week and was looking forward to the day. On Friday I had went to Vista Motors to put down my deposit for the car. While I was there over a 100 minis drove up in a line. I was so excited and wished I was in it. On Saturday we drove down to Homestead Miami Speedway for the event. We started of with the Cross Rally. They had the minis there to drive on the Rally tracks and we got to drive them like race cars. Man can I tell you how much fun that was! Both my self and husband got to drive it. My poor kids were so sad bec... 06/16/2008

  In Chapter 1, we went over on how the distressed homeowner wanting to avoid foreclosure qualifies for a Short Sale. Now that it has been determined that you qualify for a Short Sale , what's the next step? Your case for why your Lender should approve a short sale on your behalf will be presented to your Lender by a skilled Short Sale Specialist. As a Realtor, representing distressed homeowners, I have to provide a good and solid argument to your Lender that is backed by market statistics, proof of your financial hardship and good negotiation skills. It's not for the faint of heart. But you, as the distressed homeowner trying to avoid foreclosure must be willing to provide the necessary documents to your Realtor. Let's take a look at what the Lenders will want to see from you: Hardship... 06/12/2008

Have you been to Wannadoo City yet? I went about 2 years ago and was not happy. Maybe because my kids were to small yet to enjoy what they had there. But we thought we give it a try once more now that the kids are older. You see I have been on a quest to do things with the kids during the summer. Trying to take them out instead of staying home.  WannaDoo City has a great summer program going on. Your ticket price is for a 10 day summer pass is $52.95, where your one day pass is $29.95, and parents are free. So we opted for the summer pass. Pretty good deal. We took them today and what a blast they had. They got to ride in a fire truck and put out a fire. They got to be CSI agents and go looking for bad guys. They got to work at Publix. They went treasure hunting at the Dinasour exhibt. ... 06/12/2008

Wyndham Lakes, a West Coral Springs' subdivision, is comprised of 16 private, gated communities and is located west of Coral Ridge Drive and north of Wiles Road. Wyndham Lakes homes are Mediterranean-style and built around a chain of lakes & canals.  Homes were built by different builders starting from 1994 to 2004. Many of the communities also offer a neighborhood pool and playground.  The homes are comprised of one and two story models with three, four, five, and even six bedrooms with 1,371 to 4,429 square feet living area. Wyndham Lakes is also located in the heart of Coral Springs with excellent public schools within walking distance.  Coral Springs also boasts many recreational activities including parks and diverse family activities.  Wyndham Lakes is also conveniently located v... 06/11/2008

OK Rainers I am looking to do a Buyers Seminar. But I could use some help. I am looking to co-run this seminar with others, to show home buyers the steps that are needed in the buying process. Who I am looking for you ask? Inspectors Appriasers Mortgage Reps Title Company Now I already have an Insurance Agent on Board. So if anyone in South Florida is willing to help out I would appericate it very much!! I haven't decided on a date yet. Just trying to gather all the necessary people and once that happens I can check everyone's schedule. I can go into more detail once I have some replies. Looking forward to hearing from you guys!     06/10/2008

Well the new iPhone is going to go on sale July 11. The phone looks the same except it will move faster and will have video capablities. And it will be selling for a lot less then when it origiinally came out 2 years ago. Now I have the original one. Is this new iPhone that much more impressive than the one I currently own. I don't think so. I don't plan on trading my phone in, but I think this is the perfect time for those who have wanted to buy the phone. It only cost $199.00. I think that its great they made it so affordable.  Looks like Steve Job knows that if he would have had it higher no one would have gone to buy it. I wonder how many people plan on buying this time around. I love my phone and you won't be disappointed when you buy yours! The phone is my contact folder, internet... 06/09/2008

I was going through the MLS today trying to pull up property for someone. And by doing this I was noticing that almost everyone of the listings I was pulling up kept saying in the comment section- 55+ coomunities. Now when I was first licensed and when doing my board orientation one of the main things that was stressed was not to use this term. There is a field now that allows us to choose to HOPA- Housing Older Persons Act. Yet time and time again I still see agents use the term 55+. Why would you want to jepardize the possiblilty of getting fined? I know I wouldn't. And why does the MLS allow this to continue? I guess that is why no one is worried about being fined! Just me ranting away is all. 06/09/2008

 So after my week 3 assignment it my my juices flowing as to what could do to generate more business. Now I know that a lot of Realtors have done buyers seminars and have not gotten a good turn out. But I have some ideas to make it better, interesting. Here is where I need your help. I am looking for local mortgage brokers, local inspectors and local appraisers and a title company. If you are interested in helping with a buyers seminar send me an email and I will explain what I am looking to do. Don't want to go into to much here, so I will explain in detail after you email me. Thanks for your coraporation!      06/06/2008

  So you're starting to hear more About Short Sales as a possible way to avoid foreclosure. But you're asking what is it and how do you qualify?  Good questions.  First let's look at "What is a Short Sale?" You may have heard this before but lets not assume that everybody looking in here knows the answer. We'll get into more detail shortly.       A Short Sale is when you receive approval from your Lender (Bank) that they will agree to allow a Buyer to purchase your home for less than what is owed on your home(mortgage balance). For example, You owe $300,000 on your home and you have a buyer who has offered to pay $225,000. Your Lender will agree to accept the $225,000. This approval is based on a number of factors that will be addressed in another Chapter. You've received approval now f... 06/06/2008

Now I don't think I have every shared this with every one. I know some of you know. But I am going to share something about myself. You see I have what you call Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have had it for several years. I have had my ups and downs with it. I was first diagnosed in 2000. Having real bad bone pain and swelling of my joints. So bad that when I would wake up in the morning I could barely move. My husband would have to carry me to the restroom. Now I'm not looking for sympathy here. What I am trying to get at. After I had my last son, I started to fall apart. I mean REALLY bad. I would wake up crying in pain. My hands were two times the size. I kept going to the Doctor and he kept increasing the medicines I was on. After about three months on a certain medicine he would change i... 06/06/2008

OK now that I week 2 challenge was down and over with I was so excitied that I won that round. Now woth every listing call that I get I am now sending my Pre- Lisitng Package. I just met with a seller today who I spoke with earlier in the week to set up an appointment. I went ahead and emailed her the package, the mls stats and the power point presentation. She met me at my office. Can I tell you how much easier this appointment went! All we needed to discuss was the numbers. She already knew what my plans were, What she had to compete with, and how I had planned on marketing her property. She signed the papers and we made another appointment to go to the house to take the pictures and get it ready for the MLS. Now I hope that all the rest of my appointments go that way as well. Do you ... 06/06/2008