Veteran’s Home Loans for Greenacres FloridaIf you are reading this, you or a family member have likely served in our military.  First off, we would like to say a sincere “Thank You” for your service!  We recognize that not only do our Veterans sacrifice by serving, but their families do as well-, and we owe you all a debt of gratitude!One of the best benefits Veterans and their families receive due to their service to our great country is the VA home loan benefits.  We are going to outline just a few of these significant benefits in this article for you. Here are some of the major benefits you may receive by using your VA home loan benefits:*100% financing available- one of the very few loans available with no down payment!*Lower rates available than most loan programs- which saves you ... 05/14/2021

The Daily (121516) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Fed raises key interest rate for first time in yearThe Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by a quarter point, which could impact some adjustable-rate mortgages and other consumer loans. Read moreNAR forecast: 2017 sales to expand 'modestly'Existing home sales will rise in 2017 but not by much, NAR projects. While 57% of renters this month said it was a good time to buy a home, that percentage is down from 68% who said so one year ago. Read moreSBA: Over $50M in Fla. hurricane disaster loansFla. businesses and residents hurt by Oct.'s Hurricane Matthew received help from the Small Business Admin., but the deadline to apply for aid is this Friday. Read more.Study: It will get harder for first-time buyersFewer... 12/15/2016

The Daily (112916) Hot Sheet of Top Real Estate News Trending Now   Conforming mortgage limits go up in 2017For the first time since 2006, the federal government has increased the maximum amount of a conforming loan by $7,100, boosting it to $424,100 in most regions. Read more Congress could be homeowners' Grinch this ChristmasSome tax benefits - mortgage debt forgiveness, and the deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums and energy-efficient upgrades, for example - expire Dec. 31, and many lawmakers don't want to extend them. Read moreMortgage rates keep rising after Trump's election winLong-term mortgage rates continued to surge last week, rising above the psychological threshold of 4% (to 4.03%) - the highest level since summer 2015. Read more.Should an HOA respond to a certified ... 11/29/2016

The Daily (111716) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  86% of buyers don't know what a CLUE report isIf a seller made multiple property insurance claims, buyers could end up paying surprisingly higher premiums - but only 12% request a CLUE report. Read moreFHA found financial footing - ready for more buyersNew 2016 report finds that FHA lending is good to go. It passed mandated backup-funding levels for the second year in a row, and NAR says FHA is ready to help even more borrowers secure a mortgage. Read moreReport: Future Fla. water woes unless things changeIf Fla. adds 15 million residents by 2070 as projected, it could increase water demand by more than 50% and see more than 1/3 of the state paved over. Read more.Don't believe myths about reverse mortgagesA reverse mortg... 11/17/2016

Wealth To Compound in 2017 For Homeowners, Is This True???   Home prices continued their climb in September, up 6.3 percent year-over-year and 1.1 percent month-to-month, according to CoreLogic®’s recently released Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast. The Forecast projects a 5.2 percent price increase from September 2016 to September 2017, generating $1 trillion in homeowner equity.Read More 11/12/2016

 When Is A Client A Customer, If You Have To Reschedule Several Times   This is something that happens more than not. You get a lead and schedule the appointment. Just before the appointment you get a call by the client asking to reschedule due to an unexpected occurrence.  You make the appointment again. Second time around something else happens. You have to reschedule. The third time it is postponed until the following week. At this time you almost write it off as a lead to nowhere land.  Until you hear in the back of your mind one of those past sales seminars that said, five times it takes to land a deal and most sales person quit after the first call. What do you do? My advice make the call until you absolutely determine it will go no where. Chances are your odds are greater than yo... 10/29/2016

Whenever there is talk about an improving housing market, some begin to show concern that we may be headed toward another housing bubble that will be followed by a crash similar to the one we saw last decade.Here are five data points that show the housing market will continue to recover, and that a new housing crisis is not about to take shape.1) Mortgage availability is increasing, but is nowhere near the levels we saw in 2004-2006.A buyer’s chances of being approved for a mortgage have increased over the last three years; That’s good news for the market. This is not a precursor to another challenge, as many experts maintain that it is still too difficult for many buyers to attain house financing.As Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist of realtor.com, recently explained:“The havoc durin... 09/28/2016

The Daily (091416) Hot Sheet Of Top Real News Trending Now  CoreLogic: U.S. foreclosures dropped in July Completed foreclosures down 16.5% from a year ago; U.S. foreclosure inventory down 29.1%. Fla. still leads the nation in completed foreclosures, at 57K, in July. Read more.Aggressive tenant screening creates class of 'unrentables'Many people can't rent a place to live due to problems in their past. But some landlords are now trying to reshape tenant criteria and screening to help shrink the growing population of "unrentables." Read more.Real estate's public image surgesGallup: Americans now rate the real estate industry more positively. The latest poll boosted the sector to a plus-23 rating – the public's best opinion since 2005. Read more.A generation of buyers is getting left behin... 09/13/2016

The Daily (090816) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Natural hazard risk holding back home salesReport: In the first half of the year, home sales rose 4.2% in counties with low natural hazard risk, while counties with high risk only showed a 1.9% gain. Read more.Why aren't mortgage applications higher?Some housing analysts point out that slowing job growth, a short supply of homes for sale and higher prices are having an impact, while many homeowners have already taken advantage of refinancing. Read more.Real estate pros reveal how they stay safeNAR: Nearly 40% of more than 3K real estate pros surveyed say they've felt unsafe on the job: open houses, remote properties and vacant homes spark concerns. Read more.Consumers' housing sentiment retreats slightlyFannie Mae's inde... 09/08/2016

The Daily (090216) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Tropical Storm Hermine prompts Florida hurricane watch If Hermine attains hurricane strength before landfall - somewhere along the Big Bend area - it will be the first hurricane to hit the state in 11 years. Read more.U.S. average 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.46%The mortgage rate increase comes as a solid job market and improved economic outlook boost expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates. Still, mortgage rates remain at historically low levels. Read more.Construction worker shortage continuesSurvey: More than 60% of Fla. contractors report having trouble finding skilled workers, even for salaried jobs like supervisors, though higher pay is helping. Read more.To refinance or not to refinance?... 09/02/2016

The Daily (090116) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now   NAR: Pending home sales tick higher in July The pending index hit its second-highest reading in almost a decade, but with too-few listings, "buyers still have few choices and little time" to act. Read more.Voters add solar tax break to Florida ConstitutionThe amendment exempts solar and other renewable energy devices from property taxes for 20 years on business and industrial property. It also exempts renewable energy devices from Fla.'s tangible personal property tax. Read more.Fla. tops most-improved list for distressed RE salesCoreLogic: In Fla., 15.8% of May sales were distressed homes, but its year-to-year decline in distressed sales - 5.5 percentage points - was the nation's highest. Read more.Homeowners using Air... 09/01/2016

The Daily (081016) Hot Sheet Of The Top Real Estate News Trending Now  What is 'prompt' notification of insurance claims? A condo landlord didn't discover mold for three years, so Citizens denied her claim. But a court ruling says "prompt" notification can't be a hard-and-fast rule. Read more.Miami condo prices fall - first time in 5 yearsA bubble hasn't burst, but housing supply and demand seem to be stabilizing. Miami has also been impacted by a decline in the number of international buyers and an uptick in new condo projects. Read more.Consumers love looking for homes onlineGoogle study: Americans spend an average of 55 minutes per online visit with real estate apps on their phones; 1 in 5 are actually in the market to buy a home. Read more.Renovation ideas owners may want to rethink... 08/10/2016

The Daily (080516) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Two senators urge broad flood insurance reformThey say FEMA upgrades were too little, too late after super storm Sandy, and the U.S. should cut property ins. "middlemen" and offer policies directly to owners. Read moreBubble trouble? Four fundamentals you need to knowAre local home prices overvalued? While there's no U.S. real estate bubble, each local market is unique. A look at four market fundamentals can help agents identify a local bubble, says Larry Kendall, author of "Ninja Selling." Read moreDoes garage belong to condo owner or association?Real estate Q&A: A condo with a garage per the original deed somehow lost the garage part when sold through foreclosure - so who actually owns the garage now? Read more.Some pe... 08/05/2016

The Daily (072816) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now   Have interest rates hit bottom? Hard to tell It seems like the Fed is "as befuddled as the rest of us" and the timeframe for when rates will return to "normal" could be longer than anyone can predict. Read more.Insurance watchdog group to certify PACE providersThe nonprofit Florida Association for Insurance Reform created a new company to build consumer confidence in the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. Read more.Realtor safety: Prepare for worst-case scenariosRealtors can take safety precautions, but actual assaults are always a surprise. A recent Jacksonville Beach incident offers a warning: You can't be too prepared. Read more.Pending home sales up slightly in JuneNAR: Index inched 0.2% higher to 111.0... 07/28/2016

The Daily (072016) Hot Sheet of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  The cost of home renting vs. owning in Fla. A state-by-state GOBankingRates study found that owning a home costs an average $398 per month less than renting in Fla., one of its "a lot more to rent" states. Read more.DOT and FAA finalize drone rulesThe rule, which takes effect in late August, says a drone operator must be at least 16 and keep an unmanned aircraft within visual line of sight. It also specifies height and speed restrictions and other operational limits. Read more.U.S. home construction posted solid gain in JuneCommerce Dept.: New housing starts rose 4.8% in its seasonally adjusted annual rate - the highest level since Feb., led by a surge in the Northeast and West. Read more.Largest single-family home landl... 07/20/2016

The Daily (071316) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now    Florida's rent tax rankles more businessesOnly one U.S. state charges a business-rent tax on rent and utility expenses: Florida. But momentum appears to be building to undo the long-time government fee. Read more. Half of Fla. Realtors at current firm only one yearFla. 2016 Member Profile: A typical Fla. Realtor in 2015 was a 52-year-old woman. Her median gross income was $28,160 last year, and the median number of transactions was nine. Almost half of all members had a deal involving a foreclosure. Read more. U.S. commercial real estate gets Brexit boost?Uncertainty in the global market caused by Brexit has many international investors seeking the security and economic stability of U.S. commercial real estate. Read mo... 07/13/2016

The Daily (070516) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Study: Gated community homes sell for moreHowever, homes in gated communities may not command higher prices if related amenity costs, such as a clubhouse, make overall homeownership more expensive. Read more.'Jumbo' mortgages now cheaper than smaller loansWhen it comes to mortgage rates, it's cheaper loan-wise to buy a big home. Higher-priced loans once required a higher interest rate, but the average rates have currently dropped below those for conventional loans. Read more.  Buy vs. rent: 5 things to considerIn most areas of the U.S., it's cheaper to buy a home than rent if someone plans to stay in place for only a few years. Read more.After spike in water damage claims, Citizens changes policyEffective today, homeowne... 07/05/2016

The Daily (062516) Hot Sheet Of Top Real Estate News Trending Now    Average U.S. 30-year mortgage edges up to 3.56%Global economy worries, especially that the UK may leave the European Union, may play a part, but rates remain historically low. The 15-year FRM rose to 2.83%. Read more.U.S. new-home sales tumbled in MayCommerce Dept: Sales down 6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 551,000 from April's level. Still, new home sales are 6.4% higher year-to-date and May's new-home median sales price rose 1% to $290,400. Read more.18% of U.S. housing markets less affordable in Q2RealtyTrac: While that figure is up from 5% in Q1 2016, it's down from 20% of county markets exceeding historically normal home affordability levels a year ago. Read more.What would make baby boomers move?AARP: 80% of ... 06/25/2016

The Daily (061516) Hot Sheet of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  71% of student loan debtors say it delays ownershipAccording to an NAR survey designed to gauge severity of the problem, half of those debtors think the delay will be at least five years, says VP Sherri Meadows. Read more.40% of baby boomers are potential homebuyersFreddie Mac: About 60% of boomers prefer to age in place, but the rest want to move at least one more time - "an enormous impact on the demand for housing." Read more.For home loans, 3% down is the new 20%Many buyers were blocked from ownership after banks tightened lending standards post-recession; but 7 years later, lenders are starting to make buying easier. Read more.6 tips to protect clients from real estate scamsThe just-before-closing email scam require... 06/14/2016

The Daily (060816) Hot Sheet of Top Real Estate News Trending Now  Zillow-Move-NAR settle lawsuit for $130 millionNAR and Move Inc., realtor.com's oversight company, alleged that Zillow stole trade secrets, and a trial was to start soon. NAR will receive 10% after legal costs. Read more.Building laws go into effect July 1Fla. bills effective July 1 revise some rules within the state's building code, regulate private-residence elevators and authorize officials to create fumigation rules. Read more.Will interest rates go up this month?Friday's weak job report was "concerning" to the Fed, but interest rates will still go up. However, it's less likely the next hike will come this month. Read more.Break into the luxury market? Here's how"Luxury home buyers aren't like other buyers," says aut... 06/08/2016