Hi folks. Today I want to clear up one big misunderstanding about the Equator.com system. For those of you that aren't familiar with Equator, Equator is the online portal that Bank of America and GMAC use to help expedite their short sales. Quite often I hear from agents, buyers  and sellers that......"Equator accepted our offer" or "Equator denied our short sale." In fact, here's a question I pulled off of www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com this morning. "Equator accepted our counter. Then 5 days later said it "made a mistake" and rejected our offer, after it accepted. Has anyone seen this before?" MY RESPONSE: Equator is nothing more than a software program to help lenders/servicers process short sales. They don't have negotiators nor can they make decisions about short sales. When a short s... 09/19/2010

  Lenn Harley posted an article earlier today that got me thinking. I was going to write a response and then remembered I already did!! 3 years ago. So...you want professionalism? Hi folks. Let's talk a little bit about professional courtesy. I hear this term quite a bit on AR and in my business. Usually, it goes something like this: "The listing agent should have told me he had other offers on the property, as a professional courtesy". "Even though my buyer's offer was a low ball the listing broker should have gotten back to me before the offer expired, as a professional courtesy." You get my point. Anyway, let me see if I can shed some light on this professional courtesy "thingie". First, I want to say, that anyone who has ever worked a deal with me will tell you that I am very profes... 09/11/2010

    SoliVita. The place for active adults to enjoy all that Florida has to offer. Amenities include 2 par 72 golf courses at Stonegate Golf Club. The Riviera Spa and Fitness Center with full gym, indoor track, indoor aquatic center, 2 out door spas, heated pool, dance studio and much more. Also enjoy the Village Center with its restaurants, 17,000 sq ft Starlight Ballroom, pool hall, ceramic and art studios and waterways for canoeing, boating and fishing. And as if that's not enough there are 11 heated pools through out the community. And the new Palms Amenity Complex with it's state of the art fitness studio and 4,000 sg ft pool. Professional staff on site. Oops! I forgot to mention the tennis courts, pickle ball courts, horse shoe pits, dog park, softball fields and nature preserves. ... 08/23/2010

Introducing Our Newest Homeowner Service Posted: 30 Jul 2010 07:04 AM PDT In this volatile market, how will I know when it's a sellers' market again? And, how will I really know when it's time to sell? We developed Market Hawk to help you answer these and other questions for your specific market. In the time it takes to read this post, you could be receiving a report...' First Quarter 2010 REO & BPO Agent Scorecard Posted: 30 Jul 2010 03:00 AM PDT During the first quarter of 2010, Darhlene Zeanwick: Processed 60 broker price opinions and had 97% of them done on time, Completed 2 evictions, and Sold 2 REO properties: one, owner-occupied; and one vacant. In addition: Darhlene's properties spent an average of 24 days on the market (well below...' Is a Toll-Road Really Good for Poinciana? ... 07/30/2010

Hi folks. Let's talk a little bit about Real Estate market conditions in SoliVita. Recently I have spoken to several SoliVita homeowners and the first thing they mention is that NOTHING is selling in SoliVita. Well lets look at some facts. The figures below are based on the first half of each year.In 2006, at the peak of the market, there were 72 closing in the first half of the year. This year there were 91 sales! That's an increase of 20%. In fact that's the most resales in SoliVita for that time period EVER! So...properties are selling at a rapid pace.Now let's explore why properties in SoliVita are selling. This one is easy. PRICE! It's all about the price. At the peak of the market, 1st half of 2006, the average sale was at $276,600. This year, 2010, the average selling price in S... 07/23/2010

Hi folks. Kind of a lazy hot Florida day today. I'm just sitting around and was thinking how fortunate we are to be in the business of real estate. Set your own hours, take a day off if you want, meet interesting people, solve problems, help people realize their dreams and get paid well. So I was wondering how did you get into real estate? Was it a conscious decision or something you just fell into? My journey began about 16 years ago while driving a taxi cab out at Disney World. I was driving families to the attractions all day and dropping them off to buy tickets at the gate where they had to wait in line. Waiting sometimes for an hour or more. Then I had a flash. Why not buy tickets at a discount and sell them to the people in my cab for a profit? So I did this and made some pretty g... 07/21/2010

"Zoning" Poinciana for Recovery Posted: Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:01:00 -0400 You know what would really help Poinciana get over its economic hurdle? A concept that would perfectly coincide with the future build-out of the hospital in 2013. How about a medical innovation incubator? With all of our high-end housing at record lows, a medical innovation center may just be the... Once Upon a Time in Poinciana ... Posted: Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Did you know that a piece of historical Poinciana is preserved near Irlo Bronson, a.k.a., Route 192? Yeppers! Originally located on Ham Brown Road, the Cracker House, as it's affectionately known, was moved six miles north to the Osceola County Historical Society's Pioneer Village. It's a great way... The Effect of an Oil Disaster in the Abstract ... 07/10/2010

Hi folks. Let me tell you a little story about one of my Short Sale Sellers. Let's call him "Responsible Rex". I met Rex many, many years ago. On most days we are very good friends and on some days I don't like him at all. But overall he's a pretty good guy. And he happens to be a Real Estate Broker. Back when Real Estate was really booming Responsible Rex, like many others, started buying property. He did OK on a couple of flips and reinvested that money into rental properties. All were financed. Things were going well. The rentals were mostly paying for themselves and his Real Estate business was booming. Cash was flowing. Then it seemed like over night his Real Estate business hit the proverbial wall.  Responsible Rex went from selling 60-70 properties a year to less than 20. And to... 07/05/2010

SoliVita. The place for active adults to enjoy all that Florida has to offer. Amenities include 2 par 72 golf courses at Stonegate Golf Club. The Riviera Spa and Fitness Center with full gym, indoor track, indoor aquatic center, 2 out door spas, heated pool, dance studio and much more. Also enjoy the Village Center with its restaurants, 17,000 sq ft Starlight Ballroom, pool hall, ceramic and art studios and waterways for canoeing, boating and fishing. And as if that's not enough there are 11 heated pools through out the community. And the new Palms Amenity Complex with it's state of the art fitness studio and 4,000 sg ft pool. Professional staff on site. Oops! I forgot to mention the tennis courts, pickle ball courts, horse shoe pits, dog park, softball fields and nature preserves. You ... 07/03/2010

Hi folks. Here's a video I took today to show you how real estate has changed. This particular property was sold by me back in 2005 for $170,000. Today I placed it on the market to help the current Seller avoid foreclosure. It's now listed as a Florida Short Sale. Hopefully we'll get $30,000-$35,000 for it. Incredible for a 3 bedroom 2 bath pool home. Enjoy the tour!   Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close. Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com ***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio. Copyright © 2010 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved 06/29/2010

Only $87,500 for Pool Home Near Siesta Lago Posted: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:15:00 -0400 Zoned for short-term rentals, this Pembroke-model home had a new roof installed in 2006. Located in Chatham Park, near Disney, it includes a swimming pool, lanai, and all kitchen appliances. Needs some TLC. Cul-de-sac neighborhood without gates. Community features tennis and basketball courts,...' Poinciana's Worst Home Photo Posted: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:30:00 -0400 This is always my favorite type of photo on the MLS, the ones with the cars in the driveway and the homes cropped out. In the age of Photoshop you'd think the real estate who took this photo, would have known that the proper procedure is make the cars disappear. First impressions do make a...' Less than $10k for Hilltop Residential Land for S... 06/25/2010

Hi folks. I wrote this post almost a year ago but feel I need to bring it back to the top of the stack. Short Sales are another year older and it just seems like buyers and their agents would "get it" by now. You can't just walk away from the Short Sale Contract. If you do.....my Seller is entitled to your deposit money. A Short Sale contract is STILL a contract. Buyers that feel they can just walk are wrong.Here is my opinion on why Buyers feel this way. They are misinformed. A Short Sale contract is no different than a regular contract with the exception of the 3rd party approval contingency. This contingency is related to the Lender approving the “Short” NOT approving the contract. The lender has no authority to approve the contract since they are not a party to the contract. They d... 06/24/2010

FOR SALE 185 Rialto Rd Solivita-Poinciana FL 34759 Beautiful Solivita home being sold completely furnished. Backs up to a small pond. Screened and covered lanai. Tile flooring in all wet areas. Upgraded fixtures and window treatments through out. One buyer must be at least 55 years old. No children under 18. Manned guard gate.  Solivita community fees include basic Brighthouse cable, lawn maintenance and use of all the facilities. Solivita facilities included in the fees are heated community pools, tennis, indoor aquatic center, indoor jogging and walking track, spa and fitness center, yoga, dance, aerobics and many other classes. Over 100 different clubs to join. 2 restaurants on site... Two world class golf courses. Waterways for canoeing. baseball fields, dog park, tennis and so much... 06/21/2010

Hi folks. As some of you may know TLW and I have just purchased a home in Solivita. Solivita is Central Florida's World Class Retirement Community. Of course now they're called "Acitve Adult Communities".This is a new opportunity for both us. Now that we are both older (and wiser) we needed to move to a place that enables us to downsize our responsibilities while upgrading our lifestyle. Soilvita was a perfect match. Anyway, now that we're here, the next logical step is to start selling properties in Solivita. Values are about 60% higher than my normal market, Poinciana, and Short Sales and REOs only make up 35% of the market as opposed to over 80% in Poinciana.So this is a great opportunity for Tutas Towne Realty, Inc.With that in mind we've launched a new website at http://RealEstate... 06/19/2010

If so......why not check out Solivita? Solivita is a World class 55 and over active adult community. Solivita features single family homes from the low $100s to the high $500s. Two Championship golf courses including StoneGate. Beautiful Riviera Spa and Fitness center and so much more. Each Solivita community has a 24 hours manned guard gate. Solivita is located in Poinciana Florida. 25 minutes from Disney World Orlando. By the end of 2012 we should have one of the most modern hospitals in Florida directly across the street from the entrance to Solivita. Buy now while the prices are good. We'd love to have you. Now you are probably wondering what active adults do. Well check it out......     Want to find out more? 407-873-2747www.RealEstateSolivita.com ***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I p... 06/17/2010

Hi folks. This question has been on my mind for months now. "What percentage of Short Sales really close?" Most folks throw out numbers of 20% to 25%. But my opinion is that they are not only wrong but they are way off. I have been pulling data for several days now from my MLS trying to come up with some empirical proof. But it just ain't happening. The problem is I can't tell how many withdrawn and expired listings were actually re-listed and closed. I guess I could flag the current listings and monitor them over a period of time. But hey...I have to work for a living so I'll pass on that. Anyway here is my unscientific conclusion. First, I think I can agree that only 20%-25% of Short Sale TRANSACTIONS close. I can base this on my own experience. I know that it normally takes multiple... 06/13/2010

Hi Folks. I noticed today is video day on ActiveRain so thought I'd shoot one for ya. TLW and I have been posting videos on AR for almost 4 years now. Old to the game but always looking to improve. Hopefully this one will get you motivated. Let me know if you like it.      ***Video is the property of ROAR!! Productions More Videos from ROAR!! Productions Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close. Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com ***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio. Copyright © 2010 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved 06/11/2010

Solivita Downtown Hi Folks. As some of you may know TLW and I have just bought a new home. It was quite the journey as we were focused on one specific community, one specific street and it had to be an even number address so it would back into the conservation area. Not too picky. Anyway, we were good qualified Buyers. So like any good qualified Buyer we decided we needed a Broker to help us out. We hired Broker Bryant. Wait a minute.....that's me!! OK so I guess we didn't hire a Broker since I am already the best and most good looking Broker in Poinciana. The job was mine and I knew I needed to make TLW happy. To make a long story short we found the perfect property and made an offer on it. Being that it was a foreclosure and at the bottom price range for this particular community we ... 06/09/2010

The Active Rain Realtor Nationwide Survey, taking a closer Look at Central Florida, specifically Osceola County where business has been brisk. The phones are finally ringing and buyers are buying.  Sellers who have long term holdings in Real Estate appear to be waiting the market out, until the REO properties and Short Sales have been sloughed off, in hopes their better kept homes will command higher prices. These sellers will have a longer than anticipated wait ahead of them. By best estimation an improvement in private non distress sales, will take another year or two until the market stabilizes a little further.  Gains in prices however are being made. Up over previous prices in year over year analysis. Local lender report that mortgages are available.  The biggtest problem affecting... 05/24/2010

•·  For Rent in Crescent Lakes Posted: Sat, 15 May This home features an artisan-style interior, two master suites with one set-up as a Media Room with both a specialized wall screen and equipment bay. Its master garden bath features a Jacuzzi. Within walking distance of Reedy Creek Elementary and Poinciana High School, manned by a student crossing... •·  For Homes -- Odd Pricing Better than Rounding Posted: Sat, 15 May 2010 While good realtors know to price homes just below mark lines -- such as taking a home priced at $200,000 down to $199,000 -- did you know that the number of zeros in a price is also an important factor in home sales? According to Jack Hough of SmartMoney, "you don't actually need to drop the price... •·  Hilltop Residential Land for Sale for Less than $10k Posted: ... 05/16/2010