What is a hardship and why do I need one?  A Short Sale is one of several pre-foreclosure remedies. In order to request a Short Sale, from your Lender, you must have a hardship AND you have to be able to prove it. It has to be a legitimate hardship.    Hardship: Noun1. conditions of life that are difficult to endure 2. something that causes suffering  A hardship is anything that makes it where you can not afford the payments on your house. A hardship is something drastic that has happened to your financial situation since you borrowed the money. You borrowed the money and you agreed to pay it back. Now you can't. Notice I said CAN'T....not WON'T. Can't is a hardship. Won't is a deadbeat.  A hardship may be the result of:  Divorce Job loss Reduced income Illness Disability Medical bills ... 12/02/2008

Hot for Thanksgiving Deals Find the Hottest Deals in November Right Now! The lowest price for an existing single-family home in Poinciana is now $25,900. To find your next best deal, including pool homes and foreclosures, register now to get your exclusive password from Poinciana's Hottest Deals in the news!' Lake Hatchinea Ranch It's official, the Lake Hatchinea Ranch Development, that was to be located south of Poinciana will not--we repeat, will NOT--be developed. After an initial thumbs down in September, Polk County came back with an appeal but backed off as a sign of the times. The Reporter suggested that our current...' A New Trend? So the markets around the world look pretty dismal and you've stopped watching TV. Maybe drinking a Corona or a Cuba Libre by now. Maybe you're hopin... 11/28/2008

Hi folks. Every week I receive a lot of questions via email from consumers and my peers, so, I thought I would start a weekly blog series titled "ASK THE BROKER". Just submit your question on the form below and I will choose one once a week and post my response here.  *****************************************THIS WEEK'S QUESTION AND RESPONSE Hi Broker Bryant,  I like your website. Do you work as a buyer's agent?  If so....  This will seem like a strange set of questions considering my current situation but you seem like the guy who could help me achieve this goal.  I have been searching the MLS and noticed your area has a great amount of bank owned properties. I found one that is a nice home for about 60 grand. I have about 30% or $20,000 for a down payment and my wife and I make about... 11/16/2008

Top 10 Blogs Want the world to know about your favorite blogs? You can now submit your "Top 10 List" to Blogs.com. Don't forget to support your local blogosphere either and add The Poinciana Crane to your favorites or email us at Home@PoincianaHome.net if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for...  It Happened Again Another fool realtor did it again. The agent did what we define as crazy, that is, the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. It was a lockbox issue. The agent depended on a "contractor" to maintain a key box on a house for sale, but what the agent didn't realize was that Mr....  Green Top Ten Former CEO of General Nutrition Centers (GNC), Greg Horn says that you can make small changes to have great impact on our planet. His top ten include: Ea... 11/13/2008

I read a news story from MSNBC indicating the reality now setting in on many sellers in the market.  You can read the story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27648884?GT1=43001 One statement was made by a Florida seller, "We lost close to $100,000 in equity so we were walking away from real money." First - is it "real money" or "not yet realized" money.  For homeowners who purchased a home in 1st quarter 2007, their actual value vs their purchase price is likely MUCH lower in the present market.  THEY have lost REAL money. But if you bought a home in 2003, and gained $150,000 of equity from 2003 through 2006 - and are now back to 2003 levels - their only real loss is potential, or loss of equity.  Or, perhaps the real loss is when you compare your home investment to the lost opportunity of... 11/13/2008

Hi folks, buckle up, it's time for a new market report. I do have some good news this month. The number of properties that have sold has increased quite drastically over the last 3 months. To be exact, sales have increased 35%!! Inventory has also remained steady with there currently being 1,172 single family homes on the market. This number has been roughly the same for about a year now. However, prices have continued to decline with values dropping 15% since the end of July.   You can also see from the table below that Bank owned (REO) and short sale properties make up from 80% to 84% of the properties that have sold. This of course is what's causing the prices to continue to drop.  ***This report is for Poinciana Florida neighborhoods and includes zip codes 34758 and 34759 but exclu... 11/11/2008

Hola Osceola Kicks Off A web site for the Hispanic community of Osceola County! Now we're talking, "El cliente es primero!" Sponsored by the Osceola News-Gazette, HolaOsceola.com offers Poinciana residents a meeting place for instantaneous distribution of information. Anyone may register and post event information,...' $1.5 Million for Fair Housing A federal grant could mean better housing for some Florida residents. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) were in Florida on October 22nd to announce a $1.5 million fair housing grant for several Florida housing organizations. The grants will be used to investigate allegations...' Poinciana Update The Eighth Annual Poinciana Community Update was not standing-room only, as it was last year, but it did attract at least 300 ... 10/31/2008

Hi folks. I'm sure there are many of you that are either doing short sales or want to do short sales. Therefore, I am posting this sample cover letter that may help you when submitting a short sale package to the lender. Just remember, you are submitting a fully signed and accepted contract and asking the lender to remove the 3rd party approval. You are not asking them to accept the offer. The lender is not a party to the contract. The offer has already been negotiated and accepted by the Seller. Also, check with your Broker and your State's laws concerning short sales. I am a Florida Broker and this is how I handle short sales. This is my opinion only. *************SAMPLE SHORT SALE COVER LETTER*************** Ref: LN# XXXXXXXXXXX345 Saint Blasse Ct Kissimmee Fl 34758Bertha Tutas SSN#... 10/30/2008

So the big news in real estate this week is.... "The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes rose by 5.5 percent from August to September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units - far better than the flat results analysts had expected. On an unadjusted basis, sales were up 7.8 percent from September last year. But even with the gain in sales, prices kept falling. The median sales price has dropped to $191,600, down by 9 percent from a year ago." (From Newsweek)  Let's see how this applies to real estate in my market Poinciana Florida.  In August there were 55 sales in Poinciana Florida. In September there were 66. That's an increase of 17%. Compared to 5.5% Nationwide. OK so Poinciana beat the National average. That's a good thing.  Now... 10/26/2008

Hi folks, it seems like just yesterday that my business consisted mostly of listing properties for Mr. and Mrs. Regular Seller. I spent a lot of my time preparing print ads, brochures, virtual tours and making sure I got the properties disseminated throughout the Internet. When I wasn't doing these things I was busy arranging showings, negotiating deals, talking with my Sellers and fielding Buyer calls. Life was good. I was busy helping folks move up or move on. It felt good to help and everyone I had contact with seemed to be in good cheer.  Now those times are just a memory. The market has changed and so has my way of doing business. I jest with TLW in the mornings saying "I'm heading off to work to try and pull some money out of my &*%!"  But, I have to say..... I LOVE this new marke... 10/20/2008

I HATE strongly dislike having transactions fall apart at the last minute. Last Friday, I was supposed to close on one of my Poinciana Florida short sale properties. It was a pretty difficult deal that required almost 3 months of negotiating with Wells Fargo.  After many days of going back forth on the negotiating of a promissory note we finally arrived at an agreement between Wells Fargo and the Seller and received the written "Short Sale Approval". All was right with the world!!!  The next step was to make sure the Buyer was still on track by getting a closing date addendum signed. The Buyer signed. One of the reasons I wanted the Buyer to sign another addendum was to make sure they were still motivated to get this deal closed. We also had them place an additional escrow deposit which... 10/17/2008

Bouncing Baby "Bubbles!" As The "Four-Corners" Reporter focused their attention on Poinciana, Florida, on what looks an untamed painting of the world economic crisis, the local association manager, Jeannette Coughenor, referenced an eight-month inventory of homes in the area. Data from the MidFlorida MLS suggests something...' Expo Less Than Hit Poinciana's 2008 business expo was not the hit vendors were expecting but did attract a small crowd. A vendor from Lake Toho Water Authority suggested that the problem was both location and lack of adequate signage from Pleasant Hill. This year's event was held at Poinciana High School, a new and...' CL Sold! Sold August 29, 2008, this four-bedroom, two-bathroom, furnished home featured a pool and large covered deck. Located in Crescent Lakes, t... 10/02/2008

As The "Four-Corners" Reporter focused their attention on Poinciana, Florida, on what looks an untamed painting of the world economic crisis, the local association manager, Jeannette Coughenor, referenced an eight-month inventory of homes in the area.  Data from the MidFlorida MLS suggests something more like an 18-month inventory on hand for the future.  Based on statistics maintained since 2001, Poinciana real estate associate, Darhlene Zeanwick with Overton Realty, reports that less than two homes per day are selling in the area. While buyers from Canada have been sweeping into the area purchasing in blocks, homeowners who are trying to sell are still having trouble with the predicament of competing with banks. Of the over 1,160 homes in Poinciana that are currently listed in the MLS... 10/02/2008

Hi folks. I originally posted this article in October of 2006. The comments on the original post (VERY HEATED DEBATE ALERT)are quite interesting. At the time, people just couldn't believe that appraisers were making downward adjustments in their appraisals for a declining market. Do you believe it now? ********************************Let the games begin! Ok, so I just received a call today. I've kind of been expecting it but was hoping it wouldn't come for a while. The call I received was from an Appraiser. Now, since I sell a lot of properties in my market, I get one of these about every week, asking me about a recent sale, so they can use it in their appraisal. I always try to answer any of their questions and try to be as helpful as I can. Why? Because I want to be the "go to guy" in... 09/30/2008

I wrote this article in July of 2006. In light of where we are at today I'd say my concerns were valid. *********************************** No money? No problem. Negotiated a deal on one of my listings yesterday. The Buyer is purchasing using 100% financing with the Seller paying closing costs. My market is affordable housing with the majority of homes priced from $190s to $250s and it seems like most of the Buyers lately have been purchasing with no money down. Now don't get me wrong I am in favor of home ownership for everyone but I fear a lot of the Buyers are going to have financial difficulties in the near future. With high insurance costs, property taxes and mortgage payments I am seeing payments of close to $2,000 per month for a starter home. That's a pretty big nut to crack eve... 09/26/2008

Hi folks. If you are looking to purchase single family homes, that will cash flow, the time is right. The homes below would rent in the $600 to $650 per month range. With 20% to 30% down each would have a positive cash flow of approximately $100 to $150 per month. There are currently 65 properties on the market in Poinciana Florida for $75,000 or less. Most of these are 3 bedroom 2 bath homes with about 1200 sq ft.  Check it out:    3 bedrooms 2 baths with 1088 sq ft of living area built in 2000. Last sold in August of 2005 for $163,500. It is currently back owned and is being offered by First Service Realty, Inc at $44,900!!!       3 bedrooms 2 baths with 1750 sq ft of living area built in 2006. Last sold in February of 2006, brand new, for $198,300. It is currently bank owned and is ... 09/20/2008

We're coming down the pike towards the last laps of the race for the White House. You're on your way to Yeehaw Junction when all of a sudden you realize, "I forgot to register to vote!" (Yeah, right.)  But let's just say that really happened. What are your options? Stop at the your next Starbucks? Library, work, or home office?  No.  Get online.  Register to vote in one short sitting. While you're experiencing the greatness of one-stop registration, think about some very important facts about the upcoming elections in Florida.  The deadline to register to vote is October 6th. A majority of Floridians are registered and are registering as Democrats. We're experiencing an unprecedented surge of newly registered voters. If you are not registered to vote, you're vote is lost. Do not underes... 09/18/2008

Snippets from The Poinciana Crane (tm) One-stop Voting Registration We're coming down the pike to end the last lap of the race for the White House. You're on your way to Yeehaw Junction when all of a sudden you realize, "I forgot to register to vote!" (Yeah, right.) But let's just say that really happened. What are your options? Stop at the your next Starbucks?...' No Help for the Defrauded Sept. 16, 2008 | Now burdened with the nation's highest level of mortgage fraud, Florida residents are now just finding out that a program -- that at one time reimbursed people scammed by mortgage brokers -- no longer exists -- at least not for them. State regulators killed a victim assistance...' Rent-to-Own is Back As more and more people are struggling to get re-financing for their homes, more and... 09/18/2008

POINCIANA, FLORIDA | As The "Four-Corners" Reporter focused their attention on Poinciana, Florida, on what looks an untamed painting of the world economic crisis, the local assocation manager, Jeannette Coughenor, referenced an eight-month inventory of homes in the area. Data from the MidFlorida MLS suggests something more like a 18-month inventory is on hand for the future. Based on statistics maintained since 2001, Poinciana real estate associate, Darhlene Zeanwick with Overton Realty, reports that less than two homes per day are selling in the area. While buyers from Canada have been sweeping into the area purchasing in stock, homeowners trying to sell still have trouble with the predicament of competing with banks to sell. Of over 1,160 homes in Poinciana that are currently listed i... 09/12/2008

Hi folks. Many times over the years I have heard from Sellers wondering why their home hasn't sold. The usual comment is "it's priced right". Well is it really? My experience has been that any property will sell if the price is right. What is the "Right Price" in today's market? Is it "Market Value" based on the last 6 months of sales? Is it based on homes that have sold in the last 30 days? Is it the "Appraised Value"? The "Right Price" is the price that will sell your home in 60 to 90 days. But what is this magical number and how do we arrive it? Well in my market (Poinciana, Fl) the right price is 10% to 15% below recent comparable sales. When Realtors are searching the MLS they may have 100-200 homes that meet their Buyer's parameters. My Seller's property, in order to sell, needs ... 09/10/2008