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The Mortgage Debt Relief Act is Renewed for 2013

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

So Breath Normally, St Petersburg Resident, You Are Good For This Year!

If the Mortgage Debt Relief Act would not have been renewed for 2013, it could have created a serious damper on the real estate market recovery and growth this year.  Fortunately for many home owners planning on going through a short sale this year the Act has been renewed.  Even if you will receive a 1099 form you will not be taxed on that amount. Phew!

Since 2007 when Act was initiated it helped thousands of families to avoid paying taxes on the virtual income they haven’t really received.  The money is lost for the home owner and for the bank.  However, many of the banks got bailed out, the homeowners didn’t.  In some cases (like HAFA short sales) the sellers are offered some cash from the lender, but often the sellers have to bring some money to closing, which can be a challenge for the sellers.

Despite many efforts by lenders to simplify and speed up the short sale process, it remains to be tedious and often very frustrating.  Too often Realtors put tremendous amounts of time and paperwork into processing a short sale only to see a deal fall apart because of un-cooperating lender.

Need more information about processing your short sale?  Call us now:   727-417-4495


Filed Under: Home Buying and Selling Tips, Living in St Pete and Tampa Bay, St Petersburg Foreclosures, St Petersburg Real Estate Video Blog, St Petersburg Short Sales, Tampa Bay Foreclosures, Tampa Bay Real Estate Video, Tampa Bay short sales, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Are you familiar with a short sale process? With Video

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Short Sale Process. What you need to know.

Perhaps you ‘ve been behind on your payments, gone through a hardship and/or need to relocate.  Regardless of the reason, if you must sell your house and find that your home value is lower than what you owe, there are only 2 ways to sell your home in this case: bring cash to closing to add to the difference or go through a short sale process.
Majority of home owners in St Petersburg or Tampa that are “upside down” on their houses can’t (or won’t) bring cash to closing and opt for a short sale.  After several years of the short sale activity on the market, we still see many sellers who don’t know for sure what a short sale is and what the short sale process involves.

To see a brief overview of a short sale process, watch our video below.  In brief, we answer 7 questions:
1) How do you initiate a short sale process?
2) Who to contact: a Realtor or attorney?
3) What documents to have ready to start a short sale?
4) What happens after you provide all the docs to the agent?
5) How long will my short sale process take?
6) What will happen after I receive my short sale approval?
7) What can I expect after the closing?

Yes, there are many more details involved in a short sale and we’ve faces all the imaginable obstacles while processing hundreds of short sales. Our success rate is high and we’ll be glad to provide you multiple testimonials.  Do you have questions and want to know more?  We love to explain how a short sale works! Call us at 888-449-4052 or send us a message with your questions here.

Have comments about the short sale process? Want to add anything?  Need more info?  Please leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Living in St Pete and Tampa Bay, St Petersburg Foreclosures, St Petersburg Real Estate Video Blog, St Petersburg Short Sales, Tampa Bay Foreclosures, Tampa Bay Real Estate Professional Information, Tampa Bay Real Estate Video, Tampa Bay short sales, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Distress Property Options. Short sale, Loan Mod, Foreclosure requirements. Part 3

June 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

GENERAL LENDER REQUIREMENTS FOR SHORT SALE – LOAN MODIFICATION – DEED IN LIEU

Seller/Owner docs

Yes! There's paperwork involved... and lots of it!

1. Borrower(s) Written Authorization to discuss the loan with 3rd parties (not our borrower) and listing agreement if working with an agent
2. Borrower(s) Hardship letter (reason for delinquency)
3. Borrower(s) Financial statement – monthly income vs outflow
4. Borrower(s) Check stubs/ pay verification for the last two months
5. Borrower(s) Tax returns for last two years
6. Borrower(s) Bank statements for the last two months
7. If borrower owns any rental property, copies of the rental contract
8. Recent Mortgage statement from all lenders.

Realtor provided docs
9. Signed Purchase Contract and Addenda
10. Estimated Hud-1 or Closing statement – Net Sheet
11. Short Sale Disclosure Statement
12. Listing Agreement Docs

In General, The Homeowner /Seller who lives in St Petersburg or in Tampa Bay should be able to show the following:

Make sure your paperwork is in order

• Financial Hardship – There is a situation causing you to have trouble affording your mortgage. Loss of employment, reduction of income, medical hardships, death in the family, divorce, etc..
• Monthly Income Shortfall – In other words: “You have more month than money.” A lender will want to see that you cannot afford, or soon will not be able to afford your mortgage.
• Insolvency – The lender will want to see that you do not have significant liquid assets that would allow you to pay down your mortgage.
Note: There are lenders who will process and approve short sales when there is no financial hardship, the homeowner is current on payments, and investor properties with multiple properties and assets.
For a Loan Modification the home owner should be able to show a reduction in income and/or employment, but also show continued stable employment and income at the reduced level.

If you live in St Petersburg, FL or anywhere in Tampa Bay, please make sure to check our PART 1, PART2 and PART4 of Distressed Property Options series.

The HOME Team is here for you!  With questions call us today at 888-449-4052 or fill out this form and we will be right back with you (we respect your privacy and will never, ever share your contact info with anyone!):

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Filed Under: Gallery, Home Buying and Selling Tips, Living in St Pete and Tampa Bay, St Petersburg Foreclosures, St Petersburg Short Sales, Tampa Bay Foreclosures, Tampa Bay Real Estate Professional Information, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

IS YOUR REALTOR BRINGING ON A PHOTO DISASTER?

February 9, 2011 By 2 Comments

IS YOUR REALTOR BRINGING ON A PHOTO DISASTER?

Squirrel on a listing picture? It's (Un)real estate marketing!

We’ve been working with home sellers and buyers for a long time.  Yet, it still amazes me sometimes to see how agents advertise listings.  I also can’t, in the right mind, understand why the home sellers list their homes with the agents offering this type of marketing. 

PHOTO TAKING MISTAKES

I understand, we have to deal with many distressed properties these days and if the house looks terrible, well, you just have to show what it looks like.  However, why show a nasty toilet, when you can take an extra street view shot?  Why take a picture of a squirrel on the fence when you can show another back yard photo?  I see these photo taking mistakes ALL THE TIME!  Here’s how serious I am about pictures: if you won’t hire a professional photographer to take pictures of a listing, then go take a photography class and buy at least $500.00 worth of the photo equipment.  And if you don’t do that – you shouldn’t be a Realtor in this market.  Not if you are trying to market homes online and provide exceptional internet service to your clients.

What's up with Soup TV??

IT’S A REAL BUSINESS

Real Estate is a real business.  As agents we pay thousands of dollars for MLS and Realtor dues, continuous education, desk fees, office supplies and rent, commission splits, etc.  So the question is, if we are in a real business, why are we, as agents, not always treating Real Estate like a real business?  Your clients should be paying your commissions gladly, because of the services and marketing you are providing to them.  So, don’t be lazy and cheap, be hardworking, creative and proud of what you do.  For example, learn from the industry experts like www.TechSavvyAgent.com.  They have tons of great advice on Real Estate marketing.

Start Taking Good Pictures of Real Estate You Are Listing

BECOME CAMERA “TRIGGER HAPPY”!

Our local MLS allows 12 pictures, twelve!!, so why do I often see only one, or two, or ten but not 12!?  Buyers (and home owners) will see the listing online, where pictures that were pulled from MLS will be representing the home.  On each site like Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia one can create an account and add up to 25 pictures of the listing, a VIDEO tour and build an enhanced profile page.  These simple things are a MUST in today’s market.  Are you there?

And if you are in need to sell a home, please do your homework, research on the Internet and browse through listings before you pick your listing agent.  Those who market well are usually successful and will sell your home quick and for top dollar.

Here’s another post we wrote not long ago about mistakes agent do, check it out here.  And this post is about Video tours.

Feel free to contact us with questions about  Real Estate marketing, Real Estate photography and Video tours.

Tampa Bay Real Estate Blog by The HOME Team of Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc.

Filed Under: Events in St Pete and Tampa Bay, Home Buying and Selling Tips, Living in St Pete and Tampa Bay, Tampa St Pete Real Estate Technology, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Short Sales Flood Continues?

February 3, 2011 By 1 Comment

SHORT SALES FLOOD IN TAMPA BAY CONTINUES?

Click picture to search short short sales in Tampa Bay

We’ve all seen the decrease in real estate prices in the last 5 years.  Home prices in Tampa Bay dropped near 50% from where they were at the peak of the market in 2005-2006.  As a result nearly 40% of all home sold in St Petersburg and greater Tampa Bay area today are closed through a short sale or foreclosure process.  In 2010 the decrease in sales prices was significantly lower than in 2008 and 2009 and it seems as if we’ve gone into a flat plateau.  Will home values continue to go down in 2011?  If they do, it will be in single digits, in my humble opinion.

Statistically, even though home values in Tampa Bay dropped by around 8% in 2010, there were more sales last year than in 2009 or 2008.  So there’s more activity, meaning people are more comfortable with current prices and feel a bit more confident about buying.  But, on the sales side, we will continue to see short sales, as there are so many currently pending and many people have missed multiple payments and are near beginning of a short sale or foreclosure process on their home.  So, even if number of sales continues to go up, the prices will still stay low for a while.

WHY DO PEOPLE SHORT SALE THEIR HOMES?

Find out what's your home worth and if you're in a short sale range. Click on the picture!

1) Life.  Yes, that’s a simple reason.  With some it’s a need to relocate, due to a change of a job, divorce or death in the family.

2) Loss of a job.  Many have lost jobs during this recession and can’t continue to make payments.  Statistically, if you’ve missed 5 or 6 payments, it’s rare that a person catches up on them.  So, they have to put their home on the market, but the principle is higher than what the home is worth today – hence the short sale.

3) Just because.  You and your neighbor bought homes in 2005 for $300k each.  Today each house is worth $165k.  Neighbor decides to stop paying on the mortgage of the house that’s not worth the amount he owes.  Lives in it without making a payment for a year, buys a foreclosure down the street for $100k, then, short sells his house and walks away without deficiency judgment.  While you are still making a hefty payment on your home.  How will it make you feel?

RIGHT OR WRONG?

Click picture to search Foreclosures in Tampa Bay

Sometimes it’s hard to draw the line between what’s right and wrong. If you are missing payments on your mortgage, I hope it is because you are experiencing a hardship and not just because you are frustrated with the market and don’t feel like paying any more.

Remember, short sales and foreclosures WILL affect your credit.  Deficiency is not always forgiven and banks can pursue you for the difference in the future.  Often the lender requires a proof of a true hardship in order to approve a short sale.  Though, some lenders these days allow a short sale without much paperwork and in a short time frame.

Before you consider a short sale, talk to your lender about a loan modification, which can significantly reduce your monthly payment. Finally, talk to a lawyer about your situation and then consult with a Real Estate agent about the sales process.

Call us today, we can help!  Talk to James @ Tel. (888) 449-4052

Filed Under: Events in St Pete and Tampa Bay, Living in St Pete and Tampa Bay, St Petersburg Foreclosures, St Petersburg Short Sales, Tampa Bay Foreclosures, Tampa Bay Real Estate Professional Information, Tampa Bay Real Estate Statistics, Tampa Bay short sales, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Facts About Florida. How Will They Affect You?

January 28, 2011 By 1 Comment

Quick Facts About Florida.  How Will They Affect You?

Florida Realtor Magazine

Just read some interesting facts about Florida in Florida Realtor® magazine.  As Realtors® we are continually studying local and state real estate market and statistics.  So, we thought you may be interested to know that in Florida there are:

-          1,000 people move to Florida each day

-          19 major commercials airports

-          1,800 miles of coastline

-          14 deepwater ports

-          12 international airports

-          More than 1,250 golf courses.  Florida has more golf courses than any other state.  Palm Beach County has more golf courses than any other county in the USA.

-          1,200 miles of sand beaches

-          More than 370,000 hotel rooms in Florida

SALES NUMBERS

Assessed Value Map

Florida is just a great place all around.  Many of these facts influence our Real Estate market one way or another.  These very positive facts will also help our market get back out of recession.  While we don’t expect miracles this year, 2011 is still expected to be a growth year for Florida’s economy.  Unemployment is predicted to stay in double digits, yet Moody’s Economy.com, a national consulting firm, projects that Florida will achieve 3% job growth in 2011 – more than any other state.  Tampa and Orlando are expected to grow the most at 3.4%.

If you saw our Clearwater and Pinellas County sales statistics post not long ago, you already know that numbers of sales are growing are already higher than 2009 and 2008. Of course, a good portion of sales was boosted by the first-time home buyer program that spurred buyers into action by offering tax credits.  Yet, I believe our slowly recovery economy is the main reason of the rise in the number of sales.  But sales prices most likely will not go up for a while.  The reason behind it is the amount of short sales and foreclosures pending for this year.  Buyer’s demand has to equal and then surpass the supply for prices to start going back up.  And when they do, we really want just a steady 3-4%/year growth in prices to avoid another bubble.

LUXURY REAL ESTATE GOING UP

Florida luxury home sales are on the rise

Luxury home sales are on the rise.  In Palm Beach wealthy buyers are snapping up mansions at prices $10 million and up.  There could be several reasons for this.  First, sellers are realizing what the true market value of their home is and settle for 50 cents on a dollar.  While savvy investors see an opportunity and starting to feel secure owning Florida real estate at a hedge against future inflation.  For example, in Jacksonville sales of homes priced over $2 million were up 78% compared with 2009.  This is good news for everyone, as it creates a positive climate for homes listed at more modest prices.

Florida Realtor® magazine, Jan/Feb 2011 stats used.

Tampa Bay Real Estate Blog by The HOME Team of Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Downtown St Petersburg, FL

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