Do you need help from Santa for the house downpayment?

According to the new survey from Trulia, home buyers are struggling with coming up with a down payment, which is preventing them from buying.  This got me thinking of ways to help home buyers in these tough times.  Christmas is coming, what a better time to ask for a little HELP from Santa!

Instead of asking for the new Gucci bag for Christmas, why not ask the family for a contribution to your new home.  Keep in mind,  “under federal tax law, each individual is permitted to give away money or valuables worth up to $13,000 to a single recipient in a calendar year,” according to an article in The New York Times. “A married couple could jointly bestow up to $26,000 a year per recipient.” Anything above the maximum annual exemption could be considered a taxable gift and must be reported to the IRS.

Feel free to call or email me with any questions on home buying!

Merry Christmas!

Does a tankless water heater save money? | FPL Blog

Does a tankless water heater save money? | FPL Blog

Local Fishing Report - South Florida

Local Fishing Report Click Here

Search neighborhood statistics

Another great website to research communities: http://familywatchdog.us/

Great website to search schools in your area!

Check out this great website to do research on schools before buying a home http://www.greatschools.org/

Free Credit Report

Everyone seems to be taking a beating in the credit area these days.  So many homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments.  Here's the only place where can get your credit report for free: Free Credit Report

TIP: Before you even schedule an appointment to see that fabulous home you have had your eye for some time, contact a trusted Mortgage Broker and try to get a referral from a friend.  This is one of the biggest purchases you will be making in your lifetime, so as you would with anything else, shop around for the best rates first.  If you have some credit issues you need to work on you can address them now, not after you start planning where you are putting that couch!

How much does that cost?

I get asked this question quite often when I'm showing homes to buyers.  It's the great house but doesn't have the pool or the bamboo floors they want.  I found this great website that tells you how much these home upgrades cost.  Check it out!

You have a great offer on your home...think again!

The ongoing issues the real estate market is having with appraisals coming in too low has caused more then enough headaches in this market.  Homeowners are unable to sell their homes at the agreed sales price leaving them trapped.

A May 2009 law required that appraisers work independently and without undue influence from mortgage brokers, lenders and real estate agents. Mortgage fraud prosecutors say the overhaul was necessary to curtail conflicts of interest and bloated estimates that contributed to the housing debacle.

The problem with this law is that most lenders now use an appraisal management company which randomly selects appraisers, most of which are not from the area the property is located in.   I haven't had a local appraiser on one of my properties in over a year and they have ALL come in low.

The next big issue is that they are factoring in the foreclosures that are on the market and in terrible condition as compared to a home that has been well maintained.  I rarely walk into a foreclosed property that is in decent condition.  Typically there is mold damage due to the amount of time a home has been vacant without electric and most have been gutted with no appliances or cabinets in some cases the plumbing has been stripped due to vandalism.

Even if you are factoring in short sales with these appraisals, most are empty or have a tenant in place and the homeowner pretty much walks away from the home without any care of the upkeep or how it's being maintained.  Most of my short sale listings are vacant and the homeowner does not have the funds to repair the roof, cut the grass and leave the utilities on.  You have no idea how fast mold can spread in the South Florida heat!

I recently had a listing that was a very well maintained home and we received an offer a little under asking price. The buyers fell in love with the home and were eager to get the ball rolling with their financing and hopefully on our way to the closing table.  I was nervous due to appraisals coming in low and knew this neighborhood was getting hit hard with a lot of foreclosures, all of which were in horrible condition.  Sure enough, the appraisal came back $44,000 less than the agreed sales price.  My sellers were in no position to sell for the appraised price so the deal fell through.  The appraiser was not local and the comparables he used for the appraisal were all foreclosures.

Bottom line, if you are concerned about your homes value and the neighborhood you are in, my advice to you is to do an appraisal up front so you have a good idea of what your home is worth, especially in this crazy South Florida market.   It's well worth the money and can save you a lot of headaches down the road.  Talk to your Realtor about this and I'm sure they would agree!    

If you have any questions feel free to call or email  me or go to my website, you can get me there anytime!

First Time Home Buyer - DIY Home Projects

First time home buyers check out Lowe's DIY projects.  Their website if chock-full of ideas, so get off the couch and get to work!  Click Here

2010 Census Map

This is a great census map that breaks down the entire country by county, city, then by individual neighborhoods.  It tells you the population growth since 2000 and lets you know the racial demographics within those areas and tons more information....U.S. Census Mapping for 2010

West Palm Beach Housing Market Update

There's no better time to buy than now! The June local Market Report is in for West Palm Beach and it's quite a change from a year ago! In a nut shell, the inventory is down 42.3% from this time last year. Once inventory goes down, prices will stabilize or in some communities, prices could go up due to lack of inventory.

Happy house hunting!

Bank of America now letting a backup offer replace a buyer that walks on a short sale

This is great news and a long time coming. One of the most frustrating aspects of a short sale is when a buyer walks. Fortunately I have learned the hard way and now take backup offers on all my short sale listings just because of this problem.

Approximately 50% of buyers walk on a short sale which leaves the seller, listing agent and Attorney negotiating the short sale back at square one. I then have to put the property back on the market and the lender closes the file. When you get a new offer, you would then submit it to the lender and start at the beginning with a new bank negotiator.

Bank of America has implemented a new system in which you have 14 days to submit a new offer, along with a few other tasks:

When a Backup Offer Is Ready

You should send a message to your short sale specialist via Equator when the original buyer is no longer interested in the property. Your short sale specialist will then respond to you within two business days and ask if you have a backup offer ready to submit. If you have another buyer prepared to make an offer, the short sale can proceed without having to repeat the short sale initiation steps. The short sale status in Equator will change to "Marketing," and you will be directed to complete the following tasks within 14 business days:
· Complete the "Listing Data" task.
· Provide the marketing description.
· Review the marketing plan.
· Upload the offer. (To do this in Equator, locate "My Properties," then "Offers" and select "Place New Offer.")

If the "Listing Data" task is not completed and the new offer is not uploaded within 14 business days, the file will be closed.

This is a big step forward in the short sale game and hopefully the other lenders will follow suit.

Looking for a short sale expert in West Palm Beach or South Florida? Contact me to find out if you are a short sale candidate and to know your options!

Happy selling!

You can find me on my website: www.traciesellsflorida.com

HGTV Inspection Shoot today!

Hello everyone! Things are moving along nicely and I'm enjoying all of the fun shooting the show. I had no idea how much time this would take shooting and all the work that goes along with it. When you see a 30 min episode you have no idea!

Tonight I'm heading out to my seller's house to shoot the inspection results. A stylist, hair and makeup girl would be great! We don't get any of that, so I do my hair, makeup and hopefully don't wear the same thing twice. The heat is not helping the hair situation, so let's hope they don't want to shoot outside today. We shot the offer conversation outside by the pool and everyone was dying. South Florida is getting very warm!!!

Now that I know the routine and what to expect, it's a lot easier that it was on the first day. There's a lot of starting and stopping, so you have to pick up where you left off or from the top. I came back with "do you want it from the top" the last shoot and laughed that I blurted that out! They also shot me downtown at the shopping plaza on the phone and everyone was trying to figure out what was going on with all the cameras.

I am going to try and get some photos or videos of the behind the scenes tonight!

Stay tuned and wish me luck!!

Tracie

My First day of shooting for HGTV's.....My First Sale!!!

Yipeee..I was picked to be on an episode of MY FIRST SALE on HGTV!!! Now..panic sets in!!! I thought I would share my whole experience with everyone with this once in a lifetime opportunity. It should be fun with plenty of bloopers and some behind the scenes dish, so follow along with me as I go through this journey.

Saturday was my first day of shooting. The premise of the show is to capture on tv the complete process for the first time home seller. It gives you an opportunity to experience the whole process with a home seller from listing to offer, to inspection to appraisal and then to closing, with all the drama in between. These days the home selling process is harder than ever. We are dealing with buyer's financing issues, appraisals coming in too low or too high and even buyers that are super picky because the tighter restrictions on getting financed. They want a great house! As you can imagine, there is plenty of drama with the ups and downs in the whole process. Of course HGTV is there to catch all of it!!

Did I mention I'm camera shy and I'm always the girl that does NOT want to be featured in the photo. Yeah...exactly!! Why did I sign up for this??? By the way, HGTV called me. When the offer presented itself, I had to take it!

My first day of shooting was Saturday and had no idea what to expect. Sure, I watch HGTV all the time and Tivo all the shows, but me...in one? Talk about being under the microscope. Saturday came and it was "GO TIME"! I think having three brothers really made me equate everything to a sporting event..."GO TIME"...really???? Pulled out the outfit that made me feel fierce and makeup hopefully just right. I did my homework for the listing presentation, so I felt prepared.

As soon as I got there it was fast paced! The producer gave me a quick synopsis of how the day was going to go and said..."Just be yourself" Ok,sure...with two huge cameras in my face and a fluorescent light over my head that doesn't flatter anyone! "Sure"..I said. Try to act calm. I could feel the energy and excitement in the air. Was this really happening I thought? I got wired for sound and ready to go!

First they shot me in the car while I was driving. They wanted to capture me coming to the home. I asked the camera guy if the camera had to be that close??!! No turning back now. The day then went on for 6 more hours. I had no idea all of this went into a 30 minute episode. We went room to room, pointing out the good and the bad and the recommendations. The final sit down for the listing presentation was the last part of the day. I'm exhausted and my feet are killing me, I had to wear the cute heals. A lot to remember and the pressure is on to make it right!

So day one is over!!! The next shooting will be for the offer presentation. The homeowners are making some final repairs to the home which I suggested and then we should be up and listed and ready to go!


Follow along with me as I write about my HGTV experience...should be exciting!!

Tracie

Instant Upgrades to Help Sell your Home

No more egg nog and pumpkin pie, it's time to get to work! Okay..okay, I know you are saying, "I don't want to dump any more money into my home" but trust me, with these simple tips, it will be well worth it when your Broker brings an offer.

CURB APPEAL - What do you look at when you are outside a home waiting for the Broker to open the door? The door, the landscaping, it's the first impression and gives buyers an idea of the condition of the home on the inside. I have had buyers refuse to even go in a home because the outside was unkept. They said, I can only imagine what the inside looks like.

1) Fresh mulch will liven up the yard and make it look fresh and kept up.
2) Power wash your driveway
3) Fresh coat of paint on your front door - use car paint and when it gets dingy, put a coat of wax on it and it shines right up.

LIGHT FIXTURES - It may sound crazy, but trust me, buyers always look at the light fixtures in a home. I cannot tell you how many times I have showed a great home and it has a brass light fixture that looks cheap and resembles something that would be in a home from the 70's. The buyer says "whoa" immediately!

GET A PROFESSIONAL STAGER - It can range from $1,500 - $3,000 and can make a huge difference in how a home presents itself.

REMOVE OLD WALLPAPER - This typically costs around $300.00 to have it removed. It definitely ages your homes. I have never had a buyer say, I love that wallpaper. It's usually old and peeling because it was put up years back and it's too personal. You want your home to appeal to a broad range of people.

KITCHEN - Such an important part of a home. If you are going to replace any appliance in the kitchen, buy a stainless steel refrigerator, it's the largest item in the kitchen. You can buy one for around $900.00. Buyers ALWAYS look inside a refrigerator, so keep it clean!

BATHROOM - Buyers want it to resemble a hotel bathroom, so keep it fresh & clean.

1) Buy a new toilet seat, it's a very cheap fix.
2) Clean the grout
3) A fresh coat of paint and make it neutral colors.