We hear a lot of mixed messages about the housing market in the United States, the housing marketing in Florida, and in Jacksonville.  It makes it tough to decipher what is true and what is fluff.  The graphic below courtesy of Visual Economics does a great job of showing just what is happening in the housing market.

The bad news: homes aren't selling like they used to.

The good news: Homes are still selling, but yours must be in great condition with great curb appeal, it must be marketed correctly, and priced aggressively if it is to be one of the home sales for 2010.

Good news Bonus: In the graphic below, there is a slump that happens in the 70's, another in the 80's, and yet another in the 90's.  After each slow down, it always rebounds in…

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Just Served Foreclosure Papers, what happens now?

The bank has given you legal notice that they intend to take the house back through Foreclosure.  The fastest I've seen a foreclosure happen in Jacksonville is 6 months after being served with Foreclosure papers....so you have some time.  If you do nothing, you will get a series of legal notices, and finally the property will be auctioned off at the court house.  You will either choose to move or be removed from the house within a few days from the court auction date.

What to do when Served with Foreclosure?

You have 5 choices:

  1. Pay your balance owed to the bank.  Not feasible for many, but it is your #1 best option.
  2. Defend against the Foreclosure by hiring a Foreclosure attorney in…

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80% of our Jacksonville Real Estate business has been short sales in 2010 and there is no signs of this trend slowing.  Many home owners owe more than their homes are worth and after months of frustration in an attempt to modify the loan, they are turned to doing a short sale.  (Short Sale is selling for less than is owed to the bank - the bank allows the short sale - You can read all about how to Short Sale).

Short Sales are Getting More Difficult

The process to get a short sale completed was the wild wild west in 2007, 2008, and 2009.  It was chaos controlled only by outlaw banks.  Now the suits have taken over and have attempted to put process in place in 2010.  What has resulted is nothing short of massive red tape for all involved.

We have…

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