WHOA we are in business!  The floodgates have re-opened and the buyers have finally gotten off the fence.  I'm sure the low interest rates combined with the fact that homes are priced lower than what they should be (cheaper to own than rent) has this market on fire.   The biggest problem right now is inventory.  Homes are still worth less than most people owe ..... about 40+% of Jacksonville home owners with mortgages are in this position, however there aren't enough homes on the market.  Buyers are in the market, but the homes are not.   WE NEED LISTINGS!!!

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853 Days average time for a Foreclosure in Florida!

That is correct, not a typo.  I've been using an old statistic from back in 2011 that had us above 600 days on average.  I now stand corrected.  

853 Days!!!

Interesting note:  That's average.  That means some are shorter and potentially much shorter and some are longer and much longer.  For the non-math incline, 853 = about 2 years and 4 months!

How fast can I buy a new house after a Foreclosure?

That is a hot topic right now.  The most lenient of opportunities currently resides with using an FHA loan.  They will allow a purchase 3 years from the anniversary date after a Short Sale or a Foreclosure.  Of course, that's takes into account that you have rebuilt your credit and have the…

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Interesting trends in Waterfront home sales in Jacksonville over the last few years.  At one point in the not so distant past, I thought I was out of the waterfront business for good.  Sales were beyond slow, a bazillion waterfront home owners were calling me to list and sell their homes at prices the market just wouldn't pay, and banks just wouldn't lend money unless luxury buyers had at least 30% to put down.  With that ongoing trend - I had to switch around my business to stay in business.  It worked and I stayed in business and still managed to stay a top producer and consistently grow my business year after year. 

Things have changed in the Jacksonville real estate market!  Waterfront is back in business in a big way, and it's a great time to…

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This picture was taken on the St Johns River in St Johns County while showing homes.  Great set up!  Check out all waterfront real estate currently on the market.

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Helping a good friend locate, negotiate, and close on their first Waterfront Home in Jacksonville, we were just finishing up our final walk thru the day of closing and witnessed a spectacular scene.  

This picture is just off the back of their new waterfront home overlooking the water, and that's a Bald Eagle hunting a seagull! (which he caught and flew off with).  You just don't see this everyday!


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Citi Mortgage Short Sale Success!

One of my favorite banks to work with on Short Sales has to be Citi Mortgage.  Fast, responsive, and realistic.  

Too often we get counter offers from banks that are 2006 prices - knowing the house will never appraise at such a blown out price, we have to go through the lengthy value dispute.  Citi hasn't done this as much, and they seem to be realistic on values.  

This particular short sale in Jacksonville was another fast sale.  The home was on the market for just a few weeks and the 3rd showing went to contract.  Buyers were very fast with all addendum request and the Sellers were super fast with all updated documents as requested by the bank.  

We received the approval letter and full…

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 great article by Donna Fuscaldo, @donnabail on Twitter, for FoxBusiness.com.  The article covers How To Speed Up The Short Sale Process.  Not only well written, but they used a very credible source:  Brad Officer  of RE/MAX & a Redfin Broker out of Phoenix, Marcus Fleming.  

How to Speed Up The Short Sale Process

  1. Start with Professionals:  This is probably the largest Debt you have -therefore work with a Short Sale Specialist.  Every agent has jumped on the bandwagon of becoming a "Certified Distressed Expert", but come on?!?!  Research your chosen agent, make sure they have a clue and not just a 3 hour class.  
  2. You must use an Attorney:  Forget what your bank told you about it being as easy as submitting a few documents.  It's not that…

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We are seeing some signs of progress for rising prices.  Albeit a few percentage points increase from the drastically depressed values - but hey - positive is better than flat and a whole lot better than declines in value! News is everywhere of the housing pick up.  Here's a good video:

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Odd trend in the market.  The inventory of homes available to purchase in Jacksonville has plummeted.  I'm talking full on nose dive and it hasn't started pulling up to level off yet.  BUT - the average number of days on market has actually increased. My theory:  Lower priced homes are being snatched up by investors in record numbers.  I have several very large, institutionally large, investment firms that I market properties directly to.  They are buying site unseen and cash closings.  As fast as we can get them on the market......within their pre-set parameters.  That handles the lower priced market.  HOWEVER, the middle priced and up are still sitting.  $400,000 + seems to be sitting and waiting just like a few years ago.  I'd like to see this trend…

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Bank of America Short Sales are getting faster!

The speed up is happening as they've finally developed some internal systems and processes that make sense.  Oh yea, and they've stopped changing them every 10 days, which helps.  They are still struggling with the massive incoming volume of short sale applications, contracts, and inquiries, but hey - that's to be expected for the largest holder/servicer of distressed mortgages.  

One great new addition to the Bank of America short sale system has been the ability to apply for a HAFA short sale BEFORE we have the property listed for sale.  The benefit of this is that the bank will actually provide you with a written document that states the terms of sale, i.e., approved listing price!  This is great…

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