Short Sales Increasingly More Difficult - Jacksonville

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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Waterfront Real Estate Agent Jacksonville

Thinking of Selling your waterfront home in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, or Orange Park?  Finding the right real estate agent is critical to success!

As your Waterfront Real Estate Agent, our focus produces results.

• Marketing is everything! Your home must be presented where the buyers are, and that is online!  Regardless of previous thoughts on who is on line and who isn't, the stats are strong.  The stats state that some 90% of home buyers start their search online and they average 40 hours searching for homes online.  That is huge!
  • We market your waterfront home to the most searched websites including the other real estate brokerage sites!  If they are looking for waterfront, your house is there.
• Google sends waterfront, oceanfront,…

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How to Choose a Real Estate Agent in Jacksonville

Deciding to sell your house in the Jacksonville Area?  Choosing the right real estate agent is the difference between sold and sitting on the market forever. This is undoubtedly a very tough market to sell a home, which is even more reason you should do your homework on the right agent.

6 Requirements when Choosing a Real Estate Agent in Jacksonville:

1. Marketing Plan: This market requires more than putting your home on MLS and putting a sign in the yard.  It requires a complete marketing plan.  The key to a successful marketing plan:  Your house must be where the potential buyers are looking for houses....and upwards of some 90% search online for an average of 40 hours during their home search!
   • We (the Brad Officer Real Estate Team) market…

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All signs point to positive news for Florida Real Estate

Florida may have one of the worst foreclosure rates in the country, but let's be honest, it's largely due to the popularity of living in the sunshine state.  With the thought of millions of baby boomers flocking to every corner of our state, every home buyer was making an investment that was sure to go up in value, ultimately luring many to pay more than the market could actually support.  Now we see the aftereffects.

Florida has a History of Real Estate Bubbles

Back in the 1920's, Florida went through an equally painful bubble.  As word quickly spread throughout the US, people looking to make a quick profit poured into Florida as many contracts were flipped sometimes up to 5, 6, and 7 times as the price continued to escalate with each paper flip. …

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Fastest way to get your Short Sale Approved

Short Sale approvals are mysterious.  Banks often take months and months to just gather information while everyone involved waits anxiously for any contact.  The short sale market has increased in Jacksonville Florida as most homes that are selling are typically either short sales or bank owned properties.  Straight from our Buyer's Agents: "Most buyers want a short sale so they can get a better deal".

It looks like short sales will be around for much time to come, so the key is to work towards making them better....faster!  If you are another agent reading this or a home buyer, here are some easy steps to getting your Short Sale approved:

8 Steps to Fast Short Sale Approvals:

1. Realistic Offer Price: Your offer should be in line with the market…

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Bank of America HAFA Short Sales

Bank of America has been flooded with Short Sales.  They have been making large strides forward with helping to streamline the process.  One major move forward was the Equator system which allows for a more streamlined document uploading system.  It also allows homeowners, the agent, the attorney, and Bank of America stay on track with what is needed next......a great improvement!

Bank of America flooded with request for HAFA Short Sales

With more and more Americans who are underwater on their home finding out about the HAFA program that started on April 5th of 2010, Bank of America has been flooded with request for short sales.  In Jacksonville, FL, almost half of my short sales are Bank of America.

In Bank of America fashion, they brought on…

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It's a great time to build on a Waterfront Lot in Jacksonville

What a time to build your own waterfront home in the Jacksonville area!

Shopping for a waterfront home in and around Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra can be fun, difficult, and frustrating.  It's tough when you are looking for very specific type of home, layout, or area, and you just can't get all the puzzle pieces to line up.  If this is you, it's time to consider custom building the right home on the right lot in the right area!

Building a Home is a Bargain right now:

Builders, designers, and architects all say that right now is a great time to build.   The leading contributors to this:

1. Unemployed workers and under-employed workers provide cheaper than average labor cost.
2. Builders are more aggressive on bidding to get the job as their…

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Jacksonville Oceanfront Homes Sales Stats January 2010 through May 2010

Oceanfront homes below are from Duval and St Johns Counties.  Homes sold from January 1st, 2010 - May 24, 2010.  The Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra areas have great opportunities for those looking for an oceanfront home.  Many of the homes selling have been priced very aggressively and marketed correctly in order to bring the right buyers.   This data was pulled from the North East Florida Multiple Listing Service.

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New Better Much Improved Jacksonville Waterfront Homes Search now Available

Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Waterfront Homes For Sale Search

It only took about 20 days after a very painful site crash to get the website back in gear.  However, the site is now better than ever!

Very Good News: For any waterfront homeowners who are considering selling this season, I am seeing a spike in website searches for waterfront homes.  A few key factors come into play:

1. It's the season...sort of: Most home buyers search during the spring and summer as many scheduled moves are determined by the end and start of the school year.  Obviously with the Jacksonville area being such a great city to live waterfront, most relo's should consider waterfront living as a first choice.  The Sort of Part......we see a good amount of snowbirds…

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Wells Fargo Short Sale

Wells Fargo has been one of the easiest banks to work with on Short Sales.  They are a bank, so they still have red tape, longer wait times, etc, but they are by far one of the best banks to work with - hands down!

Go directly to the banks website:  Wells Fargo Short Sale information.

In Jacksonville, FL we have a large percentage of home owners under water on their existing mortgages....about 46% to be a little more precise.  With such a large number of loans upside down, we deal with Wells Fargo on a daily basis.

Wells Fargo goes 1 step further to be better on Short Sales:

The Brad Officer real estate team was recently given a Wells Fargo Short Sale "Field Rep" to help manage our volume of short sales.  This rep is available to us when we…

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