REAL ESTATE INCENTIVES A THING OF THE PAST

With home sellers trying to limit losses and the government restricting seller contributions, buyers have access to fewer cash incentives and other perks such as cars, televisions and appliances for going through with a transaction. These days, experts say more sellers are attracting buyers’  attention by pricing competitively or lowering the price.

Other residential property professionals point out that buyers are taking into consideration that a family member could become unemployed, and they are making buying decisions based on one income.

Gimmicks don’t work well when buyers have so many avenues to be educated about what’s for sale and what has sold and for what price. Real estate agents are loading up the buyer with current information to make an informative decision.

PRICE must be on market or you will always be behind the market and in the end sell the house for a lot less. You have to remember you are marketing a product and the shelves are full right now.

NEW TAMPA’S JULY CLOSED HOME SALES

Overall a good month for closed sales in New Tampa. Tampa Palms and Meadow Pointe did well. Heritage Isles, Pebble Creek and Live Oak are lagging the pack each for different reasons.  For additional information or pictures on any individual sale just call or email.

TAMPA PALMS:  13 closed sales, 2 were short sales, 5 new in Tuscany and 6 regular sellers. The sale on Emerald Chase was the highest per dollar per square foot at $149.84 followed by Wesley at $139.00.

CORY LAKE:  No closed sales

HUNTERS GREEN:  5 sales, 1 bank, 4 regular. Highest priced goes to Magnolia Chase at $123.00 per square foot.

ARBOR GREENE:  8 sales, two of which were new town homes, 1 short sale, and 5 regular sales. Lennar has only 3 more town homes available. This will be good to have this project done. Highest price per square foot was on Arbor Greene Dr. at $114.00.

HERITAGE ISLES:  4 sales, 1 bank, 2 short sales and 1 regular. Highest sold price $133,000.00.

PEBBLE CREEK:  3 sales, 1 bank, 1 short sales and 1 regular.

CROSS CREEK: 1 closed sale on San Travaso 4 plus den, 3 car, 2600 sq. ft. for $205,000.00.

RICHMOND PLACE:  3 sales, 2 regular and 1 short sale, highest price $223,000.00

WEST MEADOWS:  5 sales, 4 short sales, 1 regular.

LIVE OAKS: 3 sales, 2 regular, 1 short sale. Highest per dollar per square foot $85.00.

GRAND HAMPTONS: 4 sales, 2 new, 1 short sale and 1 bank owned. This community has really been hit hard during the down turn due to being built at the top of the market.

MEADOW POINTE: 20 sales, 2 bank, 10 short sales and 8 regular. This month has a jump in closed short sales. Highest price paid, $85.80 per sq. ft.

SEVEN OAKS: 5 sales, 2 short sales, 2 bank and 1 regular. Smith Family Homes inventory which was left abandon is now in process of being sold by Wells Fargo.

COUNTRY WALK: 5 sales, 2 new, 1 short sale and 2 regular. Diamond Palm fetched the best price at $95.00 per square foot.

FORECLOSURE VS. SHORT SALE

FLORIDA homeowners should be aware of unique rules in the state that make the benefits of a short sale typically out weigh the ease of walking away in a foreclosure. Short sales are a better solution then a foreclosure in Florida.  All states have there own laws and in Florida lenders can file a deficiency judgment against the borrower. While some states ban lenders from collecting the remainder owed on a  loan after a foreclosure or short sale is completed, Florida law allows banks to go after borrowers for up to 20 years. That can lead to a garnishment of wages long after the home is gone. Lenders in Florida have generally written off the first loan and not gone after a deficiency judgment because of all the bail out money they received from the tax payers. But now they are going after borrowers on second loans and lines of credit.

In a foreclosure, at the end of the proceeding, a deficiency judgment is automatically awarded by the courts and the bank is free to seek a claim. If a bank refuses to waive the deficiency in a short sale, they still would have to go back to court to seek a judgment . It’s an extra step for the lender.

NEW TAMPA JUNE HOME SALES

Liz DeAmbrose, Coldwell Banker, 813-956-6487    homenet@gte.net

JUNE SALES WERE UP due to the $8,000.00 tax credit and school let out. This is always a big month in Florida for moving.

TAMPA PALMS:  18 sales, 3 were bank owned condos and 1 short sale in the Hamptons, 5 were new sold in Tuscany, 9 were regular sellers. Highest per dollar per square foot goes to Whitehall at $174.00, followed by Lancaster at $167.00. The new homes from Standard Pacific are running at about $105.00 per sq. ft.

HUNTER’S GREEN:  9 sales, 2 were short sales, 7 regular sellers. Osprey Pointe had the highest dollar per square foot with the sale of Pine Island for $440,000.00 at $124.00 per square foot.

ARBOR GREENE:  10 sales, 3 were short sales, 7 regular sellers. The Estuary wins for highest per square foot sale with the sale of 10274 Estuary at $117.00 per square foot.

WEST MEADOWS:  3 sales, 1 short sale, 2 regular sellers. Golden Prairie selling at $310,000.00 at $107.00 per square foot was the highest dollar per square foot.

RICHMOND PLACE: No sales in the month of June.

GRAND HAMPTONS: 12 sales, 2 short sales, 1 model, 8 new homes from Standard Pacific and William Ryan and 2 regular sales. Standard Pacific new homes were running about $90.00 per square foot and William Ryan about $129.00 per square foot.  No closed sales by other builders.

LIVE OAK: 10 sales, there best month this year. Five were bank owned, 4 were short sales and 1 regular seller. Lennar which has been putting up  new inventory at a fast pace has very good prices with lots of upgrades included. The highest per dollar amount per square feet was $81.00 for a home sold on Tamiani.

CROSS CREEK:  1 bank owned, 1 regular seller

EASTERN PARK: 10 new homes sold

HERITAGE ISLES:  3 sales, 2 regular, 1 bank. Highest dollar per square foot, $87.00 on Kara Ct.

PEBBLE CREEK: 5 closed sales, 3 were short sales, 2 regular sellers. Most expensive home sold was a short sale on Norchester for $200,00.00.

MEADOW POINTE:  29 sales, 9 regular, 1 new from Inland Homes, 1 bank, 17 short sales.  A lot of short sales were pushed thru and closed this month. The highest dollar per square foot was $95.00, with a few at $94.00.

SEVEN OAKS: 3 sales, 1 bank, 2 regular. The highest sold was a bank owned property on Fiddlers Green for $109.00 per square foot.

COUNTRY WALK: No closed sales in the month of June.

HOMES LOST BUT DEBT STILL DUE

SHORT SALES AND FORECLOSURE WON’T PROTECT YOU AGAINST AGAINST DEBT COLLECTION OF SECOND MORTGAGES AND LINES OF CREDIT OBTAINED AFTER THE INITIAL PURCHASE OF YOUR PRIMARY HOME.

FLORIDA IS A RECOURSE STATE AND LOANS MADE AFTER THE INITIAL PURCHASE ARE COLLECTABLE IN FLORIDA.

Debt collectors are starting to hound people who lost their homes to foreclosures or short sales over their second mortgages. Millions of borrowers do have recourse loans that they took out after purchase of the primary residence which means lenders have a legal right to pursue them for unpaid balances. If at the time you purchased your home there was a first and second loan the banks should not come after you. For instants if you had a 80/20 or 90/10 where there is no down payment but there are two mortgages, one for 80% the other for 20%. BUT if after you bought your home you took out a line of credit or second mortgage a lender has the right to come after you for payment even after a short sale or foreclosure.

Borrowers don’t have a defense, they signed a promissory note, borrowed and spent the money. Lenders or collection companies will usually settle the debt for less then owed. This should be handled during the foreclosure or short sale period. If the debts are large and unmanageable the borrower should consider bankruptcy. It is better to address all the issues straight on and reduce the time that your credit will be impacted.

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 15824 FAIRCHILD DRIVE

CLICK ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR UNDER LINKS. WE WILL BE OPEN SUNDAY 1-4 PM ON JUNE 6, 2010. CALL 813-956-6487 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR DIRECTIONS.  Liz DeAmbrose  homenet@gte.net

NEW TAMPA SALES FOR MAY 2010

SALES were done a little from April numbers, but April was a very good month due to the first time buyer credit of $8,000.00.

MAY SALES NUMBERS

TAMPA PALMS:  8 sales, 2 were new from Standard Pacific, 3 were preforeclosure short sales and 3 normal regular sellers.

HUNTERS GREEN: 3 sales, 2 bank owned, 1 regular seller.

ARBOR GREENE: 9 sales, 1 new from Lennar, 1 bank owned, 1 corporate owned, 2 preforeclosure short sales and 4 regular sellers. Arbor Greene has been the best selling subdivision in New Tampa this year.

CORY LAKE ISLES:  6 sales, 3 preforeclosure short sales, 3 regular sellers. Cory Lake also had it’s highest dollar per square foot sale this year at $181.00 per square foot on 17953 Cachet Isle.

HERITAGE ISLES:  8 sales, 1 bank owned, 4 regular and 3 preforeclosure short sales.

CROSS CREEK AND EASTON PARK: 6 sales, 4 new in Easton Park, one bank owned in Cross Creek and regular seller in Cross Creek. The average new home in Easton Park is running about $75.00 per sq. ft. and with a conservation lot and more upgrades about $95.00 per sq. ft.

PEBBLE CREEK:  one sale, Pebble Creek has been the hardest hit by new construction in Live Oaks and Easton Park.

RICHMOND PLACE:  4 sales, and regular sellers. There haven’t been many sales in Richmond at all this year, so this is the best month for the subdivision.

WEST MEADOWS: 1 sale, regular seller.

GRAND HAMPTONS: 9 sales, 2 new homes, from Minto and Standard Pacific, 1 bank owned, 3 regular and 3 preforeclosure short sales.

LIVE OAKS: 3 sales, all bank owned.

MEADOW POINTE:  18 SALES, always the leader,  1 bank owned, 2 preforeclosure, 15 regular and one new. Nesselwood is the only village now where new homes are built.

SEVEN OAKS:  4 sales all preforeclosure short sales.

COUNRY WALK: The best month for Country Walk  this year. 8 sales, 4 new, 3 preforeclosure and 1 regular.

May sales were good, June closing should also be good. But all bets are off after that if unemployment numbers don’t start to go down.

If you have questions email me at HOMENET@GTE.NET

Beware of Your Lender

Lenders will be filing a tidal wave of lawsuits against homeowners in the next few years as a way to recoup losses when homes sales or foreclosures auctions don’t result in enough money to pay the mortgages in full. It will be a dramatic problem because  borrowers will not know it’s coming. In Florida, banks have five years from the date of the sale to file a deficiency judgment and up to 20 years to collect. Lenders can garnish wages or make claims on borrowers assets.

Before the mortgage melt down of the last few years lenders rarely brought a homeowner to court, it wasn’t worth it. Homeowners only defaulted if they really had to, that has changed. Many who have defaulted have assets that the bank can go after.  Banks will go after angry homeowners who have ruined their own property and left. Those who are underwater or upside down on their mortgage but can still pay the payments and second lien holders. If you are upside down and have tried modifying your loan only to be told no by the bank, think twice about walking away. You are the type of borrower they will be coming after.

Banks have begun selling off their loan to third party companies. Major banks are setting up separate companies to go after loans they think they can collect on and selling the balance to other companies to collect on.  I had a client call me this week and she was one of the first short sales I did in Meadow Pte. They are coming after her for her second loan 18 months after the short sale closed. She had lost her job, so don’t think they won’t come after you.

NEW TAMPA HOME SALES 4/1/2010 – 5/15/2010

SALES are up, but the first time tax credit ended April 30th so we will have to see how this impacts sales going forward. BELOW are sales for the period 4/1/ – 5/15/2010.

TAMPA PALMS : 13 closed sales, two were short sales, one bank owned and the remaining ten were ordinary sellers. Highest price was on Emerald Chase at $599,000.00, that also was the list price so there probably were concessions.

HUNTER’S GREEN:  4 closed sales, two bank owned, two regular sellers with $272,000.00 being the highest sold price.

LIVE OAK:  8 closed sales, three were short sales, 4 bank owned and one regular seller, highest price $355,000.00 for 3400 sq. ft.

SEVEN OAKS:  11 closed sales, 2 new from Standard Pacific, 5 short sales and 4 regular sales.  Highest price $425,000.00 for 3100 sq. ft.

MEADOW POINTE: 26 closed sales, 14 regular sales and 12 short sales. That is an improvement for the subdivision. Highest sold price $292,000.00 for 3000 sq. ft.

PEBBLE CREEK: 2 closed sales, both regular sales. Pebble Creek sales have been hit the hardest by new construction at Easton Park.

ARBOR GREENE:  7 closed sales, only one short sale, highest sale price $376,000.00 for 3300 sq. ft.

EASTON PARK AND BASSETT CREEK: sold nine new homes, highest price was at Bassett Creek for $455,000.00 for 4750 sq. ft. (that’s a lot of house).

WEST MEADOWS:  4 closed sales, all regular sellers.

GRAND HAMPTONS: 12 closed sales, 5 new from the builder, 3 short sales and 4 regular sellers. Highest price $360,000.00 for 3560 sq. ft.

COUNTRY WALK:  10 closed sales, 3 new from builder, 4 short sales and 1 sale/flip.  Watch out for these sale/flips most lenders will not participate in the process because it can me be mortgage fraud.

15824 FAIRCHILD/OPEN HOUSE Sunday 6/6/10

RENOVATED AND READY TO MOVE INTO

CLICK ON VIRTUAL TOUR UNDER MY LINK

NEW KITCHEN with custom cabinetry, granite counters, all new appliances and flooring, breakfast nook overlooking pool/spa, huge laundry room.

THREE NEW BATHS master has claw foot tub, european shower, double vanities with art inspired sinks and designer features.

HARDWOOD FLOORS, ONE YEAR OLD ROOF, A/C CONDENSER JUST REPLACED. THIS HOME HAS BEEN WELL TAKEN CARE OF.

CALL ME TODAY TO TAKE A LOOK – LIZ DeAMBROSE  813-956-6487