TODAY’S FEATURED PROPERTIES   

 Is a short sale a good thing for a seller?  As a seller you should consider some facts before you jump as a Seller into a Sort Sale.  As an experienced Realtor in the Avon Park, Sebring, and Lake Placid market, I see many disasters in the making with short sales.  You can give me a call to see if a short sale is right for you.  I do not handle the actual short sales because it is not my expertise.  Nor am I a foreclosure consultant.  But, I do know when a short sales may be the best option for you and I can point out red flags that I might see.   If a short sale appears to be the best choice for your situations, I can refer you to an experienced Realtor to handle your short sale.  Some agents may bill themselves as being an expert in short sales.  This is not always case.  The buzz word these days is Short Sale and many Realtors have jumped on the band wagon to present themselves as experts when they are not.  For example, you would not or I would not get to the same doctor for a cold as we would for major surgery and you should not just pick any Realtor for a short sale without checking their track record with short sales and ask for references from past clients they have handled short sales for.
 
What is a short sale?  This is when the homeowner places the home for sale and the lender agrees to take less for the mortgage than what is owed and releases the homeowner from the deficit.  The homeowner owes more than what the house is worth.  Suddenly, payments are more than the homeowner can afford.  This could be caused by loss of a job, reduction in income, divorce or death of a spouse, or an unexpected increase in mortgage payment, taxes and insurance.  The homeowner can no longer afford to live in the home.  They decide to sell and realize in this slow market they cannot not sell their home for what they owe and they are facing foreclosure by the lender.  This is when a Short Sale may take place.
 
What sellers do not realize is, a short sale may not be all that it is cracked up to be.  You think the lender will let you sell the home for less than what is owed and release you from the difference.  This may not be the case.  Before you agree to do a short sale realize that the following may occur:
 
1.  There may be tax ramifications from a short sale which include the money the lender is releasing you from may be taxable by the IRS.
 
2.  The person or Realtor handling the short sale may be collecting a fee from the sale in addition to collecting a commission.  Find out what this fee is.
 
3.  When you put up a Short Sale rider on the for sale sign in your yard, this tells the world that the property has started the foreclosure process and the list price is less than what is owed.
 
4.  Just because someone tells you they can do a short sale, it may not happen.  All this person is attempting to do is negotiate with the lender to take less.  They are gambling they can do this on your time.  If the short sale happens, the Realtor makes money.  If it does not happen, you go to foreclosure.   In some cases, but not always the lender may approve the short sale and still require you to pay the difference in what is remaining which is called the deficiency.
 
5.  There is no guarantee the person that list your house to do a short sale will be able to negotiate with the lender.  If the lender refuses to honor the approved discounted price and closing, the property will go to foreclosure.  The short sale is a way to try to avoid foreclosure.  When you accept the offer made by a buyer, you have accepted a lesser amount than the actual mortgage(s).  This is where the Realtor goes to work and has to convince the lender that it is in the lenders best interest to take less than what is owed.
 
6 If you are in a situation that you can no longer make payments, it is always advisable to consult an attorney and accountant to find out the ramifications the short sale may have on you.
 
7.  If you have equity in your home but are unable to make your current payments you may be better off selling just a little over what you owe to cover your expenses.  This will help promote a quick sale.  In no circumstances should you sign your house over to anyone or put it in a TRUST without an attorney looking at this.  If you do sign your home over to a trust this may mean that someone else will realize the equity in your home and will sell it for the profit.  You have just GIVEN your home away when you sign it over to a trust.   Know who the trustee is on the trust.  Do they know the Realtor proposing to do the short sale?  What is the relationship to the Realtor?  Have an attorney look at any papers before you sign.
 
If you are considering a SHORT SALE in Highlands County, give Maureen Cool a call at 863 873-7243.  She will talk to you about your situation, give you options to consider and try to help.

 
Yesterday ended a great RE/MAX International Convention.  It was not as large as others but the information shared and learned was second to none.  I picked up so many good ideas that will give my clients an added advantage when buying and selling a home.  If you are working with an agent that is not using Internet marketing to the best advantage, you the seller are losing in the end….more marketing time and less chance of selling.  Stay tuned on future blogs to find out what you should consider when hiring an agent to sell your home.
 
On Wednesday, RE/MAX sponsored a fashion show to support The Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Four breast cancer survivors modeled.  Looking around the room watching these beautiful models, I saw lots of tears for the models moving stories shared on film by families and co-workers.  I am sure many tears were for memories of a loved one or friend that may have fought a hard battle with this terrible disease and are no longer here with us. I know my thoughts were of my Mother.
 
Yesterday Linda Boring, my broker at RE/MAX Realty Plus in Sebring and I walked a 5K walk/run for the cure.  We walked the streets of Vegas with many others raising additional funds or The Susan G. Komen Foundation.  After another full days of sessions, once again the fun week ended with a concert sponsored by Bank of America Mortgage.  Everyone enjoyed the sounds of the rock band Journey and brought back a lot of fond memories as RE/MAX looked back over the past 35 years.  It’s great to know that I am part of a team around the world with the best trained agents and most homes sold anywhere in the world.   RE-MAX - what a great place to be!

Welcome to day two of the RE/MAX International Convention in Las Vegas.   My group and I from RE/MAX Realty Plus in Sebring, Florida had a great opening general session with Dave Liniger the founder of RE/MAX International as the keynote speaker.  Listening to Dave Liniger confirmed that I am working for the greatest real estate organization in the world.  Mr. Liniger talked about our tough market ahead and how RE/MAX provides the best tools for all it’s agents and makes us stand out as the best in the world.  Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX — but I already knew this.  Just as nobody sells more real estate in Highlands County - Sebring, Avon Park, and Lake Placid than RE/MAX Realty Plus.  We also previewed some of the new T.V. commercials that will soon be release.  Since this is the 35th anniversary of RE/MAX we all enjoyed a step back in time watching commercials from the past and watching to dancers and listening to music from the past 35 years.  This brought back a lot of memories since I graduated the same year RE/MAX was founded in 1973!

I made new friends from around the world today — a nice group from Santo Domingo that was sitting in front and behind us…Wilton Muese, Roberto Abreu, Paola Ridriguez, and Linabel Martinez of RE/MAX Metropolitiana.  From Switzerland in the lobby I met Bernard Stauffer of RE/MAX La Cote from Switzerland who flew 20 hours to attend the convention.  Tonight at the ice cream social we met a fun group of guys from Germany.  Sven Gartner and his friends from RE/MAX  Immobilien Concept  were having too much fun!  We first noticed them at the convention walking around in native dress.  I think they stood out as having the best time of all.  At one point we saw them all in the spa out by the pool having a great time.  Later we exchanged business cards and converstation and took our photo together.  Hopefully, when European buyers decide that Florida will be a great place to find a second home, they will send referrals to me in Sebring!
 
Today was work too.  I continue to confirm my internet marketing is second to none in Highlands County.  I have pick up some great marketing ideas that I cannot wait to put into place once I return home on Friday!
 

 TODAY’S FEATURED PROPERTIES  

Did you know that a Pre-Approval to buy a home is as good as cash when you are making an offer to buy a home.  Many buyers want to start their search for a home prior to talking to a lender.  At this point the buyer does not know just how much house he or she can buy.  The buyer knows how much he or she can afford and of course the lender will tell you how much the lender thinks you can afford.  But, sometimes it is hard to believe "that little house" is going to cost so much each month….and lets not for get an additional amount for taxes and insurance.  Before you start looking at homes, contact a lender, give your financial information, have the lender  run a credit check.  If all goes well, the lender will be happy to give a Pre-Approval Letter with no contingencies other than a satisfactory appraisal of the home.  This is point when you are ready to start your search with an experienced Realtor.  When you find that perfect and affordable home you can make your offer with confidence and your offer will be taken seriously by the seller.

Imagine if you are a seller and two buyers made offers on your home priced at $200,000.  One buyer offered $190,000, with a pre-approval letter and close in three weeks.   The other buyer has not even been to a lender but he offered $194,000.  You as the seller have no way of knowing anything about this buyer.  A loan approval can take up to or more than 30 days  after application.  The buyer still needs to contact a lender and give an application.  Most buyers talk to several lenders to get the best interest rate etc.  A standard real state contract will specify the number of days allowed for approval.  If the Contract for Purchase said five days, this can mean that you may not even know for 35 days if the second buyer even qualifies for a mortgage to purchase your home.  Most sellers will pick buyer number one just because this sale is almost a sure thing contingent only on inspections and appraisal.  The second buyer may have fallen in love with your house now only to be disappointed to hear that the seller actually took a lower offer because the buyer was pre-approved.  If you are a buyer planning to purchase in the near future, take the time to get pre-approved.  Everyone wins in this situation.

 You, the buyer may actually get a better deal on the home.  The seller will not be preparing to move only to learn the buyer cannot afford the home and the deal fell through.  Everyone  will be happy in the end. 

If you would like to be pre-approved for a mortgage, visit my web site www.ACoolRealtor.com.  Click on Cool Featured Homes.  You will see a link for a Free Mortgage Approval with Heartland National Bank located in Sebring, Lake Placid and Avon Park.  Or you can contact either Steve Scheck or Melissa Stanley at Heartland National bank by calling 863 386-1300 and asking for either one.  Both Melissa and Steve will be happy to talk to you and get you started on you home buying experience.

Remember, before you apply or receive a Pre-Approval for a mortgage, visit my web site and start your home search on the internet.  No pre-approval is necessary for this!  You can search the entire MLS on my web site www.ACoolRealtor.com just by clicking on Cool Homes on MLS.  Once you have your Pre-Approval and are ready to contact an experience Realtor, give Maureen Cool a call or send and email.  It will be Maureen’s pleasure to help you find your perfect "Cool" home!