Special Interest and Florida Politics

How does special interest hurt real estate? Here is but one example. NEW CONSTRUCTION! Why has Congress not put a moratorium on speculative building? Why are new homes being built, “spec houses” as they are called in the realty world. Why are new homes being added to the stockpile of available inventory when new construction [...]

Bad Advice

One of the most frustrating things Realtors have to deal with in real estate when competing against other agents for listings is “bidding up” prices. Many times, the Sellers are not interviewing Agents, the are auctioning Agents. In other words, they simply select the Agent who tells them the highest price to list at. They [...]

Just Say NO to OPEN HOUSES!

Many consumers are surprised when I tell them that OPEN HOUSES are an ineffective means to selling YOUR house in 2008.  Why would an agent do an OPEN HOUSE if it were ineffective? I did not say it was ineffective for selling houses (as in  not yours)!  Realtors use OPEN HOUSE signs to draw in [...]

Builder Beware!

To the exit doors they go! All those real estate agents that got into the business for the easy money are gone, or heading for the exits! Same goes for lenders! Only the reputable few remain! Some of those cocky sales reps for the builders, the ones who were asking veteran agents to “leave” the [...]

Turn in Your Keys?

On March 31, Fannie Mae sent out new guidelines to lenders intended for walkaways and other foreclosure situations. Fannie will now prohibit foreclosed borrowers from getting another mortgage through the giant investor for five years. 
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I say to this WOW!  What it boils down to is this: The lenders are waiting for the Federal Government [...]

China and the USA

U.S. Lenders beware! China has TRILLIONS to invest in the USA! Today, they are investing over ONE BILLION in our stock market! They plan on getting more aggressive as the months pass. I wonder what would happen if China started offering mortgages in the USA? With US Banks and lending institutions tightening lending standards, what [...]

Media & Real Estate

As we all know, real estate is the darling story of local and national media. When the market was roaring (2004, 2005, first quarter of 2006), all we heard were stories of double digit increases in value and six figure profits from “flippers (remember those “day traders” in the stock market boom?). All cashing in [...]

The “I Quit” Mistake

Here we are in a much different market than anyone could have imagined a few years ago. We keep hearing about the foreclosure boom. Most sellers are unaware that they have rights. They get a letter from the mortgage company saying that they are 3-4 months behind on payments and that the lien holder is [...]