nathantutas's posterous

Your friendly Davenport, FL Realtor®. Specializing in short term rentals and vacation homes in the Davenport area. Call me: 407-870-3581

The Banks Are Going To Love This One!

Selling Your Davenport Florida Short Sale Doesn't Have To Be Painful"The devices on your head are symbolic of the shackles you place upon others. You recklessly loan people money knowing their financial limitations, counting on repossessing more than they could ever pay back. You are predators, but today you become the prey and it is your own pound of flesh that I demand."

That is a quote from the opening scene of the movie SAW VI. If you haven't seen this one yet, the opening scene depicts two people being tormented for lending money to people they knew couldn't afford to pay it back.

Does that just about sum up how you are feeling about selling your Davenport, Florida home as a short sale?!! I'd say that almost says it all. The only thing left is...we still have to sell your house! If you are facing foreclosure, you don't have to be.

Selling your home doesn't have to feel like being in a horror film. I think short sales are going to get much quicker as the year winds on thanks to the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program and Equator. The government is making it worthwhile for the banks to settle for a short sale rather than foreclose on a property. If the bank has to foreclose on a home they lose more money than if they approve a short sale. As usual, it's all about the bottom line when dealing with the banks.

The only thing you have left to do is call me and we'll get that house of yours sold. What do you have to lose?

Photo courtesy of damir.ME at Flickr

 

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Your friendly Davenport, FL Realtor®

Nathan Tutas

 

 

 

   Call Me   Find A Home

 

 

CFLHOMES

 

Let's Talk About Neighbors Buying In

Today we are going to talk about neighbor buy in. Do you remember the last time you were looking around for somewhere to live? Have you ever driven through a neighborhood and seen how people give you the look? You know the look I'm talking about. The one where the residents act as if you are some kind of space alien coming down for an invasion.

I Mean You No Harm...Take Me To Your Leader

I've even been guilty of it myself...it's human nature to want to protect what belongs to you. But if you are selling a house, you have to look at this through a buyer's eye. I can tell you this much, if I'm looking around for a home to buy and I happen on a house where the neighbor looks like a serial killer in waiting, I'm probably not moving my wife and kids there.

And I'm sure most people would react the same way. So what's the solution? You go on over to your neighbor's house and let them know you are selling your home. You ask them if they will give a nice hello and a warm smile to any potential buyers that come around.

That's all it takes...one smile! A friendly neighbor can make all the difference in selling your Davenport Florida home. After all...who wants to live next door to an a**hole?! LOL

So that's it, let those neighbors know that those strange alien invaders are actually home buyers who might end up buying that house soon so be polite. But then again, if your  neighbors do happen to be a**holes...you're screwed. Just kidding!

Call me...I'll get it sold for you either way.

Photo courtesy of MJTR (-W-) at Flickr

 

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Your friendly Davenport, FL Realtor®

Nathan Tutas

 

 

 

   Call Me   Find A Home

 

 

CFLHOMES

 

Davenport Florida Real Estate Market Update For March

It's the end of another great month for Davenport Florida. There were 111 total homes sold in Davenport during the month of March with an average sales price of $133,448. Of those 111 homes sold, 54 were foreclosures, 25 were short sales, and 31 were regular sales. That means 71% of the properties sold in March were distressed properties. Here is a quick weekly breakdown of the market.

March Market Update

If you need to sell your home I can help. Give me a call.

 

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Your friendly Davenport, FL Realtor®

Nathan Tutas

 

 

Much Desire Highlands Reserve Holiday Home Near Disney World

Need room? Look no further than this......almost 4,000 sq ft of living area in this Florida luxury home located within 20 minutes of Disney World Orlando in prestigious Highlands Reserve Davenport Florida! 5 bedrooms and 5 full baths. Too many features to list. You must see this one.

Large home located in a premier golf community. Highlands Reserve. Spacious master suite. Interior layout includes formal living room and dining room. The open kitchen has a view to the family room and the pool. Heated pool and spa are south facing with a wooded view. Kitchen has granite counter tops. Tile flooring in the kitchen and all bathrooms. Wood laminate flooring in bedrooms. Property is zoned for short term rentals and is located in the very popular Highlands Reserve.

 

$430,000

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

What Kind Of Return Can I Expect From A Rental Property In Poinciana, Florida?

Beautiful Sunny Central FloridaI've recently had a few people ask me to break down what expenses they need to know about if they decide to purchase a rental home in Poinciana, Florida. The first thing to keep in mind is that pricing is always the most important factor when dealing with properties.

   This included the price you charge for rent when you purchase a rental home. You have to be realistic about how much income a Poinciana, Florida rental home is going to provide. Many people ask me whether a property will rent out easily and my standard answer is any property will rent out easily if you price the rent correctly. If you price the rent too high you won't get a tenant in the house.

   There are also a few other things to keep in mind when you are making the decision. The example I'm going to give is for a long term rental. I think renting a property out for long term leases is a better investment. Just my opinion. Taxes are always everyone's first worry. I can tell you what the taxes were for 2009 because that is in the public records. But taxes will change with the market. The taxes each year are based on the property's assessed value. That value could be higher or lower each year so the 2009 taxes are more a guide than a rule if you know what I mean. They will change.

   Of course you will need home owner's insurance. The price on this will differ depending on where the home is located, what the home is worth, whether you are in a flood zone, and which company you decide to purchase insurance from. I can only give a ballpark figure on this one.

   The next thing to consider is the home owner's association fee. Not all homes have home owner's associations but most will. The home owner's association fee in Poinciana is currently $240/year. Now I think that's pretty reasonable.

   Then there's the question of who is going to manage the property for you and how much are they going to charge? In the example below I'm just going to give a rough estimate of what it would cost to manage your property.

   And lastly, maintenance fees. The lawn has to be cared for and there are always things in homes that break that need to be repaired.

   So without further ado, I've picked out a pretty average 4 bedroom, 2 bath rental home in Poinciana, Florida to use as an example. Please keep in mind that this is a very rough estimate and I'm assuming that you are buying the property with cash. Here are the numbers: 

Expected Rent-$900/month or $10,800/year

2009 Property Taxes (without homestead exemption)-$1,830/year

Home Owner's Insurance-$1,200/year

HOA Fees-$240/year

Management Fees-$1,800/year

Maintenance Fees (lawn services)-$600/year

Possible Net Yearly Income-$5,130

It's just an example, but I'd say that's pretty good when added to the appreciation of your property. Not a bad way to go. I hope you found this information to be helpful.

Image courtesy of Per Ola Wiberg~Powi at Flickr

Hear That? That's The Sound Of Relaxation...Stop And Enjoy It

Stop To Enjoy The Good Things In Life

I found this beautiful little creek near my home today and thought of the saying "Stop and smell the roses." You want to talk about peaceful! Sometimes you have to soak up some nature and just relax. I've been working so much lately that I never even noticed this great little piece of nature right in my backyard.

Real estate is a career but it shouldn't be your whole life. Life is about enjoying your family and friends. And maybe some really good Italian food. Can't blame a fluffy guy for liking his spaghetti. Haha.

Have a peaceful night everyone.

Wave Off? No Way...Land That Thing!!!I recently had an international investor email me and ask me the following question: "Do you think Central Florida short sales are a total NO-GO?" Apparently he had heard some horror stories about short sales, and he wanted my opinion about whether we should include them in his property search.

Here was my answer. I hope you find it to be helpful.

Short sales are actually starting to speed up a bit already. Some of the banks are converting to electronic admissions using the Equator system. This will help the banks speed the short sale process.

As for the trend, short sales are going to be with us for a very long time. There are thousands of home owners across Central Florida who owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth. This will be the case until home prices climb back up to where they were before 2006. This could take five years, or it could take ten. There is no way of telling how long it will take, but the prices will climb.

There are two issues that you must understand when buying a Central Florida short sale. The first, obviously, is the fact that the sale is contingent on the seller's lender approving the sale. This means that once the bank starts to work the file they are going to have a market analysis done on the property. If the offered amount is lower than the analysis, they will most likely try to renegotiate the price. If the buyer doesn't come up to the fair market value (in the bank's opinion) of the property the lender will reject the sale and the buyer has wasted his time, as has the seller.

The second issue is the time it takes to close. We have to be patient and wait on the bank to start working the file. This can take a few months. Once the bank approves the short sale, the deal can usually close within 30 days.

With all that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a short sale if you are willing to wait for the bank and you are willing to offer fair market value for the property. Many investors are stuck in a rut thinking they can negotiate a deal the same way they could before 2006. In the current market, this really isn't a possibility.

For a short sale, you have to offer fair market value to get the sale approved. For a foreclosure, the properties are already listed below market value because the banks want to sell as quickly as possible. If you don't offer at least the listed price on a foreclosure you are wasting your time. They won't accept less, and they don't have to. They will sell for more than list price.

There are currently 3,622 homes for sale in Kissimmee, Davenport, and Poinciana. Of those; 1,713 are regular sales, 455 are foreclosures, and 1,454 are short sales. So, as you can see, more than half of these homes are either foreclosures or short sales. This means understanding the market and knowing how to take advantage of it is essential to the buying process right now. 

Keeping all of that in mind, there are some great homes for sale in Poinciana Florida, Kissimmee Florida, and Davenport Florida for great prices. There is no room for haggling, but you really don't need to. The deals are out there already.

My advice to you would be; if you understand the market as I've explained it, we can go ahead and include short sales and foreclosures in your property search.

All data was retrieved from the Mid Florida Regional MLS and is believed to be accurate.

Photo courtesy of Roy Mac at Flickr.