The Media is a Downer!

I am so tired of only reading negative news that I decided not to renew my newspaper subscription.  The media is especially grim when it comes to housing sales.  As a Realtor in the Tampa Bay area, I can tell you that housing sales are stabilizing and inventory is going down. Housing sales are up from last year and continue to increase so why doesn’t the media ever report anything positive?  Besides reporting all the negatives, their market statistics always seem to be a couple of months behind.  The negative media just keeps the potential buyers on the fence.  It is painfully obvious that now is a great time to buy a home.  Who knows how the low the market will go, but if you buy the home of your dreams for $20,000 more than you MAY get it for in 6 months then it is worth the additional amount.  There are some great FHA loans that only require 3% to 5% down and some that will even let you take additional money out to rehab your new home.  Mortgage rates are at an all time low and who knows when the low rates will go away.  There is a $7500 tax credit that is being offered to first time home buyers (you’re considered a first time home buyer if you haven’t purchased a home in the last three years) that will expire July 1, 2009.  The homestead exemption has doubled to $50,000. 

So why isn’t the media reporting anything but gloom and doom? 

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

I Guess My Time Isn’t Important?

I am so tired of making a doctor’s appointment and then waiting for over an hour to see the doctor for 5 minutes.  I mean, I did the right thing by picking up the phone and scheduling the appointment, getting there on time and filling out any and all paperwork they ask of me.  Why is it then that they take complete advantage of my time?  My time isn’t as important as theirs?  I understand that doctors double or even triple-book their appointments on purpose.  I even don’t have a problem with it to a certain degree, but I do have a problem if they do it to the point that I have to wait over an hour to see the doctor.  I went a 12:15 doctors appointment yesterday and did not leave the office until close to 2:30.  By the time the doctor walked through my door, I was furious.  I am not one for confrontations, but the doctor could tell I was upset.  I didn’t say anything because that would just make me bad guy.  I really wanted to ask her if my time was just as important as hers.  I was so anxious to get out of there and back to all the work that was waiting for me that I forgot any questions that I wanted to ask the doctor.  So after 2 1/2 hours I was back in my car and on my way to my office.  Because of the lost time, I was stuck in my office until well into the evening.  I bet my doctor was home by 5pm having dinner with her family!!!

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Tags: doctors appointment, waiting

Be Thankful for what you have

As the leaves fall and air gets a little cooler (cold to us Floridians at least), I think back to everything that has happened this year.  The real estate market and the economy entered into complete turmoil and my business declined.  I won’t lie to you, I can’t wait for this year to be over!  Since the election is finally over (I don’t miss those political ads!), my business has picked up dramatically.  People just stopped making big purchases in fear of the declining stock market and loss of jobs.  This has been a tough year for the middle class.  It seems we have almost completely lost the middle class and only have the upper and lower class left.  I  spent alot of time this year worrying about the economy and wondering when things would get back to normal, but I had to resolve to the fact that I have no control over what the future will bring and to just live my life.  It’s painful to watch the news or read the newspaper so I just don’t.  My attitude is completely different from what it was two years ago.  I am thankful for everything I have and don’t focus on the things that I do not have.

For information about the real estate market in Tampa, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Tags: Florida real estate, Real estate market

Why Would a Homeowner Consider Defaulting on their Mortgage?

Pretty much everyone who purchased a home from 2000 to 2006 over paid for their homes and now they cannot sell the home for anywhere near what they paid for it.  Those who bought in 2006 (like myself) bought at the peak of housing prices and are more underwater than the rest.  Many of these people are considering defaulting on their mortgages simply because of the fact they over-paid.  This is ridiculous!!  People who over-paid for their homes had no qualms about making an offer on a home and signing the dotted line for the mortgage.  It seems that everyone is forgetting that they made a rational decision to purchase the home at the inflated price and that they are responsible for their decisions!  I do understand, however, that the homeowners who are making the monthly  mortgage payments are frustrated to see that their biggest investment is offering nothing but negative equity.  I purchased my home at the peak in 2006 and now find that it is worth more than a $100,000 less than what I paid for it.  I am either stuck in the house for possibly the next 10+ years or I will have to take the $100,000 hit.  I thought I would be building equity in my home (or at least maintain what I put in it) - not lose my shirt!!  In order to qualify for a refinance or maybe a reduction in principle, you have to be in default or foreclosure.  Default or foreclosure, of course, will wreck you credit.

I have absolutely no plans to default on my mortgage (as long as I am able…knock on wood), but where’s my relief?  I believe our economy depends on people fulfilling their contractual obligations, but I feel I am being punished while others who bought more house than they can afford on one salary are now getting their loan principle lowered and given instant equity.  I won’t see equity in my home for many, many, years……..all for what?  Doing the right thing?

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Tags: foreclosure, mortgage default, pre foreclosure

Why is a man jailed for bare patches in his grass?

I just read an article about a local Florida man who was arrested and jailed for not keeping his lawn up to neighborhood standards?  Why does a Homeowner’s Association who is comprised of ordinary citizens and who live in the neighborhood given so much power?  I mean, this man is 66 yrs. old, behind on his mortgage payment by 2 months and is fighting to keep his $128,000 home being harassed about his lawn?  What is this world coming to?  I know the Homeowner’s Associations are having a hard time keeping the neighborhood in shape because of all the people who are walking away from their homes because they cannot afford their mortgage payment, much less the HOA fees.  We are fighting a housing epidemic and this HOA is putting a senior citizen in jail for brown grass and broken sprinklers.  What was the judge thinking when he/she signed the order?  I know, the law is the law and it doesn’t take into account humanity and common sense. 

I am happy I do not live in a deed restricted neighborhood because cinch bugs have destroyed my once beautiful lawn!  I haven’t put down more grass because it has taken a very long time to kill the relentless bugs.  I guess I deserve to go to jail!

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com.

Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.