Real estate 45 hour post licensing class for new agents in Central Florida

Watson Realty will be offering a 45 hour post licensing class during the early part of 2012 for agents who recently received their Florida real estate license.  If you still have to take your 45 hour class, please call or email me for class information, price and location.

At Watson Realty Kissimmee, we are excited about the prospects for the New Year!  We have some exciting training programs on tap for our agents including; Selling HUD Homes, Internet marketing and prospecting, and Tech Training.  We also are excited about the online classes and workshops that are free for Watson Realty agents to take part in as well as the enhanced Realtor.com and online contact management solutions provided to each Watson agent!

If you would like more information about our 45 hour post licensing class, or if you would like more information about joining Watson Realty Corp, email or call me today!

Round trip train ride from Kissimmee to Tampa

Check out this video created by Cliff Clover of Watson Realty.  Amtrak offers a round trip ride from Kissimmee to Tampa daily for only $20.00!

Homes for sale subject to a short sale contingency are a huge part of the Central Florida real estate market.

Homes for sale subject to a short sale contingency are a huge part of the Central Florida real estate market. As of 09/28/2011, 3 out of 10 homes listed in our market area are listed with a short sale contingency.


While many people think of REO property when looking for a good deal, Central Florida short sale homes for sale have proven to be just as good a deal for many home buyers. This is clearly seen when you consider as of today's date, 7 of the 10 homes that are under contract, are short sale listings.

Short sale homes for sale

What can you do if you receive a low appraisal on the house you are buying?

The majority of financing transactions will require that an appraisal be completed before approving the loan.  With the number of cash transactions on the rise, cash buyers may also ask that an appraisal be a contingency to the contract. 

The Florida Realtors® website recently posted an article today titled; Low appraisal killing a deal? Here’s what to do. Keeping in mind that appraisals are designed to make sure the property is worth what the buyer is paying, and having a low appraisal kill a deal is not always going to be a bad thing or should be fought.  The article offers several suggestions including;

• Ask the seller to sell at appraised value. Before you laugh, those of us who have been in the business for anytime at all have asked sellers this very question and for a variety of reasons, sellers have agreed.  
• Find an appraiser closer to home.  Many feel that in order to do an accurate appraisal, you should be familiar with the area, neighborhood, or community.  If the appraiser was from a distant land, the article suggests asking for a different appraiser.
• The article suggests that finding suitable comparable create an appraisal problem.  Foreclosure and short sale transactions are not considered normal and when used to appraise a normal sale, could work to lower value.  My research this afternoon of the Osceola market indicated that 60% of the closed business this year in the County have been "normal" or "traditional" sales.  This fact should help give appraisers in this area, a broad supply to choose from.

None of these suggestions guarantee that the deal will still close when faced with a low appraisal but they do offer a few suggestions that over the years have worked.  If it is a house that the buyer liked enough to offer the price they offered, then with the buyer’s or seller’s written approval, try some of the suggestions out the next time you are faced with a low appraisal.

Register for our October 2011 real estate class to be held in Champions Gate

For those interested in attending a Florida real estate pre-licensing class, we will be offering a class starting on October 28th and ending on November 1st with the class exam scheduled for November 3rd.  This class will be held at our Champions Gate office located at 8235 Champions Gate Blvd. Davenport, FL. 33896.  (Directions)

Ellen Thunell will be the class instructor and the classes will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.  The tuition fee is $99.00 for the class + $70.00 for the course text, material, supplies, and class exam.

Call me, 407-304-0255 or email me at gstaker@watsonrealtycorp.com to receive a registration package.

Does Watson have an office in Daytona or close by?

Watson Realty offices are located thoroughout Central and Northern Florida including 3 offices in the Daytona area.  Those offices are located in New Smyrma Beach, Port Orange and DeLand.  In each office there are agents that can assist you with your Daytona real estate needs.  Call me and I will introduce you to an agent in the Daytona area.

New Smyrna Beach Watson office




Port Orange Watson office

DeLand Watson office

Interesting survey on life lessons being taught

I read this interesting press release from Bank of America. Here are a few of the key points.


Today, Bank of America released findings from its Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Survey™, a report examining the values, financial priorities and concerns of affluent Americans.


When asked what life lesson they believe to be most important to impart onto their children

• (48 percent) of affluent parents cited “financial know-how”
• choosing the right spouse/partner (36 percent)
• choosing the right career path (24 percent)
• staying physically fit (17 percent)

In fact, 57 percent begin discussing financial matters with their children before the age of 12, and 85 percent before the age of 18.


The article continued with additional interesting findings regarding thoughts on retirement, health care and the current economic environment. It is a pretty good read.

The Proper Way to Treat an Agent

Are you treating your real estate agent properly?  Assuming you have a professional agent that is all set to provide the very best customer service and accomplish the task you hired them to do, don’t they deserved to be treated properly?

Here are a few suggestions on how you can treat an agent properly.

Carefully consider following the advice they offer. Have confidence that what they are advising you, even if it is different than how your cousin Vinnie sees it, comes from their hands on experience and knowledge of your market place.

Respect their right to earn a living. If you think they are making too much off the sale or purchase of your home, don’t use them. If you do use them to assist you, then for goodness sake don’t ask them to cut their pay. Agents work hard & handle many details behind the scene that make them more than worthy of the income they earn.

No jumping ship. When visiting open houses, scanning the Internet, or stopping in at new home communities, make sure you let the agent or representative you are calling or meeting know that you are working with an agent and that you are satisfied with the service you are receiving.

Treat your agent properly and they will appreciate it.

Bank of America addendum addresses short sale fraud

A short sale addendum now being used by Bank of America is in line with the position our office has maintained all along.  When faced with seller, buyers or agents insisting there is nothing wrong with a  short sale transaction that involves flopping or money being received without full disclosure, this addendum will be something we can now rely on as additional proof the lender, in this case BoA, view these matters very seriously. When faced with these situations we may forward this addendum to all parties involved for them to review. Even if the transaction is not Bank of America, in my opinion it would be reasonable to expect all lenders to have the same thought process to the items above.

Highlights of the article include;

Bank of America has started requiring buyers and sellers to sign an addendum to its short-sale agreement. It’s entirely about fraud prevention. We want to ensure that the transaction is at arm’s length and that the property isn’t immediately flipped for a higher price without there being any repairs or upgrades.

The kinds of fraud the addendum is intended to curb are:

• Immediate Flipping/Flopping. Buyer agrees that property cannot be sold or otherwise transferred within 30 days of closing.
• Schemes in which parties collude or otherwise try to keep the home owner in the home or else pass along some kind of benefit to the home owner from the sale of the property.

The article that discusses this in more detail can be found here;

http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/2011/06/14/short-sale-addendum-aims-at-fraud-bofa-says/#more-5293

KISSIMMEE – 1950 Irlo Bronson Mem. Hwy. in Kissimmee 34744


June 16th – July 21st Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday 6 PM to 10 PM

Class Exam: July 25th Monday 6 PM to 9 PM



The class is $199 total cost for the new text book, material, class exam, and admin fee in check, cash, money order, or Credit-Debit Card



Open registration will start at 5:15 PM on a first come, first serve for the remaining seats.



Do not send any money as I will register you on Thursday, June 16th 2011.



I can register you over the phone with a Credit/Debit Card.



Call me at 407-772-3696 to reserve a seat or with any questions.



Email at Wayne@WatsonRealtyCorp.com



Please visit our Real Estate Career web site at: The New Watson Career Development Web Site

How do I apply for Florida foreclosure prevention assistance programs?

How do I apply for Florida foreclosure prevention assistance programs?

Florida Housing has two programs available as part of the Florida Hardest Hit Fund.

1. Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP)
2. Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment (MLRP) Program

To apply or receive additional information click https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/ to be taken to the official page in order to create a profile.

Buying or selling a house in Florida drives the economy and creates jobs.

Buying or selling a house in Florida drives the economy and creates jobs.  Here is a short video that shows how this happens.

The Government has funds to help homeowners pay their mortgage

Unemployed or underemployed Florida homeowners having trouble paying their mortgage payment may be able to receive financial assistance from the government. Qualified homeowners can apply for funds to pay up to 6 months of their mortgage payments!

Eligibility requirements include; must be a Florida resident, property must be primary residence, and homeowner must be underemployed or unemployed through no fault of their own.  Additional homeowner eligibility requirements must be met.  The complete list and additional information on how and where to apply for this assistance can be found by visiting the official website Florida Hardest-Hit Fund.

Are you licensed to sell real estate in Florida but don’t want to spend the money to join the REALTOR boards?

Are you licensed to sell real estate in Florida but don’t want to spend the money to join the Realtor boards or you just have the time or desire to sell real estate full time?  You may want to contact me about enrolling in Watson Referral Realty.  By joining, you can receive referral income by sending referrals my way! Everyone knows someone that will be buying or selling real estate in the future, why not take advantage of your license and get paid?

Watson Referral Realty, Inc. is a Corporation organized for the purpose of providing referrals to Real Estate Brokers with full-time licensees.  If you know someone who works for Watson Realty, you can choose for that agent to receive your referral.  Referrals include someone listing their home, someone looking to buy a home or anyone wishing to rent a home.

I can email, (gstaker@watsonrealtycorp.com) you the enrollment package and additional information.  Or call me 407-304-0255.

One in Five Canadians Would Consider Purchasing Property in the US

A BMO Bank of Montreal study revealed that 20% of Canadians would consider purchasing real estate in the US because of low prices and the strength of the Canadian dollar.

Canadians interested in purchasing property in Central Florida may want to take a look at the Osceola County area.  Home to Kissimmee, Osceola County offers a number of quality homes at affordable prices.  Short term rental zoning is also very attractive to out of area buyers. 

Call or email to receive information on buying a short sale or foreclosure home in the Kissimmee-Central Florida area.

50,000 blue balloons and nearly as many real estate agents

On March 26-27  neighborhoods throughout Florida will have blue balloons and open house signs where houses are for sale.  The Florida Realtors Association is promoting the state-wide open house weekend.  Buyers will want to take advantage of this opportunity to visit homes in areas of their choosing. 

The video below offers a detailed explanation about the upcoming open house.

Can I sell my home if I have a Federal Tax lien on it?

I would encourage anyone who has tax or legal questions to contact their tax preparer, a tax attorney or the IRS directly in order to obtain answers to questions about tax liens and taxes in general.

As a real estate agent working in the Central Florida area, I have seen homes sell that had Federal Tax liens on them.  In these situations the IRS agreed to lift the lien from the house in order for the home to close.  Even if you owe more that the home is worth, there are a number of options to satisfy the tax lien.

You can find more information on this subject by visiting the IRS page dealing with tax liens and selling your home.

Are you thinking about opening your own mom and pop shop in Orlando?

Are you thinking about opening your own mom and pop shop in Orlando?  Orlando is one of the cheapest places to open a business according to a report from the Miami Herald.

Discussing research conducted by BizCosts.com, Orlando ranks at the top as the cheapest place to set up a business.  When you take this information into consideration with the fact the homes are being offered for sale at the lowest prices seen in some time; it may be time to consider owning a home and starting your business in the Orlando area.

Your heating system could leave you out in the cold.

This was the subject line of an email I received from American Home Shield.  This winter has seemed to me to be colder than the winters of the past few years.  It would seem reasonable to think that most buyers do not give much thought to the heating system of a house they are considering purchasing.

That is why a home warranty is important. For those just in case times that arise. The email went on to state what should be fairly obvious; "Did you know that Home Insurance does not cover your home from major appliance breakdowns?" If you were not aware, you are now.

You might want to consider having a home warranty on your home.  You can visit this link to get a free quote.

REO or Short Sale?

Buyers today have many homes to choose from with the majority of the homes being offered for sale in our area either REO or short sale listings.  Determining which homes to preview and make offers on will depend on many factors.  Potential homebuyers will want to consider everything before making an offer.

With an REO listing you can reasonably expect a closing within 30-45 days, depending on your choice of financing and other contingencies. Often times there are multiple offers, and banks will select the highest and best.  It is usually not disclosed how high other offers on the home are, so for that reason you should always make the very best offer price you are willing to pay for the home.  In certain areas and situations REO houses will sell for higher than asking price.

With Sort Sale- bank approval may take from 1 to 4 months, depend on many different factors that you have no control over, with no guarantee that the bank will approve the short sale terms.  If you are limited by time you might wish to look at Foreclosed houses.

Talk to one of our agents to determine the best homes for you to be viewing.   We can help take your criteria and match it up with the very best homes for sale throughout the area.