Guest Bedroom. My next house will have a guest bedroom!

The holidays are a time when family and friends gather together, play together and stay together. If it is your house that everyone gathers at then you know the importance of having a lot of space. When your guests plan on staying over, no space is more important than a guest bedroom.

Many homeowners have decided after the holidays or whenever family or friends stay over for an extended period of time that the next home they purchase will be a home with a guest bedroom.

During 2010, purchasing a home with a guest bedroom makes sense when you consider the positives of buying a home now.

• If it will be the first home you will own, you may qualify for up to $8,000 in tax credit money.
• If you own a home now, you may still qualify for up to $6,500 in tax credit money.

In addition, home prices are as low as they have been in years. In Florida you have many choices when searching for homes with guest bedrooms. You can choose from homes with;

• mother-in-law suites
• attached apartments
• homes with two master bedrooms
• homes with 5 bedrooms plus

So many choices and so many reasons why buying a new home now is a good idea. If buying a home with a guest bedroom is in your plans, give me a call to receive a free list of available homes in your price range and area.

Related Florida real estate blog posts on bedrooms

State Farm Staying, Dropping Policies, Raising Rates

State Farm and the State of Florida have reached an agreement that will keep State Farm in Florida insuring residential customers.

"This agreement is the product of a long and arduous negotiation process,” remarked Commissioner McCarty. Read full press release

The agreement allows for State Farm to non-renew policies and increase rates. According to a press release issued by State Farm, customers who will not have their policies renewed will receive a six-month advance notice. Rate increases will happen as policies are renewed. Describing the Florida property insurance market as “not easy times”, the steps being taken are necessary in order to stabilize State Farms financial condition in Florida.


Related Florida real estate blogs related to insurance

I find a house for sale online but when I call about the house, it has already been sold. Help!

Like the majority of homebuyers in Central Florida you are taking advantage of the Internet to search for homes online. You are finding a wealth of information on the various real estate sites along with page after page of houses being advertised for sale throughout Central Florida. However when you call the listing agent or agent listed on the webpage, you are being told that the house or houses you are interested in getting more information about have already sold. What can you do to make sure you find out about these homes as soon as they are listed?

Ask me to help.

As a full time real estate agent I have systems in place that let me know immediately when a new home comes on the market. This way, I never miss an opportunity to let a customer or client know when a home that matches their area, price and size enters the market place.

The good news is that I can set up the same time of alert system for you. After we have had a chance to discuss your real estate needs, I can enter your search criteria into my MLS program and you will receive automatic updates by email of new listings that match the features you have provided.

What does this cost?

I provide this service to those buyers who have agreed to work with me absolutely free! That’s right, there is no cost to you. You will start receiving results in your email box almost immediately. Of course the good deals do go quickly, so when a house is emailed to you that you find interesting, you will not want to delay scheduling a time to view the home and hopefully making an offer.

Are you ready to get started? Call me 407-304-0255.


Related Florida real estate blog posts on buying a house

Should the home buyer tax credit be extended?

There is strong support from real estate agents for the Government to extend the tax credit for buying a home. The current tax credit for the first time home buyer is scheduled to end on December 1st.

One benefit of extending the tax credit

One possible benefit I can see for extending the tax credit involves the short sale contingency listing inventory. With the current tax credit set to expire, buyers may not be as willing to make offers on homes listed with a short sale contingency due to the length of time it often takes for a short sale transaction to close. Some buyers could find themselves missing out on the up to $8,000 tax credit simply because the home they fell in love with was subject to a short sale. Extending the tax credit will allow buyers to choose homes from all available without fear of missing the deadline.

Win Win Win

Extending the tax credit will result in additional first time home buyers taking advantage of this unique opportunity to own a home. Listing inventory will be reduced, including short sale listings to the benefit of distressed sellers and overall market conditions throughout Florida and the rest of the country should continue to improve.

What do you think? Should the home buyer tax credit be extended?

Related Florida real estate views:

Up to $8000 tax credit, does not have to be repaid!

Video offers an explanation of the first-time homebuyer tax credit

Tax credit even if you have owned a home in the past

List of short sales

The market has a good supply of homes listed for sale with the short sale contingency. The fact that these homes can often be purchased at competitive prices make them very attractive to first time home buyers and investors. It is because of this demand, I have decided to offer a list of short sales to qualified buyers who contact me. You will need to let me know the area and the price range that you are interested in and I will email you the latest listings.

Orange, Osceola, Polk, Lake, Volusia and Seminole

The market area I cover includes short sales listed in Orange, Osceola, Volusia, Seminole, Lake and Polk counties. The number of available short sales vary by county, as of this post the counties mentioned above have the following inventory.

• Orange County - 3184 listings
• Osceola County - 1199 listings
• Volusia County - 664 listings
• Polk County - 1039 listings
• Lake County - 617 listings
• Seminole County - 933 listings

These numbers are subject to change daily and are based on information from MFRMLS for the period September 6, 2009.

Related Florida real estate views:

Is it possible to get a short sale approval in an hour?

HUD is committed to streamlining and speeding up the short sale process

The effective date of a short sale contract

Has it been your dream to own a Florida beach house?

Has it been your dream to own a Florida beach house?

There may never be a better time than now to realize your dream.

Real estate in Florida, including ocean property has not been priced this low in quite some time.

If you would like a sample of available beach property for sale, let me know the area you are interested in and your price range and I will forward you a list of homes and condos.

If you are buying a home make sure a qualified home inspector prepares you a home inspection report

If you are buying a home make sure a qualified home inspector prepares you a home inspection report. Their report should disclose material defects that you otherwise might miss.

The inspection report could include but not limited to; paved areas, walls, siding, trim, windows, doors, roof, garage, crawlspace if applicable, wood destroying organisms including termites, air and heating, electrical, plumbing, radon, lead base paint, asbestos, mold and Chinese drywall.

Buying a home without a qualified home inspection is a risk buyers should avoid.

Did your lender freeze or reduce your home equity line of credit?

Did your lender freeze or reduce your home equity line of credit? What steps should you take with your lender if your HELOC has been froze or reduced? The Federal Reserve Board has offered 5 tips for dealing with your lender when this happens.

1. Make sure you have received and read the notice your lender sent you regarding changes to your HELOC. You must receive a written notice no later than 3 business days after the freeze or reduction.
2. Contact your lender and talk to them about about your concerns.
3. Get to the bottom of it. Why did they take this action? Was it due to a decline in your home's value?
4. Is it possible to get it reinstated? Request in writing that the HELOC be reinstated.
5. Will there be fees owed for reinstatement?

Visit the Federal Reserves webpage to read the entire 5 Tips for Dealing with a Home Equity Line Freeze or Reduction report.

Citi loss mitigation successes outnumbering foreclosures in Florida

Florida home owners who have their mortgage serviced by Citi and are facing difficulties may find Citi's foreclosure prevention efforts useful. According to a recent report highlighting Citi's efforts over the second quarter of 2009, Citi's loss mitigation success and outnumbered foreclosures in Florida 13.7 to 1. In this same quarter Citi successfully worked with approximately 108,000 borrowers throughout the country.

If you are a Florida resident having trouble making your monthly obligation, Citi has a Homeowner Assistance web page that you should visit.

Citi mortgage assistance stats

NEW! Investor Packages Now Available

I am offering investors the opportunity to receive real estate information packages personally created to match the investors specific criteria. With distressed real estate and properties entering the market place daily, a savvy investor will want to take advantage of this new service so as not to miss an opportunity.

I can search for property that best suits the individual. Packages include available property found as a result of:

• pricing
• location
• REO or bank opened
• short sale
• pre-foreclosure
• in foreclosure
• days on the market

The packages include pictures, addresses and related information on all homes that match the selected criteria. This service is free and the information will be delivered to you by email.

If you are interested in Florida investment property, act now to receive your customized report.

Banks release 23 Orlando Kissimmee foreclosure properties today

Banks that have had to foreclose on property in the Orlando Kissimmee area released 23 of these properties today. The homes/condos range in price from $18,000 up to $277,500. You can view these homes by contacting me at 407-304-0255.

Newer bank owned properties are being released daily. In order to not miss out on the latest in bank owned foreclosure property, contact me to receive updated lists.

The City of Casselberry receives recognition from Arbor Day Foundation

The City of Casselberry received recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for understanding the importance of trees. This is the 2nd year in a row that Casselberry received the Tree City USA recognition. Press Release

Related Florida real estate views:

Buying a home with lots of trees

How many people live in Altamonte Springs?

Altamonte Springs is located in Central Florida off of I-4 near the Orlando area. As of 2009-2010 the City’s current population is 43,243 according the the City's official website.

Are there really homes listed for sale in Kissimmee priced at or below $10,000?

There are some very good housing bargains in Central Florida and the Orlando-Kissimmee area right now. This is good news for buyers and the news is travelling fast as people from all over the United States and then world are now taking advantage of these extraordinary prices and purchasing homes in Osceola County.

Just how good are these prices? Can you really buy a home in Kissimmee and the surrounding area for $10,000 or less? That is a question we received yesterday. The buyer was sure they had read somewhere that there were many homes for sale right now in Kissimmee priced at 10 grand or below.

Is this true? What do the facts show? I just completed a search of homes in Osceola County priced $10K or less and returned 0 results. Osceola County includes the city of Kissimmee. All is not lost however as I also searched for homes listed in Osceola priced between $10,000 and $100,000 and my search results netted 984 homes! 816 of those were listed as being in Kissimmee.

Maybe not $10,000 but those are still some amazing prices!

How much should I offer on the home?

Q: I found a home I really like. How much should I offer on the home?

Congratulations on finding a home! I am assuming from your question that you are not willing to offer the listing price being asked for by the seller and are trying instead to decide on what you believe to be a fair price to offer less than asking price.

Determing how much to offer

How much you offer is strictly a personal decision and should be based on your opinion of the home’s value. Your real estate agent can provide you with comparable sales listed in the MLS for you to review. Your county property appraiser may have a website that will allow you to look at recent sales in the area. You can also ask your agent how long the home has been on the market and have there been any price reductions or enhancements during this time. You should also be asking yourself how the home compares in price to other homes you have recently visited. What are the features of this home that you like? Can you find those same features in a home with a lower asking price?

What is next?

Once you are comfortable with how much to offer it will now be up to the seller to decide if the offer is acceptable. While the price may seem fair to you, usually there is no way of knowing what price the seller would be willing to accept, if any, less than what they have publically indicated by their list price. The seller has the option of accepting your offer, ignoring it or countering for a higher price or for better terms.

End the end you should decide what you are willing to pay for and offer for a home. When you have found a home that appears perfect for you, the answer of how much to offer will be clearer.


Related Florida real estate views:

I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Using an FHA mortgage to purchase a home

There are many good reasons to consider buying a home right now.

Do not accept the opinion of your real estate agent regarding the condition of a property, hire a home inspector.

A real estate agent’s opinion of the condition of a property you are purchasing is just that, an opinion. As a home buyer you should not rely on the agent’s opinion regarding the physical and/or mechanical condition of the home.

Most agents will suggest that buyers seek the opinion of a professional, licensed home inspector prior to closing on the home. In the State of Florida, the purchase contract allows for a home inspection to be conducted by the buyer within an agreed upon time frame acceptable to both buyer and seller.

Homebuyers need to take advantage of this contingency when purchasing a home. You should be cautious and never purchase a home without a professional home inspection.


Related Florida real estate views:

Watch out for a home inspection scam

Buyers may be tempted to forego a home inspection

With REO houses you may be asked to buy the home with terms and conditions that are favorable to the seller.

Buyers can still purchase REO/bank owned homes at fair market values throughout Central Florida but in doing so they are often faced with accepting with terms and conditions that favor the lender.

These terms and conditions include banks offering the home for sale “as is” and limiting the time period a buyer is allowed to complete inspections. Banks may also require the buyer to pay certain costs customarily paid by the seller an example being document stamps on the deed. Lenders will rarely sign any documentation until the buyer has signed all of the addendum and paperwork requested by the lender. Failure to meet closing time periods can result in forfeiture of escrow or a predetermined per diem the buyer must pay to extend the contract.

Each transaction and lender has different requirements that buyers need to be aware of before executing the contract. Having a qualified experienced agent assisting you with your REO purchase makes good sense and could save you undue stress and hassles.


Related Florida real estate views:

Don’t spend a dime of your hard earned money!

How can you avoid overpaying for a home in Florida?

I am thinking about buying a house but I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Q: I am thinking about buying a house but I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Federal law allows us to receive a free credit report. I believe we can receive this free report once a year. To receive this free report you can visit Annual Credit Report, or call 877-322-8228. Since you are thinking about buying a house you may also want to consider speaking with Watson Mortgage regarding your credit and any additional questions you might have about financing a home. Contact me to be connected to a Watson Mortgage specialist.

Has it been 3 years or longer since you owned a home?

Has it been 3 years or even longer since you last owned a home? If so now may be the right time to start owning again. Low home prices coupled with the ability to receive up to $8,000 as a tax credit make now a great time to own a Florida home!

There are additional criteria in order to qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit. Give me a call 407-304-0255 or contact me to find out if you qualify.


Related Florida real estate views:

The tax credit to up to $8000, does not have to be repaid!

Video offers an explanation of the first-time homebuyer tax credit

Florida receives over $3 million to help residents find work

The State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation has received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant in the amount of $3,078,796 to be used in part for helping Florida residents find work. Press release

Unemployed Floridians are eager to find suitable employment that will allow them to make their house payments and stay in their homes.