New Real Estate Company

Today I saw on the state's website that my real estate company is finally registered.

It is GEEK REALTY LLC

To see my website click here

School's Out

School is out here in Polk and Hillsborough counties.

It is now the holiday weekend.  For the last two years, this weekend has been a slow real estate week for me.  But the next week has been VERY BUSY!

We shall see!!!

I am now a broker

After weeks of studying, I now have my broker's license.

I was working on my Sales Associate post licensing education and when I passed it, I decided to jump right back in and get my broker's license while everything was fresh in my mind.

So today, I took the exam at Promissor and I passed, so I officially have a broker's license.

For the time being, I intend to continue with my current employer and work as a Broker Associate.

Now, time for a celabratory dinner and maybe a nap!

We don't have seasons in Florida?

One thing I hear over and over is that we have no seasons in Florida.

I want to make an observation and point out to all of the imported folks that we also have four seasons.

They are:

1. Early Summer
2. Summer
3. Late Summer
4. and those two weeks in January

Additionally, I would like to point out that I have never had to:

• Shovel my driveway
• Scrape ice off my car
• Put snow chains on my tires
• Carry a bag of sand in my trunk
• Plug my car in at night to keep it from freezing
• Shovel my roof
• Get bundled up to get the mail
• Attach a flag to a fiberglass rod on my car so people can see me coming around the snow drifts
• Wait till spring to play with my Christmas present

If Florida sounds like a place you would like to live, give me a call at (813) 494-2640.  There's always room for one more!

Realtor.com

On my recent property searching trip to North Carolina, the first place I looked was Realtor.com

Where is the first place you look when searching for real estate?

FSBO: Answer your phone!

I just returned from a week in the mountains of North Carolina.  While there, my wife and I spent some time driving around and touring log homes and looking at property.

I called a few FSBOs while there and saw many mistakes being made.  No wonder most FSBOs wind up listing with a Realtor!

For example, we found a beautiful lot with a fantastic view, in a location where the home would not seem like it was "clinging" to the side of the mountain.  It had a FSBO sign, so I called the number while walking the property.  I got an answering machine, so I left a message.  Since then I have called and left two other messages.  No call back yet.

FSBOs:  The odds are already stacked against you.  When someone calls about your property, call them back.

This is just one of the mistakes I saw FSBOs making.

Another is the placement of their yard sign and the size of the writing on the sign.  Put the sign in an area where it can be seen from a car in the road, clear the area of obstructions lie tall grass and weeds and make the writing big enough and dark enough to read.

Another is not having a clear idea of just what kind of offer you will accept.  When someone calls and asks the price, you should have an answer.  When they ask if you will consider owner financing, you should have an answer.

Another is not knowing answers to simple questions like, "Well or city water?", "Septic or sewer?", "Is there a Home Owners Association?", "Are there any annual dues or fees and if so, how much?", etc...

Oh well, I really like the one lot, but so far I have not even had the opportunity to ask this one particular FSBO any of these questions.

FSBO, Answer your phone!

Panning for Gemstones

This weekend we took a couple of days off from real estate and went away.  Today we went to a gemstone mine and my wife and I found a few sapphires and garnets.  We looked at a lot of worthless rocks too.

If you have never panned for gemstones, it is a simple process.  You dump a bunch of what looks like sand, clay and rocks into a pan that is made out of wooden sides and a metal perforated bottom.  You set this in a moving stream and rub the rocks around and wash as much of the silt away as you can.  Then when you have i pretty clean, you place all of the rocks and stones in a little pile and rub them all around.  This forces them to rub against each other and rubs away more sand and silt.  Eventually, every thing that is soft enough to break away gets washed away and if you are lucky, there will be a speck of something shiny or red or rose colored.  Or something transparent or hex shaped.  And if you are really lucky, it will be bigger than a speck.  But, when you see it, you know it is different than all of the junk you have been looking at.

Then you take your "gems" and you put them in a little pill bottle and take them inside for a professional eye to see if you have found anything.  Between my wife and I, we probably took 10 - 20 gems in with us.  Of those, we only had 6 real gemstones.  The rest had names I don't remember and were totally worthless.

Why am I telling this?  The whole experience reminded me of searching for a home.  Sometimes, I will take a buyer to look at quite a few homes.  Naturally I am trying to show homes that I know matches their criteria.  But, many times after seeing a couple of houses and getting my customer's feedback I find out that the criteria I am using needs to be adjusted.  Now the first couple of houses may appear to be worthless rocks, but at least they helped me wash some of the silt away and now I can see the criteria more carefully.  And my customers can see more clearly too.  Now, we just keep looking and washing away more silt, until we have narrowed our criteria to the point that the homes I am showing are now the equivalent of the gemstones in the pill bottle.  My customers then see one that "sparkles" and catches their eyes and their fancy.  Or maybe more than one.  Once I have helped them to decide how much to offer for the house, the offer is made with a contingency for a home inspection by a professional inspector, a contingency for financing and most likely a few others.  My professional help with determining a fair price to offer and all of the hundreds of other details that are involved with an offer along with the help of inspectors, appraisers, mortgage companies, etc... are like the gemologist that looked at the gems we had in our pill bottles and told us which ones were flawed and how.

This analogy may be a contrived a bit, but this is what I was thinking about while rubbing my fingers around in the silt, mud, clay, rocks, stones and gems.  So, if I spent my vacation thinking about real estate, did I really get a vacation?

Real Estate - Plant City FL

Currently the market is a little flat in Plant City.  Sellers have finally begun to drop their prices a meaningful amount or taking their houses off the market entirely.

Those that are dropping the price are typically those that have already moved out of the area and are feeling the pain of two mortgages.  Those that are removing their home from the market are those that did not have to sell, just wanted to.

Then there are those with dollar signs in their eyes.  Many of these people still have their home listed at last years prices and if they sell, it will be a miracle.  But, if they keep them listed long enough, maybe the market will catch back up with them.  History indicates that this will happen, the question is "When?".

But with this full blown buyer's market, there are still exceptions.  There was a house I was working with a buyer on and we were thinking he could get it for something less than list, when out of the blue another buyer stepped in and bought it for $182,000 and the house was only listed for $175,000.

One problem with buyers now are that they are afraid that prices are going to go down more and they don't want to buy until they can convince hemselves the deal they are getting is the best they can get.  This is causing them to want to look at more homes and sometimes, like the situation above, by the time they decide to act it is too late.  And maybe too little.

Call volume has been sporadic lately with some weekends going by without a single call.  This is unusual, but is allowing me to catch up on a lot of things I have been putting off. :)

Credit Repair

Did you know that if you have a bad credit score there are companies that can repair your credit?

Like most things in life, there is only so much that can be repaired, but if you have been turned down for a mortgage due to your credit history, give me a call and I will hook you up with a company.  They can explain how they charge and whether they can help you in your specific case or not.

Once your credit has been repaired, I would like to help you BUY A HOUSE!!!

Do Buyers Lie?

Yesterday, I received a sign call on one of my listings.  The buyer wanted to see a home I have listed in Lakeland.

I asked her if she had been pre-qualified for a mortgage and for how much.  She said yes, for $250,000, but the pre-qualification letter had expired.  I think, great, somebody who can qualify.  So I schedule the showing for this evening and hook her up with a mortgage guy.

Twenty minutes later I receive a phone call from the mortgage company and my buyer has a very low credit score.  They tell me that they don't know who would have pre-qualified her for $250,000.  Her credit problems are long term and deep.

Was she lying?  Did she think I would not check or that the mortgage company would not check?  Why would she want to waste her time, my time and the seller's time?

Do buyers lie?

If you are a buyer, make sure you are honest with your Realtor.  If you tell me up front that you have credit issues, I can counsel you and refer you to a lender who may be able to help.  Or maybe to a credit repair specialist.  But if you start out lying to me, I probably will tell you to find another Realtor, I don't have time to waste.

Jury Duty Today

I had jury duty today and after sitting there all day, I am glad I am not an attorney.

I was on a jury panel, but was not chosen for the trial.

But I digress.  As an attorney you have to sit, cooped up all day in a stuffy court room, where one guy is so special that everytime he enters or leaves the room, everyone stands up.  And if the case is in criminal court, there is another guy who is legally being presumed innocent, but you know in the back of your mind that the police and the state's attorney's office is convinced of his guilt, or no one would be there.  Then there is the family of the accused sitting in the back, with an eye always on the door and the bailiffs.  Makes you wonder if they are afraid of getting arrested too.  You wonder what they have done.

Well, my one day break from real estate is over, since I was not one of the chosen ones!  Tomorrow, BACK TO REAL ESTATE!!!

Geek Agent Man Observation

Right now, the deals the builders are offering are so good, buyers who start out looking at resales, ultimately buy a new home.

What this means to you as a seller is that you need to lower your price if you need to sell now.  Or, if you can wait, maybe the prices will go back up.  But in the mean time, homes are selling.  New ones, and those that have dropped their price.

Best Sandwich in Tampa

As a Tampa native (3rd generation Floridian), I have tried almost every sandwich in town.  By far, the best sandwich in Tampa is the Italian Sub at Brocato's Sandwich Shop at 5021 Columbus Drive.

Add a devil crab to your order and you will not be disappointed.  Or if you prefer something sweet, my grandmother (nanny ma) recommends the guava pie.

If you drop in, let Joe and Michael know I sent you.

5 Tips for Home Sellers

Get a Home Inspection

Many home buyers ask if they should get a home inspection.  Sometimes the buyer (or an uncle or other relative) is a handyman and they feel like it would be a waste to pay someone else to do the inspection.

My advice is that they should always hire a professional, licensed and insured home inspector.  The cost of the inspection will be minimal, in my area less than $300 for an average size home, including a wood boring insect inspection.

I have taken the following points from a National Association of Realtors handout from consumers titled "What Your Home Inspection Should Cover".  After following home inspectors around and watching them crawl under houses, into attics, behind water heaters and other scary places to check the items on this list and others, I think they are well worth their fee.

Siding: Look for dents or buckling

Foundations: Look for cracks or water seepage

Exterior Brick: Look for cracked bricks or mortar pulling away from bricks

Insulation: Look for condition, adequate rating for climate (the higher the R value, the more effective the insulation is)

Doors and Windows: Look for loose or tight fits, condition of locks, condition of weatherstripping

Roof: Look for age, conditions of flashing, pooling water, buckled shingles, or loose gutters and downspouts

Ceilings, walls, and moldings: Look for loose pieces, dry wall that is pulling away.

Porch/Deck: Loose railings or step, rot

Electrical: Look for condition of fuse box/circuit breakers, number of outlets in each room

Plumbing: Look for poor water pressure, banging pipes, rust spots or corrosion that indicate leaks, sufficient insulation

Water Heater: Look for age, size adequate for house, speed of recovery, energy rating.

Furnace/Air Conditioning: Look for age, energy rating. Furnaces are rated by annual fuel utilization efficiency; the higher the rating, the lower your fuel costs. However, other factors such as payback period and other operating costs, such as electricity to operate motors.

Garage: Look for exterior in good repair; condition of floor—cracks, stains, etc.; condition of door mechanism.

Basement: Look for water leakage, musty smell.

Attic: Look for adequate ventilation, water leaks from roof.

Septic Tanks (if applicable): Adequate absorption field capacity for the percolation rate in your area and the size of your family.

Driveways/Sidewalks: Look for cracks, heaving pavement, crumbling near edges, stains.

How did you find your Realtor?

I read all of the polls from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) and they tell me how I should be finding my customers and how my customers should be finding me.  The problem is that my numbers aren't even close to theirs.  My customers are mostly referrals and sign calls.

If you recently bought or sold, or intend to buy or sell real estate in the near future, please leave me a comment and let me know how you chose your Realtor.  If you are local (Tampa area), I would love to be your Realtor, but I promise I will not contact you if you reply to this post unless you explicitly ask me to.

Market Turning?

Is the market finally turning up?

After weeks of the phone being relatively dead, today has brought several calls.  Nothing like the levels of two years ago, but a definite increase.

Then, a couple of hours ago, I was working with a buyer showing a house that has been listed for nearly seven months when I received a phone call from the listing agent telling me that the house we were in is no longer available.  The owner had just accepted a contract.

Maybe we have reached a pivot point.  We'll see what happens this weekend.

Passion

What do you get when you call most anyone in business and ask a question?  Usually a dry monotone answer.

That's what you get when you call most real estate agents and ask about a home you see advertised.  Dry, monotone, the house is 3500 sf with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, a two car garage on a large lot with fruit trees and established landscaping.  All this for only $279,900.

As a seller, is that how you want your house described?  I think not.  I think you want a Realtor who likes what he or she does and is passionate about it!

And the poor buyer prospect who called for the information!  Some thoughts the prospect may have had:  What, does the Realtor think I can't read?  Most of that information was in the ad!  I told him I was looking at the ad.  I want to know something new, something that will help me decide if this is a home I am interested in actually going to see.

I think a Realtor should make your home search or the selling of your home, his or her passion!  Get passionate about advertising.  Get passionate about staging.  Get passionte about getting the price right.  Get passionate about searching the MLS and other listings every day.  Get passionate about the home search!  Get passionate about selling that home!

Don't just sit back and wait for things to happen.  Make getting results for your customers YOUR PASSION!!!

Insurance Binder

If you are buying a home in Florida, as soon as you are under contract you should purchase or bind your homeowners insurance policy.

If you don't and a hurricane or even a lesser tropical storm comes into the "box", you will not be able to purchase insurance until it passes.  In the meantime, your closing will be delayed until you can get insurance.  As we all know, sometimes these storms come one after the other and there is the potential that a closing could be delayed for many days or weeks.

I also recommend that sellers inquire with their agent or broker to make sure the buyers are aware of this detail.

 The following map and table shows the area that is designated as the box and the dates for recent years where there was a restriction/moratorium on writing and binding policies.

The "Box"

2006 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Tropical Storm Ernesto	8/27/2006 5:00 PM EDT	8/31/2006 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Alberto	6/11/2006 5:00PM EDT	6/13/2006 8:00PM EDT	No
2005 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Hurricane Wilma	10/22/2005 11:00 AM EDT	10/24/2005 5:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Tammy	10/5/2005 7:30 AM EDT	10/6/2005 5:00 AM EDT	No
Hurricane Rita	9/18/2005 11:00 AM EDT	9/21/2005 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Ophelia	9/6/2005 11:00 am	9/9/2005 11:00 am	No
Hurricane Katrina	8/23/2005 11:00 PM EDT	8/29/2005 5:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Dennis	7/7/2005 11:00 AM EDT	7/10/2005 11:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Cindy	7/5/2005 7:00 AM EDT	7/6/2005 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Arlene	6/9/2005 11:55 AM EDT	6/11/2005 8:00 PM EDT	No
2004 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Hurricane Jeanne	9/24/2004 5:35 AM EDT	9/27/2004 2:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Ivan	9/12/2004 11:00 AM EDT	9/16/2004 5:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Frances	9/1/2004 11:00 PM EDT	9/6/2004 11:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Gaston	8/27/2004 5:00 PM EDT	8/29/2004 5:00 AM EDT	No
Hurricane Charley	8/11/2004 5:00 AM EDT	8/14/2004 5:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Bonnie	8/10/2004 11:00 PM EDT	8/12/2004 5:00 PM EDT	No
2003 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Tropical Storm Henri	9/3/2003 5:00PM	9/6/2003 6:00AM	No
2002 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Kyle	10/11/2002 5:00am EDT	10/12/2002 11:00 am EDT	No
Lili	9/29/2002 8:00 PM EDT	10/4/2002 5:00 AM EDT	No
Lili	9/29/2002 5:00 AM EDT	9/29/2002 8:00 AM EDT	No
Isidore	9/18/2002 5:00 PM EDT	9/26/2002 5:00pm EDT	Yes
Hanna	9/13/2002 5:00 AM EDT	9/14/2002 2:00 PM EDT	Yes
Gustav	9/8/2002 11:00 PM EDT	9/10/2002 11:00 AM EDT	No
Edouard	9/2/2002 2:00 AM EDT	9/4/2002 11:00 PM EDT	Yes
Cristobal	8/6/2002 7:30 PM EDT	8/8/2002 5:00 PM EDT	No
2001 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Michelle	11/1/2001 8:15am EST	11/6/2001 8:15am EST	No
Iris	10/8/2001 8:15am EDT	10/9/2001 11:00am EDT	No
Gabrielle	9/13/2001 11:00am EDT	9/17/2001 8:15am EDT	No
Chantal	8/20/2001 8:15am EDT	8/22/2001 8:15am EDT	No
Barry	8/2/2001 3:00pm EDT	8/6/2001 11:00am EDT	No
Allison	6/5/2001 3:00pm EDT	6/6/2001 8:15am EDT	No
2000 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Leslie	10/5/2000 11:00am EDT	10/6/2000 11:00am EDT	No
Keith	10/4/2000 11:00am EDT	10/5/2000 11:00am EDT	No
Keith	10/4/2000 2:00pm EDT	10/5/2000 8:15am EDT	No
Helene	9/21/2000 11:00am EDT	9/22/2000 2:00pm EDT	No

Current Market

We are still in a buyer's market, meaning there are more sellers than there are buyers.

If you are a buyer, there are plenty of good deals out there.

If you are a seller, there are buyers that are buying.  You just need to do something to make your house the one they want.  Unless your house has some outstanding and unique features, the only other item you can change is the price or some form of financing.  This market is tough for sellers and this appears to be the outlook for at least a few more months.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want to sell your house, you have to be realistic.

You or your realtor can do all of the advertising in the world, but if there is another house just down the street with the same features and it is priced less, it will be hard to sell yours.  Just look at how many people flock to Wal-Mart everyday to save a few pennies.  They will definitely go down the street to save $10,000!

If you are a seller who wants to sell or a buyer who is ready and able to buy, deals are being made everyday.  Are you ready to make a deal?