Fishing for investment properties

If you were ever thinking of becoming the next Donald Trump with rental properties well now may be the time in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

With some condo's and homes selling in the 10k to 20k range (Ok, these are not waterfront premier communities) it would be tough not making money on these investment properties.

There are great opportunities for investors to scoop income making rental properties as they come on the market day after day.

The catch is there are a lot more people fishing these waters and you need to be able to jump with cash in hand.

Also if you are looking to make low offers on the foreclosures in the lower price ranges and win, it is similar to casting without a hook and hoping the fish will throw themselves on your line.

The other people fishing around you will be catching a lot more that day.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksflacom

Here come the snowbirds

It's snowbird season coming up.

The annual trek from the north will soon be upon us all.

And yet again dreams of that retirement home or second house by the water will be floating through the heads of many or our brethern from northern states and Canada.

Canadians right now are the largest single group of foreign buyers for U.S. homes.

Realistically we are still at early 2000 pricing. So for sellers thinking it is easy money time they will want to sharpen their pencils.

The good news is with the historically low interest rates and lower amount of inventory on the market the motivated sellers out their will probably had a better chance then ever of selling their home.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343.
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Think about it

Before you consider selling your home in a short sale here is a couple of pieces of advice.

Talk to an accountant and a lawyer.

Realtors are not lawyers and we are not accountants. We sell real estate.

There are potential legal and tax consquences to this decision. One size does not fit all.

Remember this can be a complicated process.

Once a short sale home is up for sale and a buyer is found often the agent is negotiating with the buyer's agent and then negotiating with the lender and the seller.

Lender's may ask the seller to sign a promissory note, they ask for cash and the whole process can be long and frustrating.

On the up side a short sale is often much better for the seller than a foreclosure and the buyer is probably getting a pretty good deal on a home.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Short sale seas are still rough

Lenders said it.

The federal government said it.

But where is it?

With much fanfare we have seen lenders and federal officials announce short sales are going to be handled quicker and more efficiently.

Really.

On the ground we are not seeing much change in fact in some cases it may have gotten worse.

Two recent examples.

A ridiculously high counter offer by a the lender on a short sale. The counter is easily 30k over the current market value in the neighborhood.

The reason.

The lender based the counter on what the client owed and what the current market values are.

Huh?

Not a lot of consumers are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars more just because the previous owner owes more money than the home is worth.

Apparently this lender does not know what a short sale is. The home is sold for market value which is less than what the owner owes the lender.

Example two.

The second lien holder for a lack of a better expression is holding air. If the first forecloses they get nothing.

In this case the second lien holder was willing to throw the whole deal under the bus because they would get a couple of grand less than they wanted.

Think about this. Nothing from nothing equals nothing. How about just getting something or anything.

It might make the second lien holder feel better that they stood their ground. That and a couple of dollars will get you a bus ride home.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Distress stress

Foreclosures and short sales continue to press hard on the Sarasota and Manatee housing market.

Those sales continue to make up more than half of the single family home sales in both counties.

The reality is both types of sales are not going away anytime soon.

For sellers who have equity in their homes it means price will continue to be dragged down by the distress sales.

And the distress sales are everywhere now from homes under $50,000 to former multi-million dollar properties.

There are few neighborhoods that have not been effected by distress sales and for those that haven't it may just be a matter of time.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamsworksfla.com

Where the buyers are

In Manatee County you have about 9.5 months of inventory in the overall single family home resale market.

In the past 30 days there were 309 homes sold according to the Mid-Florida Regional MLS.

The highest price was $2.45 million and the lowest was $10,000.

The majority of sales are still in the under $250,000 price range. Of the 309 sales 214 of those were $250,000 or less for the purchase price.

This entry market continues to be the driving force for sales of single family homes.

There is 6.9 months of inventory in the under $250,000.

With the low mortgage rates and the availability of FHA loans this market shows now sign of abating.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamwworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com