Jacksonville FL Real Estate Update

Bank of America Exec Starves to Death at REALTOR(R) Banquet

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:26:12 -0600

We want to share this brilliantly written piece with our readers who are in the midst of a short sale. Thanks much to Laraine Shape for allowing us to re-blog her report. We hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Via Laraine Shape (Florida Real Estate Broker):

Melbourne, FL – Morton Massengill, Bank of America’s Chief of Loss Mitigation Relations, was rushed to Melbourne Memorial Hospital today after collapsing at a local Board of REALTORS(R) Installation Banquet.

Massengill, invited to the affair by outgoing President, Zola Klepp, spoke to attendees at length about Bank of America’s new EQUATOR (formerly Reotrans) short sale processing system. Attendees were skeptical, but hopeful that the new system would help to eliminate approval delays that have plagued the real estate industry for over 3 years.

Table decorations were miniature beach cottages surrounded by fragrant frangipani blooms.

The bank executive apparently collapsed during a heated ‘round table’ discussion following meal service and officer installation.

Ms. Klepp explained that catering staff started serving meals to attendees long before Massingill was finished speaking, rather than waiting untill the keynote speaker was seated, as instructed. She went on to say “he apparently never got his meal.” Klepp assured reporters that the catering company would be stricken from the board's list of approved vendors.

The President of the catering company, Chef LeGay, denies any responsibility in the matter and told reporters “I find it unthinkable that anyone could starve to death in the midst of 250 pounds of filet mignon, hundreds of lobster tails, buckets of Ceasar salad and enough creme brulee to feed an army!” He went on to say “honey, something is fishy around here and it isn’t my lobster tails.”

Witnesses at the affair claim Mr. Massengill repeatedly asked about his meal after being seated, but seemed to get the “run around” in spite of advising wait staff he was “starving to death” and hadn’t eaten since 6:00 am. Instead of food, he was reportedly served with a number of probing questions.

“Are you sure you sent your order to the right department?”

“Did you log into the menu system at http://www.eatwaiter.com properly? (it's case sensitive)

“Did you remember to click “initiate” meal after entering your table number?”

“Did you order the steak or the lobster?”

“Do you remember the name of your waitress?”

“Did you call 866-677-2516 to register your meal order?”

“Did you include all of your contact info?”

“Did you remember to initiate “other” in case a menu item was no longer available?”

“Was your 3rd party authorization menu form filled out properly?”

“Were you aware that if an order gets rejected three times in 7 days, the process starts over?

Mr. Massengill is expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday and fully recover after being treated for low blood sugar, slight dehydration and stress, according to officials at Melbourne Memorial.

A spokesperson for Bank of America refused comment and suggested reporters log on to the EQUATOR system for further updates.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

THE LATEST WORD FROM LENDERS ABOUT SHORT SALES - OR WAS IT?

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:58:41 -0600

This is very timely information. We want to thank Lenn Harley for doing a great job (once again) in presenting it. Jacksonville, Florida has been hit hard by the shortsale bug... we hope the banks are taking the right step in making improvements to the process. Every agent and consumer involved in shortsales should take time to absorb the information provided here.

Thank you Lenn!

Via Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate:

MORE AND MORE SHORT SALE LISTINGS in your market??? SAME HERE.

GET USED TO IT! It's going to get worse before it gets better.

LIVE AUDIO CONFERENCE - NEW GOV'T SHORT SALE PROGRAM

Yesterday, I attended an interesting conference on Short Sales. 1.5 hours of short sale talk presented by speakers from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Campbell Surveys, Freddie Mac, and two additional information providers.

The MD/Northern VA market is not as bad as some geographical areas across the country, the worse being CA/NV/FL and some others. However, in some price ranges, it's difficult to find a property listed for sale that isn't a distressed sale.   Freddie Mac has had a 600% increase in Short Sales in the past year and predicts twice that number this year. I ran stats for 4 counties in my market area and found short sale listings as follows:

   ACTIVE Listings      Short Sale Listings

County #1 4614 1480

County #2 2647 500

County #3 2364 389

County #4 1136 246

These numbers reflect ALL listings. The percentage of Short Sale listing is higher in lower price ranges.

WHAT IS A DISTRESSED SALE?? Depends on whom you ask!

This is important because the definition of "distressed sale" as determined by Wells Fargo and Bank of America does not include Short Sales. These top two lenders consider Short Sales regular sales. They consider distressed sales to be bank owned listings.

However, on page 14 of the SURVEY, Short Sales are, indeed, included in the survey as a distressed sale.

FOR A REVIEW OF THE MATERIAL COVERED IN THE CONFERENCE, read the 66 page report of the survey prepared by Campbell Surveys.   It's worth your time if you are at all involved in listing or selling Short Sales.

SEE:

Title: Understanding the New Rules of the Short Sale Game:

Subtitle: What Major Players Are Doing to Increase Activity

THE SHORT SALE GAME?? Take notice of the title of the Survey, "Understanding the New Rules of the Short Sale GAME".

Some of the "rules" of the Short Sale GAME as determined by Wells Fargo, Bank of America, et al. include:

1. Portfolio held mortgages will close far faster than those mortgages, first or seconds, held by investors including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   Wells Fargo claims a 37 day start to finish short sale approval for portfolio borrowers.

2. Real estate commissions are treated more favorably when the listing agent lists and markets the property as a regular sale, meaning market value of regular home owner sales (excluding bank owned).

3. The lenders are looking for "market offers" and expect the short sale listings to be competitive with regular home owner listings.

4. Home buyers who are approved by Wells Fargo Mortgage will have a competitive advantage if they finance their purchase with Wells Fargo. With these major bank players, buyer's agents might as well get used to this practice if they are not already. We've seen this practice with Bank of America and Wells Fargo in our market for some years now.

GET READY FOR "EQUATOR". Beginning on page 36 of the Survey, you'll be introduced to a new tracking system being implemented to manage Short Sales for the lender.   IF, and it is a big IF, the lenders use and update this tracking system timely, it could be a helpful tool for listing agents. Anything will be an improvement over the many hours that listing agents spend on the phone trying to get status of Short Sale contracts.

All in all, the conference was interesting, although from start to finish, other than the promise of Equator, I heard little that will expedite approvals if there are investors involved. What I did get from the participants was:

Portfolio loans will receive approval faster than investor held loans.

Lenders are going to be seeking "market value" for the properties.

Lenders are going to use their position to attempt to finance short sale buyers.

Lenders will support agents commissions as agreed if the listing agents market the properties aggressively.

Lenders do not consider Short Sales to be "distressed listings".

Short Sales are complicated by many diverse interests and lenders.

Fannie and Freddie have no viable programs to help home owners keep their homes.

The Live Audio Conference - New Government Short Sale Program, was sponsored by the Dulles Area Association of Realtors ("DAAR").   Not a week goes by without opportunities for well presented and managed seminars, luncheon meetings with speakers from our local real estate market ara. DAAR is a small local board devoted to LOUDOUN COUNTY REALTORS. DAAR is are staffed by friendly and helpful folks and offers a wealth of CE and other resources to help Loudoun County Realtors be the best that we can be to serve the home buying and selling consumer.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Search Jacksonville Florida Homes for Sale or Rent

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:08:04 -0600

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Is Your Short Sale or Loan Modification Being Turned Down?

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:59:37 -0500

Slow down... SPEED ZONE AHEAD! You don't want to miss the information provided below: (Re-blogged with permission of the authors - Nestor & Katerina Gasset Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes)

Via Nestor & Katerina Gasset Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes (International Properties and Investments, Inc.):

Has your short sale or loan modification been turned down and you have no idea why? Let's examine some of the reasons. These reasons may not make you feel any better or maybe they are just excuses by your lender, however there are a few things you may not even know about your loan.

Let's say that you make your mortgage payment to Wells Fargo. You can no longer handle your payments so you ask Wells Fargo to modify your loan- to do a loan modification for you. You are behind in your payments. You are in fact, in foreclosure but you are still living in your home and the judge in your case has not ordered the sale of your home at auction yet. You are scared. You see your neighbors losing their homes all around you. You are hopeful because you see on the news and in the newspapers that the Federal Making Homes Affordable Program has been helping some folks keep their home and get a loan modification.

You are no longer making your mortgage payment because your adjustable rate has been applied and your mortgage payment has gone from $1600 a month to $2300 per month. You just can not make these payments. You have been trying for almost 2 years now to get Wells Fargo to approve your loan modification. You even hired an attorney to help you with your foreclosure defense.

Wells Fargo turns down your loan modification request. You wonder, how could this be? After all, Wells Fargo is one of the large lenders and is participating in the government's Federal Making Homes Affordable program.

But Wells Fargo tells you that the investor is the one that will not allow you to get a loan modification. What in the world is an investor doing making decisions on your loan you wonder. Well, you are not alone in your confusion. Every day we are explaining the whole mortgage note owner thing to buyers agents, real estate agents and homeowners.

Just because you make your house payments to Wells Fargo does not mean they own that note that you are paying on. They are the servicer. Other words you will hear them called are asset management companies.

The very first thing you need to do before you ask for a loan modification is to find out who actually owns your note. You can do this by calling who you make your mortgage payments to and asking them.

If it is Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae that own your note- you have a much better chance at getting your loan modification approved if you qualify. If it is a private group of investors, your chances go way down. Why would this happen?

One in eight homeowners' loans were sold to investors on Wall Street. What happens is that a bunch of loans are packaged together. These are called mortgage-backed securities. They are then sold off to investors. Homeowners who have mortgage-backed securitized loan are five times more likely to be late on their house payments. Many of these borrowers were given loans they were not qualified for from the beginning. Many of the homeowners getting these loans did not read the fine print and did not realize how high their mortgage payments might go when adjusted.

The rules to allow modifications, short sales and terms of foreclosures and deficiencies are ambiguous at best. Homeowners who are told no by the investor have little recourse.

The federal Making Homes Affordable program lenders who participate in the program must modify all homeowners that qualify. The exception is when the investor has a rule that they do not allow modifications.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported to Congress on June 3rd that these securitized mortgages are a "hurdle" to the success of the Making Homes Affordable program. The treasury department has not disclosed why the modifications are denied so there are little to no facts to go on.

Why would the investors say no to your loan modification? Well, Wells Fargo's response is that the investors need their money. Wells Fargo has one situation where the borrowers ( the homeowners) are trying to get their loan modified but Goldman Sachs is the issuer and Deutsche Bank is the trustee. But when you go and talk to these investors and we have on several occasions when doing short sale negotiations for our sellers; the investor passes the buck back to the servicer. For instance, Deutsche Bank says that Wells Fargo is solely responsible for the decision to modify a loan or not.

Some people say that the investors are the scapegoats. Everything can easily be blamed on them. Since you rarely get to speak to anyone at the investors' group it is hard to tell who is telling the truth. In this particular situation Wells Fargo is saying that the investor is not forgiving the past due debt and that makes the payment go up on a loan modification because then Wells Fargo would have to put that past due balance along with all the penalties and fees into the loan modification which then may cause the homeowner to not qualify financially for the loan modification.

Servicers have agreements, contracts that they sign with investors. These agreements contain the rules for modifications. These agreements are called Pooling and Servicing Agreements which is known as PSA's. The PSA is most often what the servicer says is the reason for them not being able to do the loan modification or release the deficiency on a short sale.

But when you talk to other people in the management areas or to the investors they claim that there is nothing in the PSA's that would prevent the servicer from approving loan modifications, short sales and releases. There is a new study coming out from a law school wherein they state that only 8% of these mortgage-backed securities agreements contain any language that says the servicer is not allowed to do a loan modification for these notes. That means that about 92% of all the NO's; could actually be YES's. So why would that even happen?

Fear of law suits! The language in the PSA in question here, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank- it says that Wells Fargo can "waive, modify or vary any term" as long as Wells Fargo as the servicer makes a "reasonable and prudent determination" that the modification is in the investor's best interest. Attorneys examining these agreements say there is quite a bit of room for servicers to make these decisions. But the language itself in this agreement is enough for the servicers legal counsel to be concerned with the investor suing them for not acting in the best interest of the investor. They can not, no matter how inhumane this sounds, put the homeowner ahead of the investor. This is about business and if they want business from investors they need to make sure they are looking out for the interests of the investors.

The treasury department has stated that the fear of law suits is the biggest deterrent to getting the servicers to approve loan modifications and short sales. So doing little or simply turning down the loan modifications are the answer many servicers choose. This is not personal and this is not against you, the homeowner. The position of the servicers is to watch their own backs and to protect the assets to which they have been entrusted with, your mortgage-backed security. The Treasury Department says they can relieve some of the pressure of the fear of lawsuits by standardizing requirements for loan modifications and also provide some type of calculation to figure out if the investor will make more money by the loan modification or by the foreclosure.

We need to keep in mind one big thing in all of this and that is that these investors end up being regular people because most of these mortgage-backed securities were bought by pension funds and retirement plans of folks like your parents or even yourselves. You may well be one of the shareholders of the very loan you can not pay.

T o view Florida Short Sales- Click here . We know Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Florida Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.

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Is Your Short Sale Or Loan Modification Being Turned Down?-was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.

Copyright © 2009 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Is Your Short Sale Or Loan Modification Being Turned Down?*

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Time is running out for first time home buyers tax credit

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:09:00 -0500

Time is running out for First Time Home Buyers to take advantage of the $8000 Tax Credit. Remember, also, that "First Time Home Buyer" means anyone who has not owned a principle residence within the preceding 36 months.

You only have until November 30, 2009 to find a home, secure financing and close the transaction
to receive your $8,000 tax credit/downpayment.

While that may seem like plenty of time, the fact is that a large number of homes for sale in our Jacksonville, Florida market are "short sales" and although their name says "short" it actually takes a long time to work through the process and close on these homes. If you choose a short sale listing today, it could easily take up to the last minute to finalize and close.

The bottom line is that if you are a first time home buyer you need to get very serious about finding the right home NOW. We can save you a lot of time, energy and money by doing all the footwork for you.

We will help you locate the home, decide on a price offer and terms and then negotiate the sale all the waay through closing... and our services don't cost you a dime. The seller will pay our commission at closing.

What are you waiting for? Call now and let's get started - Don't leave $8000 sitting on the table!

Tim and Susan Fennell
904-568-5468

Visit our website for more information.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associate / Property Manager
Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.
Office 904-288-9293

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:05:25 -0500

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida is our new brokerage home. We want to introduce you to Hometown Realty and let you know why we moved our license there.

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. is an independent Real Estate brokerage located in the heart of Mandarin in Jacksonville, Florida. Hometown Realty is committed to providing outstanding service and value to Buyers, Sellers and Landlords.

Many Real Estate Companies claim to be FULL SERVICE but Hometown Realty of Duval does more than make the claim... they live it! Hometown Realty and its agents are dedicated to providing the highest level of service possible. They prove this by presenting and providing all known available options to each of their clients - Sellers, Buyers and Landlords.

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. is widely recognized as one of the premier real estate companies in Northeast Florida. Over the past ten years, they have become recognized as a leader in developing quality working relationships with their clientele; relationships based on respect, integrity, and trust.

By joining the powerful, dedicated team of professionals at Hometown Realty of Duval, we (Tim and Susan Fennell) have a whole new arsenal of tools at our disposal to help us as we help our clients. The Jacksonville Real Estate market may be down, temporarily, but we are more excited about the future of Jacksonville Real Estate opportunities today than ever before.

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. understands the changes in the real estate market and is responding to those changes with affirmative options and glowing expectations.

Call us today to find out just why we are so excited about the future of Jacksonville Real Estate and how we and Hometown Realty of Duval can help you today and tomorrow! The future is ours... today!

For more information visit our websites:
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com
www.JaxPowerListings.com
www.WhyShortSaleJax.com

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
904-568-4528

Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.
10421 Old St. Augustine Road
Jacksonville, Florida 32257
904-288-9293

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

How to tell if your home is overpriced - the creepy crawly test.

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:09:24 -0500

This falls under the category of LIFE'S TOUGH LESSONS!

One of the most difficult realities home sellers struggle with is accepting the CURRENT MARKET VALUE of the property they want to sell. HINT: It is lower than you think; it is lower than it was 6 months ago; AND IF NOT PRICED TO SELL NOW (ie. "market value") it may be even lower next week.

Waiting to lower your asking price is a sure-fire way of netting LESS than if you price it right in the beginning. If you didn't price TO SELL in the beginning then...

It is time for a NEW BEGINNING. Price it where buyers will look at it and make an offer on it...

or plan to keep it for a long, long time while waiting for the economy to turn around.

Our thanks to Brian Brumpton, Boise Idaho Real Estate, for allowing us to re-blog this clever lesson in reality.

Via Brian Brumpton, Boise Idaho Real Estate (Keller Williams Boise):

How do you know when your home is overpriced?

Well you could have your agent pull comps and if they're half way competent you could take their word for it.

Or you could wait until the lock box on your front door sits long enough for all the creepy crawly things to feel safe enough to make it their home.

Bottom line if the spider living in your lock box is netting more visitors than you are chances are you're priced out of the market.

Statistically they say it takes two to three times longer to sell a home through price reductions than it does to price it right up front.

If your home is priced right for it's condition, for it's competition, and for the market, your agent shouldn't have to proceed with caution when removing the lock box from your door.

You can save yourself time and net a bigger return doing the research upfront and gettig the equation right from the start.

As for me I don't like spiders so if I show up at your door and your lock box looks like this, I'm going to leave it and it's inhabitants for the next agent.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

VIDEO of 3BR/2B Home for Sale in Jacksonville, Florida - Built for and around FUN!

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:25:55 -0500

Built in 1960, this 3BR/2B home has enjoyed a professional expansion and remodel to the main living areas and kitchen. The ORIGINAL OWNER has occupied the property throughout its life and kept it in immaculate condition.

In addition to screened front porch, expanded living areas, hardwood flooring (under carpet), brick wood-burning or gas fireplace and quality upgrade appliances, this home features an additional game room building not included in square footage. The large finished gameroom has unit heat and cooling and includes billiard table with table tennis top too!

Video of home for sale in Jacksonville, Florida - Fort Caroline Club Estates - Convenient to Ft Caroline Club, boat ramp, schools, shopping, downtown and more. This home offers far more than you expect. The Large corner lot offers plenty of room to expand if desired. 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 1680 square feet plus recreation shed with pool table and additional tool shed. Seller had home inspection prior to listing and made the very few minor repairs recommended. It also has a newer HVAC system, brand new architectural shingle roof, and freshly painted exterior.

Brokered by Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc. - 904-288-9293
Tim and Susan Fennell (Broker Associates / Property Managers)
904-568-5468

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Are Real Estate Prices Being Held Back?

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:09:02 -0500

We want to thank Ed & Cindy Knight for allowing us to share the following post from their blog with our readers. What can you do, as consumers? Call your congressman/woman and demand they get off their duffs and do something PRODUCTIVE to reshape our economy. What you are about to read is not a pretty picture but it is the reality we are beginning to deal with in real estate.

Know this... Susan and I will fight for you and the value of homes in the Greater Jacksonville Florida area!

Via Ed & Cindy Knight (Realty Executives e-Group):

Like many real estate agents I am getting more than a little ticked off at how the government banks are handling the foreclosures and the sale of homes and condos. In my opinion, they are running the real estate market right into the ground. Of course, right behind them are the appraisers who are actually "untouchable" now thanks to the HVCC Home Valuation Code of Conduct. One of my favorite blogger's Chris Griffith wrote about this recently. Right behind them are the underwriters who yes work for the banks.

So do I sound ticked off? Well I am and right now I am beginning to think it's some kind of conspiracy to cripple the middle class. No I am not going nuts it's just I am seeing first hand what is happening to the real estate market here in Macomb County, just outside Detroit. I just can't take it anymore and I think people need to know what's going on. I think the banks are holding real estate prices back.

Here's why -

last month we sold a home that was listed at $149,000 it had 7 offers and our buyer offered $169,900. Now that means the market is talking right? Not quite - although our buyer's offer was the best and his offer was accepted the appraiser brought the value in at $152,000. So much for the market talking. The best part is this home sold in 1988 brand new for $150,000 and the township well they are collecting taxes based on a value of $241,000.

a few weeks back we sold a condo for $92,000 actually we thought it was a pretty good deal. Guess our 20 years of real estate experience means nothing - the appraiser said it was worth $83,000. The estate was appalled because their mom paid $80,000 in 1979. Of course, they were forced to sell since we could not fight the appraiser.

this tops them all - a condo sells for $83,000 this time the appraiser says it's worth $85,000 - ready for this one? The underwriter says No - she ran the automated evaluation system and said it was worth $73,000. What???

here's one that I have first hand knowledge of - we bought a condo in 2003 for $105,000 bank owned. These units sold back in 1994 for $65,000 and in 1988 brand new for $58,000. But in the past 3 years the banks have ran the market right into the ground - $95,000, $62,500, $59,900, $49,900, $44,900, $40,500, $38,000. Urgh

Now remember Macomb County was NOT an area that went way up in value. No this area did not see double digit appreciation in a couple years. We had normal appreciation and then the banks came in and ran it right into the ground. The other day I saw a home selling in Detroit for $850 yep you read that right. No it was not a wreck. It was a 3 bedroom brick home with a basement and a garage and a few miles from where I grew up. Sick just sick.

So what do you think?

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

3BR/2B Home for Sale in Ft Caroline Club Estates - 1680SF + 350SF Recreation Room

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:36:35 -0500

Built in 1960, this 3BR/2B home has enjoyed a professional expansion and remodel to the main living areas and kitchen. The ORIGINAL OWNER has occupied the property throughout its life and kept it in immaculate condition.

In addition to screened front porch, expanded living areas, hardwood flooring (under carpet), brick wood-burning or gas fireplace and quality upgrade appliances, this home features an additional game room building not included in square footage. The large finished gameroom has unit heat and cooling and includes billiard table with table tennis top too!

Convenient to Ft Caroline Club, boat ramp, schools, shopping, downtown and more. This home offers far more than you expect. The Large corner lot offers plenty of room to expand if desired.

Seller had home inspection prior to listing and made the very few minor repairs recommended. It also has a newer HVAC system, brand new architectural shingle roof, and freshly painted exterior.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Video Press Release: PowerListing for Jacksonville, Florida Real Estate

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:49:25 -0500

As many of you know, we have been preparing to launch our new PowerListing(TM) Program for the past few months. Well, we are delighted to announce that the first phase of our new program is now in action!

The Video Press Release (below) introduces home sellers in the Jacksonville, Florida Real Estate Market to this powerful new program.

This is just the first phase or our PowerListing(TM) Program which is designed to position individual listings with a Flash website, crafted to draw in potential buyers using sight, sound and movement. And, unlike most Flash sites that are not SEO-friendly, our PowerListing(TM) sites are designed so that google can see and read them for maximum SEO potential. Also, we utilize Google Analytics as with all of our websites to track the effectiveness of the marketing.

Click HERE for a sample of one of these PowerListing(TM) websites.

The next PowerListing(TM) phase (already in testing mode) will enable buyers to obtain all information about the listing, including photos, audio tour and video tour, via their iPhone® or Blackberry® type device directly while sitting in their car at CURBSIDE.

If the buyer only has a regular cell phone he will still be able to retrieve an AUDIO TOUR of the home right from the curb.

Our goal is to bring Jacksonville Real Estate Marketing methods into the 21st Century... the market has changed and we're changing marketing methods to match it!

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

SHORT SALE FLIPS - TITLE INSURANCE PROHIBITED

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:42:07 -0500

We have been concerned about this "practice" of SHORT SALE FLIPS by investors for some time. It just doesn't pass the smell test for us and we have wondered why the banks and the Florida Real Estate Commission have allowed the practice to continue for so long. Perhaps they are just now getting wise to the practice and will do something about it.

The problem, as we see it, is that nobody benefits other than the investor and his real estate agent. The bank (mortgagee) and the home seller (mortgagor) get the short end of the stick and we simply cannot imagine why either party would agree to this arrangement if they were fully aware of what is transpiring.

We have even noticed that many of these "short sale flips" are not being advertised other than being listed in MLS and via the investor and agent's personal websites. Many do not have yard signs, many are not entered into MLS in a timely manner and many of the agents do not respond to calls from other agents who wish to show the listings to prospective buyers.

The only reason we can imagine for all of this is so that the investor can keep a low profile and the agent can benefit from both the listing and selling side of the transaction. There may be other reasons but we cannot imagine what they might be and when we have attempted to get answers from agents who engage in this practice they become angry and hang up on us...

As I said, none of it passes the smell test for us!

Let the consumer beware!

Our thanks to Richard Zaretsky, Florida Real Estate Attorney, for allowing us to repost this entry from his blog.

Via Richard Zaretsky, Florida Real Estate Attorney (Richard P. Zaretsky P.A. ):

The short sale flip apparently is alive and well for some investors - and it is causing havoc with title insurance underwriters.  Now the title insurance underwriters are making their case simply by declaring that they won't insure such transactions.

This decision is not surprising. As pointed out in SHORT SALE FLIP - QUESTIONABLE METHODS, some investors have seen the reluctance amongst knowledgeable (and ethical?) title insurance agencies to question and usually refrain from being involved in such transactions. The result was the new "twist" of using one title closing agent (and underwriter) for the initial sale and another title closing agent (and underwriter) for the higher sale.

These transactions are also being examined by the shorted lenders - but the current safeguard of having the parties sign affidavits and "disclosures" is seriously not going to stop any investor that sees dollars at the end of the transaction.

Attorney Title Insurance Fund (in Florida) just today released an Alert and directive to its agents and it is reproduced below. They are not the first nor will they be the last to take this position.

FUND ALERT: SHORT SALE PROGRAMS

The Fund has become aware of several "short sale programs" advertised on the internet and elsewhere that promise to make the investor lots of money with little or no work by purchasing and selling property through short sales. The programs involve the investor entering into options or similar contracts with the homeowners for the exclusive right to purchase their property for a period of time. The investor negotiates a short sale with the lender, convincing the lender that the price they are offering is the market value of the property. The investor then finds a buyer for the property at a much higher price. Once the buyer is lined up, the investor buys the property from the seller, pays off the seller's mortgage at the short sale rate, and simultaneously sells the property to the buyer at the higher price, pocketing the difference. In most cases the original lender is not told that the buyer is flipping the property on the same day for thousands more than the lender has been told is the market value of the property.

In the cases we have seen, the investor has not put any of his own money into the transaction, and uses the new lender's money to fund the entire deal.

A variation of this program involves the investor having the seller convey the property into a "trust" with the investor as "trustee".

The Fund has made a business decision not to insure these types of transactions.

Before you insure any kind of transaction involving a short payoff to the existing lender, or a simultaneous closing, make sure that the following requirements have been met:

•1.    There are no violations of any restrictions listed in the short sale payoff letter or closing instructions.

•2.     There have been no misrepresentations as to the value or ownership of the property to the existing lender, the new lender, or the purchaser.

•3.     All disbursements must be made exactly as stated on the HUD-1 settlement statement, and only to parties involved in this specific transaction.

•4.     Each half of the simultaneous closing must be kept separate and stand on its own. The sale from A to B must be fully funded and disbursed with money coming from and going to all appropriate parties. The sale from B to C must also stand on its own. The money from C's lender must not be used to fund any portion of the A to B transaction.

If the circumstances of your transaction do not meet the above requirements, you must contact a Fund underwriting attorney for approval prior to insuring the transaction.

Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc. 6545 Corporate Centre Blvd., Orlando, FL 32822
1-800-336-3863 www.thefund.com

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©2009 Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc. The Fund is a registered trademark of Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund, Inc.

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Why You Can't Sell Your Home In This Market

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:59:44 -0500

We hear it almost every day (okay, not every day but we do hear it a lot) from people who are trying to sell during this strong buyer's market. They try and try for weeks, months... some have even been trying to sell for a couple of years. And the question they ask us is, "Why can't I sell my home? What am I doing wrong?"

The answer may be a bit simpler than you think. And you probably won't like the answer and you'll probably start protesting right away but since you asked, I'm going to give you a straight answer.

Are you ready? Are you sure? Okay, you asked for it so here it is...

The reason you can't sell is because you don't really want to sell.

Oh my, I can hear the screams of indignant protest already.

What?! Are you crazy, Tim? Have you not been listening to a word I've said? I've had my home listed with a broker for longer than I can remember and now you say I don't really want to sell my home?! I need to move because (fill in the reason: new job, can't afford payments, want to downsize, want to upsize, etc.) Of course I want to sell my home.

Okay, okay... simmer down there and listen for a minute. And I don't mean for you to listen to me. Listen to yourself. Listen to your own words. What did you say about your attempts to sell? Exactly what is it that you are you saying that you want to sell?

Good grief, man... do you have an attention problem? I said that I want to sell my home. I need to sell my home! Can't someone help me sell my home?!

Take a deep breath now and calm down. I heard you just fine... but you aren't listening to yourself. In fact, you may be kidding yourself and, in the process, defeating yourself. You've heard it before... the truth of this statement is not easy to swallow but the fact is that all too often...

We are our own worst enemy.

Why can't you sell your home? There are three points that culminate in one simple answer.

Nobody wants to buy your home... they already have one of their own, thank you.
Your home isn't really for sale even if someone needed or wanted to purchase your home.
Nobody could afford to buy your home if it were for sale.

Here it is folks... as long as you think of your HOUSE as your HOME you won't be able to sell it. It's just a simple reality of life... HOME is where the heart is and you simply cannot sell that at any price.

As long as you think of your HOUSE as YOUR HOME, you will place far more value on it than will anyone else. If you place too much value on it then you will likely price it far too high and you will unconciously make certain that every potential buyer who walks through know that it is YOUR HOME -- NOT THEIRS.

The mind (psychology) is a powerful force in all of our lives. Stop being your own worst enemy and face up to the fact that you have a HOUSE that you need to sell.

You will take your HOME with you when you move! Let's get your HOUSE sold as soon as possible. Call us today and let us help you get started on the right foot.

PowerListing(TM)

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

The tax man giveth and the tax man taketh away...

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:43:27 -0500

Just want to give our readers this quick update from Mortgagee Letter 2009-15 which establishes guidelines for use of the first-time home buyer tax credit as settlement funds.

The details haven't been fully revealed just yet so there is still a lot of guessing and speculating going on within the industry. We are hoping to have a clear picture within the next week or two but in the meantime here are a few things that we do know.

The IRS tax credit refund can be made only to the taxpayer and not a third party.
Government agencies may offer tax credit advances with second liens.
The buyer cannot get cash back through the tax credit advance.
The 2nd lien may not exceed the down payment, closing costs, and prepaid expenses.
The 2nd lien may be soft or require payments.
Payments on 2nd liens must be included in ratios unless deferred for at least 36 months.
Balloon payments on 2nd liens may not be before 10 years.
FHA approved lenders and FHA approved non-profits may purchase the tax credit.
Tax credit purchaser may not charge more than 2.5% of the tax credit as a fee.

And then there's this little item that every potential borrower against the funds needs to be aware of...

IRS may deduct from the tax credit: unpaid student loans, tax liens and garnishments.

We just want to keep you informed as new info comes available to us. Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions whatsoever!

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

Do I HAVE to lower the price to sell this house?

Tim and Susan Fennell (Hometown Realty of Duval, Inc.) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:39:34 -0500

So, you're a homeowner that wants to sell. You've had your house listed forever... okay, it just feels like forever but it has been listed for a long time. And now you feel like you're trapped inside a box.

You haven't gotten any offers or maybe you got an offer or two but they were lowball offers from investors who just wanted to flip it fast for a small profit (nothing wrong with that but if they can buy low and sell a little higher then why shouldn't you just drop your price to the point that they will sell it at later and be done with it? You pocket the difference between the investors price and the selling price. But that's a topic for another time and another post.) Perhaps you haven't had many showings... maybe not even any showings.

So, do you HAVE to lower your price to get it sold? The short, easy answer is "Probably" but let's look at a couple of other things before going that route.

I need for you to answer a few questions (in no particular order of importance) and, before we go any further, let me say this: if you don't know the answers to the following questions then your first step is to get those answers.

When was the last CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) completed?
Where is your listing being advertised?
How effective are those ads? (How many potential buyers are viewing the ads each week?)
What innovative/interactive tools are being used to gain exposure for your listing?
How many comparable listings have sold during the time you've had your listing and why did buyers choose them over yours?
Are you absolutely certain that you want to sell your house? (If not, then forget it... you probably won't sell it.)
If you have had showings - How many? When? What feedback did you get from the agent who showed? When was the last showing?
What recommendations have you gotten from you agent and have you followed those recommendations 100%?
How will your life be affected if you don't sell the house?
Are you ready to do what it takes to get it sold?

Once we have the answers to these questions, we will KNOW with certainty whether you need to reduce the price or not. As I said in the beginning, you probably do need to reduce it but maybe not... or maybe not as much as you might fear. If you have to lower it, then you have to lower it. The market may not be pretty or what you want but it is what it is.

We would be happy to meet with you and discuss the answers to these and any other questions you might have and give you our professional opinion based on hard data.

We are employing new and innovative methods to market our listings. The market has changed and we (real estate agents) must change our methods to meet the new demands of the market and today's buyers. Traditional methods and marketing are simply not as effective today as they were just a few short years ago.

Visit our JaxPowerListings website for an introduction to some of our innovative marketing methods and if you like what you see, give us a call. We'd be happy to meet with you for a free, no-obligation consult. Before you give up and throw in the towel, give us a call at 904-568-4528.

We're adding to and changing our methods and tools as the market changes and we believe that change is good!

Timothy H. Fennell, P.A.
Susan A. Fennell, P.A.
Broker Associates / Property Managers
www.BestHomesInJacksonville.com

	ACTIVE Listings	Short Sale Listings
County #1	4614	1480
County #2	2647	500
County #3	2364	389
County #4	1136	246