Monday, November 23, 2009

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate: Existing Home Sales up over %10

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate: Existing Home Sales up over %10

Existing Home Sales up over %10

Midwest Home Sales Post 26 Pct Annual Increase
New York Times - ‎18 minutes ago‎
By AP KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Home sales in the Midwest surged in October as first-time home buyers sought to beat the initial deadline for a federal tax credit and difficult market conditions last year made comparisons favorable.
Existing home sales jump 10 percent Bi

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate
While you are thinking of our Christmas Lighted Boat Parade here in Apollo Beach in Tampa Bay you can enjoy MiraBay on the afternoon of November 22, from noon to 3 pm, for Reggae Sunday, where delectable Caribbean-style food and drink and happenin’ tunes set the beat to celebrate fall, MiraBay-style! Nuveau Saka (Creole for "new style") is your host for a laid-back afternoon alongside the MiraBay pool and lagoon. Living the coastal lifestyle has never been so easy, mon!

Buyers Beware make sure your Short-Sale is the Bargain!

Buyers beware with the short-sales.. Make sure that short sale home is the bargain being sold!!!"Who cares if someone is making a spread on flipped properties," said Marc Pelletz, a real estate investor and agent with Hook & Ladder Realty in Sarasota. "Banks are getting money. Someone gets a deal. As long as everything is disclosed to everyone, what's wrong?"

But fraud experts warn that some of the real estate flipping they see today involves the same kind of insider deals and manipulated sale prices that plagued the housing bubble.

The FBI recently added short sale flipping, dubbed "flopping" by some mortgage fraud experts, to its list of recognized real estate fraud.

In a June 2009 report on mortgage fraud, FBI officials described various forms of short sale flipping fraud. Each type involves misrepresenting the value of a house to a lender.

Banking experts point out that those losses trickle down to taxpayers, who have bailed out the banking industry.

"These middle men are making a huge profit at the expense of banks, which means they are often making huge profits at the expense of taxpayers," said Anne Weintraub, a real estate attorney with the Syprett Meshad law firm in Sarasota.

LUCRATIVE BUSINESS

The evidence that short sale flippers are finding ways to benefit from bank losses can be found in deed records filed along Florida's Gulf Coast.

Some individual investors and small groups of flippers have bought dozens of properties at discount prices and resold them within days, each time for thousands of dollars in profit.

Since September 2008, Tampa real estate agent Joe Wright and accountant Kevin Byrne have worked together to buy more than 30 pre-foreclosure houses and condos, with Wright's brokerage as the listing agent and Byrne's company as the buyer.

In each case, the men arranged a short sale and quickly resold the property at a higher price. Of their 33 deals, 22 properties resold within 24 hours of purchase. The median one-day price increase was $25,000.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Christmas Lighted Night Boat Parade**


The Weather has been fantastic here in Tampa Bay!! I am writing you now to let you know about the Fabulous Christmas Boat Parade we have here in Apollo Beach!!

Help by being a Judge at our annual Christmas Lighted Boat Parade. Contestants work hard decorating their boats for the night boat parade!!

Email me to get on the list and reserve a spot front row at this exciting Florida Coastal event!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

New News for Homebuyers**

We Have News To Tell...



First-time home buyers and move-up buyers have another great reason to get on the path to purchasing a new home! The benefit to first-time homebuyers is a tax credit up to $8,000 and for move-up buyers a tax credit up to $6,500. But this opportunity ends in April1.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Incredible Waterfront Community

Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Fine Homes, Tampa Coastal Homes - kewego
http://www.TampaCoastalHomes.com, CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR A Free Boat Tour, Call Bonnie at 813-390-7606 to visit fine Beaches, Fishing, Professional Sports, Upcoming Super Bowl, Bonnie 813 390-7606
Video from mbinfla

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Tampa Bay Honors Lee Roy Selmon Ring of Fame

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2009

Related Links

* Video: 'Creamsicles' make colorful comeback
* Gallery: Throwback Day
* Gallery: Game photos

TAMPA - When the ceremony was done, when he was away from the crowd, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Lee Roy Selmon could no longer contain his emotions.

He cried.

"It's home,'' Selmon said, explaining why Sunday afternoon's honor, becoming the first player in the franchise's new Ring of Honor was so meaningful.

On the field, Selmon was surrounded by family and nearly three-dozen of his former teammates. When the deafening chant from Raymond James Stadium finally died down – "Lee Roy! Lee Roy! Lee Roy! Lee Roy!'' – he spoke humbly and thanked everyone for the honor.

Selmon's words set the tone for Throwback Sunday, when the Bucs donned their old orange uniforms, honored the 1979 NFC Central Division champions, then actually won a game, ending their 0-for-2009 streak with a 38-28 victory against the Green Bay Packers.

Selmon, the former defensive end and the most decorated player in franchise history, became the first member of the team's Ring of Honor. On the East side's standard, a permanent display was unveiled – 63 SELMON – and the franchise will add to the Ring each season.

Personal honors are nothing new for Selmon, who already has been inducted into the Pro Football and College Football halls of fame. But being recognized in Tampa, while old teammates such as Doug Williams, Richard Wood, David Lewis, Mark Cotney and Cecil Johnson looked on, was more than Selmon could handle.

He had promised his family he wouldn't cry.

But once off the field, in the presence of wife Claybra, his three children and his granddaughter, that facade couldn't last.

"This is where I grew up in the NFL,'' Selmon said. "All I know is here. For the franchise to do this, to have that kind of generorsity, it's overwhelming. It's not an obligation. There's nothing anywhere that says they have to do this. So it tells you a lot.''

Dewey Selmon, a linebacker on the 1979 team, said the combination of a reunion with former teammates, plus the presence of nearly 40 family members, made it an unforgettable weekend for his younger brother.

"This just shows Lee Roy's character,'' Dewey Selmon said. "He is a loving, giving, emotional person. When we played here in 1979, we loved each other then and we still do. We're still in it together.

"We felt it was like a family thing back then and it still is. This was a great day for Lee Roy, for all Buccaneers and the current team as well. It brought back a lot of memories for how it used to be. It felt the same.''

It also looked the same.

Orange, orange, everywhere.

"I love it! Let's stay with the orange,'' said Luis Melendez of Tampa. "I always had pride in it. I know some people don't like the color, but I still bleed orange.''

Miguel Fleitas, who used to sell programs at the old Tampa Stadium, said he hasn't missed a home game since the franchise began in 1976, broke out an orange Buccaneer dress shirt he hasn't worn in years.

Robert Starkey, a dedicated follower since the beginning, dug out an old Buccaneer wristwatch. The leather band snapped off and it needed batteries.

"But it's still running,'' Starkey said. "The old look is still going to be good for us.''

Raymond James Stadium was awash in orange. The Bucs' cheerleaders were dressed in old-school Swash-buc-lers outfits, complete with orange-and-white pom-pons. Orange Buccaneer flags flew around the stadium. The afternoon included disco music from the era.

There was even an unexpected 1970s reference. Just before the halftime ceremony honoring Selmon, police arrested a streaker.

As the unclothed man was led away under the stadium, a Highway Patrolman took a quick look and sighed.

"Now there's a real Throwback uniform.''

Friday, November 6, 2009

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate

Very Interesting times "Deed for Lease??"

Meet Your New Landlord: Fannie Mae Deed for Lease Program

November 6th, 2009 Linda Slocum Posted in Foreclosures and Short Sales, Santa Clarita Real Estate |
Borrowers who don’t qualify for other loan workout programs to be offered new Deed for Lease option.

Fannie Mae has announced a new Deed for Lease Program (D4L) where distressed homeowners who cannot qualify for other loan workout solutions will be able to trade their deed for a market-rate lease. While this seems just peachy on the surface, in many areas this may mean HIGHER payments for many borrowers, where lease rates are higher than what their modified mortgage would be.

In order to qualify for the program, homeowners must be able to show that they can make the lease payments by documenting that the monthly rental is no more than 31 percent of their gross income. Huh… seems if they could do that, then they probably wouldn’t be in trouble with their mortgages in the first place, especially in high-rent areas like the Santa Clarita Valley!

The property itself must also qualify for the D4L program, with the following limitations:

* If there are expensive repairs to be done, the property may not qualify for the program.
* If the HOA or zoning in an area prohibits rentals, then Fannie Mae will not be able to rent the home back to the current homeowner. Seems if there is already a tenant in the property in violation of the HOA or zoning rules, then the tenant would automatically be evicted.
* Fannie Mae may opt to forego the rental option if the market rent is not enough to cover ongoing maintenance and management costs.

For the homeowner or current tenant to qualify for the D4L program:

* Homeowner or tenant must be able to document that the proposed rent is no more than 31 percent of their gross income.
* Property inspections must show that the homeowner or tenant are maintaining the home in good condition. [Many distressed homeowners allow homes to fall into disrepair, allowing children to do things like using Magic Markers on the walls.]
* The occupants signing the lease must agree to a credit review and all occupants over the age of 18 must have an acceptable background check, including receiving clearance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
* There must be no signs of criminal activity in the house. [I'm assuming this means drugs?]
* The home must be used as the homeowner’s or tenant’s primary residence.

It appears that this program is more geared towards keeping tenants in investment properties than it is to keep homeowners in their homes, since tenants are often displaced without much notice when the bank forecloses on a rental property. The new Fannie Mae leases will be for 12 months, with possible extensions on a month-to-month basis after that.

Fannie Mae’s VP Jay Ryan says of the Deed for Lease program, “This new program helps eliminate some of the uncertainty of foreclosure, keeps families and tenants in their homes during a transitional period, and helps to stabilize neighborhoods and communities.”

The initial concept of this program was released in January 2009, and at that time it appeared that the properties would be foreclosed upon and that the maintenance of the rental properties would fall on the Realtors® assigned by the bank to handle those REOs. The new wording appears to indicate that Fannie Mae would be responsible for hiring management companies to handle the T&T’s (tenants and toilets) instead.

So who benefits from this new program? Likely the existing tenants will to some extent, at least if they are already paying rent at near-market rates and they’re keeping the properties in good condition. Seems the biggest winners in the D4L program will be the management companies selected to maintain this new crop of rental properties.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tampa Coastal Homes, Tampa Real Estate: RE: CNBC Pending Home Sales UP 8 straight Month

http://www.TampaCoastalHomes.com

RE: CNBC Pending Home Sales UP 8 straight Month

Pending Home Sales Rise for Eighth Straight Month
Published: Monday, 2 Nov 2009 | 11:50 AM ET Text Size
By: CNBC.com
Pending home sales rose for the eighth straight month in September as new home buyers rushed to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires at the end of the month, according to an industry group.


AP
Pending home sales rose 6.1 percent in September, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that pending home sales rose 6.1 percent to 110.1 from 103.8 in August. It was the largest annual increase on record and marked the longest streak of gains since the measurement began in 2001. It was also the highest level in nearly three years.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast pending home sales, which lead existing home sales by one to two months, to be flat.

"What we're witnessing is a rush of first-time buyers trying to beat the expiration of the tax credit at the end of this month," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Home values will stabilize sooner rather than over-correcting. That, in turn, will mean wealth stabilization for the vast number of middle-class families and lay the foundation for a durable economic recovery."


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The group estimates about 3 million renters are now financially well-qualified to buy a median-priced home, and Yun said if buyers stay within their budget, there will be a sizable pent-up demand.