What do you look for and what do you ask? Here are a few tips for how to pick a good Realtor, and the first thing you may be thinking is where to look for a good one.

One of the best places to start is your friends and family. They will certainly tell you if they liked their real estate agent. Recommendation is by far the best way to find someone you can work well with. Ideally you want an agent who is both professional and aggressive. If your agent works in one of the larger companies have they won any sales awards and also look for recommendations from previous clients (any good Realtor worth their salt will have a real estate testimonials page with feedback from their past customers).

If you’re looking for a Realtor in the Palm Harbor area here’s a few questions you should be asking:

• Are they a licensed agent current with the local board (one clue to whether they are or are not is if they have a “lockbox key” or if they need the listing agent to accompany you on each showing)
• Do they have a track record in YOUR local area. We specialize in the Palm Harbor area and know the neighborhoods inside and out!
• How many closings have they had this year (either on the buyer or seller side)
• Are they a full time agent or do they have a “real job” on the side
• Do they have a team of buyers and sellers agents, closing coordinators and a trusted title company to refer you to

If you are a seller probably one of the best tips for how to pick a good realtor is communication, so ask your potential agent how do they plan to market and sell your house. Have them put all this in writing so you know exactly what they are going to be doing for you. The last thing you need is excuses and surprises further down the line. You want to know your house is going to be found, so it needs to be going into the premium listings and all the available websites. If you are not happy with the plan or it seems a little vague, then move on.

How long is the contract? Many agents will not ask you to sign a six month or one year contract. In the local Palm Harbor real estate market, selling a house can sometimes take that long and you DO NOT want to miss an opportunity to capitalize on a price reduction or updates because you change agents every few months. Do your research up front and find an agent who you think will be with you for the long haul (most experienced agents will require a longer contract).

Do not “sell” your listing to the highest bidder. There is a term in the real estate industry called “buying the listing”. Basically, this is where an agent promises that you will get a higher price for your house than the market can bear (for more on this check out our “special houses” post). The last thing you want in a declining market is to have an overpriced listing which leads me to (drumroll please…)

You want Palm Harbor Realtors who will tell you the truth and not sugar coat it! Being a professional Realtor is hard – we have had to have some serious, not so fun talks with our clients, BUT they have resulted in a sale, not a home lingering on the market and going down in price or a buyer missing their dream home because they wanted to try a lowball offer to “see what the seller will take”. We are SERIOUSLY focused on getting the best deal for our clients and will work like dogs to get you to the closing table!

If you would like to find out more about GREAT Palm Harbor Realtors – give us a call today! 727-366-0324

The fish are conveienty placed (ahem!) early in the AM so there will be ample opporutnity for your little ones (12 and under) to catch a fish or two.   Enjoy a bounce house, a rock climbing wall, lunch, trophies for First Fish, Biggest Fish and Smallest Fish on each dock as well as overall event trophies.  Kids will fish for 45 minutes each, begining at 8:30, 9:30, 10:30 or 11:30AM. 

Tickets are a mere $15 and include a fishing rod and reel, tackle and tackle box, bait, t-shirt, lunch, arts, crafts, raffle ticket and everything else mentioned above.  All proceeds go to benefit the Greater Palm Harbor YMCA’s open Doors Financial Assistance Program – providing Y benefits to families that otherwise couldn’t afford it.  We love the YMCA and hope you consider sponsorship even if you aren’t able to attend.

Contact us, Julia and Matt Fishel here, or call us at 727-366-0325 and we’ll send you an entry/sponsorship form - which, by the way, can be faxed in.

Pinellas Real Estate Statistics March 2011

1. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!   The absorbption rate, which is the number of homes that sell in a given month divided by the number for sale in the MLS, is at an all-time high of 13.4% for single family homes, up almost 2 points from this time last year, and up from 5.8% in 2008.  Same is true for condos which are at 12.2% up from 9.5% last year and 3.6% in 2008.
2. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!   The months supply of inventory is down to 7 months.  This means there are less than 3 houses per buyer!
3. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!  Pending sales are up 75% over 2010.
4. Distressed Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!  45% of the 663 of the 1,463 homes sold were short sales or foreclosures. 

So, is everything rosy?  Sellers, not so fast ….

Keller Williams Palm Harbor Realtors – A View of Tampa Bay from the Trenches

1. We can’t find houses for our buyers that aren’t beat to hell and back, won’t take months to close (if they close at all), or aren’t overpriced by Sellers not accepting the market realities.  We’re often one of many bidders (we were one of NINE !!! bidders on a St. Petersburg townhome a few weeks ago). 
2. Prices Are at an All Time Low.   Great news for buyers, pathetic news for sellers.   The Single Family 5-Year Tampa Bay Median Price Trend shows us this …. January 2006 = $220,000;  January 2010 = $130,000,  January 2011 = $100,000. 
3. Foreclosure “Shadow Inventory” is looming …  Many buyers say “bring it on” – we need more houses to see.  Many sellers refuse to believe it – despite NAR’s March report showing Florida has another 29 months before the shadow inventory will be gone.  

How do absorption rates and shadow invetory affect me?   That most often needs to be assessed on an individual, case-by-case basis.  

Contact Suncoast Partners at Keller Williams Palm Harbor for a quick assessment - which can often be done by e-mail, phone or in-person if you prefer.

So I was just surfing the Tampa Bay MLS looking for Palm Harbor waterfront foreclosures and homes for a new client friend.  I came accross this ridiculoussly small picture of what may be a perfectly lovely home, but I wouldn’t know because I can’t see it.  The Realtor private remarks say that the “Seller is Motivated”.  Too bad the seller hired the wrong Palm Harbor Realtors.  When professionals like us see this sort of thing it makes us cringe – and sadly doens’t do anything to elevate the public’s perception of Realtors. There are only three determining factors that control whether or not your home will sell, and we call them the 3 P’s. 

1. Presentation (how the home looks – which is something you control)

2. Price (your asking price – which is something you control)

3. Promotion (this is how your property will be marketed and your agent controls this.  Your agent selection is critical.).  By the way, see How to Sell My Home Now for a glimpse of what we do that’s far above and beyond the normal call of marketing duty for a typical agent – and light years beyond what this agent has done with the microscopic photo.  

Did I mention that this was the ONLY photo provided, and it’s been on the market 184 days and counting?!?!!!

• This mandate will apply to EVERY mortgage in America.
• The lender must give you a TIL (Truth in Lending) disclosure with all of your closing costs spelled out within 3 days of your initial application.  If you don’t get the disclosure, you can pull the plug.  By the way, our lender partners have always done business this way.  If you need a referral to a lender that has always played by the book, and provides the best interest rates going, contact us.
• There must be a 7 day waiting period between the date the initial TIL disclosure is provided to you and the closing occurs.  AND! …best of all ….

• Any change to the initial APR disclosed in the original TIL that exceeds 1/8% (.125) for a regular transaction or 1/4% (.25) for an irregular transaction will require a new TIL disclosure with an additional 3-day waiting period between its receipt by you and the actual closing date.
• The waiting periods will not include Sundays or federal holidays.
• No fees, other than a credit report fee, can be charged before your receive your disclosure.

Long gone are the days of last minute changes to the borrowers loan terms.  This may postpone your scheduled closing date, yet these Palm Harbor Realtors think we’d all agree that buyers of Pinellas Real Estate deserve this peace of mind.

By the way, interest rates today are at about 5.4% for a 30-year fixed conventional loan.  See what it will cost you if rates rise on Pinellas mortgages later this year, as some are predicitng.

Looking for a spectacular piece of waterfront Palm Harbor Real Estate at a Palm Harbor foreclosure price?  Look no further!  This 1,960sf Palm Harbor short sale is just about to hit the open market again at only $299,123!   Note this property had 5 offers in 2 weeks when first introduced in April.  However, it’s your lucky day .. the original buyer’s plans changed and so now your dream can be a reality.   Call Julia at (727)366-0324 or contact us for details and to arrange your private viewing.  No showings until Saturday, July 25th, and all offers must be received by August 7th @ Noon.   

These Palm Harbor Realtors were once again pleased to see the latest sales numbers for Pinellas homes just released from the Pinellas Realtor Organization (PRO).  The number of Pinellas condos and Pinellas homes actively on the market continues to decline at a good clip, whereas the total number of properties sold is up for the FOURTH month in a row.  WOW!The absorption rate (A/R on the above chart) is the quick indicator that’s shown above that Tampa Bay Realtors use.  As you’ll note, the absorption rate for single family home sales is higher than it was in August of 2006!

Note that the average sales price of Pinellas condos was up significantly from March 2009, which made no sense to us at first glace, because the condo sales prices we’re seeing are dropping like stones due to tough financing issues specific to condos (a topic for another day).   But we dove much deeper into the stats (so much for watching that Boston Legal rerun tonight), and discovered that there was a huge surge in high-end condo sales between $400K and over $1M, which explains the delta.  It’s going to be interesting to see if that trend continues, and we’ll keep you posted.   So,  if you’re ready to dive in and buy that $1M+ Clearwater Beach condo, the getting is good.

By the way, click the “Submit Your E-Mail” button below to subscribe to The Pinellas Peach.  We’ve got some really interesting sales stats for Pinellas Foreclosures vs. Pinellas Short Sales vs. “regular” sales coming your way as fast as we can write ‘em!

There’s great news, however, if you’re in the market to purchase Pinellas Real Estate!  Buyers may now use the credit upfront as extra down payment money, to lower payments, pay discount points (reducing their interest rates), or to supplement closing costs.

The big “BUT” here is that buyers  CANNOT use the first time home-buyer tax credit toward the 3.5% minimum that is required of FHA insured loans.  The buyer still has to present those down payment funds, yet they can be a gift from a relative. 

The Truth About the Misinformation Currently Being Circulated Amongst the Mis-Informed: 

There’s a lot of misinformation out there saying that the $8,000 can be used for your down payment, but that’s just not the case!  It’s a convoluted mess because HUD originally released this Mortgagee Letter 2009-15, later rescineded it (the details as to why are unclear other than they realized they made a mistake), and now it’s up for public speculation as to what’s going to happen with that aspect of it.  For crying out loud, we reported last October that the FHA had just done away with all seller-funded closing costs - now they want to essentially reverse that?!  For the real facts, keep checking back, or better yet subscribe to The Pinellas Peach and you’ll be notified automatically.

Eligibility for the $8000 tax credit can be found on the IRS website.  It is always wise to consult with a tax advisor and a licensed Realtor to discuss your particular situation. At this time the key components to this upfront monetization of the $8,000 tax credit it that:

• it will only be available for FHA loans
• full documentation of income is essential
• low debt-to-income ratios are mandatory
• the buyer is still responsible for the 3.5% minimum down payment

I’m going out on a limb here, and this will probably tick some of you off, but making sure buyers have the discipline to save 3.5% for a down payment is probably a good indicator as to whether or not they’ll be able to keep up with mortgage payments in the event of an unforseen needed repair, life change, etc.  Otherwise we’re essentially back to 100% financing which is what got us all into this pickle in the first place.  100% financing with a rainy day savings account?!  Fabulous.  Otherwise, maybe it’s not time to take the home ownership plunge just yet.

Conventional interest rates had been hovering at historic lows of 4.75% – until this week, where they ended at 5.27%!  It is unlikely they will stay in these low ranges, whether the 4′s or the 5′s for any length of time say most experts.  Mortgage interest rates are tied to the bond market which has begun to take hits due to the state of the economy.  Money.com had this good synopsis Thursday if you want to delve deeper.

So, if you’re waiting for that $200,000 home to fall another $10,000 or 5% – this will take about three months in our current market.  Now its September 1st and you’re going to offer $190,000 and save about $50/mo on your mortgage payment.  But wait!  Interest rates have risen one point to 5.75%.  Now your mortgage payment is $125.00 MORE than it would have been last week.  This scenario has now cost you an additional $75.00/month – for the next THIRTY YEARS!!

$200,000 home with an 3.5% FHA 30 year loan:

4.75% = $1006.78/ mo payment

5.75% = $1126.30/mo

6.75% = $1251.79/mo

Some will say, “not a big deal.”   Really?  A 2% jump in interest equates to an additional $3,000 per year and over $162,000 over the life of the loan.  Hmmm… 

What’s the other boat?  Trying to time the bottom of the market.  A post for another day! 

A Taste of Pinellas is happening this weekend and it looks like it’s going to be even bigger and better than last year.  The setting alone (on the waterfront in Downtown St. Pete) is spectacular, but the celebration of great food and music makes it one of the best annual parties in Tampa Bay.   This event is like the Taste of Palm Harbor on steroids!  Admission is free and all of the proceeds go to support All Children’s Hospital. 

Food and drink can be purchased from the restaurant booths with tickets — a sheet of 8 tickets sells for $5 and can be purchased at the event. There will be a Kids’ Zone for children and a specialty & import beer garden.

But central to this great festival is the tremendous opportunity for local restaurants to present selections from their menus.  As of this writing some 40 restaurants are scheduled to set up and show off their extraordinary fare.  Just some of the tasty treats will be served up from the ever-popular Bob Evans, the succulent ribs from Brady’s Backyard BBQ,  the Courtside Grille , famous Crabby Bills , classic favorites from Five Guys Burgers and Fries , perfect sausage and peppers from Gratzzi Ristorante , and the local favorite, Hurricane Seafood Restaurant.

There will be music for every taste throughout the weekend but the headliners include: Night Ranger with Lita Ford on Friday night, Travis Tritt on Saturday and the ever-consistent KC and the Sunshine Band  on Sunday!

Visit the parking and shuttle map to get yourself situated.  We hope to see you down at beautiful Vinoy Park in St Petersburg!

Friday, May 29, 5pm-10pm
Saturday, May 30, 12pm-10pm
Sunday, May 31, 12pm-7pm