February 2007

$100,00 Up For Grabs In The Street

Monday, February 26th, 2007 at 7:59am. 72 Views, 0 Comments.

Since moving to Naples, Florida from the North Shore of New England some fifteen or so years ago, I’ve always marveled at how pristine the area is, not a blade of grass out of place, no trash in the streets. As I’ve traveled around the country and returned home, it has really stood out to me how beautiful Naples is.

Yesterday, I happened to be closing up an exquisite new construction single family home for a friend of mine, when, as I’m walking to my car, I spotted what I thought to be just an ordinary piece of paper lying face down in the grass. Naturally, having lived in such a spotless area, I’m prone to doing my civic duty and picking up anything I might find lying around, which is very rare. (I’ve found lots of pennies, but they haven’t been…

Meet me in Panama

Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 5:37pm. 85 Views, 0 Comments.

With the huge influx of foreign investing in Panama, including manay Americans who find Panama a paradise to retire to for substantially less than other places around the globe, it would seem prudent to discuss the banking policies regarding financing real estate. You may find that there are areas in Panama where the local banks do not finance real estate for foreigners and you may have to seek a bank in Panama City that does. While banks in Panama have very similar rates, terms and conditions as those in the United States, there are striking differences regarding the application process. Here at home in Naples, Florida, we are used to going to a bank and having them run our credit report electronically, in order to find out what we actually qualify for…

Save Energy...And That Means You!!!

Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 9:19am. 78 Views, 0 Comments.

With temperatures rising virtually everywhere, it’s time to think about the different ways that we can limit our energy and air conditioning costs. Some of the ways to save money range from the simple to the complex, but, all in all, it’s a good idea to do what you can to improve your energy costs.

The time to replace an air conditioning unit is when it is 10 to 15 years old. Units of this age often start to operate improperly, usually unbenounced to the homeowner. In many cases these older units will often use up to 20% more energy that a newer unit. So the bottom line is that today’s new air conditioners will save you a lot of money in the long run, because they are far more energy-efficient.

When replacing an air conditioner, one of the big…

House of Taxes

Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 8:41am. 68 Views, 0 Comments.

There are a slew of changes regarding the IRS code for 2007, some of which benefit realtors. Many of these changes were made by the IRS due to inflation adjustments. A lot of the exemptions were broadened and raised.

One of the areas of interest to realtors is the Standard Mileage Rates, which were increased as of January 1st, 2007. When operating your car for business, the rate per mile deduction has been increased to 48.5 cents. The moving rate deduction has increased to 20 cents per mile, the medical rate deduction also increased to 20 cents per mile, while the charitable services rate remained the same at 14 cents per mile.

The Earned Income Credit amount was also raised, along with the Exemption amounts. Click here to look at some of the tax rate…

Have You Reviewed Your Mortgage Lately?

Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 1:11am. 75 Views, 0 Comments.

With the mortgage rates again coming down, now might be an excellent time to review your current mortgage to see where you stand and whether it currently fits your needs. This past week, there was a dramatic drop in the rates, following a nearly two month rise. The 30–year benchmark dropped 11 basis points, (a basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point), standing at 6.31%. It seems that the FED has shifted their attitude a bit at the end of January, when they left the short-term rates unchanged, feeling sustained inflation pressure.

Bankers will tell you that you should assess you mortgage and ciscumstances annually, and now would be a good time, especially if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage. In 2007, many of the 3/1 and 5/1 ARMs will be…

Do Home Inspectors Really Kill Deals?

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 at 5:14pm. 82 Views, 0 Comments.

I read with interest an article written by Barry Stone, a frequent contributor to Inman News, following a request by a licensed Home Inspector who asked Barry to address the issue of realtors who refuse to recommend a high quality inspector, like himself. His position was that he felt that it was totally un-ethical that he had been unfairly labelled a “deal killer”, because he was extremely thorough in his inspections. He felt realtors much preferred to refer inexperienced inspectors, because they were liable to miss things that he routinely caught.

Barry stated that he felt that it was a clear conflict of interest because real estate agents are the primary source of referrals for the home inspectors. Yet he also put a bit of the blame on the fact that the…

Just A Great Time For First Home Buyers!

Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 3:12pm. 75 Views, 0 Comments.

If you work with first-time buyers, despite the down turn in the market, you are probably experiencing a pretty darn good run. When first-time buyers are ready to buy, the state of the market usually means little to them. They are extremely anxious to get away from the rental situations that they have been in for years and when they have the money, they are are ready to go.

First-time home buyers may well know what the market has been doing, but it is not of great concern, because they are in it for the long haul. When they are ready to buy, they are ready to buy and nothing is going to stop them. The bottom line is that any negative market news isn’t going to phase them signicantly. Home owners who are looking to trade up, on the other hand, are…

And What's Your Price Today?

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 3:49pm. 76 Views, 0 Comments.

For a realtor, pricing a home in a declining market is a major challenge. If you are going to take the listing in the first place, you had better price it correctly, when you first place it on the market, which means being ahead of the curve.

In our market in Naples in Southwest Florida, we seemed to have flattened out, which makes it a bit easier. My goal is to get the price point to where it is in the lower quarter of the current active listings. I do not make price recommendations to the sellers anymore. I have started presenting charts and data reflecting exactly what is going on. I explain that three things affect where the price should be, Active Listings, Sold Listings and Expired Listings. I’ll show them the data for all three and ask the sellers,…

Kudos For Newly-Elected Govenor Crist!!!

Friday, February 2nd, 2007 at 3:00pm. 86 Views, 0 Comments.

No matter what your party affiliation, you just have to love Charlie Crist, the newly-elected governor of Florida. In his first month, he has proposed an emergency rule legislation that would guarantee that insurers do not raise the property rates of homeowners, nor cancel policies before a law he signed that will lower rates takes effect on June 1st. Basically he is using this as a measure to prevent any company filings for rate increases for the next 60 to 90 days. That state has now taken drastic measures to lower rates, but the flip side is that the lower rates won’t come without cost because if we were to sustain catastrophic damage from a storm, homeowners could be hit with assessments that would help the state pay for any damages.

The other issue…

Are There Not Positives In This Down Market?

Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 6:09pm. 76 Views, 0 Comments.

I am so tired of some agents that I talk with who tell me that they expect this to be the worst year that they will experience during the past five or so. They say that there will be little or no business and that we had better be prepared for it, because it is going to happen, or in that case not happen. I am tired of all the negativity from the press, both locally and nationally. Maybe we should blame them for all the fear that they have thrown into people, or maybe we should just blame ourselves. I find myself looking for the positive in all of this, and yes, there is a lot of positive in this market, if you are willing to look for it.

Maybe my attitude has changed since listening to “The Secret”(you can listen to a snippet here) and the Law of…