Enjoy peace and quiet only 15 minutes out of town

Enjoy country living and lower taxes only 15 minutes to Gainesville, right outside Brooker on Hwy 18.  Property boasts screened, salt water pool with pool house, 36X82 metal pole barn, fence and cross fencing w/property planted in hay.  Beautifully updated baths with tile and glass shower enclosures, new kitchen appliances in '8  Many updates A/C units replaced '09, pool remarcited and screened '05, electrical upgrade, water heaters, roof, septic, hardiboard '07.  Plus many more.

Watch out if contemplating short sale or foreclosure

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Fraudsters find a way to scam lenders and homeowners out of money no matter how the housing market is faring, but in recent years they’ve shifted their tactics to profit from the market’s downturn.

Today, there’s less identity fraud and misrepresentation of income or employment to obtain a mortgage, mainly because stricter validation criteria when a borrower applies for a loan makes that strategy much less successful, said David Johnson, vice president of fraud and consortium solutions for CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information.

But other types of fraud are replacing those scams. Some schemes target distressed homeowners who are looking for a way to save their home from foreclosure. Another tactic: Profiting off of short sales at the expense of the lender.

Foreclosure rescue

Schemes that prey on struggling homeowners heading toward foreclosure are still prevalent, even years into the foreclosure crisis, said Yolanda McGill, senior counsel for the Fair Housing and Fair Lending Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

“It’s a crime of opportunity. A lot of people who are participating in this are probably long-term schemers and this is the cash cow right now,” McGill said. “They’re going to ride the train and milk it for all it’s worth. You have an enormous pool of distressed homeowners.”

Scammers use various pitches. Some say they can prepare your documents for you as you try for a loan modification; others claim to be an attorney or say they are working with an attorney. Often, these offers sound legitimate, echoing some of the same language used by big government programs and lenders to gain a homeowner’s trust.

They offer a service, take the homeowner’s money, then disappear, McGill said.

But the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, in effect since January, prohibits firms offering mortgage-modification or mortgage-relief assistance to accept up-front fees, McGill said, so homeowners should never pay before services are rendered. There’s an exception for attorneys, causing some scammers to pose as representatives of law offices, she said.

Other fraudsters get homeowners to sign a quit-claim deed, which transfers ownership of the home to
the homeowner a situation where he or she will be able to remain in the house, McGill said. In a newer scam, those who have already lost their homes are being approached to pay money to get the home back, she said.

“The scams are going to morph, but the message really needs to be: Don’t give anyone money to help you with this,” she said. Instead, seek out a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor and your servicer, she said.

Short-sale fraud

A short sale can be a lifeline for a distressed homeowner heading for foreclosure. That’s because in a short sale the lender accepts a lower mortgage payoff when the homeowner owes more than the home is currently worth.

But fraudsters have found ways to make a profit off these deals. CoreLogic estimates that suspicious short-sale transactions may cost lenders as much as $375 million a year.

One of the most common forms of short-sale fraud happens when a seller or someone representing a seller doesn’t submit the best offer to the lender. A middleman purchases the short-sale property at the lower price, then turns around and resells the property to a legitimate buyer at a higher price — often on the same day, according to a recent Federal Bureau of Investigation report on mortgage fraud.

The middleman pockets the difference, sometimes sharing it with an accomplice.

“It does require a pretty sound knowledge of how a conventional loan is closed and how a short sale is negotiated and approved,” said Robert Hagberg, lead fraud investigator at Freddie Mac. Some fraudsters are real-estate agents marketing themselves as “short-sale specialists.” Title companies and settlement agents may be in on the scam too, he said.

Sometimes fraudsters try to manipulate the price lower by encouraging the owner to make the house look worse than it is, referred to in the industry as “reverse staging.”

That means you “don’t weed the yard, don’t shovel the sidewalks, don’t do any continued maintenance of the property, don’t worry about putting a fresh coat of paint on it, or even keep it neat and clean,” said Becky Walzak, president of Looking Glass Group, which provides consulting services to the financial-services industry. That reduces the value of the property when the appraiser or broker comes to evaluate it.

Often, short-sale fraud and flips are between real-estate agents, Walzak said. But homeowners can get entangled in the mess as well. If you get wind of a fishy scheme — or if an agent offers a way for you to profit from the deal — run the other way, she said.

Other schemes

Another scam is when the title or closing agent doesn’t remit payoffs as he should, Hagberg said. An example: “You refi your mortgage, the refi closes, you go on your way and make payments to the mortgage company, but your title company hasn’t remitted payoffs to the old company.” Fraudsters take funds for their own use, and it can be a month or two before evidence of the scam is found in the public record.

There surely will be more scams emerging as fraudsters find other system weaknesses to exploit. Johnson, of CoreLogic, likens mortgage-fraud schemes to a water balloon.

“You squeeze it in one place, it pops up in another place,” he said.

Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.

Keep some things in mind when making "low ball" offers

Good article by Amy Hoak, with  MarketWatch on how to not make mistakes on making low offers on homes:

1. Not understanding the market

Before submitting an offer, your real-estate agent should do a full comparative market analysis of the property to determine what its fair market value is, Carlisle said.

For instance, it’s still a buyer’s market in the Richmond, Va., area, where Susan Stynes works as a real-estate agent for Long & Foster. Stynes said she wouldn’t hesitate to encourage a client to make an aggressive offer, after considering the time the property has been on the market and neighborhood comparables.

But in other markets a low offer won’t get you far, said Stephen G. Kliegerman,president of Halstead Property Development Marketing in New York.

“In general, sellers today in Manhattan see that inventories are down, interest rates are historically low, and there is a pretty large appetite for purchase right now because of those factors,” he said. “Sellers will hold closer to their asking prices.”

2. Not picking the right real-estate agent

Some real-estate agents caution buyers against making an offer that is so low it could offend the seller and halt the negotiation process.

But sometimes agents are too reluctant to make aggressive offers, Carlisle said. They may be more focused on completing a deal and collecting their commission, rather than making the best deal. Or their negotiation skills might not be up to par.

3. Not backing up your price

There’s an art to presenting an offer that’s substantially under the asking price. A low offer could start negotiations off on the wrong foot if you’re not careful, Golden said. The key is for you or your agent to explain the offer when presented.

“Sellers want to know why you’re coming in so low. Include recent [comparable sales in the area] or issues with the property that validate why your offer is so low,” he said. Don’t be too harsh with your criticism, however — that can also work against you, he adds.

4. Not knowing what you’re willing to pay

Buyers these days have a strong motivation to get the best possible price on a property, especially if they believe that home values will fall even more, said Jay Butler, professor emeritus of real estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Their biggest worry is often that people will say they overpaid, he said.

But sellers have limits, too, most often dictated by the amount of home equity they have, Butler said.

Before negotiations begin, it’s important for a buyer to decide what his walk-away price is, Carlisle said. “At some price point, the deal is no longer worth doing, no matter how great the property.”

While a buyer should know how high she is willing to go, don’t put limits in the first offer, Kliegerman said. You lose integrity if you say it’s your “best and final” offer, but then are willing to come up with a few thousand dollars more in order to buy the property. 

5.  Not making a clean and easy offer

When you make a low bid, you want other elements of the offer to be attractive to the seller. And a deal that can close quickly often will have appeal.

Make sure there are as few contingencies as possible, Golden said. It’s best if buyers don’t have a home to sell in order to buy the one they’re bidding on, Stynes said.

Also, have your financials in order from the start. Loan qualification is more difficult these days, so it’s important to have a lender pre-approval letter, Carlisle said.

6. Assuming cash will always get you the best deal

Cash is king, but in the end, a seller often wants the most money for his home — regardless of if the buyer needs a mortgage or not. So don’t think making an all-cash bid will automatically mean an accepted offer.

That said, if the seller is a bank because the property is a foreclosure, the institution may accept a lower offer from a cash buyer, as opposed to someone who needs a mortgage, Golden said. Banks often don’t want to deal with mortgage-related delays

Water pipe leak in Newberry

Good news from Newberry City Councilman Robert Fillyaw: Newberry experienced a water leak on SW 15th ave and had to shut the water off from SW 5th ave to SW 22nd ave between SW 250th St. to SW 260th St.

We will be taking bacteriological samples and should have clearance by Friday at which time we will rescind the notice.

Until then, all residents who have experienced loss of water pressure need to boil water before drinking as a precaution.

Brick Home in Desirable Cottages of Country Way

Check out our new short sale listing in Cottages of Country Way.  Listing at $180,000, this former builder's model has many upgrades and is very well maintained.  Home is withing walking distance to all three community schools and is on a quiet cul de sac.  Many of the amenities include wood laminate flooring in living area, wood cabinets in kitchen and bathrooms, upgraded appliances and large pantry, formal living room and family room, in home laundry room, blinds in all windows and more. http://www.virtuallyshow.com/13857 To view this home call Linda at 352-214-8010.

10 Best Markets for Real Estate Investors and Gainesville is 3rd!

Check out this report in Inman News this month.  The investor and rental markets are picking up for many reasons but the South seems to be faring a little better and fortunately for us we don't see as much volatility with the real estate  market in Gainesville due to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College.

"The data analyzed suggested that the 10 best markets for investors are: Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.; Winchester, Va.-W.Va.; Gainesville, Fla.; Tucson, Ariz.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.; Salt Lake City; Richmond, Va.; Gainesville, Ga.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.
Seven out of the 10 markets are in the South, two are in the West, and one is in the Midwest. None of the markets are in the Northeast.

The results of the analysis reflect population growth and improving employment. In the past decade, the South has seen the biggest jump in population -- up 14.3 percent to about 114 million people -- and the West saw 13.8 percent population growth, to nearly 72 million."

All good news for us in this area.

Welcome to the first blog of The Gainesville Home Team

Located in Alachua County Florida, Gainesville is home of the University of Florida Gators.  Our main focus is providing our visitors with useful home buying and selling information for this area.  

We also represent a local builder, Norfleet Construction, who is building solar homes and using energy efficient techniques in home building.  Norfleet Construction is now building "Net Zero" ready homes, homes that are built to the specifications that will get this home to  zero electricity costs with the addition of solar panels.  With this emerging focus in building homes we would like to include useful "green" tips to our readers as we all learn together.  


We plan to use this blog as a way to keep everyone informed about our unique market whether you have lived and worked here a long time or are new to the area or thinking to relocate.  Thanks for reading and happy home buying and selling!