If there was a potion that you could take and your ADOM would be less than 60. If you could get 110% of appraised value on every listing sold. You listed at lease 10 homes a week and found homes for 10 buyers a week. Would you drink it. Then the potion became against the law. Would you still drink it. Would your broker turn you in? Then 20% of your profession started using the potion, it was now widely accepted, but still against the law. You cared for you family in every way, they never went without. Now society started to envy your success, it's making the headlines. Super agents are replacing Mega Agents. Brokerages are now paying six figure signing bonuses for Super Agents. Would you tell, do you think your broker would. Then one day someone that retired from Real Estate writes a bo... 12/13/2007

How many times have you listed a property, and an agent bring you an offer and it is incomplete or incorrect?How many times have you as a listing agent had to work directly with the purchasers lender?How many times as a listing agent have you had to supply all the information, buyers and sellers, to the title or escrow company?And how many times as a listing agent have you asked yourself, Why am I splitting this commission?I am in the middle of a deal. All parties have signed, but the buyers are trying to get clarification on some of the settlement charges before they wire the settlement fees. (Their lender slipped in $1,600 additional fees).I'm representing the seller. The buyer's husband is facilitating the deal. The loan is in the wife's name. The husband is calliing me directly to h... 12/12/2007

IF  a million and a half loans default  (for example purposes) compounded with the hundreds of thousands of ones which have already defaulted; the balance sheets of the lender which currently show (old) market values as Lender  Assets will have to reflect the loan balance amounts as losses-  if that should occur, the losses would depreciate the stock value of the lenders and cause a plunge which would trigger a panic on Wall St. Freezing Investors with fear. To stave off a major recession several things have occured which will benefit everyone.The bail out was designed to keep Real People in their primary residences.  Ones who were put into loans they did not fully understand, and ones who would in fact be legitimately displaced if the adjusted rate rose 30-50%.   Also many of these peo... 12/10/2007

Is it wise to wait for the market to increase to sell your home and then buy another. I think that this philosophy is highly flawed. What you are wanting to buy has increased as well. Sure you might, and I say might get more for your home in the future, but you will be paying more as well for your new home. Market increases and decreases don't just affect your home, they affect the market, all homes. Hind sight is always 20/20. If I had sold my home in 2005, If I had bought Microsoft. The list is long, and who's to say in 2 years you are not saying, I wish I had sold my home in 2007. So, if you are wanting to move, Do IT!If the market takes off again, and prices are soaring, build the equity where you really want to live. Even Donald Trump is advising buy now! The Resident Mark   12/09/2007

Commissions. Why are Realtors are showing and selling new construction before resales. In Kissimmee/Saint Cloud, Florida. Commissions, pricing and in house financing. Builders are sitting on inventory. Their construction loans are running out and they must refinance at a higher rate. Kinda like a sub prime loan, but not that high, but the spread between conventional loans and construction loans have a large spread. Some builders are advertising large co-brokerages. Some over 3 times the traditional rate. Realtors are in business to maximize profit and minimize time. If you were told at work, for the next week here at work we will pay you 3 times the amount you make per hour and we don't care how many hours you work, would you call in sick any day that week? Realtors are human beings wit... 12/08/2007

Well, it's Friday and there isn't a sole in the office but the receptionist and me. It's 18 days until Christmas and I'm licking envelopes to Christmas cards to all my Real Estate contacts. I have been extremely busy the past two days micromanaging a file of the short sale from hell that is due to close next week. I received an offer signed and ready to be presented today. There are also 3 other offers that I have been following up on. Then the phone rings, it's my partner calling from Honolulu. Sure, I'm working my tail off and she is sipping Pina Coladas in a tropical breeze surrounded by flowered shirts.   Yes, I'm jealous, but she has earned time off just as everyone in this crazy business. My time will come to untangle soon enough. Besides, I'm so busy because she worked with 4 buy... 12/07/2007

This afternoon President Bush made his announcement on The Hope Now Incentive. The Hope Now website is up and running. http://www.hopenow.com/ . This is a voluntary program for homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages taken out between 2005 and July 30th this year. Homeowners must be current to qualify for the five year interest price freeze. Many that oppose this measure are upset because it doesn't help those who already have fallen behind because of adjustable rate increases. The United States is in the worst housing slum in twenty years and foreclosures surged to an all time high from July threw September. Already billions of dollars have been lost by big banks, investors, and hedge funds. There are concerns that the house slump could lead to a recession.  In addition the federal g... 12/06/2007

 Many homeowners are not smiling. What do obedience training and Real Estate have in common?  Practices and principles primarily.  People love puppies. The acquisition of a new family pet is a promise of hope, love, and loyalty. The expectations of a wonderful life, and the joy one will experience in pet and home ownership gave people a sense of the warm and fuzzy feelings...fast forward a few months. Like a an adjustable rate mortgage, once the newness wears off, the reality sets in.  Property buyers like new pet owners, rarely factor in the long term cost of ownership. The puppy, like the adjustable rate loan they signed on for, began to grow. And grow.  And grow.  The inconvenient things puppies do like housebreaking, were in the beginning no big deal.  But as the months passed, the ... 12/05/2007

Since I got into Real Estate, the buzz word for home buyers has always been, "I want to buy a foreclosure."  What do they mean here in Kissimmee/Saint Cloud, Florida? Do they want to go to the court house during a Real Estate auction? Well, if that's thecase, they have to have a bank check and settle up by 3:00pm. This isn't what they had in mind I imagine. Most buyers can not respond that fast.Do they want to buy a home in Pre-foreclosure? If that's the case, are they willing to wait the time to get the banks approval. A short sale can take up to 10 weeks for approval.Do they want to buy bank owned property? These are what's referred to as REO's. These are properties that the lender has bought back at the auction.  At the auction's at the court house, Lenders are buying many properties... 12/05/2007

WOW, Have you ever seen anything like this! When inputting a listing, yes the pictures are important. Add as many quality pictures as you can. When adding to the MlS, after the front view, Use the next five places for the best marketing pictures. Here is where the pool picture goes. Why in the first six, Realtor.com up loads the first six unless you have upgraded your subscription. The next important element is the description, or ad copy. Yes this is an ad. You have just five words to get the viewer hooked to continue reading or they are gone surfing. Adding *** isn't a good thing, some readers find that irritating. Add as many features as the space will allow. Your ad should be the entire space available. Find out from the homeowner why they bought the house. What was the one thing th... 12/04/2007

When I got into Real Estate in Kissimmee and St Cloud, Florida. My mentor told me "You have an ethical obligation to your clients and your industry to advertise a listing properly. If your pictures are not good. Retake them"Here are some examples on not what to put as your frontal picture of a listing. Dark pictures.Never night shots. (unless the Christmas lights are tasteful, but only near Christmas.)            I like my auto marketed with my house.                Garage shots.                  Tree Shots.                Side shots, not even the front.               Just some bad shots.                  Two listings on the same street.          I feel embarrassed seeing pictures of listings like this. I am grateful this is the exception, not the rule. The Resident Mark 12/03/2007

I was asked to put together a relocation packet for families moving to St. Cloud and Kissimmee, Florida.Two years ago I discontinued using e-neighborhood for my Real Estate career. The reason I started to use them was so that I had a relocation packet. I didn't get many requests so I discontinued it. Currently, my website has everything that a relocating family needs for information. School report, local events, local links to attractions and places of interest, and information on jobs. Am I missing anything? Or is this just to advanced media for some. They want print materials? What do you use?  The Resident Mark                                                12/03/2007

 Baseball season may have come to end, but not so with the Real Estate Market.  The bases are loaded; it is the bottom of the third, and the seller is taking a swing at a sacrifice short sale.  Desperate times, calling for desperate measures. In Osceola County currently  over 2200 properties are in some form of foreclosure and others vacant and languishing on the market relocated sellers are looking at the short sale process.  While much has been written the other teams (IRS) turn at bat  comes in April.        DEBT FORGIVENESSUnder certain circumstances, the bank may take less than a person owes to the lender,  this process is commonly referred to as a Short Sale.  The lender must agree to take less than the mortgage amount on the property. This is done on an individual basis.  Health ... 12/03/2007

The Hope Now Initiative is a program headed up by the Treasury Department, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and 11 loan services that hold 60% of the adjustable mortgages that are scheduled to increase their interest rates in the next 2-4 years. This will help the investors and homeowners that will not be able to handle the increase in their payment.This also helps the lenders by eliminating foreclosures that the rate increase will cause. So, we won't have to have foreign entities bail out our domestic banking industry. Does the Citi Bank bail out bother anyone else? New York Times Business November 11, 2007  "Citigroup Sells Abu Dhabi Fund $7.5 Billion Stake" You can read the article at: Citigroup Sells Abu Dhabi Fund $7.5 Billion Stake - New York TimesThe article on T... 12/01/2007

Are you ready? While I have gotten deep into bloging. Posting them and reading others. I came to the realization a month ago that while business was down I had to start doing some of the things that made me uncomfortable. Maybe knock on a few doors, pass out cards to complete strangers, and make cold calls. Anything to disrupt the rut that had me feeling sorry for myself. I started looking at advertising expired listings, put together a whole campaign. Working the Short Sale segment and turning over every rock that I use to use as my footpath. Frankly, trying to break the insanity. By definition, Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. I must change I had determined, maybe I'd do an open house everyday. I don't know, anything.Well this week I was so preoccupi... 11/30/2007

Everyone hits hurdles in life, the holidays are especially stressful for many people, perhaps a little more so this year with the Mortgage Mess, and Foreclosure rates at all time highs. Taking a different approach may improve your end of the year numbers. Traditionally December is slow. However, most people planning to move wait until the end of the year to make that decision. Many may use a Holiday bonus to finance their move or at least subsidize it.I have been monitoring the St. Cloud pound lately.  Checking various pet websites and the number  one reason people are giving up or trying to sell their pets is because they are moving. Hmmm.  This time of the year people are weighing out their options.  I got a phone call from a customer, who is getting her finances in order to pay by mi... 11/29/2007

   Renters love pets.  Renters are humans who have not realized they can afford a great house with a yard for the same money they pay now.  Especially in St. Cloud, Florida.  The wonderful historic homes, have been renovated and have terrific yards for pets like me. Prices are the lowest they have been in years, which means the average renter can now afford living in St,. Cloud, Florida.  They are terrific starter homes, close to Orlando, the Beaches, the Space Coast, and Disney.      I often wonder why they haven't asked my Realtor about them.  My Realtor is very friendly, and knowledgable about what pets need and want.   We want a family to love.  We'd like a yard to play in.  We know our masters can finally afford one.  Apartments are great and used to be a cheap way to live, but gol... 11/29/2007

Home sales are down in October, an eighth straight month. I just head that on the TV. Well I'm feeling a spike in business. Today was the best day I have experienced in months. We wrote an offer today for a man that has just flown in from Puerto Rico, We got a real strong lead from Puerto Rico and is coming to Florida in a few weeks, A local lead that wants assistance tomorrow, Friday another prospect coming in from Puerto Rico, Starting a search from a cash buyer from The Netherlands, we secured a buyer for a commercial property and we are getting the lender involved, had two calls for another commercial property, WHEW, and after 5:00pm an approval came into the office on a short sale that we have listed. So, we are busy finally, and between Thanksgiving and Christmas, go figure.I hope... 11/28/2007

 Usually this time of year I don't increase my advertising spending. This year is the exception. With less Realtors in the market the time to grab market share is now. Listings are KING is what the old timers told me 5 years ago when I got into this business. We are starting to feel a slight market shift, ever so slight. The phone is starting to ring a little more. The Internet web traffic is starting to increase. Interest rates came down this week to acceptable levels. Everything is starting to look a little better.   It appears that the consumers are starting to feel better about the housing market and while prices are at 2004 levels, more are starting to get ready to jump into the purchasing mode. Come one come all we welcome you into home ownership.    To day I feel inspired to incr... 11/27/2007

Just a little more advertising for my Team. Where do I advertise listings? I advertise them on all the sites below. What are you guarenteed when you work with the Resident Team? Our testimonial to service is listed on our new flyer at the bottom. We are here "Because Your Move Matters!"                                                       The Resident Mark   11/27/2007