Hillcrest Estates, Clearwater  -  Announcing a price reduction on 614 Highland Ave. N., a 2,066 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $175,000 - Reduced!.

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Roosevelt Groves, Largo  -  Announcing a price reduction on 210 4th St. NE, a 1,409 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $125,000 - Price Reduced!.

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Roosevelt Groves, Largo  -  Announcing a price reduction on 410 2nd Ave NE, a 1,305 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $95,000 - Price Reduced $20,000!.

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Huge!

• 2,066 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $180,000 - Low Price For Square Feet

Hillcrest Estates, Clearwater  -  If you are looking for a home with room for the whole family at a reasonable investment, look no further. This great 2 story Clearwater home has 3 bedrooms and 3 full sized bathrooms. The upstairs master bedroom suite features wood floors, 2 closets (one that is a walk in), and a full bathroom. The living room/ dining room have vaulted ceilings and each of the bedrooms are oversized and have their own private bathrooms. Off the Dining Room are french doors leading out to the family room with a cozy woodburning fireplace. This great home has had many updates during the past 6 years: The AC / Air Handler was new in 2004. The home was re-piped in 2005. The refrigerator with ice maker was new in 2005 as were the microwave, convection oven, and washer and dryer. The water heater was replaced in 2007. This beautiful home is just a short walk to the Clearwater Country Club and only 3 miles to Clearwater Beach. This solid home has hurricane resistant concrete walls and must be seen fully to be appreciated

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Real Estate - Knowing A Real Deal

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With so many foreclosure homes on the market, how do you know if that great deal you have your eye on, really is a good deal?

I often work with buyers that want to look at foreclosures because of the low prices. In many cases, the condition of the home frightens the buyer and they get frustrated by what they perceive as too big a project.

The problem in this case involves two areas. First, you cannot be emotional about investment homes.  They are simply an inventory for producing income. Secondly, every investor needs to create a project plan and budget. Are you planning to rehab and flip the home? Or, do you plan to make it livable and rent it out. The strategies and their costs for each are very different. 

As in any investment, you must get a fix on what properties in average to good condition sell for in the area you are considering. This is called, determining the "fair market value." The place to start this process is with a CMA or comparative market analysis.

Most CMAs are prepared by taking all of the comparable properties and adjusting the values in each to make the home's value based on features, comparable to the subject property. Most Realtors include all of the features but miss one critical element. The CMA should compare not only bedrooms, baths, pool/no pool, square footage heated and garages, but also the condition of each home. I use a scale of 0 to +3. Obviously my wife and I preview a lot of homes. We also get information directly from the listings. My criteria used for establishing my grading system includes, from top to bottom:

• 3 = Has new or newer (new to 2-3 years old) roof and A/C as well as upgraded kitchen, baths and flooring.
• 2 = Has either new or newer (new to 2-3 years old) roof OR A/C as well as upgraded kitchen, baths and flooring.
• 1 = Has been well maintained and has newer items individually. Perhaps the windows and doors have been replaced and a bath upgraded. Generally it just has to be in a condition that shows it is well maintained.
• 0 = A home that hasn't been upgraded but can be moved into and lived in. One could expect to have to invest money in the near future.

Homes that have roof leaks, heat and air systems that are at the end of their useful lifespan and no other upgrades, should not be used to determine fair market value. I apply the following values to the grading system and make the appropriate adjustments to the CMA:

• 3 = $30,000
• 2 = $20,000
• 1 = $10,000
• 0 =$0

To determine if the home is a good investment requires that once you determine what fair market value for the home's general area is that you determine a purchase price that will yield the profit you want.  The investors I work with normally plan to make a minimum amount of $20,000 after factoring in their time, materials, contracted work and buying and selling costs.

Example:
$100,000 Fair Market Value
-$40,000 - Home cost
-$   3,120 - Purchase costs
-$30,000 - Rehab costs
-$   3,250 - Selling Costs
$23, 630    PROFIT

They normally stick to "bread and butter" homes because they sell faster and can yield more profit. A "Bread and Butter" home is normally considered to be a 3 bedroom, block home with more than 1,000 square feet of heated space. The market for these homes is much greater than for smaller homes. Many of these homes are available from $30,000 (or less) and up in the Pinellas County area.

How do you clearly decide what the rehab costs might be? Experienced investors know. They use a form to break down these costs. I've attached a copy of the form I use.

Keep in mind, the calculations for an investor depend on their "exit strategy" or plans for the method of making income on the property. That is information for another blog, but the same strategy can be used for someone wanting to buy a home at a good price and not get burned. As an experienced real estate investor and Realtor®, I use the form for all distressed homes as I do my own investing or when I assist a home buyer or seller. 

I'm willing to share. If you are in the Pinellas County area and would like to work with a Realtor® that knows investing and understands making profit on investments, give me a call at 727-459-5460. I can help you, too!

Meadow Lawn, St. Petersburg  -  Announcing a price reduction on 7695 17th Way, N, a single story. Now MLS® $75,000 - Fixer-Upper!.

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Great Invester Opportunity

• 1,409 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $140,000 - New On Market & Updated!

Roosevelt Groves, Largo  -  INVESTOR OPPORTUNITY!! This is not a distressed property and is priced for a QUICK SALE. This home is currently one of two single family rental homes situated in a compound setting. See MLS #7456370. They are deeded separately with their own tax IDs.It can be purchased alone or with the adjacent property that is located at 410 2nd Avenue. This home has beautiful updates, including kitchen, baths and Nafco wood flooring.(This eliminates many of the maintenance problems of normal 'laminate' flooring) Both properties are well maintained and are currently rented for a combined $2000/month. This property is rented for $1100 and the other for $900. Both tenants are on month to month leases. You can buy one and rent the other OR purchase both and both and save! There is a discount for purchasing both. NOTE: Flood Insurance is not required here! (Flood Zone X)

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Roosevelt Groves, Largo  -  Announcing a price reduction on 210 4th St. NE, a 1,409 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $140,000 - New On Market & Updated!.

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Today's real estate environment has evolved over the past two years. Although prices may have hit bottom, some of that may be due to a new strategy being used by banks to unload their bank owned properties for the maximum price the market will allow. Banks have learned what real estate professionals have been saying in this down market all along; price the home below the market.

For a number of reason, buyers and especially first time buyers have started getting into the market. I see it in a number of ways. I'm seeing increased numbers in my calls from buyers, responses to advertising, leads from lead generating companies and traffic to my web site. While this is great news for the industry, new tactics are being used by the banks to reduce their inventory. The banks have learned that if you under-price a home, it will attract a lot of attention. Buyers believe that they have finally found their dream home at an affordable price. However, they also quickly discover that they are not alone. Interest in the under priced home quickly results in multiple offers on the home and a situation similar to the market frenzy of 2004-2005 quickly drives the asking price to the maximum price the market will bear.

The point of this article is to first, alert you to this phenomenon. Secondly, I will endeavor to provide some guidance that may help you to compete in this new arena. How can you compete and win in this bidding war? By understanding how each offer is viewed by the banks and how you can structure your offer to give yourself the best competitive edge.

Remember, I'm not suggesting that all banks have now begun to price the homes they control, correctly. It is always smart to have good representation and insist on detailed comparable studies be completed in order to know if the price is indeed, "below market." 

Banks want to move quickly to get rid of their inventory. Every dollar tied up in inventory is money they cannot lend. Additionally, the longer it takes to sell a home, the more holding costs the banks incur.

If YOU can pay all cash, you eliminate the bank's time to close because you aren't going requiring a contingency period for financing approvals, appraisals, etc. This also saves you "out-of-pocket" expenses. The shorter time it will take to close your deal, the more attractive your offer looks to the bank.

Here are a few other ways you can increase the attractiveness of your offer:

1. Have all of your loan application completed in advance. Make sure you bring everything your lender requests.
2. Have the bank issue a pre-approval letter that is actually signed and not just produced by a computer.
3. Put in as big a down payment as you can possibly afford.
4. Be prepared to accept the home in as-is condition and spell it out in the offer.
5. Reduce the close of escrow to less than 30 days if at all possible.
6. Reduce the inspection contingency to no more than 5 to 7 days.
7. Offer to pay more than the asking price, if possible.

Now that you finally decided become a homeowner, you need to plan ahead, as we get closer to the end of the "up to $8,000" tax credit window of November 30 2009, there will be far more competition and you will need all the help you can get. Don't try to go at it alone. Find and work closely with a qualified professional and be prepared to go see a house as soon as it is on the market and possibly write an offer on the spot.

Happy Hunting!

Bud Cooke, GRI, e-PRO®, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Serving Pinellas County, Florida and the Gulf Beaches
Visit us at http://www.Selling-Pinellas.com, & http://www.BudCooke.com. Write to Bud@BudCooke.com or call at 727-459-5460.

Note that this information is outdated.

If first-time homebuyers wait until November to sign a sales contract, it's probably too late to get the $8,000 tax credit. To qualify, buyers must close before Dec. 1 - a signed contract is not enough. New construction should be started by mid-summer to qualify.

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Bud Cooke, GRI, e-PRO®, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Serving Pinellas County, Florida and the Gulf Beaches
Visit us at http://www.Selling-Pinellas.com, & http://www.BudCooke.com. Write to Bud@BudCooke.com or call at 727-459-5460.

I've always had an avid interest in real estate investing and have owned many investment homes over the years. Along with my normal responsibilities as a real estate sales associate, I also work as an investor. Over the years I've learned many lessons that I now find to be almost instinctual. Some were learned the hard way, many from other investors. My partner and I were walking through a home and he noticed that I moved very cautiously across the floor. I thought I might share with you my reasons for this. 

When you enter a bank owned or foreclosure home, make certain you take your time walking across each room's flooring. There are a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, you should be very careful since often, needed repairs will have been ignored or set aside due to the previous owner's lack of funds. I've been in homes that had termite problems, where 1/2"  rather than 3/4" plywood was used to repair a flooring hole. Since it's very possible they may have used whatever was laying around... well you see the picture. Falling through a damaged floor is hard on the bones.

The second issue is potential repair costs. If you are paying close attention, you can feel changes in the levelness of the floor, soft areas that may require pulling out flooring to the base, and other items that could present an unpleasant surprise after you begin the demo portion of repairs.

Forewarned is forearmed 

Bud Cooke, GRI, e-PRO®, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Serving Pinellas County, Florida and the Gulf Beaches
Visit us at http://www.Selling-Pinellas.com, & http://www.BudCooke.com. Write to Bud@BudCooke.com or call at 727-459-5460.

Today I finally reached the agent for a property my partner and I looked at yesterday in St. Petersburg. It had been on the market 3 days and looked perfect. It was a bank owned that needed an AC, flooring, dry wall and some cabinet and counter work in the kitchen. It also had an above ground pool and deck that needed to be taken away. List price: $79,900. According to the comps, based on square footage, in market condition it should get $170+ and for a quick sale could have been sold at $155. It's a 4/2/1 and would need about $20k in repairs.

Unfortunately, you have to move very quickly when you find these deals. We had lost out before we began. By the time we looked at the house, there had been seven offers and the bank had agreed to one of them. Normally I would have talked to the agent before going out to the property, but because it was a holiday weekend, the agent was out of town and could not be reached right away.

If you're thinking about buying a cheap home in an area that will make you some money or be a fairly safe investment, you will have to move quickly. Investing is not an emotional purchase. Oh well, where's the next one? If you would like to get involved or just buy yourself a home, call me at 727-459-5460. 

By the way, check me out on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/budcooke. If you want to generate more traffic for your business and you use Twitter, try ViralFloowers at http://viralfollowers.com/BudCooke/vu/. They will help grow your followers exponentially.

Bud Cooke, GRI, e-PRO®, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Serving Pinellas County, Florida and the Gulf Beaches
Visit us at http://www.Selling-Pinellas.com, & http://www.BudCooke.com. Write to Bud@BudCooke.com or call at 727-459-5460.

Note that this information is outdated.

HOME PRICES U.S. home prices rose 1.7 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. Read the full story:

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If you are in the market for a home and you've decided to purchase a condo, you may want to be mindful of some potential hidden charges. First, often lenders repossess a home where the monthly maintenance fees have not been paid for some period of time. Since the normal fees in our area typically run anywhere from $150 to $450 a month, the total outstanding fees could total several thousand dollars. Lenders often will bury that the seller is responsible for making up these fees, in the addenda that they require be signed as a part of the contract. If you or your agent don't notice these additional costs, you could be stuck learning about them on your copy of the "HUD-1" statement presented by the closing company during the last few days before close, or even at the closing table.

If enough homes in the same community have been foreclosed on and home owners association fees have been affected, it would be wise to make certain that the condo association doesn't plan an increase in these fees to make up shortages incurred.

If you're looking for a real estate professional to help you through the process of purchasing a foreclosed home, call me at 1-866-200-5332 x.2002. You need an buyer's representative experienced with foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and bank owned homes.

Mission Hills, Clearwater  -  The single story at 2964 Mission Drive E. has been sold. This home was sold at auction and closed in two weeks to cash buyer.

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