Of course the fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is excellent, only minutes from your dock.  Just a mile or two away from Baywood Village are Anclote Key and Three Rooker Bar, both boating destinations for the community, whether for a day trip at the beach, a weekend for fishing and partying, or for the outstanding fishing in the flats surrounding these islands.  Also, just a short ride by either car or boat is Howard Park in Tarpon Springs, just north of Palm Harbor.  Howard Park has wonderful beach and picnic facilities and is a very popular destination all year round.

Baywood Village is also a short drive from historic downtown Palm Harbor.  There are wonderful restaurants, such as the Thirsty Marlin, Peggy O'Neills Irish Eatery, and the Old Town Cafe which serves absolutely excellent coffee, coffee specialties and desserts.  Not to mention great lunches.

Palm Harbor also has excellent schools, with the jewel being Palm Harbor University High School.

One of the best features of living in Baywood Village is that it is still an affordable waterfront community.  And in the current real estate market, Baywood Village in Palm Harbor is a desirable and affordable place to live. 

Check it out.  The fish are waiting for you - right outside your "front" door.

Bay Arbor is deed restricted, wonderfully landscaped, with streetlamps, a community pool, volley ball court and a very involved board of directors.  Tampa International Airport is less than a thirty minute drive from Olsdmar.  There are many cul de sacs in Bay Arbor so that there is very little traffic on the community streets.

Oldsmar has terrific parks with festivals, fishing piers, playgrounds and lots of other activities, including Oldsmar Days in the spring.  The city is on upper Tampa Bay with all the marine activities that come with such a wonderful natural resource.

Come see Bay Arbor in Oldsmar, Florida.  Enjoy the feeling of being in the country yet still be very close to all the action of living in a thriving community with parks, recreation, fine shopping and the Tampa Bay lifestyle.

In November 2009, 28% of the houses sold in Pinellas County were distressed properties.  In December, 31% of the houses sold were distressed properties and in January 2010, 40% of the houses sold were distressed properties.  An eye popping percentage of distressed properties make up the pending sales for November, December and January.  In November, 68% of all pending sales were distressed, in December it was 72% and January 69% of ALL pending sales were distressed properties.

Pricing is also being impacted by distressed properties in the Pinellas County real estate market.  In November, the median price for a bank owned house was $85,500 while the pre-foreclosure price was $140,000 and the non-distressed price was $141,000.  For December the bank owned median prices were $74,600 vs. pre-foreclosure at $128,000 and non-distressed houses at $150,000.  And in January, the median bank owned prices were $84,000 while the pre-foreclosure prices were $130,000 and the non-distressed prices were $135,000.  Thus, the numbers show that the disparity between pre-foreclosure and non-distressed house prices is narrowing monthly.  This is partly because the banks want short sales to be at or very near to market value.  The spread between bank owned and other prices is because the bank owned houses are generally in worse condition and the bank has determined what it needs to get out of the deal, with no negotiation. 

The advantage to a bank owned sale is that it can happen quickly.  A short sale can take months.  Non-distressed properties tend to be in better condition and are relatively quick to close - thus can maintain a higher value.  This is changing because so much of the Pinellas County real estate market comprises of distressed properties that these become the market.  The number of houses being sold is on the rise, in the Palm Harbor and Dunedin real estate markets.  At the same time, the prices are at best flat or still going down.  Thus, the Pinellas County real estate market may be nearly stabilized, but still has a little way to go before anyone will step up and state the bottom has been hit and we are recovering.

To learn more about distressed properties, visit www.SunBayStopsForeclosure.com.  This site goes into details about short sales, foreclosure, deed in lieu and other distressed property issues.

This change can have a great impact on Clearwater real estate market, since the Florida summers get warm and people use lots of air conditioning.

So if you are in the Clearwater real estate market and use air conditioning, take a look at your equipment and if necessary, have it serviced.  When the refrigerants R22, or Freon® is gone, the switch to 410A, or Puron® will be mandatory, and may be costly.

Licensed realtors screen out the unqualified buyers, they handle the phone calls and the showings, they do the marketing and the negotiation to protect the seller with the laws and other business realities involved in such a large business transaction.  Realtors market their listed houses to more than just the MLS and depending on their brokerage, may have a very significant internet presence beyond that available to the MLS.  The realtor knows the market value of a house, not the personal "memories value" of a house, and thus can negotiate accordingly with a buyer.

A key bit of information that fsbo's often overlook is the commission factor.  They think that buy having their house as a For Sale by Owner, or listed in the MLS by an agent they will never see again, that they are saving a ton of cash.  Well, to attract a buyer they pay a commission to the buyer's agent, which is usually about half of the full commission.  Then, either the buyer's agent has to take on the workload of what should be the seller's agent, or the seller has to do the work, or hire an attorney.  If the buyer's agent takes on this workload, the interest of the seller is coincidental, because the buyer's agent is working for the buyer's best interest.  By the time all is said and done, including aggravation, the savings is non-existant.  In fact, when a licensed real estate agent represents the seller and deals with the buyer's agent, according to the National Association of Realtors, the seller realizes about 13% more NET profit than relying on For Sale by Owner only.

This is typical nationally, and is repeated in the Palm Harbor, Dunedin and Tarpon Springs area.  Do yourself a favor, list your home with a licensed realtor.

Among the coming changes are:  increased mortgage insurance premiums, higher FICO credit scores and down payments and a reduction in allowable seller concessions to 3% from the current 6%.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan outlined the FHA proposals in December.  The higher down payment requirement will now require a minimum FICO credit score of 580 instead of the present 500 for a 3.5% down payment on a new home.  Home buyers with FICO scores below 580 would have to have a 10% down payment.  This may not have much impact since most lending institutions already require a FICO score of at least 620. 

Also, the FHA wants to increase the mortgage insurance premium to 2.25% of the loan amount, up from 1.75%.

The art of negotiating a real estate transaction is the heart of the deal.  The realtor has to present the offers to the seller, and then present the counter-offer, if there is one, to the buyer's agent.  Seller's who get insulted at a low offer, make the deal personal and refuse to negotiate cause one unavoidable result.  They are left holding on to a house that is not going to sell to that buyer - ever.  The seller who may not like the first low offer, and makes a counter-offer, is the seller who will in time sell the house to that buyer, for more than the original offer.  This is a win-win situation and is the goal of all business deals.

When a seller refuses to negotiate when they get a low offer they are simply making a higher offer than that buyer did and "buy" the house, in a manner of speaking.  Since the potential buyer couldn't buy that house, they moved on.  The owner has in essence, outbid that buyer, and ends up continuing to own the house. 

It is important to remember that many times the first, "low" offer came from a serious buyer who took a shot that the seller would be desperate and accept a known low offer.  The buyer in this case fully expected the seller to come back with a counter offer and start a negotiation.  No counter offer equals no deal.

The long and short of it, no matter how "low" an offer is, it is well worthwhile to come back with a counter offer.  This will tell the seller if the buyer is serious and willing to negotiate, or not.  If a buyer makes only very low offers, and will not accept a counter offer, nothing is lost by the seller.  In the Tampa Bay real estate market, this happens quite often because of the number of foreclosures and short sales.  If the seller refuses to negotiate, there can never be a successful negotiation that results in a sale.  Most sellers in the Tampa Bay market will respond with a counter offer and this leads to more successful transactions.

Federal Short Sale Guidance Out

On November 30, 2009, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), which provides financial incentives to servicers, borrowers, and investors for a closed short sale or a deed-in-lieu (DIL). The guidelines provide $1,500 in federal funds to help borrowers relocate, $1,000 to help servicers offset their  processing costs, and up to $1,000 to investors to secure release of subordinate liens. The guidelines prohibit a reduction in agreed-upon commissions (if they're not more than 6 percent) and take effect April 5, 2010, but can be implemented by servicers at any time.

If you would like more information on the HAFA program, send us an email and we'll respond within 24 hours with additional details.  Doug@SunBayAssociates.com - request HAFA guidelines.

"Everybody is hot for granite kitchen countertops, but that can be a $5,000 upgrade," says John Wilder, a general contractor and owner of Fence and Deck Doctor in New Castle, Ind. "Instead, home owners can put in 12-inch granite tiles for about $300 in materials and get very high impact for little money.

"With a dated bathroom, I recommend putting in a new medicine cabinet for $100 to $150, light fixtures for about $100, a faucet for $50 to $75, and a vanity for $200 to $300," says Wilder. "And instead of replacing the tile, the existing grout can be lightly scraped and regrouted, which leaves a haze that can be buffed out and will make the tile look brand new. Also install glass shower doors. A French door adds a lot of panache and elegance for $250, and people will notice the door, not the tile. With all that, you’ve done a bathroom remodel for $1,000 to $2,000."

Thus, you can see that it is possible to make a high impact visual change for not really a lot of money.

Florida edged out California for the second place in the national foreclosure rate, lagging behind only Nevada in the percentage of home mortgages in default. Florida’s November figure was 7.6 percent higher than November 2008 and 2.0 percent higher than October 2009.  One out of every 165 homes was in some stage of foreclosure proceedings, according to a national report released by RealtyTrac.  Nationally, 306,627 homes, one out of every 447 homes, were in foreclosure, up 18.4 percent from November 2008. But the national rate represented the fourth straight month of national declines. James Saccacio, RealtyTrac chief executive, credited the drop to loan modification efforts and an extension of the federal first-time homebuyer program.  But long-term stability may be more elusive as the industry recovers from its worst slump in decades.  “A full recovery will only come when unemployment recedes to normal, healthy levels and when availability of credit reaches a more rational balance between the extremes of the past few years,” Saccacio said in a statement.  With 52,935 Florida properties receiving foreclosure statements, reversing a two-month trend of fewer defaults than the previous month.  Two Florida cities were among the top 10 metro areas in the nation. Cape Coral/Fort Myers held the 4th spot with one out of every 96 homes in foreclosures while Orlando/Kissimmee ranked 8th with one in every 120 homes in default.

Whether it is loss of a job, death in the family, or mismanaged funds, foreclosure can be a fact of life to everyone.  One way to avoid a foreclosure, that can be financially devastating for most people, is to go through a short sale.  This can allow the homeowner to get out from under the debt of a home that has a mortgage that is more than the home is worth and the bank may forgive the balance due.  To learn more about short sales, click on this link.

Remember, foreclosure is not the end of the world and can be avoided as long as the homeowner seeks and receives credible counseling.  Whether you are a celebrity or not and are behind on your mortgage payments, a short sale is one option to avoid foreclosure.

The extension is part of a $24 billion economic stimulus bill that will extend the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers who are purchasing their first home from the current November 30 deadline and expands the program to offer a credit of $6,500 to homeowners who have lived in their current home for at least five years and are seeking to relocate.

The following details apply to the homebuyer tax credit expansion:

Who is Eligible
-First-time homebuyers, who are defined by the law as buyers who have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase, may be eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit.
-Existing homeowners who have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight and are purchasing a home to be their principal residence (“repeat buyer”), may be eligible for up to a $6,500 tax credit.
-All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.

Income Limits
Homebuyers who file as single or head-of-household taxpayers can claim the full credit ($8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers) if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $125,000.
-For married couples filing a joint return, the combined income limit is $225,000.
-Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000, and married couples who earn between $225,000 and $245,000 are eligible to receive a partial credit.
-The credit is not available for single taxpayers whose MAGI is greater than $145,000 and married couples with a MAGI that exceeds $245,000.

Effective Dates
-The eligibility period for the tax credit is for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009, and before May 1, 2010. However, home purchases subject to a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010, will qualify for the tax credit provided closing occurs prior to July 1, 2010.

Types of Homes that Qualify
-All homes with a purchase price of less than $800,000 qualify, including newly-constructed or resale, and single-family detached, townhomes or condominiums, provided that the home will be used as their principal residence. Vacation home and rental property purchases do NOT qualify.

Tax Credit is Refundable
-A refundable credit means that if the amount of income taxes you owe is less than the credit amount you qualify for, the government will send you a check for the difference.

-For example:
-A first-time buyer who qualifies for the full $8,000 credit who owes $5,000 in federal income taxes would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $3,000 payment from the government. If you are due to receive a $1,000 refund, you would receive $9,000 ($1,000 plus the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit).
-A repeat buyer who owes $5,000 would pay nothing to the IRS and receive $1,500 back from the government. If you are due to get a $1,000 refund, you would get $7,500 ($1,000 plus the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit).
-All qualified homebuyers can take the tax credit on their 2009 or 2010 income tax return.

Payback Provisions
The tax credit is a true credit. It does not have to be repaid unless the home owner sells or stops using the home as their principal residence within three years after the purchase.

Check back here next week for more detailed information on this important legislation.

Do you qualify for the tax credit? Find out...

The new law will extend the $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers for sales contracts entered into by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30. Further, it has been expanded to include a new $6,500 credit for owners of existing homes who are purchasing a new principal residence. An existing home owner can claim the $6,500 tax credit if they have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight. Additionally, the income eligibility limits to claim the full credit amount for both groups of home buyers have been raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.

If you are a first time home buyer and would like to take advantage of the tax credit, or if you are have been in your home for five years or more or the last eight years and would like to take advantage of the $6500 credit to purchase a new principal home, now is the time.

In September alone there were more than 340,000 foreclosure filings, an increase of 29 percent from September 2008.  James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, stated that "Bank repossessions, or REOs, jumped 21 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter, corresponding to jumps in defaults and scheduled auctions in the previous two quarters."

The bad news for Florida homeowners is that Florida is still in the top five states for foreclosures.  California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois and Michigan accounted for 62% of the entire nation's foreclosure activity in the third quarter.  Florida posted more than 156,000 property foreclosure filings in the third quarter, a jump of 23% from the same quarter in 2008.

Maybe the real estate market is stabilizing in parts of the country, but not all states are created equal.  However, Floridians may consider themselves lucky, because in Detroit, the average home price is around $8,000.  That is not a typo, it is $8,000.  Sales are rebounding, and prices are still declining.  You decide if this is a stabilized reall estate market.

Because of this, I have earned the credential of Certified Distressed Property Expert and have the knowledge and expertise to help many people who are having these issues.  If you know anyone who is behind on their mortgage, or anticipates being behind, have them go to my website, www.sunbaystopsforeclosure.com, that specializes in educating people about distressed property with up-to-date and accurate information.  There is no cost or obligation to them to check it out.  And if they do decide they need help, there will be no fees.  We will consult with them to help them find the best possible resolution for their distressed property, from a loan modification to short sale and several other avenues to help avoid going to foreclosure.

I want to help, and in many cases I can help. 

The median price for a single family home in August, 2009, in Pinellas County, Florida was $142,000, a drop of 19.3% from the previous August.  The sort of good news is that the August price drop was less than the 2009 July price drop, which was 22.2% from July of 2008.  Again, not good news, but this is showing signs of the market beginning to stabilize in the Pinellas County, Florida market.

Thus, with the absorption rate inching its way up, and the median price loss showing signs of slowing, things are beginning to look better.  More goodnews is that the inventory for single family homes for sale in August 2009 was 9.7 months.  This is another sign that the competition of homes for sale, while still extremely competitive, is beginning to start to swing back into the area that sellers can see light at the end of the tunnel.  Of course, that light may yet be 5 years away before prices climb back to what they were two or three years ago, but there is hope.   Is the real estate market stabilizing, well maybe not yet.  There is, though, light at the end of the tunnel.

ADP, as national payroll manager, reported that US companies eliminated more than 250,000 jobs in September, more than experts had forecast.  And the first time claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 551,000, up by about 17,000 from the week before.  This also caught experts by surprise.

Spending was up in September, although overall not quite as much as in August.  Does this coincide with the end of the Cash for Clunkers program?  Housing sales are also up, almost 6.5% in August.  The first time homebuyers tax credit may have fueled some of this growth and it is possible that when the program ends on November 30, we could see a drop in home sales, especially for the first time homebuyers.  Despite housing sales numbers rising, the prices continue their dreary decline, although not as rapid a descent as in the past year.

Even the chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has said that the global economic recovery will be "lethargic".  He expects the recovery to be strongest in Asia.

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric also put a bit of a damper on the outlook of a stabilized economy by suggesting that high unemployment and slower lending will be a drag on the US economic growth, with the result being perhaps the weakest recovery in decades.

Housing prices are still going down, unemployment is going up, spending is up but may have been spiked by government programs, housing units sold are up and auto sales have plummeted downward.

So you tell me, has the economy stabilized?  One can only hope.

Check this link to see the story, as reported by ABC News. 

Just in case you didn't see our newsletter, this is being posted to bring you up to date.  It is really important.

Home buyers can claim a special tax credit worth up to $8,000. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers qualifying home buyers a tax credit equal to 10 percent of a home's purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. The tax credit is offered to first time buyers, and those who have not owned a principle residence in the past three years. To be eligible for the tax credit, buyers must meet general income requirements and close on their purchase before December 1, 2009.

Under new rules introduced recently by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, qualifying buyers can apply the $8,000 tax credit toward the purchase of a home. To facilitate the process, the Federal Housing Administration is permitting its lenders to extend short term bridge loans, which will enable qualifying buyers to apply their tax credit toward closing costs, buying down their interest rate, or increasing their down payment above the FHA required 3.5 percent.

Please contact us today for more details on this once-in-a-lifetime program.

To shorten a long, sad story, the renter never paid his rent, the house in now in foreclosure, the house has lost another $30,000 to $40,000 value in today's market, she has been advised by her attorney to go into bankruptcy and it may be too late to even try a short sale.  With the knowledge gained from the CDPE training, it is very possible that we could have found a resolution to her issues and sold the house before it got to this point.  I will be following up with her in a couple days to see if we can still help, but she has been pretty well discouraged by the turn of events and the distressed market of today.  In today's market the house is worth about half of what she paid just a few years ago.

If you know anyone who is falling behind on their mortgage, or even before they fall behind and are just upside down or underwater with the mortgage, have them contact a Certified Distressed Property Expert.  I work in the greater Tampa Bay area and can help here.  I also can recommend a CDPE to help someone in any area.  There is no need to suffer the stress of a foreclosure.  A CDPE can provide expert guidance, from loan modification to short sale.  Sometimes a foreclosure is the best option, but a short sale is far better for many reason.  In almost all situations, a short sale is the correct answer when the question is "should I just go into foreclosure or abandon the house?"