Real Estate Service Directory

Another Successful Real Estate Closing

I met Sandra and her late husband back in 1999. We both lived in a brand new neighborhood located in Towngate of Pembroke Pines FL. It was just recently built and we met at one of the very first homeowners meetings we ever had. A few years after I met them her husband Steve was diagnosed with cancer. Steve passed away from cancer a few years ago….he was 49.

During that difficult time I had lost touch with them other than the board sending something to them. I didn’t want to bother them and so we moved on.

Back in early 2007 I noticed that Sandra had put her home on the market with another agent. She knew that I was a Realtor® when we met so I was a bit surprised that she didn’t call me. I would occasionally drive by her home and see if the sign was still there. I checked the MLS and noticed it was under contract since July of 2007. Eventually I forgot about it and figured it sold and that was that.

Then one Sunday night around 9:30pm I was watching TV and my cell phone went off and the voice on the other end of the line said “Hi Neal this is Sandra S…..I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday night but do you have a moment to talk?” 

I was confused for a moment and said how can I help you? She said “You remember me don’t you?” I was your neighbor in Towngate.”  ‘You don’t understand….I’ve been searching for you for 3 weeks” I typed in Realtors® in Towngate and you came up  and that was it!” She found my Activerain blog.

Then it all came back to me and I told her now I remember and we started talking about the past. I asked her what happened to her home and she said that the agent was referred to her because she bought another home in GA and was selling her home. She tried to find me but after she moved and left the FL home she lost all of my information I used to send her every two months. Her family told her not to wait and to just hire another agent… but she refused. Apparently she told me that the other agent never would call her and ended up misrepresenting her. So she fired the agent and then hired me.

The last time the home was on the market it was at $389,000….since the market hasn’t been at it’s best…we listed it at $279,000 and it sold for $270,000. That’s what it was worth. The buyers came in with 40% down. This property went pending in 18 days and we had 2 other offers that came in but there can only be one winner and we closed on Friday and on time….Sandra did well.

This was an amazing thing that happend to me.

I just want to thank Sandra for giving me the opportunity and for having faith in me as your Realtor®. Client and friend!

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103

Weston FL 33331

(954)608-5556

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2008-All rights reserved 

Posted in homes for sale, realtor, real estate, sellers, Real Estate - For Buyers, buyers, Real Estate - For Sellers | No Comments »

Sellers should think like an appraiser - not like a seller!

Selling Real Estate in FL can be a nice and pleasant experience or it can become stressful especially if you are just spinning your wheels and go nowhere. All it will get you is plenty of flying mud and you’ll most certainly never reach you goal of successfully selling your home.

As of this morning…there are about 40,000 homes available for sale in Broward County FL. Over 22,000 of them are either condo’s or townomes. The rest are single family homes with totals reaching over 17,000. Without going into an into too many details I will be that over 65% of these available properties are considered overpriced and will most certainly never sell unless homeowners start to get realistic by pricing them correctly. Many of these properties are also are available to rent as well. It’s basically which ever comes first. The rest of these homes just sit for very long periods with homeowners hoping someone will come see the property and make them an offer.

Now here’s the problem…. let’s use a condo as an example and say the seller wants to price it at $260,000. I show them that the most recent sales over the last 90 days show that the comparables in their building are at $220,000 and $225,000. There is one pending sale at $195,000. Although there is no way for us to determine the closing price…in this market it will most likely close at or below their asking price. Just in your area alone…there are over 1600 condo’s waiting on line to sell and most of them are sitting empty.

Which line do you want to be on? Think of it like being on the line at the supermarket. Do you want to be on the longest line or the shortest line?

As your Realtor®…. it’s my job to help the homeowner by giving them the most realistic pricing goals…. but if they still don’t get then they are sure to sit in limbo and start wondering why there are no offers let a lone any showings.

I’ve been in this business for over 12 yrs and I’ve spoken to many appraisers to get their views and how they actually do their job.

Most appraisers will look at 2-3 closed sales within 3-6 months but in this type of market…they tend to look more within the last 90 days since prices continue to drop daily. They also look at 1 pending sale and the available inventory just to review the history on how many times they have reduced the price. A new thing I have noticed that they are looking at is how many homes are on the verge of foreclosure and how many are trying to do a short sale. There are many new challenges for them to deal with and they need to work harder in order to properly make the right analysis in this ever-changing market.

If I list your condo at $260,000 but there is no way for me to get it to the closing table well then I’d rather turn you down now instead of letting you down in 6-12 months when it doesn’t sell. I would love nothing more than to sell your property at the highest price possible. Let’s face it…I do…then you make more money and in most cases I do as well. But wouldn’t it make more sense to sell it at a reachable price instead of this false price that you may never get? If you decide to wait for the market to change then that’s your decision but if you’re expecting a quick turn around then you’re mistaken. You might also realize in 6-12 months that you were wrong and now you ask me to price where I originally suggested…. only to find out it’s worth even less now.

So if you’re looking for a babysitter…then I’m not the one for the job. I’m a Realtor®…that’s who I am.

If you think banks were tough then…. you haven’t seen anything yet. Guidelines are even tougher now than 6 months ago.

If I list the property at $260,000 like you asked and we get a buyer willing to pay your price then I guess you’ll be very happy but what happens when the bank only appraises it at $220,000? Then what will you do? Banks will not lend the buyer money if appraises for less. The only solution is to renegotiate it at the appraised price or back out of the deal.

The only way you will not be required to have your property appraised when you purchase is if you pay cash and even now many smart buyers will appraise it anyway.

It’s your choice and you should ask yourself the question….. do you want to own it or do you want to sell it?

For more information please contact

Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103

Weston FL 33331

(954)608-5556

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2008-All rights reserved

Posted in homes for sale, realtor, real estate, sellers, Real Estate - For Buyers, buyers, Real Estate - For Sellers | No Comments »

Broward County FL Real Estate For Sale- Market Report 1/2008-4/2008

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Weston FL Homes for sale Market Report 1/2008 - 4/2008-Weston Hills Country Club

Weston FL Real Estate

Weston FL Homes-Weston Hills Country Club

2008 Market Report

1/2008 - 4/2008

Weston FL Homes for sale as -April. 2008 -Weston Hills CC                                                                

• 96 Homes-Weston FL-Weston Hills CC 

Weston FL Homes pending as of -April 2008-Weston Hills CC

• 13 Homes-Weston FL-Weston Hills CC 

Weston FL Homes that have sold as of -Jan 2008- April 2008-Weston Hills CC

• 20 Homes- Weston FL-Weston Hills CC

Other Weston FL Related Stories:

• Weston Florida Real Estate (Weston Town Center is more than just a two meal town)
• Weston Florida-Residents and Visitors News
• The Best News a Realtor® could get in this market…… Seeing Survey Flags!
• Weston Florida Real Estate…I’m feeling kind of sexy today
• Weston Florida homes go Green with Solar Pool Heating
• Weston Florida Real Estate for sale (Welcome to the West Broward Family YMCA)
• Country Isles/Weston Florida Municipal Parks and recreation areas.
• Tequesta Trace Park / Weston Florida
• Gator Run Park/Weston Florida
• Heron Park /Weston Florida
• Town Center Park / Weston Florida
• Windmill Ranch Park/Weston Florida
• Emerald Estates Park located in Weston Florida
• Eagle Point/City of Weston Florida parks and recreation areas
• Weston Florida Real Estate For Sale-Why wouldn’t you want to move to one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /RE/MAX Premier Associates                                                                                       

Posted in homes for sale, realtor, real estate, sellers, Real Estate - For Buyers, buyers, Real Estate - For Sellers | No Comments »

New York City-Manhattan Apartments for rent- Live in NY City

New York City-Manhattan Apartments for rent

It’s a great time to rent an apartment in New York City.

Urban Apartments of New York is a duly licensed Real Estate Brokerage firm specializing in residential rentals in Manhattan.

If you are looking for New York City apartment for rentals… then I will be glad to assist you with all of your Real Estate needs.

See our >>> featured listings in New York City

For more information on this or any other New York City apartments for rent please contact:

Steve Jurrist-Realtor® Assoc.

Urban Apartments

Urban Apartments
150 West 28th st. suite 201-A
New York, NY 10001

Direct (917)304-4052

Fax (646) 638-4721

Contact us via email

Posted in homes for sale, realtor, real estate, sellers, Real Estate - For Buyers, buyers, Real Estate - For Sellers | No Comments »

Blame Your Realtor®….who else can you Blame?

Blame Your Realtor®….who else can you Blame?

• When the buyer gets a loan approval and then can’t close because their loan program is no longer available…..blame your Realtor®

• When the mortgage broker lies to your buyer and the loan falls through at the last minute…blame your Realtor®

• When the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed purchase price….blame your Realtor®

• When the buyer complains that you only showed them 100 homes and they still don’t buy anything….blame your Realtor®

• When the buyer closes on their new home and they find out that they paid the highest price in the neighborhood…blame your Realtor®

• When the seller finds out that they sold their home for the lowest price…blame your Realtor®

• When your home is messy…dirty and cluttered and they refuse to clean it up or pay for staging….blame your Realtor®

• When your home is in need of major repairs but you refuse to make any of them….blame your Realtor®

• When the inspector says you have $5,000 in repairs to make…blame your Realtor®

• When you list your home too high and it has to be reduced 50 times and it still doesn’t sell…blame your Realtor®

• When your Realtor® spends all their time advertising and getting you all the exposure you ask for and busts their butt trying so hard to sell your home….blame your Realtor®

• When 6 months go by and nobody calls to see your home…blame your Realtor®

• When the title company finds a cloud on your title and you can’t close…blame your Realtor®

• When you buy a property with no money down and expect to sell it the next day and you have to go into foreclosure…blame your Realtor®

• When the Real Estate market sucks…blame your Realtor®

• When the market is great…blame your Realtor®

• When your home doesn’t sell…blame your Realtor®

• When your car doesn’t start in the morning and you’re late to work…blame your Realtor®

• When you have an argument with your spouse and you get divorced…blame your Realtor®

• When you lose all your money in Vegas…blame your Realtor®

• When you wake up with a hangover from drinking too much…blame your Realtor®

• When you get electrocuted because you didn’t turn the power off before you attached two wires together on your new ceiling fan…blame your Realtor®

• When you order a $30 cowboy steak in an Italian restaurant and it’s all fat….blame your Realtor®

• When you wake up in the morning expecting it to be sunny and it’s pouring out…blame your Realtor®

• When you wake up and find one of those big red suckers(pimple) on your face…blame your Realtor®

Think about how many times you’ve blamed your Realtor® for something that was totally out of their control.

Who else can you blame…..your Realtor® of course!

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-CRS-Realtor® /Remax Hometown

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103

Weston FL 33331

(954)608-5556

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estatecopyright © 2008-All rights reserved 

Posted in homes for sale, realtor, real estate, sellers, Real Estate - For Buyers, buyers, Real Estate - For Sellers | No Comments »

Interest Only loan….I am glad I didn’t do it!

When we were planing on selling our own home….it was easy to find the one and it took about a week of looking at 20 before we decieded on one, we then put our other home on the market.

We were able to close on the new one before the old one closed because of our unusually high credit scores.

The only thing I was stuck on decieding was the type of loan we wanted.

Please read the rest of this story here.

Posted in mortgages, homes for sale, buyers | No Comments »