rmasse10's Blog: All Categories

It's that time of year again, Tampa Real Estate dues are due.  One of the positive things that comes out of dues time is the fact that all those weekend agents that are clogging up the system will drop out of the business.  We just lost 14 agents the other day and I expect that we will loose another 10-15 before September (the board gives them a grace period to pay).  We have been struggling with the banks and at times these not so good agents that don't know what they are doing.  Getting a property closed has become difficult due to financing and the banks...we don't need wet behind the ears because they never cared to learn agents screwing things up as well.

I am glad that this is happening as I can begin to focus my efforts on the problem at hand and…

We have some new agents in our office and for someone that has never really done anything like Real Estate before, it can be overwhelming especially if working a deal and another agent is trying to take advantage of the fact that you are new.  I won't go into the details of what is happening with the deal other than I overheard her say that the house blew up (it didn't really but sometimes new agents over exaggerate things), the other agent, who has he buyer is trying to get her and her clients to pay for a bunch of "stuff" that is not needed.  I coached her what to say and if need be I would be more than happy to take the reigns and have a discussion with the other agent.

Long story short, please, we work for our clients, yes, but we have to work…

The Tampa Real Estate market is heating up and with that come wave after wave of buyers looking for that great deal.  Our Team is looking for Agents that are not afraid to work,not afraid to write contracts, and not afraid to do the right thing.  If you are one of these agents and would like to be part of an aggressive Real Estate Team, please visit us online at Join Keller Williams.

We look forward to speaking with you about the great opportunities we have in store for you!

I can understand with the way the banks have mucked this whole thing up with the Bank Owned Homes and Foreclosures and Short Sales...the Agents still are taking on the attitude of the bank and the Banks are actually turning us fellow Realtors against each other.  Here's a thought, stop taking what the bank says it needs to get to sell the house in a short sale because the number they give you is bogus.  Maybe it is what they would like to get, but not necessarily what they are going to get.  I have seen banks hold out for another $2000 only to have the property finally go to foreclosure, become bank owned and now the property is listed for $50,000 less than what the offer was originally, I don't get it.  Then to make things worse, they wait until they have…

In the Tampa Real Estate Market and our MLS states that when an agent puts in a commission on a listing that is a short sale or bank owned, the commission that is in the system must be paid, no negotiating.  So here is the dilemma, I have a short sale that is basically approved and the bank is only willing to pay 3.5% commission.  OK, so now the other agent wants me to split my commission...Like I said, don't ask because the answer is no.  But wait, it gets better...I may have felt some level of compassion, but the listing also states that the current price is approved by the lender and I know for a fact that the contract has fallen thru twice because of financing.  In addition, the property was never put into Pending status as the MLS rules state that it…

OK, so this happened to my wife today.  She has been trying to get paperwork together for a Tampa Bank Owned Homes.  She has approval on the offer so that is no problem.  The problem comes in when she is trying to submit the paperwork to close.  The company hired to be the middle man to put together the paperwork is totally incompetent.  We have had to resend original copies now 3 times overnight each time $20/mail and now they want it sent again.  This over things that if they read all the paperwork completely the first time, we would have been limited to 1 overnight max.  I watched a cat fight occur on the phone between my wife and the woman on the other end as they both were screaming at each other.

My wife, after the phone was thrown across the room,…

I haven't had any of these happen to me lately but I have had my fair share and have heard around the office of other agents suffering from Rude Clients, Clients that expect agents to take them on a Taxi Ride around town just so they can write off their trip for taxes, babysit, you get the picture.  I think with the Tampa Real Estate Market the way it is being a buyers market, some buyers seem to feel that they can make everyone run around like mice in a cage and we Realtors will just do it.  Guess what, that will only last so long with un-seasoned agents, and won't fly at all with seasoned agents.

Like I said, I have had my share, and I give everyone that I deal with (since I am no longer a buyers agent it doesn't matter but every now and then I will…

Ok, so I am what I would consider a high Tech person, love every aspect of technology and how to apply it to Real Estate.  I have used a Blackberry 8800 for some time now and the instant email was great.  It allowed me to respond quickly to leads and questions from clients.  Now comes along the IPhone.  My buddy decided to get my wife and I both an IPhone (original model) and at first glance, I thought it was pretty much a toy....a really pretty toy, shinny, pretty pictures, etc.  As I started to use it more and more, I found that it was a great phone (if you want to call it a phone).  The internet browser is amazing, no more mobile mls for me.  The speaker phone is pretty good and the phone in general is pretty good.  One of the great things that the…