tampa4u's Blog: SHOUT OUTS

In the tunnel that is the Tampa Bay area Real Estate market, there appears to be some sort of light. Usually we say the light at the end of the tunnel, but we aren’t near the end of this tunnel. But there is a shimmer of light inside the tunnel.

The Fed’s lowered the rate last week, and now the rates are going back up. This is a good sign of things to come. When the rates go up after they have been down, it is because of demand. Consumers jump on the wagon and the banks raise the rates to get a little bit of their money back.

When the banks get over-whelmed with home buyers and homeowners looking to get a mortgage or refinance an existing one, they have to raise the rates to slow the push back down and make some profits as well. It happens all the…

If the last couple of days is any indication of things to come, then we're all looking at a very bright 2009. We have been swamped the last couple of days. We're back to getting hundreds of emails a day, as oppose to 20 emails a WEEK the past couple of months. Maybe it's just January but then again, usually January is a slow month. Stock market started on a bright note also so hopefully people are realizing the opportunities at hand.

Wishing everyone the very best year yet. Cheers!

It was a GREAT year. The next will be even BETTER. There will and always will be lots of buyers, lots of sellers, and lots of opportunities in this challenging and changing market. Keep your head up and stay ahead. It will be a totally different playing field with lots of new players. But the best thing is the trophies are up for grabs! Have a Happy and Safe Holiday. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Those of us who are in here have a lot to be thankful for.

Location, location, location, applies to Real Estate offices as well. Yet you will find some tucked away in a no-traffic strip mall or in the 3rd floor of a high rise building. Truthfully, a year ago, I didn't think it really mattered.

I was reluctant to have an office in Channelside. Although it is one of the most visited streets in Tampa and having an office there would give us the high profile we wanted, the numbers didn't make sense. The numbers didn't make sense either for us to start our own brokerage. We would have made more money staying in our current brokerage with our team. But my husband wanted it. He said his guts told him that's the direction we should go. We debated about this for a long time and although the numbers still didn't make any…

Almost every other day, we'll get a call from a seller wanting to know if we have buyers who may want to buy their property.  Apparently sellers know we have buyers. Question is, why didn't they list with us in the first place? - Because sellers don't look online for an agent or brokerage to list their homes. They start looking online when they become anxious after 60 days without a showing. This have been very frustrating. How can we get the message to the sellers that the buyers are online and that the best exposure for their listings will be online. Thru postcards? Bench advertising? Billboards? Thru farming?

So far we've gotten listings thru referrals and from past clients who are now selling. But the goal is to have as many sellers as we have…

As a real estate agent, you may have the tendency to see the homeowner and immediate take note of how they look on the outside as a correlation to the money they may have to spend on a home. There is fault in this judgment, both on a moral level and on a professional level. Let’s walk through a scenario for a bit.

A man and a woman walk into your office seeking a home. They do not have a new car, their clothes are not designer and they look as though they are simple, middle class people. You immediately ask if they have sought after a mortgage and been preapproved and they state they have not. Their accent kicks in and reminds you of a country song. Now you have totally turned off to the needs of this potential home buyer and tell them you are very…

In the world of the celebrity real estate drop, the listings are going up and the sales are no where to be found. As a nation, we know the financial sector is hurting when there are no big sales to report and a ton of listings.

An LA restaurant owner, Lonnie Moore, lists his home in Hollywood Hills for $3.5 million. The home was once owned by Mike Tyson and Robin Givens.

Regis Philbin is ready to ask, “Is that your final answer?” to a home buyer for his Greenwich home. The home is listed for $5.4 million.

Beverly Hills has a new listing to report. Mark Wahlberg, once a singer now an actor, has listed his home for a whopping $15.9 million. The home is nearly 9,000 square feet and was bought in 2001 for just under $5 million. Hello! The market is…