Downtown St. Petersburg Condo Buildings

My friend Mark Puente at the Tampa Bay Times recently published an article entitled “New Waterfront Condos Disappearing from Market in Tampa Bay“.  At the Smith & Associates Real Estate office on Beach Drive in Downtown St. Petersburg, on a daily basis I have customers walk in who inquire about the condo buildings nearby, especially Parkshore Plaza (aka 300 Beach) and 400 Beach, which are directly behind our office. They want to know pricing and how many are available, and honestly, the answers to these questions sometimes shock them.  While some seem to understand that these are waterfront luxury condos and come at a certain price, others expect from watching the news media that they can still pick up a $100,000 condo in a high rise (maybe in a few buildings, but not the newer, luxury buildings overlooking the waterfront and marina).

Here are a few excerpts from the Tampa Bay Times article that I found interesting, with links so that you can see these properties and what inventory remains:

“Time is running out for people seeking new luxury condos in waterfront towers as the last of the units built during the go-go days fill up in Tampa Bay.

Water’s Edge, overlooking Clearwater Harbor, is the latest tower headed toward selling out after new owners slashed prices nearly 40 percent. The project – once destined for doom after the developer filed bankruptcy in 2009 – is expected to fill up in the coming months as only 30 units remain.

The same story has played out in the last year in downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa. Luxury towers have sold quickly after developers, owners and banks cut prices. Another key factor is that developers didn’t overbuild this region as they have in other waterfront cities.”

“With rising construction costs and banks tightening lending standards, it could be years before a new luxury tower rises.

Signature Place's pool deck - via my iPhone

Joel Cantor, who developed Signature Place in downtown St. Petersburg, doesn’t expect any new towers until after 2020 because banks lost millions on the projects when the housing market tanked. Currently, the selling prices would trigger losses for developers, he added.

“The prices are too low to warrant new construction,” Cantor said. “The banks will not finance the projects.”

Larry Richey, senior managing director of Cushman & Wakefield in Tampa, said it will be three to five years before luxury condo towers rise again in the area.

Before that occurs, several luxury towers that developers converted to rentals after the bust will likely be converted back to condos, he said. The region has 400 to 500 units, including many in downtown Tampa.

In fact, developers broke ground Monday on a $55 million apartment complex in the Channel District. Within 18 months, the complex is expected to open with 356 apartments and 4,800 square feet of stores in four buildings.

Richey predicted that St. Petersburg will be the first to get a new tower.

“Downtown St. Pete is the best example of where there is a demand for luxury condos,” Richey said. “It’s a little slower in downtown Tampa.”

Deep price cuts have been the key to selling everything from suburban homes to waterfront condos across the bay area. The Towers of Channelside in Tampa and Signature Place and 400 Beach, luxury towers on Beach Drive NE in St. Petersburg, whacked prices in order to sell the remaining units.

The nearby Ovation complex has only a few of its 45 units left. The developer did not slash prices as deeply as other buildings and attributed that to wealthier buyers not being impacted as much by the economy.

But it’s not just luxury condos selling.

As existing home sales have risen in recent months and the supply dwindles, the overall inventory of condos for sale in Tampa Bay has sunk to levels not seen for years. The lower the supply, the stronger the market…”

Click to read the article it its entirety.

Other Popular Downtown St. Petersburg Luxury Condos:

• Vinoy Place
• Florencia Condos
• Cloisters of Beach Drive
• Bayfront Tower
• Mc Nulty Lofts
• Walker Whitney Building

Also check out St. Pete Beach Condos and Clearwater Beach Condos – you can never go wrong with waterfront!  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in a condo in Pinellas or Hillsborough County.  I am happy to set you up with an MLS search so you are notified of new listings the minute they hit the market!

Just reduced $20,000! Check out this amazing listing with water views from several terraces throughout!

540 26th Ave Se, St Petersburg, FL 33705 (MLS # U7536572)

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This custom built "Green" house is hurricane safe and features amazing water views of Tampa Bay. First floor features garage and huge bonus room which could be used as a family room, game room or home theater. Large downstairs 4th bedroom is not a true 4th bedroom but has its own bath and can easily convert with the addition of a closet. Main level is on the 2nd floor and features a beautiful kitchen featuring an island, granite counter tops, Stainless appliance and more! You will love the stained and hand scraped maple wood floors, plantation shutters, and large balconies this home features. Home was built with insulated Concrete Foam with R50 rated walls and a stone coated steel roof with an R38 rating. This home is so well insulated that the average electric bill is just $120 a month for this 3,000+ square foot home! Other hurricane safe features include insulated garage doors with hurricane bars, impact glass doors and windows, and a generator system with a 1,000 gallon propane tank to provide fuel for 2 weeks should a storm occur. Low insurance due to nature of construction! Gorgeous crown moldings throughout and a winding staircase leads to the home's rooftop terrace, where you can sit and sip a glass of wine while you watch the fireworks on the 4th of July, see dolphins playing out in the bay, and enjoy views of both downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa!

Property Type(s): Residential / All, Residential / Single Family

Last Updated	2/20/2012	Tract	Tropical Shores 3rd Add
Year Built	2008	Community	n/a
Garage Spaces	2.0	County	Pinellas
Total Parking	2	Walk Score ®	6

Price History

Additional Details

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with SMITH & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE

(view all details for MLS #U7536572)

Click Here for More Homes with Water Views!

After many months of negotiation, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government have reached agreement on a historic joint state-federal settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers: Ally/GMAC, Bank of America,Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo .

The settlement will provide as much as $25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government. It’s the largest multi-state settlement since the Tobacco Settlement in 1998.

Who May be Eligible for Assistance

The settlement provides assistance for:

• Homeowners needing loan modifications now, including first and second lien principal reduction.  The servicers are required to work off up to $17 billion in principal reduction and other forms of loan modification relief nationwide.State attorneys general anticipate the settlement’s requirement for principal reduction will show other lenders that principal reduction is one effective tool in combating foreclosure and that it will not lead to widespread defaults by borrowers who really can afford to pay.
• Borrowers who are current, but underwater.  Borrowers will be able to refinance at today’s historically low interest rates.  Servicers will have to provide up to $3 billion in refinancing relief nationwide.
• Borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure with no requirement to prove financial harm and without having to release private claims against the servicers or the right to participate in the OCC review process.  $1.5 billion will be distributed nationwide to some 750,000 borrowers.  Individual homeowners should receive on average $1,500 to $2,000, says Ted Gayer, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution.

TIMELINE

• Over the next 30 to 60 days, settlement negotiators will be selecting an administrator to handle the logistics of the settlement and monitor compliance.
• Over the next six to nine months, the settlement administrator, attorneys general and the mortgage servicers will work to identify homeowners eligible for the immediate cash payments, principal reductions and refinancing. Those eligible will receive letters.
• This settlement will be executed over the next three years.

WHERE YOU CAN GO FOR HELP

For loan modifications and refinance options, borrowers may be contacted directly by one of the five participating mortgage servicers. Keeping in mind the timeline above, you may contact the banks directly if you need additional information:

• Ally/GMAC: 800-766-4622
• Bank of America: 877-488-7814 (Available M-F  7am – 9pm CT and Saturdays  8am CT – 5pm CT
• Citi: 866-272-4749
• JPMorgan Chase: 866-372-6901
• Wells Fargo: 800-288-3212 (Available M-F 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST)

The settlement establishes a fund of $20 billion to help struggling homeowners, including $17 billion to reduce the mortgage balances of homeowners who currently owe more than their houses are worth. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, one of the architects of the settlement, says the fund may result in up to $35 billion in reduced principal because officials overseeing the fund will bargain with banks to pay less than full value to reduce mortgage debt owed by distressed homeowners.

Even so, if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may be out of luck. The funds won’t cover homeowners with mortgages held by these entities.

“The big news here is principal reduction,” Gayer says. “But in the end, it’s not going to end up being that substantial.”

Loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are not impacted by this settlement.  You may visit the following websites to learn if your loan is owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac:

• http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup
• http://www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage

These sites will also include links to information about mortgage and foreclosure programs you may be eligible to access.  You may also call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673)

For borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011, a settlement administrator designated by the attorneys general will send claim forms to persons eligible for cash restitution.

If you believe you are eligible for relief under this settlement but are concerned you will be difficult to locate, please contact your Attorney General’s Office. They will collect and forward your information to the appropriate person to ensure you are contacted if you are eligible.

For more info and FAQ on the $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement, click here.

Source and Source

While bank-owned foreclosure homes (also called REO’s – stands for Real Estate Owned) are plentiful in many markets, in some they are harder to come by.  Take for example Pinellas County, where foreclosures account for just over 4% of the total market and thus they aren’t always easy for a buyer to get.  Foreclosures sometimes sell at bargain prices when compared to non-distressed listings. These ultra-low prices are attracting investors and all-cash offers, which makes it difficult for other buyers’ bids to win out.

So how can you beat the competition to get a foreclosure property? First of all – realize there are two types of foreclosures.  The ones you buy at the courthouse steps and the ones on the open market that have been placed in the Multiple Listing Service – (REO’s).

Here’s are the problems with buying them on the courthouse steps:

1.  You need cash in hand.  So all of you who actually need a mortgage (95% of the population!), you are out of the game.  Otherwise you need a cashier’s check or money order in hand, and be prepared to do battle with seasoned investors who’ve done their homework.

2.  There’s no inspection period.  You are buying sight unseen, without having been inside the property, without a licensed home inspector checking out the property.  You could be buying the house from The Money Pit for all you know.

3.  Better make sure you’ve done a title search.  If not – guess what – you don’t know if there’s a $20,000 lien on the property for past due HOA fees, or liens for any other reason.  It’s a huge risk.  You’ve really got to do your homework on courthouse foreclosure sales.

4.  You are often bidding against a bank employee who will always win.  Let me explain.  Let’s say the house’s value is $100,000.  Bidding starts at $100.  The bank sends their own representative to the courthouse and they bid $1,000,000.  What?  It’s not worth $1,000,000 you say?  But guess what – the bank doesn’t have to pay themselves $1,000,000.  They just do this to get the property back in their name, and then they will often fix it up a bit (sometimes, not always) and put it back on the open market by listing it with a Realtor as an REO.  If a bank rep doesn’t show up, you can guarantee that at a minimum you’ll be bidding against some other seasoned real estate investors who have cash in hand and have done their homework.

Okay, so you’ve now decided you don’t want all that risk of buying a home on the courthouse steps, and you’d really like to check out some REO’s.  Now what?

How to Buy an REO Foreclosure Home in Tampa Bay:

1.  Hire a Great Realtor.  (Cough cough.)  But seriously – you need a Realtor who has experience with short sales and foreclosures.  Having a Realtor who understands the process will help immensely in preparing your offer and negotiating the terms and getting to the closing table.

2.  Check Out the Competition: First, don’t make up your mind that foreclosures are the best deals in town.  Go with me on this.  Sometimes they really aren’t! Tell your Realtor what you are looking for in a home or investment property, and make sure you check out all the different listing types from regular sales, to short sales to foreclosures.  Sometimes you may be shocked to find that the regular listings prices are just as competitively priced, with less of the red tape that comes with an REO or short sale.

3.  Get the first look: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s First Look program offers first-time home buyers and others who need financing and are looking for a primary residence the first opportunity to see bank-owned homes before investors. Buyers have a 15-day window to submit offers before investors have the opportunity to start bidding. Keep in mind, the bank will review offers usually for the first 30-45 days however, so if you are financing, you’ll need to make your offer very strong to compete with the investors who have cash.  If you have cash – by all means – offer cash.  The reasons lenders (and everyone) prefer cash is because its one less contingency in the contract, and they can close more rapidly than if they have to wait for a loan to be processed which normally takes 30-45 days.

4.  Submit a competitive offer: Homes priced at heavy discounts can be in high demand and attract multiple bids – often we are seeing these properties sell for over the asking price. Why would anyone offer an amount over the asking price you may be wondering?  Banks are underpricing properties like this on purpose in order to create an auction-like effect.  Multiple buyers fall in love with a good looking property at a really low price.  Suddenly they end up in a bidding war, sometimes driving the price back up to market value, often at prices near or at what regular non-distress sales in the same area are selling for.  Have your Realtor pull the comparable sales in the neighborhood, just as you would with any home you are considering purchasing so you know what a competitive offer would be.  Then offer what you are comfortable paying while still feeling like you got a fair shake.  Low-ball offers won’t go far these days and I’ve had some buyers learn this the hard way on foreclosure properties.

5.  Make a larger deposit: Whether you are financing or paying cash, sometimes it can help to get the bank’s attention by offering a larger than normal good-faith deposit. However, make sure you AND your Realtor read the bank’s contract or addenda very carefully to be sure your deposit is not at risk, and that you have sufficient inspection and financing contingencies in the contract.  It may even be a good idea to have an attorney review the contract as banks usually have their own set of contracts that are different than what Realtors are used to seeing (the FAR or FAR/BAR standard Florida contract).  Some bank contracts state that there is no inspection period and the buyer is “deemed to have already conducted inspections” at the time the offer is submitted.  Yikes!  Even if you really want the property, don’t cave in to unreasonable demands, like waiving a home inspection.

Click to Search Bank Owned REO Foreclosures in Tampa Bay

Lately the news in the media has been drops in unemployment rates, the U.S. economy is in recovery.  Maybe it doesn’t feel like it to some, but its what we are seeing in the real estate business.  The numbers don’t lie.  After talking to some of my realtor friends, they agree.  We are all light on our number of listings (Anyone want to sell?  Call me!  I need more listings too!), and working with lots of buyers who are getting frustrated because the mega-deals are drying up, and pickings are becoming slim.

Just last week I had a buyer who found a listing he liked, it had been on the market 3 days.  On day 4 he put in an offer, and we found out the Seller had received 5 other offers by then.  His offer was within 5% of the asking price, and he still didn’t get it.  It hasn’t closed yet, but I have a feeling it sold over the asking price or very close to.

Signature Place Condominiums in St. Petersburg - via my iPhone camera!

In downtown St. Petersburg, the condo market is heating up, with sales having increased by 7.4% from December 2010 to December 2011.  I get walk-ins who come into the office asking about the price of condos downtown and they are shocked to hear that the two buildings closest to my office start around $800,000 (if you are lucky!)  No, not everywhere is distressed.  Signature Place Condominiums in St. Petersburg has seen its average sale price go up by well over $100,000 on the 2 bedroom units since mid-2010.  Waterfront single family homes in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties are especially hot right now as well.

To give you an idea of the most recent numbers from the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, in December of 2010, the average sales price was $154,000.  That figure is up to $159,000 as of December 2011.  Here’s where the real shocker is: in 2010, we had 16,448 listings on the market in Tampa Bay.  That figure is down to 9,328 now, with just 5.3 months of inventory.  At this point, under 6 months of inventory, we are considered a balanced market, and as I’ve said before, I am starting to see it swing the other way where Sellers have a little bit of the upper hand in some areas, especially in St. Petersburg and South Tampa.  With just over 24% of the active listings being distressed currently, the majority are still short sales, with far fewer foreclosures than in the past.

I keep hearing “the banks are holding back foreclosures because they don’t want to flood the market”.  When have the banks ever cared about our real estate market?  Certainly not in 2004-2005 when they were issuing thousands of bad loans.  But I digress, we’ve been hearing this line that banks are holding back for two years now, but I’m not sure they if really are anymore.  Holding back until when?  I almost wish they would release a couple of new listings, so my buyers have more to pick from!  The foreclosures are drying up in the markets I’m working in and are becoming harder to come by.  I still get customers who tell me “I only want short sales and foreclosures” because they assume they are the best deals.  However when a foreclosure listing gets 10 offers in 1 day, and the price gets driven up way over the asking price – is it still the best deal in town?  Something to consider.

If you’ve been on the fence about buying or selling, now may be the time to make a move.  Call me if you’d like to discuss what your home may be worth in today’s market, or I can help you identify the best deals in town, before interest rates start to rise.

I admittedly missed the Presidential address last night, but found the entire speech online and read it. Wow – this President has a fantastic speech writer, it made me feel very Patriotic and teary reading it over my morning coffee.  No matter if you are on the left or right of the issues, I have to admit that his ideas sound great.  Now if the Bills are written and other legislative branches support these ideas and get them implemented remains to be seen.

I especially love the part about limiting any elected official from owning stock in industries they impact.  You mean no more Congressmen owning stock in Big Oil and voting against cleaner fuel?  It sounds like the right thing to do, but will Congress ever actually sign off on a bill like that?  Can we demand, as Americans, to return to days long ago in history when politicians held office because they believed it was the right thing to do, not because it was somehow helping their bottom line?  Hmm… Okay, off my (non-partisan!) soapbox…

There are a few programs that have already been implemented during Obama’s term such as HAFA and HARP that have great intentions, and are finally starting to work for some families from what I’ve seen, and we need more of this type of initiative.   I’ve had about 10 families receive assistance from HAFA in the last 2 years, and I’m hoping to see even more this year.  I wanted to highlight a few parts of the speech for anyone who missed it as they pertain to real estate and housing.  Please leave your comments at the bottom of this blog and let’s discuss!

Below are tidbits from the President’s Speech last night:

“Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.

In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.

It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.

Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again…”

“There’s never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest-hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren’t the only ones hurt. So were millions of innocent Americans who’ve seen their home values decline. And while Government can’t fix the problem on its own, responsible home owners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief.

That’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust.

Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a Government and a financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.

We’ve all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them, and buyers who knew they couldn’t afford them. That’s why we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior. Rules to prevent financial fraud, or toxic dumping, or faulty medical devices, don’t destroy the free market. They make the free market work better…”

“And I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. The new rules we passed restore what should be any financial system’s core purpose: Getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home, start a business, or send a kid to college.

So if you’re a big bank or financial institution, you are no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers’ deposits. You’re required to write out a “living will” that details exactly how you’ll pay the bills if you fail – because the rest of us aren’t bailing you out ever again. And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.

We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there’s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That’s bad for consumers, and it’s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.

And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to home owners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.

A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.”

“I recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt; energy and health care. But no matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right now: Nothing will get done this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because Washington is broken.

Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?

The greatest blow to confidence in our economy last year didn’t come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not. Who benefited from that fiasco?

I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad – and it seems to get worse every year.

Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa – an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.

Some of what’s broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything – even routine business – passed through the Senate. Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days…”

To read the speech in its entirety, click here.

Check out this brand new listing – coming to the Tampa Bay MLS on Monday! This 3 bed 3 bath home features 3,460 square feet including two large bonus rooms, one of which would easily convert to a 4th bedroom with an added closet. The main living area is on the 2nd floor and features a balcony that overlooks Tampa Bay. Outside you’ll find a winding staircase to the rooftop terrace that gives you a panoramic view of Tampa Bay, from downtown Tampa to downtown St. Pete and beyond! Enjoy the fireworks on 4th of July with a glass of wine right from your rooftop! The owner built this home to be virtually hurricane proof and “green” – its list of features go on and on. The average electric bill for this 3,460 sq. ft. home is only $120 due to the insulation used to build it! This home will be priced at $449,000. Call me today for a private showing. Click here to view the virtual tour.

As a cancer survivor myself (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 23!), I’m very involved with a local cancer charity, and last year I met a family that was in foreclosure and who’s son had a rare form of leukemia.  The wife had to leave her job to take care of the son’s medical issues full-time, and the mortgage just wasn’t in the cards once that happened.  If anyone was deserving of some of the special programs out there with short sale incentives, it was these people. We attempted to short sale their home but they got no offers. Then Bank of America gave them hope of a loan modification, so we decided to take it off the market as they really preferred to stay in their home.

This week I was driving through their neighborhood looking at another property for a client of mine, and I started thinking about them and decided to text the homeowner just to say hello and that I was wondered how they were doing. She wrote me back and said “Well we have a foreclosure court date tomorrow and have to be out by March 15th – the same day my son finishes his cancer treatments.”

WHOA!

I immediately called her and told her I had a crazy idea. I asked her to attend the court date and request an extension. I told her I had an investor in town who was going to be looking at properties with me the next day in that area, and what if we were to try one more time with a short sale, and perhaps I could get him to write an offer on it and we could not only stall the foreclosure process, but perhaps halt it, and give them a little more time.  She agreed.

Yesterday she attended the court date with her husband and they told me that out of 50 homeowners who’s files were being reviewed that day by the judge, only two families showed up to defend themselves (including them). The reportedly tough judge that was presiding over their hearing asked them if they still lived in the home and they said yes, and they told him they’d tried a short sale and loan modification but that Bank of America had been less than cooperative but that they wanted to try again. The judge recognized that they were trying and granted them a 90 day extension to try to short sale once more.  And guess what – my investor did write an offer so now these people have another shot at avoiding foreclosure.  And the best part – their son looked amazing and healthy, and was talkative and is doing beautifully.  I’m so happy for him regaining his health.

What are the chances! I happen to be in their neighborhood and they happen to have a court date the next day – call it fate or a higher power intervening, I just hope that whatever it was will also force the hands of Bank of America and allow this home to be short sold.  I haven’t had them say no so far to one I’ve submitted, so fingers crossed!

My point in writing this blog is that if you are facing foreclosure, whether you want to stay in the home or move out – don’t just let it foreclose. I know its not easy but you have got to fight back.  It will haunt your credit forever, and there are measures you can take, and programs you can apply for that will help you get back on your feet.  If you may be facing foreclosure, please call me today and let’s talk about your options – even if you aren’t sure you want to short sale, I’m happy to explain all the avenues available. I’m a Certified Distressed Property Expert and I have a 100% success rate getting short sales to the closing table, and my goal is to make the situation less stressful for you.  The only way we can clear this real estate market of foreclosures and distressed properties is by working together to fight back, and I’m here to help.

If you read today’s St. Petersburg Times, you’ll find this article by Mark Puente regarding my ordeal with US Bank and Freddie Mac on a short sale listing I have in Tierra Verde.  I’d contacted US Bank and Freddie Mac for months – over a year actually, but it’s sad that we Realtors have to go to extraordinary measures and practically stalk Senior Vice Presidents of major mortgage insurers to get a single short sale approved.  But I’ll do what I have to do to protect my client’s best interests.  And as far as giving credit where its due – I couldn’t have done it without help from my awesome title company, Hillsborough Title aka Tampa Bay Title, who’s short sale division helped me track down those top executive’s email addresses.  We got our official approval letter yesterday and are scheduled to close next week.  Hallelujah!

“After losing four buyers and waiting 379 days for a short sale to get approved on a Tierra Verde home, Realtor Liane Jamason asked for a Christmas miracle Tuesday afternoon.

She got one.

The agent at Smith & Associates Real Estate pleaded for help after finding email addresses of top officials at Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage giant that insures millions of mortgages.

She wanted them to prod officials at U.S. Bank to approve the deal.

“I am contacting all of you hoping for a belated Christmas miracle,” she wrote at 1:24 p.m. to six officials. “Our 5th set of buyers are getting antsy now and are on the verge of walking away if we do not have a response to their offer very quickly.”

Her miracle arrived at 3:21 p.m.

“Offer has been approved and servicer has been notified,” a regulator replied.

But had earlier offers been approved, the price would not have plummeted by more than $70,000 as buyers walked away frustrated. Taxpayers also lose when federal regulators and bank officials take months or years to approve sales of houses with government-backed mortgages.

Jamason didn’t expect a quick answer. She hoped only to move the deal along as U.S. Bank services the loan.

“I was shocked,” she said in a telephone interview. “This clearly shows they don’t have their processes straightened out. I’m still baffled. Clearly, this was just sitting on somebody’s desk.”

Freddie Mac officials did not return calls for comment.

The 1,729-square-foot house, with three bedrooms and two baths, was originally listed for sale at $299,000. The current price for the 33-year-old home is $229,000.

Jamason couldn’t disclose the amount of the latest offer but said it is near the asking price. The deal is expected to close in about 30 days.

The St. Petersburg Times reported this month that short sales — when a bank takes less than what is owed on a home — are up nearly 25 percent in Tampa Bay. The sales should continue to rise as lenders have become more willing to work with property owners to avoid foreclosure.

The housing market, experts say, cannot recover until thousands of local homeowners get rid of their underwater mortgages, clearing a big backlog of distressed properties. Short sales bring higher prices than foreclosed homes.

Ultimately, the very definition of a recovered housing market is higher prices.”

I get a lot of clients that tell me “I only want short sale and foreclosure listings sent to me” because they assume those are the best deals in the marketplace.  Did you know that over 76% of the 8,253 homes on the market today in Pinellas County are non-distressed properties?  Hint: This is not necessarily the case!

As we’ve talked about before, our listing inventory is shrinking and we are just about in a balanced market – neither a buyers or a sellers market.  There are currently 33% fewer homes for the buyer to choose from than there were at the end of October last year. Of the total number of active listings, fewer than 20% are short sales and 3.7% are bank owned. A mere 7% of the 1,400 new listings in October were bank owned properties, while almost 20% were short sales. In comparison to October 2010, non-distressed sales are up 20%, short sales up 57% and foreclosure sales are down by 12%.

Overall residential unit sales increased from 890 to 1079, or 21% from October 2010 to October 2011. The median sales price dropped 18% from $131,000 to $107,000 compared to 2010, but is up $18,000 year to date. Active listings continued to slide by 32% from October 2010 to October 2011, for 10 straight months of reduction in inventory.

Condo sales from October 2010 to October 2011 are up nearly 16%. The median sales price for condos had a significant drop from $104,000 to $75,000 and condo listings decreased from 5,484 to 4,127, or down 25% year over year.

The number of Single Family listings are down from 6,666 to 4,129, or 38%. The median sales price is down from $156,000 to $127,000 year over year. Single family sales increased from 528 to 659, or a 25% increase from October 2010 to October 2011.

So what does it all mean?  If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, hesitant to sell a home in Tampa Bay, contact us to find out what your home may be worth today or fill out this online form for a free and confidential market analysis.  Thinking about buying?  Search the Tampa Bay inventory of homes here.

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