Fort Lauderdale Real Estate | Buying a house or a condo in Fort Lauderdale | Selling your house or condo in Fort Lauderdale FL
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Direct: (954) 529-5505
Office: (954) 396-5900
RE/MAX Preferred
2810 E Oakland Park Blvd Ste 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL
(954) 396-5900
Cash-tra-tion (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/39909157/
Click on the above link for an article appearing today in MSNBC describing the horror story now going on between foreclosing Lenders and the Title Insurance Industry.
Earlier this month, I took up this problem with a major title insurer in our Fort Lauderdale market….who wishes all their cases were Bank of America, since that Lender gave Fidelity Title Insurance Company, his parent company, a blanket warranty of title for all properties they foreclose! He did not yet have an answer on what his company would do if the property was not foreclosed by Bank of America.
This could make all unsold REO’s non-saleable, except a sale to a less than knowledgeable Buyer that is willing to accept the risk of an invalid title, if that appears as an exception on Schedule B to Title Policies because
foreclosing Lenders deeding the property would not guarantee the insuring Title Insurance Company against this risk.
This MERS caused mess continues to be a tremendous problem; Lenders that developed and funded this MERS system, are apparently now having 2nd thoughts about its legality, because even they appear to be reluctant to
guarantee subsequent Title Insurers, and therefore REO Buyers, of good title.
In my view, the Title Insurers and the American Land Title Insurance Association, are correct in their believe there is a legal risk that the REO lender may not have acquired good title by foreclosure. The Uniform Land
Transactions laws, in my view, have been quite clear on this for centuries: Mortgages, and any subsequent Assignments thereof, must be recorded in the County’s land records, and notes setting forth the requirements for repaying that mortgage, must be endorsed to the mortgage assignee.
While this plays out, what will Lenders do with their foreclosures and their subsequent REOs? Are we, Tax Payers, to pick up that tab to bail out the banks for their deliberate screw-up?
I am not sure who is worse anymore: The Mafia’s bullyish scare tactics or the Lenders devious administrative practices?
All this could have been avoided if Lenders would have followed the laws of mortgage records and foreclosure procedures.
The internet is litterally oversaturated with thousands of sites offering the same thing but the first one who comes up with a new idea or product seems to imprint their brand which will forever remain the most popular on people’s minds much stronger than any others who copy original ideas.
And that applies to Realtor.com. In 1995, the National Association of Realtors® cornered the idea of gathering every single listing from every single local Realtor® association across the nation in a real estate site named Realtor.com (1) which also allows the general public to searxch listings. Naturally, soon, everyone copied Realtor.com but even to this date, people search properties on Realtor.com before they visit any other real estate sites because Realtor.com is the most accurate and reliable real estate web presence in the United States and, perhaps, world wide.
(1) ©1995-2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Move, Inc. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity REALTOR.com® is the official site of the National Association of REALTORS® and is operated by Move, Inc.
REALTOR® — A Registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Inquiries regarding the Code of Ethics should be directed to the board in which a REALTOR® holds membership.
Someone once told me recently that ”a bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it”.
Well, ain’t that the truth — getting a residential loan now-a-day is extremely difficult — only people with near perfect FICO scores with lots of cash down seem to qualify for loans. I don’t know why banks are worrying about making loans because they borrow from the Federal Reserve at 0.0 % and they are only paying depositors insulting interests — their loans are pure profit.
Banking has become only a one sided interest, theirs!
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Preferred servicing luxury homeowners in the Fort Lauderdale beach areas. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
In a “tug of war” game you need two opposite teams pulling at each end of a rope until the strongest side pulls down the entire opposite team.
Right now, Fort Lauderdale (or Southeast Florida) is witnessing a magnificent tug of war match between buyers and sellers. Both parties are pulling their end with equal force and nobody is falling down, anymore.
This is a great indication that we have reached the bottom of the real estate tumble. Prices of homes and condos have dropped significantly in the past four years down to those prices of 2002 and 2003 (depending on areas) and those sale prices have leveled off for quite a while, already. Sellers realize that they can’t let go any lower than the ground prices; that is what gives them the extra energy to pull harder of that rope.
Buyers, you know the roller coaster effetc: ater it reaches the bottom of the hill, it goes back up the next hill, again, and so on. The real estate roller coaster car is presently rifing the bottom of it’s highest hill. THAT’S WHY THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY YOUR PIECE OF SUNSHINE IN FORT LAUDERDALE BECAUSE, SOON, THE CAR WILL START CLIMBING.
If you don’t have that much space in your home or condo, then, watch this video of ingenious space-saver furniture. This is the answer.
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Preferred servicing Fort Lauderdale Beach. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported Monday that the July 2010 home sales (that includes houses, condos and townhouses) fell to 27.2 %. The media loves drama. Most reputalbe media had a field day with that NAR report by glooming their report with “This is the worse home sales decline in 15 years…. and probably caused by the termination of the stimulus package tax credit for first-time buyers at the end of April 2010″ making it sound like this is the end of the housing world.
OK. That’s reality. Get over it! This is not real estate doomsday. Here in Fort Lauderdale, Southeast Florida, yes the amount of property sales have slowed down some but there have been many, many sales in June and July. In fact, this month I am very busy working with buyers who are either making a local lateral move to larger homes or condos and snowbirds now preparing to buy something ready for the winter season.
Life may not be the best these days but life is gooood, nonetheless!
If selling “for sale by owner” (commonly known as FSBO) is so easy, then, why did the Tampa Bay based FSBO dynosaur filed for bankruptcy on July 29, 2010? Sure, everyone likes to save money - paying a real estate professional broker’s fee (commission) is reprellant to sellers as it is to pay any other professional fees for services rendered (doctors, attorneys, designers, architects, etc.) but paying a professional fees has it’s advantages.
FSBO seller and buyers must realize this: “Caveat Venditor” (Seller Beware) and “Caveat Emptor” (Buyer Beware). Ther are thousands upon thousands of horror stories ever come out of do-it-yourself buying/selling properties. That’s why the FSBO approach is only taking about 10% of the real estate market share. Moreover, FSBOs are not FREE!!! Similar to Buy Owner, there are many other FSBO vendors who, for a substantial up-front fee, they will sell you a package that will guarantee a presence on local MLS and that is all. Sellers are totally on their own without any support or advise from their FSBO representants, none whatsoever. And, if a co-broker brings a bonafide buyer to the closing table, sellers have to pay at least 2.5% to 3% commission in addition to the already paid up-front contract fee. Sellers may save a few bucks but is it worth the plethora of aggravations all the way to closing?
Realtors®, on the other hand, prepare, research, work with directly with their customers, do all the legwork of showings or taking their buyers to properties but mainly, they represent their customers’ best interest throughout the entire listing to closing process. Realtors® are continuously educated, totally aware of everything related to and/or conditions affecting their neighborhood markets plus they know the laws affecting real estate (they are not attorneys). They work under reputable brokers offices and they are supervised by their immediate brokers and by their local, state and national Realtor® Associations. They inform and educate thier customers of the latest trends in the industry and they help protect their clients best interest.
Hiring a Realtor® is money well spent.
Do you remember when you were a child playing on the beach by the lake or on the ocean shore with your plastic pale and shovel trying to build a sand castle?
That was kid’s stuff. Now that you are an adult, confident, successful and financially secured, come down to Fort Lauderdale, FL and build the real thing. If you don’t have time to take on that project, I’ll help you find the land and the right contractor to materialize it for you; or, you can buy an already built dream castle or a luxurious condo to make an impressive statement from the fine and exclusive selection of superb residences on the beach or near it .
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
John Bourassa, Realtor®
I must admit that real estate has dwindled down in South East Florida for the Summer and the media doesn’t seem to know what to make of the economic health of the Nation on this third quarter of 2010. It seems like everything has quieted down like we are in the eye of a storm.
Fear not ya’ll. Buyers and sellers are still on summer hiatus and soon will resume their activities. By the end of summer, things will get back to normal and there will be a surge of all sort of activities, including real estate.
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