Festive Holday Boat Parades - A Tampa Bay Tradition

New York City may have its Macy’s Thanksgiving parade but here in Tampa Bay, we have a tradition of our own, the Tampa Bay Holiday Boat Parades.

These holiday boat parades feature boats of all sizes and shapes, adorned with festive lights, inflatable holiday characters and just as often, partiers aboard dressed as Santa and his elves or other holiday personalities. Some boats even feature live bands.

The parades are generally competitions, with judges determining awards in a variety of categories. After the parades, party-goers gather in local watering holes or go shopping for holiday presents in Tampa’s retail districts. Boat parades have become major Tampa Bay holiday events.

The city of Tampa holds two holiday boat parades this year, one held at the Davis Island Yacht Club parade on Dec. 13 and another, the Holiday Lighted Boat Parade, coming up on December 18th beginning at 6:30PM . Festively decorated boats will illuminate the sky and spread holiday cheer throughout the Channel District.

The Rough Riders will be accepting Teddy Bear donations during the parade and theirs will clearly be the boat to beat as they light up one of their best floats in honor of this holiday tradition.

Both Tampa holiday boat parades sail from the tip of Davis Island, through Sparkman Channel before turning west at Garrison Channel toward Channelside,

For those in the more southern part of Hillsborough County, Apollo Beach also holds a holiday boat parade that is generally well-attended and lots of fun.

Holiday boat parades, like so many other events that occur during all seasons of the year, are examples of why the Tampa Bay Florida is such a wonderful place for you and your family to live.

If you'd like to learn more reasons why the Tampa Florida metropolitan area is such a wonderful place to live and why right now is probably the very best time in years to buy a home or condo here, visit my Tampa Florida website or E mail me for more information. I'd be delighted to answer any questions you have and to show you the many wonderful home and condo bargains available right now throughout Tampa Bay.

You Don't Have to be a First-Timer to Take Advantage of the New Home Buyer Tax Credit

The first-time home buyer tax credit, that Realtors have reported jump-started home sales this Summer and Fall, but due to expire at the end of this month, has been extended through April 30, 2010 by Congress and is on its way to President Obama for his promised signature.

The extension expands eligibility for the home buyer tax credit to people with higher incomes as well as to people who have already owned a home for at least the past five years. In either case, the buyer must sign a purchase contract on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the purchase by June 30, 2010. The $8,000 maximum first-time buyer tax credit will continue but will now be available to individuals with incomes up to $125,000 and joint filers with annual incomes up to $225,000. Home buyers with incomes up to $145,000 and couples with incomes up to $245,000 will be eligible for somewhat reduced tax credits.

Under similar income limits, a $6,500 maximum tax credit will be available to people who already own a home and want to move up to a larger home.

Under the new income limits, two-thirds of all American families owning a home today may be eligible to buy a new home. While buyers will not be required to sell their current home to qualify, the tax credit must be used to buy a new "primary residence", not a vacation home or investment property.

To keep speculators out of the program, people who claim the credit but then sell the home or no longer use it as their primary residence within three years will be required to repay the credit. The intent is to exclude from the program speculators who might purchase a home intending to flip it for a fast profit, according to Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Here's a "heads-up" to those who may have considered buying a first home under the prior program but didn't quite get around to it.

"Contact a Realtor and get started now. You only have until April 30, 2010."

Congressional legislators in both houses have indicated that this costly part of the stimulus program will not be extended a second time. Critics point out that only about one-fourth of the homes purchased under the prior program would not have been bought anyway without the costly tax-credit program. There are also concerns that the previous tax credit program encompassed high numbers of fraudulent transactions. In this version of the program, the Internal Revenue Service has been given much wider authority to oversee the process to root out fraud.

If you are considering buying a first home or moving up to a larger home in the Tampa Bay Florida area I invite you visit my Tampa Real Estate website or for more immediate service, contact me by phone at 813-263-6806. I would be delighted to answer any questions you have.

Tampa September Home Sales Statistics Are Encouraging

The following update on Tampa area real estate sales was recently issued as a news release by the Greater Tampa Association of REALTORS® (GTAR)

"With negative news emanating from virtually every area of the economy, September real estate statistics in Hillsborough County offer encouragement for the local market.

"In statistics released by the Greater Tampa Association of REALTORS® (GTAR) and the Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service, two important figures, total home sales and inventory of homes on the market, improved in September over the previous month. Sales rose to 1,345 last month, up slightly from the 1,327 sold in August. The number represents the highest monthly sales in the county since June, when 1,394 homes sold.

"The inventory of homes on the market in Hillsborough County dipped to 14.21 months, down from 14.68 months in August, the lowest inventory figure since June of this
year, but more significantly, the second lowest figure since December, 2006, when the
figure stood at 9.04 months.

“Most economists believe our recovery will be slow and steady,” says Carol Austin, CEO of GTAR, “and these latest figures, while not dramatic, reflect that forecast.” Deborah Farmer, President of the REALTOR® association, believes the latest statistics offer more hope for the real estate market in the future. “The fact that inventory levels are down significantly since the beginning of 2008 is a number that should not be overlooked,” she noted. “The January 2008 inventory stood at nearly 26 months. To see that figure at its current level is more than encouraging,” Farmer said."

My belief is in line with these thoughts. The Tampa and Tampa Bay real estate market is beginning to show real signs of life again. The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has helped drive this upturn and it seems likely to me that Congress will extend, and may even expand, that program in 2010.

As it starts getting colder up North, it's time to start looking for that primary or seasonal home you've been wanting here in warm, sunny and inviting Tampa Bay Florida. Don't miss out on the current very attrative price levels. Prices will inevitably start moving up again as the economy improves and the inventory of unsold homes on the market contiues to fall.

Outdoor fun in New Tampa

Bicycle Riding is great in Tampa Bay
In my opinion, there is no better exercise for kids and adults than biking. And, there are many opportunities for bicycle riding in the Tampa Bay area. Whether you are interested in riding on the road or off-road trail riding, you can ride year round in west -central Florida. Local clubs schedule organized rides ranging from rides with just a few to hundreds of riders. The Tampa Bay Freewheelers lists several weekly rides for different skill levels and have longer organized rides with hundreds of participants. The Tampa Bay Freewheelers is sponsoring their Hilly Hundred Ride on October 18 2009, with varying distances of up to 100 miles and several hundred riders. Team New Tampa and Team Grupetto are other Tampa area groups dedicated to road biking. The SWAMP Mountain Bike Club is “an Organization of off-road cycling enthusiasts who share in the fun and excitement of Florida Mountain Biking”.
New Tampa has a great places to ride called Flatwoods Park, a Hillsborough County Recreation maintained park with miles of off-road trails for mountain biking and a seven mile paved loop road for road biking, skating, walking and running. In the Tampa area, hills are something we do not have too much of. Tampa bike riders looking for hills can travel to nearby San Antonio, FL. A local bike shop (San Antonio Cyclery), put out this map San Antonio, FL showing several hilly routes (40, 50 and 60 mile options).
New to biking? you might want to read Bicycling Street Smarts by John C. Allen. Need to buy a bike? Bicycle Magazine has a review of entry level bikes.

Want more information on Tampa and Tampa Bay ? May I invite you to visit my Tampa real estate and lifestyle website.

A Magical Hidden Property For Sale in Tampa Bay

MAGICAL is the word that describes this hidden property.

Calling old-time Florida lovers, this 7 acre tract in Hudson Florida, is a hidden time machine. The words tranquil, lush, wondrous describe this land.

Once you step on this property you will experience a transition to old Florida. Grand majestic oaks and enormous pines cover this private park. Own a magical piece of Florida, as this property has 3 fresh water springs. The property is mostly fenced.

Located close to the Hudson Marina, Hudson Beach, Hudson Elementary school, grocery stores and Bayonet Point Hospital. Owner financing is a possibility. Call to walk this property today. And, it is yours today for just $139,900. Call Cheryl Stimac, Broker at Red Shoe Realty, Inc. today at 813-263-6806 or cheryl@cherylstimac.com

Extend the Home Buyer Tax Credit - Yes or No?

Capitol Hill may be vacant right now as Senators and Congressmen are home listening to their constituents, but real estate and home builder lobbying group[s are actively working on a full-bore campaign to extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit currently scheduled to expire on November 30, 2009.

As you may know, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the stimulus package) authorized a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. The program has been quite successful in reducing the inventory of unsold homes while helping many afford to buy a first home.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are both hoping to persuade Congress to pass legislation to extend the tax credit as soon as possible after Congress returns to Washington next week. The two associations are contacting members of Congress even while they are in their home districts during their congressional recess. One of the things they are pushing for, in addition to an extension of the first-time home buyer credit, is to expand the program to cover all home buyers through the end of 2010.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently indicated that he believes “it's something we can get done.” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Democrat Chris Dodd and Republican Johnny Isakson are sponsoring a bill that would extend the credit through 2010 and expand it to a $15,000 maximum. In the House, two bills have been introduced to extend and expand the credit for either 6 or 12 months. Both the NAR and the NAHB organizations are strongly supporting these initiatives.

With this impetus, it seems likely that in one form or another, the tax credit will be extended into next year, but...

As we've come to understand, there is no such thing as a "sure thing" in Washington. NAR spokesman Walter Molony recently justified his organization’s support for the tax credit saying that it is reducing the inventory of unsold homes and stabilizing pricing, benefiting the economy since in his judgment house prices “overshot to the downside.” But, the NAR also estimates that 1.8 million to 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit before the current version expires. the program, as it now exists is expected to cost about $15.20 billion.

Viewed another way, NAR's own estimate is that only 350,000 of the homes sold under the program would not have been sold without the tax credit. If you now divide the $15.2 billion the program cost by only those 350,000 homes that would not have been sold without it and you get a whopping $43,000 per additional home sold. And, critics say, the numbers will only get worse if the program is extended and expanded to cover all home buyers.

These opposing views of the program could lead fiscal conservatives in both the Democratic and Republican parties to complain that any extension will only add to the ballooning national debt. Legislation that looks, at any given moment, as if it will clearly be enacted can be delayed, watered down, or frustrated in the House and filibustered in the Senate.

So, if you are in the market for a home, and particularly if you haven't owned a home in the past three years, so you qualify for the current $8,000 tax credit, you should be working with a Realtor like Cheryl Stimac, a competent and honest Tampa Florida real estate expert right now to buy the home you've been wanting so you can close on it before the November 30th expiration of the current program.

If you aren't already involved in buying a Tampa Bay home of your own, E-Mail Cheryl or call her at Red Shoe Realty, Inc at 813-263-6806 right away and get started toward owning your piece of the Tampa Bay, Florida paradise.

$1.8 Billion in Education Stimulus Money Coming to Florida

The U.S. government recently released $1.8 billion in stimulus money for education to Florida, shortly after the state applied for a waiver required because the state has underfunded education in previous years.

"The $1.8 billion Florida is receiving is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement. 'Florida can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation for education reform."

Although the money is expected to plug holes in school-district budgets to save jobs, some of South Florida's school districts may still see some layoffs. School districts won't get the funds directly from Washington. Florida law makers, confident the state would get the money, allocated these funds to shore up the education portion of the 2009-10 budget the Legislature approved last month. That allowed legislators to tout a small increase in per-student spending in Florida.

In addition to the $1.8 billion in stabilization funds, Florida has received almost $600 million more in education stimulus dollars -- including about half the money the federal government designated for low-income schools, programs for disadvantaged students and other grants.

Another $891 million in stabilization money will also become available later this fall.

To receive the funds, the state had to assure the federal government that it would closely track education statistics, including annual student improvements, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, and interventions in turning around under performing schools. The state will also be required to report how many jobs are being saved with the stimulus money, how the funds are used, and what state and local tax increases were avoided because of the federal dollars.

While all this spending may seem to be a mixed bag of benefits and downsides, there is little doubt that this infusion of money will help improve the schools around the state and here in Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

If you would like more information on any aspect of life here in Tampa Bay, feel free to E-Mail me with your questions or visit my Tampa Bay Florida real Estate website.

Foreclosure VS Short Sale

HELPING HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

RED SHOE REALTY has earned the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This training will mean a lot to us to be able to help homeowners that may be facing the foreclosure process.

A Short Sale allows a homeowner to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

In the Tampa area, thousands of homes are in danger of foreclosing. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune.

“My training and experience in dealing with lenders in negotiating short sales will be invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales”. Our focus in this is to help homeowners who may feel paralyzed by their circumstances.

The Distressed Property Institute training in short sales can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. Having this training allows me to better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience.

“Our goal is to help as many homeowners as possible”.

The following chart compares the implications of going through a foreclosure with the implications of a short sale. I have also copied an article from the Wall Street Journal (June Fletcher, November 22, 2008) that illustrates some of the complexities of dealing with foreclosure compared to a successful short sale. (I hope you don’t have 12 properties in foreclosure.)

	Foreclosure VS. Short Sale Homeowner Consequences
Issue	Foreclosure	Successful Short Sale
Future Fannie Mae Loan Primary Residence	A homeowner who loses a home to Foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage for a period of 5 years.	A homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible far a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Fannie Mae Loan Non Primary	An Investor who allows a property to go to Foreclosure is ineligible for e Fannie Mae backed investment mortgage for a period of 7 years.	An investor who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed investment mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Loan with any Mortgage Company	On any future 1003 application, a prospective borrower will have to answer YES to question C in Section VIII of the standard 1003 that asks “Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?” this will affect future rates.	There is no similar declaration or question regarding a short sale.
Credit Score	Score may be lowered anywhere from 250 to over 300 points. Typically will effect score for over 3 years.	Only late payments on mortgage will show and after sale, mortgage will be reported as paid or negotiated. This will lower the score as little as 50 points if all other payments are being made. A short sale’s affect can be as brief as 12 to 18 months.
Credit History	Foreclosure will remain as a public record on a person's credit history for 10 years or more	Short sale is not reported on a credit history. There is no specific reporting item for “short sale”. The loan is typically reported “paid in full, settled”.

	Foreclosure VS. Short Sale Homeowner Consequences
Issue	Foreclosure	Successful Short Sale
Security Clearances	Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance outside of a conviction of a serious misdemeanor or felony. If a client has a foreclosure and is a police officer, in the military, in the CIA, Security, or any other position that requires a security clearance, in almost all cases clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated.	A Short Sale on its own does not challenge most security clearances.
Current Employment	Employers have the right and are actively checking the credit regularly of all employees who are in sensitive positions. A foreclosure in many cases is ground for immediate reassignment or termination.	A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.
Future Employment	Many employers are requiring credit checks on all job applicants. A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items an applicant can have and in most cases will challenge employment.	A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.
Deficiency judgment	In 100% of foreclosures (except in those states where there is no deficiency) the bank has the right to pursue a deficiency judgment.	In some successful short sales it is possible to convince the lender to give up the right to pursuit a deficiency judgment against the homeowner.
Deficiency Judgment (amount)	In a foreclosure the home will have to go through an REO process if it does not sell at auction. In most cases this will result in a lower sales price and longer time to sale in a declining market. This will result in a higher possible deficiency judgment.	In a properly managed short sale the home is sold at a price that should be close to market value and in almost all cases will be better than an REO sale resulting in a lower deficiency.

Wall Street Journal November 22, 2008
Short Sale vs. Foreclosure
In default and underwater on 12 properties, a reader wonders if selling at a loss is any better than just walking away

By JUNE FLETCHER

Q. I am in default on 12 jointly-owned properties that I am trying to liquidate as part of a divorce. All of my properties are currently worth less than the mortgage balances, due to the tough real estate market. I am aware that I will likely be taxed for the amount of the mortgage I had that is not satisfied by any particular short sale. It seems that this would not be the case if the house is foreclosed on, or becomes bank-owned.
This almost encourages homeowners to allow foreclosure, rather than to participate in helping to sell the property (when there is no equity left), because there is not "an amount forgiven" to be taxed on. I recognize that the benefit of short-sale is to lessen the effect on one's credit report, but if a homeowner is already missing payments, how much worse will a foreclosure look?
A. Although you own an unusual number of homes, your dilemma in trying to choose between a short sale and a foreclosure is, sadly, not at all unusual these days. So I asked Craig Watts, public affairs manager of Fair Isaac Corporation in San Francisco, to comment on your case. Fair Isaac is the company that created the FICO score, used by lenders to assess borrowers' creditworthiness.
Mr. Watts said that the company assesses every negative on a credit report by three factors: recency (how recently did the negative event occur), severity (how late is the payment) and frequency (how many times you've been reported delinquent on credit obligations).

A recent bankruptcy does the most damage to your score. Mr. Watts adds that if lenders are reporting all of your mortgages as in default, the damage to your FICO score would be akin to declaring bankruptcy on all 12 accounts. For more information on credit scores and how they are calculated, visit the "credit education center" at http://www.myfico.com/.
Although a short sale, where the lender agrees to take less than owed on the mortgage, will drop your FICO score as much as a foreclosure will, there is one advantage to it: You may be eligible to buy a home with an institutional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac more quickly than you would if it went into foreclosure. Lenders encourage short sales over foreclosures because they generally net more from them, since foreclosures incur additional marketing, legal, processing and carrying costs. (For details, see Fannie Mae's announcement 0-82.) Borrowers can be considered for loans following a short sale aftter 24 months, if the sale was caused by extenuating circumstances outside of a borrowers' control, or 48 months if it was the result of financial mismanagement on the borrower's part, according to Freddie Mac public relations director Brad German.
As for your tax situation: because of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 and the recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, you can exclude up to $2 million of income ($1 million if married filing separately) from debt that's discharged through mortgage restructuring, or that's forgiven in connection with foreclosure, for the years 2007 through 2012. The exclusion must be connected with a decline in the home's value or the taxpayer's financial condition, and only applies to a principal residence, not investment properties. You can claim relief on your principal residence through IRS form 982. However, Mike Martin, a financial consultant and tax advisor in Independence, Mo., notes that there may be other provisions in the law that can help you: For instance, if you are insolvent when your debt is cancelled, some or all of that debt may not be taxable.
Given the complexity of your situation, please don't try to resolve this situation on your own: Seek professional tax and legal advice.

Why Conserve Water

To some of us, Florida seems to be a land with unlimited water resources, but
closer examination shows that this is not the case. Population growth has been tremendous in all of Florida and especially in the Tampa Bay area. Early in our history, water supplies were very inexpensive and were located in or close to our towns. As our area grew, we used up our cheap and near–by water supplies. Early in the 20th century, withdrawals in Tampa and Saint Petersburg caused saltwater intrusion and therefore further reduced the locally available supplies. This caused the cities to reach out into rural areas for their water. In the Tampa Bay area, water supplies were either obtained from large inland area well fields or from the Hillsborough River. Initially, we thought that large well fields were a perfect solution, the water was cheap, excellent quality, and had the added benefit of drying out swamps.

As ground-water withdrawals increased and we began to better understand the environmental value of wetlands, the impacts to lakes and wetlands from the regional pumping became devastating. Hundreds of acres of wetlands and dozens of area lakes were dried out. As the City of Tampa’s water needs increased, pumping from the Hillsborough River increased to a point where the City took all of the flow in the river. Consequentially, during some times of the year, no fresh water was allowed to flow over the dam to Tampa Bay. As the City’s pumping increased and we better understood the environmental impacts to the Bay from reducing the fresh water inflows, we recognized that the river and the bay were being harmed by loss of estuary habitat. The bay depends on a steady clean freshwater diet to create the highly fertile nursery areas and low-salinity habitats that the estuary’s ecosystems and sport fisheries. The impacts to the lower river and the bay were aggravated by storm-water pollution.
All of these man-induced problems caused by over-pumping are aggravated by the variable nature of rainfall. Although Florida gets about 50 inches of rainfall on average, in some years we get less than 40 inches and in some years more than 60. In the less than 40 inch years, we see more impacts from pumping and in the more than 60 inch years we see flooding.

So Why Conserve? Conserve water not just because we need more water to fuel our growth, but because we need more water to fuel ourselves, (people who already live here). We have to develop alternative sources of water both for more people to move here and because we have to change some of the existing sources that are hurting our natural environment. But Why Conserve? Because conservation is one of the least expensive sources of water possible today. Other alternative sources (desalination, other surface waters, reclaimed water, and long distance pipelines) are much more expensive than conservation. In the same way that energy conservation allows a city or utility to postpone building a new generating plant, water conservation allows us to forego construction of a new and likely much more expensive water supply.

What is meant by Conservation?
Modern water conservation simply means being more efficient in using water so that we can do all the things that we want to do with water, but do them with much less water. We want to plant landscapes that require little or no irrigation but still are lush and green and pleasant to look at. We want to install highly efficient plumbing features (toilets, shower and sink faucets, outside irrigation controllers) in our new homes (and retrofit our older homes) so that we use less water for the same purposes. If you buy a new home in our area, your home will most likely have very high efficiency plumbing. If you buy a resale older than 15 or 20 years old, you could benefit from installing higher efficiency plumbing fixtures.

Much of the hard part or work of conservation is mental. We have to change how we think of water from a cheap plentiful unlimited resource to a scarce extremely limited resource. One of the best tools for conservation is inclined or increasing utility rate. Under an inclined rate we pay more per gallon for our water the more we use. For the first 1000 gallons per month we might only pay $2 or $3 per 1000 gallons, but for the next 1000 gallons per month the rate is increased to $4 or $5 per thousand.

Planning to Sell - Focus on Your Kitchen

When it's time to put your home on the market, many real estate experts recommend that you focus on updating the kitchen first. For many potential buyers, especially the wives, the kitchen may be the most important room in the home. The condition and appearance of the kitchen has the power to make or break a sale.

So, if you want your home to sell quickly at a good price, do everything you can to enhance it before you start showing the home to buyers. Remember however as you appraoch this task that the money you spend is a cost of selling. Don't do a complete remodelling unless the kitchen really needs it. A good Realtor, like Cheryl Stimac, a Tampa Bay Florida real estate expert can give you advice on the extent of remodeling that you should invest in.


Start by creating space. You want you kitchen to look large, light and roomy. Clear the counters of all clutter. Take everything you can out of drawers and shelves and move it into storage. Remove all those magnets from the refrigerator and if the refrig looks scratched, give it a fresh coat of porcelain paint. What you want them to see is a warm, open and inviting space, not your old pots, pans and toaster.

Consider fresh paint. Paint is the most profitable improvement. A fresh coat of light, neutral colored paint on your kitchen walls will make them look spotless and new. Exactly the look you want.

Pay particular attention to the sink. If your faucet looks old and dated, replace it with a new one. It will go a long way towards improving the look of the whole kitchen, for very little money.

If your counter tops look old and tired, you should consider new ones. Today you can buy corian or even granite countertops at reasonable prices. Talk to your local Home Depot or Lowe's hardware satore. Remember to stick with neutral colors, nothing too flashy.

Check the stove and oven. The oven should be spotless. If the stove is a glass-top mmodel, scrub it until there is no residue at all on it. A sparkling range looks great. A dirty one laeves the prospect wondering if the rest of the house is any better maintained. Don't let them even "go there".

Freshen up the cabinets. Replacing cabinets is expensive and seldom makes a good investment. But you can paint them, or put new, modern looking pulls on them for very little money. A fresh rub-down with a good cleaner-polish will give them a fresh look.

Check the windows. You'd be amazed how many people forget to wash the window over the sink or the sliding glass doors next to the dining area. if the trim looks dull, a fresh coat of paint there will also add sizzle.

Finally, a trick that works amazingly well. Just before prospective buyers come, bake a fresh batch of cookies in your oven. And, yes, leave the cookies out for them to sample.

In short, buyers will quickly notice any shortcomings in your kitchen, so do everything you can to freshen it up and give it a modern, open, airy and spacious and "inviting" look.

Are Home Mortgages Really Available Right Now ?

The simple answer to that question is is "yes" but the mortgage you might get today will be way different from the one you might have gotten away with as recently as a year or two ago. There are at least four mortgage sources you might want to consider if you are hoping to buy a home in the Sarasota area while prices are still low.

Before the big "mortgage meltdown," people were able to qualify for a mortgage without even having to prove their actual income, among other things. Today, you'll not only have to be able to document your famly income, but you'll also have to provide information on other assets and liabilities that you have. Mortgage lenders also now want to accurately measure your "debt-to-income ratio", that is, what percentage of you total and take-home pay will be consumed by this mortgage if it is approved. And, there are now few, if any, no-down payment or ridiculously-low down payment loans.

If you meet these qualifications, there is mortgage money available. Mortgage approvals are now based on the more reasonable bases on which mortgages were granted before all the foolishness began a few years ago and the mortgage business eventually crashed and burned when the housing bubble burst. Mortgages being provided today "have to make-sense" in terms of the borrower's ability to repay the loan over time. No longer can you and/or the mortgage provider bet on housing prices going up and up forever so regardless of how silly the situation was at mortgage origination, there would be endless increases in the value of the home
to "bail both the buyer and the mortgage company out the ridiculous mortgage granted." Nonetheless, there are mortgages available today to those who can qualify for them.

FHA-insured mortgages

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) -insured mortgages have been available for decades, focused predominantly on low-to moderate-income families who may not meet
requirements for a conventional loan with a 20% down-payment required. FHA-insured mortgages can require as little as 3.5% down payment with no pre-payment penalty. Credit scores and debt-to-income ratios have been relaxed somewhat to allow more families to buy one of the many homes on the market right now.

Of course, there is always, "good news" and "not so good news" in situations like this. First the "not so good news." With the lower down-payment on an FHA mortgage comes an upfront "mortgage insurance fee" that must be paid at closing plus a monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) that essentially adds a half-percentage point to your interest rate.

But the "good news" is that your Realtor, working with the seller and mortgage provider, can structure your loan so that the home seller pays all or nearly all of your closing costs, other than the 3.5% down payment. In the current market environment, many home sellers are willing to participate in this type of arrangement to get their home sold.

FHA-insured mortgages with the lowest interest rates will go only to buyers with a debt-to-income ratio of less 33% or less where your "debt" is the total monthly cost of the home, including principal, interest, property taxes and insurance (PITI) plus any other monthly debt you owe like auto payments, credit card debt, student loans, etc.

Under the stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama last month, more American families will now be eligible to purchase or refinance their homes using affordable FHA-insured mortgages. This act allows increases for the year 2009, in the maximum loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae loans. These
limits are equal to the greater of 125% of the 2008 local area median home price or $271,050 for FHA, and $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, with an overall maximum cap of $729,750.

Credit Union Loans
While they tend to issue mortgages only to their own members, the credit union you may participate in at work or in your community may also be a source of an attractive mortgage. Most credit unions avoided the mortgage melt-down because they stuck to solidly-based mortgage underwriting principles. As not-for-profit firms, credit unions had no incentive to get involved in the "make a quick buck on closing fees and sell it off the same day" sub-prime mortgage schemes and scams.

Credit union fixed and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are often written at lower interest rates than are available at conventional banks.

"Hope for Homeowners" Mortgages
The "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" created "Hope For Homeowners" (H4H) program which allows troubled mortgage holders to avoid facing foreclosure by refinancing their existing mortgage into a more affordable, FHA Secure mortgage, provided the federal government participates in any increase in the value of the home over time and the holder of the existing mortgage agrees to go along with the re-financing. This program increases the allowable loan to value ratio (LTV) to 96.5% for some H4H loans and allows lenders to extend mortgage terms from 30 to 40 years further reducing the monthly payment. More information on H4H loan programs is available on the HUD Hope for Homeowners website.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
The ARRA offers assistance to first-time home buyers by providing an $8,000 tax credit for the purchase of a principal residence between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. The tax credit is claimed on your tax return reducing the purchaser's income tax. Two bonus features of this program are:

• The tax credit does not have to be paid back


• If any credit amount is unused, that amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser.
  

Local and State Programs in Your Own Area
If you are a first-time homebuyer or a low-to-moderate income family, you should investigate whether ther are local or state housing assistance programs that can be helpful. Some programs offer very low-interest loans or even grants to families these agencies want to attract into their communities.  These programs are also sometimes aimed at municipal employees, police officers, firefighters and other first-responders the local area has difficulty recruiting.

So...are mortgages available right now? The answer is definitely "yes. Mortgages are definitely available" and you should contact your Realtor today to see if you can qualify for one of these programs.

I would be delighted to help you find both the right home and the right mortgage for your circumstances. Vist my Tampa Bay Florida real estate website or call me at 813-263-6806.

The Seller Can Help You Buy Their Home

If you and your family are ready now to buy your first home, but you're not sure you have enough cash stashed away, there are ways in which a home seller can assist you in buying his home. A competent Tampa Bay Realtor can review all of your options but here are a few examples.

FHA MORTGAGE WITH SELLER FINANCED CLOSING COSTS
An FHA mortgage requires as little as 3.5% of the purchase price as a down payment. These mortgages have been available for years. Your Realtor, working with the home seller and an FHA-approved mortgage provider, can structure a mortgage loan so that the seller pays all or nearly all of your closing costs. The seller cannot assist you with the 3.5% down payment, but can pay just about everything else at your closing. In the current market environment, many home sellers are willing to participate in this type of arrangement to get their home sold.

SELLER-PAID BUY DOWNS
There are many variations of "Buy Downs," Some are permanent, where the interest rate is reduced over the full life of the loan. Other buy downs are temporary, reducing your interest rate, and therefore your monthly payment, for the first 1 - 3 years. The most popular is what's known as a "3-2-1 Buy Down." Here's how it works. For the first year your rate is 3% below the market interest rate; the second year 2% below, and for the third year the interest rate you pay is 1% below the agreed-upon interest rate. This allows you to grow into your loan payments over 3 years. If you expect your family income to grow over that period by enough to cover the eventual cost, this may be an attractive option for you. "Buying down" your first 3 years of loan payments in this manner will cost the seller about 4.5% of the loan amount. Here is an example on the purchase of a home with a $225,000 mortgage with a fixed rate of 6.5%. The full monthly rate on this mortgage would be $1,422.15/month. Using a 3-2-1- buy down, the first year's payments would be $1,010.35, the second year's is $1,140.04, the third year's - $1,277.53, and then for the remaining 27 years, $1,422.15. The "buy down" of the first 3 years payments saved you, the buyer, over $10,000 in mortgage payments in addition to making your payments more affordable for those first 3 years.

There are other buy-down processes your Realtor can discuss with you. Another popular one is a 2-1 buy-down which works like the 3-2-1 program but reduces the interest rate for only the first two years.

SELLER FINANCING
Less frequently, but occasionally, there are sellers who own their home outright (no mortgage on the property) who will agree to assist you by holding your mortgage. In this case, you do not have to qualify through the normal bank financing route. In effect the seller, instead of a bank or other mortgage company, becomes your mortgage provider. Such a mortgage can be written with essentially any terms and conditions that you and the seller agree upon ranging from financing 100% of the purchase price to requiring a minimal or larger down payment, with or without a "balloon payment" at some point in the future, and for a term of 10, 15, 25 or 30 years.

Such private lenders frequently charge a higher interest rate and may try to use this approach to get the highest possible price for their property. So protect yourself by working with a competent Realtor who can make certain that you are not over-paying for the home you want.

The point of this discussion is this. if you'd like to buy a home now, one of these seller-assisted approaches may work for you. Don't be scared off because you don't think you have enough saved up yet. The price of homes and the interest rates are as low right now as they have been in a long time. Meet and discuss your options with a competent Realtor like Cheryl Stimac, a Tampa Florida Real Estate professional. Got questions about all this? Call Cheryl Stimac today at 813-263-6808 or email her at cheryl@cherylstimac.com

You may be closer to your dream of home ownership than you have dared to hope.

Important announcement!

Pasco County Florida is in line to receive close to $ 19 million in funds to help home buyers.
Home buyers can receive up to $30,000 in home buyer assistance. Please contact me at 813-263-6806 so I can help you access these funds for the purchase of a home in Pasco county. Yes there are requirements and you must take a home buyer class. Funds are being distributed to different programs so don't waste any time to get qualified for these monies.

Getting Involved with "Green' Building in your Home

    As we end the arguably "troubled" year of 2008, it might be uplifting to consider something we could all get involved with in 2009 to begin moving our ourselves, our planet and, in particular, our homes toward a more eco-friendly an sustainable lifestyle.

    Yes, owning a home of your own is clearly the ultimate "American Dream", but some of us now want to go further and move our homes is the direction that has become to be known as "green".

    Some may want to build their own green home from scratch. For those, the trend to "building green" calls for using materials that are environmentally friendly, designing spaces to utilize energy more efficiently, furnishing the home with Energy Star-rated appliances, and avoiding waste and using natural resources as much as possible.   For others, becoming more green, may involve just remodeling or updating your home.  In either case, there are many resources on the Internet to help you find your way.

    As the author of the greenhomebuilding.com website says, "The reason for building greener homes is really quite important.  We need to live more lightly on the earth, because the degradation of our environment is ompromising not only our survival, but the survival of most other living beings on the planet.  We can no longer ignore the impact we have on the earth's ecosystems. nbsp;The way we live, the choices we make in providing for our needs, will have an enormous influence on the quality of life of those who will follow us."

    If you’re looking for tips, plans and pointers to consider as you contemplate perhaps building that "green home," or just employing an environmentally-friendly approach in your remodelling, there are many Internet-based website resources that offer information and assistance:

• GreenHomeBuilding.com This website offers a wide range of information about sustainable architecture and natural building including plans,
  designs and other resources that help get you started with ideas for your own green home.  In addition to eco-friendly (sustainable) designs, you also have find options that focus on local architecture and use of indigenous materials.  You can also seek expert opinions or buy building codes and other resources.



• GreenHomeGuide.org is a guide maintained by the United States Green Building Council.  This website offers comprehensive information on green-home programs, green remodeling guidelines for remodeling kitchens, baths, flooring and more... even landscaping as well as many other resources.  You will learn how to get your home Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and other interesting facts and figures.



• GreenBuilding.com: The author of this site, green building expert David Johnston, is a leading thinker behind the green building movement, transforming the way we think about the American home.  His approach to green building has been embraced by municipalities, homeowners, building professionals and sustainability advocates nation-wide.  Johnston’s current book, "Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time," co-authored with fellow green building consultant Kim Master, and available on Amazon.com has been hailed as the definitive guide to green remodeling techniques.  This website explains how a green home should be constructed and offers links to professionals in the field.  The website also contains many "fast facts" about the waste that goes on in a typical home.  You can also learn how to go about a green remodeling project or talk to experts on energy to learn how your home can benefit from such investments.



• BuildingGreen.com offers a live feed of news items related to green building from around the world.  Other links offer access to green projects, products and informative articles.



• GreenIsUniversal.com While this site offers some of the same resources to help build sustainable, eco-friendly homes offered by other websites, this site also offers a Virtual Reality Game where you can play at building your own green home online.

    If you'd like more information about this topic, I would be pleased if you would contact me by E-Mail or by phone at 813-263-6806. You may also want to visit my Tampa Bay Florida real estate website.