There are so many great reasons to buy a house today.  Interest rates are low, inventory is plentiful and prices are at early 2000 prices.  There are some great deals available today.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers an $8000 tax credit for first time homebuyers that purchase between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.  There are some stipulations on how the credit would apply to each homebuyer.

Buyers can claim the credit on their federal income taxes.

Individuals are eligible for the credit with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000. It increases to $150,000 if filing jointly.

If the buyer(s) stays in the house for longer than 3 years they don’t have to repay the money.

I am attaching a link provided by the Florida Association that outlines the benefits and more details of the tax credit.

I am also attaching a link that outlines how the tax credit can be used towards the purchase of your home, using an FHA loan.  It cannot be used for your 3.5% down payment, however it may allow a buyer to put down a larger down payment.

With incentives such as the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, there’s no reason to wait to buy a home. 

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

I received a call from a young man on a house that I currently have available for rent. I always ask a series of questions when a prospective tenant calls on a property.

I asked how many people would be occupying the property. He told me 3. 

Is there one person that earns enough money to cover the monthly rent?

He indicated that the rent would be split three ways and each occupant would pay their portion to the landlord.

Unfortunately, I don’t care for situations like this.  As a landlord, I do not want to collect money from 3 different people living in the same house.  Sometimes one party has their money and one of the other parties or both of  other two don’t. I want one check, from one person, covering the entire monthly rent.   They can work out the money amongst themselves and figure out who owes whom what money.

What happens if one of the occupants decides to move out?  Then, the other two don’ t have enough to cover the rent?  In turn, they have to sublet the house to someone else so they can pay the bills. This can turn into another precarious situation.

Years back I purchased a rental, with the tenants in place, on a month to month lease.  They were roommates. When I went to pick up the rent, one occupant would have half of the rent, but the other wouldn’t have her half.  This went on for another month. It was like pulling teeth. Neither wanted to be responsible for pulling together the rent and paying in one lump sum. I told them they needed to have it figured out by the following month.  They could bicker amongst themselves over the money. They did begrudgingly figure it out, and I received one check from then on for the rent.

Be careful when renting a property, that you know exactly who will be paying the monthly rent. Stipulate in your lease who the responsible party will be that pays the rent. Otherwise, you may be treading on thin ice.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®,  Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

My family and I just came back from a visit to the West Coast of Florida, about 2 hours and 20 minutes from our home in Melbourne. Busch Gardens opened more than 42 years ago and is the home of Anheuser Busch and the World Famous Clydesdale Horses.  I hadn’t been to Busch Gardens in 25 years.

It rained the entire drive over to Tampa, and the prediction was that there would be 80% chance of rain for the day. But, we had already prepaid for the hotel and the park. So, we figured we would just get a little bit wet.

There are 4 steel roller coasters; Sheikra, Scopion, Montu and Kumba and one wooden one, Gwazi. There are 3 water rides, a couple of children’s sections in the park. There is a full day of things to do there.

There are some great shows that you shouldn’t miss: Katonga, Dance to the Music, Creative Critters, Pirates 4D.

  There were so many gorgeous sights to see and the grounds are impeccably maintained.

Busch Gardens sits on 335 acres and is Florida’s largest zoo.

It is home to hundreds of species of animals, and birds,

Many are on the endangered species list.

We visited the re creation of King Tut’s tomb.

We saw the World Famous Clydesdale horses that pull the Budweiser beer wagon.

This underwater sleeping hippo reached up every 3 to 5 minutes for a breath of air.

Sheikra was the first vertical drop roller coaster in the United States.

It is tied for being the tallest coaster.

This is at the top of floorless Sheikra.

Passengers are held at the top for 3-5 seconds, hanging over the edge.

  Then they take a 90 degree, 200 foot drop.

No thanks, I don’t like huge drops, so I just watched and took pictures.

All of the animals were out, because it was such a cool day.

The girls always love the Carousel.

Feeding time for the African Elephants.

This lion was trying to stay out of the rain.

The park is also home to Montu, the largest and fastest inverted steel roller coaster in the world.  This was the only roller coaaster that I went on. But, I had to be a trooper and go on at least one of them. 

I’m not much of a coaster fan, but my husband, oldest daughter, and the 2 friends we brought with us, can’t get enough of them. 

On our first day in the park we got pretty soaked. It rained alot. The rides had to be shut down frequently throughout the day due to inclement weather.  The park had to be closed early so we asked for rainchecks.  The park extended our tickets until the end of the year, for unlimited admission. We were tickled!

We headed back the following day, for a much better day, with the sun peeking from behind the clouds. It stayed nice and cool all day, with just a few sprinkles of rain.

We will get back over to Busch Gardens a couple more times before the end of the year.

If you plan a trip to Busch Gardens, and have never been there before, there’s a lot to see. So spend a couple of days there. 

Busch Gardens was one of the most beautiful theme parks I have ever visited.

And the animals were magnificent.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

 

 

Brevard County foreclosure filings were down for May 2009.  There were 770 filings last month. April had 851 and in March there were 963. To date 2009 has seen 4297 foreclosure filings.  In 2008 we had 9228 for the year. These numbers are for filings only.  They don’t indicate the total number of foreclosures.

Are the numbers down because more owners have been able to short sale their properties?  A short sale is when a bank or mortgage company agrees to take a lesser amount than the outstanding balance of the mortgage.  The property is sold because of a financial or economic hardship.  We are finding that many lenders are receptive to a short sale as it costs them considerably less than a property that goes into foreclosure. Some are even opting for a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Foreclosure filing fees in Florida increased on June 1 from $295 up to $1,900. The amount is determined on the price of the home.

The Melbourne Association of REALTORS estimates that one quarter of home sales today are short sales.

NOTE:  It is recommended that a seller contact an attorney, legal counsel or an accountant prior to doing a short sale to determine how a short sale will effect their individual situation.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®  , Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

In the Lake Washington Area of Melbourne:

There are currently 122 homes for sale. These include single family, as well as mobile homes.

There are currently 41 properties under contract. Some of these have been under contract for several months, as they are short sales, pending lender approval.

There have been 72 homes that have sold in 2009.

$            1  – $  250,000      58 properties            11 foreclosures   14 short sales

$  251,000 – $  500,000       12 properties         1 foreclosure     4  short sales

$  501,000 – $  750,000       1 property

$  750,001 – $1,000,000      0

$1,000,000+                      1 property

Some of these sold properties remained on the market for as many as 462 days, 673 days, 722 days, 938 days.

Our Lake Washington market has become quite active. And, we are seeing many homes selling, with multiple offers.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®,  Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

 

 

 

 

Hurricane season started on June 1.  FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency may fill foreclosed houses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Texas, if need be.

If there is a large storm that puts owners and/or tenants out of their homes, FEMA, is contemplating using specified vacant properties as temporary shelters, in the case of an extreme emergency.

FEMA will determine ahead of time which foreclosures would be used.  And, they have indicated that the owners/banks would be paid for the use of the properties.

We will have to wait to hear the details of how a plan like this would or could actually work.

Or, I suppose the question is…should a plan like this be considered?

Oh, so many questions and concerns…

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Brevard County real estate.

My daughter, Sam Shores broke 4 more World’s Records recently at the RAW United Powerlifting National Championships held in Melbourne Florida. Thus far she had broken 17 World’s Records and she currently holds 12 World’s Records.

Preparing for the deadlift…

Sam deadlifted 252 lbs.

Sam benched 92 lbs.

Sam squatted 190 lbs.

Sam lifted almost four times her body weight in all three lifts combined.

So, she walked away with Best Female Weightlifter of the Meet and she pulled in 4 world’s records for the meet. 

This meet qualifies her to go to the RAW Unity World’s Meet in January 2010 in Tampa, Florida. 

As a 14 year old powerlifter, Sam is the youngest powerlifter in the world to ever qualify to compete in this meet. 

She will be competing with some of the strongest powerlifters in the world.

Her sister Stephanie will be there to cheer her on.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage investment property. 

 

The Brunswick Harbour Lanes will have 99 cent a game bowling this Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  This is a great way for a family to spend some quality time together. A family of four can bowl 4 games for less than $20.00!  What a great deal! 

When they aren’t running this particular special, normally, if you arrive on a Sunday morning before 10:00 for bowling, then all the games you play are 99 cents a game.  You really can’t beat it.

Currently bowling shoe rentals are $3.99 + tax.  That drives the cost of bowling up.  My husband and I already had our own bowling shoes. I went to the local thrift store, and was able to pick up 3 pair of bowling shoes for $1.00 a pair.  Two pairs looked like they had never been worn.

   

So, head on over to Brunswick Harbour Lanes for 99 cent bowling.  You’ll have a great time!

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.

 

It’s time to dust off the ‘ole crystal ball and see where the real estate market is headed. Several times a week buyers and sellers ask if the market has hit bottom yet. News reports have indicated that we have hit bottom. People tell me we’ve hit bottom. Many are convinced that it has.  And, that may be the case in some parts of the country. But, I’m not completely convinced.

Have we seen signs that our market has bottomed out?  And if we’re at the bottom, how long will we stay there? Or do we still have a ride till we get to the bottom? The locals have homes they want to sell, but they are competing with the short sales and the foreclosures on the market.  So, will these sellers eventually, in time, become among the statistics, a short sale or foreclosure, because they can’t sell for what they owe?   

In essence will we see the domino effect? ‘My neighbor sold his house with a short sale and the new buyer is paying $1000 a month for their $100,000 home.  I am next door, with essentially the same house, purchased at the peak of the market for over $200,000, with my $2000 a month payment.’ What incentive is there for that owner to stay in place? What will these upcoming short sales and foreclosures do to the market?

I see positive signs in our real estate market. Buying has picked up and we are seeing multiple offers on attractively priced properties.   But, there are still signs that the economy is slow.  Stores have closed. Restaurants have closed. And, people have been laid off and will continue to be laid off.  What will this do the economy? Home prices seem to have stabilized.   Our prices are back down to early 2000 prices. They are affordable again, with low interest rates. Buyers are in the market today, scooping up the attractively priced properties. But, some are still waiting.

So crystal ball, don’t fail me know, tell me, if you can, what the future holds…

 

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Brevard County real estate.

We have been getting calls from investors that are looking to purchase investment property. They want to take advantage of our low prices and interest rates. Some want to buy a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood, with top of the line appliances and amenities. The feeling is that the nicer the property, the better clientele will be attracted to the property, so the more money they will collect in rent, thus the more money they will make.

There are many fallacies to real estate investing, and owning the nicest and biggest house on the block is one of them. 

Real estate is local in nature. And, each market across the country is different. So, I can only speak about and from my experience with Brevard County Florida real estate.

Real estate investing is all about the numbers. If the figures don’t work on paper, forget it.  The property should bring you positive cash flow today. Not tomorrow. Don’t buy with the thought that,  ‘I’ll hold it, and make a bundle when I sell.’  Look where that thinking got investors in 2005.  Stuck. Remember, tomorrow doesn’t always come in investing.

Houses in the $1000 a month price range and over are difficult to rent.  Often they sit empty for months, awaiting that “perfect” tenant.  The taxes and insurance are high. Often they have association fees. But, what is a perfect tenant?  Some owners have told me that they want only tenants with no children (we aren’t allowed to discriminate, unless it is an adult only community), no pets, non smokers and perfect credit. In my opinion these qualities don’t make a perfect tenant. People with perfect credit don’t need to rent for an extended period of time, and will quickly move to buy a house. Then, a vacancy will gobble up your cash flow.

Today, many of the calls we get come from prospective tenants with blemished credit, due to an unforeseen short sale or foreclosure.  Often times these people make exceptional tenants.

For me, I prefer smaller properties in the $650.00 to $850.00 price range. Smaller houses rent for more money per square foot than larger houses do. Currently, this range is where a high percentage of tenant calls originate. There are a larger number of tenants that qualify for these properties, as the rent is affordable. They stay rented for longer than larger properties and the taxes and insurance are less than on a larger property, often with no association fees.

It’s a great time to invest in Brevard County Florida real estate. But, do your homework first.  Make sure the numbers work on paper before you go out and and start looking. And remember, not everyone is cut out to be a landlord.

This article is authored by

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Brevard County real estate.