The single most common question I am asked is, “What is happening with my homes value”?  This is not always an easy question to answer because there are so many variables from home to home.  There is good news for you if you live in the Broward County, area.  

Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group has developed a new internet system that will give you complete information on what is taking place with the market around your home.  This program gives complete details on homes listed, sold and value trends.  The program offers the numbers in easy to view graph form and it is very detailed and specific to your home and neighborhood.  You will even see a Google Earth view of your home and surrounding neighborhood.  The best part is that this analysis is sent to you by e-mail and the updated for your monthly.  You can take advatage of this great new system by visiting our web site at http://www.courtneysilverman.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=1628494.

In Fort Lauderdale, there are a few Outside KitchenVendor Resources that stand out.  They are:

Allied Kitchen & Bath 954-564-1611 Ft. Lauderdale
Broward Custom Kitchens 954-960-0550 Pompano Beach
The Kitchenworks, Inc. 954-764-1482 Ft. Lauderdale
Olde Native Trading Company 561-296-9620 West Palm Beach
Outdoor Living Concepts 561-615-1325 West Palm Beach
Shuster Design Associates, Inc. 954-462-6400 Wilton Manors

For resources on any home improvement project, contact Courtney Silverman, The Keyes Comnpany / Realtors

HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME FOR TOP DOLLAR. If you are thinking about selling your house or condo, this is the best time of year to do so. However, a successful home sale requires preparation and planning.
 
 The first step is to get your residence into near “model home” condition. That means cleaning, repairing and painting. But don’t go overboard with renovations. Let your buyers remodel to their taste. Most home improvements rarely bring in as much in additional sales price as they cost.
 
 However, modest-cost cosmetic improvements usually pay off. Profitable examples include fresh paint inside and outside (paint is the most profitable dollar-for-dollar improvement you can make), new light fixtures, new floor coverings (if needed) such as wall-to-wall carpets, and outdoor landscaping spruce-up.
 
 THE BEST WAYS TO DETERMINE YOUR HOME’S MARKET VALUE. Home sales prices depend on recent sales prices of nearby comparable residences within the last few months. A good place to start is on the Internet to determine your home’s approximate market value.
 
 A brand-new Internet Web site that provides free “guesstimates” of home values is www.Zillow.com. When I checked my home, I was amazed to see an aerial photo of my house, including the lot boundaries. The Zillow estimate of my home’s market value was remarkably accurate. However, this remarkable new Web site doesn’t yet cover the entire nation.Another free Internet home-value-estimate Web sites include www.REALTOR.com  This Web site will often refer you to a local realty agent.
 
 After you have had fun with the Internet estimates of your home’s market value, if you are a serious home seller, the best way to obtain a more accurate market value estimate is to interview at least three successful local real estate sales agents.
 
 Even if you are thinking about selling your home alone (known as “FSBO - For Sale By Owner” or “fizzbo”) the agents you interview won’t mind giving you their listing presentations. The reason is they know most “for sale by owners” give up and list with a professional agent within 30 to 60 days.
 
 KEY QUESTIONS TO THE LISTING AGENT YOU INTERVIEW. The reason it is so important to interview your local agents is to understand their sales ability and their CMAs (comparative market analysis) of your home’s market value.
 
 The interview, including the agent’s inspection of your home, should take about an hour. This will be time well spent.
 
 The reason is that the agent should prepare a written CMA showing the agent’s estimate of your home’s market value. The CMA will include recent sales prices of comparable nearby homes, the asking prices of neighborhood homes now listed for sale (your competition), a list of recently expired nearby listings which didn’t sell, and the agent’s estimate of your home’s market value.
 
 In addition to receiving each interviewed agent’s CMA, here is a list of key questions to ask each agent (the best agents anticipate these questions as part of their listing presentations):
 
 1.) What are the names, addresses, and phones of your five most recent home sales listings?
 Before you decide to list with one of the agents interviewed, be sure to phone those recent sellers to ask, “Were you in any way unhappy with your listing agent?” and, “Would you list another home for sale with the same agent?”
 
 2.) How long have you been selling homes in this area? Do you sell real estate full-time? What professional courses and designations have you completed?
 
 Some agents will resent these questions, realizing you are a well-educated home seller. But the best agents will have anticipated these important questions.
 
 Occasionally, you will find a successful part-time agent who comes highly recommended by recent home sellers. Or you might encounter a promising new licensee who has lots of time to devote to selling your home listing.
 
 3.) What is your marketing plan for my home? The best agents will have anticipated this question by providing a written marketing plan as part of their listing presentation.
 
 Each written marketing plan should include at a minimum a) a weekday open house tour for all MLS (multiple listing service) member local agents, b) Internet promotion on the agent’s personal Web site and at www.REALTOR.com  (where 76 percent of today’s home buyers begin their search), c) brochures (ask to see samples of the agent’s past brochures for other listings).
 
 4.) How many listings do you have now? What are their addresses? Do you have an office assistant? What percentage of your listings didn’t sell last year? What day of the week do you take off and who covers for you when you are gone? Are you planning any vacations during the next three months?
 
 If the agent you are considering has too many listings, he or she might not be able to devote enough time to your home sale. Watch out for “numbers agents” who take many listings, have several assistants, but sell a low percentage of their listings. However, consider it a bonus if two agents work as a “team” to handle a large percentage of their listings.
 
 Having an office assistant is another bonus to free the agent’s time for sales while the assistant handles the details such as arranging inspections, appraisals, and sales closings.
 
 5.) What sales commission do you charge for a home like mine?
 
 If the listing commission is competitive, this is not the time to cut the agent’s commission and incentive to get your home sold. Presuming the agent’s references and success record are satisfactory, a sales commission up to 8 percent could be acceptable.
 
 The most important part of the sales commission is the portion that will go to the buyer’s agent. To illustrate, if your home sale listing offers only a 2.5 percent commission to the buyer’s agent, but other local listings offer a 3.5 percent commission, agents representing buyers are likely to show those homes before yours.
 
 Courtney Silverman advertises her listings extensively on http://www.realtor.com/ .  This allows for maximum exposure of your property to the the buyer population. Contact Courtney Silverman with The Keyes Company / Realtors for to understand how she works to get your property sold.
 
 

The recent trend in the Broward County housing market has prompted those of us who care to ask the question – how did so many homeowners get so upside down in their homes? I suppose this question has a three part answer…the declining market, the foolish homeowner, and the crazy mortgage/lending industry. The declining market is out of the average homeowner’s hands. We find ourselves having to place our faith in our legislature to keep our economy strong and in businesses to continue to invest in South Florida. Placing our faith in either, as of late, seems foolhardy at best, and certifiably insane at worst. These two groups of people we are forced to rely on appear to be on opposite sides. The foolish homeowner problem almost always exists. Homeowners always believe their house is worth thousands more than it actually is. Just ask them, and you’ll see. If a house has sold within a 4-mile radius of their house for $600,000, their house miraculously is the mirror image of that house and is suddenly worth $100,000 or more. After all, their house has a 2 1/2-car garage and that house only had a 2-car garage. Based on their irrational exuberance built into the self-assessed values of their own homes, homeowners began using their homes as ATMs to cash out all of the equity in their homes. In some cases, they even cashed out more equity than they had built up in their homes. All they needed to justify it was a job, the notion that the house “around the corner” sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that housing values would continue to rise indefinitely. 

The more people I talk to overwhelmingly point their fingers at the crazy lending institutions that loaned marginal borrowers unbelievable amounts of money. I hear it every day how insane it was for a lender to loan 100% or in some cases more than 100% of the value of the house, interest only, 3-5 year ARMs, with a debt-to-income ratio nearing 50%. What did the lending institution think would happen when (as every market eventually does) the South Florida housing market hit a bump in the road? More and more I see homeowners who (partly to blame) took out these crazy loans, and more unbelievably I see lenders who issued them. The mortgage industry literally bit the hand that was feeding them, and in some cases they ate the whole arm. By setting homeowners up for almost certain failure, the industry didn’t do anyone, especially themselves, any favors. In record numbers, homeowners are unable to sell their homes for what they owe. In record numbers, South Florida homeowners are unable to refinance their homes because of lack of equity. In record numbers, South Florida homeowners are staring escalating interest rates in the face as their ARMs mature. In record numbers, South Florida homeowners are simply walking away from their homes, no longer able to afford them. In record numbers, South Florida homeowners are filing bankruptcy or losing their homes in foreclosure. In record numbers, South Florida homes are sitting vacant – for sale as a bank-owned or REO property. And in record numbers, lending institutions are seeing the fantastic profits realized during the lending boom, slowly melt away.  Only now are people questioning the loans that were given and the criteria used to issue them. The people I talk to are blaming the lenders most of all. They argue that the lending institution, even if not ethically bound not to issue some of these loans, should not have issued them purely for profit. The “lend to anyone” policy of some organizations has served only to turn a slumping South Florida housing market into one that appears to have jumped from the plane without a parachute. What I hear the most is that “they should have known better.” Lenders made obtaining loan approval for huge loans as easy as getting a credit card. The caveat always used to be “buyer beware,” but it seems now that it’s become “borrower beware.” We need to hold our businesses, legislators, lenders, and even ourselves to a higher standard; we need to make wise decisions; and we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move on. We need to practice a little more fiscal responsibility and realize that deficit spending on any level is irresponsible and dangerous.

Second Consecutive Rise Points to Limited Fallout From Market Slump in 2007
By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY, WSJ.com
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes rose for the second consecutive month in November, a sign of rebounding demand that suggests the economic fallout from the housing market’s slump will be limited next year.  The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes last month increased 0.6% from October to an annual rate of 6.28 million units, down 10.7% from a year earlier. Spurred by lower interest rates and home prices, sales have now increased in back-to-back months for the first time in more than a year. 

Together with a recent upturn in the rate of new-home sales, the modest rise in existing-home sales indicates that home-buying activity may be stabilizing after a yearlong downturn. ”The change was small, but the results were encouraging nonetheless because they suggested activity is beginning to form a bottom” said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc.

If the housing slump is indeed bottoming out and starts to reverse itself in the months ahead, it would gradually lift a great weight off the broader economy. Housing-related industries have been shedding thousands of jobs in recent months, and builders have been forced to scale back construction to match waning demand. That has been a major factor behind the slowing economy this year, and many economists say growth — now running at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of about 2.0% — won’t fully bounce back until the housing correction has run its course.

Of course, it is far from certain that the housing slump is over. Inventories of unsold homes remained large in November, with a 7.3-month supply on the market at current sales rates, according to NAR data, up from a five-month supply a year earlier. That suggests builders will continue to cut production until supply is better aligned with demand. In the meantime, large inventories will continue to put downward pressure on prices.

Last month’s median home price — the price at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less — was down 3.1% from a year earlier. November was the fourth month in a row that median home prices were down from a year earlier. NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs described current conditions as a “window for buyers” to re-enter the market.  Go to Courtney Silverman’s website to look at local inventories in Broward County, Florida.

  Additional support for a rebound is coming from the competitive labor market, which is producing solid wage gains and lifting consumer sentiment. As with the recent data on housing, which generated more relief than enthusiasm among economists, the improved sentiment reading was due more to a moderation in pessimism than any surge in optimism. More than anything, the data suggest the nation’s economy will be able to maintain its current pace of slow-to-moderate growth as the housing imbalance is corrected. “There’s nothing signaling a severe downturn or a severe upturn,” said Lynn Franco, who oversees the Conference Board survey. 

What you can do?
Review your Escrow Account Statement:
Did your lender or loan servicer:
Forget to pay your taxes? 
Pay your taxes late? 
Charge the late fees/penalties to your escrow account? 
 
If so, complain directly to your lender or loan servicer and ask for a refund of the late fees.  Some questions and answers: 
 
Question 1: What’s the law require? 
Answer: Section 6(g) of RESPA requires loan servicers to pay taxes, insurance and other escrow account charges on time to avoid late fees or penalties. (Section 6(g) is found at: 12 U.S.C. 2605(g).) HUD interprets Section 6 (g) of RESPA to require lenders to pay borrowers’ tax bills on time so long as the homeowners were current in their mortgage payments. If the lender pays the tax bill late and the homeowner is current in making the mortgage payment, HUD would consider the lender responsible for any penalty or late charge, barring any justifiable excuse. 
 
Question 2: If I paid my mortgage on time, why was my lender late in making my tax payment? 
Answer: Mistakes happen for any number of reasons.  Most late payments are due to computer glitches, or may occur when loans are being transferred from one servicer to another or when lenders merge. Most lenders do not routinely pay tax bills late. Many lenders get a computer “tape” from the taxing authority for all borrowers who owe taxes in that jurisdiction and sometimes names and bills are left off the tape by mistake. Some lenders expect homeowners to forward the tax bills and some homeowners may not do so timely. 
 
Question 3: How can I check to see that I haven’t been charged for my lender’s mistake? 
Answer: RESPA requires your lender to send you an Annual Escrow Account Statement. Compare your Annual Escrow Account Statement with your tax bill. If you did not receive a bill from your county, city, or other taxing authority, you can ask the taxing authority what you owed in taxes for the time in question. You will need to check both to make sure that the amount the lender paid from your escrow account matches your tax bill. If the amount the lender paid from your escrow account is more than your tax bill, that difference may be a penalty or late fee. 
 
Question 4: What can I do to get a refund? 
Answer: In a written letter (not a phone call), ask your lender for an explanation and refund if the lender was at fault for paying the tax bill late. Your written letter should be labeled a “qualified written request under Section 6 of RESPA.” You may follow the Sample Complaint to Lender format for complaints. 
 
Please send HUD a copy of your “qualified written request.” That way we can better monitor lenders for compliance with this law. Our address is: 
Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales 
Office of Housing, Room 9154 
US Department of Housing and Urban Development # 451
Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410 
 
Question 5: What can HUD do to help? 
Answer: HUD has started a broad review of the practices of the largest loan servicers in the country. Unfortunately, HUD may not be able to get involved in every dispute that occurs between a homeowner and a loan servicer over escrow charges. By following these instructions, homeowners can help themselves get refunds directly from their lenders. By sending copies of your complaints to HUD, you will help us identify the worst offenders so that we may take appropriate action against companies that are doing the greatest harm.
Find out more about homeowner associations in Weston, FL

Real Estate is NOT a national market. IT IS MADE UP OF MANY LOCAL MARKETS. AND THERE ARE ALWAYS GEOGRPAHIC AREAS OF STRENGTH AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ASTUTE INVESTORS.  (for example, even when the stock market goes down, there are plenty of stocks going up!)

1)  The MAJOR HOME BUILDERS STOCK IS GOING BACK UP.  Stocks normally lead the market by 6 months.   The stock market always corrects itself and housing related stocks like Home Depot and D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers are making the upward correction now.  They are always ahead of the curve.  These publicly traded companies are predicting the slump will end soon…. thus home-builders stocks are rising again. Moreover, the financial media are reporting that Wall Street brokerages are again raising billions for real estate investments.  THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW, ahead of the curve!

2)   Hurricanes will be over soon.  Consumers will be looking to make purchases. The real estate market will firm up.  BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, REAL ESTATE INVESTORS WILL BE SAYING “I MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY!”   SMART INVESTORS are buying quietly, NOW. 

3)   Broward County has approximately $5 BILLION being invested in COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS…. not including the 160+/- acre UPSCALE MALL and HOSPITAL EXPANSIONS.   MAJOR PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE GAMBLING CASINOS will bring in new sources of steady payroll income and needs for places to live.  REAL ESTATE INVESTORS need to pay attention and TAKE ACTION NOW.

4)  DAVIE (near NOVA) is perfectly located for astute investors to BUY NOW.  (Nova University is COMMERCIALLY developing approximately 360 Acres, and Davie is sandwiched between high density areas that are almost completely filled up!)  Davie residential values will have general upward market pressures that exceed other areas.  Some areas in Homestead and Port St. Lucie are showing strength. Another area that has a lot of inventory, but should turn fast is Wellington.  Widely known for its polo sports enthusiasts, Wellington homes sell well during equestrian season.  Hurricane Wilma damaged many polo fields and stadiums last season reducing the influx of visitors and home-buyers.  This year however polo season should be back in full swing and thus absorb much of the surplus, making Wellington attractive NOW.

5)  76,000,000 (that’s 76 MILLION) people will reach Baby-Boomer age during the next 10 years, get sick of shoveling snow and paying heating bills.  These people will likely move SOUTH.  Conservatively, if you figure 20% (it will probably be 30%) that will MOVE TO FLORIDA, you have DOUBLED THE CURRENT POPULATION OF OUR STATE.  NO WONDER THE STATE IS EXPANDING ROUTE 75 AND PLANNING TO EXPAND 595.  NO WONDER THE AIRPORTS ARE ADDING RUNWAYS.  The time for astute investors to BUY is NOW.

FLORIDA has a TREASURE CHEST of people who BELIEVE in REAL ESTATE and HAVE MONEY TO INVEST.   They have actively participated in the historical growth of real estate values and they are pausing on the side-lines waiting for these early indications.  IT IS MY OBLIGATION AND MISSION AS REAL-ESTATE AGENT TO LET MY INVESTORS KNOW THE TRUTH IN THE MARKET INDICATIONS.  (PS: Even the most negative predictions say “except Florida”)

That’s it. My rant is over.  I need to get on the phones!

Respectfully,
Courtney Silverman
Courtney Silverman, PA
Phone: 954-389-3459  ext 224

“For the past five years, the housing market has been a steadfast leader in the U.S. economy,” Thomas M. Stevens, president of NAR, told the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation and the Senate Subcommittee on Economic Policy. “After five years of outstanding growth, the housing market is undergoing a period of adjustment and becoming more and more of a balanced market between buyers and sellers,” said Stevens.

Stevens said that with the falling demand and increased supply, home prices still realized slight appreciation though it was less than 1 percent, where over the past few years homes were appreciating at double-digit rates. “While recent developments raise concern, it is important to remember that the housing market varies significantly across the country,” said Stevens.  States that experienced the greatest increases in home prices in recent years are experiencing significantly lower sales, such as Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada and Virginia.

Adjustments to the housing market are not unique and can often times be necessary, said Stevens. In addition to the rapid appreciation of years past, the rise in mortgage rates affects a homebuyer’s ability to finance and purchase a home. “Pressure is being felt in the housing market due to rising mortgage rates,” said Stevens. “With rising interest rates, homebuyers have become exhausted financially which explains why sales have tumbled in higher-priced regions of the country.”

NAR forecasts a drop in home sales of around 8 percent in 2006, followed by another 2 percent decline in 2007. These numbers are based on the stabilizing of mortgage rates and modest expansion of the economy. Also predicted is that home price growth will be minimal—less than 3 percent in 2006 and 2007. However, NAR warns that a significant shift in interest rates or a change in the economy would change this forecast. NAR notes that a soft landing is possible under the right circumstances and affordable mortgage financing is an important component in achieving this.

”Housing is the most interest-rate sensitive sector of the economy and we are seeing the effects now of both rising rates during the quarter as well as increases that came before.

Although the slow down in house-price appreciation has been quite sudden, there is still strength in the housing market. Single-family house sales are on track to make 2006 the third best year for home sales. Similarly, one-family housing starts averaged just a little under the record pace set in 2005. As the full impact of two years of rising short-term interest rates is felt in the economy, the slowdown in the housing market could become more abrupt over the next year.

As the market moves from one of unsustainably high appreciation where sellers have all the power to a buyer’s market we expect to see homes sit longer on the market, with sellers more willing to make non-price concessions. These concessions can take several different forms, such as repairs, conveyances, or contributions towards closing costs to attract buyers. The result is that the house prices we observe tend to be sticky on the downside.

The East South Central states showed the highest level of home-value appreciation in the U.S., with quarterly appreciation of 8.3 percent at an annualized rate during the second quarter, and nationally, home values increased 10.2 percent from the second quarter of 2005 through the second quarter of 2006, down from the 13.9 percent annual growth seen over the four quarters ended in June 2005″ said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist on 9/14/2006