Lately, sale agreements have been cancelled because the property appraised for less than the contract price. The buyer is unwilling or cannot put more money down for fear of overpaying in a percieved down market and the seller has already lost so much percieved value that the seller will not lower the price. The result is that the sale falls apart.

In some cases, the appraiser is not the cause. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase about half of all U.S. mortgages. If Fannie Mae, who buys the loans from the banks, finds banks are found guilty of price inflation, they force the banks to buy back the mortgage at a substantial cost. But if banks drop the appraisal value, they hope to avoid being accused or suspected of inflating the numbers.

Many lenders today will double-check an appraiser’s work by ordering a low-cost electronic valuation. These automated valuation systems only use public records and take no consideration to condition of the property and upgrades. If the electronic version is lower than the physical version, the banks will downgrade the true appraisal value to protect themselves. The result is that bank’s underwriters arbitrarily have been shaving value off the Buyer’s appraisal. At other times, the bank’s underwriters will ask the appraiser to explain the price difference, which can delay the closing.

Effective September 1st, banks selling their loans to Fannie Mae can no longer simply drop the appraisal value. In guidance issued June 30, Fannie Mae told it’s participating lenders that they must contact the appraiser to “resolve” disagreements. If that fails, banks must order a second appraisal and not rely on the automated software to determine the value. So now the banks cannot simply drop the original value that supports a sales contract.

EFFECTIVE APRIL 6, 2009  MINIMUM CREDIT SCORE FOR F.H.A. PURCHASES IS -600

“There are diamonds in this current real estate market – you just have to dig for them” says Mike Pappas, President/CEO of The Keyes Company a large South Florida based full service real estate firm. 

Sales Units are up:
“Palm Beach strengthened its unit sales earlier in this cycle and Dade and Broward are gaining momentum” observed Mike Pappas. 

We have 1985 homes for sale in Fort Lauderdale FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $28,500,000 to $24,900.

91 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $1,995,000 and $19,900 when they received their offers. 53% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 18% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

55 properties were sold in Fort Lauderdale. They were priced between $2,700,000 and $28,000. This tells us there is over a 36 month supply of homes for sale in Fort Lauderdale as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 200 homes for sale in Cooper City FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $1,295,000 to $135,000.

19 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $529,000 and $108,000 when they received their offers. 36% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 5% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

12 properties were sold in Cooper City. They were priced between $499,000 and $85,000. This tells us there is over a 16 month supply of homes for sale in Cooper City as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 600 homes for sale in Plantation FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $3,700,000 to $79,000.

47 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $445,000 and $70,000 when the received their offers. 42% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 23% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

27 properties were sold in Plantation. They were priced between $600,000 and $90,000. This tells us there is over a 22 month supply of homes for sale in Plantation as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 538 homes for sale in Sunrise FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $519,000 to $47,000.

59 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $299,000 and $49,900 when they received their offers. 69% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 10% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

12 properties were sold in Sunrise. They were priced between $310,000 and $60,000. This tells us there is over a 44 month supply of homes for sale in Sunrise as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 605 homes for sale in Davie FL as of today. Sellers are asking from $4,900,000 to $50,000. 

35 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $1,525,000 and $153,900 when they received their offers. 17% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 48% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale.

24 properties were sold in Davie. They were priced between $1,525,000 and $153,000. This tells us there is over a 25 month supply of homes for sale in Davie as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

We have 589 homes for sale in Weston FL as of today.  Sellers are asking from $13,500,000 to $109,000. 

57 buyers got their contracts accepted. The prices the sellers were asking ranged between $599,000 and 209,900 when they received their offers.  20% of those contracts were written to purchase bank owned properties and 29% are going to negotiate the purchase with the seller and the seller’s lender(s) as a short sale. 

25 properties were sold in Weston.  They were priced between $865,000 and $224,900.  This tells us there is over a 23 month supply of homes for sale in Weston as of February 2009, assuming no more homes are put on the market over that period of time.

Contact Courtney Silverman Real Estate Group to leverage your dollar in this market as a seller and as a buyer!

State law allows Florida homeowners to claim up to a $50,000 Homestead Exemption (HEX) on their primary residence.  The first $25,000 of this exemption applies to all taxing authorities.  The second $25,000 excludes School Board taxes and applies to properties with assessed values greater than $50,000.

All property Tax Exemption Applications are due March 1^st.

Here’s how to file:

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION

To qualify for the Homestead Exemption, the applicant must at minimum meet the following criteria as of January 1:

•    Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident

•    Own the property (i.e., have legal or equitable title)

•    Occupy the property as his/her permanent residence (to the exclusion of all others). Click here for a complete list of documents accepted as proof of Florida residency

•    Only those qualified persons listed on the exemption application will receive the exemption benefits.  If the property is held jointly by husband and wife, either party may apply in person for the homestead exemption

•    If you purchase a home after January 1, you may inherit the previous owner’s HEX, but only for the first year that you own the property.  After the first year, you will need to apply for your own Homestead Exemption.

 AUTOMATIC RENEWAL OF EXEMPTIONS
Once an application has been approved the exemption will automatically renew annually until the property is sold, is no longer the homeowner’s primary residence, or the exemption holder requests that it be removed. 

Dade County: http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/exempt_homestead.asp

Broward County: http://www.bcpa.net/homestead.asp