Chicago and Southern Illinois Real Estate Happenings

Many advertisements promising easy ways out of being foreclosed on have hidden agendas and could end up costing homeowners who pursue them thousands of dollars AND the rights to their home on top of it.

Central Floridian Michelle Briscoe, who was out of a job and behind on her mortgage when she said she agreed to an 11th-hour deal to save her Orange County home had just such a thing happen to her. Briscoe said the deal was signed in the offices of America Home Mortgage in Longwood. Her $200,000 mortgage was paid as promised, but the home was reappraised at $342,000.  After the mortgage was paid, the investor pocketed the equity and Michelle never got anything .

"It is what the industry calls equity stripping." a spoksperson said. "There's nothing that could have prepared me for this, nothing," Briscoe said.

Veteran attorney Austin Aaronson is fighting the equity stripping issue for more than a dozen people. "Once that happens, the victim is beyond the point of help," Aaronson said. "You cannot go back and undo what has already happened." Aaroson said he has tracked a pattern of deception that appears to leave out the investor's real motive.

"She lost the rights to her home and $60,000 in equity," Holfeld said.

It is coinfirmed by a local news agency that the deal she signed was brokered by America Home Mortgage. "I didn't think I was losing my home," Bulled said. "I thought I was saving my house from foreclosure."

Richard Peek Jr., who is the president of the Central Florida chapter of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, said so-called foreclosure bailout products sold by companies like American Home Mortgage are nothing but fakes, Holfeld reported.

"I wouldn't even call it a product," Peek said. "It's a scheme to perpetrate fraud. You have unfortunately found individuals who are unscrupulous in their practices, and they're willing to take advantage of everybody and anybody that they can."

Holfeld brought a report to state Rep. Bryan Nelson of Apopka. Nelson is co-sponsoring legislation that will create criminal penalties for equity stripping schemes. "The mortgage brokers are all behind this," Nelson said. "They want this to stop because they have a legitimate business and legitimate concerns, and they need these people out of business."

Reported incidents of similar mortgage schemes have popped up across the country.

Lawmakers in other states have already created new legislation targeting deceptive practices tied to equity stripping.

I hope there are MORE mortgage companies that get CAUGHT doing this to consumers.... Some companies are the SAME ones that herded consumers into stupid ARMS and interest only loans that are time sensitive and the time table is running out soon. Pretty soon those consumers who had those loans dished to them will be CRYING in their soup because of how they were taken advantage of.

I am glad we do not practice central Florida real estate that way...we LOOK OUT for our clients BEST interest.

All information is from Yahoo News®

Ever felt like this guy on the left?

I think he got just a LITTLE too close to the fairway...

 I kinda feel like him sometimes, especially this past couple of weeks.

I have a top ranking website (1st page ranked above about 5.4 million webpages in GOOGLE) and in the past 2 weeks or so I have had several people who just did not know they could go to REALTOR.com and get information about  THIER listing or a relatives listing that an agent just (supposedly) put in the MLS.

I told both people ...(nicely of course) that they could have gone to REALTOR.com to get their info....

I spent time and cell phone minutes calling them long distance to find out if they were ready to start looking for homes to buy they were just curious about either their own home which had been listed with another agent, OR their relatives home which was just listed with another agent....

Well...at least I was able to help them in the best possible way I could, I just wonder.....

Why didn't their agents do this.......?

• I always give a copy of the MLS listing as a prospective client would see it and as an agent would see it to my all my customers right after I input the data and pictures in into the system...that is just good customer service, right?

Ya never know...maybe the homes will not sell and they will remember me....

Central Florida real estate...... it's our business!

                                          We just wait patiently and keep doing our best practices....those clients will come!

What do you think this is a picture of?

It can be one of a couple of things:

• A plane taking off very quickly; after it JUST leaves the ground, the wheels are already up inside the fuselage.
• A plane just about to crash...the photo taken just seconds before impact...
• The plane is just barely able to escape hitting the ground after a hair raising maneuver.
• The plane just fell off a very high speed transport when the buckles holding it broke.

BTW..it is a photo of a plane taking off VERY QUICKLY!

Your choice of answer would be because of a couple of things:

1. Your mood at the time.
2. What your situation in life is (good or bad).
3. How you generally see life treats everyone and You in particular.

I have posted several blogs lately and was actually

wondering if anything had changed in my blog standings

(ranking for number of subscriptions).

The number of people who have commented on my blogs is about the same

(except for the 2 featured posts I got in the past month).

I was curious, so I took a peek at my subscription rating in the network

AND in Florida, where my stomping grounds are.

Previously for months my ranking in the network as a whole

hovered in the about 80-90 area and in Florida it was about 15-20.

Not bad I was thinking, but I was hoping to do better.

When I checked today, my ranking is now #66 in the network,

(that is a 40% jump)

and it moved to #12 in Florida.

Do You think you can do the same?

Of course you can; it JUST takes consistent application of what is good to do:

• Topics that are relevant to a wide variety of people here in Active Rain.

(Who CARES if it has been posted before... YOU have not done it! So... GO FOR IT!)

• See about reciprocity...what goes around comes around...in POINTS TOO (see my post)!
• Putting YOU into the blog.....(Bob Sloop convinced me I had a sense of humor, even though in an apparently pathetic attempt at it, I miffed a member of Active Rain a while back......I guess I do HAVE ONE so I am GOING to use it..... =-P)

Have you been up late, having a little too much "fun"?

This poor cat did..... those winstons and the bottles of whatever it is just did this feline in. He is out like a light AND his cigarette is still in his mouth, the poor cat....

HINT: "A life of moderation will get you farther than a life of excess."

Stay with it, people..... your leads and clients from Active Rain will not happen over night.

It takes time, SEO (or YEO in Jeff Turners dictionary) and consistency.

If you stay with it...eventually things will POP...!!

Leads, clients and closings WILL happen......

BTW this lil critter needed some help from his buddy the kitty....

(His blog needed some comments and "Clicks" on it......and his buddy

helped him out. NOW he is going places!!

So, if you don't want your blogs to be "Just another bump in the road",

Follow the advice and wisdom of people who have been there:

(Success Leaves Clues)

Mary McKnight

 Jeff Turner

Margaret Rome

 Krystal Kraft

Craig Schiller

Laurie Manny

Brain Brady

The Codgers

These are the "Cream of the Crop" IMHO...

(You may have your favorites and if you learn from them, GREAT!)

Have fun and we will see you at your closings from all the

Active Rain Network listings and buyers you get!!

Reciprocating on others blogs will help you when they comment on your blogs in the Active Rain Network.

I was reading Margaret Romes post about NOT wanting any more featured posts. (hehehe)

She had a hard time having to respond to everyones comments on her well liked and Featured Post.

I can say I only have that problem sometimes... I am NOT as good as others at the "conversational style" of blogging that gets LOTS of comments.

My style is more like a teacher giving a lesson, or a person letting you know what is up and that is about that.

Have you checked your "Points Summary" lately?

• It is on the left hand side of YOUR "Home Page" on Active Rain down near the very bottom of the page (right near your "stats")

Apparently the Active Rain people made changes to their algorithm and nobody noticed except a few people.

• Every time a person "Clicks on" and reads your entire blog, YOU get some points for it.
• Every time a person comments on your blog, YOU get points for it.
• The MORE "clicks" and comments YOU get, the MORE YOU get rewarded.

Check it out....I do....it is fun to see how we get rewarded by Active Rain for making informative and helpful blogs.

• So, like one very famous blogger on the Active Rain Network said so long ago:
• When someone comments on one of YOUR blogs, do THEM a favor and do the SAME for them; (they just gave you points, be a buddy and return the favor).

"Reciprocity is a GOOD thing!"

Do you think if you were a gazelle in a field

and this lioness was downwind from you...

(meaning you could not sense her near you by smelling her scent)

Would you be taken by surprise if she suddenly bolted out of the brush right near you and came at you in a dead run?

A LOT of agents are unsuspecting gazelles.. They take high priced listings (above market value), they might not

 answer the phone, market poorly the listings they take, don't negotiate properly on their clients behalf,

or don't work well with other professionals (loan officers, title people, inspectors and appraisers, etc.)

When a Lioness comes along:

• They DO make sure the listings they take are listed

properly within the market values of the area the property is in.

• They ALWAYS communicate with their clients AND the

other professionals they do business with in a timely way.

• Their listings they take are marketed with the BEST,

most efficient and effective plans available.

• They ALWAYS look out for their clients BEST interest.

• They have a professional attitude toward ALL other professionals in the business.

Have you put yourself into a tight situation like this chap on the left?

He or she prob. took a high priced listing... and thought,

"Well, I will get them to make a price reduction after a month or so..." 

Maybe it has been 3 weeks and NOBODY

has even LOOKED at the property.

You might just get FIRED by your client(s) for doing that when

they see NO-ONE is looking at their home and

everybody else's house for sale in the

subdivision IS getting looked

at AND IS BEING SOLD.

Or maybe you feel like this guy on the right who let EVERYTHING pile up because he/she just did NOT want to make the communications needed to make the transaction run smoothly.

Too many trips to the refrigerator or TV (if you have a home office), OR going out to too many lunches, dinners and "meetings" when you should be DOING work.

The poor guy.........

 A good professional in ANY business, CAN LAUGH at what goes wrong,

 because they are READY for whatever happens.

They are like a little kitten on the outside

Gentle

Kind

Attentive

Loyal

But on the inside they have the HEART of a LION:

They are ready to act

in their clients best interest.

Firm and truthful in negotiations.

Timely in communications.

Properly valuing homes for sale.

Are YOU the unsuspecting gazelle, lazily grazing in the field?

Or are you like the hungry lioness...ready for anything that comes your way:

• Treating your clients with respect.
• Respecting other professionals time and schedules.
• Making sure to make the MOST of the time you have.

Central Florida real estate is our business......

The Knights Team.... 

Ready for ACTION.

(Click on the Kitten and Lion to find

a GREAT movie about success...

I PROMISE you will like it!!)

Active Rain is a great resource for finding the best practices for

real estate...whatever part of it you practice.....

Here are a couple of links to helpful blogs to help you along in your business:

• Working with mortgage clients? Get them approved instead of just pre-qualified.
• What do Real estate agents love about mortgage officers?
• What do agents HATE about loan officers?
• How to do lead generation in ANY business.
• How to treat your clients.
• How to work (play nice) in your business.
• A house staged as opposed to an UNSTAGED house...which will sell faster and is it worth it to stage a home?
• Are real estate assistants worth it?
• A good home inspector vs. a bad one.
• Help for your BLOG.
• Help for your website.
• Is this a get rich quick business or is there more to this?
• Do you have a WAY to do your business...are you consistant?
• Can you do this, is everyone else seeming to get it...and you aren't....?

I hope some of this helps you... it took me a while to find it all.

I had this post simmering in my head for a while.

I know it is just the tip of the iceburg, BUT it CAN get you pointed in the right direction.

Life is so MUCH more than what we see every day..

I am glad we don't have to do everything all at once to make it.

If we did, we would ALL be in DEEP trouble.

BTW this is my 200th post...to celebrate it, I made this

helpful post so you can get your blogs to SHINE

and your businesses to do better!!

I was recently told by another member of Active Rain that I am ONE of MANY "Wonder Bloggers" in this network from the central Florida area. I have no idea why there are so many of us here in this state.. BUT I can tell you the competition is wonderful...it keeps me on my toes!

It is hard to keep my #10 position in Florida with the likes of Broker Bryant, TLW, Terri Isner, Scott Daniels and others who are above me. I keep trying to get closer to the #9 position, BUT Leanne in Plantation, Fl. is so hard to catch!!

My hat off off to all of you in Florida and all of you

working consistently to give consumers a good look

at the facts of real estate and the wonders of the areas you live in!

Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty reached a deal Friday with the Orlando Magic on the team's contribution for a new arena, removing a block in major negotiations over a larger $1 billion downtown arts-and-sports-venue proposal.

"I think it's fair to say we have an agreement in principle," Crotty said.

The Mayor worked out financing details, but the deal doesn't call for the Magic to pay significantly more on the $480 million arena. So it's not clear the deal will make county commissioners happy who want the team to pitch in more money.

The financing plan for the arena and performing-arts center and Florida Citrus Bowl upgrades requires approval of five county commissioners, and most of them have said they are not happy with the Magic's contribution: $50 million cash, about $60 million in long-term lease and revenue payments and $29.5 million in financing arrangements the team says were added in agreements. The team has pledged $10 million to the new arts center in addition.

"The mayor's got a deal," County Commissioner Bill Segal said. "But I don't know that he's got five votes for it."

Crotty met with team officials in its box suites Wednesday in the third quarter of the Magic's last regular-season home game against the Miami Heat. The final details were ironed out Friday by phone with team officials in New York City who were at a two-day meeting of National Basketball Association franchise owners.

"There was a report from Orlando, and we understand that based upon some additional concessions that the team made and the very, very large amount of team commitment they were able to reach an agreement in principle with Orlando and Orange County," NBA Commissioner David Stern announced at a news conference in New York City.

During the latest talks, team executives communicated to Crotty that the Magic would concede on certain loan and interest provisions the county had asked for. The team also agreed to pay any remaining debt on the area if the franchise relocated to another city, something the Magic already had signaled it might do.

The only new provision that could cost the team money requires the Magic to pay excess interest costs on a higher risk loan in the borrowing package. In the worst case, that provision could cost the team an additional $5 million during the next five years.

In return, Crotty agreed to immediately secure the entire $270 million to fund the arena, an assurance the team sought for fear that political or economic factors would change between now and late 2008, when bonds originally were to be secured.

"It was a tough negotiation; there's no question about that," said Magic President and CEO Bob Vander Weide in a written statement Friday. "They [county negotiators] certainly drove a hard bargain, but at the end of the day we feel we have an agreement we can live with."

"We've contributed more than any other team in a comparable market," Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins reiterated again by phone Friday.

The largest of the team's concessions, the owners argue, is making room for the Orlando Predators Arena Football League team to generate concession, advertising and suite revenues from a new arena. Team executives argue that provision alone cost the Magic $17.5 million.

But some commissioners and the county's top negotiators counter that many of the Magic trade-offs are pledges the team made initially but balked at in negotiations. And the $17.5 million for the Predators will not save taxpayers any money, they say.

So some commissioners remained skeptical the Magic negotiations are truly over.

"I don't think anything is 100 percent settled with the Magic until all the pieces are nailed down," County Commissioner Linda Stewart said. "I don't see how [Crotty] can work out something with the Magic when we don't know if we are short on" other venues in the financing plan.

"We may need to ask the Magic for more money," Stewart said.

Crotty and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said speeding up the county ageement could make for quick passage of the overall plan to build the venues.

"We're pleased those negotiations are finally concluded," Dyer said. "We ought to be able to move all this forward in fairly rapid fashion."

Dyer said with the county's agreement, he expects to ask the City Council to approve the city's separate agreements for the arena, performing-arts center and Citrus Bowl.

Orlando Commissioner Phil Diamond said Dyer shouldn't count on his vote. He said negotiations should not have ended without the Magic putting more money toward the agreement. Though most of the funding for the arena would come from tourist taxes, the project also relies to a lesser degree on city funds.

"We need to look at general revenue that would be used with a much sharper pencil, because that's less money that we would have available for important city services," Diamond said. "I think it's important that any funding plan we have is a fair one. That's what people will remember years from now."

(All information is taken from the Orlando Sentinel)

I got an e-mail last night from a person that wants to sell their two condos through my team.

They found me on Active Rain and I am a happy camper!!! =-D

I spent over $7500 with HouseValues and did not get the response I am starting to get from Active Rain. Just think --- all I have put in is time and effort into Active Rain and it is giving me leads and clients. HouseValues never did that and I spent hours every week (night after night) doing phone calls and sending out CMAs to leads....

All the links and advertizing I have put into my posts is paying off..... I have been contacted by another member of Active Rain and they are convincing their relative to let me market their home also. The owners of the home started to market the home FSBO, but priced it WAY too high foir the subdivision they are in.... after being notified that was the case, I quickly did a PROPER CMA and sent it to the member of Active Rain that contacted me in the first place about their relatives home......

We have exchanged no less than 13 e-mails about this situation and I am confident I can get that home sold!

These two condos are right close to where I live near Lake Buena Vista.

I live in Buenaventura Lakes in Northeastern Kissimmee

The home is near where I live also.

I will have posts about these properties as I get the official info they are mine to market!

THANKS ACTIVE RAIN!!!

=-D

The Knights Team...central Florida real estate is our business.....

EDITED as of 4/28/2007: I sent the owner an e-mail to let them know I could NOT find the address of the condo in the property appraisers website, although I DID find the address of another tower in the condo complex. I promptly got a phone call about 30 minutes after I sent the e-mail and the person on the other end of the call could not be made out...there was too much background noise and a bad connection. SO...I know the OWNER exists (I hope).... but repeated attempts to contact this person have been futile...

The proposed state constitutional amendment, which would go on the November 2008 ballot if it also gets Senate approval, could make Florida the only state in the nation without either a personal income tax or property taxes on primary homes, known as homesteads.

The House approved the amendment by a 78-40 vote, largely along party lines.

Democrats argued the amendment, HJR 7089, would be the largest tax increase in the state's history and shift the tax burden from Florida's wealthiest citizens to some of its poorest.

Republicans called it the state's largest-ever tax cut -- a net of $25 billion to $35 billion over the first five years even with the sales tax increase. They said it's wrong to tax "the American Dream" and that the proposal would make housing more affordable for low-income residents.

The amendment would eliminate some or all property taxes on homesteads while raising the statewide sales tax from 6 percent to as much as 8.5 percent. Another provision would roll back remaining property taxes to 2003-04 levels and cap them with allowances for inflation and new construction.

The Senate is scheduled Friday to vote on a competing bipartisan reform package that doesn't include such a tax swap.

Both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature are responding to an outcry for relief from soaring property taxes caused mainly by a sharp rise in real estate values over the past several years.

 ===========================================================

• Do You think this is a good idea or will it come to bite us in the behind later on? as i see it...home prices will be better off, BUT the cost of living here will increase as a result...will that be better for us??

Contact The Knights Team if you want to discuss this more.....Central Florida real estate...it's our business....

(All above info was taken from Yahoo® News......)

Buenaventura Lakes is a modest community in the northeast section of Kissimmee Florida.

The first thing you notice about it is the HUGE park in the middle of the area.

There are several subdivisions included in Buenaventura Lakes with homes priced from the mid 200s to over 400 thousand dollars.

• The park I talked about is part of the developers efforts seeing that a community NEEDS a nice place to go with the family.

There is LOTS more to see than what I have here.

• A couple of nicely kept soccer fields,  two baseball diamonds, a concession stand, a running track, picnic areas WITH grills AND MORE.
• On the weekends this park is FILLED with kids and their families playing football, soccer, baseball and what have you....

Buenaventura lakes is a NICE PLACE to bring up your kids.

Contact The Knights Team to have your central Florida real estate needs met.