Bankrupt Homeowners Shed Second Mortgages

May 12, 2011 – Stung by the crash of the housing market, some struggling homeowners are using a little known but increasingly popular provision of the bankruptcy code to eliminate second mortgages and avoid foreclosure.

Statistics are hard to come by, but bankruptcy lawyers say the provision has been used effectively on hundreds, if not thousands, of cases in the San Francisco Bay Area during the past two years.

“It’s a big thing in our valley,” said James “Ike” Shulman, a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer. “But it’s not widely known.”

Shulman, co-founder of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said he has helped a number of clients who have filed for personal bankruptcy use the law to hold on to their houses – including three last week.

Cathy Moran, a Mountain View, Calif., bankruptcy lawyer, said one of her clients had a $132,000 second mortgage voided by the court.

“This is a really big-ticket issue that allows people to keep a home and conform the mortgage to something closer to real value,” Moran said.

Bankruptcy laws prevent homeowners from eliminating the debt of a first mortgage if they plan to stay in their home. But second mortgages are treated differently. They can be declared unsecured debt when there is no equity to cover them, as is the case for millions of houses that are now worth far less than a few years ago.

When that happens in a personal bankruptcy proceeding, the second mortgage is put on hold and no payments are required while the homeowner completes a repayment plan for other debts, which typically takes three to five years. At that point, the second mortgage is eliminated.

Many of these second mortgages were granted during the housing bubble, when home prices were going in one direction only – up, up and up.

“A lot of these are loans that shouldn’t have been made at all,” said Henry Sommer, editor of Collier on Bankruptcy, a publication on bankruptcy law.

One of Shulman’s clients, Veronica – who asked that her full name not be used – was struggling to keep the San Jose house she bought in 2005 for $612,000.

Her home’s value has dropped to about $367,000 – less than her first mortgage of $489,000 – which allowed her to petition the bankruptcy court to set aside her $122,000 second mortgage. The court granted her motion.

She successfully completed her payment plan for other debts two months ago, and her second mortgage is now eliminated.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “After almost six years, I am finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m so, so grateful.”

Mortgage bankers don’t like the practice. It’s “a troublesome phenomenon. It’s one of those things that’s just now developing and bubbling up,” said Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association. But there is little the mortgage industry can do, aside from seeking to change the law. That could be difficult given the current partisan lineup in Washington.

And there are no complaints from investors in first mortgages, like the pension and retirement funds represented by the Association of Mortgage Investors. “We think with the right controls, something like this to allow a responsible, distressed homeowner to reorganize their assets, liabilities and cash flows is a very pro-business proposition,” said Chris Katopis, the association’s executive director. “We disagree with what the mortgage bankers associations are saying on this.”

The law has been like this for years, bankruptcy lawyers say. It’s just never been used as much because in the past there was usually enough equity in a home to cover the second mortgage.

“We’re having great results” using the rule, said Brette Evans, a San Jose bankruptcy lawyer. In one recent case, a small-business owner was able to hang on to her home by setting aside a $240,000 second mortgage, she said.

That put the borrower in “a safe zone” where she could work out a modification of her first mortgage, Evans said.

Posted via email from ClearwaterRealEstateTampaHomes’s posterous

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Clearwater Florida – The current economic conditions are being felt all over and it’s also being seen in the rise in mortgage delinquencies nationwide, but the mortgage news may not be as bad as it appears at first glance.

Using anonymous data from its national credit database, TransUnion reports that 4.58 percent of American homeowners were at least 60 days past due on mortgage payments last quarter.

Comparing the statistic to the data from a year ago, the credit reporting agency goes on to say that mortgage delinquencies are up 53 percent and Florida is adding to this.

Although fair, the comparison carries a distinct, negative connotation because if we flip the data to its positive, the statistics don’t seem nearly as menacing.

Consider: In the last quarter of 2008, 4.58 percent of all  homeowners were delinquent on their respective mortgages.  The positive sign, therefore, is that 95.42 percent of home owners were not delinquent on their home loans.

Furthermore, in looking at TransUnion’s data for the 5 largest states in the Union, it’s clear that the national delinquency rate is being skewed by California and Florida.  New York and Texas, for example, exhibit delinquency rates below the national 4.58 percent marker.

North Dakota’s delinquency rate hovers near 1 percent.

Headlines are designed to attract eyeballs and nothing else – they seem to focus on the fact that the “glass is half empty” . To get the complete story, therefore — the real story — it never hurts to dig a little deeper into the facts. Even looking at Florida’s numbers – why doesn’t the news ever mention the 91%+ of  Florida home owners that are paying their bills on time.    When looking at “the glass as half full” we see that their are great bargains for Clearwater  home buyers buying now, especially for first time home buyers (anyone who hasn’t owned a home in 3 years)  qualifying for the $8000 tax credit for property purchases in 2009 (need more info on this just ask us).

Thinking of Buying or Selling a house in Clearwater Florida – We can help

If you have been thinking about buying or selling a home in the Clearwater St Petersburg Tampa area…

Contact us for a FREE quote and to find out your Tampa Mortgage options and you can search all Tampa St Petersburg and Clearwater homes for sale right now..

Call Us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you!

Copyright © 2007-2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTORS and your Clearwater Real Estate Consultants specializing in Clearwater St Petersburg Tampa Florida Real Estate and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.

(Image courtesy: TransUnion)

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Data, though, is just data.  It often takes a good picture to bring it all home.  Enter The New York Times.
On its website, The Gray Lady has posted an interactive Case-Shiller graphic.  For each of the 20 cities studied, users can compare how home values rose versus the national composite throughout the early part of the decade, and how values have fallen since. 
Not surprisingly, of the 20 cities that showed stable growth pre-2006, nearly all are outperforming in the current real estate climate.

Thinking of Buying or Selling Tampa St Petersburg Clearwater Homes 

If you have been thinking about buying or selling a home in the Clearwater St Petersburg Tampa area…

Contact us for a FREE quote and to find out your Tampa Mortgage options and you can search all Tampa St Petersburg and Clearwater homes for sale right now..

Call Us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you!

Copyright © 2007-2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTORS and your Clearwater Florida Real Estate Consultants specializing in Clearwater St Petersburg Tampa Real Estate and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.

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Govenor Crist Weigh’s In on Court’s Ruling

In the Florida Capital News Crist weighs in. Crist said Cooper’s ruling “doesn’t mean anything” because whichever side lost was certain to kick it up to the Supreme Court. “I was disappointed but not dismayed. It will be appealed – I think everybody knows that,” said Crist. “I hope it stays on the ballot because I like the will of the people. I want them to weigh in. I want them to have that power because they’re the boss.”

The Florida Association of Realtors, which supported the amendment, decried Cooper’s ruling saying “Homeownership is a fundamental right, and Floridians deserve a say on how their property is taxed,” said Chuck Bonfiglio, president of the Florida Association of Realtors, in a prepared statement. “We are shocked that the court decided to deny property owners’ the ability to dramatically lower their property tax rates.”

We as Clearwater Realtors and home owners we are definitely planning to Vote YES for Amendment 5 Property taxes. We believe it’s good for Clearwater Real Estate buyers, residents and renters because everyone should experience savings.  We also believe it will help home sellers since it will make homes more affordable and more appealing to buyers who do not qualify for homestead exemptions.     

Did you know that Florida property taxes have doubled over last 6 years?

Amendment 5 is proposing a sales tax 1% or less to fund education.

If approved it is predicted that Florida property owners could see 25-40% property tax deduction in 2010 if Amendment 5 had passed. This would help local Floridians across the board by sharing the cost of education with all local residents and tourists.  

One of the most important things Amendment 5 will do for our clients (people buying vacation homes or invests in Clearwater Beach and the Clearwater area)  is provide a  5% annual property tax cap on all non-homestead property (which was set at 10% this past February)  It’s important for Florida home owners to understand what’s at stake.  

Additional aritcles discussing Amendment 5 being removed from the ballot:

• Judge tosses Amendment 5
• Charlie Christ says state will appeal ruling  

Amendment 5 creates these projected savings for Tampa Bay property owners

• Hillsborough property owners =  23%,
• Pinellas County property owners  = 25% 

• Pasco property owners =  32%

Amendment 5 Property Tax Details

  You can get more details on the Amendment 5 proposal at Give Me 5 Florida and the actual Amendment 5 property tax proposal.  Benefits: Amendment 5 would have provided much-needed tax relief to Florida’s seniors, many of whom fear losing their homes because of an inability to pay higher property taxes on a fixed income.  

Amendment 5 proposal built on what Ammendment 1 already gave us: 

• Portability
• +25K Homestead exemption
• 10% cap for non homestead property owners  

Other articles of interest

• Pinellas County Real Estate matches up to Pinellas County Schools
• Get 25% more Property tax savings in November

                       ** CLICK ON PHOTOS BELOW TO SEE CLIENT VIDEO TESTIMONIALS **

Buyers and Sellers tell us that selecting the best Clearwater Beach real estate agents especially online or from a distance, can be a challenge. Some of our past clients agreed to share their experiences and tell you why they think you should work with us. 

Click on the photos below and meet some of our clients and now friends…wed love to be YOUR choice too!     

The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Jack and Cyndee Haydon,  Clearwater  REALTORS and your Clearwater Real Estate Consultants serving Pinellas County and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published. All rights reserved. Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.

Call us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you sell your home or buy a new one! 

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Clearwater Florida

Jim is the man in charge of Pinellas County student school assignments – he joked that “he’s got job security” – I can only imagine . We recently had changes to the School Choice plan and Pinellas County home buyers and current residents have lots of questions about..

Where will by child go to school?” -That’s why we made sure we were there - up-to-date information is critical to the families we help that are moving to Pinellas County or want to sell their home and move within the county.  The most important thing we took away was the fact that No school is automatic for non-entry level grade students.

If you’re wondering how we got here – School Choice was court-ordered to end the 30 year desegregation ruling / plan in Pinellas County. The 2007/2008 was the first year that the School District didn’t have specific min / max ratios to manage for each school.

When creating a new plan the parents, the community members and the School Board members found people overwhelmingly wanted a Student Assignment plan that included these 3 things:

1. Give us Predictibility
2. Still wanted Choice(s)
3. Diversity

A major issue is the rising cost of transportation.  In the future, Pinellas County will continue to transport students to their school of “Choice” for 4 more years then parents will have to provide transportation to their “non-close-too-home” school.

Note: The new Pinellas County Student Assignement plan doesn’t change anything for Magnet and Fundemental schools          

Key Components of the new Pinellas County School Plan

1. Transition from the Pinellas County Choice Plan
2. Getting Back to Close-to-home schools or zoned schools
3. Predictable feeder patterns
4. Multiple choice options
5. Reduce transportation issues and costs
6. Diversity
7. Equitable distribution of resources

What Pinellas County Home Buyers / Residents Should know during the Transition Period

1. All students except those entering Kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade – will stay where ever they were last year
2. Students entering Kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade will get their close-to-home school this year (or they can also opt for an older sibling’s school)   
3. New students (not in one of the 3 grades listed above) are assigned on a space available basis to the close-to-home school or the next closest school. The challenge here is that the Florida Class Size Amendment limits the number of students that can be assigned to a school.
4. 3 schools were closed this year – South Ward, Largo Central and Riviera Middle that are impacting mid county assignments

Jim Madden explains how new School Assignment will work to Pinellas County REALTORS 

 I’ve included some video of Jim’s presentation so you could hear how Pinellas County School assignments will be handled in Jim’s words:

 Jim talks about the new Pinellas County Student Assignment software and interactive map functions that are coming soon (hopefully by mid-September)  

Got More Questions? 

1. If you have any questions you can contact Jim Madden directly at 727-588-5186 or email him at maddenj@pcsb.org or
2. Call the Student Assignment Department at 727-588-6210 or
3. District Call Center at 727-587-2020
4. Visit their website at www.Pinellask12.fl.us

What do you need to enroll in school?  Proof of residency – a power bill, rent receipt, cable bill, phone bill, etc. – in some cases a purchase contract to buy a home or a lease agreement will also be accepted. Exceptions handled on a case by case basis.

Pinellas County Real Estate matches up to Pinellas County Schools

Get 25% more Property tax savings in November

Buying Pinellas County Real Estate less Complicated Now

Want more info about all our Pinellas County Real Estate – feel free to call Cyndee and Jack,your Pinellas County Realtors at (727) 710-8035. Want to see all the Pinellas County homes for sale – Feel free to search the Tampa Bay MLS.

Cyndee and Jack Haydon, Clearwater Real Estate Agents,  Charles Rutenberg Realty 1545 S. Belcher Rd Clearwater FL 33764

Call me at (727) 710-8035

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Clearwater Florida

Real Estate Agents Get Sued by Home Buyer

Weve all heard of real estate agents being sued because they hid material facts about a property, but this is a landmark case that has come about because of our current  Buyers Market (especially in the Clearwater Real Estate Market) . A couple of years ago, as prices were going up, home buyers were just happy to buy a property before the real estate market pushed its value higher. Today, with falling home prices, many buyers are determined to get the best deal and think the that Clearwater real estate prices could go lower.

Want to See All the Clearwater Real Estate For Sale?

Call us at (727) 710-8036 when you are buying a home in Clearwater because we are very thorough in the real estate market analysis we provide for our clients, and we negotiate for the best deal for our home buyers based upon the information we have collected.

So, if you are looking for a properties in the Clearwater, Florida area, then call us for personal service.

Have questions? Just check out our Tampa Bay customer testimonials (videos) and see that we treat our clients like our family. P.S. Go ahead an search all the homes, condos and villas for sale in the Clearwater MLS now¦
and just so you know, we require no email registration or sign in – like everything else we do – our goal is to continue to provide you with ALL the information available so you can make the best decisions!

Copyright © 2007 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTOR and Clearwater Fl Real Estate Consultants and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published. All rights reserved. Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.

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Clearwater Beach FLorida -  We’re  Clearwater Realtors Specializing in the Bluest Backyards and Beachfront Condos, Homes and Real Estate in Tampa Bay Florida ~ 

About Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Tampa Bay REALTORS on Clearwater Beach

Are you looking for the local Clearwater Real Estate Expert or the Clearwater Beach Condos and Tampa Bay Neighborhood Experts? Then look no further – we put or extensive Tampa Beach and Clearwater Florida knowledge and experience to work for you as your Tampa Bay Real Estate Advocate.

Wed like to be YOUR Clearwater Real Estate Team! Hello, we are Jack & Cyndee Haydon, full-time REALTORS serving the Tampa Bay area.

We are a dedicated, effective husband & wife Real Estate Consulting team focused on delivering Amazing Results & First Class Service for those buying Clearwater homes or Clearwater condos or selling Tampa Bay homes or Tampa Bay condos.

We are members of both the Pinellas REALTOR Organization and the National Association of REALTORS. We can help if you are interested in the Clearwater Real Estate | Clearwater Beach Real Estate | Island Estates Real Estate | Sand Key Real Estate market or any of the surrounding Pinellas County Real Estate

Pinellas County Real Estate we Cover

• Largo,
• Dunedin,
• Safety Harbor,
• St Petersburg,
• Palm Harbor,
• Ozona,
• Tarpon Springs,
• Seminole,
• Oldsmar,
• Belleair,
• Crystal Beach,
• Pinellas Park,
• Kenneth City

Tampa Bay Beaches | Tampa Bay Real Estate

• Belleair Shores Real Estate
• Belleair Beach Real Estate
• Indian Rocks Beach Real Estate
• Indian Shores Real Estate
• Redington Shore Real Estate
• N Redington Beach Real Estate
• Madiera Beach Real Estate
• Treasure Island Real Estate
• St Pete Beach Real Estate
• Pass a Grille Real Estate
• Tierra Verde Real Estate

Proudly serving the Clearwater Florida real estate market for those individuals and families who value our Innovative, Client Focused approach to Tampa Bay Real Estate and helping people buy a primary or vacation home on Tampas beaches.

Living in Clearwater Florida

• Imagine living in your own Beach House or Sand Key Condos, your Island Estates Waterfront Home or how about living in Dunedin, home to the #2 Beach in the US or a St Pete Beach Home or Condo, where its Sunny and Warm all year long¦.
• Imagine the relaxation of nightly sunset walks along the sugar white sands of Clearwater Beach and Sand Key to St Pete Beach¦
• Imagine the refreshed feeling youll have enjoying our crystal blue ocean waters – swimming, boating, kayaking¦.
• Imagine friendly Tampa Beach bars and waterfront resturants with tropical settings and nightly entertainment¦.
• Experience shows we can help you make your Tampa Bay beaches home or Clearwater condo dreams a reality now, when you work with us¦.

Our purpose is not only to help you buy or sell your waterfront or luxury home or condo, but to build strong, lifetime relationships one person at a time¦starting with YOU! You might be interested to know what we believe in¦ We believe

:

• We believe that Clearwater | Clearwater Beach | Island Estates | Sand Key home and condo market offers more choices than ever when you go to buy or sell homes or condos;
• We believe that one size does not fit all when buying or selling Clearwater area homes or condos and that all Clearwater real estate agents are not equal;
• We believe that YOU and your home buying or selling goals are always whats most important – not the sale of any one home or condo in the Clearwater | Clearwater Beach | Island Estates | Sand Key and the Gulf Beaches area.
• We believe even experienced Home Buyers and Home Sellers need Real Estate professionals who make the process of buying or selling a home or condo as easy as possible;
• We believe that when people decide to buy or sell a home they often dont know the significant benefits they can receive by working with professional real estate consultants like us ~ specialists in the Clearwater Beach area;
• We believe you deserve a professional real estate team, like Cyndee & I, to focus on achieving your home buying or home selling goals in the quickest, easiest way possible when looking in the Clearwater Beach areas .

Because Cyndee & I work primarily by referral, we stay focused on what’s important to you, because, what’s important to you is really important to us. This allows us more time and energy to devote to our Clearwater real estate clients, like you. This includes every aspect of the home buying and home selling process, before, during and after the sale of your home.

Clearwater FL Real Estate Agents Explain were NOT your typical Clearwater REALTORS.

Our vision is for you to trust and appreciate our real estate advice and actions so much that well earn your referrals for those you know planning to buy or sell a home in the Clearwater | Clearwater Beach | Island Estates | Sand Key | Gulf Beaches area, again and again – not out of obligation, but because you truly believe your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors will benefit greatly by working with us. Our philosophy is not typical in our industry, but it enables us to treat you like we treat our own family, friends and neighbors and how we wish to be treated ourselves. Its just a great way to do business but dont take our word for it, heres what a few of our recent clients have to say about how we helped them¦

*** CLICK ON PHOTOS BELOW TO SEE TAMPA BAY CLIENT VIDEO TESTIMONIALS ***

Buyers tell us that selecting a Clearwater Real Estate Agent,especially online or from a distance, can be a challenge. Some of our past clients agreed to share their experiences and tell you why they think you should work with us. Click on the photos below and meet some of our clients and now friends¦wed love to be YOUR choice too!

*The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTOR and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published. All rights reserved. Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.

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Clearwater Florida This is a busy time of year for Clearwater Real Estate because when winter hits our northern friends from places like Canada, Michigan, Maryland many of them start thinking about our ‘Sunshine State’ and that warm winter home theyve been dreaming of buying however their next thought is…What will my property taxes be?

While we do have many Clearwater Real Estate bargains right now, buyers still need to understand how our Pinellas property taxes work and how they affect the total cost of owership, especially if this is your second home.  

The number one question we get asked when helping people buy property in Clearwater Florida is ‘How much will my property taxes be?’

What is Millage and How does it affect my Property Taxes?

In another article we wrote, Clearwater Florida Home Buyers Guide to Pinellas Property Tax Values – Part 1, we explained how the Pinellas County Property Appraiser first has to determine your Tampa Bay propertys ‘taxable value’. Now once you know the taxable value well show you how to calculate/estimate what your property taxes will be.  

Before we work the math and determine what you should plan for regarding Pinellas County real estate property taxes, let me take a minute to explain what ‘millage‘ is and how it works.

Millage is the tax rate used to fund the budgets of the 49 taxing authorities including local goverments, fire districts, libraries, Water management, Pinellas County School Board and more to determine what we are required to pay each year.

Each tax authority is allocated a part of the millage and when its all added together you get the that years millage rate. Because the millage rate includes local goverments and special developement districts it will vary from city to city and even within the same city (see list below). So the taxes that Clearwater property owners pay will be slightly different withing the City of Clearwater and it will also be different from those that own St Petersburg homes and condos.      

Millage is how much you will pay for every $1000 of taxable value. 

Here are the formulas used to calculate how much property tax you are going to have to pay each year. We covered the first 3 formulas in yesterdays article so now well work through some real life examples¦

Pinellas County Property Tax Formulas

1. Property is Purchased or Appraised for the year
2. Market Value/Just Value (Capped by the Save our Homes Cap) = Assessed Value;
3. Assessed Value Exemptions = Taxable Value;
4. Taxable Value x Millage Rate / 1000 = Gross Property Taxes for the year 

What was the 2007  Tax Rate | Millage for Clearwater Florida?

You can see the complete breakdown for all 45 tax districts and their Millage Rates for 2007. Here are some of the communities Im asked about most often.

You can see that in Pinellas County the property taxes can be as much as $9.00 per $1000 depending on where the property is. Also note that several cities have multiple taxing districts like Clearwater and St Petersburg so youll have to check which on correlates to the property you want to buy.  This year Belleair Shore has the cheapest and Lealman has the most with St Petersburg Florida next.   

•  15.2249 Belleair Shore 
•  16.0105 North Redington Beach Florida
•  16.6793 Belleair Beach Florida
•  16.7289 Indian Rocks Beach Florida
•  16.8594 Indian Shores Florida
•  17.1356 St Pete Beach
•  18.6284 Tierra Verde Florida
•  18.8191 Dunedin TR 
•  19.7990 Dunedin FID, TR
•  18.9108 Largo Florida
•  19.4725 Tarpon Springs FID TR
•  19.5683 Tarpon Springs TR 
•  19.6092 Palm Harbor Florida
•  19.6516 Clearwater FID TR
•  19.9371 Clearwater TR
•  20.9022 Clearwater Downtown Dev Brd, TR 
•  21.1719 St Petersburg Florida TR
•  23.8983 St Petersburg PIN PK WTR MGT TR 
•  24.2079 Lealman FIR PP WTR MGMT TR 

How much will I pay in Property Taxes this year?

Lets calculate what your Clearwater Property taxes would be using the highest tax district. In our example what would the taxes if th taxable value is $100,000? 

Assume Taxable value = $100,000    Clearwater Millage Rate = 20.9022

Formula: Taxable Value x Millage Rate / 1000 = Gross Taxes

$100,000 Clearwater Home with No Homestead Exemption

Example 1:  $100,000 x 20.9022 /1000 = $2,092.20 annually which = $174.35/month

$100,000 Clearwater Home with Homestead Exemption

Now if you buy a Clearwater home and it qualifies for Floridas Homestead Exemption (Assessed Value  $25,000) then on a $100,000 Clearwater Home your taxable value would be $75,000.

Example 2:  ($100,000$25,000) x (20.9022 /1000) = $1,567.67 annually which = $130.64/month  

So if you are buying a $500,000 Clearwater Beach Condo and it doesnt qualify for Floridas Homestead exemption then your annual taxes would be approximately $10,450.00 or $870.73/month. 

Next well discuss the upcoming Constitutional Amendment and how that may help lower our property taxes.

Im curious, did this help you understand our Pinellas Property taxes better? Anything youd like to see added? 

Want to See Clearwater Condos or Homes? 

Are you looking to buy Clearwater property where you can enjoy our finest pool homes, our Tampa Bay green golf course neighborhoods, playing tennis all year long and entertaining at local country clubs during the winter or all year round? Need an easy commute to Tampa? How about a Tampa Bay waterfront home close to our Tampa Bay Beaches?  We will help you find your dream home, condo, villa or town home. Heres what some of our past clients have to say about how we helped them¦.

Buyers tell us that selecting the best Clearwater Real Estate Agent, online or from a distance, can be a challenge. Some of our past clients agreed to share their experiences and tell you why they think you should work with us. 

Click on the photos below and meet some of our clients and now friends¦wed love to be YOUR choice too!     

Want more info, click to Search all Clearwater homes for sale  includes all the homes and condos for sale in the Tampa MLS! 

Looking for Real Estate in Clearwater Florida, Golf Course Condos | Homes or Country Club Communities   Give us a Call.  (727) 710-8036.

The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Jack and Cyndee Haydon,  REALTORS and your Clearwater Real Estate Consultants and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published. All rights reserved. Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.

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Online Clearwater Florida Real Estate Services  

Clearwater, FLorida – Ever heard, “What real estate commission do you charge to help us sell our home? What’s your rate?…. Are you more than your rate or commission? 

I wrote an article asking Do Home Buyers Get Full Service or is it Pump it Yourself?   

It generated a lot of thoughtful responses and one by Steven L. Smith inspired this post. Steven talks about how everyone he knows now books their travel online – ergo the demise of the brick and mortar travel agency.

It got me to thinking about various Florida Real Estate & Mortgage industry models and how they are changing before out eyes.  Blogging, IDX – MLS; home value estimators online, daily email updates, online mortgage applications etc. There’s no denying it’s changing – but will it good for me or put me out of business? 

Clearwater Florida Home Buyers

I was out with some Tampa Bay home buyers today. We had been looking at houses when they first relocated to Clearwater a year ago. They weren’t ready to buy then because of their job changes and the shock of what houses were selling for so they decided to wait. With the change in the market they realized now is a great time to buy and get the most home for their money, especially since they’re looking to live in their home for the long haul.

So, for the good side of technology – we’ve been able to send them daily updates of every home for sale by every real estate company for the last year so when they were ready to buy a home in the Tampa Bay area they called us to say “let’s go” – because on the human side – when they looked last year they saw what true advocates we were for them:

• Running real property value analysis on the Tampa homes that interested them ,
• Giving them the real estate advice we’d give our own family
• They knew that we weren’t about “just selling a house” – we were focused on helping them find “their Tampa Bay dream home”
• We’ve stayed in touch with them and giving them the latest Tampa Florida real estate info .
• and there was NEVER any pressure from us - we knew we’d be here when the time was right!       

So when we started talking about making an offer I verified that their mortgage prequalification was ready to go. I had referred them to a good Tampa mortgage broker for their home loan last year but he hadn’t stayed in touch with them. I was shocked when they told me they had gotten approved from @ending tree online.  They have a credit score of over 800, have 15% to put down and the house they’re interested in is in their price range. By all accounts a Tampa mortgage brokers dream client. 

Now my experience is that many of my clients have been quoted teaser rates and costs for these Online Mortgage companies only to find out they are significantly more at closing. I suggested they might want to get another quote from a local mortgage lender and Active Rain member we’ve had great experiences with, Leah Ross.

Leah has helped many of our clients, from Clearwater first time homebuyers to Clearwater luxury home buyers. She approaches mortgages the way we do real estate – as a consultant and advocate. We always get rave reviews from our clients that work with her. They feel they get great value from working with her.

However, it’s a real reminder that we all have to be aware of what value we’re giving. I am seeing more and more buyers calling “online lenders” first – thinking all mortgage services are the same and it’s all about “rate”. Unfortunately there’s so much more to mortgages than “Rates” and so much more to real estate than, “What commission do you charge?”  

I realized, like Steven pointed out in his comments, when consumer’s perception of value changes – the market place changes too- but not necessarily for the best for consumers or traditional businesses.

Most potential clients don’t realize the integrated complexities of a real estate transaction. The fact that over 48 people from 7 industries will be involved – which means problems happen – you NEED an experienced pro at the helm.

Home buyers and sellers don’t understand:

• That when mistakes are made in real estate transactions they can be extremely costly to them.
• They don’t realize that in Florida you can sue for up to 5 years after the real estate transaction – and that For Sale By Owners in Pinellas county have to follow the same statutes as realtors and locally we’ve seen them be successfully sued.
• They don’t know that the right home inspector can save you thousands in home repairs and problems.
• This is just the tip of the iceberg but I say rather than be on the defensive with companies like @edfin, @illow, @ending tree – we need to be on the offensive – always articulating and showing are value.    

Consider – if the stack of blue jeans in the picture above was your and your real estate or mortgage competition – could potential clients pick you out?  When they can’t, then experience shows you’re viewed as a commodity and commodities are chosen based on PRICE so then the only question customers ask is:

1. “What’s your rate?” or
2. “What commission to you charge?” 

So, now that we’re online – will it help us add more value and free us up for more time with our clients or will it ultimately put us out of business?       

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I was reading Paul Chaney’s blog today, Conversational Media Marketing and he shared that blogging has actually been around for 10 years. As a tribute to blogging he shared his blogging story and encouraged others to do the same. It got me thinking and reflecting and I thought I would take a break from writing about Clearwater Beach Real Estate today and share a little about our blogging journey so far… 

Blogging isn’t a Sprint it’s a Marathon

We first learned about blogging a little over a year ago when I attended an Internet Academy with Dean Jackson in Orlando Florida. It was a weekend dedicated to learning how new technology could enhance our real estate business – just one of the many opportunities Jack and take to constantly gain additional education and skills. While there I was able to meet with successful real estate agents and mortgage professionals from around United States and Canada who shared their blogging success stories. They talked about how we could provide more community and real estate information in a more client friendly way by blogging. From there we left with the inspiration to begin our own blog.

Our first try at blogging was actually a Typepad blog. It was just in it’s infancy (2–3 months old) when I received an invitation from a Brea CA Realtor to join Active Rain, a fast growing real estate social network. We did and it allowed us to learn and improve as bloggers by working with over 20,000 other real estate professionals then – now it’s over 60,000 and still growing. 

Well the dirty little secret is “blogging is addicting” and before long we were hooked because it created a great way to share information about Clearwater and Clearwater beach and also start a dialogue with our readers in a safe, no pressure environment.  

Ironically we learned that working in a community like Active Rain was a much smarter first step in becoming effective bloggers so we quit working on our typepad blog (only so many hours in a day) and focused all our efforts on our Active Rain blog because it was easy to use and comprehensive for both fellow REALTORS and consumers. 

Like many before and after us, once we started blogging on Active Rain and Localism we were able to jump start our effectiveness and got a real blogging education from helpful bloggers like Paul Chaney, Jeff Turner, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Kristal Kraft, Laurie Manny and too many more to name here. That’s where I learned that blogging’s not a sprint – it’s a marathon and the best blogs, like fine wines when done right get better and better with time as their content grows.  

Blogging turned Us into Hermit Crabs

So while it is great being a part of a dynamic community like Active Rain we decided we were ready, like the hermit crab, to expand into a larger shell and to start our own website and blog with  the things we’d learned.  We move into a GoDaddy Blog Shell…while it was easy to get started with their turnkey offerings, over time we found that the things we wanted to include on our blog weren’t available through them so we experienced growing pains again and needed to trade in our shell again – we’d outgrown this one and so we went in search of a much bigger shell – something we could grow with and not have to change so quickly.

Now that we knew what we wanted we researched and sought out the best real estate blog design company . Ultimately we chose The Real Estate Tomato, recognized innovators in real estate blogging. We were sold when we shared our vision for our new website/blog and they “got it” – we were then able to work together to create this Clearwater | Clearwater Beach Real Estate Blog – the ultimate hermit crab home.  

So today, a year later We’re reflecting on all we’ve learned about blogging and the only thing we know for sure is that while we love our current shell here on Sandbars To Sunsets – we will definitely continue to grow and evolve. For example, we already know more and more video will be coming and so in the future, like the hermit crab, we’ll keep expanding our shell to keep delivering the best information for you – our valued readers.

Thanks for letting me share a little about our journey this past year. How fitting that New Years is around the corner…a great time to reflect and plan for the coming year of improvements and innovations.

So, I’m curious, what’s the pending New Year got you thinking about? 

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The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Jack and Cyndee Haydon,  REALTORS and your Clearwater Beach Real Estate Consultants and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published. All rights reserved. Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.

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