Melbourne Real Estate News, Brevard County FL Real Estate by Sandy Shores REALTOR®

Here in Melbourne Florida home prices are becoming more affordable! 

There are currently 111 homes available for sale for $100,000 or below. 

There are currently 544 homes available for sale for $200,000 or below.

A buyer can purchase a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home built in 2003 or newer, with over 1800 square feet of living on approximately .20 acre lot.

I remember in January 2005, at the peak of the market,  there were only 4 homes available for sale priced under $200,000!

As a landlord here in Brevard County Florida, over the years I have certainly had my fair share of ups and downs.  I have made many mistakes, however I quickly rebound, and am careful not to make those same mistakes in the future.

Often times we have investors and/or landlords contact our office to discuss the investment real estate business. Word to the wise: don't jump in with both feet unless you know exactly what you're doing and have a well laid out plan.

Whether you're thinking of investing or you're already a landlord...

Look for smaller properties, in good areas to invest in.

Typically, smaller houses rent for more money per square foot than larger homes.

There is a more abundant supply of tenants available for smaller houses.

The rent is usually more affordable, thus tenants have a tendency to stay longer in a small house, versus a larger more expensive one.

The mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance typically cost less in smaller, well appointed homes.

Be careful, you don't want too small, if it puts you in a questionable area.  Then, you just wind up dealing with tenants that are sometimes difficult to deal with.

They typically sell for more money per square foot than larger houses.

The market value may not be affected as severely in a market downturn, as a bigger house's value.

Visit my website at www.SandyShoresMelbourne.com

*Please remember:  I live and work here in Melbourne in South Brevard County Florida.  I am speaking from my experiences here in our area.  Some of the above information may not apply or be relevant to the area of the country in which you live.The above info are based on my personal experiences and some are my opinion.  Please be sure to do your own research.

Today in Palm Bay Florida here in Brevard County there are currently over 1000 houses sitting empty. Most have been foreclosed on.  Many of these are providing excellent buying opportunities for smart, savvy customers.  Some are being purchased at pre-2005 prices.  Others are just sitting, empty.  Some are eyesores and are creating a neighborhood nuisance.

Brevard County has been give $10.55 million and the City of Palm Bay gets about $5.28 million of those funds. The hope is to help move some of these properties off the market, and into the hands of caring new owners or new tenants. Brevard County Housing and Human Services believes that the need lies in more single family rental homes being made available to those that have lost their homes due to foreclosure.

The funds have been approved to be used in a couple of different ways:

To demolish the homes that are beyond repair.

To help finance the purchase of some of these homes.

Purchasing and rehabbing some, in order to resell, rent or redevelp them.

It is uncertain as to how the funds will be disbursed at this point, however the City of Palm Bay has 18 months in which to use the money.

West Shore Junior Senior High school here in Melbourne Florida will be presenting the play, the Music Man on Thursday - Friday, October 16 and 17 at 7:00.  Showtimes will be 2:00 and 7:00 on Saturday, October 18, 2008. 

The students have been practicing for 3-5 nights a week.  And this week they are at school until 9:00 putting the final touches on the production.

The play will be put on by the drama department and it will be the first live production performed on the stage of the new West Shore Auditorium in the Multi Purpose Classroom Building.

Motivated Sellers! Easy to show! See it today!

Bring an offer!  Owners are Anxious!  Can close in 30 days! 

Move right in! Don't miss this one!  Vacant!

SO THEY SHOULD BE EASY AND ACCOMODATING TO SHOW - RIGHT?  Well not always!

I have been working with out of town buyers in trying to help them find a home that suits both their wants and needs. They have been looking at homes for the past 3 days. We have probably seen over 20 properties.  And, some have been absolutely gorgeous!

My customers have very limited time, as they will be leaving to go back home in the next day or so.

My biggest hurdle in their home purchase, so far, is in being able to get access to homes in the MLS to get in and show them.

Now, the last time I checked, here in Brevard County we were in full blown buyers market.  There are currently an overabundance of homes available for sale.  As the buyer is considering a purchase in the $500,000 price range some of the properties being considered have been on the market for over a year and more!

We have seen homes with market times of 711 days, 202 days, 1215 days, 367 days, 431 days, 549 days, 611 days, and one has been on the market for over 2300 days! Need I go on?

And some of the prices have been reduced by over $100,000. 

Unfortunately, the market in the past several years has been declining and I understand that sellers have been trying to adjust to that market decline.  Some are chasing the market.  And, some have their hands tied, because they owe more than they're worth - so they are short selling them.

So, my thought is that sellers and listing agents should be doing cart wheels to get a buyer in to look at their home!

Most have been more than accomodating to our wishes.  However, about 1/4 have been a bit challenging in setting up showing appointments.

In requesting showings, I have gotten responses from listing office and agents ranging from:

'Could you do it 2 days from now?  Today, really isn't a good day.'

'Oh, you want to show the house at 11:00?  You know 6:00 tomorrow would work out much better for me, could you do it then?'

'My seller's house is really dirty right now, could you make it sometime next week?'

'No, tomorrow between 10:00 - 12:00 isn't going to work.  You have to be there between 5:15 and 5:30.' (For me, showing an out of towner a new area that spans for 20+ miles, with a 3 day time frame, it would be impossible to guarantee a 15 minute window of time.  Heck, I could be in another city during that time frame!)

I called the listing agent's office and was told that I needed to contact the list agent. I've had 3  agents that NEVER EVEN RETURNED MY PHONE CALL (after talking to their offices twice and leaving 2-3 messages for them). So, we never got in to see those 3 homes.

'I really don't know what the showing instructions are, it's probably an electronic lockbox -just go out there, knock and see what happens.  It could be a combo lockbox though. But I don't know what the code would be.'  I questioned this and ask for more info. No, I can't really say, just go and see if you can get in.  I asked if they could call the list agent -no she isn't available on weekends!

'I haven't been able to reach the owner, so just knock first and use the lockbox. And by the way, be careful for the big dog in the house!'  ----ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? NO THANK YOU!

'No, it requires 24 hour notice.'   I called 16 hours in advance and was told no. The buyer wasn't sure he wanted to be bothered with this and we didn't know where we would be or where our schedule would take us in 24 hours. Sometimes with out of town buyers we don't have 24 hours to give them in advance notice. Then I called 18 hours in advance 'no, I told you 24 hour notice!' This time I called with 28 hours notice, 'Yes, that time would be perfect.' So, I set up all my other appointments around that one.  Then got a call back. 'The owner has changed their mind, could you do it 3 hours later?' (WHAT????? BY THIS TIME I'M ABOUT READY FOR A RUBBER ROOM!)  "I would have to meet you there, the sellers don't want anyone stealing anything out of the house!!" 

I HAD A PHENOMENAL AGENT THAT  MET ME AT ANOTHER LISTING, DOWN THE STREET AND HAND DELIVERED THE KEYS TO HER PROPERTY! UNBELIEVABLE -SHE WAS INCREDIBLE!

Maybe it's just me.  Silly, but I think that if a house is in the Multiple Listing Service for sale, then I should be able to get my buyers in to see it.  And, I do understand, there are times that are not convenient for a seller. But, come on, let's be somewhat accomodating.

My thought is, 'if this seller is this unaccomodating at this early in the game, then how will the buyer ever be able to make an offer that they will accept?'

Maybe that's why some of these homes have been on the market for over a year!

My daughters, Stef and Sam  just came back from performing in a fund raiser to help the fight breast cancer. The Palm Bay High School dance team director had all the local high schools and dance companies come together to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.

My daughters are on the West Shore Junior Senior High School dance teams here in Melbourne Florida.  The Junior Varsity and the Varsity teams both performed at the event this afternoon.

This is the first annual dance to help fight breast cancer.  Hopefully, we will all be able to come together for many years to come to bring more money to the cure for cancer.

The south beaches in Melbourne Beach in Brevard County Florida are absolutely gorgeous.  There are many ocean to river communities.  Some boast private beach access as well as private river access. In this community you can have the river just steps from your back yard and the beach just steps from your front door.

I wanted to share some of the beautiful sights I saw yesterday while out showing houses with clients.

Visit my website at www.SandyShoresMelbourne.com

Yesterday, I again spent the day with buyers from South Carolina, looking for a home in Melbourne Beach Florida.  It was a gorgeous day for the most part.  Later in the afternoon the sky got dark, and we got caught in a rain shower that lasted for about 30 minutes.  The sky continued to threaten that it would open up again and drop more rain on us, as we wrapped up our day.

We saw so many beautiful sights in Melbourne Beach here in Brevard County Florida, my clients asked me about wildlife in the area.  Well, it seemed to be at our every turn.

This little guy had us worrried, because he was walking down the side of the 2 lane highway A1A and we were afraid that he we going to be hit by a car.  So, we moved him a distance away from any traffic. 

It seems that since Tropical Storm Fay, which brought some areas over 25 inches of rain, a lot of these little creatures have become displaced.  I have seen many walking in or around the roads, lately.

We saw about 25 of these birds hanging around a pond in an ocean to river community pond.

This bird was watching the local fisherman at Sebastian Inlet State Park just minutes from Melbourne Beach.  He was waiting for his next meal.

Yesterday I spent the day out showing houses with clients that came in from South Carolina.  We headed down Highway A1A here in Melbourne Beach in Brevard County Florida.  We dodged raindrops all day.  The sun would peek out from behind the clouds for a couple of minutes and then the rain would come rolling in.  I had heard that there was a depression in the tropics that was lingering over us. All in all we were fortunate to have stayed fairly dry.

Towards the end of a productive day, we headed down to Sebastian Inlet State Park, just minutes from South Melbourne Beach.  I love visiting the park and spending a day with my family when we can get down there.  It wasn't too hot, and the sun was just going down.  It was mesmerizing.

There are so many things to do at the park.  You can go to the beach and go swimming, surfing or just enjoy the sun.  We like to bring a picnic lunch and spend the day.  You can go surf fishing in the ocean, surf off one of the jettys or you can head to the other side of the park and enjoy the beautiful Indian River lagoon.  There is canoeing and kayaking and people bring their boats.  Sebastian Inlet Park is a beautiful place!