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

It's important that landlords be careful who they rent to. 

And, be careful they know what their tenants are doing in their property. 

A tenant that is engaged in illegal activities, such as growing drugs and/or selling drugs out of their house can wind up getting their landlord in trouble with the law.  The landlord that is aware of his tenant's illegal activities could be prosecuted as a third degree felony, along with the tenant.  In extreme cases a landlord could potentially have his rental house confiscated in a drug bust.

City officials in towns like Cocoa are trying to crack down on blighted areas, where crime is a nuisance. They expect landlords to help in the fight.  They want to clean these areas up.  Owners are being reminded to get rid of tenants that are suspected of dealing in illegal activities. 

Careful screening upon move in, including a thorough search of the Brevard County Clerk of Courts Website is a good start to find out that potential tenant's criminal background.

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate and Investing

I specialize in Residential, Investment and Relocations.

We have a team of professionals to facilitate your Short Sale.

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property. 

Search for Properties for sale

Visit my Google Profile page

This morning I had appointments to show 6 properties to a couple of buyers, that are shopping for an investment property.

We arrived at the 5th property on the list, where we had an appointment in which the owner had to be home to let us in, as there was no lockbox on the house.  When we pulled up in front of the house, there was not a car in the driveway. Not a good sign. I knocked on the door... no answer.  I knocked again, this time a bit harder (there was no doorbell)... still no answer. That's what I was afraid of.

I tried to call the listing agent, who I had spoken to yesterday about this short sale property.   I left her a voicemail.  Then, I called the listing agent's office.  I told the receptionist my dilemma. She responded with, ' I know, we have been trying to reach the owner, but never got an answer.  We tried to call you, but didn't get you.'

"Did you leave a message for me?"  I asked. 

"Well, no, we didn't. But the owner on the house never returned our calls."  And, the owner wasn't home.

Well, I thought, if this house is a short sale, and this is an indication of how cooperative or not the owner is going to be, then this may not be a good sign.

I apologized profusely to my buyers, and we proceeded to the next property, when I received a call back from the agent on the house that we could not get in to see.  She said she would call the owner and call me back. 

When she called back she told me that this owner, facing foreclosure, was not interested in being put in a situation where he had to show his house on demand to anyone who wanted to see it.  She was upset with his response.  Hmmm, I thought, I made the appointment, yesterday, nearly 18 hours prior.  She proceeded to tell me that he wasn't interested in dealing with this, he would just take the house off the market, and let the house go into foreclosure. She apologized for wasting our time.

It seems that today so many sellers are in a dilemma, as to what do with their homes, they can no longer afford. 

Should they try to do a short sale? 

Would they qualify for a loan modification? 

Should they give up their deed in lieu of foreclosure? 

Or should they just let the property slip into foreclosure?

What is the best solution for their situation? 

The best advise is for them to visit an attorney and/or a tax consultant/advisor to find out what their options are, based on their individual set of circumstances.

For so many it can be an incredibly emotional time.

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate and Investing

I specialize in Residential, Investment and Relocations.

We have a team of professionals to facilitate your Short Sale.

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property. 

Search for Properties for sale

Visit my Google Profile page

I've known it for some time now. Our local market has been making a shift. Many think that we are still in a buyer's market, where buyer's can take their time to pick that perfect house and throw out that low ball offer.  Well that's not always the case, in some areas, right now.

The well appointed, attractively priced properties (typically single family houses) in the $100,000 price range have been moving quickly for some time now.  Often we are in multiple offer situations on these properties.  These lower priced properties have the largest pool of buyers - first time homebuyers, investors, second and vacation home purchasers and international buyers.  The highest bidder gets the house. 

The bank owned properties are often a favorite, as they are often priced below market value, if they don't have too much work to do on them.  Often there are repairs to be done, to bring the house to perfect condition.  And often first time homebuyers using FHA or VA financing cannot purchase these properties due to the repairs that must be done. Cash buyers are often the bidders that are "winning" these, because there are no financing contingencies, no appraisals, repair issues and no hassles.

Yesterday, I called on a bank owned house that had been on the market for 16 days at $95,000. There had been 4 offers and they had accepted the highest and best offer, already.   Often on bank owned properties they will accept multiple offers for a period of time, and then the selling bank will ask for each buyer's highest and best offer. 

Later, I called on a $125,000 bank owned property that had been on the market for 10 days. There were 7 offers in on the property. 

On Sunday, I made an appointment to show clients a $330,000 property that went on the market on Friday.  The listing agent had to accompany all showings. When we arrived there was a couple already inside, looking at the property.  We graciously waited outside. While we were inside, looking, the doorbell rang, and another set of buyers showed up to look at the house.  There was a parade of buyers through the home.  The listing agent called later to say that she had received an offer with the promise of another one coming in.

On Monday, I went out with buyers on a $300,000 house that went on the market the day before.  I called the listing agent in the morning to double check the status of the property.  By the time she called me back there was an offer on the property, again, with another one coming in.  With the offer I wrote for my clients there were a total of three offers on the lovely house.  The strongest offer bought the property.

So, here we are, seeing bidding wars on properties in various price ranges.  Don't wait till it's too late, and miss out on that perfect house.

Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate and Investing

I specialize in Residential, Investment and Relocations.

We have a team of professionals to facilitate your Short Sale.

I buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property. 

Search for Properties for sale

Visit my Google Profile page