Hi, there.It is good to be back with you. This is Mary G. signing in. I'm at RAMB today honing my MLX skills. I want to be the best agent that Coldwell Banker has... that means that I will be able to serve all of your real estate needs. Class should begin shortly.:) L8R

Check out this story regarding our current real estate market and let me know your thoughts. 

The Truth Behind Florida's Housing Numbers
May 28, 2008 5:59 p.m.

Miami, Fla. --Take the latest data on the housing market crash with a huge dose of salt.

I have just finished a week-long tour of the real estate market down here, one of the worst hit parts of the country. And one of the few things I can say with complete certainty is that nobody down there knows where "the market" overall really is. In a crash like this one, talk about "average" home prices is almost meaningless.

But if you have wanted a vacation or retirement home in Florida and you have been waiting for prices to come down, this really is the time to start looking.

In Florida, the state's biggest real estate company is offering more than 600 homes at cut-rate prices, beginning this weekend and for a limited time only. For 10 days Coldwell Banker will take an additional 10 percent off the home's list price.

"The great idea behind it is to energize the market," Coldwell Banker Senior Vice President Gus Rubio said.

With the housing market stagnant for a year, sellers hope amenities with slashed prices will woo potential buyers.

A national Home Price Index confirms prices across the country have decreased 14.1 percent from a year ago. The worst-hit areas include Las Vegas, which is down 25.9 percent, Phoenix, down 23 percent, and Miami, down 24.6 percent.

Read more http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=4954666

Hi, this is Mary G. attempting to get a real feel of blogging. Anyone with some simple tips to get my blog off the ground and in cyberspace will be deeply appreciated.

I was going to introduce myself and tell you how I remembered the special day we just celebrated MEMORIAL DAY. First of all I'm a retired educator in the Miami-Dade county public school system. I have taught for a number of years and I ended my administrative career about 18 months ago. I was affiliated with the referral network of Coldwell Banker until I joined the Kendall office in March of this year. It is my hope to be of assistance to anyone who would need my services in purchasing or selling their homes.

The "Sky Factory" company creates amazing Ceiling and Wall products that appear as beautiful natural scenes! The sky and clouds, trees, the sun, tropical beaches, even erie starry night scenes reminiscent of a Hubble telescope photo of another galaxy are among the images that The Sky Factory brings to life! This cool product is being utilized in many hospital environments to help the healing process.  Healing through art!  I once heard Bill Gates has this technology throughout his house plus the scenes move and imitate natures elements!  I need to be ultra rich ASAP!

Check out the Sky Factory and start to dream!

Sky Factory in the News:

http://www.theskyfactory.com/pop_tbc_gc.php

Sky Factory Website:

http://www.theskyfactory.com

There has been a long and heated debate over the question if larger grocery stores in the Grove along US 1 are to be permitted or not.  Pro-store activists refer to the fact that larger stores carry more variety, including generic labels, and that today a trip to the grocery store always involves substantial time in the car (thus, polluting the air more than necessary). Voices that are against large stores argue that the unique Grove atmosphere will be destroyed with the advent of mega-stores and that with careful planning, unneccessary trips to the store can be avoided.  I can see the merit in both arguments and would like to know what you think. Do you feel that the Grove needs a bigger grocery store and if one opens, should other stores also receive permits to operate in the Grove? Or do you side with the notion that the indisputable unique Grove atmosphere will be destroyed if large stores were to open?

"The American dream of home ownership is under attack by mortgage fraudsters. Mortgage fraud puts lenders at risk and confronts homeowners with the possibility of foreclosures and the loss of their homes," said Alex Acosta, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida.

It is our responsibility as Realtors to know what to watch for as the mortgage fraud epidemic affects us all.  Hope having a copy of the changes to the law will help keep everyone informed.

There has been a lot of talk lately in the press about the real estate market and the short sale market in particular. Many people may be confused about what a short sale is. A short sale occurs when a seller owes more then the property is worth and the bank is willing to accept a sale for less than the mortgage amount.

This represents a wonderful opportunity for both buyers and sellers. A short sale avoids foreclosures of South Florida real estate and homes and impacts the seller’s credit much less harshly than a foreclosure as it shows up on the credit report as paid in full.

Additionally, with a traditional foreclosure, the bank can get a judgment against the seller for any difference between the loan amount and the final sale price. In a short sale the bank marks the loan as paid in full and the seller does not owe any additional monies.

Hello Investors, Hello Paradise Lovers,

South-Florida is for sale! Yes, the weak Dollar, strong Euro, crash of the housing market in Florida and low interest rates on loans make a purchase of a home in Paradise affordable and very lucrative. My name is Koen Roelens and live and work in South-Florida for over a decade now. My daily passion is promoting the beautiful paradise called South-Florida.

Having a Florida real estate license and founder of Serrata Realty Group, gives me the opportunity to expose daily this magical piece of our planet, called South-Florida. My speciality is consulting foreign buyers through the whole process of purchasing their vacation home, residential second home or investment property. My expertise in the real estate market of South-Florida can you find in the following areas:

Tobacco Road History

(Taken with permission from the www.Tobacco-Road.com website)

The Mortgage Fraud Task Force of Miami Dade County Meeting Tomorrow May 21, 2008 to discuss the recent arrests, tighter laws, and FBI plans.  Mortgage Fraud has created so much turmoil in our data and in our profession, we all have a responsibility to know how to combat and to report discovered mortgage fraud to the police by using the mortgage fraud complaint form on miami-dade.gov.  The recent news that the Task Force will be taken statewide with the hopes of removing Florida from the number one position is the result of tremendous work under the leadership of the Chief Legal Counsel for the Miami Dade Police Department, Glenn Theobold.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released their "Top Ten" lists of utility companies' "green power programs."  Per the U.S. Department of Energy's website:

NREL has compiled extensive data on utility green power programs and produced the following "Top Ten" lists of program characteristics and results: total sales of renewable energy to program participants; total number of customer participants; customer participation rates; and the lowest premium charged to support new renewables development.

And Florida Power & Light made two of the lists:

Formerly an independent city, Coconut Grove (originally spelled Cocoanut Grove) was annexed by the city of Miami in 1925. With Biscayne Bay on it's eastern side, The Grove is home to a large boating community featuring the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, the Coral Reef Yacht Club and the world famous Dinner Key Marina. Coconut Grove is also home to The Kampong, a tropical garden that forms an 8 acre section of the national Tropical Botanical Garden plus the location of The Barnicle Historic State Park.

Coconut Grove. Home to the Stars! An upscale village in an international city! Luxury Hi-rise condos, lovely wooded homes, luxury waterfront properties! All centrally located! Whatever you call it...Coconut Grove...Cocoanut Grove or just, The Grove...it is truly paradise.

Instructor:  Pat Zaby, CRS  This newly designed class will help you unlock the power of Microsoft Office to run your business. Create postcards, printed presentations, and flyers in Word, convincing presentations in PowerPoint, financial information in Excel, and manage your email and contacts through Outlook.

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Americans will be deciding who the next President of the United States will be, and Floridians will be deciding if we believe in true property rights and property tax relief.  There are nine (9) constitutional amendments on the ballot, including three (3) that impact homeowners.

 Do you think the Legislature should regulate or prohibit the ownership, inheritance and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship?                                                                                    

You may be surprised to learn that this provision already exists in our state constitution.  It was adopted in 1926 in conjunction with the California plan and aimed towards resentment of the Japanese.  Although adopted, the Legislature has never exercised its constitutional authority to regulate ownership of property.  To ensure that this never happens, the Legislature approved Amendment One (1) to remove this language from our constitution.  Now, it’s our turn to support property rights for all and approve Amendment One (1).

 For years, Floridians have been asking the state legislature to put forth comprehensive property tax relief for all, not just a few.  Because of disagreements on solutions between the 160 legislative members of the House and Senate, we have yet to vote on anything comprehensive….until now.  Thanks to the Tax and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC), we will have an opportunity to vote on relief for all during November’s Presidential Election. There are four (4) property tax proposals, but I want to briefly discuss three (3) that specifically address non-homestead properties. 

South America's largest country is rich in natural resources, low in corruption and, as oil prices soar, on its way to energy self-sufficiency, says MSN Money investing columnist Jon Markman. If there is a single word to sum up the global rallies in steel, iron ore, gold, grains and energy over the past three years, it is Brazil.  The biggest country in South America has become the world's biggest exporter of raw materials and is prospering like none other on the planet. Its stock market hit an all-time high last week as all others faltered.  Read the full story....

The top real-estate professionals in the nation's hardest-hit cities say their business is booming. What do they know about selling homes in a down market that you don't? Check out what they have to say in this MSN feature story...including Miami's own Carlos Garcia, Keyes Co. Realtors

By Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist

The pending home sales index in March again came in soft, falling 1 percent from the prior month. Many media outlets are reporting this will be about the lowest reading since the creation of the index in 2001. However, a smart observer will note that for all intents and purposes, the index has been moving in the very narrow range from August of last year to this March. This time period reflects the post credit crunch where subprime loan originations have disappeared from the market place.

The Northeast region continues to show good signs of recovery. In March, pending home sales rose 12.5 percent. The West and South regions were essentially unchanged. Only the Midwest region experienced a meaningful decline with a 10.4 percent fall.

Pending sales rose in localities where affordability conditions have measurably improved. For example, Bakersfield and Providence both showed outright year-over-year gains in March.

1. Central Air Conditioning
2. Garage (2 or more spaces)
3. Walk-in closet in master bedroom
4. Backyard/play area
5. Cable/Satellite TV-ready
6. High-speed Internet Access
7. Separate shower enclosure in master/main bath
8. Patio
9. Fencing
10. Home less than 10 years old

Source: NAR 2007 Profile of Buyer's Home Feature Preferences

Check here for daily updates from the nAR Mid-Year meetings in Washington, D.C.

Are you an upside down seller? If you need to sell--or simply want to sell--your current home and you owe more on your house than the house is actually worth, then the answer is "Yes."

As an upside down seller you have several alternatives: foreclosure; short sale (under which you, the homeowner, can negotiate a sales contract on a foreclosure property and the lender will often agree to accept less than the full amount owed); or simply bringing cash to the closing of your home to equalize its price with its value.

All of these options are appropriate in some situations. But there is another possibility that can be a winner in the right circumstances. If you are moving now and selling is not a good option, consider putting your home into property management.