Florida Association of Realtors Indicates that 29% of Recent Buyers Started Their Home Search Online…What?

 

According to the 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Florida Report released by Florida Association of Realtors and compiled by National Association of Realtors, indicates that these are the statistics regarding the home search process:

29% of recent buyers indicated that their first step in their search for a home was looking online for properties for sale. WHAT? Could this be a typo?

The typical internet searcher was 41 years old.  They visited 12 homes on average before they bought one.

19% of repeat buyers indicated they contacted a real estate professional first.

13% of first time homebuyers indicated they contacted a real estate professional first.

They typical home buyer that did not use the internet was 54 years old and looked at 7 homes on average before they bought one.

A total of 84% indicated that they used a real estate professional in their home search.

40% of buyers learned of the house they bought through a real estate professional.

24% learned of the house they purchased on the internet.

79% of buyers indicated that realtors were a great source of information in their home purhase.

19% of buyers indicated that realtors were a somewhat useful source of info in their purchase.

6% of buyers purchased a foreclosed home.

48% of buyers either looked to buy a foreclosed home or found the process too difficult.

 

In reviewing this information I was surprised that only 29% of recent home buyers started their search on the internet first.  I have recently read statistics that as many as 80% of buyers start their search online, and look for at least 2 weeks before contacting a realtor. How recent, are their recent homebuyers?  How many were polled and where did they come from?

Hmmm. I wonder why these numbers vary so much.

This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL Realtor, Brevard County Florida’s Space Coast.

His Tenants Have Been Living Rent Free for 5 Months – Lucky Tenants!

A dear friend of mine called me the other day to tell me that he has to get rid of his tenants.  They have not paid the rent in over 5 months now – OUCH! This friend knows that he is much more tolerant than I am of a nonpaying tenant.

Eviction notices

For me, if they don’t pay, they don’t stay. Period. It’s not rocket science.

It’s a business and I treat it like a business.

You do the math. If they don’t pay their rent, then the burden falls on me  to come up with the money to pay the mortgage payment.  I can’t just stop paying, just because they do, although I know many landlords that do.

I just finished an eviction. They had been with me for 15 months. The tenant’s wife left him, probably because he couldn’t get a job.

 I didn’t get the rent, called him, then went knocking on his door, “Oh just give me till next Tuesday,” he begged.

“Well, did I hear that your wife moved out?” I knew she was the one paying the rent.

“Well yeah, but I’ll have the rent Tuesday, okay?”

“Are you working?” I asked.  “Well no.”

“Are you starting a new job?” I asked.  “Well, no.”

“Do you have someplace you can go to get the rent? Do you have family here?”  I continued. “No.”

“Okay, so how are you going to have the rent for me on Tuesday? Do you have any of it right now?” I prodded,  “Well, no, not really.”

“Well, then you’ve got to go.  I’ll give you till the end of the weekend to get out. You can go peacefully, or I’ll have to evict you.”

The tenant got most of his things out and then decided to get belligerent. He told me he had no place to go, so he was staying. Apparently, he had spoken to some of his friends, as he was getting ugly about it. “It will take you months and months to get me out.” he hissed. I had never seen this side of him before, although I do know that money difficulties can change people.

This is not the first eviction I have done, nor will it be the last I ever do, unfortunately.  It’s the nature of the beast, with multiple rental properties.  Luckily, though, they are few and far between. Thank goodness!

I served him with a 3 day notice.  He didn’t pay or respond. So, I filed the eviction papers and had my final judgement and writ of possession inside of a month.  He left. His security deposit covered the loss of rent and there were no damages to the house.  The house is back up for rent.

It’s not a game for me.  The burden of the monthly payment falls on me if the tenant doesn’t pay.  It’s a business, and I treat it like a business.

Back to my friend of over 10 years, whom I love dearly. He has a heart of gold, to his detriment.  I have helped him buy and sell over 18 investment properties.  He is so lenient that he gets himself into a mess with tenants.  He gives too much and is taken advantage of.  I advised him years ago to stop buying rental houses. He knows I feel this way about him being a landlord, as I remind him that he is too nice. Tenants LOVE him! I really do not care to do his property management for him.

So, for his tenant living in his house, rent free for the past 5 months, time is overdue for getting them out!  He has served the 3 day notice. Don’t know where they’re going to go without any money. But, they always come up with something.

Landlords must cut their losses with a non paying tenant.  Some are of the attitude that maybe they’ll pay  money they owe someday.  The further they get behind, the less likelihood that the landlord will get their rent.

GET THEM OUT AND RE RENT TO A PAYING TENANT!

As a footnote, if you haven’t done an eviction before and are unsure of how to proceed, you may want to contact a real estate attorney that specializes in evictions.

This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL Realtor, Brevard County Florida’s Space Coast.

Attitude is Everything…If you Say that You Can Do it, Then you Can!

On Friday night we attended the Varsity boys basketball game at West Shore Junior/Senior High School.  Wildcats were playing the Astronaut War Eagles.  This was truly a night to be remembered! West Shore played with all their hearts, as if it were the last game they would ever play.

The West Shore Wildcats were phenomenal. They played their hearts out.  It was like watching a fine oiled machine.  The teamwork was to be commended.  Every player pulled their weight.  They successfully executed many layup shots, coming up the center of the court, between the other team’s players to make some absolutely beautiful shots, right up, under the basket.

It was standing room only!

The crowd was electrified! 

The excitement was infectious! 

We were cheering our hearts out!

I felt privileged to be a party to such a supportive, positive, upbeat community event! 

Everyone we knew was there!  We felt a sense of true living and belonging!

The other team fought a hard fight.  They played well.

But this night, West Shore Varsity boys had it all figured out, great offense, great defense. I have never seen anything like it!  The crowd cheered them on to a 70-46 point victory!

Every West Shore Wildcat Varsity boys basketball player walked onto that court with an ‘I can do it attitude’! 

And they did just that!

We’re watching these young boys grow, mature and learn before our very eyes! WOW!

As the final scores were announced, a player on the West Shore Wildcat Junior Varsity team walked past us. 

The back of his shirt read

“If you want to achieve things you never have…

You have to do things you’ve never done!”

I think we can all learn a lesson here from these phenomenal ball players.

Congratulations to the Boys Varisty West Shore Wildcat Players!

This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL Realtor, Brevard County Florida’s Space Coast.

“When People Talk, Listen Completely, Most People Never Listen” – Ernest Hemingway

Isn’t this one of the biggest complaints you hear from people?  She doesn’t listen.  He didn’t hear me.  He wasn’t paying attention.  If only he heard what I said.  He didn’t follow directions.

I was recently talking to a friend of mine and she was frustrated because she felt that her husband wasn’t listening to her.

I just had a similiar conversation with a new client of mine who indicated that she felt that her previous agent really didn’t hear what she had to say.

And, I also had a talk with my teenage daughters about listening.  Imagine that, right?

Isn’t it a common complaint from people?

Feeling like they aren’t being heard?  No one is listening?  They are misunderstood?

Are you listening? No, I mean, really listening? 

Do you hear what someone has to say? 

Do you understand the point that they are trying to get across to you?

“Be a good listener, your ears will never get you in trouble.” -Frank Tyger

There’s a reason that we have TWO ears

and TWO eyes,

but only ONE mouth…

It’s so we can listen and see twice as much as we speak.

We can learn and grow through our eyes and our ears.

How much have you ever learned by running your mouth?

I think that being a good listener is truly a gift. It is something that some must strive to perfect on a daily basis.

“There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are already listening to what they are going to say themselves.” -Doroty Sarnoff

Do you know people like this?

I sure do.

“It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.“ – Oliver Wendell Holmes

So, the next time someone sits down with you “to talk”. 

Why not stop, give them your undivided attention and listen?

So that you can truly “hear” what that person is trying to tell you.

This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL REALTOR.