Rental bidding wars? Has Tampa bay rentals gone mad?

Renters beware! Is the Tampa rental market out of control?
I just had a bad experience and thought I would share my experience in hopes that you gain some knowledge of dishonest landlords.
On TV, the Realtor® gets a verbal agreement from the potential buyer or tenant, then walks out of the room to call to negotiate on your behalf. Like on TV, it's verbal first, than written. 
I and a client successfully agreed on a rental home in Tampa. We accepted the listing price and terms as stated on the MLS. The potential landlord accepted our application fee from my client and she left to go home and start making all the moving arrangements. 
The following afternoon, I called the landlord to check the status of our application. The landlord said they accepted another offer. Shocked, I asked if my client was declined, which they said no. They just chose another offer. I asked if the other offer was different, in any way, since we agreed to accept the property with no contingencies on price, condition or terms. They replied no. 
Knowing my client would be upset, I asked the potential landlord if the other agreement was written, which they said no. 
I called my client and advised that she did not get the home and that they are not dealing with us honestly. My client really wanted the home and pushed the rent up another $1800 per year! I strongly discouraged the re-offer since it was above market and the landlord was already dealing dishonestly. However, it is my fiduciary duty to represent my client and so I did as requested. At 9pm I spoke with the landlord asking to reconsider our offer and that my client was willing to raise the rent by $150 per month but only if it were signed the next morning. The potential landlord agreed. 
The following day, I was notified by the potential landlord that the other party matched the price and was willing to sign a two year lease. 
I convinced my client to walk. A crook is a crook. If they agree to something, then disagree without any conscience, what will be the protocol in the night, when there is an emergency?
Had this landlord stated they were entertaining other offers from the beginning, this would have had a different outcome. 
The Tampa bay rental market is tight, but never is dishonesty a solution to adjusting rental rates to meet demand.
Keep it legal and honest. Hire a Realtor®! 
Buying, selling or renting? Give me a call!

Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
813.240.6054 cell/text
Realty Direct Tampa
http://www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties
http://twitter.com/Curtis_Realtor

Congress trying to making the right move, squashes the little guy again!

It looks like congress has decided to let the mortgage deficiency tax benefit expire December 31, 2013. I believe there's a lot of strategic short sales happening out there. 
Unless congress chooses to reenact this tax forgiveness, I expect that many short sales being offered now will get pulled from the market and considerably less will surface in the month's to come. 
Unfortunately, the greatest pain will be felt by the poor and naive. This segment of the market has taken such a beating and this is a kick in the crotch while they are on the ground. This expiration will only benefit the wealthy and not increase tax revenue. 
The only way congress can capitalize on this action would be to enact a law that states that the buyer that is capitalizing on the seller loss, be responsible for the deficiency in taxes of the seller. This way, the seller is out of the obligation and the buyer still got a great deal!
As real estate professionals, we need to get the word out to educate everyone considering short sales or any other method used to get out of debt. Advise them to seek a tax consultant, before signing any contracts. 
For some, I know there are no other options. But for those taking advantage of those by coaching this activity, shame on you! Be a public servant and have mercy on these less fortunate's. Offer every option available to minimize the deficiency.

Thank you!
Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
813.240.6054 cell/text
Realty Direct Tampa
http://www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com
http://curtisrudolphrealtor.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties
http://twitter.com/Curtis_Realtor

Economists are mystified by the lack of inflation despite the Fed's $85B monthly "stimulus"

I just read an article in FloridaRealtor about a story published in USA Today on how the economists are mystified by the minimal #inflation despite the Fed's $85B monthly bond buying. 
Really? Are these so called economists actual economists or are they just news reporters claiming to have heard a rumor that economists are mystified?
Let me shed some light on this mystery. We do have inflation! With a global economy, it's just not as noticeable in some sectors. 

Where we have been impacted, marketers have done an amazing job at disguising it. 
In the movie Christmas Vacation, Chevy Chase flips off a couple crazy drivers, but hides it from his family by diverting their attention saying "Hey look kids, a deer!"
What was a 16 oz. package of hot dogs is now down to 12 oz. and the price is up about 50% from just a couple years ago. Considering both factors, inflation is over 100%! The still weird "10 pack" couldn't shrink to an "8 pack" because it would be too obvious and we would create a ruckus! They just have slimmer dogs. If you called the factory, you would probably be given a great diversion reason, like they are better for you because they have less calories and their smaller packages reduces their carbon foot print. So, it's all good! Right? 
The economy, jobs, home prices, interest rates, #AffordableCare act "Obama-care", Iran's nuclear armament and so on has been the diversion and we've all been pre-occupied to really pay much attention. 
Secondly, we haven't really felt it yet. Gold is no longer the counter balance for the US Dollar. So the affect is no longer immediate. It will take a long time to fully realize the impact this "stimulus" has given us because the US dollar is just an IOU to be paid in the future.
The $85B monthly stimulus reminds me of a concept my dad taught me when I was young. "Horsepower hours." 
You can take a small engine and get a lot of horsepower out of it, but it will result in a shortened life. Or you can demand less horsepower from it and extend it's life. Either way, the life expectancy is in direct proportion to it's output. This $85B monthly "stimulus" will have an equal but opposite negative affect.
We are digging a hole to China and when we get there, we will hand them the keys to the Whitehouse. 
Inflation is here and we ain't seen nothing yet.
Stop the bond buying! Get fiscally responsible and Lord, heal our land.


Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
813.240.6054 cell/text
http://homesforsaleinsouthtampa.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryPropertieshttps://twitter.com/Curtis_RealtorRealty Direct Tampa

Uncle Ben Bernanke speaks and...

Uncle #BenBernanke (the Fed) spoke again Tuesday and he said to keep the #bondbuying at full steam! This is horrible news for home sellers because it put #homebuyers in the drivers seat. And it is horrible news for our long term economy as it is digging our debt hole even deeper, which results in #hyperinflation.

What to expect is #mortgage interest rates should continue to slide down. Add that to human emotion (not common sense) and buyers will hold out waiting for the bottom which reduces the demand. With home purchasing demand down, inventories of existing and new homes will rise. So, expect home prices to slide too.

*Now Listen to me!!!!!!!  Call me Paul Revere as long as you will listen.
Common sense says... Need a home? Buy a home now. Prices are low and it's a buyers market! Interest rates are low too! So, buy now!

If you are planning on #buyingahome and you are thinking you'll wait for the bottom. Don't!! It will change without warning and you won't have time to grab it. Home prices and interest rates are in a dip. The last dip before the rocket launches!!! Last March and April was a sample of what to expect. Rates jumped 1% and house prices jumped 10% and in less than 30 days!

If you are financing this home purchase, do it now! Rates could drop a quarter of a percent, but when the bond buying stops, and it will, the rates will jump by at least a half percent or more then climb until you can't afford a home. You'll be talking about the home you could have bought, because you thought you could beat the odds of about 27,600,000 to 1!

This is what you are risking by holding out.
$250k mortgage at current rate is $1244 mo
$250k mortgage at current rate minus 1/4% $1208 mo (gambling by waiting for the bottom)
$250k mortgage at current rate plus 1/2% $1356 mo (gambling 1 day too long)
This is not considering the 10% price increase we also saw. If history repeats itself, it would look more like this..
$275k mortgage at current rate plus 1/2% $1493!
So you are gambling to save $36 month at the risk of loosing $249 month! Over 30 years, that's only an $89,640 mistake!
It's not gambling, it's #Russianroulette!!

If you are paying cash for a home, do it now! It's still a buyers market.

Whether your are paying cash or financing, now is the time. Stop playing Russian Roulette!!
Call me now and let's get to work!

Thank you
#CurtisRudolphRealtor®
813.240.6054 cell/text
http://CurtisRudolphRealtor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties
http://curtisrudolphrealtor.blogspot.com/
Realty Direct Tampa

*Note: Do not buy because I said so. Always consult a financial adviser when considering real estate as an investment. We live in an imperfect world, where do-do happens.

Is Zillow® like The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote?

Zillow® is an amazing real estate tool! It is user friendly, it is extremely informational, it is easy on the eyes, and there appears to be an infinite number of listings. But, I've always wondered why Zillow® listings are so jacked up. Zillow® has so many listings that are non-existent, expired, rented or sold. Is it Zillow's® fault?

I believe I may have found the answer. These listings may be The Roadrunner and if you are looking, you are Wile E Coyote!

A couple days ago I received a group of condo's to check out on behalf of my client. We have been working together on finding he, his wife and son the perfect condo for a couple month's, and it's down to decision time. He sent me about 18 addresses he found on Zillow®. Most we had already seen before and I had some in his maybe file, but a couple were new and only on Zillow®.

After going over his list of condo's for rent, I noticed something. About half were on Zillow® only. The other half were on both Zillow® and the MLS®. I also noticed, 8 out of 10 Zillow® only listings, were listed with a Realtor®, yet I couldn't find them on the MLS®. There was 2 listed by the owners of the properties and not with a Realtor®.

I wondered why 8 were on Zillow® with a Realtor® and why they were not on the MLS® too?

I researched the Zillow® only listings first. What I noticed is the 8 condo's that were on Zillow® and not on the MLS® were either expired, rented or sold. The 2 listings by the owners and all the MLS® listings, were truly available for lease. 

So you say, "Whatever, they just didn't get removed yet". Great answer! Seems logical, but some of them were "just listed"! 

Is Zillow's® computers randomly doing this to make Zillow® look like a larger data base?

Which of these 2 causes are most logical? 

1. Computers make up data 

2. People sometimes input data incorrectly.

If you choose #1, please turn off your computer. You don't deserve to own one! 

Let's consider #2. After completing a rental or sale, could someone accidentally input the entire listing over again by accident? If you say yes, please turn off your computer. You don't deserve one! 

So, why would there be so many freshly posted listings put into the Zillow® system that are expired, leased or sold?

                         I'll use a quote from Rush Limbaugh. "Follow the money".

The MLS® system is heavily regulated. The data must be entered correctly and timely. If an error is discovered or a property goes under contract, the MLS® has this very strict protocol. If an error is found or change in status is needed, and it is not corrected extremely fast, the listing agent will receive a fine. If the request is not followed, or it happens several times, the Realtor® could loose access to the MLS®

Zillow® has you check a box that says you agree that the listing is real and does not have such strict adherence requirements.

Consider, if you owned a property and you sold it, wouldn't you want to remove the listing, so that you wouldn't have to keep answering the phone and explaining it's sold? Would a real estate agent feel the same way?

Earlier I mentioned, some of these sold, expired or leased listings were "just listed"! Is it just a coincidence, that these "just listed" listings were at popular condo's and priced below market too?

I'm not pointing any fingers, but I feel that Zillow® might be being used for the classic "bait and switch"! For a real estate agent, this may be considered acceptable. But for a Realtor®, this is forbidden. We are to hold to a set of standards that rise above this deceptive practice and hold to the highest standard of integrity. 

This situation is causing consumer anxiety. Buyers come to me exasperated, saying they just keep missing the greatest deal. The "greatest deal" was the Roadrunner and you are Wile E. Coyote! Wile E. never gets the bird. Quit being Wile E. Coyote! Hire a Realtor®!

If you are in the market to buy, lease or sell a property, seek the help of a Realtor® like me!

Let's get to work!

Curtis Rudolph Realtor®

www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com

www.Facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties

Realty Direct Tampa

Was the "Great recession" the final nail in the middle class coffin?

Mortgage interest rates are dropping, as predicted. But I'm not seeing home prices do the same. What's up?
Is it because...
1) the government shut down?
2) Is it all the housing lift programs are creating artificial value?
3) Is it people are not hungry enough?
4) Or, is it the final nail in the redistribution of wealth, also known as, our disappearing middle class?
1* It's too early to know if it relates to the government shut down, so let's eliminate that.
2a Is the non-existent housing price drop due to all the lift programs?
Let's relate the housing industry to the car industry. Example: Hybrid and Electric cars. The government put's up cash as an incentive to buy these green vehicles. The manufacturers, raise the selling prices, because the psychology is like a coupon. It's perceived as free money, which creates demand. The artificial demand allows the price of the car to go up.
2b So, where did the money come from and where did it go?
The incentive money came from all of us, the tax payers and the money went to the manufacturers. The manufacturers use the added revenue to celebrate their success and give bonus' to the top wage earners for their accomplishment. (Did you notice the prices of these vehicles are not going down?)
3a Is the non-existent housing price drop due to sellers not being hungry enough?
Let's relate this to the bank bail outs. Banks make stupid loans and our government gets mad at the banks and gives them the cash to take care of any shortages.
3b So, where did the money come from, for the bail out and where did the money go?
The money came from us, the tax payers and the money went to the banks. The banks use the money to buy back the foreclosed houses at a reduced rate, of course. They restructure the banks due to the changes in revenue and give big bonus' to the top executives for reducing costs!
4* Is it the next step in the redistribution of wealth?
Absolutely it is a sign of the redistribution of wealth!
The tax paying middle class was removed from their homes and these homes got sold to the wealthy.
During these years of "The great recession", only the middle class was hurt. The rich gobbled up all the houses from the middle class as they lost their jobs. The middle class is now renting from the upper class, as they now own nearly all the houses.
As the middle class attempts to step out of renting and get back into buying again, the rich hold all the houses. Do you remember the game Monopoly®? Who won? Those who owned the houses and hotels. The wealthy don't need the money, so they sit on the house or rent it out until someone is willing to pay them, what they want.
In my opinion, we have a short window of time to keep middle class alive. Take advantage of this these incredibly low interest rates and buy a home now. I don't see an opportunity like this in our lifetimes. If we loose middle class, we all lose. The bible says, The borrower is slave to the lender!
Come on middle class, Let's get to work!
Curtis Rudolph
www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com
www.Facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties
Realty Direct Tampa
Note: I am not a financial advisor, just a Realtor®. Never make a decision to buy a home without seeking the advice of your financial consultant.

Tampa Real Estate condo owner sues City of Tampa for...

I just read an article written by Richard Danielson, from the Tampa Bay Times of a condo owner at Skypoint who is allegedly suing the City of Tampa for allowing growth. The article says the claimant's view will be disrupted by a new planned downtown tower.
I realize you can sue anyone for any reason, but for growth?
As I understand it, the new Residences at the Riverwalk development will allegedly block his view of the river. This new 400 foot tall tower is planned to be built next to the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts near the corner of Tyler and Cass Street downtown. The claimant says the new tower will be 600 feet from his window.
Can one man stop the wheels of Tampa's progress to being the great city she can be? Isn't the view of the downtown buildings one of the attractions to these high rise towers? I'm currently working with 3 buyers for this area. One wants water view, one wants skyline and the other wants both. I don't see the new tower affecting the condo's value, possibly improve it. More residences, creates more life, which creates more demand, which creates higher property values.
The area just to the north of Interstate 275 on the Hillsborough River, across from Howard W. Blake High School is yet another area that is slated for new development. Can we expect more complaints to block this  progress too?
All major cities have downtown life beyond 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. Tampa's downtown area has been dormant for years. The Franklin Street Mall was one of those attempts from yesteryear to give dowtown, life beyond weekdays.
With all the new residences in Channelside, Harbor Island and throughout the downtown area, the city is creeping back, to the glitz and glamour it once had back in early days when trolley cars moved the masses to Maas Brothers, Wolf Brothers and Wool Co.
The Residences at the Riverwalk project does not have a planned start date at the moment, but will not begin before June 2014.
Will the claimant succeed? Will he be paid to be quiet? Will this wake up more claimants and send this and other projects to Tampa tried file?
Come on Tampa! Speak up and let's get to work!
Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com
www.Facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties
Realty Direct Tampa