Buyer beware! Rising interest rates will do opposite of what you think!

Traditionally, when mortgage rates go up, the price of homes go down. However, unlike history, raising interest rates this time will do the opposite. Interest rates have been so low for so long, it's become expected and has caused buyers to take the wait and see approach.

Mortgage rates are near historical lows. Freddie Mac reported last week that a 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.66% and a 15 year fixed rate mortgage rate averaged 2.98%. 

                                          In my opinion, we won't see rates like this again in our lifetime.

Janet Yellen at the Federal Reserve continues to hint that she plans to raise its target federal funds rate the middle of this year, which will cause mortgage rates to rise. Many economists predict that a 30 year fixed rate mortgage will average 5% by the end of the year. 

This move by the Fed will cause a surge of buyers that have been sitting on the fence to jump into the buying game. 

                                                           The laws of supply and demand will prevail. 

Current inventories will be purchased and new supply will be less than demand, causing a sellers market. Sellers can ask what they want, because there will minimal competition.

The Fed is asking the markets to be patient when asked the timing, describing it's approach to picking the time to raise the target rate. So, buyers beware! The clock on a low mortgage rate is ticking!

Homebuyer's need to move fast if they want to get a low price and a low interest rate, according to Realtor.com. In my opinion, affordability may decline as much as 10% this year. So, get in the game! 

Buying or selling a home in the Tampa bay area?

Call me today!

Curtis Rudolph Realtor®

813.240.6054 cell/text

www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com

www.Facebook.com/CurtisRudolphRealtor

Was Janet Yellen appointed to finalize the redistribution of wealth?

The new Fed chairman, Janet Yellen has spoken and the world listens.
Janet spoke the other day about how the markets don't like surprises. Unlike all of her predecessors, she has chosen to release her plans continuously in bits and pieces, to smooth out the typical market reactions rather than the normal few times a year.

Can you and how do you capitalize on this new softer approach?
Think of it this way, it's the same message, but in slow motion. This constant information delivery idea will soften the knee jerk reaction to every word she delivers, reducing the fire drills, that are the common responses to the stock market.
She said she is not going to touch interest rates until mid 2015.
In other words, she said she is going to touch interest rates in mid 2015.
What should you do, knowing that this is coming?

If you are planning to buy a home, now is the time to get in the game and this is why I recommend taking action now.

When interest rates climb out of the near Zero zone, two things will occur.
#1 Your buying power will be reduced as the mortgage interest rates climb. The cost of the money will go up, reducing the principal purchase power of your dollar. In other words, you will have to reduce your purchase price.
#2 The raising of interest rates will cause a surge to the market to buy. Everyone waiting for the interest rate bottom, will surge to the market and gobble up available homes for sale. This will tilt the balance of supply and demand. Supply will plummet and demand will overpower supply, forcing a rapid increase in the price of a home.
These two actions will have a synergistic result. Your buying power will go down and the prices of homes will go up. By mid next year, you'll look back to today and say, why didn't I just do it?

Let me inject some conspiracy theory into this.
Was the timing of the 2015 interest rate change and price pop appointed?
Consider this. Our current administration ran on a slogan of change and redistribution of wealth.
When the stock markets were crashing, the wealthy pulled their money out and started buying real estate. Mostly from middle class American's who were hit the hardest in the economic melt down.
The word on the street is this was a 5 year plan. Buy at the bottom, rent them out and sell in about 5 years when their initial investment is nearly 100% paid for by the middle class that rented them.
Institutional, hedge fund buyers started gobbling up real estate at or near the bottom between 2010 and 2011. In 2015, the 2010 purchases will be reaching there 5 year mark.
Is it just a coincidence that home prices will pop around the same time by these rising rates?
If this happens as I expect it will, the poor will still be poor. Middle class will have lost most of their net worth to the wealthy and the wealthy will get much wealthier.

Real estate has been the commodity to make the wealthy, wealthier. Why not you?
If you are buying, selling or renting, I do that!
Let's get to work!

Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
813.240.6054 cell/text
Realty Direct Tampa
www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com
www.Facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties

Real estate agents and ethics

I love real estate!
I like the challenges, the people and I especially like making people happy.
Unlike most agents, I represent all sides of real estate. Listings, sales and rentals. Uniquely, I cover the entire Tampa bay area too.
Today, I had my ethics questioned by another agent and I take ethics very personal.
Today's blog is inspired by that event.
It had to do with a rental.
Rentals don't pay much at all and that's why so many agents don't do them. "It's not worth their time". When I hear a real estate agent say this, it really pisses me off. What they are saying is their time is worth more than yours!
I see it as, you have a need, I have a solution. So they don't pay enough to cover the gas some of the time. Whatever! I accept them because, I enjoy the busyness they give me and the people I get to meet along the way. Many give referrals, which is the greatest thank you!
I am working with about 20 rental clients, 10 buyer clients and about 5 listings at all times. With all this going on at the same time, I occasionally find a home that more than one client likes. Today was one of them and is the basis for this blog post.

 
I have been working with a rental client for about 2 month's. We've seen many homes together over the last 8 weeks. I have them on an auto search, whereby they receive emails from me automatically by my MLS auto search system.
This client of mine saw a listing and did a drive-by. They called to say they liked it and wanted to take a look inside and will most likely put in an application.
I informed them that I had already had another client of mine just apply for it and unless their application is declined, that the property was already taken. They really loved the home anyway and I didn't want someone else to get it, since I had 2 interested parties.
So, I contacted the listing property manager and asked if they would email my second client an application as a back up, should the first client be declined. Gladly they emailed it.
After my client completed the application, they emailed it back to the rental agency. The receiving agent informed them that there was an application already on this property, but they had another home coming available that was similar but was not going to be on the MLS.
The reason an agency doesn't put a listing on the MLS is to save them from paying another agent the $25 to $200 finders fee for a rental.
So, I called the rental agency and asked why they were steering my client away from the property they wanted to a property that I would not be paid on. She said that I shouldn't have sent them the second client!
I explained I sent my second client to them as a back up to the first. So that one or the other received the rental that they both loved. She basically said, sorry about your loss!
I told the rental agency that I was going to inform my client that they are steering them to another property merely to save from paying me the finders fee.
Angrily, she replied that I was being unethical!
I was being unethical?
The bottom line is I want my client to find the perfect place to call home. A place they feel safe. And it is my responsibility as their agent to see that they get a great deal and that they are treated fairly and within the law. Getting paid is secondary and a consequence for achieving the primary goal.
An agency that chooses not to list the property on the MLS is doing the owners of the properties they represent an injustice. The MLS will produce a buyer almost instantly, saving the owners month's of the home sitting vacant and month's of dead end maintenance expenses and its self serving motivation is to save the property manager a few dollars at the property owners expense.
Shame on you!

If you are buying, selling or renting, I do that. Call or text me and I would love to help.
Curtis Rudolph Realtor
813.240.6054 cell/text
Realty Direct Tampa
www.CurtisRudolphRealtor.com
www.Facebook.com/SouthTampaLuxuryProperties  

Is Tampa Bay in the path of a Hurricane?

The 2014 Hurricane season officially launches today.
Will 2014 be a big year? A record year? A historic year? Or another lackluster year?
As I've traveled around, when I mention I'm from Florida, the response usually includes our horrible and dangerous hurricanes. Florida seems to have a reputation that Hurricanes are a reason not to live here.
Let's look at the numbers since I moved to Tampa in 1965.
We had a direct hit by a category 1 hurricane in 1969. And, that's it!
That's one in a half century! Based on the average number of hurricanes each season times the number of years, the Tampa Bay area has a 1 in a 1000 chance of being hit. God has given the Tampa Bay area mercy year after year!
The lack of hurricanes is another reason the Tampa Bay area is a great place to call home.

These are the names assigned to the 2014 Atlantic Hurricanes:
Hurricane Arthur
Hurricane Bertha
Hurricane Cristobal
Hurricane Dolly
Hurricane Edouard
Hurricane Fay
Hurricane Gonzalo
Hurricane Hanna
Hurricane Isaias
Hurricane Josephine
Hurricane Kyle
Hurricane Laura
Hurricane Marco
Hurricane Nana
Hurricane Omar
Hurricane Paulette
Hurricane Rene
Hurricane Sally
Hurricane Teddy
Hurricane Vicky
Hurricane Wilfred
Lord have mercy on us again in 2014!
Tropical weather, incredible beaches and rarely a hurricane is another reason to consider the Tampa Bay area for your next home.

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

In search of a rental home? Look up!

The challenges facing the victims of the great recession go deeper than just trying to find affordable housing. 

During the great recession, millions of homes went into default. It takes a long time to go through the legal process. Some are just now going through the process.  
Many home owners were literally removed from their homes. Caught in the economic meltdown, they don't know where to turn. Credit damaged, they seek a rental home until they can rebuild their lives and credit scores.
Another consequences of the economic melt down, was new construction, all but ceased. 

Therefore creating "The perfect storm".

During the economic meltdown, the population has increased, while building new homes had ceased. This has created an imbalance of people verses residences ratio. 
Add to this, the non-existent and restrictive funding practices to a massive pool of people with damaged credit and you have the perfect storm. 
In nature, vultures fly above the earth looking for the weak and hover waiting for opportunities.
Home owners trying to seek shelter and not finding any. And institutional buyers, knowing the laws of supply and demand have raised rental rates to levels never seen in our lifetimes. You begin to seek desperate measures. 

In your desperation, look up. 

Human vultures read this news and find a way to capitalize on your desperation. There has been a massive increase in fraudulant ads on Zillow®, Trulia®, Realtor.com®, Craigslist®, HotPads® and others to find the weak and desperate. They give an awesome story about how they are looking for just the right person to rent their home and they don't trust using traditional sources to get the home rented. They say they don't list with a Realtor®, to save you money. In your desperation, these all sound good. Their stories are very compelling. They say to send the deposit money and they will mail you the keys. These homes are usually beautiful homes at amazing prices. Being desperate, you take a chance and mail the money. The human vultures swoops in and grabs the cash.   

It is becoming more and more important to use the services of a Realtor® when renting a home.

A good Realtor® will work day and night, 7 days a week, looking for a home for you and your family. They will spend countless hours searching and investigating the property to make sure it is legitimately for rent and if it is in foreclosure, explain what laws protect you when the property forecloses. A good Realtor® will do all this at no cost to you. They just ask that when you find the perfect home, you respect them and their time by using them to secure it for 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

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

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