Florida foreclosure crisis: Florida foreclosure cases dramatically slowed in court system - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Go to:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-foreclosure-court-backlog-20110201,0,5936321.story

to read more on the South Florida Trend in real estate.  When you choose Natalie West and Coldwell Banker to handle your South East Florida real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family.  Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective.  We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Plantation Florida and it’s surrounding areas.  We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service.

It is said, "What Goes Around - Comes Around."

Craigslist scheme preying on unsuspecting South Florida renters - Sun Sentinel

I agree with Kimberly Miller's viewpoint written in the SunSentinal.  (Please read the article referenced.)  Unprincipled people know how sizzling the leasing promotions are today and they are ruthless on the unsuspecting public. They know this is just another place for them to make money.

Dishonest schemers often claim to be a religious group member who are stationed out of the country and need to rent their home.  Or they claim to be living in another state and cannot afford the second home anymore.  These scammers will post a home's photos on Craigslist with a price and then send interested renters a written agreement, with requests for Social Security numbers and other personal information.

As a real estate professional, I do my best to talk about this type of news to clients, friends and family.  Word of mouth travels fast and spreading useful news is always good.  It is rewarding to feel great about what I do for a living.  When my knowledge and experience can help others, especially during these difficult times where many families are going through financial hardship for the first time in their lives, it is a pleasurable feeling.

Miller, K. (2010). Craigslist scheme preying on unsuspecting south florida renters. SunSentinal, Retrieved from http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-07-21/business/fl-craigslist-scammers-real-estate-20100721_1_craigslist-rental-market-preying 

The Perfect Refferal

The golden rule of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” applies to referrals too.

When you give a referral, the people on both sides should feel like they are being treated with respect – like V.I.P.s or the very important persons that they are. You should be able to give a perfect referral so that the people on both sides get back to you expressing their gratitude for your having made the referral.

The perfect referral is when you talk to both people, get permissions and also confirm the fit before going forward. Followed by a confirmation (maybe by email) and a follow up on how the meeting went and possibly attending the meeting itself. This is what a perfect referral looks like.

I appreciate all the referrals I have received and I am always excited to give referrals to my family, friends and my community of business professionals.

Jan 5, 2011 8:47 AM

Short Sales

I have found that a lot of people know what a short sale is and do not know how it could work for them.  If you are a seller that is behind in payments, can not afford your payments (financial hardship),  tried to modify or in the foreclosure process than a short sale would work for you.  It can work to relieve your from the debt owed to your lender and stop you from having a foreclosure/judgement against you.  It helps salvage your credit and you can rebuild it in a couple of years. As long as you are working with people that know what they are doing in a short sale transaction.  Your realtor should have short sale knowledge and experience.  They should also have a Title Company or attorney in place to help you with the short sale proceedings.  You want to make sure that you do not get charged a phenomenal fee to you for helping with the proceeding. The title company that I use does not charge the client a fee, he just gets to do the title work and closing for the transaction.
Again,  please make sure that you agent has done short sales and has someone to assist in the process.  It makes the transaction run much smoother and all parties involved are happy.  The smoother it runs the more likely the buyer will hang in for the process that can take up to four months.  It is a majority of the market place here and it is best to have people who have knowledge behind you.

If you have any questions or do not understand the process,  you can respond.  I will be happy to assist you. 

Single Family Home in Plantation Florida Listed for $235,000