If you're considering buying real estate in Florida, you may be wondering why so many Florida residents are making such a big deal about our real estate tax issues. If you're trying to sell real estate in Florida, you probably have a pretty good understanding of most of the problems. However, I'm going to provide some information in this post that I can almost guarantee will be news to both buyers and sellers of real estate in Florida.

Let me begin by stating that I'm a Daytona Beach native and I've been selling real estate in Central Florida for 8 years. Prior to that, I sold mobile and manufactured homes for 6 years. I now work for a brokerage where I'm selling both real estate and manufactured homes in parks. So, having come full circle, I have 14 years of experience with all the ins and outs of buying and selling all types of housing in Central Florida. But that's all just background info about me. What I'm about to share with you came from a question from someone in New Jersey who is wondering what all the fuss is about, regarding Florida's real estate taxes, since in New Jersey, their property taxes are higher than Florida's.

There is really no easy answer to this question because of the multiple layers of problems with our property taxes.

One of the problems with Florida's property taxes is that so many people have 2nd homes in Florida. And seasonal residents are unable to claim Florida's "Homestead Exemption" which is a $25,000 deduction off the assessed value of your home, before taxes are calculated (it will probably be raised to a $50,000 exemption next year, if the new property tax bill is voted in). The Florida Homestead Exemption under the Save Our Homes Act also caps your property taxes so they can't be raised by more than 3% per year.

So here's a hypothetical house and situation. Let's say you bought your permanent, Florida, primary residence (requirements for homestead) for $160,000 in 1997 and applied for the Homestead Exemption under the Save Our Homes Act as soon as your were allowed to do so. During the time that home was your primary residence, your taxes will have risen less than 3% per year. You will have also also had a $25,000 property tax deduction each year. Let's say the millage rate where you live and claim your Homestead Exemption is .023. That would make your current taxes a maximum of $4172.84 right now. (This number would actually be lower. You'll understand why as you read further down. Also, the annual property taxes on houses with the Homestead Exemption are rarely raised to the full 3%.)

Now, your Florida home at this time (December, 2007) would probably be worth approx $350,000 (it would have been worth about $400,000-$425,000 2 years ago). So let's say the guy next door to this hypothetical house, has the exact same house, and now decides he wants to sell. When the new buyer moves in, that buyer will be paying taxes on $350,000, which would equal $8,050.00. So you have 2 identical houses, worth the same amount, right next door to each other, and one has taxes that are double the amount of the other. THAT is one part of the "big deal" .

Now here's the political affront. Our assessed values used to be approximately 70-75% of the actual value of the home that was purchased; although, if you called the county tax assessor's office, they would never tell you this formula. We pay our taxes in arrears in Florida. So, as REALTORS®, we had to go through the tax records and figure out this formula on our own, just so we could help our buyers determine what their taxes would be. 2 years ago, when property values were shooting through the roof and home buyers were complaining about paying higher taxes, Volusia County (where Daytona Beach is located) dangled the proverbial carrot of lowering the millage rate in front of the residents, and the people voted to lower the millage rates, of course. BUT, at the same time, behind the scenes, the county changed the formula for calculating taxes. The assessed value is now exactly what you pay. So you will now pay taxes on 100% of whatever real estate you buy. I still have not figured out how they got away with this, with Florida's Sunshine Laws, nor can I understand why the media isn't having a field day with this information!

Then to pour salt in the wound, the county is complaining about not having enough funding for roads and other needs. So we would all like to know what happened to all the excess funds from the years when our property values tripled.

The general consensus, by outward appearances is that the county created a large number of new employee positions and funneled all that excess tax money into those positions, to keep the state from taking it as it had in the past, like when it took the lottery money that had been set aside for the schools... The only reason the lottery bill was passed in the first place is because a percentage was supposed to go to the schools of each county. But the state of Florida decided it wasn't fair to have that money sitting there for the schools, when the state couldn't balance it's own budget. So many Florida schools continue to struggle, and the finances that were supposed to help, have been stolen by the state.

There really is no easy way to summarize this post. As I stated; there are multiple layers to our property tax problems. And the deeper you dig, the more dirt you find. We're just hoping that next year brings a lot of positive changes. And I'm sure the entire country would agree with me on that one!

This is just a questions for our self-proclaimed tech geeks. I'm seeing a lot of requests for "Fave Exchanges" on Technorati. I assume this is just for Technorati rankings? I thought Google was down-rating link exchanges unless they were done in the 3-step circle. Does Technorati not work the same way? And is the 3-step circle information still correct, or did that also change when Google changed the algorithms?

And then there's the fact that I can't "claim" my Active Rain blog with Technorati. I have it claimed through MyBlogLog, but I can't claim it through Technorati. Does anyone know the reason for that? I also can't claim my Blogger blog, MyBlogLog or my Bloglines blog, even though it says I should be able to.

One more monkey wrench, but in reverse. I tried to claim my Technorati page in MyBlogLog, and it wouldn't take. That's the first time I've had a problem in MyBlogLog. Do these two just not want to work together? 

Thanks for any information you can provide. It's all I can do to keep up lately.

In this litigious day  and age, unfortunately this is necessary. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by The Activerain Network and it's members and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Lisa C. Hill, "The Smart Choice" and Adams Cameron & Co., Realtors. Lisa Hill, Active Rain and Adams Cameron & Co. claim no responsibility for the actions taken by anyone, as a result of these opinions.

This post is going to be the first in a series about the loss of Florida's wetlands and how it impacts our state and our way of living.  (All these photos are of pets or critters I've found at one time or another)

I have to admit that I've never been overly concerned when I've heard people talk about the loss of our wetlands. After all, I've sold several properties that had large portions of them that were not buildable because they were zoned as wetlands. How could there possibly be a problem?

And let's face it. The state of Florida is below sea level and we can find swamp land everywhere. So until now, it has seemed to me, that many people have been overreacting, with their concerns about losing wetlands. I say "until now" because this week I learned some astounding facts.

First of all, I'm a Florida native. I was born and raised in the Daytona Beach area and I've been selling homes right here since 1995. The very things I love about Volusia county, are the same things that may cause our northern, seasonal residents to "freak out". But what can I say? I'm a Florida girl. I LOVE frogs, lizards, geckos, salamanders, turtles, and many other little critters. And I always have to pick them up and pet them, to give them a little "hello" and let them know they're special and appreciated. (Yes, I pet frogs. Just ask my clients who have seen me do it... Karen, Johanna, Melissa, and many others) And you don't know what you're missing until you've gotten a lizard to open it's mouth, then clamped him on your ear lobe! LOL! What a beautiful earring!

But it all seriousness, Florida has been losing wetlands, in spite of strict laws, since it's inception as a state. The pace of loss is slowing, but it has not stopped.  

• In 1780, Florida had 20.3 million acres of wetlands. (Over half the state)
• In 1980, Florida had 11 million acres of wetlands. 
  
• From 1985-1986, Florida lost more than 260,000 acres of freshwater, emergent wetlands.
• From 2003-2007, Florida has lost 5005 acres of wetlands.
  
• Since Florida became a state, total wetland area has decreased by more than 44%.

Most Floridians know that the Florida Everglades, which comprise the majority of Florida's wetlands, have been in danger for many years. Invading plant and animal species have caused great harm to the delicate Everglades ecosystem. Many projects are in place to restore the natural balance of the Everglades, and will hopefully save many species from extinction. But many people are unaware that coastal wetlands are among the world's most productive ecosystems. 

Consider for a moment, the many different types of birds that migrate here each winter, to the same spot, year after year. But this year, they arrive to find their winter home has disappeared, due to a new housing development, or drought, or fire, or any number of reasons. For many types of birds, it causes confusion as they look for a new place to winter. They need to find the necessary water, food, plant life, nesting spaces and safety from predators. But most birds won't look for more than a few possible locations and they eventually die. They don't survive the winter and never return to their summer homes. These are the ones that are dwindling in number, year after year, and will eventually become extinct unless something is done.

I have so much information on this subject that you can expect me to write several posts over the next few weeks. There is much that is being done to rectify this situation, but there is still much more that needs to be done. 

I've been told that instead of saying "Something must be done." You should be saying "I must do something". So this is where I'm starting. I'm educating myself and those of you who may not be aware of this problem. Selling real estate is my job. But there are many other things that I'm capable of doing as well. And since I don't want to lose my little critter friends, this is one of the causes to which I'll be contributing my efforts.

Thank you for reading. I'll do some research to find ways in which we can monetarily support wetland preservation. Hopefully I'll have some of that information in my next post on this topic. If any of you are aware of something of this nature, please leave the information in the comments. 

In this litigious day  and age, unfortunately this is necessary. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by The Activerain Network and it's members and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Lisa C. Hill, "The Smart Choice" and Adams Cameron & Co., Realtors. Lisa Hill, Active Rain and Adams Cameron & Co. claim no responsibility for the actions taken by anyone, as a result of these opinions.

The public opinion of real estate agents can vary drastically. That's not going to be any surprise to any of us. We usually only hear the negative, but that's because we hear what the media reports. And we all know the media prefers negative stories.

Have you ever noticed that when you talk to your family and friends, they don't have a negative perspective about the fact that you're in real estate? I assume that's because you share a mutual respect for each other. Because these people have taken the time to get to know you, they feel comfortable in asking you any real estate questions they have in mind, and you feel comfortable telling them the STRAIGHT truth. There's no need to water it down or try to make your friends and family feel comfortable with your answer. They can handle it. Don't you wish it could be that way with everyone?

The topic of this post is similar to the post I wrote last week titled "What Is the Public's Perception of Active Rain?" I wrote that post when I ran across a comment on Trulia, by a consumer, that stated how they felt like the public was not welcome to comment here on Active Rain. We all know that we welcome pleasant people of all varieties. And even a negative perspective of real estate can be phrased in a polite manner. That basically means that ALL polite comments, by ALL people are welcome!

However, I ran across another consumer comment, this time on City-Data. Now I will admit that City-Data has a LOT of negativity on it! I've spent quite a bit of time there in the past and I'm still not sure of the purpose of that site. It's worse than the blind leading the blind. But that doesn't change the fact that I found a comment that said "I hate Realtors. They're all arrogant. I use them. But I hate them." ... I didn't bother to respond. But as usual, my mental wheels started turning.

I wondered if this person was confusing confidence with arrogance. Or maybe they just resent needing our help. Or maybe they really have run into some arrogant REALTORS. I've certainly run into plenty of them. But there can be a fine line between confidence and arrogance. As a REALTOR, if I'm not confident in my skills and abilities, a potential client won't want to do business with me. But arrogance is a turn off.

The line between the two personality traits is so fine that it's hard to even find the words to define the two. It's more like something you observe in someone's mannerisms. Then there's the matter of how one person can define a mannerism as confident while another will see it as arrogant.

Let's face it. Real estate is a difficult profession. But when I started selling homes in 1995, I did not have a negative perspective of anyone who was in this, or any related industry. And I had previously had a less than positive experience with a real estate agent. But I'm intelligent enough to know that I can't generalize and/or stereotype an entire industry based on one experience. That's just common sense. And to be honest, I knew that I could do better than that agent, so I wanted to throw my proverbial hat into the ring.

Anyway, to finalize this post, I've decided to go on a fact-finding mission. I've created a survey for the public, that I'm embedding on my blogs and web site. If you're a real estate buyer or seller, please take the survey. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Take the Real Estate Survey

That's all this post is about. I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. And a merry Whatever Holiday you Celebrate!

• To all of my clients... Thank you for waiting so patiently and for being understanding of this extremely difficult market. YOU are why I LOVE what I do.

• To all of my Active Rain friends... Thank you for commenting on my posts and for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us. You have made my time on Active Rain not only pleasant, but I've learned so much from you. I've been able to share that knowledge with my clients and I know they appreciate it too. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we all pool our knowledge.

So Merry Christmas to all, Good Tidings and God Bless!

I was going to insert the video of the song I sang at church this morning, but of course, the audio is completely screwed up. *sigh* I've never even seen it do anything like this before. But my daughter was operating the camera, so who knows what happened. ... Maybe next time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

As a real estate agent, you should NEVER assume the agent on the other side of the transaction is doing their job! That is the advice that was given to me by a top producer, when I was new to the business. It is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever been given, during the course of my real estate career.

I was just reading Broker Bryant Tutas' recent post titled "350 DOM (Days on Market), 5 Contracts and Finally... SUCCESS! In his post, he wrote about having to coach the selling agent (Bryant was the listing agent), how to get the transaction closed in a legal manner. You'd need to read Bryant's previous post about an ignorant agent's bad advice that could have caused the buyer to commit a felony. That link is also in the aforementioned post. 

Reading Bryant's post once again reminded me of the wise words that were given to me many years ago, by the agent who told me to "Never assume the other agent is doing their job". Here are a few examples....

If you're the listing agent, don't assume the buyer's agent is...

• Paying attention to the time constraints of the
  
• loan application,
  
• inspection periods,
  
• loan approval period, etc. You should be calling that agent and questioning/reminding them of every time frame of the contract, every step of the way (In a very pleasant manner!) Except perhaps the home inspection period. That's up to you if you want to remind them or not. After all, if you're representing the seller and the buyer's agent doesn't remind their buyer to get the home inspection completed in time, the buyer is now obligated to buy the house with no inspection and the buyer's agent is responsible for not doing their job! To be honest, I usually DO remind the other agent, unless they've been a condescending jerk.(Sometimes, I even remind them then, too. My conscience is a real pain in the butt!)
• Side note: Remember, it pays to be pleasant and professional to the other agent! There are many agents whose negative reputations precede them. Don't be one of those agents! Believe me when I say, there are many agents who will discourage their clients from working with you and your clients, just because of your difficult nature. You need to learn to walk that fine line between doing your job and being too pushy. Only push when necessary!
• Making sure the buyer is getting their home owner's insurance way before the closing date. This is especially important in Florida! The insurance companies draw a box around the state. If a tropical storm or hurricane travels within the constraints of that box, they will not issue any policies until it has moved out of the box. If your closing is scheduled while the storm is in the box, and your buyer needs a mortgage to close, you will not be closing at that time! Also important: The buyer does not have home owner's insurance until they've paid their "binder"!

If you're the selling agent, don't assume the listing agent is...

• Presenting your offer in the best light. In the state of Florida, the selling agent has the right to be there when their offer is presented to the sellers. However, you do not have the right to be there when the sellers are discussing the offer with their agent. You only have the right to be in attendance when your buyers' offer is being presented to the sellers.
• Coordinating the survey. With each property I sell, I can never be sure who is ordering the survey. It could be the title company or the mortgage broker, or it could be the listing agent who is expected to place the order. If everyone assumes it's someone else, good luck finding a surveyor to do a last minute survey. Without the survey, there is no clear title. AND the surveyor is the party who provides the Elevation Certificate if the property is in a flood zone. If the property is in a flood zone, no elevation certificate = no flood insurance policy and no mortgage and ultimately, no closing!
  
• Making the home accessible to the appraiser. This may differ from city-to-city, but in the Daytona Beach area, the listing agent is generally expected to provide access to the home, for the appraiser. The appraiser will call the listing agent for access. (Side note: The mortgage broker calls for the appraiser, from a list of approved appraisers that is provided by the lender.)

If you're new to the business, remember this advice... Never assume the other agent is doing their job! If you want to be the best agent possible, be prepared to do your job and the other agent's job as well. Many times this will not be necessary. But be prepared, just in case.

If you're a real estate buyer or real estate seller in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.  

www.BuyDaytonaBeachRealEstate.com 

www.SellDaytonaBeachRealEstate.com  

For those of you who don't know about it, on December 4, I started a new group for some of your Localism posts, called Things to Do/Places to Visit. I'm very proud to say that our fledgling little group has 36 members and 87 posts already! Yes, I'm aware that those numbers are small, but as far as I'm concerned, that's not too shabby for only being in existence for 2 and 1/2 weeks!

So thank you to all the members who have contributed such quality posts that will appeal to the consumers who are thinking about moving to your areas. These posts will also be appreciated by your local residents who may not know about the Things to Do or Places to Visit that you're recommending. These recommendations will help your potential buyers and sellers to view you as the expert in the area.

When people are interested in buying real estate, they want to know about the area before they buy. You're helping them make their decision when you share your expert knowledge of your area.

So I'd like to offer a great big WELCOME to our new members, and to those of you who will soon be joining. Keep those fabulous posts coming! (Just don't forget to read the rules and guidelines.)

Go to Things to Do/Places to Visit and SUBSCRIBE!

You may recall that I recently won a third place prize from HP, for entering their REALTOR® technology contest and writing a winning essay about how technology helps me in my real estate business, and in my personal life. You can read that post here, titled "I'm A Winner!"

In relation to the contest, a couple of days ago I got a call from one of the people I've been speaking with since I won. She had received a call from one of the writers at REALTOR® Magazine who is doing a story on iPAQs. The writer wanted to know if any of their contest winners was using the iPAQ. I'll give you one guess on which winner is using it.

So yesterday, I had a 10 minute interview with the writer and I'll be in the article about the HP iPAQ in an upcoming issue of REALTOR® Magazine.

I'll now have a new page to add to my listing and buyer presentations. Every little bit helps!

I'm going to get another 2 minutes of fame. I wonder how long it will be before someone bursts my bubble and ruins my big ego. My guess is, as soon as a couple of my subscribers (who will remain unnamed for now) start commenting on this post. 

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs. View my listings here. Port Orange buyers and sellers, I have a site setup specifically for you at www.PortOrangeHomeSales.com. Or start from the home page and view ALL the great information for Volusia County at www.DaytonaBeachHomeSales.com.

Buy a new house in Port Orange Florida. New construction at it's best! 

In my quest to stay abreast of things that can help my real estate clients, I like to frequently visit new housing developments, since every builder offers different perks to their buyers. I compare the prices, floor plans and amenities with other developments and builders in the area.

A couple of days ago I stopped by the Centerline Homes model office at Oakbrook in Port Orange. This is a beautiful community with a very pretty entrance, a children's playground, gazebo, scenic nature trail and a pier overlooking an large lake. These amenities are all included in the incredibly low HOA fees which are currently only $46 per month.

Centerline Homes at Oakbrook features several floor plans with living area square footage ranging from 1399 to 2906. Featured models are...

• The Cedar: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1399 sq ft of living area, $229,900
• The Empress: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1585 sq ft of living area, $239,900
• The Aspen: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1759 sq ft of living area, $249,900
• The Birch: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1928 sq ft of living area, $259,900
• The Hawthorn: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2285 sq ft of living area, $269,900
• The Laurel: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2481 sq ft of living area, $289,900
• The Mahogany: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2699 sq ft of living area, $309,900
• The Sabal: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2906 sq ft of living area, $319,900

If you're interested in buying real estate in Port Orange Florida, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill. If you'd like more information on the Centerline Homes at Oakbrook in Port Orange, call or e-mail me and I'll be happy to fax or e-mail the floor plans to you.

Visit my Port Orange real estate web site at www.PortOrangeHomeSales.com.

The glamorous life of a REALTOR®. On come on. You know our lives are glamorous. Let's face it. All we real estate agents do is drive around in our SUVs with our magnetic riders on the sides, or in my case, my stenciled name, cell phone number, brokerage and web site across the back window, and show people houses, then show up for closing. We can't possibly do anything else, right? If we had to actually work, there would be no reason for so many people to resent our choice of career, right?

WRONG! I decided we needed a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor today.

I was just reading a post by Chris Elizabeth Griffith about how she was helping to push a car out of the driveway for one of her real estate sellers, among all the other things she'd be doing between now and the closing. I left a silly comment on her post, about us needing clones. And then my mind continued with that line of thinking. How perfect! We all need clones! Who needs an assistant when you can have your own personal clone?

• Let's relax for a few moments and enter a little dream land where we all have clones, shall we? ... Are you there yet? I'll wait while you load a New Age MP3. OK. All set? 

So here's my list of things my real estate clone will do for me (since as the public thinks, I don't really work for my commission anyway) 

The next time I get a call from Code Enforcement because one of my sellers needs to cut their grass, I'll just send my clone over there to knock on their door and tell them. Yes, the seller lives there and the Code Enforcement employee could have told the seller in person, but since it's so much easier to just call the phone number that's on the sign in the front yard, why should they be bothered to do their own job? The REALTOR® doesn't really work anyway. So next time I'll send my clone!

The next time I'm standing in the sweltering heat, working the booth for FREE, at Port Orange Family Days and a random person walks up and starts yelling at me because it's the fault of all the REALTORS, that she can't afford to buy a house, I'll step back and let my clone smile and nod politely, instead of trying to get a word in edgewise. (Obviously, we control the housing prices.)

And I'm definitely sending my clone to show houses to all the people who just wanted a tour guide and had no intentions of buying anyway.

Oh! Here's the perfect job for my clone. The house in Ormond by the Sea where the seller decided to install an extra bathroom without pulling permits or checking the codes... The raw sewage was running through a hose, right out into the back yard: That house was so dirty, I was afraid to touch anything. Definitely a job for the clone!

For all the buyers who don't like air conditioning in the car when it's 98 degrees outside, in the future, my clone will be assisting you.

In the summer in Florida, we can plan on daily torrential down-pours around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, almost like clock-work. I keep about 5 umbrellas in my car for these occasions. But in the future, I'll just let my clone handle all showings during these times. 

On Jim Crawford's post today, as I was reading his detailed description of the houses on the market that were a waste of time for himself and his buyers ... I have one word for you, Jim. CLONE!

For the seller who has not paid his/her Association Fees and thinks that by hiring an attorney, he/she can get away with providing a clear title and never have to pay those fees... CLONE!

For the time I unexpectedly brought my buyers to a filthy 1000 square foot house where the man kept his huge Great Dane INSIDE the house, where it had destroyed all flooring, doors, door jambs and more, my clone will be showing this one next time calling to cancel that showing next time.

For the cat lady house, (we've all had at least one of these) yep, that's one for the clone.

For the houses in the section of town that was so scary that I had to take my husband with me, and then even he wouldn't get out of the car!... CLONE! 

When my seller has decided it's my fault that the home inspector discovered that no permits were pulled for the major renovations they did to their house, and they're now responsible to pay, my clone will be handling the call.

When my buyers have lied about their income and credit rating both in the U.S. and in another country, and are shocked when their lender finds out, my clone will be taking those calls.

When my seller decides that since nobody is living behind them, they can install their fence several feet beyond the boundaries of their property. Then they get a contract which of course calls for a survey and... you guessed it. The surveyor discloses this to the title company, thus killing their sale or forcing them to move the fence, my clone will be taking that call.

For the For Sale By Owners who call me and offer me a pittance to sell their house when I have MLS inventory coming out my ears ... Talk to the Clone!

And for all the people who are just never going to tell the truth at any point in the transaction, don't even call. My clone can't even be bothered!

Now you may be wondering what I'll be doing. Well, I will be working with my wonderful sellers who have actually trusted my professional opinion as to the value of their property and priced it accordingly, and have now received an offer to purchase.

• I will be presenting their offers,
  
• sending all the documents to the title company,
  
• working with the selling agent, or if it's my buyer I'll be personally
  
• scheduling the home inspection,
  
• termite inspection,
  
• survey,
  
• appraisal
  
• and any other necessary appointments or inspections.
  
• I'll also be making sure the buyer has gotten their home owner's insurance well in advance of closing, (we wouldn't want a storm to travel inside the box!)
  
• is getting all the required documentation to their lender,
  
• and fulfilled all of their contingencies within the time constraints of the contract.
  
• I'll also be communicating with the buyer's lender or mortgage broker to make sure everything is running smoothly on their end so we have no last minute surprises.
  
• Then I'll be scrutinizing the HUD-1 closing statement and
  
• discussing every line with my clients to
  
• make sure there are no discrepancies in the pro-rated taxes,
  
• home warranty payment,
  
• mortgage payoffs, etc.... 

POP!!!!  My bubble just burst. My new age MP3 just finished playing and I'm back to reality.

But wouldn't it be nice if we could just do our jobs in a perfect world? Or even better, being a REALTOR could be about working with trustworthy clients and selling houses to and for people who actually appreciate all the hard work we do.

I guess now I'll go back to updating my web site with the changes to my listings, writing my next print ad, finish posting this blog to several different platforms, and tweaking my web site key words so buyers can find my listings on the internet. Maybe I'll finish by midnight, assuming I don't get anymore calls from buyers or renters to view any of my listings. Oh! And I have a mailing that needs to be finished this week. Oops. It's time to pay my annual $2000 in dues to 2 different REALTOR Associations. (I'd definitely like to take that money out of my clone's pay!)

Soon I'll be studying again for my next round of continuing education credits. Then it will be time for my annual updating of my contact manager.

Oops, my husband needs clean clothes for work, I have ironing to do, and my daughter needs my attention. Oh darn it! I forgot I have a dentist appointment tomorrow! And *sniff*, what's that smell? I think I'd better go scoop the cat litter box.

My life is so glamorous!

Given the nature of the strong buyer's real estate market that we're currently in, I thought this would be a good time to talk to my own real estate sellers about how to get their listings to sell faster, including addressing the subject of home staging. With that being said, I'm going to be very direct with this post.

Home Sellers, I have to tell you, in this market, it's going to take every tip, trick and bit of advice your REALTOR can give you, in order to sell your house. I've stated this many times in my blogs but I'll say it again. We have 2.3 years of inventory in the Daytona Beach Area Multiple Listing Service (MLS). And the only properties that are selling are the ones that are priced BELOW everyone else. I know this from recent, personal experience. The numbers state the facts. There is no way around that.

Now let's assume that during the course of your home-ownership you have...

• Upgraded to top-of-the-line appliances and granite counters; and maybe you have a 3 car garage, mature tropical landscaping, a brand new roof, new air conditioning, new carpet, fresh paint, an acre of land and your house is located in the best community in your city, (or your condominium is the most desirable building) and you're priced in-line with, or below your competition.
  
• Let's say you also have an aggressive, experienced, knowledgeable, successful, enthusiastic REALTOR (me) who is leading the know-how learning curve as to where and how you should promote and present your listing, to get it in front of potential buyers.
  

After all that, you still have to bear in mind that we have 2.3 years of inventory in our MLS. You need to find a way to make your house remain in the forefront of the minds of your potential buyers... assuming we can even get them in the door! With all the inventory that's currently on the market, (7,000 residential listings) and buyers who are afraid to buy at all, (avg 235 sales per month) due to the negative media reports, then wanting to take their time before making a decision, your house can get lost in your buyer's memory banks. I personally have some ways to help your buyers remember your house, but that's another blog post.

So for the purposes of this post, how do you make your house stand out, ahead of every other one of the 15+ listings your potential buyer has been looking at every day? The answer is Home Staging! A professional home stager can accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. When your house looks better than every other listing, the buyers will remember it. But the buyer must be able to SEE the difference. Just telling them about your improvements is not enough.

At a cost of approximately $100-150 for the initial consultation with a home stager, it's well worth the investment if it means your listing will sell faster; especially when property values are declining monthly!

Allow me to refer you to another blogger here on Active Rain, who has several posts that show before and after photos of some of her work. Her name is Reese Mack, owner of Simplicity Home Designs.

1. Before and After Number One
2. Before and After Number Two
3. Before and After Number Three
4. Before and After Number Four

Part of my job is to help my real estate sellers make educated decisions. At this point I've already provided you with your initial Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and regular updates since then, and I've gone above and beyond the norm for this area, when it comes to marketing and advertising. Hopefully, you've been reading my blogs and web site updates as well. I'm now asking you to consider Home Staging.

Home Buyers: If you're interested in buying real estate in Volusia County, FL, I currently have listings in Port Orange, Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, and South Daytona. This inventory changes constantly as I sell my current listings and list new ones. Check my web site frequently so you don't miss anything.

I can also setup the automated feature of our MLS that will send you new listings within your specifications every morning, as they come on the market. You'll never miss a thing!

www.LisaHillRealtor.com or www.PortOrangeHomeSales.com

View my real estate listings!

Bad real estate photos. We've all seen them. And we've read posts about them and seen videos about them, etc., etc. And still they continue. I realize that some people are never going to have an eye for the right angle and light. But why not experiment with turning the lights on or off, and/or just take 15 shots of the same subject, from different angles until you get it right? Just getting the entire house in the shot would be an improvement sometimes. Or how about asking someone to step out of the frame?

The question begs to be asked. Is it inexperience, or is it laziness? Whatever the answer, it does a huge injustice to our real estate sellers when the MLS is full of poor quality photos of their houses. The same goes for our real estate blogs, web sites, and don't even get me started on Localism!

I'm not a professional photographer by a long shot. But I do have a good camera. I wouldn't dream of taking photos of my listings with my camera phone. If you're going to call yourself a professional, why are you not investing in your business? A good camera is an absolute necessity! You can even get a cheap tripod for around $25. And for crying out loud, don't EVER take a photo from within your car. The only time my car is a factor in my house photographs is when I stand on the hood to get a better angle. I'm begging my fellow REALTORS to learn to take better photographs.

I recently found this web site with tips and trick on how to take better real estate photos. And here's another blog with tips for taking better real estate photos. And here's one by Greg Swann at the Bloodhound Blog.

I ran across this question and comment on another blog site...

• A: "Because RE agents are lazy - I take my own pictures create my our virtual tour and website, and sold my last two houses - unfortunately I had an agent as well so the fact that I sold my last two houses by being at every open house and talking to every person that came - they are waaaaaay over paid for the little to nothing they do - not all I guess. I made my agent give me a point back on the commish because he told me that without the things I did the house would have never sold."

And then another response to this same discussion...

• Because RE agents are lazy...
  

• True and sad! It is not like they are doing it for free. They are getting paid for it and paid pretty well. If you do a job, do it well or do not do it at all.
  

The public is speaking. Are we listening? They're speaking the truth here! If these comments aren't a wake-up call, I don't know what is. The real estate listings will go to the most capable agents. You can claim to be a professional until you're blue in the face. The proof is in the presentation (one of my own marketing phrases). The least you should be able to do is take a nice picture of your listing.

This is going to sound harsh, but in my opinion, if you're not going to take good photos of your listings, then get out of the business. Some of us take our jobs seriously. We owe it to our sellers to present their listings in the best light. You don't want to have your photos end up in the Unbelievably Bad Real Estate Photos Hall of Fame.

Real estate sellers, if you have real estate to sell in Volusia County and want a professional REALTOR who will present your valuable possession in the most appealing setting, make a Smart Choice and call Lisa Hill. I take pride in my work. My job is to SELL your house, land, business or whatever type of real estate you need to sell. I will put my heart, soul and time into presenting my/your real estate listings in the best possible light. Choose Wisely When Selecting Your REALTOR®!

Lisa Hill sells real estate in Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, Wilbur by the Sea, Ponce Inlet, Daytona Beach Shores, Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, Holly Hill, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater/Florida Shores. 

• Every one of the photos in this post came from the Daytona Beach MLS. If you're a REALTOR in our area and one of them is yours, I apologize. I did not even look at the names of the listing agents. I very quickly went through a few listings and found the poor examples I needed to make my point. Aside from seeing people in the frame, no lights, houses cut in half, crooked images, overexposed images, cluttered counters, and poorly arranged furniture, there were many other errors I did not include. So I'll repeat my plea. PLEASE, show some professionalism and present your listings in a professional manner!

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com

A little background about Port Orange...

• It was established on the banks of the Halifax River in 1867.
• In 1970, Port Orange was home to only 3,871 people.

After selling real estate each day in the familiarity of my home county where I'm surrounded by family and friends, I come home to my beautiful house in Port Orange which is located just a few miles south of Daytona Beach. If you're interested in real estate in Port Orange, here are a couple of my previous posts about this beautiful city where the motto is "Unique by Choice, Not by Chance".

• Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange
• The Port Orange City Center and Family Days
• Port Orange Real Estate Market Update

I love this city! Others may claim to know it, but take it from a native, if you're buying or selling real estate in Port Orange, I have the knowledge and expertise to take you smoothly through the entire process.

Do you know how Active Rain is perceived by the public? I know how we perceive it, but what about public perception? I was answering a question on Trulia last week and ran across an interesting comment. I've been stewing over it ever since then.

I'm not really sure how this person, and the other consumers who commented got this perception, but it leads me to believe that we need to make some changes here on Active Rain. The comment I found on Trulia was something along the lines of how they liked that everyone was welcome to comment and answer questions there, unlike on Active Rain.

WHAT?

I suppose I can only speak for myself, but I would LOVE to have the general public leave comments on my posts. I'm sure it was never the intention of the AR founders, or of those of us who are blogging here now, to become so self-insulated that we make the average consumer feel unwelcome. Just a quick check of your stats will show you that the public is definitely reading our posts. They're just not commenting. Why is that?

I encourage an interesting discourse. I want to know what the public thinks. The purpose of sharing our experiences is to see from the opposite perspective, and ultimately reach common ground. I only draw the line when things get heated. That's when we should agree to disagree and walk away. (Our entire country needs to learn this lesson.) That goal is never obtained by arguing/debating. But it can absolutely be accomplished by SHARING! I would love to have the public come and weigh in on my posts, and share their experiences; both good and bad. Everyone is entitled to their opinion when its' stated in a respectful manner.

Here on Active Rain, we have always been encouraged to write posts for Localism. I believe that is becoming more important than ever. Of course it's enjoyable to converse with our peers. It's easy, because we have common interests from the same side of the fence. But that does not bridge the gap between our perspective and the perspective of the consumer. And the worst part about that is that means the consumer is getting their information from the media or from each other. We do not need anymore of the blind leading the blind.

I encourage you right now, to double up on your Localism posts and ask questions that are geared toward the public. We should continue to comment on each other's posts, in order to maintain our sense of community, and help each others rank and SEO. But if the public is viewing Active Rain as a community that only welcomes comments from others within the industry, we need to make some changes. Let's start right now! Write your next post for Localism, and pose questions for the public to answer.

And don't forget to join the Localism groups and support the other group members! I'm a member of three; one of which I just started last week called "Things to Do/Places to Visit". The other two are "Posts to Localism" and "Localism Brainstorming". Each serves a somewhat different purpose.

So, for those of you who are not in the real estate industry, and are reading our posts. We would love to hear from you! You are welcome here! Feel free to comment, question and experience all you can.

Don't be afraid to get wet in the Active Rain!

Beautful, Direct Riverfront Condo Unit

Lisa C. Hill | Adams Cameron & Co. | 386-212-5357 715 S. Beach Street 303D, Daytona Beach, FL 2 Bdrm Condo offered at $224,900 Year Built 1965 Sq Footage 1,090 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Uncovered spaces Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $257 per month DESCRIPTION Enjoy spectacular sunrises from your private riverfront balcony. Completely remodeled unit. New tile throughout, new baseboards, spectacular river views, community pool and tennis, rear screened porch. Popular community. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Tile floor Living room Dishwasher Refrigerator Stove/Oven COMMUNITY FEATURES Guest parking Clubhouse Laundry on-site Swimming pool(s) Tennis court(s) Elevator OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES Direct 3rd Floor Riverfront Unit Brand New Tile Throughout New Baseboards New Boat Docks (waiting list) Tile Backsplash in Kitchen Community Pool, Playground, Tennis New Trim Freshly Painted ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Seller contact info: Lisa C. Hill Adams Cameron & Co. 386-212-5357 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Dec 9, 2007, 3:58pm PST

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!

Lisa C. Hill | Adams Cameron & Co. | 386-212-5357 721 S. Beach Street, Daytona Beach, FL Completely Remodeled! Great investment property; has quality tenant with lease. 2 Bdrm Condo offered at $189,000 Year Built 1965 Sq Footage 1,250 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Uncovered spaces Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $257 per month DESCRIPTION Lowest priced 2 bedroom unit in complex, PLUS view of river! Great first-floor walk-up location. Comes with quality tenant and lease. Sunny front kitchen has enlarged pass-thru window to dining area, new cabinets, new appliances & new tile backsplash. Entire unit has been lovingly remodeled. New light fixtures, new custom ceiling fans, new doors, new hardware, new trim, new baseboards, new switch plates, new outlet covers. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Hardwood floor Family room Breakfast nook Dishwasher Refrigerator Stove/Oven COMMUNITY FEATURES Guest parking Clubhouse Laundry on-site Swimming pool(s) Tennis court(s) Elevator OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES View of Intracoastal Waterway Assigned Parking New Sliding Glass Doors New Hard Wood Floors New Boat Docks (waiting list) Step-in shower Dimmer switch in dining area Tiled Rear Screened Porch ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Seller contact info: Lisa C. Hill Adams Cameron & Co. 386-212-5357 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Dec 9, 2007, 1:59pm PST

If you're not familiar with Adams Cameron & Co., it's the largest, most successful real estate brokerage in the Daytona Beach area. We have 8 offices throughout Volusia County which include 3 offices in Ormond Beach, 2 in Daytona Beach, 1 in Port Orange, 1 in DeLand and 1 in Palm Coast. I thought I'd share the highlights of the Adams Cameron Christmas parties this week.

On Monday we had our joint Christmas party at the Halifax Harbor Yacht Club, complete with a live DJ, dancing, open bar and great food. It was especially fun for me since I just joined Adams Cameron about 6 months ago and still hadn't met everyone. It was very pleasant to be able to just relax and enjoy the party, without any pomp and circumstance. Thank you Mr. Adams!

On Wednesday evening, the Port Orange office (where I'm based) had their own party which once again had great food, music and a Chinese gift exchange (why is it called that?). I wasn't able to stay for long, but I did get to meet a few more agents, which is what was most important to me.

I've blogged in the past about the Big Name Brokerage where I worked for the previous 7 years. I don't have anything bad to say about Big Name Brokerage. It's just different. This has been a very pleasant change for me, And change is good. In my case it was also profitable. Adams Cameron is a family owned and operated company and that sense of family filters down to all the agents. At my previous brokerage, I may have seen my broker once or twice a year. At Adams Cameron & Co., my broker attends each individual office party; not just the joint one. And he actually remembers little things that I mention to him in passing. Is it just me, or is that a very rare character trait these days?

I guess that's all I have to say about the parties. I could go on to say that my business has done well, in spite of the worst possible nationwide circumstances, and I credit much of that to my brokerage change. It's a definite benefit to the client, when they have the largest local brokerage representing them. There are that many more agents who will go to bat for the interests of that client. There's a lot of security in that.

Now enjoy the photos and video.

This has been stated many times, but I'd like to reiterate; Real estate is local and cannot be predicted on a national level. Every one of our cities is experiencing it's own increase or decrease in sales. Unfortunately, as we all know, the decreasing areas are the predominant ones.

In relation to this information, I'm interested in the opinions of the professionals who are working in the real estate industry. The great thing about blogging is that we can voice our opinions in an unfiltered manner. We're able to cut out the media's re-wording and/or spinning of our voices.

In the Daytona Beach area, where I work, the real estate market has it's own set of problems that are affecting the sales. Our primary issues are the Save Our Homes property tax problem which needs a complete overhaul, and the real estate insurance industry as a whole. These problems are in addition to the mutual obstacles being faced on a national level.

The poll I've inserted below, I originally intended to embed only in my sidebar, and it will not help to isolate the individual real estate market standings. But it will allow us to convey our personal beliefs on the future of the real estate industry, in regards to how much longer we (the professionals) believe the downslide will last.

So after voicing your opinion by answering the poll question, I'd love to hear your thoughts about your local markets in the comment section.

I think it will be interesting to see how the poll averages out all the votes.

As a REALTOR® who keeps a steady stream of listings flowing through my business, I'm confident in my abilities, my track record and my expertise. I have many satisfied clients who can attest to my success. It's from that P.O.V. (point of view for the non-techies :P) that I'm writing this post.

I was just reading a post by Jim Crawford, which was a cute little story about a Real Estate Listing Agent that was apparently fed up with a seller who couldn't understand why their property wasn't selling. So of course it must be the fault of the listing agent. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the market itself. As REALTORS®, we all know that our over-priced listings are obviously worth more than the others properties on the market because they have new carpet, fresh paint, pretty flowers, mulch, etc. *sigh*

• You can take a deep breath because I'm actually not going to go off on a tangent about over-priced real estate listings. REALTORS® are experiencing enough of that. What got me thinking about this topic was the agent in Jim's story, who only charged the seller $50 to cancel their listing agreement. FTR (For the record), I AM interested in knowing how much other REALTORS® charge as a cancellation fee, and why. But first I'd like to explain HOW I was trained in this specific area over 14 years ago, and how I have continued to explain it to my clients and associates ever since then.

Let's start the thought process like this: No successful listing agent wants a real estate listing from a seller who is not sure if they want to sell. Are you all with me on that one? I don't think I need to go into the ramifications of the time and money spent on marketing, then obtaining an offer to purchase, only to have a seller decide they don't want to sell. Are you wondering yet, what that has to do with the withdrawal fee? The answer is, EVERYTHING!

I'm going to assume that as professional REALTORS®, you don't just stick a listing agreement in front of your real estate seller and tell them to "sign here". A professional REALTOR® goes over the entire agreement, line-by-line, to make sure the seller understands exactly what they're signing. As you go through the verbiage, you're giving the seller the opportunity to ask questions. And hopefully you (the expert) are able to answer those questions from your real estate knowledge and expertise.

When arriving at the line where they've indicated how much the withdrawal fee will be, many agents falter. They're not sure what to say. Well let me give you one very good reason why you should have a substantial amount of money on that line. And no, it's not just to cover your expenses, although that is part of the reason. And your time is worth money too! But that's still not the entire reason. And it's definitely not to find a way to penalize the seller, while you slack off when you should be marketing and selling that listing!

The reason why you should have a rather large withdrawal fee imposed, if your seller changes their mind is because it should be a non-issue! Why, at this point, so early in the process, would the seller be already considering NOT SELLING? They're about to sign a minimum 6 month listing agreement! (With 2.3 years of inventory on the market, 'Daytona Beach area statistics' I assume you're listing for at least 6 months?) If the seller is worried about the withdrawal fee, that raises a red flag in my mind. I'm going to immediately start asking questions about why they might want to withdraw the listing. I don't want a listing that's going to consume my time, effort and money, and take my attention away from serious sellers and buyers if that seller is not even sure if they want to sell!

Are you still with me? At least 95% of the time, when I get to the line on the listing agreement, where I've filled in an amount of anywhere from $1000.00 to 1% of the asking price, the seller doesn't even blink. We just proceed through the rest of the paperwork. WHY? Because I've already asked a lot of questions to be sure this seller is ready to sell right now. And by this time, my seller is confident that I'm going to do what I say I'm going to do. And I DO NOT say ridiculous things like "I promise your home will sell within 90 days" (or whatever time frame some agents have previously used). Empty promises are not part of my program. My sellers will receive an itemized list of advertising locations and a promise that I will keep them notified as to the progress of the listing, as well as any changes in the market. How often I contact my sellers is dependent on how often they want to be contacted.

The goal for everyone involved, is to get that house, condo, land, manufactured home, or any type of real estate sold as soon as possible, for an amount the seller will accept, and that the current market will bear. So in this case, the withdrawal fee is really just a way of making sure your seller is serious about selling. My sellers always have my assurance that if I'm not doing my job, they can fire me and they do not owe that fee. This has never happened! AND if they have to withdraw the listing because of unexpected hardships, they're free to withdraw and the fee will not be charged. That HAS happened!

I hope I've explained this in a non-offensive manner. Too often, people skim through these posts without really reading or putting any thought into what is being conveyed. The bottom line of this post is about communication, and making sure both REALTOR® and seller are in complete agreement and understanding of the process.

Now I'm off to process the 2 condo listings in Daytona Beach, on the Halifax River that I need to get into the MLS and on all my blog and web sites by tomorrow. Stay tuned. They're real beauties!

www.DaytonaBeachHomeSales.com

This weekend, my husband and I took a short trip from Port Orange (the Daytona Beach area) to the far side of Orlando to celebrate our anniversary. It was actually to Kissimmee which is where you can find many popular tourist attractions, including Walt Disney World, Pleasure Island and many others. Well, after spending my entire life in the Daytona Beach area, it goes without saying that I've been to EVERY them park in the Orlando area. We LOVE roller coasters! But this time, we went to the one attraction I've never seen. I've been begging to go for at least 5 years! So Friday night we went to see Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. And to top it off, we stayed at the 63 acres Gaylord Palms Resort, which is beyond words (and 5 minutes from Disney World)!

Out of sheer excitement, I typed out a short blog while we were in our fabulous hotel at the Gaylord Resort and Spa on Friday night, right after the Cirque du Soleil show! I'll let you read that post for yourselves.

My reason for this post is to share the photos I promised I'd share. Enjoy!

And thank you to all my clients who let me have a couple of personal days away from marketing their houses, condos and manufactured homes. I'm back now and raring to go!

View my real estate listings.

I thought I'd give a little shoutout to the agents here on Active Rain who have photos uploaded to the Kissimmee area. I felt a little bit guilty for uploading so many photos to "their" city, so this is my way of playing nice. I HAD to upload my photos. They were just too pretty! Ironically, of all these other AR members, I'm either subscribed to them or they're subscribed to me, or at the very least, we've crossed paths here. It's all good.

Carmen Rivero

Netta Blackwood

Alexander Harb

Teri Isner