The concept:

*  All homes will be in the Plant High School district but will vary in elementary schools, giving families more options for younger children
*  Homes will be located in various areas of central South Tampa
*  The average price point varies from the high $400s to $600K
*  4 Bedroom minimum in each home
*  Lot size will vary but will range from 50′ x 80′ to 80′ x 130′
*  All are built following several consumer expectations: hardwood, granite, beautiful cabinetry, stainless steel appliances & double paned windows for energy efficiency.  Many of the homes also feature tankless gas water heaters & gas stoves to reduce the use of electricity.
*  While the homes all lean towards more of a traditional/mission style combination with a square shape & clean lines, there will be 5-6 different floor plans

The past two years….

BG Holmberg led Ryan to his first lot purchase in September of 2009 and the duo have since collaborated on 17 more lot purchases, 13 home completions (12 of which have already sold) and 3 homes are currently under construction.  Since these are all built to specifications to remain in the realm of the original concept, very few changes are made by the buyers and the homes are not typically listed until near completion.  That doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute if you are looking to purchase one of these beauties; 10 out of the 12 that have sold were under contract before the home was even move-in ready.

What should you be looking for in the future?

Since Ryan oversees all of his projects on his own, he works on a maximum of 5 homes at a time, all of which are exclusively marketed by BG Holmberg via Smith & Associates Real Estate.  The two plan on knocking out (or rather, building up) 8-10 homes per year with an undecided end point or until South Tampa meets all of their specifications.

If you are interested in one of these South Tampa homes, contact BG Holmberg to arrange a meeting.

What do you look for when it comes to purchasing a new home?  Do their specs meet your requirements?

The bank filed a foreclosure suit, won, took title, and sold the property to an independent third party. Now imagine that you are the third party purchaser – you bought a home from a bank that obtained title via foreclosure. You move into and live in the house you purchased from the bank at a foreclosure auction.  Then suddenly, the original homeowner, who owned the property before the bank foreclosed, has convinced a court that she still owns the property.  Incredibly, in light of the bank’s failure to correctly prosecute the foreclosure lawsuit, the homeowner is right –  she still owns the house.

The problem is created through a break in the chain of mortgage ownership. Until the 1980’s, most mortgages were loans between the homeowner and a bank, who lent the money directly.  More recently, the mortgage financing system transformed into an international system of securitization, with mortgage lenders packaging their loans into securities, bought and sold by investors like stocks. These transactions even split individual mortgages into sections, where each loan could have parts owned by different investment banks.

The transfer of ownership in these mortgage backed securities (MBS) was done with contracts on the balance sheets of Wall Street investment banks, such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The company who originally appeared to make the loan was normally a retail lending company such as Countrywide or Lending Tree, who typically acted as a sales company, and sometimes remained contracted to service the loan.

In the event that the loan goes into foreclosure at a later date, the then-current owner of the loan files the foreclosure and sells the property to a new owner, often at auction. The land records would show a deed of transfer from the investment bank to the new owner. This creates a break in the chain of ownership of the mortgage rights. In many cases, the transfer of ownership of the mortgage loan has gone from the original lender, through several owners, and then to the foreclosing bank, none of which is recorded on the property title history. Technically, the foreclosing bank has no recorded title rights to foreclose in the first place.

MERS announced it changed its procedures to require that an assignment of mortgage be filed prior to the start of any foreclosure suit. Typically, a mortgage is recorded in the public records with MERS as nominee for ABC Corporation. Invariably, when the foreclosure lawsuit is filed, it is not filed in the name of ABC Corporation it is filed in the name of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase or some securitized trust – an entity with no relationship to ABC Corporation.

In most foreclosure cases, banks’ lawyers argue the plaintiff has standing if it is the “holder” of the Note (i.e. if it possesses the original note with a special endorsement in blank.) Many judges accept this position, no questions asked and thus, an assignment of mortgage is often viewed as irrelevant and superfluous.

Even if Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, or the securitized trust has standing without an Assignment of Mortgage in the public record, ABC Corporation is still the mortgage holder of record. This means that even if Bank of America, JP Morgan, or whoever prevails in the foreclosure is the high bidder at the auction, acquires title, and sells the property to a third party, ABC Corporation is still the mortgage holder of record. What does that mean? Essentially, the entire foreclosure case was like a wild deed – it took place, but ABC Corporation can still institute a foreclosure lawsuit in its own name, as it would have priority over the bona fide purchaser who acquired title from the bank.

If ABC Corporation is the mortgage holder of record, and it is not named as a party in the mortgage foreclosure suit, and there is no Assignment of Mortgage, then the mortgage in favor of ABC Corporation still exists, even after the foreclosure, even after the auction, and even after the sale to the third party. The foreclosure happened, but as far as ABC Corporation is concerned, the foreclosure is irrelevant – it still has the mortgage.

To sum it all up, when purchasing your next Tampa home, especially in the case of foreclosure, it is very important to seek the advice of a real estate attorney and if possible, purchase title insurance when you purchase a property.

With rates still at their all time low, many clients are interested in refinancing their home, or purchasing a home. The question of what their home is worth comes up almost immediately. It usually becomes a long conversation. Although, I am not an appraiser, I do give a few suggestions to my clients if they are concerned with value:

1)  If you are refinancing it may be a good idea to contact your Realtor that assisted you when you purchased the home. Your agent can provide you with a current updated market analysis.
2)  If you are purchasing a home your lender will require an appraisal, should there be a concern with a value up front, I also suggest having the seller pay for an initial appraisal. Your lender will not be able to use the same appraisal, however your agents can provide this to the lenders appraiser so they have additional information to consider.
3)  Also keep in mind if you are going to your local tax authority website, the market value that is reflected on that site typically is not a true market value of the property.

The best way to go about refinancing or purchasing is to utilize your local Realtors when you are inquiring about the value of your current Tampa home or a new home. We are also here as a lender to assist you with qualifying and determining the perfect and most comfortable financing options available to you.

Have you ever found yourself debating refinancing?  What are some of the questions you would like to see answered by our Mortgage Team?

When decorating for fall, what better to use than pumpkins: the most versatile little (or big) squash of all?  There is just so much you can do with this fabulous food!   After spending the morning researching cheap & easy DIY ways to decorate my St. Petersburg home , I wanted to share my findings with you.

Fall decorations don’t have to be difficult, which it is a huge relief when attempting to cram seasonal decorating into an already busy schedule.  Prepping your Tampa home for Autumn can be as easy as filling your unused fireplace with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes (above), placing candles & lantern glass on top of mini pumpkins to be used as centerpieces, carving out the insides (baking the delicious seeds of course) & creating environmentally friendly flower pots and candle holders, or paint them shiny fall colors and add a few twigs and berries for an out-of-this-world front porch decoration (below).

If you want to make amazing and colorful fall foods, pumpkin ingredients are also a MUST in my book.  (Did I mention baked pumpkin seeds yet?) You can easily edit your stuffed pepper recipe to read stuffed pumpkin,  and how about these adorable bite-sized pies for your fall get together? (below)  For a little extra fun, blend a slice of pie with a cup of milk (or milk replacement) & vanilla ice-cream then top it off with a pumpkin pie mini for a fantastic milkshake to share with friends. (recipe found here)

When it comes to pumpkins, pies and fall decor, whichever route you choose, you can’t go wrong.  The beautiful colors pared with the breezy weather and a handful of pumpkin seeds make for the perfect start to an amazing season.

What’s your favorite simple ways to decorate for fall?  Do you have a secret pumpkin pie recipe you’d like to share?

Grand Central at Kennedy is one of Smith & Associates‘ premier high rises in downtown Tampa located on Kennedy Boulevard between Meridian Avenue and Channelside Drive.  Homeowners can enjoy prime urban living (without the out of this world price tag that normally accompanies) while still feeling right at home.

Some of the luxury amenities Grand Central has to offer are people-friendly pools and expansive sundecks, private cabanas, social greens and outdoor grills, clubhouses, fitness centers, jogging paths, pet walks, 24/7 security, concierge service, and covered parking.   But the great thing about this downtown Tampa location is that internal amenities are not all they have to offer.  Hop on the elevator and within moments, you can enjoy fabulous dining, the Powerhouse Gym, a locally owned dry cleaner, and various professional offices.  According to their blog, Grand Central is always “actively pursuing additional retailers and specialty stores slated for future occupancy, including a large-scale grocer.”  So there is more excitement to come!

Amenities and material greatness is not all you will find ant Grand Central at Kennedy.  They are fully equipped with an amazingly knowledgeable team ready to assist you in finding your next Tampa home.  Let’s meet the Grand Central Sales Team:

Dominique Despointes – After spending five years as the National Sales Manager for Opus Imports, Dominique needed a change. In 2003 he began his career working for The Condo Store selling luxury condos from downtown to the beaches. While working for them, he was the Sales Manager for Several Tarragon Corporation properties all around the Tampa area.  His most recent project Majestic Point Condominiums on Island Estates sold out in four months.

David B. Moyer – David graduated from Saint John Fisher College with Honors.  He joined Smith & Associates Real Estate over 7 years ago, and has closed over 500 homes, including but not limited to, Towers of Channelside, Box Factory, Victory Lofts, Meridian, One Bayshore, Art Center and Christainsted. He explores and constantly broadens his services and experiences through education. He is extremely active in the Downtown Tampa community.

The Grand Central Sales Team is available 7 days a week at 813.226.8735.  These units are selling quickly and have some AMAZING last minute deals going on!  Give them a call or visit http://grandcentralatkennedy.com to see one of these fabulous condos today!

While these ladies may be some of the most fabulous in Tampa Bay, they mean business (with frequent side orders of fun, of course).  The Smith & Associates Title, Inc. is an attorney-operated, full service company dedicated to providing exceptional real estate closings to sellers and purchasers throughout the state of Florida.

According to President, Angie Comas, “Our goal is to ensure that the real estate transaction proceeds flawlessly from opening to closing. This is accomplished by harmonizing our technology with traditional, time tested processing methods. In addition to our highly knowledgeable staff, we offer a level of exceptional customer services that the Smith & Associates customer has come to expect.”

Let’s meet the Smith Title girls that will be closing your next Tampa home:

Angi Comas, President
Angi Comas immigrated from Vietnam and landed directly in South Tampa, where she has resided since 1982.   Angi is almost a “native Tampanian” in that she attended primary schools throughout South Tampa and college at the University of South Florida. After spending three years in law school at Florida State University, she longed to come back to her South Tampa home. Although Tallahassee is a charming city, she missed driving on Bayshore Boulevard and walking around in Hyde Park Village. In 2009, Angi Comas joined Smith & Associates Title.   If Angi is not in the office, you can find her in her closet – organizing it.

Julie Simmons, Closer
Julie (or Ms.  Simmons, as she occasionally likes to be called) relocated to the Tampa Bay area in 2002 from her home-town of Pensacola, to begin her career in the field of title insurance.  Julie now calls St. Petersburg home (blocks away from our Beach Drive location).   Around the office, Julie Simmons can spotted wearing a cardigan sweater and a Smith & Associates name tag – the two most important elements of her signature look.  In addition to her passion for title insurance, Ms. Simmons enjoys running, kayaking, ballroom dancing and spending time with her beloved eight year old boxer, Dirce.

Aureann Whalen, Closer
At the age of fourteen, Aureann began her title insurance career by making microfilm copies for her father, a title insurance examiner, during the summer break.  Aureann’s mother is a title insurance marketing representative and so,  Aureann was destined to be in the title insurance industry. In addition to her extensive experience as a closer in South Florida and in the greater Tampa Bay area, she closed many of the sales transactions for Grand Key in South Tampa.  Aureann speaks fluent Spanish and has a penchant for all things that are sparkly – just like her personality.  When she is not working on closings for all of our agents, Aureann likes to play golf and go to the beach.

Sara Houze, Post- Closer
Sara Houze is a post closer at Smith & Associates Title.  Although her official duties are to handle the files after the closing, Sara is also our  technology expert. Furthermore, she inspires all of us in the office with her environmental consciousness. In our efforts to become a more “green” company, Sara has taught us that almost everything can be recycled, including packaging materials, electronics and even shoes. One of Sara’s favorite pastimes is extreme-couponing – it is amazing what she can do with $100!

Whether you are looking for beautiful ladies, massive amounts of coupons, fashion tips or the most efficient closing of your life, Smith Title is who you need on your side.  Wonder women really do rock stilettos!

Have you recently purchased a Tampa, St Pete or Belleair home?  What kind of experience did you have with the Title company?

After an intense pondering session, I decided on 5 tips to maximizing small spaces.  Here goes nothing:

Be flexible. Don’t define every room to a specific purpose, give purpose to every room!
Be functional. Just because it is called a “walk-in closet”, doesn’t men that’s all its good for.  Make use of every corner and bare walls by adding an art studio or office.
Scale down. Why have a family room AND a sitting room (that no one actually sits in) with TVs in both?  Designate one area for congregating, TV watching and video game playing.  This will maximize family time as well!
Divide it up. Maximize large rooms by dividing them into sections for designated purposes.  Use 3-fold room dividers or fancy curtains to really give it a “room-y” feel. (vintage room divider found on Amazon pictured right)
Bring it outside. If you have a porch, patio or yard, ad a grill, tables, tents and out door games.  You now have the perfect place to entertain!

Still not convinced that small space living is fabulous living?  Need an incentive to decorate a small space?  A website titled Apartment Therapy actually hosts an annual “Small/Cool” Contest (yes, that is the name) for homes under 1,000 SqFt.  The categories are (absolutely adorable) “Teeny-Tiny”, “Tiny”, “Little”, “Small” and “International”.  Thousands of entries are received and there is one Grand Prize winner as well as one finalist picked per category.

This year’s winner was an amazing 460 SQFT, well lit apartment in Brooklyn (pictured thanks to www.apartmenttherapy.com).  This teeny space has been completely maximized, allowing for a section for a bedroom (top left), living room (left), office, kitchen (bottom right) and bathroom.  I am in love!

According to the contest rules “The home can be designed by a professional, weekend hobbyist or design enthusiast” so everyone is invited to participate & the prizes are pretty swell!  Check them out for even more ideas on how to maximize your small space.

Whether you opt for small space living out of necessity or desire, there are so many ways to maximize the area and make it just as fabulous as an over-sized mansion!  Not to mention how green you can be, reducing your carbon footprint by using less emissions to keep a small space functioning.

How have you maximized space in your Tampa Bay home?  Do you have any small space decorating tips?

– Since the company does not have any other lines of businesses, unlike most banks or insurance companies, it can focus all of its resources to residential mortgage financing.
– New Penn Financial has a local operation in the Greater Tampa Bay area with processors, underwriters, managers and regional executives located in our office to provide fast decisions and closing turn times. Smith & Associates Real Estate can now routinely close loans within 21 days or less while our competitors struggle to close loans in 30-45 days!
– Aligning themselves with local experts, they have created a nominated appraisal panel that comprises of the most adept, professional, and knowledgeable appraisers in the area. You never have to lose another deal due to a sub-par or out of area appraiser!
– By working with one of the Smith & Associates/New Penn Financial Mortgage brokers, clients have program options such as Super Jumbo, Asset for Income Qualification, High Debt to Income Qualification, Foreign National, Investors, & Non-Warrantable Condos.

So…What does all of this mean??  More qualified homebuyers achieving the dream of homeownership!

Smith & Associates Real Estate is equipped to assist in the entire home buying experience from the initial search with a Realtor, attaining a lender all the way to having Smith Title at your closing (which we will talk about next week!)  Now to meet our fabulous Mortgage Brokers that make all of this possible:

Bobbie Nader
Smith & Associates’ Tampa Office

With over 20 years experience in the banking Real Estate Industry, consisting of operations, underwriting, closing, marketing, and originating loans, Bobbie Nader is well versed to say the least!  She is a great asset to Smith & Associates and has been recognized as a Top Producer in the field. When asking Bobbie how she feels about her job, she said “I enjoy helping clients with their home financing needs. I love what I do, and meeting wonderful people in the process. I am also excited to work along David Donaldson, my future husband.”

David Donaldson
Smith & Associates’ South Tampa Office

After working with First Union for over 10 years, Dave Donaldson came to Smith & Associates and took over the mortgage department. Not long after, he moved to the Bank of Tampa for 12 years, then eventually ended up partnering with soon to be wife, Bobbie Nader back at Smith. They have happily landed that partnership back where they first met.  A little inside scoop on Dave according to Bobbie, “David loves to cook, plan our vacations (a year in advance!), and spend time with the family.”

Steve Stapleton
Smith & Associates’ Downtown St. Pete Office

Florida licensed mortgage broker, Steve Stapleton has been a loan officer for the past 14 years and is well known throughout the Tampa Bay real estate & lending community as an honest and reputable mortgage banker. Steve has worked hand in hand with his borrowers, lenders, realtors and title companies to make sure all his transactions run smoothly and all those involved are completely satisfied.  He has lived in Tampa Bay area since 1990 & enjoys all the pleasures of the Gulf Coast, including boating, fishing, golfing, and of course…home ownership. He is very active within the community and served four years in the United States Air Force before being honorably discharged as a Senior Airman.

Amanda Stapleton
Smith & Associates’ Belleair Bluffs Office

Amanda L Stapleton is a Licensed Mortgage Broker that has been in the mortgage industry since 2001.  Starting her career as a Mortgage Processor then progressing to Processing Manager and Operations Manager Amanda knows the mortgage process from start to finish.  On her free time you may find her spending time with her husband Steve Stapleton & their dogs or volunteering for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure!

Whether you are looking for Tampa Real Estate, a new St. Pete home or a Belleair home for sale, Smith & Associates has you covered!

Have you ever worked with our Mortgage team?  Which office did you visit and hat did you think?

We have all seen the fully furnished and beautifully decorated luxury estates with immaculate details and feng shui that instantly makes us feel at home.  When it comes to taking photos, these are no brainers- they speak for themselves.  But what about the others?  The ones we know could be just as fabulous with a touch of detail?  How do we market these homes?

For the most part, we have two options to explore:
- Call a professional stager to have amazing furniture placed throughout the house.  Not a bad idea but it requires time, money and responsibility.
- Have the home staged with computer generated or CAD style furniture.  Still not a bad idea but you lose the “real-ness” of the photo.

While both options offer a specific advantage, combining the two would be ideal and (hooray!) now you can.  Hello, Virtual Staging.  I am not going to lie, I was a little skeptical at first but after really delving into the website and seeing some of the before and after photos (pictured), I would really like to test it out (or better yet, get one of the amazing Smith & Associates Realtors to act as my guinea pig!)

Virtually Staging Properties is an Atlanta based company created by both Realtors and Professional Stagers, so you get the best of both worlds.  Rather than using computer generated furniture, you are able to choose from a virtual library full of REAL furniture and accents that can be super imposed into the potentially fabulous but currently boring empty living room that was once a home.

Currently, the photos come in 3 standard packages:  3 photos for $225, 4 for $280 or 5 for $325 with additional photos at $60 each.  Ordering staged photos for your home for sale in Tampa Bay is as simple as filling out a short form (including as much detail/preferences as you would like) and sending it, along with high resolution pictures of a (preferably) vacant home, to one of the Virtual Stagers.  Within 3-4 business days, you will have photos of a fantastically decorated yet vacant listing and you can even order 8 x 10 prints to display in the home during showings and Open Houses!

While I am unable to speak on behalf of the company as far as the final product goes, they have been featured in several major publications and news outlets including the New York Times, multiple affiliates of ABC News and several Real Estate Magazines.  For more information on the company, visit their website at www.virtuallystagingproperties.com.

Keep in mind that they are simply bringing to life one of your photos.  Be sure to send them your best shots to ensure you are appealing to that 85% basing their future home choices off of how fabulous the photos are!

Have you used this product?  If so, what did you think?

The Tampa Bay area is a hotspot for such a variety of people.  We have everyone from the snow birds that spend the so called “winter months” here (some don’t consider weather that still allows for flip flops winter).  Then there are those that come into town for a Tampa Bay Bucs, Rays or Lightning game or travelers here to see the beautiful beaches and local theme parks.  And last but not least, there we are:  your every day crowd here for work, play and just to live our lives.  I love this area and will most likely always call Tampa Bay home but who would have guessed that outside of the “normal” crowd we are so accustomed to, many celebrities feel the same way about the Bay Area?  You heard me right, fame in the flesh is here in Tampa Bay!  So, who should you be on the lookout for?

Of course we will always have the athletes.  Various Lightning players live all over the Bay.  Some enjoy the exciting beach atmosphere in Clearwater while others like to stay in the South Tampa area, just a short commute to the St. Pete Times Forum.  Then there are the Buccaneers.  You will often spot these guys in International Mall and I don’t doubt that many of them will pay a constant tribute to Leroy Selmon by visiting one of his various restaurant locations.  As for the Rays, you can find them dispersed throughout the area.  While some opt out of purchasing homes due to the schedule fluctuation and possibility of being drafted, you can find many of them renting out some of the luxury high rises in Downtown St. Pete.  And while he may be one of our team rivalries, you can also spot Derek Jeter in the area during Yankee Spring training, as he calls Tampa home as well (pictured above left).

While we do have an abundance of athletes in the area, they are not all we have here.  Tampa Bay is home to its fare share of Professional Wrestlers as well (whom I guess could technically be lumped into the previous field).  Some you may know, including: wrestler gone rapper gone actor John Cena who resides in Tampa, Joannie Laurer “Chyna” in Sarasota, Randy “Macho Man” Savage in Treasure Island, Paul Wight “The Big Show” in Odessa and Barbara Blank “Kelly Kelly” a Jacksonville native now living in South Tampa.  And, of course I wouldn’t leave out the infamous Hulk Hogan who currently has his 17,000 SF Belleair home for sale (pictured above right).

If reading is your thing, thriller author, Stephen King, can be found conjuring up his next book in Sarasota along with AC/DC lead man, Brian Johnson.  And if Ocala isn’t too far of a trip, John Travolta can be reached, but only via his private jet way, please.  The late Oxy Clean/infomercial superstar, Billy Mays called Tampa home as well and I have a feeling if asked what he thought about the city, he’d sell it like he did in the commercials…”You’re gonna love it.  I guarantee ya!”

Basically what I am getting at here is that Tampa Bay is great.  Whether you want to call St. Pete home or opt for Downtown Tampa, there is something for everyone- even the stars!

We have all been starstruck at some point in our lives.  Some become desensitized but to many of us, the excitement of celeb-spotting will never change.  Have you ever met a celebrity in the Tampa Bay area?  Who would you lose your cool over?