My New Blog

Sales Analysis and Projections.

On to another topic, on my previous post about sale stats and projections, I pulled the July sales today and between Hillsborough and Pinellas, there were now 1,946 recorded. 68 off my projections. I really wish there was a closing of the books process so that at a certain point in time, these numbers would not change. They change in all areas, and when you need good current up to date market data these changes ,due to process, don’t really help us.  August is turning out be right in line with the projections I have. We are still near 34,000 active/pending sales between Hillsborough and Pinellas County, and credit is still tight due to sometimes ridiculous and overzealous underwriting procedures. However, make sure you are up to date with FHA. There is a lot of opportunities for buyers and sellers through FHA. I am seeing a lot of FHA appraisal requests as compared to year’s prior, so don’t miss the bus on it. If you need an appraisal for FHA purposes, call me and I can assist you since I am FHA approved.

Property Taxes

I was on the Fox 13 Kathy Fountain show last Wednesday for a discussion about Valuation in regards to Property Tax with Rob Turner. It was a very good experience as I researched quite a bit of additional information prior to the show. I began to interview individuals in the Real Estate Industry and property owners. What I found was that quite a few people had questions regarding the whole property tax issue/process and had questions about why their property’s’ valuation by the county was not lower.

But first, in the research I did, I pulled up the tax filings for Hillsborough County that was reported to the FDOR as of 06/27/2008. What it showed was a 13% increase in net taxable values for Hillsborough County, after the new homestead exemption was applied. “?”. Yes 13% you can click here to view it yourself.  I hope someone could correct me on this or tell me which part I am not reading right. But if that is the case I would be a little confused. For those of you who missed the show last week, our 2008 property tax bill is based on 2007 data valued as of 01/01/08. So with the new homestead exemption, along with portability, and the beginning of market decreases, along with the “Recapture Rule” I would have thought there would not have been this kind of increase. There is a process for you to appeal your property tax and you can go to my property tax 2008 button on the left hand side of my site to find out how. I know that some people are aware of how to challenge the property tax valuation, but I still find quite a few people, almost, everyone I talk to , who don’t know the process or are intimidated by it. If you have ever been to traffic court, the process is less intimidating than that, well, especially because you didn’t do anything wrong. With the help of an appraiser you can really know where you stand and how to approach the appeals process. You need to realize though you only have until September 16, 2008, to file the appeal paper work. Call me and I will be glad to help you.

How to Lower Your Homeowners Insurance.

Here is a good one. If you had a homeowner’s Insurance policy from, I would say, 2003-2007, you are probably over-insured. WHY? Because the cost to replace has been coming down as compared to those years. My policy on the home I just purchased basically said my land value was about $8,000, and the cost to replace was near $120/foot, ( not even close ). I called my insurance company, and disputed it. What I realized was, an appraisal form that most are not familiar with ( the unit-in-place cost method or the complete quantity survey cost method) can substitute in the same detail a contractors estimate. The cost method on appraisal report most of you are familiar with is not applicable to insurance policies and is even noted in most reports that it is not intended for insurance purposes nor should it be used for such. Yet, I hear time and time again of insurance companies wanting a copy of the appraisal report and to review the cost section. The only importance is that the mortgage company wants a policy equal to the appraised market value. The quantity survey method appraisal form is important because insurance underwriters will take into consideration all data given to them. If they will consider a contractors’ estimate to dispute the cost to replace then the mentioned cost forms in detail will do the same thing. I have completed a lot of these forms on more complex appraisal assignments and they are very accurate. Remember, I am not talking about that small little cost section on the appraisal report.  The cost savings to you is significant. This is not chump change. I believe that if you can lower your property tax and lower your insurance cost than the savings per month is large. Just make sure you notify your mortgage company of the changes so they can change your next months’ payment so you don’t have to wait 4-6 months for an escrow analysis. I did it for my tax in February of this year for the 2008 taxes when I estimated them to be lower. Call me on this and I can show you how I can save you money.

I have looked over the sales numbers recorded in MLS for Hillsborough and Pinellas County from 07/01/2008-07/31/2008. The total as of 08/15/2008 for the month of July is 1,931. My projections for July was 2,014. ( refer to the last post to my blog ). Giving a difference of 83 units or 4.1%. Not too bad, it definitely falls within the normal statistical bell curve. I really think that some of the difference is related to increased underwriting criteria that is slowing some closings. So if that is the case, the month of August should exceed my projections by a similar amount. That would be a good sign since it would not show another decrease in sales volumes. Keep checking back to see the latest analysis on our local market. I will also be having specific information placed on my website for disputing your property tax with the local appraisers’ office within the next few days. Don’t miss it, since you will find it very useful for your clients and yourself, if you like saving money