June, 2009:

RE/MAX INTERNATIONAL RECOGNIZES ED AND TERRI SMITH

Jun 19th, 2009
by edsmith.
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Broker/Owners Ed and Terri Smith were recognized by RE/MAX for their ranking as the # 5 residential real estate team in the state of Florida Year-to-Date through the month of April.
 
Ed and Terri are both members of the RE/MAX International Hall of Fame. Ed is also a recipient of the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award which has only been achieved by the top 2% of RE/MAX Associates out of the nearly 100,000 associates and brokers worldwide.

 
In local real estate for 22 years, the Smiths founded RE/MAX along the Emerald Coast in 1990. Both are Certified Residential Specialists (CRS) and Accredited Buyer Representatives (ABR) and Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE).  Ed is also a Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) and is e-PRO certified.
The Smiths  are assisted by four team members, two of which specialize as Buyer Specialists,  Kay Hutcheson who joined the team in 1999, and  Heather Swett, who has been a team  member since 2003. Barbara Elizondo, also licensed, has been a team member since 1997 and coordinates the entire team effort. Also affiliated is  Richard Stewart who directs short sale services and special marketing projects.
 
RE/MAX Coastal Properties is located at 125 Main Street, at Highway 98, in the heart of Destin in the Old Destin Bank Building.

ED AND TERRI SMITH RANKED #71 IN U.S.

Jun 19th, 2009
by edsmith.
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RE/MAX Coasatal Properties Broker/Owners Ed and Terri Smith were recognized by RE/MAX International for their ranking as # 71 among all residential real estate teams in the United States. The year-to-date statistics are through April, the most recent month for which 2009 statistics are available.

“With the enormous number of top producers within the RE/MAX system, a ranking anywhere within in the top 100 in the U.S. is a very formidable achievement” said Ed Smith. “In fact, RE/MAX was just ranked as the top U.S. firm in terms of transactions per agent for 2008, in both The REAL Trends Survey and the RIS Media Power Broker Survey.”   

The Real Trends Survey also reported that RE/MAX agents averaged far greater sales volume than the other national firms, and 31% more than the second place company in the U.S. RE/MAX operates 7,000 offices in more than 70 countries worldwide which is an international presence far greater than any of its competitors. With more than 90,000 sales associates worldwide, RE/MAX has been honored as the leading real estate franchise for nine of the last ten years by Entrepeneur Magazine.

How is a short sale better than foreclosure for a seller?

Jun 12th, 2009
by edsmith.
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We are asked this question many times each and every week. There are many advantages to the short sale, but a few of the biggest ones are: Your credit score is less severely impacted; You will not risk having a deficiency judgment filed against you; You can be eligible for a Fannie Mae loan in two years instead of five; If you have a security clearance, it should not be negatively impacted; Overall, your credit will recover much more quickly.

Additionally, while a foreclosure may remain on your credit report for 7 – 10 years, it really never goes away. It will remain in the public records forever.

Why do short sales take so long to complete?

Jun 12th, 2009
by edsmith.
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That old adage “garbage in, garbage out”, probably best sums up the problem. The banks and lenders are being inundated with hundreds of thousands of short payoff proposals that don’t stand a chance of EVER seeing the light of day. The offers must fit within certain parameters to be approved. While our personal short sale success rate is more than 90%, the national average is only 25%. Were it not for the 75% “garbage”, the short sale process would be far more efficient and the real estate markets could see genuine recovery much more quickly.

Q: When does the $8,000 new buyer tax credit expire?

Jun 12th, 2009
by edsmith.
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The new buyer tax credit applies if you are a first time buyer and close on a primary residence between January 1st and December 1st 2009.  However, a bill has just been introduced that would not only raise the tax credit to $15,000, but would also make the credit available on any primary residence purchase, even if not the case of a first time buyer. The bill would also eliminate the current income ceilings of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples.