O.K., so we now have the bailout! This seems odd, that millions of Americans who are in trouble are passed over and $700 Billion goes right to the people who caused this mess to begin with. Now Wallstreet will breathe a sigh of relief, hold on to the money for a while before they are pressured to lend again in 2009.

HERE IS THE PROBLEM AMERICA IS OVERLOOKING: The banks are still not aiding those in need. They are “Short Selling” homes to investors, but not the home owners. Many homeowners are filing bankruptcy to force lenders to renegotiate loans that the lender should be doing by their own free will. Now here is the clincher and the trigger that will drain our economy for the next 5-7 years if something is not done:

As you may know, President Bush passed legislation in 2008 to waive any IRS taxes on the shortfall for those who sell via short Sale or are foreclosure victims. Everyone seems to think that EVERYONE is included and they could not be further from the truth. That law ONLY applies to those who did not pull equity or refinance their home. In other words, if you paid $300,000 for your home in 2003 and in 2005 you pulled $100,000 out to pay off bills, etc. (you owe $410,000) and the home is now worth $290,000 and you sell for that number (Short Sale), you will NOT be exempt from the $110,000 shortage and you WILL receive a 1099 for this amount.

This law needs to be revised and updated for the NOW situation facing this country. No, it’s not fair to the ones who are paying on time, but this law must change and all of those IRS penalties must be waived across the board……… and I’ll take a beating for saying this, but it should apply to ALL properties including investors. Wallstreet was bailed out, now (as Obama and McCain put it) Mainstreet will need a bailout as well. Otherwise, one in six Americans will face another financial disaster and the economy will be impacted again in another way because those people will not be able to SPEND and BUY things. And that is the medicine for the economy to recover.

This will be another disaster if the legislation is not changed again. America needs the bailout worse than Wallstreet ever did.

For more information, go to http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

The new Elmo Live toy hit the market today.  Go to any toy store and they are everywhere!  Just like real estate, it’s about supply and demand.  Wait till Christmas!  Wait till your kid asks you for one.  There will be ZERO inventory in the stores and you will go right to e-bay and pay more than retail for the toy.

It reminds me of 2005 real estate market.  Little inventory, many buyers.  Just like real estate, if the toy maker started pumping out toys (like the builders did houses and condos), I’ll bet speculators will rush to the store and buy every toy they can get their greedy hands on!  The thought: They will double their money with the “Elmo Bubble”.

Then, after the market is flooded with toys, those investors will be left with a doll that is worth about 50% of what they paid!  Those credit card companies that financed the deals will be in big trouble as well.

Don’t worry, if this senario becomes a reality, the government will bail out those credit card companies and take those losses for them.  Our tax dollars will pay for it.  So run out and buy as many Elmo dolls as your credit limit will allow (NOT).

For more information, go to: http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

Right now, in Tampa, you can buy a 3500 square foot home (heated and cooled) with a caged pool, three car garage, 5 bedrooms, four baths, an oversized media room in a gated and guarded community for about $300,000 to $375,000 depending on the area.

How long do you think it is going to last? NOT LONG. As real estate suffered this 2008, everyone was sitting on their hands. Now, with the bailout, investors are eating up inventory. What are other waiting for? Where should investors buy?

Look at who was hot when the market was on fire:

Las Vegas

Tampa

Phoenix

Naturally, those areas fell the farthest when the market collapsed! Who is set on that big “V” curve or rebound? Those same areas (stay away from condo’s). Tomorrow’s millionaires are buying property today in Florida, Nevada and Arizona.

Jump on the bandwagon now before it gets filled up again. For more information, go to http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

What will the 700 million dollar bailout do you middle America? If you are facing foreclosure and want to keep your home, it could mean the restructure of your loan, kind of a “short sale” for property owners! This will slow down the foreclosure rate by as much as 30% to 40% and allow struggling property owners to stay in the home ownership game!

This is something that should have been done long ago but as most of us in the realty field know, the lenders were waiting on that Uncle Sam bailout!

As I watched the debate last night, I wondered if either candidate has a real grasp for how much the real estate meltdown has impacted our country. Real Estate is our only major commodity left that has impact on more citizens than anyone!

When was the economy blowing up? When the bubble was blowing up and growing! Homes were being built, construction jobs were in full bloom, title companies were over capacity, you could not find a good lender because so many were in the field. Home remodels, flippers buying, rehabilitating houses, Realtors, carpet, tile setters….. EVERYTHING seems to be tied to real estate!

The faster real estate can recover, that is when the economy will turn. The faster the next President realizes this the quicker we are out of the hole and the better HE will look!

For more information, visit my website at: http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

The first Tuesday in November is just a month away! The T.V. ads are everywhere! We are definitely as Bill O’Riley would say are in “The Spin Zone” of the big blue and red political machine. What I can’t believe, is that apparently, 50% of America is drinking tainted Kool-Aid from one of the candidates.

I was raised by my Italian family (my grandparents came to Tampa on a boat from Italy in the early 1900’s. One phrase I hard over and over growing up was this:

“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who YOU are”

Think about that before you vote for our next commander in chief and if you don’t know the facts, please DO NOT VOTE!

http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

The Stock Market is down 700 points already today! So much for the 700 BILLION dollar bailout plan. Consumer confidence is circling the drain! I got to thinking about this and I came to a conclusion that I bet will be the next trend in America. PAY OFF YOUR HOUSE!

If you have the cash, look at it this way. If your $100 a share stock crashes, you end up with a worthless piece of paper. If the real estate market keeps going down, you can live in your house forever! Investment? The value of the house goes down, but it WILL come back up. You have the structure, the land and the income from your rent rolls. With stocks, you have an egg if you are in this market. I still think real estate is a better investment…… now more than ever.

For more information, visit my website at http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

Shame on Donald Trump! For a guy who wants his name associated with QUALITY, he certainly left buyers of Trump Towers Tampa holding the bag. Although he only sold his name to the project, BUYERS who purchased those units felt safe because the Trump name was affiliated with it. The developer required hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposit money from EACH buyer or EACH unit. Now the project failed and buyers are being told that MAYBE they will get 50% of their money back.

I’m thankful that I advised my investors to stay away from the project and they did, except for one. He was featured with me on ABC Action News in Tampa. You can click this link to see the story: http://headofrealestate.com/newsroom_wfts004.html . This was one of my clients who regrets going against my advice and he tells the story better than I could. Look at the news clip and make your own decision.

To learn more about Tampa Real Estate, go to http://www.headofrealestate.com

Vince Arcuri

ERA Gulfcoast Realty

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

The big vote is just a few weeks away. What bothers me the most about the American political machine is that everyone attacks the others candidate and tries to destroy the other person. Obama and McCain are supposed to be THE BEST America has to offer. It appears that they hate each other. Maybe if the top of the Republican ticket and the top of the Democrat ticket presented like the actually liked each other? What if the Democrat and Republicans in the Senate, Congress and State and Local governments did not take the other persons political agenda so personally? I don’t remember Richard Nixon attacking McGovern, Ford attacking Carter, Regan attacking Carter. In the past 20 years, it has gotten to the point that it makes me sick. No wonder 50% of the country is going to be pissed off after the election. One party has the other thinking it is the end of the world if the other guy comes out.

Why can’t everybody get along? If my kids (WHEN MY KIDS) act like Obama and McCain, they get spanked. Who is spanking them? They are being encouraged to attack and those fences will be very, very hard to mend after this election.

Don’t we all have first Amendment rights? Do we have to hate each other over it? What if:

Obama and McCain were respectful to one another? What is they BOTH stopped those stupid TV commercials attacking one another? What if everyone stopped distorting the TRUTH and simply told the American public what their position is on the issues?

What if Obama said “John McCain is a great American and a great Senator. He has given the ultimate sacrifice for our country and is a wonderful public servant. But Senator McCain and I differ on the issues. Here is how my position is different from Senator McCain………….”

No wonder there is so much HATE in America. It starts with our LEADERS.

Hey America…………….. quit “hate’in”

__________________________________________________________________________

Please Visit my website at http://www.headofrealestate.com

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »

Gekko Would LOVE 2008

The Stock Market CRASH of September 29, 2008. Gordon Gekko would be in his finest hour. Money is being lost……………… and made on Wallstreet. Funny how when the real estate market has been sucking air, Wallstreet was packaging all the bad mortgages and selling them off. It took a few years, but now everyone has their pants around their ankles.

Now Wallstreet wants the common American tax payer to “bail the out” of this jam. Everyone is pointing fingers. Obama is blaming McCain and McCain is blaming Obama. I ran across an interesting video clip today that helped me see through this mess. See it here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

 

In 2004, it was brought to the attention of our congressional leaders and you can see the reaction in the video. In 2005, if I had walked into one of those Wallstreet Banks, they would have called security and had me removed from the building! When everyday Joe got into trouble with a mortgage they no longer could afford, Wallstreet could give a hoot! GREED as Gordon Gekko used to say! It won Michael Douglass and Academy Award, but in 2008 it is for real.

I’m certainly not an expert in what is going on. I certainly have had and like most of America am having a rough time with the real estate market. But what I do know is that those big banks went into this mess thinking they were going to make a killing. They wanted those restrictions lifted so they could loan more and more money. GREED. Now they lost money and need to be bailed out! What about the everyday American. How is this going to trickle down and help Average Joe?

I do know that banks are not lending! That is causing a real estate (and an everything) meltdown. But I will bet you this: WHEN those lenders get bailed out by the government / U.S. Tax payer, they will not be quick to loan money again. Why? GREED. The fix only works if money is bled back out into the streets. If Wallstreet is not willing to loan money on Main street, the bailout will fail. Gordon Gekko would have made a killing and would be loving this market…….. “Sport”

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Political, Property Tax, Sports, Uncategorized, florida, real estate, tampa real estate, tampa realtor | No Comments »