Samantha Vetter's Blog by Samantha Vetter

New Tax Reform - Love It or Hate It!

Well it is two weeks since the Florida Legislature reached a decision on Florida Tax Reform, and nearly a week since the first phase was signed in, and already the lines are being drawn. I have heard, and read, numerous opinions with regard to how this is going to affect the home owners in Central Florida. Will it affect schools, numbers of police men and women on the street, our safety, etc. So I thought that maybe it was time for me to add my thoughts. I am from England, where they wrote the book on tax, property and otherwise, so I do have a slightly different view of the tax reform bill. So this is the way I see it. Basically something had to be done in order to help families that have got into properties that they can no longer afford, also to help those that find themselves paying taxes on properties that have been assessed at way more than the property is now worth, to slow the number of foreclosures, and to hopefully jump-start the housing ..(read more)

Is the housing Boom over for Florida?

Are the days of the housing market boom over in Florida or is it just a phase? Right now I believe that the Florida market is in a huge slump. Currently there are so many factors affecting the Florida housing market. I’m going to blog for the next few days on some of the different issues that Realtors are currently facing in Florida and even some local policies that are affecting Realtors in Osceola County. I’d like to start an open discussion with Florida Realtors on how we are all being affected by these issues. If you have found ways to deal with specific topics please share your ideas. The topics that I would like to cover are listed below. Issues affecting Realtors in Florida Property Taxes – Up and up, when will the legislature decide what to do? Weather Patterns – Hurricanes, tornadoes, bad weather. Property Insurance – Up and up, Insurance companies pull out, stop issuing ..(read more)

60 Minutes - Chipping away at Realtors' six percent

For those of you that did not see the totally unresearched "slashing" of Realtors' that aired on 60 minutes Sunday May 13th 2007, this blog entry is in reponse to the criticism. Read Story My response: There are "bad apples" everywhere, and it only takes one to give us all a bad name.

For the true dedicated Realtor, we are in the business to do more than just list and sell houses, and make tons of money (which is a total myth), we are in it for our clients. I treat all of my clients as if they were members of my family.

Writing correct contracts is also very important. I know it is not rocket science, but one tiny mistake can be the most expensive mistake they could make in their lives.

As far as Internet shopping goes, I do believe that the way forward is buyers INITIALLY looking on-line, but there always comes a time when that buyer is going to have to look and touch their possible new home. Buying a new home is ..(read more)

The Most Asked Question

The American dream is to be able to own a house of your own. To be able to do this is sometimes a long and frustrating process. As a Real Estate Agent, one of the most asked questions, particularly from first time home buyers is "How much money can I borrow" or "What will the mortgage on that property cost?". And to both these questions I have one answer "That depends on your circumstances". I have and excellent Mortgage Broker who does her utmost to place all of the mortgage inquiries that I pass to her. However there are those clients that do not have a good credit score or enough money to put down. With those clients their next question is "Well what can I do to get me into a position to be able to get the house of my dreams", and there are many answers to that question. Really it is about a 6-12 month process. I found this article on MSN, which answers that question, in a very ..(read more)

Is now the time to buy Investment Properties?

This is a conversation that I was having with a couple of the agents in my office yesterday, and they are not so sure that the time is now. This morning I got to thinking, if the property market is flooded with investment properties, that were bought to be rented out, and with the cut rate mortgages a lot of the renters, were able to buy homes of their own, how long are we expected to let our investments stand empty? Well the answer could be that they will not be empty too much longer. With all the foreclosures that are coming on every day, there are numerous unfortunate families with no homes, and where are they expected to live? They are going to need understanding long term landlords, who can realize that they are not in this position through any choice of their own, and need help re-building their credit and their lives. Properties, especially investment properties, are at an all time low, and they may be empty when you buy ..(read more)