5 costly mistakes first-time buyers make

Buying a first home can be a daunting experience. Here are five common and costly mistakes that novice homebuyers make:

1. Ignoring the cost of a low credit score. Lower-score borrowers pay thousands of dollars in increased interest rates over the life of the loan.

2. Shopping for other things before closing. Lenders continue to check credit scores right up until the time of closing. Too much shopping could cause the lender to take back the loan.

3. Scrimping on an inspection. Expensive repairs can be financially devastating.

4. Buying without contingencies. Buyers should give themselves an out if the inspection turns up problems or if the bank raises their interest rate.

5. No money for insurance. Insurance can be surprisingly pricey. Buyers who don't budget for it face a nasty surprise.

Source: CNNMoney.com, Les Christie (04/19/2010)

One Week Left for Tax Credit!!!

There is only one more week to get under contract if you want to cash in on the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. Play the video below to learn more:

Golf is a four letter word

Yesterday's golf lesson went tremendously well! My friend Mark has a traveling kit complete with a surface to hit off of and foam golf balls. We setup shop on a median just off of Northside Dr. and he gave me two of the best tips I've ever gotten. I'd like to share them with you!

1) Realize that the angle of attack isn't 90 degrees so swing away from your body when making contact. When your swing is outside in, that creates a slice (I know there are dozens of other reasons for a slice). When you swing inside out, that should hook the ball or "power fade" if you want to sound better than you are. If 90% of my shots have a slice, I need to try to fade the ball by swinging inside out and that will help me discover the middle of the road and get more balls going straight down the fairway.

2) Don't swing behind the ball or even at the ball; swing in front of the ball! Watch the pros and you'll see they leave huge divots in front of the ball. The physics of the club and ball take care of the rest. I almost always top the ball and I thought that was because I was just missing it, turns out the club face was bouncing off planet earth before making contact. The goal is to hit the ball on the downward swing before hitting the ground and leaving a divot.

I've got the distinct feeling that I'm going to be a lot better on the course. Now the frustration of four putts will be twice as painful.. I shot a real 115 last time out we'll see where I end up this afternoon!

Happy to be Helped

I'm not very good at sports. Growing up I wasn't allowed to wear my glasses while playing sports because of the fear that the glass would break and poke my eye out. Really my Mom just didn't want to replace expensive frames. The problem has always been making contact with the ball. I never learned how to do it correctly, in any sport, because I couldn't see it. I had a good on base percentage because I got hit by a lot of pitches. Team player...

In my early twenties I graduated to contact lenses and was able to get a clear view of the field of play. Unfortunately, I still couldn't make contact! Besides this original handicap I've never really been in "shape" like a real athlete and I never got the help needed to get better. Trips to the golf range or batting cage were really just for fun and my bad swinging technique was allowed to manifest itself into a real habit.

Over the past six months, since I became self employed, I've begun working on my athletic physique. I run 2 or 3 times a week, bicycle everywhere and haven't wolfed down an entire pizza by myself. Let's just say, I'm living a more healthy lifestyle right now. I'm down some lbs. and have more stamina than I've ever had. Funny thing is, I still stink at sports.

I've been playing Pickle Ball (that will be it's own blog entry entirely) every Sunday for the last three months and increased my golf outings from once every other month to twice a month. I'm finally getting serious about my golf game which is dismal to say the least and feel competitive on the pickle ball court. Feeling competitive however, doesn't mean I'm nearly as good as the best on the court.

It's important to note that there is another secret problem that hinders my abilities - myself. I'm harder on me than anyone ever could be and it usually compels me to just quit. With the most supportive wife on the face of the planet in my corner, I've started to work on this last demon and am actually trying to get better.

My last golf game out I joined up with some dudes that work on the Navy Base. Clean cut, gentleman type guys that were pretty serious. All three of them at one point or another gave me huge compliments when I hit a good shot, offered simple criticism to tweak what I was doing right and continually pushed positive thoughts on me. I shot a 115, had fun and was truly grateful for their company. Usually if I play that poorly I'd come home and kick the dog (not literally) but on this day, I was content.

This past Sunday one of the Pickle Ball veterans pulled me aside and kindly explained that my serve (the best part of my game) was illegal. My side-arm serve was more over-handed than is aloud. I found myself in the heat of battle with 3 other extraordinary players and not only did they go easy on me, but they were supportive, made positive suggestions and helped me out quite a bit. Losing my secret weapon (cheating serve) made me a lame duck on the court but these guys didn't rip me a part, they helped.

Finally, my favorite bartender on this island gives lessons for C-Golfers or worse. I went to see him and asked about getting a lesson. He scheduled me in (taking away from his family time) and has insisted that he won't charge me for the lesson! I'll figure out a way to repay him but I'm just in awe of how friendly, helpful and supportive everyone has been to me in the last few weeks. I feel like everyone is rallying behind me and I appreciate it so much.

One last thing - I posted a message on my FaceBook page about getting a deal closed and I was inundated with positive comments and happy feedback. This is all just a little too much! I'm not used to this amount of kindness but I sure to appreciate it. Thank You Everyone! It means so much to me that I have so many fans out there and I look forward to not letting you down. I'm looking forward to my first golf lesson, wish me luck!

Shark Key Listing

I'd like to take few minutes to brag on my Shark Key Listing. Check out: www.12cannonroyal.com for more information.

This property is as solid and charming today as it was when it was first constructed. The same owners that built it, live there today which is a testament to the entire Shark Key community. Multi-million dollar homes owned by wealthy, upstanding citizens of our community live on this island and their property values have refused to buckle. While the $1.5+ Million Dollar portion of the real estate market has slowed, it's hard to find a property that has sold for less in this neighborhood.

More about the home itself: This outstanding waterfront 2-level CBS in Shark Key, a private, gated community in the lower Florida Keys, boasts stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico. Over 3,000 square feet of natural stone imported from Spain cover the floors, which by design have an open layout that will literally take your breathe away. Each living area seamlessly transitions to open lanais with unobstructed views of open water.

Designed to work in concert with the environment, the house is fully protected against the hazards of wind, water and weather. A solar powered hot water heater works in conjunction with energy efficient appliances, multi-zoned air conditioning complements rows of sliding glass doors and a cistern water collection system cooperates with landscaped irrigation. The concrete pillars raise the home above storm surges and the surrounding protected mangroves. With all of the windows open, ocean breezes easily circulate throughout making for ultimate comfortable relaxation.

The outside landscaping has been as meticulously kept as the inside of the home. Blooming flowers, lush vegetation and winding walkways blend harmoniously with native Florida Keys wildlife as they wind to the boat dock. There are no deep water canals on Shark Key, so only a small skiff can make use of this dock.

The entire property was designed by Thomas E. Pope, P.A., an award winning architect in Key West, and built by Brooks Thomas of Pinewood Construction in Big Pine Key, Florida. Master contractors completed the home in 1999 where the current owners have resided since.

www.12cannonroyal.com

Short-sale Foreclosure Resource

What does it mean to be short-sale, foreclosure resource certified? It means that I understand what the short sale lender wants, how to interact with them and how to navigate these choppy waters for all parties involved.

Just because you owe more on your house than it is worth doesn't mean you will qualify for a short-sale. Many agents don't quite understand this and they put your listing in the MLS, take offers, get under contract and then go forward with the short-sale lender. This leads to a time-consuming disaster!

The first part of qualifying for a short-sale with your lender is having a valid hardship. Lenders may entertain a short-sale if any of the following are true: job loss, business failure, illness and medical costs, divorce or death of a spouse and natural disasters.

Say you have one of those hardships, then we need to decide if you'd prefer to stay in the property or not. Either way you need to contact the lender and discuss your options. A lender could cut your rate, defer a few months of payments, take a deed in lieu of foreclosure, foreclose or entertain the short-sale scenario. At the same time the homeowner decides whether or not to continue paying the mortgage payment! This is a very sad thing to say but some lenders still won't seriously discuss helping you unless you've been late on some payments. Before you go down that path however, CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL, TAX AND LEGAL PROFESSIONALS!

There's a lot more that happens after you speak to the lender but too many variations to blog about. Foreclosure is bad, short-sales are a little better but no matter what, you simply have to use an attorney to cover your behind no matter what path you go down. It's also a very good idea to get the ball rolling before you blow through your savings or retirement. Once that money is gone, it is gone.

I am recognized by the National Association of Realtors® as being certified as a short-sale, foreclosure resource. E-mail me for more information. BrianTrible@gmail.com

CLOSED!!!

Great news, I've closed my first deal as a real estate agent! It's been a long road and I'm very happy to have popped my real estate cherry. I've done many closing before but as a mortgage banker. The buyers were referred to me by a loan processor at my former employer. Any buyer that gets pre-approved for a loan BEFORE speaking with an agent definitely has their act together. We started the search for their first home in early November of 2009 and they told me they wanted to close in Mid April. Five months later I got them closed on 4/15/2010 - right on the dot!

We saw a number of homes in Smurf Village and even made a few bids but those situations weren't quite right. So when a home came up for sale in Solana Village and the seller's agent was a fellow Coldwell Banker it all just clicked. We were under contract on 1/2/2010. This was a short-sale.

Fast forward two months and we had a "verbal approval" from the seller's lenders and then another month later we got it in writing. The seller had what I call "cement shoe syndrome" and became very lethargic about helping close the deal. My buyers on the other hand were rip-roarin' ready to go! Polar opposites, guess we should say they had "itchy feet syndrome" and felt the need to plow ahead with all sorts of plans, schedules and deadlines having to do with the home they didn't own quite yet. When the time came for an emotional seller to beg for "just a few more days to move out," the buyers were anxious about their own time line and upset. Emotions ran high on both sides, I got yelled at a bit but remaining calm proved to be the best strategy because in the end, it all worked out.

One down, thousands to go! I really do enjoy my new career. For the record, in the end my buyers were very happy with me and the service that I provided. I've gotten multiple thank you e-mails stating, "We couldn't have gotten through this without you!" They really were happy with me in the end which is a relief. Let's hope they send me a few referrals!

Sales Meeting Recap

Wednesday at my office is sales meeting day. It's a chance for all of the agents to declare "I have a new listing on Sunset Key" or "I have a pre-qualified VA guy looking for a $250,000 condo" and we help each other out. Then our office manager or the president of our company gives us a recap of the last month, quarter, year, etc. compared to the same time periods of years previous. There are two important things I took away from today's sales meeting.

1) Months of Inventory (MOI) at Coldwell Banker Schmitt is less than MOI at every other real estate company in the Florida Keys. This is because we sell our properties in an average time of 9 months while the average of all sales in the Keys is 24 months. The principle reason this happens is our global and national marketing tools are so much better than the competition that we just turn it around that much faster.

2) The average sales price is continuing to decline (now down to aprox. $416,000/unit). This is most likely due to the tremendous backlog of short-sale and foreclosure sales. There has been an uptick in the $1Million+ market and an even larger one in the $500k-$1Mil. This is averaging out against a melee of distressed properties selling at or around $200,000.

But what we can't decipher from numbers, equations and interpolations is the feeling in the market place. Every week I get one or two phone calls from potential buyers curious about the <$200,000 range and guess what - it's gone! Unless you are going to pay in cash and don't mind a serious fixer-upper then you may have missed the boat. Example one - Salt Ponds Condominiums: filled with working class owners and renters, there are eight units under contract between $150,000 and $200,000. Then there are two units for sale at $235k and $250k. If you want a unit in the Salt Ponds Condominiums then you have to pay $235,000. This is tremendously different than just 12 months ago.

Perhaps a better example is Smurf Village on Eagle Ave, Harriet, etc. Everything that is for sale is under contract except one that has been on the market for four days and has ten offers on it already. I'm not a big fan of Smurf Village but it represents a great opportunity to own real estate with a yard in Key West for prices not available anywhere else. The market is hot and listings go under contract in a weeks time. The sellers (usually bank owned) will take a lower cash offer than a higher offer based on financing (which would include appraisals, inspections, etc.).

It'll be interesting to see when the bank owned properties will start holding out for higher prices in these market areas. It looks like we are on pace to really lower the MOI through out the Keys and Key West which would change the supply vs. demand equation. My guess would be that we still have a 18 months before supply gets to half what it was at it's peak. The demand however, I don't have the foggiest idea when that will truly return.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels practiced for the Key West airshow this past weekend. While practicing, they zipped by my condo and I was able to get a few neat clips. I've complied the clips and posted it here.

About Me

I was born and raised in Danbury, Connecticut. Wasn't very good at competitive sports but played until High School. Music had always played a part in my early years but once I got to High School it took over my life. The Danbury High School Marching Hatter Band was in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1996 - it was very cold. We were behind the Lawrence Brothers float. "Whoa..." My sister had been in the hatter band in 1988 when they marched in the same parade! I was a part of the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and the Spring theater productions for all four years of High School. I graduated in 1999.

The next four years were spent obtaining a degree in Information Technology with a concentration in Graphics and Multimedia from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was an exciting four years filled with drinking, partying and never ending good times. I fondly remember joking with friends that "this isn't real life..." as we looked out over the Hudson River on a warm Fall afternoon. While my earlier years were fun, it all went by so quickly. In college I often stopped to appreciate my surroundings. When I graduated in 2003 my four year old nephew questioned why they didn't say "cum laude" after my name...

After graduation I wasted no time lining up my first "real job." I had a summer internship with "Central Hudson Energy Group" that turned into a two year stint while attending Marist. I joined the "Mortgage Lenders Network, LLC" in Middletown, CT. I learned first hand how every operation in a mortgage lender worked from the sales people to the underwriting to the closing table. It was fascinating, fast paced and strange all at the same time. I didn't mind my boss but she certainly didn't like me! My quarter-life crisis hit and in 2005 I found myself riding a motorcycle from Hartford, CT to Big Pine Key, FL. My week vacation turned into a permanent move.

I started off as a processor with "First State Bank of the Florida Keys" and quickly made friends and learned the ropes. Things in Key West move at about 1/5 the speed of what I was used to in New England. I was afraid that I'd either go insane or become lazy. Inevitably, both happened! Then I figured out how to work both sides of the equation where I got all of my work done and just watched others drop the ball. Once you release your angry emotions from a given situation, it becomes much easier to cope with ineptitude, stubbornness and pompousness. It's like a degree of apathy that allowed me to care but not get caught up in things that couldn't be controlled.

The apathy cocktail worked for a while until those above me were transferred, fired or just up and quit. Before I knew it I was responsible for people and things that were above my pay grade. I did the best I could and in general helped out quite a bit. Tough times fell on the banking world though and things got very stressful for everyone. I was unable to manage my people (not that I was a manager in the first place) and found myself working between 55 and 60 hours a week. I was always angry, always on edge and my lovely wife suggested that I find a new occupation before I had a heart attack. She saved my life, literally. I resigned from the bank in August of 2009.

I obtained my Real Estate License in one months time. The prep-course was next to impossible but I aced the test. I joined Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate Co. in September and have been quietly observing my fellow professionals and trying to pick up their good habits. I quickly discovered that business does not walk through the front door, you have to go out and get it. There are a million different ways to go about this and I've dabbled in a few. I think I've settled on Internet Marketing and am in the process of designing websites to help my cause. www.KeyWestCondoLiving.com is about 10% complete. Using GoDaddy Web Design has proven a bit tedious. The user interface is easy but things don't always work the way they should. This blog is also the beginning of one of my Internet Marketing projects. Now if I can just find people who want to read what I have to say....

What does the future hold? I'm not sure, exactly but my wife and I have high expectations. Our first goal is to be able to vacation for more than a week. We will try to spend 2-4 weeks in New England this Summer... That will be a major accomplishment. I told her though that if we are up there, she needs to get her real estate license too! Then maybe my domain name "TriblesofKeyWest" will make sense. At the very least, she needs to get on my business card with me, she's much more attractive than I am!

My First Blog

Hello! My name is Brian Trible and I am attempting my first blog. I have no doubt that I'll be able to create some really cool looking blogs chalk-full of interesting stories. I am however concerned that I'll end up with a blog that doesn't get updated nearly enough... Guess all we can do is try! I'm going to post this and see how it looks.