Bryant Tutas's Page

Holiday Home Near Disney World. Come experience the dream.

2993 Kokomo Loop Haines City Florida 33844
Southern Dunes Country Club

This 3 bedroom 2 bath pool home is being sold completely furnished and ready for holiday rentals. World class 18 hole "links style" golf course is the center piece of Southern Dunes Country Club. Located only 30 minutes to Disney World this home would make the perfect Florida get away. Zoned for nightly rentals. Advanced bookings and management are in place for a turn key vacation home. Only $150,000

Buyers Beware....The asking price of the property means SQUAT!

As some of you may remember I was a HUGE fan of Range Pricing for many years. When we first opened Tutas Towne Realty 13 years ago Range Pricing was our UVP (Unigue Value Proposition).

I haven't used Range Pricing since the market changed in late 2006. It made a lot of sense when the market was moving upward. It doesn't make sense today.

You can see by the comments in this article that many agents didn't get it and some buyers didn't like it. But none the less it worked. My properties sold quicker and for more money using this technique. Fortunately for me I worked for the seller and didn't really care what the agents or buyers thought. I just wanted to sell the property for my seller.

In my market right now properties are selling on average for 102% of the asking price. So it's really no different than when we used Range Pricing. Back then, 2006 and earlier, my properties were selling for almost 104% of asking price.

In the current market, where banks are pretty much controlling things, the technique being used is pricing low and creating bidding wars. It's like the old days of Range Pricing. The only difference is there is no top of the "Range" being mentioned. 

Foreclosures and Short Sales are now selling with multiple offers to the highest bidder. What I was doing 15 years ago, that was very controversial then, is now the norm. Funny how that happens. I guess we were just way ahead of our time.

My advice to buyers now is the same as it was then. Make your offer based on the value of the property NOT based on the asking price. The asking price doesn't mean squat. It could be too low or it could be way high. Have your agent do an analysis on the property and then submit an offer that has a chance of getting accepted.

Buyers who base their offers on asking price instead of the value of the property will end up without a property to buy. This is true in ANY market.

By the way here's a link to a market analysis I did for one of our buyers. He was well informed and his offer was accepted. What say you?

Come and enjoy Paradise with me. Disney Area Real Estate is affordable again.

Have you ever thought about purchasing a holiday home in Central Florida? Florida may be known mostly for it's beaches but don't ever forget we have so much more to offer. Hundreds of lakes with some of the best bass fishing in the World. And of course Disney World, Sea World, Wet N Wild and Universal Studios.

Here's a little peak at my world.

Don't let "serious inspection issues" derail your deal.

Hi Folks. As we all know, nothing can derail a real estate transaction faster than a home inspection that uncovers "serious inspection issues".

Recently I had a home inspection done on one of my pending listings. It was an older property and I was a little bit nervous and hoping there wasn't going to be any major issues to deal with.

Anyway, shortly after the inspection was completed I get the e-mail from the selling agent to let me know we have "serious inspection issues." She also sent me a copy of the inspection report and the WDO (wood destroying organisms) report. Darn it!!! We have termites!,  wood rot and major AC issues.

Well, being the good little Broker that I am, I pick up the phone and call my "peeps", Wendal my HVAC guy, Dan the Termite Man and Khan my handyman and wood rot specialist. They all return my call within 5-10 minutes and stop what they are doing to go by the house and check it out. Within one hour, I have writen estimates from all three and time set aside on their schedules to get the repairs taken care of.

OK, now I'm prepared to call my Sellers. So I give them a call, explain the situation, go over the estimates and within 10 minutes I have authorization to move forward with the repairs.

Smartly, I had spent time during the listing presentation discussing inspections and repair issues and my Sellers were prepared. They understood that these were serious issues and would not just go away. So, they agreed to "let's solve the problem and close the transaction."

Now, a little over an hour after receiving the inspection report and e-mail from the selling agent, I give her a call. Folks, for some reason she seemed to be surprised that I called back so quickly, not to moan and groan about a problem, but to let her know the problem had been solved, repairs had been approved and scheduled and the signed repair addendum was on the way over from the Sellers. I think this REALTOR(R) will be happy to show and sell my listings in the future.

What could have been a deal breaker was not even a bump in the road. It was just a few calls to the right "peeps" and a well informed Seller. We were back on track.

Folks, it's all about educating your customers/clients and having people that you have worked with for years who are willing to drop everything and help you out when you need them.

So, have you built and nurtured your business relationships("peeps")? Are you in a position to solve problems this quickly? Are your Customers/clients educated and well aware of issues that my arise during the contract period? I hope so. There's a lot more involved with being a listing Broker...... than marketing.

Broker Bryant's Tips

1. Educate your Sellers at time of listing
2. Get estimates for repairs so the seller can make an informed decision. It's rarely as bad as they will imagine.
3. Have "peeps" that you can depend on. Make sure they get paid quickly. 
4. Repairs issues will not just go away. The seller will pay one way or the other. Best to just do them and close the deal.

That's it. What say you?

Bank of America and Equator. Are you frustrated yet?

Hi folks. If you deal with short sales on a regular basis then you probably know by now that most of the major lenders are now requiring the transaction to be processed through the Equator system.

Have you had the opportunity to use Equator yet? If so what was your experience? Did it help? Was it frustrating?

Supposedly the system is designed to "reward" due diligence. In theory, agents that are on the ball and perform their tasks not only on time but completely will be "rewarded" by having their short sale file move through the Equator system faster.

If the system truly work this way then personally I see it as a good thing as I am a very organized person. But I guess time will tell.

Anyway......here's a question for you. If you were able to ask the CEO of Equator a question what would it be?

Ask your questions in the comment section of this post and maybe.... just maybe....we'll get them answered for you. 

And check out the Equator Group over at www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Wendy Rulnick and Bryant Tutas
www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com

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