Florida Real Estate Blog

A great article was found in the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday May 18th by Vicki McClure and Mary Shanklin titled THE SUBPRIME MESS: IT'S ALL AROUND YOU. It is time well spent reading it. I hear time and time again the banks made the mess now they are paying for it, well it seems according to this article they moved most of the exposure off to investment brokers.  Yep we may find out that some of our long term investment hits we have seen this year are tied to the banks lax standards on loaning money.  It never fails to amaze me how money makes money with very little risk. I can go on and on but the reason for this blog is to offer direction to those that are caught in this Sub Prime mess.  Maggie and I have worked a number of short sales and we understand the emotional stress this puts families through.

After reading this article I learned a few things that I will share with future clients and I will share a few that the article did not address but I feel are very important when you are contemplating leaving the home you have a mortgage on. So here we go.

1.  Never ever leave the home. Once it is vacant the insurance company if they find out will either drop you or raise your insurance.  If they drop you or you stop paying the Bank will purchase a policy (that you will be billed for) that is at least double what you would have paid.  So never leave the home.

2.  Maintain the home and pare down to the bar necessities. Those are the bills you need to survive. Shelter, food and utilities.  Credit Cards will kill you with interest but those three are must haves.  Stop using credit cards.

3. Contact your lender or lenders better to talk to them before you miss a payment or after you missed one than waiting for them to catch you after 120 days.  You need help and they can offer work out plans.

4. Call a housing counselor: these are folks that will review all you financing and provide a plan. They are free.  If they want a fee you must flee. Please remember that there are bottom feeders out there waiting to work you over. Hope Now is an alliance of Nonprofit groups, lenders and others, offers its service free. Their hotline number is 888-995-4673 they staff it 24 hours a day and the counselors are all certified by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (not my research this came from the article).

5. Last beware of scams, people will come at you with many different ways to get out of this. If it sound to good it is.  Talk to Hope Now or a Lawyer before signing anything.

If this informed you or helped you in any way. Please drop us a email.  God speed you on this lovely journey.  We all have are valleys to pass through in life. Always remember it is one valley with many more opportunities to come.

May 29^th Sweetwater Country Club 7:15AM

After the major celebration for the first half the boys could not wait to get started as each one saw themselves lifted up before their peers as the Champion. The Pro Shop even took

Into consideration the intensity of the match and sent them off to start at the 15^th hole. This being a tough par 3 that requires a long and straight tee shot (just perfect for Mr. Mann the home favorite of the club) seemed a little strange to the rest of the field but it is clear Mr. Mann has the Pro in his pocket. That being said it seems the JR has the golf gods in his as he took a 1 stroke advantage on the field. 16^th and 17^th he picked up two more strokes and they made the turn JR up by 3 on Greg, and bunches on the pack as the boys struggled with some OB’s .

1^st hole was won by Greg and by the time they left 2 green JR and Greg where tied. CW’s beach encounter was a sight to behold but he righted the ship with a great putt on #3 for a par. Sweetwater is having issues with many of their greens and 5 green is a temporary patch of grass that reminded our Brit of his younger days playing some of the old course in England. JR recorded a par to extend his lead to 3. On to the par 3 where Mr. Mann with a masterful chip shot from the rough to within 6 inches for a par putt to draw within 1. The 7^th hole of SW has a tee box that confounds our boys, they struggle with getting the ball on the fairway and it cost them dearly. Lou rolled a great putt on 8 to par the hole to extend his lead on CW for that coveted 3^rd position in the match. Greg found the water on number 8 but rolled a long putt to escape with a bogy. The 9^th hole is a great finishing hole that seems to have Greg’s number as he blew another drive OB and proceed to provide JR with a 4 stroke lead as they advanced to 10; Lou was the only one to record a bogy on the hole.

Stroke count is JR up by 4 on Greg who is up by 8 on Lou followed by CW 6 back with 5 to play. Greg pared 10 with an outstanding chip from the bunker. 11^th Lou is the only one to record a 6. 12^th looked like Greg was going to get at least one back from JR until JR rolls a 25’ side hill putt in the cup. You know what happens then, Greg’s putt lips out and they share 5’s on to 13 where JR maintained his 2 stroke lead with another big putt for par. At the last hole all bets where off as Greg had to manufacture a Birdie looking for JR to bogy. Not the case today. JR pared for the win by 4 over Greg, followed by Lou 11 back and CW 7 behind Lou.

This begins the 2nd half of the CW Cup and the ground rules have been changed to allow for a more competitive final 20 matches.  JR with 10 wins had a large lead and it would not have provided Lou an opportunity to catch the leader. So once CW came up with the new points of 10 for a win 5 for second and 2 for Third.  Fourth would collect no points.  JR suggested that they just start of awarding those points to the individual that finished 1st 2nd and 3rd for the first half.  That gave them a small advantage but clearly gave Lou an opportunity to compete for the Cup. 

So they started the day with JR having 10 points, Greg 5 and Chuck 2. on to the first Tee. Tee shots where well struck with Chuck choosing to get his lay up out of the way on the tee box. That being said he did a great job in recording a bogie with JR and Greg, Lou followed with a 6. #2 Greg, Lou and JR shared 5's while Chuck hit the ball everywhere to record a 9 and on to the great road hole #3 there Greg and Chuck record pars while Lou is down for a 5 and JR blows a put for a 6.  The 4th had 4 great drives followed by CW blowing his OB he records an 8 while the other 3 register par.  Par 3 5th had 3 bogeys and JR's par. That would place Greg in the lead by 1 over JR, Lou 2 back of him with CW trailing Lou by 4. Par 5 6th had 3 bogeys and a SnowMan for CW.  The 7th had 3 bogeys and one double for JR. 8th JR got one back with a par while the rest of the field bogied. 9th was all Greg. Good drive followed by a great 2nd shot to with 8 feet. Side hill slippery put was drained for the birdie.  JR made par to stay within 2 strokes of our Leader Greg. He shot a 41 JR 43, Lou 47 and CW 53 on to the back nine.

For those of you who have never played RHGC the 10 tee box over looks a lake that can be a challenge. Today it was Lou's turn to meet the water gods. Yet he scampers down the fairway to record a 7 while CW records his first par of the day and says to himself and anyone else that would listen "GAME ON".  All four of the boys found the Gully in front of green and Greg hits a great shot from a plugged ball onto the fringe where he would make bogie while all others post 5 or worse. 12th has a temporary green on the practice area and no one knows the yardage, so of course they all leave 2nd shots short of green. I am sure by the time the CW returns we will be back over on the true green. Oh well it seemed like such an easy hole but none of us recorded par.  13th gave way to Par for both CW and Greg while Lou and JR missed puts and had to settle for bogie.  Lost ball on 14th provide JR with a 9 and he was out of the race for the win. Now he had to try to hold off hard charging Lou to secure 2nd place and Mr Mann seemed in total control until he posted an 8 on the same hole and came back to the field. 15th had big numbers for Lou and JR with trouble everywhere. JR is still shaking his head when his 2nd shot flying High in the air lands on the back of the green and finds its way another 30 yards OB. Not a happy man was he. 16 was all Lou as he hit driver to 190 and then a great 3 wood onto the green where he two putted for par to draw even with JR for the 2nd position.

Did I say Greg was our leader? Yes he still is and thank God it was a big lead because he blows one OB on 17 to record a 6.  Lou had challenges on the hole and posts a 6 to JR's 4 to provide a 2 shot cushion going to the final hole.

The 18th with the teeing area on the left is a challenge and many of our boys found the right side of the fairway.  Again Greg records a big number but he was too strong in the early going and holds on to win the first match of the 2nd half.  Let the record show  Greg 10 points  JR  5 Points, Lou 2 Points and CW 0..    For the season it is  JR 15 points Greg 15, CW 2 and Lou 2.  1st half champions dinner will be hosted by CW himself at his humble abode. JR can't wait for the parade to begin.....

May 15^th 2008 the competitors tee’d it up at 7AM on the back nine at Sweetwater Country club and within two holes the field was reduced to only two.

That’s right the name sake caved after a night on the town. So it would be a day as so many had been before fought head to head between Greg and JR. Remember JR has nine wins and only needs one more to secure the first half championship. So this would be a day for Greg to bring his “A” game, and he did. The first three holes where back and fourth but Greg was up by one going to the 13^th tee box where he crushed a drive to within 120 yards while JR scampered his way to the green in three but made his put to tie Greg who also pared the hole. Both boys hit great drives but Greg’s found sand on the left. JR was sitting up in the middle of the fairway 2^nd shots were struck and Greg had 170 to the green but a lot of trees to contend with, JR was 146 with clear path to the green.

Need I say more? Greg scored 7 JR 5 and he is up by one. He added to his lead with another par on 15 against a double bogie out of the bunker. So JR is long and in the middle on 16 with a 3 shot lead. Thinking he has this match in hand. Never “touch the money” the Golf Gods will not be mocked. JR duffs the next shot and Greg nails a great shot to 130. JR hits 3^rd shot to 30 yards off the green while green is middle of the green in regulation but still a very long 35 footer to the hole. JR is on in 4 and figures he may give one up here. Yet what do his shocked eyes behold but the Mann draining the 35 foot put for a birdie. Now JR has to get up and down in two or he will have lost the lead and his 3 stroke advantage in one hole. Oh this fickle game. So off to the 17^th all tied. Greg hits one close to OB on the right (very thin lie). JR is in fairway about 20 feet off the green. Greg chips his within 15 feet JR has 30 footer. Greg makes it, JR does not. So the 18^th tee box sees Greg up by 1. Both play the hole well but share Bogies. Greg records a 44 JR a 45 for the back. Both very good rounds for these boys. On to the 1^sttee,

JR’s driver and putter rewarded him with a par and yet all he could do was bring the match even after Greg played a great hole after a short drive. 2^nd Tee box is a visual challenge if you let it get to you and Greg almost found OB left yet he was able to advance the ball 40 yards with almost no swing at all. JR’s 2^nd had him at the 150 but trees to contend with. He makes 6 Greg records 7. Par 3 Third JR another par Greg bogie. JR by 2 but each hole is a battle. Drive on 4 where both excellent 2^nd shot from JR looks like it is going in but ends up 6 feet past. Greg hits 2^nd to 35 feet and lags the put up to record his Par. JR nails a slippery put for his Birdie. Both our boys tie on 5 and six

Then Greg our answer to Houdini executes the great escape on number 7. Nearly OB on left gully then blasts it over the fairway bunker on the left with a big jump and we figure that is OB so he hits a provisional (see CW it can be done). Well that stays in but he has to thread a shot through a group of trees, which he does but it ends up off the back of the green. So JR is thinking (I am going to extend the lead a lot here), not so. Greg chips that sucker in for a 5 and JR also records 5. On to 8 with a 3 shot lead. JR hits a lay-up and Greg nails his in the water. JR gets another stroke and now Greg has to pull everything out of his bag to extend the contest. He stands on his driver and crushes one OB. Game OVER. It has been a great for half that took 16 rounds to deliver a winner. Now Lou Buttice will join our band of merry men as they look to see who is the winner of the 2^nd half of the CW. JR and Maggie were seen Friday evening driving around Orlando looking for a Steak Place with the proper ambiance for their coronation.

May 2^nd 7:30AM.

There was a quiet stir in the air at 7AM and Jim looked at Maggie and said something is not right here at Rolling Hills. So off he rode in his trusty electric golf cart out amongst the fairways and greens of the back nine trying to find out what was amiss. Then coming around the corner on Wilford what does his eagle like vision see. None other than Greg Mann on the practice facility preparing for the days competition. Both had a good laugh, hit a number of shots and then rode off to meet Lou and CW for the day’s event. Lesson learned, JR knows when ever someone is on his private club, don’t kid yourselves he is always watching.

All played number one well tee to green with Greg taking the first lead with a par on the hole. Yet by the time we had played 5. JR was up by 4 and concern was felt by all. Yet Greg plowed away and left the 8^th hole only one down. 9^th ended in a Tie so we went to the 10^th JR up by 1.

Charlie challenged JR to place his first two shots in the water so he could come back. What do they say be careful of what you ask for. JR does drop a ball in the water but CW places his first two in the water. The only player that showed up on the 10^th today was Lou who recorded a par. Greg picked one up on JR but promptly gave 2 back on 11. The 12^th was CW’s attempt to replay TIN CUP. Let the record show a 12 on the card was not earned, but the divers next week will be pleased to see how many attempts CW made at flying the 120 yard expanse. 13^th where tied and then JR took gas and recorded a 9 while Greg scored a birdie (no style points awarded). Yet in one hole he not only caught the leader but took a 4 stroke lead with 4 to play. How sweet it is. But I did say 4 to play correct?

Yep, next hole Greg blows first OB then another short followed by another short of green, you get the picture he records an 8 while JR scores a 4 oh this fickle game we play. On to the 16^th and we have a tie for the lead while CW edges closer to 3^rd place in hot pursuit of Lou. Lou asked to comment, states not to worry he will not catch me. CW pars 16 and thinks he sees a light at the end of the fourth place tunnel. Yeh Yeh you heard the story of the train so I won’t go there. 17^th JR is up by 1 and hits it close and makes a 10 footer up hill. Interesting to note last two matches JR has distanced himself from the field with birdies on the 17^th. Sure makes for an easier ride down the 18^th when you have a 3 shoot cushion. So as it stands now, JR 9 wins, Greg 5, CW 1 and Lou soon to be posting

We have 5 matches left for the first half any combination of JR or CW wins will provide JR with enough wins to become the first half champion. So hang on anything can happen as it did today. The next 5 matches shall be interesting.