Florida Real Estate Blog

This ball has history.

I volunteered at the Arnold Palmer Tournament at Bay Hill that ended March 16th with Tiger rolling in a side hill birdie put to beat a field of

5 other individuals that all started the day tied at 6 under.

The history on this ball is this: Vijay Sing (one of those tied at the top) had chosen to do all his Range work from the Pro area at the back of the Range. Not very supportive of the fans if you ask me, but that is for another blog. Any way Tiger comes on the Range and takes a position next to Sean O'Hare (previous week winner of the Pods) and the fans went wild. So half way through his warm up Vijay launches a drive from the back tee that lands on the very front of the driving range and rolls up to within 4 feet of Tiger. I mean directly in front of him. I never saw him flinch or acknowledge it. The fans picked up on it only because a lady on the left side of the range was hit by one of Vijay's errant drives a few minutes earlier and many people where watching him. So one would have to ask in the macho world we live in, was Vijay sending Tiger a message? "Game On" if so Tigers none response on the range and his action on the course speaks volumes about our Champion. Let the Tiger walk go on and on and on.

Oh by the way I will offer this ball to the highest bidder.

The day was March 26^th time 7:50 as the 4 hearty lads met at Sweetwater Country Club the temperature was in the low 40’s but off they went. First hole was won by Lou with a bogie and then we moved to what has to be considered the 2^nd hardest hole on the course. Where Jim’s bogie provide him with a one stroke lead which he extended on number 3. Greg recorded the first par on # 4 and tied Jim with a bogie on # 5. Lou was hanging around looking to make a move while Charlie was enjoying a senior moment.

Jim recovered his two shot lead by the 7^th only to make the turn even with Greg after a great par was had by the Mann on the 9^th. Off to the tenth where Greg made birdie and Jim had to sink a 15 footer to limit the damage to one stroke. Chuck rolled a great put on #11 to record the only bogie of the day at that hole. Then Jim went on a par spree that allowed him to take a one stroke lead going to the 14^th tee. There the boys sprayed the ball all around yet our three contestants all scored bogie. Lou’s snowman was great with all the potential issues he faced coming down that fairway. The 15^th 3 par had a hole position that can only be described as unfair. Yet Greg did record a bogie while all others had 5’s.

So here we go again. Another nail biter as the boys teed it up on 16. Jim and Greg tied both hit good drives and then both popped their second shots to near the 150 marker. That is when the earth shook and The Gods stopped smiling on Mr. Mann. All that can go wrong within 150 yards of the green did so today for Greg. First he attempted to go over the tree that sits about 90 yards from the hole. That ball dropped straight down. Then he hit the last branch on the same tree and that dropped him in the bunker where he double hit the bunker shot and left a short chip on to the green. Oh this fickle game. Let the record show Jim 6 Greg 9 a three shot lead going to the 17^th. There another stroke was recorded by Jim as he went on to win the 10^th match. That means Jim 5, Greg 4 Chuck 1 and Jim has a 1 stroke advantage in a tie breaker.

Rolling Hills Thursday 3/20/08 after a morning of rain our boys approached the tee box with a light north westerly breeze. Tee time was 1Pm and Lou joined our fav 3. First 3 holes had all contestants showing why they deserver their 18++ handicaps. Yet all where within 2 shots of each other with many holes to play. We had pars by both Jim and Chuck but Greg won the front nine with a 46 followed by Jim at 49 Chuck at 51 and Lou at 55 on to the back. The back can only be described as Charlie’s Time. On the 13^th tee box the group did consider an exorcist to drive out the sprits that surely have invaded their good friend Chuck after he completed the Hat tick of paring 10, 11 and 12 of RHGC. He continued to expand his lead by great shot making and a very strong putter.

Standing on the 17^th tee box we all know he had many demons swilling in his head but he laced a drive off the left side of the green where his competition could do no more than place 3 balls in front of the right side bunker. He again laced a great drive down the 18^th while Greg found himself in between roots, rather than take a penalty and drop back he smacked a ball to the 150 mark there he hit one to the back of the green and scored a 6.

Charlie continues on down the fairway and was on the green in 3. Rolled his put up to the left and then the ball moved to cause him a 6 but the match was his. Great round CW he wins by 3.

That’s right in today’s real estate market with high inventory we must find a way to stand out to those limited buyers that are out there or create new buyers that have little or no down payments. Here is my suggestion and it also goes with the premise that this is only for the full price buyer.

We advertise 100% financing available with Seller contribution to Buyers closing costs. I know no body believes there is 100% financing available anymore. But it can feel like it is with an FHA loan. FHA allows for seller contribution to buyers down payment and closing costs. So for 6% Seller contribution that provides 3% for buyer’s down payment and 3% to their closing costs. To qualify the Home must be below $350k.

This separates you and those would be buyers with little or no money. Our Finance guy will quickly confirm if the buyer has the proper credit score to qualify and we will be off to the races.

So consider a home for sale for $300,000 today. It is not uncommon to see buyers offering 10% off asking price. It that was the case the Offer would be $270,000. If we

Use our marketing plan above offer comes in at $300,000 less the 6% seller contributions of $18,000. Your net grows to $282,000 before closing costs and you created a group of buyers that cannot afford any of the conventional mortgage homes.

You have done it. You’re Home and a group of buyers that can only buy a home like yours. Caution should be noted that an FHA loan does require an inspection at the same time as the appraisal so Sellers should be aware that after the buyer has their own home inspection done the lender could still come up with some issues that need to be repaired to qualify for the loan. They will also require that a home that has septic or well have those areas identified on the survey, so make sure you cover that with those individuals.

Success in 08….

3/6/08 began at 2Pm ish at Sweetwater Country Club. Greg sprang to the front by paring 1^st and 2^nd holes. He slid a little on number 3 when Jim & Lou pared while he bogied. The boys traded punches and arrived on the 9^th Tee box with Greg up by three. He blew driver OB but still managed a 7 on the hole with a towering shot from 148 yrds out. The turn was made with Greg up 2 on Jim. Then came the rains and winds, the contestants continued to play on through 10, 11 and 12 spraying balls everywhere. Walking off 12 he was up by 4 and looking strong. Bogies where had at 13 and everyone was wild on 14 but he gave one back to Jim. The 15^th was Greg’s with a par and he got one more on 16. So we step on the 17^th Tee box and one would assume the game over. Right? After all Greg is up 5. Well you know the Golf Gods do have their way with us. Greg’s drive finds the mulch by the cart path on the right side of the green. He attempts a chip that hits the concrete and bounces back and hits him and then rolls under a bush. He takes an unplayable lie and drops back from the bush where he chips close and then 2 puts for what he believes is a 6. Charlie (aka Cwillie) questions if there may be a penalty Jim believes there is if your ball hits your equipment but is unsure if the same applies for your person. They decide to continue with the score as provided until we can get a ruling.

They move to the 18^th where Lou hits the best drive of the day well over 250 yards as he is only 75 yards off the green. It was by far the best drive we have seen on this hole. Yet long drives do not always assure us of a win. Greg Jim and Lou all shared 5’s for the hole

That did provide Greg with enough strokes to offset a 2 stroke penalty so the CW sits tied with Greg and Jim each having 4 victories Greg picked up another stroke on the Tie breaker. So the chase continues but we have a week off as Jim and his lovely wife will be volunteering at the Arnold Palmer Golf Tournament. It should be noted that Cwillie did drive the ball quite well today, he must find a way to chip more balls in from the fairway, for he has no putter.  Let the history note the Ruling was supplied by no other than John Atwood, Past Club Champion at both Rolling Hills and Alaqua Lakes.