CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEW FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD LOAN OFFICER COMPENSATION REGULATIONS Boy, Where to begin on all this mess?        The Fed Rule On Loan Officer Compensation has prevailed. The NAIHP which is the National Association Of Independent Housing Professionals and The NAMB, or National Association Of Mortgage Brokers has lost their battle against the Federal Reserve Board. What that means is that the Temporary Injunction against this rule has been lifted, and as of this morning your world and my world has changed significantly. Now I understand that many people were not involved in this fight, probably because you really did not know what this means to anyone other than it was about some rotten mortgage broker getting paid more than they should be, or some loan officer hidden away... 04/06/2011

On Sunday night I was watching 20/20 and was in total jaw-dropping shock!  I knew that there were some financial issues with all of the bundled mortgages, etc... that occurred in our indusrty but this news piece BLEW ME AWAY! How ironic that a woman heading into foreclosure is a trained fraud expert - who specializes in document fraud! I thought that was pretty funny.  What she was able to uncover was incredible!  To look at some of the mortgage documents with fake / forged names, made up bank institution names and incorrect dates! Wow. I did feel bad, in a way, for the employees of the company that had people signing these "documents".  One person said they were expected to sign whatever name they were assigned 350 times an hour!  I was alarmed that they even had someone pose as a nota... 04/06/2011

Yesterday in Spring Hill Florida, the Hernando County Chamber of Commerce's "Hernando Marketplace" was greeted with a record turnout and perfect weather.  Local businesses, restaurants, and government agencies set up booths displaying their wares and services, and were met with record breaking crowds of residents. At noon, Hernando County's own Category 5ive, a well known local band began performing and became the center of attention for vendors and visitors alike.  Great music and entertainment, beautiful sunny day, and great food made the perfect combination for a community event in the heart of the Nature Coast of Florida. Dale Denis, saxiphone player for the band was wooing the young ladies in the crowd with his outgoing horn playing and everyone enjoyed the music.     Jeanne M. Gav... 04/03/2011

Okay fellow real estate professionals....how do you do it?  How do you take a vacation?  I mean an honest to goodness REAL vacation where you can lock up the cell phone, laptop, and not check email for up to a week. Is it possible?  I have a great team and I have fellow co-workers that I can count on for things that come up but I am always available to check in.  Just wondering how you all handle things.  My mind must be in "vacation" mode... with this gorgeous Spring weather upon us in Florida :) 04/02/2011

Rotary Club of Spring Hill Florida Brain Bowl 2011:  Challenger is the Winner! The Annual Middle School Brain Bowl 2011 sponsored by the Rotary Club of Spring Hill, Florida, took place March 26, 2011.  Five school teams from our local Middle Schools participated in this challenging contest.  Questions covered a wide range of topics from areas of literature, geography, biology, American and World history, math, and current events! As many parents, students, Rotary members, and other members of the public watched and marveled at each correct answer given, the team members endured tense moments sometimes scrambling for answers to quite challenging questions.  After six rounds of questions and answers, the team from Challenger K-8 emerged as the winners!  Powell Middle School, the 2010 Brai... 03/30/2011

SOLD!  Spring Hill Florida Home - Affordable Florida Living!  This 2 bedroom, 2 bath Spring Hill, Florida home was for sale and now it's SOLD!  SF living: 1436      SF Total: 2036      Built: 1980      Sales Price:  $63,000   This buyer was able to move from a rental property into her own home and reduce her monthly housing budget at the same time!  This what my buyer said before closing: "Silvia,  thank you for all your hard work on this purchase.  This is going to make such a difference in our lives.  I've accomplished, with your help, to tackle one big obstacle in my life that of affordable housing." If you are looking for affordable Florida living please contact me about homes for sale in Spring Hill Florida. 03/29/2011

Hectic Day?  Sit and smell the Roses enjoy the Tulips! It's been a hectic day indeed, starting out with a Rotary event I attended and then an open house in the afternoon.  Coming home, I still had phone calls to make and information to send out to some new prospects. Funny, someone asked me today whether I "worked weekends"... Well, yes... but there should be time to sit and smell the roses or at least enjoy the tulips since it's Spring.  This is a photo I took a couple of years ago in a public park in my hometown of Oldenburg in Germany.  It's my mental escape this evening to sit... right there on that white bench.... relax, and just enjoy the view!  Hope you will as well!  Have a great Sunday! If you are looking for homes for sale in Spring Hill, Florida and surrounding areas and are ... 03/26/2011

Spring is in the air! We are back to the reason people move to Florida - the weather!! I am talking about gorgeous blue-sky, sunny, high of 80 degrees, no humidity, and a light breeze. It doesn't get much better than this!A lot of people have heard about the Weeki Wachee River and the infamous Mermaid show :) at the park. However, some may not know about some of the amazing things you can experience just West of the park. Heading out towards Pine Island from US 19, and hang a left onto Shoal Line Blvd. and you will see a number of kayak and canoe rental places. There is one directly across the river from Rogers Park (a small county park with a bit of beach front). You can rent a kayak or canoe for $15 (for an hour) and set of in either direction on the river. You can head towards the Gu... 03/23/2011

Florida Statewide Open House - March 26th and 27th, 2011 - Are you a part of it?  This coming weekend, March 26th and March 27th, 2011, the second annual Florida Statewide Open House will take place.  In an effort to get potential buyers to come out preview homes and to give sellers the opportunity to showcase and expose their homes to a broader audience, Florida REALTORS will hold open houses for their listings throughout the state.  Buyers will have the opportunity to see many homes in one weekend in many different price ranges.  The open houses are being promoted through local associations and real estate offices.  On the days of the event, properties will be identified by blue ballons with the REALTOR logo. Some examples of Open Houses this weekend are: 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 2 Car Gara... 03/22/2011

The Fantasy African Violet Club in Spring Hill, Florida held it’s Annual Show and Sale last weekend. The show was wonderful and the African Violets were just gorgeous. The theme for this year was Fairy Tale Violets. This first show is of the show winners: Pretty Blues     Borders     Variegated leaves.   My favorites; the ones with green edges. This one is called Frozen in Time.   Actually, they're all my favorites :) African Violets are so beautiful and come in over 17,000 varieties these days. The Fantasy African Violet Club meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 1pm at the Life Parteners Center behind Oak Hill Hospital in Spring Hill, Florida.  Thad Scaggs is the president. Please feel free to join us if you have a love of African Violets and would like to learn more about how t... 03/22/2011

As of today...I am one of only 42 Realtors in the State of Florida with the designation of Certified Negotiating Expert!  Even better - I am one of only 2 in my county of Hernando with the CNE designation!  When customers hire a Realtor with a CNE designation they can expect; More confident, professional approach to your negotiations Strategic planning of your negotiations Stronger ability to resolve conflicts with all types of negotiators Faster sales cycle that means fewer days on the market Higher net profit Less stress and inconvenience Better results and greater satisfaction Not that I look forwaard to putting my skills to the test (who WANTS complex negotiations??) - I know that I have the training to go along with my experience for those complex negotiations that can come up in a... 03/22/2011

Wellington at Seven Hills, Spring Hill, Florida - Active Florida Living! The community of the Wellington at Seven Hills is a gated 55+ community located in the heart of Spring Hill, Florida.  The Wellington at Seven Hills is one of the newer communities in the Spring Hill area with homes built by Ryland Homes beginning in the late 90's and finishing in 2008.  Wellington Homes for Sale range from the low 100's for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home to the low 200's for a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage home.  Styles and amenities vary from home to home. Buyers have a choice of a variety of floor plans and also whether they prefer a maintenance free home for an additional monthly fee that includes such things as lawn service and periodic exterior painting, or a home that is considered... 03/21/2011

Spring Hill Library Celebrates 5th Anniversary! The Spring Hill Branch Library in Spring Hill, Florida, celebrated its 5th anniversary today!  It's hard to believe it's been five years since the library moved out of the "little red school house" building at Kenlake into its new facility on Spring Hill Drive.  Today, the Spring Hill library celebrated this event with special programs for children and adults.  Local organizations including the Friends of the Library, the Kiwanis of the Nature Coast, the Hernando Jazz Society, and local performers came together to participate in and sponsor the events. Since moving in its new facility, the Spring Hill Branch Library has served 900,000 patrons who combined have helped to circulate 1 million items!  That's a lot of people and lots of books, ... 03/19/2011

I can say that I keep up to date, for the most part, on things going on politically - both locally and nationally.  I have my personal views, which I typically keep to myself as political views tend to not mix with....anything! :) One of the local news stations here in the Tampa Bay, Floirda area did a segment on the taxpayer COST of voting.  It was very eye opening and something that I have to say I never gave much thought to.  The segment broke down the cost per vote (per voter) in various elections.  Now, some cities had to hold "special" elections and not being held at the same time as national elections, so there may have been a bit of a higher cost.  I have to honestly say I was shocked to find that in our greater Tampa, FL area it has cost taxpayers between $4.00 - $10.00 per vot... 03/17/2011

Thank you Jeanne Gavish from Nature Coast Real Estate School for providing this important information.   Florida Broker Candidates, Changes are coming in July 2011 by Nature Coast Real Estate School on March 16, 2011 Effective July 1, 2011, the Florida Real Estate Course and Exam are completely changing.  The good news for Broker candidates is...NO MORE COMPOSITE CLOSING STATEMENT!  This outdated accounting document accounted for 10 points on the course exam and the state exam and was never used in a Real Estate Broker's career.  It is being replaced with the newest version of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, the closing statement used in every sale where the buyer is procuring a loan.  Mathematic calculations will still be required, but they will be relevant to real estate transactions.... 03/17/2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Irish or not, here is just a little wish for you to enjoy your day and be happy today.  Remember, chasing rainbows does not always reveal a pot of gold, so stop along the way and count your blessings for the things you already have:  family, friendships, faith, health and good fortune. Happy St. Patrick's Day!   03/17/2011

SOLD!  Pool Home in Spring Hill, Florida! This well maintained pool home in Spring Hill, Florida has just SOLD!  3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2 Car Garage, situated on oversized corner lot with sparkling pool and enclosed lanai. Living area under heat and air:  1528 sf, total area under roof:  2414 sf. Meticulously maintained and move in ready, this Spring Hill home sold for $100,000 CASH!  This Spring Hill Florida home has found its new owner, are you still looking? Are you looking for homes for sale in Spring Hill, Weeki Wachee, or Hernando Beach, Florida?  Please feel free to contact me by email or phone, or visit my website.  It will be my pleasure to help you find your new Florida home! 03/16/2011

Florida's Real Estate Broker Exam is finally going through some long needed changes.  Florida is not an all Broker state.  A licensee begins his/her career as a sales associate, and until recently could become a Real Estate Bbroker in as little as a year.  As a real estate educator, I have participated in educational summits with the Division of Real Estate attempting to address and solve this issue.   The problem has been that there is really no true experience criteria to qualify to open a real estate firm except to have an active sales associate license for a year, take the broker course, pass the state exam, and a new Real Estate Broker could open a brokerage business in Florida. An active license does not mean transacting business  unfortunately, and the state was qualifying licens... 03/16/2011

I feel very blessed right now.....have you ever been in one of those time periods where everything is just "clicking"?  I have to say I am there right now!  I am busy - which is ALWAYS a blessing!  I have hired a buyer's specialist, I have an assistant in the office until mid afternoon, and have hired another assistant to work late afternoon into early evening, and I have a virtual licensed assistant (who is local and has worked for me in the office before).  Like I said - things are just "clicking". Now that the weather is gorgeous each day - it is the perfect time to head to our area and check out the great values!  I've been reading newspaper articles about some of the deals people from the Northern states and Canada have gotten recently....super great values that are not short sales... 03/15/2011

It appears that Agent Reviews will be the avenue for buyers and sellers to shop for an agent in the near future.  I learned at Convention last month that in 2007, 78% of consumers said they trusted peer  recommendations.  That number jumped to 90% in 2009, according to the speaker.  He sited that Amazon and Ebay purchases are based on peer recommendations.  If you go to google and type in the words "real estate agent" the top autopopulated word is "review".  Wow,the number one search for real estate agents! Zillow and Homes.com have both begun promoting agent review, inviting agents to solicit reviewas from past customers, and the zillow reviews can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, which also helps with self promotion.  www.incredibleagents.com and www.compete.com are two websites tha... 03/14/2011