The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

The Sarasota real estate market continued an amazing streak in July, with members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® closing 911 sales during the month - a 30.3 percent increase over July 2012, and 3.2 percent higher than the June 2013 total. The first seven months of 2013 are still tracking to make the overall year one of the biggest in SAR's history. The other major news of the month was the major rebound in the median sale price for single family homes. The price went from $200,000 in June 2013 to $227,500 in July 2013, a 7.2 percent increase. For the 12-month rolling median price, the single family home figure was at $195,000, a 16 percent increase over last year at this time when the rolling median price was at $168,500. If current trend levels continue, this will be the biggest year-to-year increase for single family home prices in four years. "With sales up dramatically and prices also trending upward, the popularity and strength of the Sarasota market is unquest...

Here's an  update on the Sarasota real estate market  - quite upbeat! See also  here.

A good turnout at the quarterly meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community this evening. Here are the highlights: Median Beautification A question arose as to when dead trees in the medians would be replaced. Our Beautification Chair will be contacting the county, which had indicated this would be going forward once the rainy season was underway. Community Safety Ted reports that there were an unusual number of incidents in April-May, but things have quieted since then, perhaps because a perpetrator was arrested. Ted also described a "block-watch" approach to neighborhood security - more on this if and when it develops. Meanwhile, Citizens Patrol is still active, and folks are advised to lock cars in driveways, and use alarms. Bee Ridge Improvement on Track The Bee Ridge Widening has been funded by the County , and construction should begin in Oct. 2013. An important meeting with the Community will take place later this summer - possibly in August - offering resident...

This video from Sarasota County shows what can happen when unlicensed contractors are used to make "improvements" to a home:

An update on recent home sales in Lake Sarasota from Sandy Allen: We didn't get a chance to talk about what's going on in LS with real estate so I thought I would email it too you in case you wanted it for the blog. There are currently 16 homes for sale in Lake Sarasota from $75,000 to $195,000. Of those, 11 are short sales. The average cost per square foot under air is $93.02. There are 13 homes pending sale (have contracts on them to buy). Twelve of those are short sales. Twenty-four homes have sold in the past 3 months. Two were REOs and 9 were short sales. Those sales ranged from $55,000 to $159,900 and averaged $81.08 per square foot under air. If you would like to find out an average of what your home would sell for in todays market, take your homes air conditioned space and multiply it by the average. If you're not sure how many square feet you have, you can look it up at http://www.sarasotaproperty. net .-- Just in case anyone is interested:) Sandy ...

According to a recent market report by Realtor Mickey Schweitzer , who has been very active in our area for many years, Lake Sarasota's zip code, 34241, ranked 7th county-wide in housing price increases over the previous 12 months. The area saw an average upward price change of 6.9% for single family homes. The hottest zip code was 34242 (Siesta Key) with an average price jump of 21.7%. Other zips, such as 34229, declined by as much as 23%, and the county as a whole averaged an increase of 9%. Zip code map .

From the Herald Tribune : Florida expands foreclosure mediation program The Associated Press Published: Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 7:21 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 7:21 a.m. TALLAHASSEE - Pre-foreclosure cases are being added to an experimental mortgage foreclosure mediation program that operates in six of Florida's 20 court circuits. The Collins Center for Public Policy, a Tallahassee think tank, runs the program and announced the expansion Friday. Government-backed mortgage giant Fannie Mae has directed its loan servicers to participate in the pre-foreclosure mediation. Program director Ned Pope call it a "game changer" that will save homeowners, lenders and the courts time and money. The program operates in two circuits covering 10 western Panhandle counties and four circuits serving Miami-Dade, Hardee, Highlands, Polk, DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties.

At the last meeting of LSCG, Sandy Allen spoke about how low-priced homes in Lake Sarasota are being snapped up, but banks refuse to work with families who live in them. In line with that, here's a story from NPR about Wells Fargo foreclosing on homeowners , then selling their home to "an investor" for 1/5 of their mortgage, who flipped it two weeks later.

At the Dec. 9th meeting, the Lake Sarasota Community Group (LSCG) now has $442.14 in the treasury after making a donation of $1000 for our Adopt-a-Family project. In other business: 1. No Santa Claus :The group decided not to ask the local Firehouse to do a Santa visit this year, since the time to advertise the event was very short. 2. Meeting Schedule : The group decided to move to a quarterly meeting schedule, with other meetings possible if circumstances dictate. The next meeting will be the second Thursday in March: 3.10.11. 3. Real Estate : According to Sandy Allen, there are now fewer homes in foreclosure in Lake Sarasota than there were. Also, an investor is said to be interested in purchasing homes on a short sale basis. Sandy says any homes listed for $100K or less are drawing numbers of interested would-be buyers. Sandy promised to update us on the situation at our next meeting in March. 4. CrimeWatch: According to Ted, there were fewer incidents in November. 3 burglaries, ...

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Attorneys advise clients to stay in their homes SARASOTA COUNTY - Phil Agnes and other lawyers have two words for homeowners facing foreclosure: Stay put. The flood of foreclosures has clogged the courts, allowing homeowners to stay in their homes while the paperwork goes through the system. Many homeowners are unaware that they can remain at home for months while the foreclosure is in court, attorneys say. More... HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS An expo at Venice Community Center on Aug. 1 will bring social service providers together to help homeowners facing foreclosure. The expo will offer information on consumer credit counseling and avoiding scams. Representatives of lenders will also provide information about loan modification options. The expo will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 326 S. Nokomis Ave. It is organized by the Sarasota County Human Services Department.

Potential Savings on Your Homeowner's Insurance…ACT NOW deadline extended to July 31st! Recently in the media, there have been talks about the My Safe Florida Home free wind inspections. What the inspection offers is a free wind inspection for any Floridian whose residence is a single-family, detached, site built home. Unfortunately mobile homes, manufactured homes, apartments, condominiums, multi-family dwellings and businesses are not eligible for the free inspection but you may schedule one at a cost of $150.00. The legislature's goal of scheduling 400,000 free wind inspections by early August is on schedule to be met. New applications are still being accepted for the free wind inspections and are offered on a first come first serve basis. You can apply over the phone at 866-513-6734 or online by following the link at www.mysaf eflorida.com . One of the benefits of receiving a free wind inspection through this program is identifying the potential insura...

SARASOTA COUNTY — More than $10 billion bled from the county’s tax base last year, a decline that translates into a tax cut for many, but more layoffs and a $40 million budget shortfall for the county. The biggest drop came in North Port, where more than $2 billion was shed from the city’s tax base. That amounts to one third of the taxable value of all homes in the county’s second-largest city. Venice’s tax base contracted by 18 percent, Sarasota’s by 13 percent and Longboat Key’s by 10 percent. Part of the drop stemmed from voters approving Amendment 1 on Jan. 29, doubling the homestead exemption to $50,000. Most of the county’s 17 percent decline in taxable values came from a reduction in property assessments because of the slowdown in the real estate market. See also: Florida's Save Our Homes tax benefit loses luster How could Save Our Homes, designed to lower taxes, permit a tax increase at a time of falling home values?

This offers useful tips on short sales: Dear Homeowner, For each short sale, there will be required paperwork that must be obtained from the Seller. We need to obtain this information as soon as possible. This will make your transaction run a lot smoother. See below the list of required short sale documents: o Listing Agreement with price included and comps to justify listing price. o Purchase Offer/Contract o Buyers Pre-Qualification Letter o Authorization to release information ~ This document gives permission to the agent to speak on the sellers behalf and to obtain information. o Financial form ~ List of itemized assets and liabilities. o Two year’s most recent tax returns. o Two months most recent paycheck stubs. o Two months most recent bank statements. o Hardship Letter explaining why the borrower fell behind/ can not afford to sell/ which documents may be missing from the package o Completed Hud1 or Seller’s Net Sheet ~ (Utilize your favorite title company o provide preliminary...

Sandy Allen has shared some useful numbers for homeowners seeking to discuss mortage terms or mitigate losses with their mortgage lenders: Washington Mutual – Loss Mitigation Phone: 800-496-9633 Phone: 904-281-3900 Collections Department Phone: 866-356-5789 Foreclosures Departments Fax: 818-775-2010 Chase – Loss Mitigation Phone: 510-652-0401 National City Mortgage – Loss Mitigation Phone: 937-910-3563 Bank of New York – Loss Mitigation Phone: 212-495-1784 Fax: 212-415-2035 Home Side – Loss Mitigation Phone: 904-281-3900 Wells Fargo – Loss Mitigation Phone: 888-231-0757 Loss Mitigation: 877-216-8448 Borrower Assistance: 800-551-9808 Homeowners in Foreclosure: 800-868-0043 or 800-352-7654 Whitney National Bank – Loss Mitigation Phone: 800-347-7272 American General – Loss Mitigation Phone: 770-614-6005 Citi Mortgage – Loss Mitigation Loss Mitigation: 800-682-2286 Foreclosure: 877-202-3846 Loss Mitigation: 866-357-6015 Loss Mitigation Fax: 248-488-7727 Workout Fax: 248-488-8357 Loss Mitig...

The Jan. 29th Florida Tax Amendment is now being debated, but the details are still unclear to many. Below are a few links that might help: VoteSmart Voter Guide News Summary of Amendment, debate Florida Tax Watch Explanation Florida Tax Watch Discussion More material from Florida Tax Watch This story is still developing, and coverage and commentary will intensify over the next three weeks. Stay abreast of the news by googling the Florida Tax Amendment . The Tax Amendment will be discussed by the Sarasota County Tourist and Economic Development Board: Please join Sarasota County's Tourism and Economic Development Board on Tuesday, January 15, 6 PM, Nokomis Park Community Center, 234 Nippino Trail, Nokomis in presenting a panel discussion to educate our community on the upcoming January 29th Referendum! Forward to friends and all interested parties! Please call Carolyn Keber if you have any questions: 941-861-5075. Hope to see you there!