Winston Trails Rentals

In a bit of a rare occurrence, there are currently NO WINSTON TRAILS RENTALS on the market!

If you are thinking about renting your Winston Trails home please give me a call soon as we have several clients looking for rentals.

As I am sure you know, Winston Trails is in a very desirable school district and this is the time of year that families with school-aged children tend to move.

Thanks for reading,

Steve Jackson

561 602 1258

Beware of what you get in the mail!

Us poor Winston Trails residents…we get bombarded by real estate agent postcards almost daily. Some of them look really nice, and you see those smiling faces every week. Lots of tactics and gimmicks…but you assume that the information is for real…don’t you?

Well, the latest salvo touts a “SOLD FOR ASKING PRICE” in bold letters. Now, even if I wasn’t an agent I would assume that to mean that the asking price is what the home sold for…seems plain enough. But the home in question was on the market at $250,000 and sold at $245,000. Close…no big deal, right?…but not what was advertised.

 

 

 

Another very important ‘missing’ element was that this home, not a short sale or foreclosure sale, sold for only $122/sq. ft.! When the average Winston Trails sale in the past 6 months (excluding foreclosures and short sales) was $143/sq. ft.…

That’s 15% below the average price/sq. ft. in Winston Trails…You’ve got to believe that any agent…even a brand new one, could sell a home at full price (or close) when it is priced 15% below the average price/sq. ft. This home, in perfect shape, at average price/sq. ft. would have brought $285,000. I personally know that the home needed $20,000 +/- in updating, etc…but it sold at only $245,000.

Just a warning…be careful what you believe in regards to all of the real estate related mailings you get. If it seems too ‘slick’, ‘gimmicky’, etc…go with your gut.

Thanks for reading,

Steve Jackson

561 602 1258

email me

Rialto, in Jupiter

If you are in the market for a newly built, 6 bedroom, pool home in Jupiter then this home in Rialto that we are marketing is perfect! Just click on the video below.

This is also a great opportunity to view the quality of our marketing if you are thinking of selling your home. Our video is an actual professionally done video...not a bunch of still photos put to music like most agents pass off to their clients as a home video.

Winston Trails Homes Sales 2014

Sorry that it’s taken me until March to recap the Winston Trails market for 2014…but here goes!

In 2014 there were 138 Winston Trails homes sold. Take a look at my graph to see the sales by year since 2001and how 2014 stacks up.

• Those 138 homes totaled over $41,000,000 in sales value.
• Average days on the market was 72
• Lowest sales price was $152,500
• Highest price was $441,500
• The average list-to-selling-price ratio was 97%
• 24 of the 138 were bank-owned sales (foreclosures)
• 5 of the 138 were Short Sales
• 99 of the homes sold offered 3% commission or greater to the buyers agent
• 37 of the homes sold offered 2.5% commission to the buyers agent
• The remaining 2 homes offered 1% (and sold at only 89% of asking, 8% below the average)
• 2 Sellers offered agent bonus money ($1,500) and sold at 98% of asking

Below is a breakdown of the sales by sub-association:

• The Greens: 21
• Bay Meadow: 12
• Shadow Creek: 10
• Prairie Dunes: 10
• Turnbury: 9
• Newport Village: 8
• Sand Hills: 8
• Indianwood: 8
• Las Colinas: 7
• Golfview Village: 6
• Bay Hill: 5
• Catalina: 5
• La Gorce: 4
• Muirfield: 4
• Oakmont: 4
• Lake Shore: 3
• Bermuda Dunes: 3
• Barton Creek: 3
• Lake Nona: 3
• Wedgewood: 3
• Fairway: 2

In subsequent posts, I’ll dig a little deeper into the data with other related information and analysis.

Thanks again for reading!

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

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Lost Quad Copter

My son lost his quad copter on Saturday 3/7….it took off in the wind!

Reward offered

If you find it please call 602.1258…it will make a 9 yr old (and his dad) VERY happy!

Another Winston Trails seller doesn’t know why their home isn’t selling!

Sellers (and those thinking about selling)…the agent that you select had better have good attention-to-detail or you could sit around with no sale and never know why (as the agent asks for price reductions!)

Above is just the latest, of many, egregious errors I have seen agents make on their Winston Trails property displays that greatly affect their client…without their client EVER KNOWING!

Be careful how you select your agent…sometimes you don’t know you’ve selected the wrong agent until it’s too late…and some times you’ll NEVER know the things your agent did (or didn’t do/know) that ended up costing you money and time.

We have sold close to 500 Winston Trails homes…not to brag, but we know how to get the job done.

Thanks for reading,

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

Send me an email

Super Bowl Sunday in Winston Trails, gate access

This is a reminder to preauthorize any guests that you may be expecting for Super Bowl Sunday. Please preauthorize your guests by calling 561-968-0140.

Long lines are expected at both gates so please preauthorize your guests now. Make certain your guests know your full name and/or address to provide to the gate officer along with their Photo ID. The gate officer will attempt to contact the homeowner one time by telephone if an unauthorized guest is at the gate. If you can not be reached with one call, your guest will be denied entry.

If you expect to have more than 10 guests in one day, you may enter your guests in the EVENT section of the on-line guest authorization. Instructions for the new on-line guest access are below:

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Using any standard web browser navigate to www.GateAccess.net. At the login screen, select your community code from the dropdown list (typically the abbreviation of the community name), and enter your home phone number (10 digits ONLY, without spaces, dashes and parenthesis). Your code number can be obtained from the management office or security. Once done, click on the LOGIN button. Upon a successful login, the OVERVIEW page will open up, with community news and important phone numbers.

HOW DO I NAVIGATE THE WEB SITE?
On the upper part of the screen you will see a tab selection bar that allows you to access the different parts of the system Click on the desired tab to review and edit your information.

At the bottom right corner of each page you will find a HELP button. Clicking on that button will generate a pop-up screen detailing information regarding the open screen. Use this information for help or questions regarding editing, deleting or adding data.

While editing your guest list or emergency contacts, for example, is authorized by the community, other areas of the system are
viewable-only. For example, the list of entries to your residents or the description of your vehicles and access control devices are
only managed by the system data administrator (typically the property manager).

HOW CAN I CHANGE MY USER NAME AND PASSWORD?
Navigate to the LOGIN INFORMATION tab and enter a user name that you’d like to use as well as a password that you will remember. If the user name that you selected is already in use, the system will let you know so you can pick a different one. Follow the guidelines on the page in order to select a valid user name and a strong password.

If you have any questions regarding the DATA itself, as it appears on the web site, you will need to contact your property management company, as we only provide the facility to update information and do NOT have access to the actual database. If you have questions regarding the website itself, or need further help with specific tasks, please write us at Support@abdi.net, and an Engineer will get back to you. Do not forget to specify the name of your community, as well as the description of your problem and your contact information.

Have fun…and GO SEAHAWKS!

Steve

Winston Trails, Lake Worth HOA Meeting

There is a Winston Trails Foundation, Inc. Board of Director Meeting scheduled for January 22, 2015 at 7PM. The meeting will be held at the Swim & Racquet Center. Homeowners that are recorded on the deed registered with Palm Beach County are welcome and encouraged to attend the Board of Director meeting. If you are a tenant or if you are NOT a recorded homeowner in Winston Trails you will not permitted access to the meeting. Homeowners must sign in and may be required to show photo identification for entry. Sign-IN will start for homeowners at 6:30 PM.

Agenda:
Call to Order
Establish Quorum of Directors
Roll Call
Disposal of Previous Minutes
President Report:
• Smart Parking
• Trap System for Hypoluxo Gate
• Bar Cost Increase
• Tree Trimming – Common Areas
• Update on Bulk TV Contract Renewal
• Dangerous Dog Resolution
Treasurer Report:
• Year End Report
• Capital Contribution Report
Old Business:
• Homeowner Participation at Board Meetings
New Business:
• Gatehouse Renovation
• Camera Upgrade
Open Forum
Adjournment

I strongly encourage all Winston Trails residents to get involved with the running of our community. I, personally, have taken on the responsibility of Vice President in my sub-association to be able to directly contribute to the betterment of Winston Trails.

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

email me here

Winston Trails resident gate access system information

All Winston Trails Homeowners,

There is a new way for homeowners to update gate information including telephone numbers, permanent guest lists and pre-authorize guests. You will even be able to enter your own guest list for an event you may have planned.

HERE is a PDF of complete instructions for GateAccess.net. The instructions will help you log on to the web-site.

Currently the vehicle information and the entry log features are not activated but all other access is available.

The Community Code is WT. Your User Name is the primary telephone number we have listed on the gate system. Your password is the PIN code you currently use for the automated call in system.

The automated call in system is still available for your use.

Please contact the management office for assistance with the new system (not the gatehouse).

We will update you here when new features are available. Thank you, For the Board of Directors of Winston Trails Foundation, Inc.
Campbell Property Management

Bad Credit? Had a short sale or foreclosure? I can help you buy a house!

This week I had a meeting to discuss the details of the launch of a new type of lease-option program for my clients.  This is very exciting news for the thousands of buyers looking to do a lease option and provides them with the ability to lease option a very wide range of homes.
Our program is unique as it allows people who would not qualify for traditional home financing due to a short sale, foreclosure, or credit issues to select the home they would like to buy at some point, have our investor purchase it, and have a long-term lease with the option to purchase WITHOUT having to make the typical large, non-refundable option payment.
Since the market crash I have had dozens and dozens of people asking me to help them find a seller that would do a ‘lease-option’ or hoping to find someone to owner finance. This has always been (until now) a very difficult goal to accomplish as the minute number of sellers that would consider a lease option for their home are looking for a significant non-refundable deposit. 
These clients, and thousands more like them, are not able to buy at the present time for any number of reasons, but need the security of a long-term housing solution and typically are very specific about the school district they need to be in. They don’t want to pursue a standard rental and the uncertainty that comes along with it…the owner can decide to not renew the lease, sell the house, or even let it go into foreclosure forcing the tenant to move every year and uprooting their family over and over.
What makes my new program so unique is that, once approved, the buyer/tenant gets the ability to go and shop for the home they want to eventually buy (within their approved budget) and once a home is identified, our investor, with my assistance, purchases the home as a cash sale for the buyer/tenant.
After the normal inspections, the sale can close quickly as there is no financing involved. Sellers who may have been unable or reluctant to do a lease option themselves get the benefit of a quick, cash sale.  The buyer has the flexibility to move in with much less than the typical lease option would require too.  A security deposit, and first and last month’s rent is typical.  Much less than would be typical for an owner financed purchase.
Right now in Palm Beach county there are under a dozen homes that have offered non traditional financing, or lease option programs (and they require a big, non-refundable deposit).  But now I have a way to satisfy sellers looking for a hassle free sale, and to help buyers that are looking for a lease option program.
The basic criteria we look for with the buyer is steady income, no serious criminal history,  and a minimum household income of $50,000. With regards to homes that qualify we allow homes priced up to $500k and homes that are in good school districts.
If you think that this program may work for you, give me a call right away at 561.602.1258 to set up your initial meeting.  Regardless of credit issues, a prior short sale, bankruptcy, or even a foreclosure this could be a new way to get your family’s next home. I am very excited to have this great option to give families the housing stability they need in the school districts they want with the prospect of buying their home in the near future!
Call me today to see if you can pick out your new lease-option home!
Steve Jackson
561.602.1258

Seller Beware!

Oh boy… In a sale reported just today, an agent who priced an Antilles model (1 story/4 bedroom) with a pool @ $268,000 sold that home at $268,000 in the first 3 days…WELL BELOW what it should have sold for.

It was not a foreclosure or a short sale…and this sale certainly hurts any seller of a similar home.

A good lesson here for my Winston Trails neighbors…There is NO substitute for experience and knowledge. In order to get full market value you need to be given honest and informed advice. Underpricing or overpricing will invariably effect your final selling price to the negative.

From just a cursory look at this home, with my estimated $4,000 of “TLC” this home should have sold and appraised in the $290’s!

This seller probably gave up close to $25,000…was it because of bad advice?

If you are thinking about putting your home on the market after the holidays…please give me a call.

Thanks for reading,

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

Email Me

No Money Down?

What are the maximum concessions (Seller-paid costs) a buyer can receive from the seller, realtors, and other parties in a real estate transaction?

This is a great question we deal with all the time. There are so many buyers who need help with their cash for closing. Each program has different guidelines, so I will review the guidelines for the three more popular programs:

1. Conventional: When a buyer is financing a primary residence or second home the conventional guidelines base the allowable concession on the buyer’s down payment. Buyers who put less than 10% down can receive up to 3% of the sales price in the concessions. With 10% - 24.99% down the concession can go up to 6% and with 25% down or more, can up to 9% of the sales price.

1. FHA: This is a little bit more liberal. They allow 6% in contributions with FHA’s minimum down payment of 3.5%.

1. VA Loans: They are even more liberal because they will let interested parties pay for all of the Veterans closing costs plus another 4% for other costs related to the transaction. VA allows 100% financing, so they can move in with literally no cash out of their pocket. 

 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO US ABOUT GETTING IN TO A HOME WITH LITTLE OR NONE OF YOUR OWN MONEY…GIVE ME A CALL.

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

EMAI L

Notice from the Winston Trails HOA

Dear Homeowners,
The Winston Trails Foundation, Inc. Board of Director meeting is scheduled to meet on Monday, December 8, 2014 at 7PM. The meeting will be held at the Swim & Racquet Center. The agenda will include information on parking within Winston Trails provided by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, the Board will review some policies regarding bar codes and other administrative matters. Homeowners are invited and encouraged to attend.
Thank you,
Campbell Property Management

 

Personally I would encourage everyone to attend as recently we were all sent notice that “on street parking” would henceforth be prohibited entirely. This subject will be discussed at the December 8th meeting. If this is enforced, you will no longer be allowed to have visitors over and have them be allowed to park in front of your house…This seems to be a knee-jerk reaction and not well thought out. There are quite a few simple and effective solutions that fall far short of “nobody can park on the street at any time”.

Show up on the 8th and express your opinion.

Lets all make this the best place to live that we can!

Thanks,

Steve Jackson, Vice President, Bay Hill Association

Price reductions

About 8 weeks ago I posted regarding the ‘optimistic’ asking prices of some homes newly on the market. Even the bank owned properties looked to be getting ahead of themselves in this regard.

Well, one of the bank owned (on Newport Village Way) has now had it’s 4th reduction. The progression goes as follows:

$348,400 (9/9/14), $331,000 (10/7/14) ,$314,500 (11/18/14), $298,000 (today)

 

Also, 3 other homes have price reductions this past week:

1. Venice, bank owned, started at $329,000…now at $288,000
2. Cairo in Oakmont, started 40 days ago at $304,900in now $299,900
3. Paris in  Sand Hills, now on their 3rd agent, started at $435,000 in July just reduced to $383,000

As of today there are 40 homes for sale in Winston Trails. We have not been at the 40 home mark in 19 months.

So far this month, November (28 days in), there AGAIN has been only 3 homes go under contract. That translates to 13 months of inventory at the current rate of sales! A 5 month inventory is generally considered balanced, under 5 is a sellers market and over 5 is a buyers market where buyers have the negotiating leverage.

Of the 3 homes that went under contract this month…one is a short sale that will take months to get a bank approval from (if it doesn’t go to foreclosure sale first), the second is an investor ‘flip’ (purchased at the courthouse) that was fully rehabbed, the 3rd is a home in Las Colinas that was originally listed at $379,000 back in September but was listed at $329,000 when it went under contract this week.

I will keep a close eye on the recent trends for you.

Thanks again for reading,

Steve Jackson…561.602.1258

Please call me if you’re considering selling your Winston Trails home…even if you know you are going to hire your sister-in-law or  your bosses wife. I will give you the straight and honest analysis you need to make an informed decision.

Having sold over 450 Winston Trails homes…we have a Tradition of Results.

To Our Readers

 

Enjoy Your Thanksgiving!

May your holiday be joyful and may happiness surround it,

with good things on your table and those you love around it!

Another poor Winston Trails seller doesn’t know they picked the wrong agent

If you are a regular reader of my blog you’ve seen some of my posts regarding my warning to sellers that they won’t know they’ve hired a bad agent until it’s too late…and sometimes, as is the case with the MLS display of their home, they’ll NEVER know why their home isn’t getting showings and isn’t selling.

99% of sellers never think to review their MLS listing IN DETAIL with their agent…to their detriment!

We have sold over 450 Winston Trails homes and have been selling in Winston Trails since the construction trailer was up. A Tradition of Results and unmatched attention to detail, honest communication and customized advice have made us the leaders in Winston Trails real estate.

If you have questions about real estate in our community…call me directly.

Thanks…Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

Thank Our Veterans

NAR Buyer/Seller traffic report analysis

 

Back in early to mid 2011 the market value of homes here bottomed out. Then several big hedge funds started scooping up everything under $300k…with ‘all cash’ offers. Home prices/values had been on quite a tear since…until recently.

What happens from here is difficult to predict. With the elections having just tilted back towards the Republicans we should quickly see if this translates into a more robust economy/jobs/business environment.

The current market may look like a ‘standoff’ between sellers and buyers.

But is not about standoffs, it’s about negative feedback loops and positive feedback loops:

Positive feedback loop: buy because prices are increasing, don’t put your house on sale because next year you can get 15 percent more. All of a sudden you have low inventory and rising prices, further feeding the loop.

Negative feedback loop: prices are stalling, let’s wait to see where they are in a year. Let’s sell that house now before prices fall further.

Let’s not forget, there is a lot of investor housing bought in the last 36 months that may quickly make it back on the market once the price gains stall out.

I’ll keep an eye on this…you keep an eye on this blog.

Thanks for reading…Steve Jackson…561.602.1258

Only 3?

I’m not telling my agents and clients to worry yet…but in the past 30 days only 3 homes have gone under contract in Winston Trails, all of them with asking prices of $300k or less.

With 37 homes now on the market, this translates into 12 months of inventory…the biggest number/longest timeframe since 2007.

The total number of homes under contract in Winston Trails, to one extent or another, is 20.

7 of the 20 are short sales which typically go under contract quickly but languish under contract for a long time awaiting the bank approval process. 1 is a bank owned.

Last year, during this same period, 12 homes went under contract in Winston Trails.

What is going to be the trend and effect going forward? We’ll see soon enough.

Thanks for reading!

Steve Jackson…561.602.1258

Are we in the early stages of a market turn?

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the “optimistic” asking prices for the new homes coming on the market in Winston Trails.

As I do every day, I monitored the active, under contract and sold activity in here. Here is some interesting news:

This week, 24 % of the homes on the market in Winston Trails had a price reduction! 9 homes out of 37 currently on the market failed to sell and reduced their prices. Of the remaining 28, 5 are brand new this week (so no reduction yet)…that leaves 23 for me to do some more research on.

Out of these 23, 12 have had at least 1 price reduction. The other 11 have been ‘holding firm’ for anywhere from 26 days to over 240 days without selling or reducing their asking price.

So if we don’t factor in the brand new listings…that means 66% of all of the Winston Trails homes on the market have lowered their asking prices at least once.

(Read my post below this entitled “Dirty Little Secret”)

I am going to continue to keep an eye on this trend…and report it right here.

Thanks for reading and indulging my penchant for (sometimes) boring details.

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

A dirty little real estate secret

The “Dirty Little Secret” Agents Don’t Want You to Know

…that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars (and waste a lot of your time)!

Did you know…..most agents list homes at a price where the property WILL NOT SELL?! In fact almost 70% of homes listed today are initially listed overpriced,    meaning that they require one or more price reductions before they sell. For some reason, most agents don’t want to admit that little-known secret…that agents typically price homes where they will not sell!

You may be saying, “OK…so they priced it too high initially…no big deal…we can always come down.” But here is the shocking truth…..

Overpriced listings end up selling for less because they sit on the market too long and can become stigmatized. After weeks and weeks on the market the “WWWTH Syndrome” kicks in with buyers….”What’s Wrong With That House.”

Here are the actual statistics! Of these overpriced listings that actually end of up selling (not including the ones that don’t sell at all), they average selling for only 87% of their original asking price and take over 120 days on average to sell! Homes that are priced right from the beginning, sell for over 97% of list price with an average of only 45 days on the market to sell!*

The TRUTH is that the “Price-It-High, Come-Down-Later Strategy” actually costs you precious equity…2%, 3%, 5%, or even more!!! When your home is initially listed too high, you lose the opportunity to get the premium value for your house…because of this simple, statistical fact: the longer a house spends on the market, they lower the offers it generates. This happens for two primary reasons:

1. The “WWWTH Syndrome” (see above) causes buyers to offer less for your property…if they’re willing to make an offer at all.

2. After price reductions, buyers and agents perceive an increased motivation from the sellers so they make lower offers thinking you are now desperate to get an offer. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not…their perception costs you.

"...Beware of agents who set the list price on homes at unrealistically high levels simply to get listings. They will tell you what YOU WANT to hear…because they are AFRAID if they tell you the truth up front…they might not get the listing. DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH?" Real estate trainers even have a name for this tactic…it is called “Buying a Listing”!

I will always tell you the truth. And the THE TRUTH IS…I don’t want your listing. I want to help you get WHAT YOU WANT…which is to get your property SOLD, within your timeframe, for the BEST PRICE AND TERMS. If that is what you want…LET’S TALK.

Call me today at: 561.602.1258

Thanks again for reading…Steve & Jackie Jackson

Golf-front, pool home in Winston Trails

Our most recent property placed on the market. Located in Winston Trails, Lake Worth Florida

And…here is the other Realtor mailing tactic!

Boy…they’re hitting us hot and heavy the past few days!

In the post below this one I detailed a crude agent tactic typically used to try to fool community resident into thinking said agent is doing a lot of business in their neighborhood. They list all of the homes on the market (NONE are their listings) and put their picture/contact information adjacent.

The OTHER tactic used just this week (below)  is the flip side of that coin…list the recently sold homes with the agents picture/contact info in the hopes that some unsuspecting resident believes this agent was the one who sold the ones shown on the postcard.

Again…thanks for reading

Steve Jackson

561.602.1258

Beware: Slick real estate agent trick straight ahead!

See the ad below? This was delivered to Winston Trails a few days ago. What you see is the oldest trick in the real estate agent playbook…

Advertise a bunch of community homes that are currently for sale then put the agents photo and information underneath with the expectation that people will think the agent sending the mail piece has listed all of those homes in their neighborhood!

Every slick agent has used this tactic in Winston Trails. The sad reality is that a lot of homeowners fall for this. As a matter of fact, I have already seen one Winston Trails owner in Barton Creek fall for this particular ad.

The Realtor code of ethics states that Realtor ads should not be misleading…but there is seldom any enforcement.

Sellers beware of hiring (or even calling) an agent that uses this type of misdirection to get their foot in your door!

We have sold well over 400 Winston Trails homes…we don’t put out ‘tricky’ newsletters. We have a long standing tradition of results to stand on.

Give me a call at 561.602.1258

Steve Jackson

A heads up to Winston Trails residents and visitors

There are a few areas of Winston Trails Blvd. near the Jog Road gate and the three way stop as you enter from Hypoluxo gate that will have seal coating applied. This process will start on Monday, September 22, 2014 and will be completed on October 3, 2014 weather permitting.

There will be signs posted and e-mail updates sent out to keep residents informed. There will be no parking in the Jog Road exit lane for the school bus pick up and drop off. You will have drop off your children and move out of the area immediately. Please inform you children to walk outside of the Jog Road area to be picked up on Winston Trails Blvd. next week.

There will be days that there will only be one lane entrance and exit at Jog Road so if possible you should use the Haverhill or Hypoluxo gates.

The Hypoluxo gate is scheduled to be completely closed for entrance and exit on Friday and Saturday. There will be days when the east side of the community will be only be able to access the Hypoluxo gate from Green Island Blvd. There will also be days when the other side of the community will not have access to the Hypoluxo gate.

Please watch and abide by the posted signs and the barricades. Do not bypass a barricade. Please watch for updates by e-mail, Channel 63 and posted signs.

Thank you,
Winston Trails Management Office