BofA works with the customer prior to listing to establish list price.

The property is marketed for 4 months and if it doesn’t sell there is a deed-lieu considered but they cannot force the homeowner to do it. Seller signs over the dead instead of a foreclosure. An appraisal is completed so the process takes less than 2 weeks to get an approval.

The banks want to do whatever they can to approve short sales! Not only do they, but they are investing in the programs to get as many short sales processed as possible.

If you have a bank of america loan that qualifies for a short sale, list it and sell it quick!

via Just listed: 1054 Zinfandel Circle, Gonzales, CA 93926 for $195,000.

via Just listed: 2792 Mission Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92123 for $405,000.

In recent months since the home buyer tax credit, the market value in San Diego, CA has increased. However, since the tax credit has gone away and now heading into the end of summer, I am feeling like market demand is decreasing. When looking at the current inventory of homes in San Diego, I am seeing a steady increase. From my experience and using simple economics, the trends are leading us to another “double dip” in San Diego. Now, whether or not we want to admit this might be the our fait is up to you.

How is your market doing?

“We have a range of options for Guests at all price points to enjoy the Walt Disney World Resort. But Golden Oak is something totally new: a residential resort community, right in the heart of the magic,” said Matt Kelly, vice president, Disney Resort Real Estate Development. “Golden Oak will be a place where families can come together and make memories for generations to come–with Disney World right at their doorstep.”

Golden Oak will offer a limited collection of single family custom homes priced between $1.5 and $8 million, with fewer than 30 home sites available for sale this year. Designed by Disney’s famed Imagineers, the gated community will feature intimate neighborhoods and amenities created with everyone in the family in mind. Disney’s well-known attention to detail is visible in every park, pathway and the custom-design of the proposed private clubhouse. Expansive conservation areas comprise almost half of the entire 980 acre footprint.

The proposed private clubhouse, concierge services and collection of Walt Disney World Resort benefits will bring Disney’s guest service culture directly to Golden Oak residents. As previously announced, Golden Oak is planned to include Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, combining Disney’s renowned service and hospitality with Four Seasons’ defining standard of excellence. Golden Oak plans to offer residents access to select Four Seasons’ future amenities including the full service spa, restaurants, golf course and event space.

Initially, Golden Oak will consist of three types of single family homes. Village Homes will capture the romantic look of a Mediterranean village on home sites up to one-quarter acre. Estate Homes, on approximately one-half acre home sites, will offer a variety of architectural styles including Tuscan, Spanish Revival, Venetian, Italianate, Dutch Colonial and Island Colonial. At up to three-quarters acre in size, Grand Estate Homes will include architectural styles consistent with Estate Homes and will accommodate the needs of large families. Homeowners will use one of Golden Oak’s select custom homebuilders to build the home of their dreams.

Myth: “I’ll believe it when I see it”

Fact: “You’ll see it when you believe it”

The first step in any visualization process is to believe that you can have it.

As an example, let’s consider success in your real estate career. Before beginning to visualize your success, you need to believe that it can happen.

As Henry Ford once said,” Whether you believe you can or you can’t, either way, you are right.”

If you have trouble believing that it can happen, then most likely you are experiencing some self limiting beliefs that need to be cleared.

Once they are cleared, begin visualizing yourself a year from now doing the following:

· Doing work you love

· Working the ideal number of hours per week you want to work

· Working with your ideal clients, i.e. what characteristics do you want them to have?

· Earning your ideal income (pick a figure that is realistic and optimistic)

Here’s a typical example of what you might come up with: ” I want to earn $300,000 a year, working no more than 40 hours a week, and I want to work with people who are positive decisive and committed.”

Great, now you are crystal clear on your desired outcome.

Next, put yourself inside of this visualization, and feel what it feels like. Take a few minutes where you can be alone, close your eyes and live the visualization, as if it’s happening right now. What does it feel like? The more you breathe the more you are available to feel the positive feelings.

What positive feelings come up for you?

Most people report feelings like: confidence, fulfillment, security, peace, energy, joy, safety and so forth.

Please note that by adding the feelings to this visualization, you are energizing your vision. Without this essential step, your visualization falls flat.

Here’s another helpful hint: picture your visualization, as a moving picture, not a snapshot.

For example, visualize yourself going to the home of a prospective client and giving your listing presentation. Move it forward. See and feel them signing with you.

Imagine finding a buyer easily and effortlessly. Visualize the look on your client’s faces as you present them with a flawless offer.

The final step would be to imagine yourself with the check in your hand, your name on the check and the exact amount.

Here’s the key, imagine your desired outcome as if it had already occurred, with all of your senses involved.

Just to recap:

To make your visualizations powerful and effective, do the following:

1. Believe you can have it

2. Put yourself inside of it and feel it

3. See the visualization as a moving picture, not a snapshot

Follow these steps and watch your visualization become a reality.

1. Pick the appropriate lighting for your paint color. The trick is to create a harmonious balance between color and light. Make up for the lack of light by adding in some table lamps, wall sconces, a chandelier or a mirror and watch how it makes the room look so much bigger even if you’ve painted it charcoal gray.

2. Don’t forget about layering texture and pattern. It gives a room personality and stops the room from looking too flat. Silk curtains, a patterned pillow, or even a nice linen wallpaper are all things that can give the room dimension and make the room more interesting.

3. Look for ways to mix and match furniture. Just because the furniture you like is available as a set doesn’t mean you have to purchase it that way. Mix it up a bit. Consider going with a white lacquer bookcase and a wood coffee table in your living room or a leather sofa paired with a beautiful upholstered armchair.

As houses are downsized, homeowners are forced to make do with less space and fewer possessions, said Jose J. Cabrera, of C&L Studio in Orlando, Fla. And in this uncertain economy, many homeowners are reluctant to spend lavishly on new furnishings.

“Our clients want fewer things, but really good things,” he said. “It’s a less-is-more approach.”

Another sign of tough economic times impacting interior-design trends: Homeowners are reluctant to throw out all their old furnishings and start from scratch when they build or remodel, they way they did a decade ago, said Cabrera.

“Old things are mixed with new and many styles are being brought together in an eclectic way,” said Cabrera. “The new decor doesn’t evoke any particular period. It’s more a matter of bringing the past into the present and making it fresh with new colors, accessories and art work.”

Over the last few years, homeowners have been scaling back and simplifying their homes, said Troy Beasley, of Beasley & Henley Interior Design in Winter Park, Fla.

“Instead of buying large new homes, they’re staying in their mid-sized homes and either remodeling totally or maybe just moving a wall or two and upgrading the interiors,” he said.

Most people have traditional elements in their homes, said Beasley. These may be heirloom pieces that have been passed down from generation to generation. Or simply the good dining-room or bedroom set a couple bought when they were first married. Either way, they want to keep those traditional elements while modernizing the look of their home.

The design challenge, he said, is to figure out how to create uniformity and harmony while blending traditional and modern elements.

His suggestions: Update formal, traditional chairs and sofas by adding casual slipcovers or reupholstering in contemporary fabrics. Change the wallpaper, light fixtures and moldings. Reframe art work. Show off collectibles all in one spot.

“People want the less-cluttered, cleaner look they see in magazines,” said Beasley.

The lighter, cleaner look is well suited to Florida’s subtropical climate and casual lifestyle, said Cabrera. Even owners of Mediterranean-inspired homes are moving away from the dark, heavy, ornate interiors typical of the style. Instead of warm and cozy, they want cool and airy.

For one such home in Maitland, Fla., he was faced with the challenge of combining traditional furniture with modern artwork, while creating an overall look that was lighter and less cluttered.

He started by lightening the colors of the walls and carpeting, using subtle shades of off-white, beige, gold and olive. In the living room, he added an antique mirrored coffee table, and placed two simple Asian vases in bright turquoise on the mantle over the sleek, white-stone fireplace.

“The vases really stand out,” he said. “Using single items, even inexpensive ones, creates a gallery effect — it makes them look higher-quality.”

In the dining room, the homeowners wanted to keep their heavy, Spanish-style table and captain’s chairs, and to use a large crystal chandelier they had been keeping in storage. Cabrera used off-white linen slip covers on the side chairs and had the end chairs upholstered in striped velvet.

“It’s Mediterranean made modern,” said Cabrera.

It also makes quite a design statement in a relatively small space — without spending a fortune on masses of new stuff.