Robert Calistri's, blog,

On Oct. 23, 2008 I wrote the blog below. I wrote this blog in the midst of all the bank problems, real estate collapses, etc. Here we are less than 6 months from that blog and most of what I predicted appears to be happening. Wells Fargo posted a 3 Billion dollar profit in the first quarter, last week and over the past two weeks all the major stock indices are up dramatically. I also predicted that the real estate market would start its turn around by the end of this year. By the way in early 2004 I predicted that the real estate market would collapse in about two years. That's why I went into the real estate auction business. I am not a brilliant person I just have a feel for what will happen, because I have been there before. Stay tuned the best is yet to come.

"The End Must Be Near, Because I Can You See The Light?

Over the last 10 years we have seen all kinds of bubbles pop. First it was the stock market then it was the real estate markets, and then came the bank problems and now we are in a commodities market melt down. Which means lower oil, gasoline and natural gas that is not a bad thing.

This same cycle happened in the late 1960's into the early1970's and again in the late 80's into the 90's. I if am correct and it is simply a cycle that must run itself out, we should start to see the stock market begin to turn around in the next couple of months, followed by the bank recovery. Then real estate residential markets towards latter part of 2009 followed a few months later by the commercial real estate market.

History always seems to repeat it self. So, don't panic and if you look closely maybe you too can see that there is a light at the end of this tunnel."

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS BENEFITS TO THE SELLER:
* Buyers come prepared to buy
* Quick disposal reduces long-term carrying costs, including taxes & maintenance
* Assurance that property will be sold at true market value
* Exposes the property to a large number of pre-qualified prospects
* Accelerates the sale
* If your property is listed, have your Realtor call us and we take care of the details
* Creates competition among buyers - auction price can exceed the price of a negotiated sale
* Requires potential buyers to pre-qualify for financing
* The seller knows exactly when the property will sell
* Eliminates numerous and unscheduled showings
* Takes the seller out of the negotiation process
* Ensures an aggressive marketing program that increases interest and visibility

REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS BENEFITS TO THE BUYER:
* Smart investments are made as properties are usually purchased at fair market value through competitive bidding
* The buyer knows the seller is committed to sell
* In multi-property auctions the buyer sees many offerings in the same place at the same time
* Buyers determine the purchase price
* Auctions eliminate long negotiation periods
* Auctions reduce time to purchase property
* Purchasing and closing dates are known
* Buyers know they are competing fairly and on the same terms as all other buyers
* Buyers receive comprehensive information on property via due diligence packet

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

COMMERCIAL AND ON THE RIVER - 18 unit motel on the inter coastal water way with attached restaurant building and separate motel office building. Separate laundry facility, two permitted road signs, and private well and septic. Older facility in good condition offering aprox 1.5 acres and 130+ foot frontage on US Route #1 and INDIAN RIVER with a 100+ foot long dock. Current zoning is TU-1, but subject to change with city water and sewer on the way. Great income property. Adjacent home .89 acre zoned commercial also available. Excellent potential to redevelop into condotel, condos, major restaurant facility. Offered at $860,000.

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

Chase Bank Will Stop Foreclosures for 90 Days

Today I received an email which told that Chase Bank the owner now of Wamu has decided not to foreclose on any homes for the next 90 days, while it implements a plan to help borrowers stay in their homes. Chase will hire 300 loan counselors and 150 people to review mortgages before they are placed into foreclosure to ensure homeowners were offered modifications first. With the customers of the newly acquired Washington Mutual in the fold, Chase's program could help about 400,000 families with $70 billion in loans, the company said.

Chase will offer borrowers with payment option ARMs alternatives such as 30-year, fixed-rate loans with affordable payments, principal deferral and interest-only payments for 10 years. I believe that Chase is the first to put this plan into effect, but other banks will son follow.

The question is what effect will this have on the real estate market.
Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

Here's how the auction process works. All properties sold at auction are sold "as is, where is" with no contingencies and the closing usually occurs within 30 days of the auction.

The first thing is to determine if the property is a good candidate for the auction process. We do this by looking at comparables sales over the past two months and the tax records. The process is used to advise the seller of a reserve price which has the highest probability of selling their property.

Next, we select an auction method. An absolute auction does not set a minimum or reserve amount, allowing the property to be sold at the highest bid no matter the amount. This could be above or below the price owners hoped to receive. A reserve auction sets a minimum the seller wants and allows owners to accept or reject the final bid should it fall below the seller's expectation. These auctions start at a minimum amount, which may or may not be disclosed to the public before the auction day. The reserve auction is the method we usually advise.

In all cases the buyer pays a 10% buyers premium on the sale in a real estate auction. The seller does pay in advance for the advertising which includes major local newspapers, and anything used specify for their property sale. We usually run advertising in local newspapers for 28 days prior to the auction and send fliers out to all who call looking for information. We do all the advertisement placement and scheduling for the local newspapers. The auction property is placed on our web site. We also send out emails to realtors and individuals who have ask to be placed on our mailing list, at no charge.

At the time that you and the seller decide to auction the property, the property is transferred to us for the period of the auction (about 45 days). We list the property as a single agent only for the period of the auction. During the period prior to the auction date we sometimes get buyers who decide to make an offer on the property. The seller can accept or reject the offer and if accepted the buyer pays the buyer's premium.

When the property goes to auction and the auction concludes with a bid offer. The seller has the option to accept or reject the bid offer if a reserve auction was used. If the homeowner accepts the bid, both sides enter a no-contingency contract to close within 30 days.

I hope this helps, call me with any questions.
Sincerely,

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc
727-643-5007

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob.realestateauctionsllc.com

Auctions work in good and bad markets.

Most people believe that an auction works best in a down market. That is not always correct. In the last buyer's market we could get sellers higher prices because we would bring many buyers to the auction. Then the bidding would start and the starting price would rocket up, pushed by the many people who wanted the same property. The competition of a group of buyer's can prices far above what the normal real estate sale might have been. Most important is the word Auction in the advertisement that we place in a major newspaper. It would bring large numbers of buyers and all were usually ready to buy. Auctions work in good and bad markets and usually bring higher prices.
Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

The End Must Be Near, Because I Can You See The Light?

Over the last 10 years we have seen all kinds of bubbles pop. First it was the stock market then it was the real estate markets, and then came the bank problems and now we are in a commodities market melt down. Which means lower oil, gasoline and natural gas that is not a bad thing.

This same cycle happened in the late 1960's into the early1970's and again in the late 80's into the 90's. I if am correct and it is simply a cycle that must run itself out, we should start to see the stock market begin to turn around in the next couple of months, followed by the bank recovery. Then real estate residential markets towards latter part of 2009 followed a few months later by the commercial real estate market.

History always seems to repeat it self. So, don't panic and if you look closely maybe you too can see that there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

Most of this information will no suprise some of you, but it shocked me. Today I took a minute to look at the stats in my area. Well it was no surprise to me when I saw the year to year the Tampa/ St Petersburg area was down. The real surprise was that it was down about 25% year tot year. I expected that may it would be down about 5 to 10% but 25% that was off the cliff. I do primarily real estate auctions and a limited amount of traditional sales by listing properties. It is my understanding that the traditional real estate sales method is selling less that 4% of the active listings. The numbers that I just sited are August numbers. This is prior to the financial melt down, where are we now.

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

3900 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach, Florida

This property would make a great single family home site; it is just steps to an exclusive beach access to the Gulf of Mexico, for the person who is looking for a compound setting in Florida. The property is located on St Pete Beach, one of the best beaches in the world and is surrounded by multi million dollar homes. This Private St. Pete Beach access property is only two blocks from the landmark Don Cesar Hotel. The property is less than 100 ft. to the beach access, with no streets to cross.

The owner is motivated but will start building soon and at that time the price may increase accordingly. Reduced from $3,900,000 to $2,950,000

Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, llc

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com

Auction by sealed bid. All bids must be received by October 25, 2008. 1307 Gulf Way, St Pete Beach, Florida 33706

This beach front property that is just steps to the beautiful gulf and is now the best buy on the beach with a recent appraisal of 5.5 million in Feb 2008. The property is being "sold-as". Many possibilities exist with this multi-use property. Up to 20 units can be built on this property or a single family home with approval of the city. There are currently 14 units with potential to add more. This property is located in beautiful Pass-A-Grille just north of the Hurricane Restaurant . Now you can your own piece of paradise. There is a oversized pool 22 x 40 wide with a 6 x 10 spa. The Hotel is 7000 A/C Space and the lot is 125X 135.
Make an offer now and if accepted the auction stops and it's yours.
Bob Calistri, Broker
Real Estate Auctions, LLC Florida

www.realestateauctionsllc.com

bob@realestateauctionsllc.com