The east dominates the west in online home searches lately, and Florida was the preferred destination on this week’s Top 10 Most Searched Homes on Realtor.com®.

The Top 10 is compiled using homes that have a list price within 20 percent of the national median home price, which was $209,900 last week.

1. 4 bed, 3 bath Las Vegas, NV home listed for $250,000 The stacked stone fireplace, hardscaped patio, lounge cabana and sparkling pool makes outdoor entertaining or rest and relaxation a breeze.

2. 4 bed, 2 bath Kissimmee, FL home listed for $179,900 The golf course location with pond views are two reasons why this home’s current renters are planning to stay long term. With close proximity to Disney World and the airport it’s a feasible rental investment.

3. 4 bed, 4 bath Henderson, NV home listed for $235,000 Perched on a high lot, the valley, strip and mountain views from this desert home make it a premium home in an already great location.

4. 3 bed, 2 bath Miami, FL home listed for $250,000 The kitchen, baths, walls and floors are updated with modern materials and colors. The basics are there, the home just needs your personal touch to give it some style.

5. 4 bed, 3 bath Tampa, FL home listed for $235,500 The built-in BBQ and glass enclosed patio and pool area is the main draw for homebuyers scoping out this property. Once the outdoor room is furnished and accessorized it makes for a great outdoor living/entertaining space.

6. 4 bed, 3 bath Orlando, FL home listed for $200,000

7. 5 bed, 3 bath Las Vegas, NV home listed for $250,000

8. 4 bed, 3 bath Pembroke Pines, FL home listed for $199,975

9. 4 bed, 2.5 bath Detroit, MI home listed for $169,000

10. 4 bed, 2 bath Bossier City, LA home listed for $2106,900

To see the rest of the top 10, check out the full post on Realtor.com® Blogs

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Q: I currently make $45,000 and my wife is a tenured high school teacher who makes $65,000. I’ve been offered a long-term independent contractor position that’ll pay $20,000 more a year. But will getting a new job right before trying to buy a house kill our chances of getting approved for a mortgage? – Top Locker in San Diego
 

A: You will want to speak with a local lender who can definitively answer your question. A change in employment does not preclude you from getting a loan – but it may delay the process. Sometimes they will require a letter from the new employer verifying employment; or they may want to wait for the first 2 pay periods, or a combination of both.

I would speak with a local loan broker, as well as a major lender. A broker has the ability to shop the loan to whomever has the best interest rates, while a major lender will only sell you their products.

Adam Brett is a Realtor® with RE/MAX of North Orange County in Fullerton, CA. 

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Actress and heiress Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott have listed their Encino, CA home.

The couple reportedly paid $2.495 for the 6 bedroom, 6.5 bath manse in 2008, and are bucking downward pricing trends by asking $3.199 million for the property.

This 6,718-square-foot villa built in 2001 on 0.41 acres boasts hardwood floors, office space, a garage and a swimming pool. A winding stair case and piano/ music room with fireplace and French doors add glamor, the kitchen features an island, and there are five guest rooms.

The rooms all come with an en suite bathroom, with the master bath boasting a fireplace and flat screen TV, dual vanities, spa tub, a large balcony and a walk-in closet.

See the listing at REALTOR.com

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Q:  I have a friend who is a Realtor in another state. I am planning to sell my home and am in the market for a local Real Estate agent to help me do this. My out-of-state friend said she could refer an agent to me. She said, after my house sells, she would receive some sort of commission on my home sale because of the referral. Is this true? Is this legal? Will my friend have any involvement in my home sale? If so, what/how? – Melissa

A: Your friend CAN refer an in-state agent to you, and then she can collect a “referral fee” once the house closes – that is legal. Your friend will have no real involvement in your home sale beyond referring you to a local agent. Your local agent will be your primary contact in your home sale, but you can ask your friend for emotional support if you need it.

Leah Hill Pham is a Realtor® with Windermere Wall Street Realty in Seattle, WA.

A: What your friend is suggesting is a very common practice and it’s called a referral fee. Most Realtors welcome a true referral of either buyer or seller clients. I have personally both paid and collected many referral fees.

Does your friend know any of the top listing agents in your area? Or does she have a professional relationship through membership in a organization like the Residential Sales Council of the National Association of Realtors®?

If she has a personal or professional relationship with a Realtor in your area, then she’s probably turning you on to someone that can get the job done. On the other hand if she’s just looking for someone to agree to pay her a cut of their paycheck, you might not end up with the best or brightest.

It’s okay to talk to whoever she refers you to if you want; but for your benefit, I would talk to some other Realtors as well and ask for local recommendations from friends or co-workers that have had a recent, successful transaction with a local Realtor.

Jim Lee is a Realtor with RE/MAX Coast to Coast Properties in Portsmouth, NH. 

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The Basics: This 24,549 square foot manse on Buckhead’s prime street has maintained its original 1920s facade. Whispers around the web say the elaborate estate is owned by an Atlanta biz man who allegedly dated a Real Housewife. The home has also guest starred on MTV Cribs and has made an appearance in “Zombieland” as Bill Murray’s home, one step away from Hollywood in The Big Peach.

The Details: This 9 bedroom, 13 bath palace is “unlike anything ever sold in Atlanta,” according to the listing description.  We’re pretty sure it’s unlike anything sold above or below the Mason-Dixon Line! Featuring  seven full kitchens, 16 fireplaces, a ballroom, theater, 2 gyms, recording studio, hair/nail salon, wellness center, and cigar room, this estate features amenities to the Nth power. The estate is offered at $22.5 M, $2.5 M less than its original asking price. And we haven’t even discussed the ceilings!

All that’s missing is Scarlett O’Hara, wrapped in green velvet drapes.

One of the home’s seven Euro style kitchens features wall to wall ivory decor and embossed ceilings.

The perfect southern gentleman’s retreat is topped by an unusual wood ceiling.

Did we mention the ceilings?

Shouldn’t the office doorways be cordoned off with red velvet ropes? The room definitely has a “historic places” kind of swagger.

A dining room this formal requires a butler serving consomme and a palate cleanser between courses, don’t ya’ll think?

One of the home’s 9 bedrooms features intricately carved details.

The master bath is elaborate enough for a five-star hotel or palace.

The bedroom ceiling reminds us of a Faberge egg.

This is the perfect guest room for Prince Wills and Kate.

“Frankly, Scarlet, I don’t give a dam!”

Mint juleps by the pool, anyone?

The Bottom Line: We reckon Scarlett and Rhett might have been mighty happy in this Atlanta manse.

See the listing at REALTOR.com.

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Q: I had a lease to own contract and purchased the house from the seller who is a Realtor. His daughter was our agent since we signed the lease to own contract with her. On the day of the close, the Realtor called and told us we needed $2,500 even though the sales contract stated we needed nothing since the down payment was included in the lease to own. Before close, he made us sign a contract saying we would pay him $80 a month but it was not included in the HUD-1 statement and he sign the HUD-1 saying he gave us no money and we borrowed no money. Do we owe this money to him since it was not part of the loan? – Anonymous

A: It looks to me like you answered your own question by your statement that “before close he made us sign a contract saying we would pay him $80 a month.” Given that you signed a legal agreement to pay him, you probably owe him.

That said, you may have recourse if the deposit was included in the lease unless the $2,500 was for something else. You don’t state exactly what the $2,500 was for so it’s hard for me to advise you. Was it a commission payment, or possibly something else? The fact that the financial agreement covering the $2,500 was not in the HUD-1 does not necessarily mean that you don’t have a valid side contract with this Realtor.

What I don’t really understand is why you are dealing with, and signed a side contract with, this Realtor since your lease-to-own contract was with his daughter. In any event I would consult with a real estate attorney to get a complete review of your situation. If this is not acceptable to you can always take your case to small claims court.

Lee Dworshak is a Realtor® with Keller Williams LA Harbor Realty in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

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If you’re a seller who is selling a home by short sale and your buyer is an investor, Burlingame, California Realtor® Mary Murphy wants to make sure you know your rights.

“There are special requirements in order to comply with the Home Equity Sales Contracts Act (California Civil Code Sections 1695) but this law applies only if all four of the following conditions have been met:

1) The property is residential one to four units, and

2) The owner currently resides in at least one of those units, and

3) A Notice of Default has been recorded against the property, and

4) The buyer does not intend to live in the property (i.e. the buyer is an investor)

The law requires that a special purchase contract giving the “equity seller” a rescission right and two Notice of Cnacellation forms be used. The agent representing the buyer must complete a statement in writing, under penalty of perjury, that he has a valid current real estate license. Bottom line – make sure you are using an agent who has short sale experiece. A short sale transaction is tricky…”

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Q: Eight years ago I purchased a house for $162,000 which included a $10,000 grant given to me as a down payment. My interest rate was and is now 6 percent. I have not refinanced the house since the original purchase. According to sites such as this one, and what the houses are being sold for in my neighborhood, my house is valued under $60,000 but I still owe double that amount. I need a bigger house for my family and I need to know what are my options? – Ann in Michigan

A: Great questions! Know that you are not alone and there are many homeowners struggling with this very same situation. One option is to bring a big check to closing. Another choice may be a “short sale” – where the bank takes on the cost of the shortfall. You would typically need to have a hardship of some sort (loss of job, medical condition, etc.) that shows you don’t have the ability to afford the home any longer in order for the mortgage company to approve any short sale. A short sale will certainly affect your credit and ability to obtain another mortgage, however. If neither of these two choices work for you, you may try to rent your current home or you may have to stay put for a while. Good luck!

Gina Dumas is a Realtor® with RE/MAX Results in Minneapolis, MN.

A: This is a situation for many people right now and it is happening everywhere, but there are ways to sell your house. The first thing for you to find out is if you have any equity in your house; if there is no equity, one way to sell your house is a short sale, by hiring an experienced Real Estate agent who has done successful short sales in the past. Your agent will be able to either negotiate on your behalf with your lender for less money, or introduce you to a Real Estate attorney to do it for you and you can close on your house with your lender’s approval. However, this process will hurt your credit score and might delay your future home purchase for a while.

Rena Kovach is a Realtor® with Fairfax Realty in Vienna, VA.

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Q: I have a townhouse that I have owned for 7 years and is worth about $40K less than I owe. Due to circumstances I won’t go into, I bought another house and started renting out that townhouse (at a significant loss). Now just under a year later, I cannot really afford the mortgage on the two homes and need to sell the new one I bought (moving back into the townhouse). My question is, am I going to get out of this without owing a ton of money? What do I have to look out for? I don’t want to go the foreclosure route but if I end up doing that on one home, might as well do that on both right? - Two Houses Too Many in Minnesota

A: In order to make a decision I highly recommend getting a complete Comparative Market Analysis from at least two Realtors who know your area. I have sold quite a few in Woodbury myself as have many others. You’ll need to find out what you can really expect to net in a sale in the current market prior to making any decisions about “going the foreclosure route” as it has a huge impact on your credit and what you’ll be able to do in the future. It’s a tough market but getting better with less inventory and still very low interest rates. In your area the single family home should sell quicker than a town home IF priced right. Pricing is the key.

Deb Casper is a Realtor with RE/MAX Specialists in White Bear Lake, MN. 

A: Talk to a qualified REALTOR and ask them to do a comparative market analysis on both properties. It is our job to provide our clients with the most up to date, hyper-local neighborhood information. Big web sites look at national data, and it is not applicable on the local level.

Without knowing the numbers, it is impossible for me to give you specific advice. Here are some things you want to look at- which property will give you the best equity in five, six, seven years from now? Which property is the best long-term decision? Set yourself up for the future, and look at your properties as financial assets in your portfolio.

Valerie Leivo is a Realtor® with Keller Williams in Santa Rosa, CA.

 



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Dallas area Realtor® Kevin Rhodes talks about appraisal issues and how they can affect the real estate transaction.

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