Xena Vallone Featured in Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Online, April 17, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Real estate broker Xena Vallone of Xena Vallone Realty was recently featured in a Sarasota Herald-Tribune article titled "4 Questions for a Pro: Expecting Big Year for Short Sales."

Vallone discussed her firm's decision to open a satellite office in Pinellas County because of the declining inventory of affordable waterfront properties in the Sarasota area.

"Inventory has gotten lower - it's six months in most places," Vallone told the Herald-Tribune. "Buyers who cannot find what they are looking for in Sarasota and Bradenton will often expand their search to areas to the north or south of us: They either go to Naples or Pinellas County. We felt there was a need to expand our company to fill that void, and I decided to head north. It gives us greater flexibility - we now have the ability to serve a greater number of people."

Vallone also spoke of her early entry into the short-sale market. "When short sales started to hit an all-time high, the real estate company I was working for at the time didn't have anyone to do them," she said in the article. "I decided to get into it because you could help people. So I got my training and certification in short sales and was in the thick of it at a point when a lot of agents didn't want to get involved."

Vallone began holding short-sale seminars, together with an attorney and a CPA, to educate the public. She said she may start them up again to assist in getting the word out in the Tampa area about her new office, but also because she feels this year will be an important one for short-sales.

"The tax credit is due to expire at the end of the year, which would mean that the forgiveness on a short sale - the difference between the mortgage and the sale amount - will be considered taxable income," Vallone said. "We probably won't know until November whether Congress will let the tax credit expire or renew it, but in the meantime people need to know that closing on a short sale before the end of the year may be in their best interest."

The article can be read in full at heraldtribune.com/article/20120324/ARCHIVES/203241003.

Xena Vallone Realty offers residential and commercial real estate services, property management and vacation rentals at 3562-A South Osprey Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34239. Vallone can be reached at (941) 224-5950 or [email protected].