Tag: Orlando homes for sale

How to train your Orlando Buyer’s agent

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

For first-time homebuyers in Orlando, it’s imperative that they’re able to communicate to their real estate agent exactly what they’re looking for.  This will save the potential home buyer as well as the Realtor a lot of time. It may seem like an easy task but you’d be surprised at the lack of communication that goes on between Orlando buyer’s agents and their own clients.

Here are some helpful tips on how to make the most  of your agent buyer relationship

Be clear on what your wants and needs are. The more details that you’re able to provide your agent with like; How many bedrooms and bathrooms, how many sq ft? what neighborhood or subdivision you want to live in? are you interested in Orlando short sale homes? etc., the less time you will waste on looking at houses that don’t meet your criteria. With all the technology available to real estate agents these days,  they are able to eliminate a lot of the leg work by searching for homes for sale online. A good buyer’s agent will do more than just search the MLS, they will also search for homes that aren’t listed on the MLS like FSBOs [for sale by owner]. They do this by extending their search to craigslist, and newspaper classifieds, and even by driving around in the neighborhood where their buyer wants to live.

Be demanding…in a nice way.  Real estate agents want to close deals so that they can get paid. However, agents also want to be the “Hero” when it comes to finding the perfect house for their buyers because they know that if they do their job well, they will probably get more clients from the buyer’s friends and family. It’s OK to be a demanding buyer, I mean you’re about to make a huge investment by buying a house. However,  you should also be nice at the same time. The last thing you want is for your agent to have you on their “Difficult Client” list. This may negatively affect your relationship with your real estate agent and they will be less interested in finding your dream house.

Be responsive. Good real estate agents work very hard for their clients and there’s nothing more frustrating to an agent than when they spend time searching for the perfect house for a buyer then that buyer doesn’t return their call or email and they end up losing that house to someone else. By being responsive to the agent and returning their calls or emails immediately, this will most likely create a reciprocal effect and the agent will be just as responsive to you as you are to them. This will also give you the upper hand if you need to tell your agent to be more responsive to your messages.

Be honest with your agent. If your real estate agent finds you a house that meets all your criteria but for some reason, you still don’t like it, then you need to tell them. Don’t be afraid to hurt the agent’s feelings, it’s not their house. Remember that this is about you [the buyer] first and foremost, therefore it’s the agent’s job to make you happy. If you can’t be honest with your agent, then you probably won’t end up with the house you want and you will end up settling. Would you lie to your doctor about what hurts? Of course not because you want results!

Evaluate your agent. Not all real estate agents were created equally, therefore you should evaluate your agent’s performance after a week or two. Ask yourself these questions

     a. Has your agent shown you houses that meet your criteria?

     b. Has your agent been responsive to your calls or emails as you are with them?

     c. Are you happy with your agent’s performance so far?

If you can answer yes to these three questions, then you may want to hang in there. However, if you feel that your agent is neglecting you or they just aren’t getting the job done as per your expectations, then I would say it’s time to find another real estate agent to represent you.

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Great Deals on Orlando Real Estate are Drying Up

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Between 2008 and 2010 you could easily buy a property in Central Florida for at least 25% below the property’s market value. Since then we’ve seen these huge discounts on real estate shrink to about 3% or less. Even with Orlando short sales, the banks are just not giving us the deep discounts that they were just a couple of years ago.

When I tell people that we’ve been specializing in doing short sales since 2005, they would ask with a bewildered look in their eyes “did short sales even exist back then?” or “how were you doing short sales in a hot market?” and the truth is that we just marketed to people that were in foreclosure and tried for the short sale with the bank and they were accepting these jaw-dropping low ball offers. And believe it or not our closing rate on short sales back then was about 85%.

I believe that the lenders were always a bit behind when it came to knowing what was really happening in the real estate market, there seemed to be a delay, kind of like getting today’s newspaper next month. Within the time it took them to catch up to what the reality really was, home buyers were getting some really great deals on Orlando short sale properties,  especially cash investors that we’re able to buy multiple properties at one time.

These days it’s evident that lenders are more “on the ball” when it comes to knowing what the true market value of a property really is.

I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone that the Orlando real estate market is getting hot again and we’re not done yet. We’ve had buyers just a few months ago that didn’t want to pull the trigger and buy yet because they wanted to hold out for a  better deal, against my advice. When they contacted me again recently they didn’t like what I  had to say, not one bit. These same buyers are now scrambling to buy a property with a great sense of urgency. This holds true for a lot of people who thought that the market was still on a decline.

With very little inventory out there, prices continue to rise and it looks like this trend will continue for a while. Every new Orlando listing that we get in our office ends up getting a contract on it within three or four days.

Some properties fall short on the Appraisals

When an Orlando property gets listed for a certain price many times buyers will submit a contract for thousands of dollars over the asking price. The problem lies when it’s time to get the property appraised and the numbers are just not there. As solid as the market appears to be right now, appraisers are being more careful when doing their job. Appraisers get their numbers from properties that have been recently sold in the neighborhood so that means there’s not much wiggle room on what they can do or what they’re willing to do.

Before the real estate market crashed in 2007, appraisers along with a whole lot of other real estate professionals got into some big trouble for bending the rules to benefit their clients as well as themselves. These days appraisers are more “by the book” than ever and I think it’s a good thing.

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Beautiful Orlando Property for Sale in the Meadow Woods subdivision

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Home in Meadow Woods have the neighbor’s heads turning

From ugly duckling to beautiful swan, this two-story 2,000+ sq ft Orlando property home has been fully renovated from head to toe. One of my investor clients started on this remodel about 3 months ago and finished this week. As soon as you open the front door the property just says “Welcome,  Come on in! “.  The soothing layout is an open floor plan with a very well thought out and functional design including a large downstairs masters retreat with the remaining 3 bedrooms and bonus room on the second floor. Also located on the first floor is a spacious kitchen with a breakfast bar, formal dining room, and large living room with a pond view. This beauty has been 100% renovated using exotic granite countertops throughout, top-quality carpeting and ceramic tile floors, high-end fixtures, and stainless steel appliances.

This immaculate Orlando home is located in the very desirable subdivision of Meadow Woods off of Landstar Rd. which is close to public transportation, shops, restaurants, and attractions. Located on a corner lot, the fenced-in yard is enormous and the property has a pond in the back yard great for fishing and canoeing.

The beautiful landscaping consists of Large Queen palms, Seigo palms, roses, citrus trees, and several other flowering plants that I just don’t know the name of.

No Expense was spared when renovating this Orlando property

The inside of the house was completely remodeled using exotic granite throughout, high-end fixtures and stainless steel appliances, top-of-the-line carpeting, and tile. My client knows that the key to a successful re-hab is to make everything look perfect giving the buyer absolutely nothing to complain about.

By using earth tones and not skimping on kitchen and bathroom cabinets as well as countertops, you are giving yourself the best chance to sell the property quickly. Pricing Orlando real estate correctly is crucial in order to get the property sold quickly, that’s why we do a complete market analysis before listing any of our Orlando homes.

Sell A house in Orlando

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