Author: Jenny Zamora

Renting Your Orlando Home? Here’s What You Should Know

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

To bring in some additional cash, you may think about renting out your Orlando home, or even part of it. You shouldn’t rush into this interaction before learning the guidelines first. Here are a few things you should do if you’re serious about renting out your home.

Determine how much to charge for rent for

It’s important to determine how much you can rent your Orlando house for before putting it on the market as a rental. To get this right the first time around, you should consult with an experienced Orlando real estate agent… one who specializes in the area where your home is located. They know how much houses are worth and how much they will rent for.

Depending on if you own the home outright or you have a mortgage on the property, you’ll want to charge enough rent to cover all of your costs including mortgage payment, insurance, taxes, utilities [if included with rent], HOA dues, and maintenance costs. You cannot charge more than what the market will pay so the numbers must make sense to you and your situation.

Background checks for potential tenants

The last thing you want is to end up with bad tenants… What I mean by that is tenants who don’t pay on time, are irresponsible, and even confrontational. You must verify all the information given to you on the rental application. Ask the tenant for professional references to see how long they’ve been at their current job. Don’t be afraid to ask their employer about what they think of the person and if they’ve ever had an issue with them.

A background check will reveal bad credit situations, prior evictions, criminal history, and even other legal actions that have been taken against the applicant. Anyone who refuses a background check should be crossed off your list of potential renters.

Prepare a lease or rental agreement

You must have a rental or lease agreement prepared that will be signed by you “the Landlord” and your tenant or tenants. This is a document that guarantees that your tenant will abide by your rules for paying the rent by a specific day of the month, maintaining your property, noise curfew, pets or no pets, etc. It will also outline what steps will be taken legally if the tenant breaks any of the rules such as paying rent on time, violating a no-pet clause, etc. The consequences of breaking any rules usually include prompt legal action and eviction.

Consider landlords insurance

Check your current homeowners’ insurance policy to see exactly what you’re covered for. You might need additional landlord insurance to protect the home and the major components like electrical, Central AC, plumbing, roof, water heater, etc. You must also disclose to your homeowners’ insurance company that the home will be rented out and not owner-occupied.  

Understand the Eviction Process

Evicting someone from a home is never fun and is the single biggest problem a landlord will have to face. I can tell you from experience that if you are a landlord for long enough you will have to evict someone at some point. This is why it’s so important your rental agreement states what will happen if the tenant fails to pay the rent on time or stops paying completely.

You must follow the legal eviction process exactly as stated in whatever county your rental home is located in. The process always starts by giving the tenant a written notice personally or by certified mail. The notice gives the tenant time to respond and bring the rent current and also a time in which the tenant needs to out of the home if payment is not made. Depending on the tenant, this can sometimes turn into an ugly situation. Landlords should follow the eviction laws to a T to avoid any hold-ups.

To Rent or Not to Rent

Hopefully, this article didn’t scare you out of becoming a landlord… or maybe that’s a good thing. I’ve owned many rental properties in Orlando over the years and I’ve seen a lot of different situations. If you get a good renter, you could be looking at a steady income flow for years to come without a single problem. However, if you end up with a problematic renter, you could be facing some serious headaches… just keeping it real for you.

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Californians Moving to Orlando at an Unbelievable Rate

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Californians are Central Florida Dreaming

Almost 165,000 people vacated Los Angeles according to a report from Redfin. A large percentage of which moved to Orlando and other parts of Central Florida. This added about 60,000 new residents which fueled the housing market in Orlando. The Orlando real estate market continues to attract home buyers from the Northeast United States, which is pretty typical for Central Florida. The flood of west Coast buyers, however, is something new to us and it’s because of the dramatic rise in people working remotely, said Jenny Zamora Broker/Owner at Orlando Realty Consultants, based in Hunters Creek, FL.

Now there is no need to attend corporate meetings or conventions for people in the corporate world. I believe there will be an increased number of Californians throughout 2021.

Since April of 2020, Realtors in Orlando say they have seen the largest influx of out-of-state residents coming to buy homes ever. The cheaper home prices together with the rising concerns of COVID-19 are also major factors for so many people moving clear across the country.

While Orlando home prices are steadily climbing, they still don’t compare with the housing costs in Los Angeles. The median home price in Orlando is $275,000 while in Los Angeles it’s at $830,000, according to Realtor.com. The cost of living between these two US cities is another huge motivator for Californians to head East. Los Angeles residents are realizing that by moving to Central Florida, they can afford to live on a much lower income because their mortgage was just cut in half.

The City Beautiful is more attractive to Californians than other major US cities like Phoenix, Austin, or Dallas, Texas. most real estate agents in Orlando will agree there’s a steady flow of new residents from the Northeast, New York, and Chicago. Although we can expect to see a rise in new residents coming from the Midwest and the West.

The sudden increase of out-of-state buyers caused home sales to jump 22% from December 2019 to December 2020 according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The housing market in a certain area can also be a reflection of the health of the local economy.

Orlando Real Estate Agents Scrambling To keep up with Demand

The influx of out-of-state buyers overall can create a home buyers frenzy… especially in neighborhoods that are in high demand like Hunters Creek, FL.  “For some Realtors in Orlando, they are the busiest they’ve been in a long time” claims Jenny Zamora Orlando Real Estate Broker at ORC. We just don’t know when [or if] this stream of new residents will slow down, or how this will affect the future housing market in Orlando. While this current seller’s wave continues to crest, Orlando homeowners are continuing to cash in on the buyers’ frenzy.

The Perfect Storm for Buyers and Sellers

Right now is a great time to sell your house in Orlando, claims Zamora, the homeowner gets top dollar for their home and the buyer can take advantage of historically low mortgage rates… It’s a win-win for everyone… including local real estate agents. Out-of-state buyers can benefit tremendously by working with an experienced buyer’s agent. Many times an out-of-state buyer will buy a home site-unseen which means they never actually see the house in person before purchase. For these buyers especially, having an experienced Orlando buyer’s agent in their corner is crucial.

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Is Now A Good Time To Buy Or Sell a House in Orlando?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

A recent report by the Orlando Regional Realtors Association, states that right now is a good time to buy or sell a home in Orlando, FL. Although there is a shortage of inventory, mortgage interest rates remain extremely low which continues fueling high demand for housing in Central Florida.

Many Realtors in Orlando… including myself, thought when the pandemic started, it would be devastating for real estate professionals. Since real estate agents work solely on commissions meaning… if you don’t close a deal, you don’t get paid. Realtors, for the most part, aren’t eligible to collect unemployment like in a normal 9 to 5 job.

There’s no denying the Coronavirus pandemic slowed down many businesses and even caused some to close, but the Orlando real estate business isn’t one of them. I can tell you that my own brokerage Orlando Realty Consultants, is even busier than we were this time last year.

There’s no doubt in my mind this is largely due to people moving from larger cities up north wanting to live in more spacious suburban surroundings. More and more businesses are offering their employees a way to work remotely so they can live wherever their hearts desire.

Orlando is home to some of the best suburban neighborhoods in the state of Florida. Neighborhoods like Hunter’s Creek which was voted the 21st best place to live in the US by CNN’s Money Magazine. These great communities combined with gorgeous year-round weather make living in Orlando attractive to anyone and everyone.

Orlando Home Sales Up 20% Since Start Of Pandemic

The greatest issue home-buyers are confronting is that low housing inventory is driving an enormous demand. With historically low-interest rates, homes are vanishing off the market.

Even if you are not interested in buying or selling, real estate agents in Orlando say now is an excellent time to refinance. It does not hurt to see what your options are. You could end up shaving hundreds of dollars a month on your mortgage payment if you refinance.

Can We Expect To See More Foreclosures In 2021

Most homeowners that have been affected financially by the pandemic have been able to get through these hard times. Thanks to forbearance agreements, unemployment checks, and stimulus money people who know how to “trim the fat” have been able to keep up with their bills. But what happens when all these temporary solutions come to an end?… and they will end at some point. I believe many homeowners may have to take out home equity loans at some point and use them to keep up with their mortgage payments while others will elect to sell their Orlando home to cash in on the current seller’s market.

Right now, it’s too early to tell how this will all play out because many people are still receiving unemployment benefits and our new president is promising another round of stimulus checks to all tax-paying Americans. Hopefully, the world will get back to being close to normal, the economy will bounce back, and the housing market will continue to boom.

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A Strong December in 2020 lifts Orlando Real Estate Market Above Prior Year

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Orlando, FL Real estate market ended 2020 pretty much exactly as it began this craziest of years: with a frenzy of home sales in suburban Orlando neighborhoods.

There were 3,672 local Orlando home sales in December. That’s a 21% jump from 3,033 deals in December of 2019, as per the newest information from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. That solid December execution helped 2020 beat 2019 in overall Orlando home sales…A clear indicator of how nearby home interest has not eased back because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This has resulted in Orlando Realtors working longer hours and making more commissions, which is great news for real estate agents and real estate professionals overall. The desire for people wanting to buy a house in Orlando has exploded at the end of 2020 and now well into 2021… and right now there are no signs of slowing.

This tremendous increase in Orlando home sales is quite amazing thinking about the vulnerability around the Coronavirus pandemic which made deals drop in the spring. As Orlando home sales grew, so did the prices. The median home price in 2020 was $265,000 when in 2019 it was $243,000.

In 2020, the demand for Orlando homes was partly fueled by the desire for square footage and less-thick living during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, northeastern purchasers ran to Florida’s less expensive homes, warmer climate, and suburban lifestyle.

2021 Orlando Real Estate On Track to Stay Busy

The huge demand for Orlando real estate is expected to remain strong and even increase in 2021 according to Jenny Zamora, Broker/Owner at Orlando Realty Consultants. The data proves that inventory has drastically decreased since the beginning of 2021. December of 2020 reveals the lowest housing inventory in Orlando we’ve seen in the past 15 years. This creates an extremely competitive situation for potential home buyers.

Zamora is not the only Realtor in Orlando to predict an extremely busy year for the real estate market in Orlando. As previously reported in an article in Realtor.com, stating Orlando home sales jumped over 10% this year so far and is expected to rise an additional 5.8 percent.

The 3 greatest variables that will drive lodging interest in 2021 are young homebuyers, an increase in people being able to work from home, and people wanting to live in the suburbs. One other major factor that’s expected to increase the demand for Orlando real estate is historically low mortgage rates, which are expected to drop even further as 2021 progresses.

Patterns in the residential Orlando real estate market are significant, as each home deal in the state has an expected neighborhood financial effect of $77,858 as per a recent report by the National Association of Realtors. Also, the real estate market in Orlando is viewed as an impression of the general soundness of the neighborhood economy.

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COVID-19 MIGRATES NE POPULATION TO CENTRAL FLORIDA

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Real Estate Market is Heating Up


In the latest Market Pulse, ORRA announced that our members partook in 3,634 residential homes sales in October. This is a dramatic increase of 25% from just 1 year ago.

This pattern ends up being valid as sites like Redfin.com detailed that in their second quarter, 22,000 more of their clients looked at moving to Central Florida.

Residents of New York, Texas, North Carolina, North Virginia, and numerous others are running to Florida. Many of which intend to buy a house in Orlando.

An Economic Push for Central Florida

Realtors in Orlando are saying New York’s misfortune is Orlando’s benefit. At the point when the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, telecommuters began leaving New York City and its super costly lodging. They were looking for vast areas, daylight, and moderate living spaces at an affordable cost… all of which you can discover in Orlando, Florida. Larger cities were also the hardest hit by the pandemic,… public lockdowns, and mass loss of employment.

The pattern has just heightened as the pandemic proceeds and individuals feel more sure of their distant work and school plans.
As continuous travelers transform into inhabitants, Orlando Realtors can anticipate that this should fuel the Orlando real estate market in months and even a very long time to come.

Bigger Budgets… Bigger Homes

Since these buyers come with larger budgets, it could push some of them into the mid to luxury price points… homes which they couldn’t afford in their home state.

First Time Home Buyers

For real estate agents in Orlando, this means getting ready for a rush of first-time buyers! Our year-round gorgeous weather, amenities, and affordable Orlando homes will draw thousands of new residents over the next few months… and continue throughout 2021 according to Orlando Real Estate Broker Jenny Zamora.

Research Your Area

Depending on someone’s lifestyle, wants, and needs they would be wise to start by doing some research… even before hiring an Orlando Realtor. For example, if the buyer has kids, they’d probably start by searching good school zones. Or if someone is single and interested in nightlife within walking distance, Downtown Orlando would be a great choice.

Once you’ve done some research on some neighborhoods, it’s time to seek out an Orlando Realtor who specializes in those areas. Your agent should know your desired area like the back of their hand. Once you’ve consulted with your agent, they should let you know just as soon as a home hits the market. Experienced real estate agents will have alerts set up so they can be first in line to schedule a showing.

Line Up Financing


Unless you’re paying cash for the home, you’ll have to get a mortgage. People who are planning to finance a home usually look for a suitable lender by asking for their recommendation. Most mortgage brokers offer the services of lending companies so that borrowers can choose between available mortgage deals. Mortgage brokers do not provide financing but simply advise people on different lenders who may be suitable.

In case they decide on financing their loan through a particular lender, then they will inform the borrowers about all the pros and cons of the deal. They also make it possible for the borrowers to compare the various deals and select one that best suits their requirements.


If you’re a first-time home buyer try going to https://floridahousing.org/ to see what programs you qualify for. Finance Home loans are available at a wide range of rates. The borrower must choose a mortgage loan that suits his requirement and the ability to repay. Mortgage brokers often provide instant online quotes on interest rates and other associated fees. This helps borrowers find out the right interest rate and loan type that suits their requirements. When choosing a mortgage loan, you must research all the pros and cons of the deal.

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