Category: Mortgage Companies

Getting Pre-Approved For A Mortgage

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The pre-approval process is a huge benefit both to buyers as well as Orlando Real Estate Agents, primarily because it lets you know upfront how much you qualify for, so you don’t have to waste time looking at homes you cannot afford.

Getting Preapproved also gives is us peace of mind. I mean you now have a document in writing that states the amount of money that a lender will loan you on the house of your choosing.

Shopping for a home knowing that you’re preapproved for a mortgage is a whole different feeling than if you’re just out window shopping. Now, when you’re out looking at homes with your Orlando realtor, you know that it’s for real. When you find a home you really like, you now know that you could actually end up with it.

What Do You Need To Get Pre-Approved

The first thing you’ll want to do is actually meet with your mortgage banker or lending institution. After running a credit check on you they’ll look at your income, your assets, if you’re receiving down payment assistance from a family member, whether it’s a loan or a gift, etc. They will also want to look at your rental history because that kind of information gives them an indicator of what would happen, once you do have a mortgage.

When you approach a bank or a mortgage broker it’s best to have your paperwork ready for them. Typically they need pay stubs, bank statements, as well as the last two years of your tax returns. People that are self employed will need to provide a profit and loss statement. If you earn multiple streams of income other than your job like from a rental property for example, you should also include it.

Before pre-approving you for a mortgage, the lender will want to ensure that you don’t have a lot of outstanding debt, whether it’s student loans, or credit cards, car loans, etc.

Not everyone takes the time and effort to go through the pre-approval process before going house shopping, but we definitely recommend it. The Orlando real estate market is very competitive these days so it’s best to be prepared before launching your home shopping campaign. It can be heartbreaking to find the home of your dreams, then lose it to another buyer because you weren’t prepared and they were.

When a potential buyer goes through the preapproval process it shows the listing agent for the property as well as the seller that you are a serious buyer.

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TOR 022: Loan Modifications Exposed!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Loan modifications have helped tens of thousands of Orlando homeowners to keep their homes in recent years. However, with Loan Modifications, you have to be aware of the fine print and know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.

Sometimes…terms of a loan mod are much worse than the original mortgage. They just try to sugarcoat it to make it look good.

Here’s a recap of today’s episode. Hit the play button to get the full scoop!

 5 things you should watch out for when negotiating a loan modification:

 1-“Your lender’s in charge of the loan, which means they have the option of dropping all penalties against you. Don’t be bullied….. “

2- “This may sound funny but it happens. Sometimes lenders try to get you to agree that if they lose the original loan docs, you must assist them in reproducing them….”

3- “Don’t agree to step by step rate increases or balloon payments…..”

4- “Don’t agree to payments you can’t afford. The whole purpose for doing a loan mod is….” 

5- “Don’t agree to an interest rate that can automatically adjust based on an index over which… “

” An Orlando Short Sale maybe your best option!”

  “By doing a short sale you’ll be free of your lender forever, and you can get enough cashback from the sale to get a fresh start.”

“If you’re interested in getting more information about loan modifications or short sales call us or visit our site to set up a free consultation”

“we’ll meet with you to discuss the details of your situation to come up with a plan of action that works best for you.”

“I hope this information was helpful to someone out there. If so, please take a moment to write a review and rate the show on i tunes, it would be greatly appreciated.”

“Please keep those questions coming, just visit the ORC site to submit a question or topic and we’ll do our best to talk about it on the show.”

“Thanks for listening everyone, we’ll see you next time!”

 

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Boomerang Buyers In Orlando Get Smarter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

2007 was a bad year for Orlando real estate just as it was for the rest of the country. It was especially devastating for people who lost their homes to foreclosure or were forced to do a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. Since that time many people have managed to recover from the market crash with many still on the road to recovery.

2015 marks the passing of the seven-year point for the first wave of these homeowners, which is the average time needed to conservatively repair someone’s credit after going through a foreclosure, short sale, or bankruptcy. We refer to them as boomerang buyers because they were forced to exit the world of homeownership and they’ve managed to come back in a big way.

These people deserve a lot of credit because not only did they survive losing their homes during the market crash, but they did what they had to in order to come back from a devastating loss and they’re now once again on the doorstep of becoming a homeowner.

We are currently working with several boomerang buyers in finding them an Orlando home that meets their needs. I can honestly say that this particular group of buyers appears to be much more educated on the home buying process than the average home buyer that has never been through a traumatic experience such as losing a home to foreclosure or short sale.

The one thing that ALL boomerang buyers have in common is that they never, ever want to go through foreclosure again! This is why they are now more educated and cautious in the way they think. These potential buyers have a carefully planned budget and they know exactly what they can and can’t afford. I’m also impressed by some of the questions they ask like these:

  • How much does this house spend on utilities?
  • How much are property taxes and are they subject to increase?
  • How much is the HOA and is it mandatory?
  • Are the appliance’s energy efficient?
  • How old is the water heater? Is it energy efficient?
  • Is there enough insulation?
  • Are the windows energy efficient?
  • How old is the roof? When can I expect to replace it? How much will it cost?

These same people wouldn’t have bothered asking most of these questions seven years ago. They just would’ve asked…Where do I sign?

Some People Still Prefer To Rent

For some former homeowners, the experience was so traumatic that they’ve sworn off ever owning a home again and are more than happy renting their home. When you think about it… it’s not a bad option at all. They don’t have to worry about making a huge down payment, they’re not committing to a 30-year debt, and they don’t have to worry about making major repairs. Also, if they have to move for whatever reason, they don’t have to worry about selling a house that may not be worth what they owe!

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Orlando Realtor Explains The Kick-Out Clause

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Realtors are highly aware that no homeowner likes to sign a contract that’s contingent on a potential buyer selling their primary residence. Most homeowners won’t be approved by any lender to purchase a new home without first selling the one that they live in anyway.

Many people that are planning a move like to know where they’re going to live before they put their own residence up for sale. This can be tricky because no homeowner in their right mind will want to take their home off the market to wait and see if the interested buyer is able to sell their home first.

Enter the “kick-out” clause

A “kick-out” clause is a contingency that allows a buyer to terminate the contract if they aren’t able to sell their primary residence first. This contingency also entitles them to get their deposit fully refunded. However, the “kick-out clause also benefits the seller.

Sellers don’t want to take their homes off the market only to be stuck waiting around for a buyer that may or may not close. It’s because of this reason that under the “kick-out” clause, sellers are allowed to continue marketing their property for sale while the potential buyer tries to sell his or her primary residence.

contracts

The “kick-out” clause from the seller’s side allows the seller to continue marketing the property and if another qualified buyer steps up, the sellers are required to give the original buyers a certain period of time [usually 3 days] to either remove the contingency [proceed with the contract] or they must withdraw themselves from the contract.
Read the fine print

Even if the potential buyers are faced with the three-day kick-out period and decide to proceed with the contract anyway, they may still be able to get out of it because they can’t get financing for the purchase. Most all standard contracts include a contingency that allows the buyer to terminate the contract if they can’t get a loan to purchase the home.

This can get kind of messy for both buyer and seller. Even if the buyer removes the sale contingency and wants to proceed with the purchase, it’s highly unlikely that a lender will approve a home loan until their primary home gets sold first. In a sense, the seller gets the short end of the stick because the potential buyer can still walk and keep their deposit and everything has been a waste of time.

Sellers Beware!

If a seller finds themselves in a situation like this they should include some very specific language to protect themselves. Something if the buyers are presented with the 3-day kick-out period and wish to delete the contingency and proceed with the original contract, they must demonstrate to the sellers [to the satisfaction of the sellers] that they are able to qualify for the loan. In most cases, the buyers don’t have the funds to proceed with the purchase.

Fair to Buyers and Sellers

If you look at it from the buyer’s point of view this agreement is fair as long as the seller doesn’t abuse it, like by using the agreement to get out of the contract because they received a higher offer from a third party.

For sellers, it’s also a fair agreement because even though they have a signed contract, they can continue to market the house. They even have the right to take back up contracts when offered. Sellers should make sure that their real estate agent continues to go full speed on the marketing of the property even after you’ve signed the first contract.

If you need help buying or selling a home in Orlando call us today at 407.902.7750

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You Sold Your Orlando Home, Now What?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Congratulations! After months of having strangers walk through your home with your Orlando listing agent, you finally got the offer that you wanted and the closing went off without a hitch. No, it’s just a matter of handing over the keys to the new owner and turning the page on this chapter of your life…or is it? Hold your horses for a minute. There are some things you need to do to avoid any potential problems that may arise from the sale of your house down the line.

1-   Make copies of ALL the paperwork that was related to the closing, especially the docs that you signed. You may be tempted to toss this stuff in the trash to avoid more clutter, don’t do it! Not yet anyway… Once tax season comes around, your accountant will need these papers to document the expenses as well the proceeds of the sale. Even after tax time, you should save these docs somewhere just in case you get audited.

2- If your property was sold via short sale, hopefully, your Orlando short sale realtor was able to get any deficiencies waved and even get you some money back from the bank for relocation costs. Either way, it went down, keep records of these papers as well.

3- Keep a record of improvements and repairs that you’ve made to your home. If you did the work yourself, don’t forget to add the cost of your time. No one is expected to work for free, not even in their own home. The IRS will allow you to factor in what you’ve spent on your home however, you need to supply the receipts on everything you’ve spent on the home in order to use this tax provision.

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4- Keep up with local tax laws. Tax laws are always changing and if you’re aware of them, you can avoid losing money. Recently, a new tax law passed that allows you to….never mind, it just changed. You get the point.

5- Take your time in buying your next home. Depending on what your situation is you should take your time in finding your next home. Make sure that the home and the location that you choose, meet your family’s needs. Many people choose to rent for a few months so that they don’t feel pressured into buying. This also allows them to see if the area they choose is everything they need it to be.

6- Keep your current financial situation in mind. Are you able to downsize? Is there a baby on the way? Did you get a promotion? Did you get a divorce? Be realistic with your situation, selling a home is an opportunity for a new beginning. Don’t start off by buying a house that will be constantly struggling to afford.

7- Think about the Realtor you will hire. Your Orlando listing agent did a great job in getting your house sold. That doesn’t mean that you should hire the same realtor to help you buy, especially if you’re looking to buy in a different area. The best real estate agents specialize in a specific niche or area of the industry.

Real estate agents like myself are listing agents in Orlando. We specialize in getting the highest dollar amount for Orlando homes in the shortest amount of time. Orlando short sale specialists, however, specialize in doing short sales and know everything there is to know about short sales. They also have to stay on top of the latest changes when it comes to the short sale industry. Finally, there are buyer agents. These agents specialize in finding the right home for potential home buyers. Their job is to find you a home based on the criteria that you give them.

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