Category: News and Information

With the overwhelming popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices these days people are starting to use their mobile devices to do online searches much more than their old desktop computers. Home shoppers looking to buy a home in Orlando especially prefer to use mobile devices for the sheer convenience of it.

As a matter of fact, data from our own real estate clients at ORC indicate that the use of smartphones and mobile devices has more than tripled over the past year while desktops have shown less and less usage.

It’s All About Convenience

When people are searching for their own piece of real estate in Orlando, they’re more than likely on the go, driving through their dream neighborhoods. Think about it…you can actually search for homes online and physically simultaneously without ever missing a beat.

This also means that you can potentially take advantage of being the first buyer on the scene as soon as a new listing hits the market. In a hot seller’s market, this can be a huge advantage!

Although potential buyers may not be getting rid of their desktops altogether, our findings show that weekend home shoppers use their mobile devices, smartphones, in particular, a total of 70% of the time with only 30% using their home computers for finding Orlando homes on the MLS.

Orlando Realty Consultants Mobile Website

In order to provide our clients with top-level customer service, we’re constantly upgrading, updating, and improving our mobile-friendly website https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/.  Equipped with the latest in IDX mobile search technology, our site provides up-to-date, real-time information on the newest listings in Orlando as they hit the market as opposed to using Trulia or Zillow where listings can take several hours and even days to update.

Online Home Search Tools Never Sleep

One of the major advantages of using online search tools is that websites don’t sleep. If you’ve ever experienced the excitement of searching for a new house to live in, you can probably relate to losing a bit of sleep over the excitement of finding a new home. Now instead of tossing and turning or watching TV until you get sleepy, you can use that time to be proactive and continue the search.

Are Orlando Real Estate Agents Becoming Obsolete?

Real estate professionals in Orlando as well as throughout the country can rest easy knowing that they still play a vital role in finding homes for home shoppers. As a matter of fact, I believe giving consumers the power and freedom to do some searching on their own should be looked at as an advantage, especially for buyers agents.

A home shopper can get a very good feel for an area and what kind of homes they would like to see by spending some time searching on their own. The buyer can then forward their findings to their Orlando realtor so they can schedule some showings. An online search should be looked at as a win, win situation for both agent and client.

Working as an Orlando real estate agent, I’ve sold countless investment properties to newbie investors. Being an Orlando real estate investor myself, I don’t mind passing on my knowledge to inexperienced investors looking for their next or first investment. After all, my client’s success is my success.

Recently, however, I had some new investors buy one of my Orlando properties out in Whisper Lakes. It was a fixer-upper, nothing out of this world though. Some fresh paint, new cabinets, fixtures, and carpeting, and this baby would be ready to hit the market!

I gave Joel and Remy some contacts of contractors that I’ve used and continue that have always done a great job for me. They took my advice and hired one of the GCs that I recommended instead of trying to do the work themselves.

The job came out great and the contractor stayed within their budget, and the home was ready to hit the market.

Joel and Remy were fired up to sell their first flip and ready to move on to the next one. There was a problem though after several showings the house didn’t get any offers on it. This went on for two weeks and still no activity, even though the house was priced just under market value.

I knew at this point we had to take things to the next level in order to get a solid offer on this home. I suggested to Joel and Remy that it was time to do some staging and plan a big open house.

I could see the look on their faces when I told them it would cost around $1,500 to get the home fully staged and looking like a million bucks. They weren’t buying into the whole staging thing and thought they should just lower the price by another $3,000. Well, I’m no professor but I do know that it’s much better to lose $1,500 than it is to lose $3,000.

By staging a home, you’re allowing someone to visualize the home at its maximum potential. They can actually see that there is plenty of room for that table of theirs and that living room set they love soo much. The same goes for decorations perfectly placed around the home with some nice paintings on the walls. With staging, you can give that home a “wow” factor that it just wouldn’t have if it were empty.

I finally managed to convince them to get the house staged and I even offered to pay half out of my commission if it didn’t work out.

The home staging crew rolled in with enough furniture and decorations to cover the two open living areas, the 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. Well, the home sold less than a week after we staged it. As a matter of fact, a lady who had seen it weeks prior when it was first listed came back to see it again and said “I’ll take it”.

She wasn’t lying, she submitted a solid offer the same day through her Orlando realtor and ultimately ended up closing just 3 weeks later.

4 deals later and Joel and Remy continue to buy Orlando properties from us and are still going strong. The difference now is that they stage every property whether they think it needs it or not.

Many people tend to focus too much on sale price when trying to determine their net profits from the sale of their home. They tend to overlook the long parade of commissions, taxes, fees, and other costs that could easily add up to 7 or 8% of a home’s sale price.

Homeowners that are selling an Orlando home for the first time can be especially clueless when it comes to the smaller details of a real estate transaction. After listing your home, your Orlando real estate agent should provide you with what’s called a “Seller’s estimated net proceeds worksheet”. This will give you an idea of all the different costs that will be deducted from your net proceeds when you close.

Although certain costs can vary from state to state, these are some of the main ones you will see along with their definitions.

Mortgage Balance:

This represents any mortgages attached to the property including first and second mortgages as any home equity lines of credit. The sum of these will be your mortgage payoff balance to be deducted from your proceeds.

Mortgage Payoff Fee:

In some cases, lenders may charge an administrative fee for paying off your loan.

Release of Liens Doc:

This will appear on the title search if you’ve ever had a judgment placed on your property by a contractor, a court of law, or a property tax lien. You must pay these off before you are legally able to close. Many times certain liens can be reduced or negotiated prior to closing.

Prepayment Penalty:

Some lenders will have a prepayment clause stating that if you pay off your loan early, you will be penalized. [as if they didn’t make enough money on you already]

State Recording Fees:

Any time you pay something off as it relates to your home, it needs to be recorded with the county in order to make it official. Title companies will pay these fees and pass on the cost to you at the closing.

Real Estate Commissions:

Typically, the real estate commissions for both the buyers and sellers agents, usually 5% or 6% will be split between the listing agent’s brokerage and the buyer’s agent’s brokerage. Each agent will then get paid by their own broker.

Notary Fee:

Most documents in a real estate transaction are required to be witnessed and notarized to make sure the docs are properly executed. The fee for this will also be deducted from the homeowner’s proceeds.

Escrow Fee:

When deposits and other sums of money are received by the title company for the purpose of funding the transaction, it all gets deposited into an escrow account to make sure it gets handled properly. The escrow fee is basically a charge for the service of accepting and disbursing the money to the individuals involved in the transaction.

Title Search:

Title companies perform a title search on properties to verify who the rightful homeowners are as well as look for any liens, judgments or anything else that may keep the transaction from closing. This is usually done at the very beginning of the transaction so that homeowners will have ample time to clear up any issues that may appear well before the closing.

Seller Concessions:

A seller concession could be where the seller of the property agrees to add a three percent concession for closing costs. This concession will then be added to the sales price to help pay for the buyers closing costs.

Home Repairs:

Any repairs that the seller agreed to make as part of the deal either through negotiations with the buyer or the lender.

The Home Warranty:

A seller will sometimes agree to pay the cost of a home warranty as an incentive for the buyer. This warranty offers a certain amount of protection for the new homeowners’ first year in the home.

If you’re looking to sell your Orlando home but aren’t sure exactly how much you’ll make on the sale, call listing specialist Jenny Zamora at 407-902-7750 for a free consultation or visit us at https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/.