Category: News and Information

Short Sale With No Hardship

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Short Sale With No Hardship – Video

Normally, homeowners that are no longer able to continue paying their mortgage are going through some kind of hardship such as job loss, decrease in pay or hours, health issues, divorce, mortgage payment increase,
even incarceration.

Sometimes.however, people need to sell their home not because of a hardship, but for other special circumstances like a job transfer, military deployment, etc. And, in most cases, for the reasons I just mentioned, lenders have been very accommodating to those that need to sell.
There is another reason however why homeowners want to short sale there home and that is simply to get out of a bad investment.
These homeowners know that they owe the bank way more money than the house will ever be worth and they just want to get that debt off their back and get on with their lives.
The can afford to keep making their payments… but they hate the idea of paying on a mortgage with a principal balance that is a lot more than their property is worth.

 

So, the question is…Can you short sale your home without being behind on your payments so that your credit doesn’t get damaged?

 

The truth is that there’s no way of knowing until you try. Some lenders are more flexible in that respect than others and the only way to know is to give it shot.
It’s important to be aware that many short sale lenders.are controlled by the guidelines of the investors that own the loan.
So while a loan may be serviced by Wells Fargo or B of A or whoever, the loan is actually owned by another entity.
and It’s that other entity that decides on accepting or declining your short sale.

From our own experience. Most investors do require that the sellers have missed mortgage payments, and others do not.

 

Unfortunately, you just don’t know how things will play out until you start the short sale process with the lender.

If you’re current on your mortgage but would like to short sale your Orlando property, call us at 407-902-7750 or visit https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/short-sales/
One of our short sale experts will give you a free “analysis of your situation” so that you can find out what your options are and move forward with the knowledge that you need to make the right decision.

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Avoiding Home Buyer’s Remorse

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

  Home Buyer’s Remorse

Have you ever bought something on the spur of the moment then later on you ask yourself.. “what was I thinking? I don’t even like or need it”. In most cases, you can usually return the items like an expensive shirt or an ugly painting as long as you have the receipt. However, if you paid cash and bought it from someone’s trunk in a parking lot, then you’re probably stuck with it.

 

 

Unfortunately, you can’t do this when you buy a home which makes the home buying process even more stressful. Purchasing a property is a big deal for any family. Not only is this is the place they will call home for years to come but is probably the biggest or one of the biggest investments of someone’s lifetime.

 

 

In today’s competitive housing market where you have bidding wars on a very limited amount of inventory, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of wanting to be the one to “win” the home. Sometimes new homeowners will start to have serious regrets about the huge purchase they just made just days or maybe even hours after the closing. Oh No! What Have We Done!?

There are several things a potential home buyer can do to avoid going through buyer’s remorse…

 

Look at several properties that meet your criteria.

Even if you love the first home your realtor shows you it would be wise to visit several homes that meet or come close to meeting your criteria. Sometimes you think that you’ve found exactly what you’ve been looking for then you go see another home and you like it even better!

 

Don’t fall in love until the negotiations are done!

From my own personal experiences, I know this is a hard one to do but it must be done. Let’s say you put a fair offer on a home that you really like. Then after a few rounds of offers and counteroffers, the price has gone up another $30,000 more than what you can spend.

If you’ve already fallen in love with the house, then you are done…your mind will find a way of justifying the price increase and you’ll probably do whatever it takes to get the house even though you can’t really afford it.

Keep your best poker face throughout the negotiations. Tell your realtor what your budget is and stick to it! You’ll be glad you did.

 

Go see the home several times.

You should go and see the home several times before buying. Seeing the home only once before buying is a sure fire recipe for buyer’s remorse. Go through the home slowly and methodically, Open every door and window, walk through every room and leave no stone unturned.

 

I also suggest visiting the home at night for a another perspective. Don’t be afraid of bothering you realtor. Your real estate agent is getting paid to do their job, so make them earn it.

Make sure you have an inspection contingency.

Your best insurance is to make sure that there’s an inspection contingency in the contract. Some agents call it the “buyers remorse” contingency and it allows you to get out of the agreement if there’s a serious issue with the property you didn’t know before making your offer.

 

Hire An Experienced Buyer’s Agent

Enlisting the help of a realtor that is experienced in the area that you want to purchase in it will make your home buying experience much easier and even pleasurable. Let your agent know about any concerns or questions you have about a particular property or situation.

A good realtor will help you navigate through the entire home buying process as well as advise you of what to watch out for.

 

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Fannie Mae Short Sales Just Got Shorter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Fannie Mae

I believe that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as well as most all other lending institutions finally acknowledge the importance of the realtor’s role in the short sale process.

It seems like yesterday [back in 2004] when we started doing short sales. Orlando realtors like myself that specialized in doing only short sales dealt with frustration everyday.

Short sales were rare and many lenders weren’t equipped to properly handle the short sale process. And when you did complete a short sale, getting your hard earned commission from the lender at the closing was like pulling teeth. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then and most lenders are very aware of how to handle a short sale efficiently.

In 2008 shortly after the bubble burst in 2007, the US Department of Treasury introduced the Making Home Affordable Program aka “HAMP”.  The intention was to reach out to struggling homeowners that wanted to try and keep their homes as opposed to selling them via short sale or losing them to foreclosure. The program was extremely successful at what it was supposed to do which was help homeowners modify their mortgage so that they could keep their home.

By this time, “short sale” was a pretty common term for anyone who owned a house or anyone who watched the local news for that matter. Lenders were also getting used to processing short sales and even started offering several different “Cash for Keys” programs as an incentive to homeowners who agreed to short sale their home. Even though, overall, short sales are still complicated and time consuming many lenders have seen the light and have taken leaps and bounds in streamlining the the short sale process.

Fannie Mae [Federal National Mortgage Association] announced recently that they will attempt to assist listing agents that want to pursue a Fannie Mae short sale. In order to understand Fannie Mae’s new and improved process, you have to understand how short sales work.

 

What Changes Were Made With Fannie Mae Short Sales?

Fannie Mae just introduced a new website www home path for short sales .com. At the time of the listing, Fannie Mae will now provide list price guidelines. In addition, the agency will work directly with the listing agent or seller to get the 1st lien approval. The next step for Fannie Mae is to allow realtors to negotiate an offer directly through them saving us even more time.

 

Jennifer Zamora Orlando Realtor

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Orlando Real Estate Still On The Upswing

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Although Orlando real estate still has one of the more affordable housing markets in the US, it’s evident that the price of residential real estate in “The City Beautiful” is steadily on the rise.

In the month of May, home buyers in Orlando spent an astounding 18% to 20% of their income on the mortgage payment. I don’t know about you, but this sounds really high to me. Especially, when you consider that at the height of Orlando’s low point in 2010 [after the big crash of 2007] buyers were only spending 10% to 12% of their income on the mortgage payment. What’s wrong with people??!!

Have you ever heard the joke about how Johnny’s dad wouldn’t buy him a $200 bike because of an $80,000.00 mortgage. Although it would be perfect to include in this post, I can’t write about it here because of the adult content that it contains, but if you’re over 18, you should Google it!

There’s nothing wrong with people [for the most part] per say. It’s that they have no choice but to do what needs to be done in order to provide food and shelter for their families. If that means having to spend a nice chunk of their income to keep a roof over their heads, then so be it! We can only do what the market permits us to do.

Check out these numbers; the median home price in Orlando back in 2010 was $1000,000 and just 2 months ago [June 2014] it was up to $165,000. I’m not sure what that exactly means but… Holy Cow! That’s a big increase! 

Orlando Real Estate Market Keeps On Growing and it Shows No Signs Of Slowing.

Even with this huge increase, affordability levels are still relatively low when you look at historical averages. This means that we’re not done growing yet, even if mortgage rates go up a point. Here’s how it works; If mortgage interest rates would go up a point, let’s say from 4% to 5% on a thirty-year mortgage, it would mean that homeowners instead of spending 18% to 20% of their income on a mortgage payment, they would be spending 20% to 22% on their mortgage. According to RealtyTrac this also includes property taxes.

Consider Renting Over Buying

Orlando is said to have one of the most affordable housing rates for buyers in the nation. However, for renters it’s ranked as one of the LEAST affordable places to live in the US… Hold on to your hats! Renters in Orlando spend an average of 34% of their income on paying the rent! Now that’s crazy right?…  Not always.

There are many advantages to renting as opposed to buying a home in Orlando. Here are a couple of advantages of renting over buying.

You don’t have to qualify for a mortgage- Probably the worst part of buying a home is qualifying for it. Unless you have impeccable credit and have never missed a payment in your lifetime, chances are whatever lender you try to get a mortgage with will make you jump through more hoops than a show dog with no guarantees that you get approved. If you rent a home, this is a non-issue and you don’t have to worry about plopping down 20% at the closing table

There’s no commitment- When you commit to a mortgage, you agreed in writing to pay back the entire amount of the loan to the lender or they reserve the right to foreclose on you putting your credit and probably your spouse’s credit at risk. When you rent, you’re only committing to the term of the lease and you can easily pack up and move on. This is why renting is especially attractive to people who are uncertain of there future because of a new job or some other circumstance that would cause them to have to move.


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How To Hire A Short Sale Realtor – Video

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

How To Hire A Short Sale Realtor  Video

 

When you hire a Short Sale Realtor t to take on your short sale, It’s just like hiring an attorney to represent you in some legal matter, so obviously you want someone with experience and a good track record.

The agent you choose is going to be dealing with your lender on your behalf which is a huge responsibility.

 

To begin with, they have to put together your entire file correctly to then move to the next steps of sending in offers, counteroffers, scheduling inspections, arranging showings, etc.

 

Right now there are a ton of cash incentive programs are out there and it’s important that your real estate agent is aware what programs you may qualify for or you could end up losing out on that those incentives.

 

Short selling a home is serious business. In fact, selling a house is one of the most important decisions a person will have to make in their lifetime,so it’s important that you hire a realtor that specializes in short sales.
What’s the best way to research an agent?
Like anything else these days, I recommend that you start your search with Google

 

Type in terms like “Orlando short sales” “short sale specialist” etc. A top short sale agent will have a strong online presence.
You should then choose 2 or 3 of them from the first page on the search results

 

Make sure that the agents that you choose are experienced in your area.

 

You should then start the interview process by asking these agents some key questions such as the following:

1- How many successful short sales have they done?, How many have they done in the past six months?, What’s their closing rate?
2- How many active short-sale listings do they have currently?

3- Do you have any references or testimonials from past clients? And is it OK to contact them?
This will give you a very clear picture of what you can expect moving forward.

 

 

If you follow the steps mentioned above, then you will know exactly which one to choose. Because remember, it’s not just about being a good agent. It’s also who do you feel comfortable with.

 

Short selling a home will be one of the most important transactions of your life. So it really is worth the extra effort to thoroughly research the agents you’re thinking of hiring before signing that listing agreement.

 

Feel free to contact us with any more questions you may have at 407-902-7750 or visit https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/short-sales/

Orlando short sale expert

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