Category: Orlando Foreclosures

Foreclosure Homes in Orlando FL

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Searching for a foreclosure property in Orlando, FL

The home buying process can be as exciting as it can be scary… Especially when buying a foreclosure home in Orlando. Depending on if you plan on living in the home, selling it, or renting it out, you should be a critical buyer. There are several things you should consider before making your decision.

Finding the right Orlando neighborhood.

If you plan on living in the home, you should find a neighborhood that meets your family’s needs. Being in a good school district or being close to your job could help you decide. But, if you plan on renting it out, you’ll want to be in an area where it will rent out fast like near a college or university. Your real Orlando estate agent can advise you on finding the best area to meet your needs.

Determine how much you can afford to pay

It’s important to know how much you can afford to pay for a house before you begin your search. Keep in mind that when you’re buying an Orlando short sale home or foreclosure, you’re buying it in as-is condition. Chances are you’ll have to make a few repairs to make it livable. Unless you’re an experienced investor, I would suggest avoiding homes needing major repairs. By adding the cost of repairs to the sale price you’ll know how much the house will cost you.

Finding a Realtor that specializes in Orlando foreclosure properties

Not all Realtors in Orlando have experience with foreclosure properties or short sales. You must find an agent that specializes in foreclosure homes and short sales. By hiring the right agent, you will greatly increase your chances of finding the right property.

Facing Foreclosure in Orlando?

If you or someone you know have an approaching foreclosure sale date, you must take action! Whether you speak with us or some other Orlando foreclosure specialist, don’t wait. Time is against you and the faster you take action the better your chances of avoiding foreclosure.


Know your options…

Just because the bank has begun the foreclosure process or has threatened to, don’t panic! You have options… Depending on your situation there are some different options available to you.


Short Sale

A short sale is when your mortgage lender agrees to let you sell the home for less than what’s owed on the mortgage. They will only do this if the home is currently valued for more than what it’s worth or “market value”. You must also prove to the bank that you can no longer afford to pay the mortgage. You’ll have to submit a complete short sale package to your bank. The package consists of a hardship letter, 2 years of tax returns, and your financials.


Loan Modification

If you’re looking to keep the home and continue living in it a loan modification may be an option. This is when the lender adjusts the terms of your mortgage making the payment more affordable. In my experience, the modified terms are often worse than the original mortgage terms. The truth is you won’t know until you try.


Deed in Lieu

A deed in lieu is when you sign the deed over to the bank and they agree to stop the foreclosure. Having a deed in lieu of your credit is still far better than foreclosure.

STOP FORECLOSURE!

File for Bankruptcy

As a last resort, you can always file for bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Consult with a local bankruptcy attorney to see if it could be an option for you.

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Selling Your Orlando Home Without A Realtor

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Although most of the time I recommend for people to use an agent when buying or selling a home, some folks just want to get a quick cash offer and just move on with their lives. Even if it means not getting top dollar for their home.

There can be many reasons why someone needs to sell fast like, If your property:

  • Has become too expensive to maintain
  • Is causing you more headaches and stress than it’s worth
  • Has fallen into foreclosure, or short sale team has a 98% approval rating
  • Is in need of repairs and has to be fixed up to make it livable
  • Is an inherited home that you just don’t want

The good news is that our sister company http://sellmyhouseinorlando.com/does just that. We pay cash for homes in Orlando in any condition situation or price range. By selling your property this way, you can avoid having to pay any realtor fees closing costs, or any other fee involved with selling your house, we take care of everything. These are some of the reasons why you should consider selling to us.

  • We pay cash so there’s no bank financing needed which means there’s no chance of the deal not closing. We Pay Cash (No bank financing needed)
  • There are no real estate commissions to pay saving you thousands.
  • We buy homes in As–Is condition. No need to make any repairs before selling.
  • Guaranteed Best Cash Offer First. No haggling, No games.
  • Divorce Situations.
  • Unpaid property taxes.
  • Landlords who just want out.

Since 2003 we have been helping Orlando homeowners to walk away from problem properties by giving them our highest all-cash offer putting money in their pockets and taking away their stress! It doesn’t matter if it’s falling to pieces, upside down, or in foreclosure… we’ll buy it. Get A Fast Cash Offer Today!

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5 Tips For Buying An Orlando Foreclosure

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

By buying an Orlando foreclosure property aka REO [real estate owned] property, home shoppers can potentially get the deal of a lifetime.

Lenders that have taken a property back after going through the foreclosure process are often eager to unload these properties and are willing to take a significant loss to do so. It’s important to know that buying a foreclosure home works a bit differently than buying a home through a traditional listing.

The following are some things that home shoppers should consider before making an offer on a foreclosure property.

1- Buying “As-Is”

Distressed homeowners that are about to be foreclosed on are sometimes disgruntled with the bank and feel like they want revenge against the bank. They may even strip the home of anything of value like the central AC unit, appliances, fixtures, etc. In my experience as a realtor in Orlando, I’ve seen foreclosure properties that have been vandalized to the point where the homeowner has destroyed windows, and walls and even filled the toilets with cement!

However, if the price is right, don’t let these things discourage you. Anything can be fixed or replaced. Before making your offer, find out how much a contractor would charge to make the necessary repairs.

2- Know What You’re Up Against

When you buy a home from a homeowner through a traditional listing, you’ll probably get some helpful advice about the home like a loose door handle or leaky faucet that needs replacing. However, with a foreclosure property the homeowners won’t be around to give you any advice or history about the home. The lender that now owns the property won’t be able to provide you with this type of information because they’re not familiar with the home.

That’s why it’s so important to have a thorough inspection done on the home or you could end up with a money pit on your hands.

3- Don’t Low Ball The Bank

While it is true that you can get a heck of a deal buying a foreclosure property, don’t think that the lender will accept any offer that you submit to them. As opposed to individual homeowners, lenders can afford to keep the property until they feel that the price is right to sell it. The best practice is to get an estimate for all the necessary repairs and make your offer based on other comparable properties minus the cost of repairs. This number should get you into the ballpark.

If you choose to send in a low ball offer to the bank, they may not even consider your offer and you could end up losing the deal.

4- Be Patient

Buying an REO property usually takes a lot more time than buying a home the traditional way from a homeowner. These lenders have thousands of foreclosure homes to deal with which means it takes quite a bit longer to get around to looking at your offer and deciding whether to accept it or not. If you want to be in the foreclosure buying market, patience is not a virtue, it’s a necessity.

5- Hire An Orlando Realtor Buy A home in Orlando, FL

Lenders have procedures and systems set up specifically for selling foreclosure properties in Orlando. This can make inexperienced home shoppers feel like fish out of water. That’s why it’s crucial to enlist the help of an experienced Orlando Realtor to help you on your quest to buy a foreclosure at a great price. If you rely on the listing agent that was hired by the bank to help you with everything, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.  

The agent that was hired by the lender is probably dealing with dozens of foreclosure properties at the same time which means that you won’t get the attention that you deserve. By working with a top Orlando Realtor, you can have the confidence of knowing that you’re in good hands and you won’t have to worry about having to contact the listing agent about anything.

Your Orlando realtor will also be able to provide you with a list of recommended home inspectors and contractors in the area so you don’t have to spend your time researching them yourself.

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TOR 005: Orlando Short Sale Without Hardship

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Sometimes homeowners can afford to keep making the payments but they know that they’re overpaying and they just want out of a bad investment. Today we discuss what the possible scenarios are for people who want to short sell their home without falling behind on the mortgage so that they won’t damage their credit

To submit a topic or a question to our “Top Orlando Realtors” Podcast fill out the form below and we’ll do our best to talk about it on the show.

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TOR 004: Can The Bank Take My Assets After Foreclosure?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Top Orlando Realtors Podcast Episode:004

Hello and Welcome to the show If, you’ve been here before, we are happy to have you back.
Anyone can submit a question or suggest a topic for the show, just go to https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/blog/ and fill out the contact form.


I’m your host John Conde / Orlando Realtor and I hope everyone is still hanging in there with their New Year’s resolutions. I heard somewhere that most people don’t make it through January without breaking that resolution so if you’re still in the game then you’re doing better than most, so keep it up!


We currently have a client in the Dr. Phillips area that has a pretty unique situation going on.
His name is Dave and he is allowing me to talk about his case on the show as long as I don’t mention his last name. So Thank you for that Dave.


To make a long story short, Dave had a great job, got laid off, fell behind on his payments, and is now facing Orlando foreclosure. Dave wants to know if the bank can come after his other assets after the foreclosure sale of his house.

He doesn’t have much money in the bank, so he’s not worried about that. What he does have, is every toy that a man could want.  He has a ski boat, motorcycles, cars, RV, you name it..he’s got it, and everything is paid for.


Now, the best thing to do is stop Orlando foreclosure before it starts. Dave waited longer than he should have and only decided to take action after the lender had set a foreclosure date.
The sooner you take action, the better chance you have of stopping that foreclosure.


Unfortunately, in this case, foreclosure was imminent. And being that he has well over $100,000 in assets, he has a legitimate concern because these assets or objects, are all he has left and he needs to sell them so that he could have some money to live.


Unfortunately, here in Florida, the lender can absolutely come after your other assets.
This usually happens when the bank takes a huge loss at the auction, especially if it’s a large loan.
And unsecured assets aren’t the only thing that people need to worry about, lenders can also garnish your salary and personal bank accounts.

You see, problems that can occur from a foreclosure sale don’t happen until after the sale has gone through. Here in Florida, lenders can solicit the court for a “deficiency judgment” so they can try and collect the rest of the money that’s owed to them. Once they have a deficiency judgment in their possession, banks can go after any of your personal assets like a car or a boat.

The good news is that Florida lenders don’t usually go after someone’s assets following a foreclosure sale. Especially if they don’t see much to tap into. Collecting judgments takes a lot of time and can cost the bank a lot of money.


Banks tend to pay more attention to jumbo loans because the larger the loan the bigger the loss.
In these cases, the lenders will dig deeper checking your bank accounts…. especially if the accounts are with the same bank as the mortgage.  And Depending on the situation, banks can try to freeze or garnish these accounts.

There is another risk for smaller loan holders that can also occur. Most of the time, banks end up selling off these smaller judgments to investors or collection agencies for pennies on the dollar.
These agencies then dedicate themselves to hounding people any way they can for a settlement on the money that’s owed. And,..since judgments are valid for up to twenty years, it gives them more than enough time to come after the borrower for the balance due.

The best way to avoid any of these things is for people to deal with their mortgage problems head-on. In Dave’s case, he waited too long to take action and he’s now out of options. If you know that you’re gonna fall behind on your mortgage, take action.


If you want out, do a short sale! If you want to keep your house, try a loan modification or bankruptcy. Burying your head in the sand and ignoring the problem is the absolute worst thing that you can do. You give up all your control to the bank. and It’s like having a financial ticking time bomb on your hands.


So remember, if you’re behind on your loan, take action! That’s it for today, please keep those questions coming so we can talk about it on the show.   See you next time!

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