Category: Orlando Real Estate

Orlando Pocket listings are back

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

You know the Orlando real estate market is strong when you start hearing the words “Pocket Listing” being spoken again. The term “pocket listing” refers to when a real estate broker has a listing agreement with a seller, but it isn’t advertised in the Multiple Listing Service or anywhere else. With pocket listings sometimes sellers may request for there to be a very limited amount of marketing for an agreed-upon amount of time.

Pocket listings are very popular with the “rich and famous” or just “rich”. Typically, high-end sellers don’t want hundreds of people walking through their houses. But with supply and demand being what it is in today’s Orlando real estate market, pocket listings aren’t just for well-to-do clients anymore. Because buyers are outnumbering the amount Orlando homes that are for sale by far, pocket listings are becoming a lot more common among more moderately-priced homes as well.

One of the problems in using the MLS in a hot market is over-exposure.  I’ve had some of my clients complain of realtors knocking on their door wanting to show the house without even bothering to make an appointment, this can be extremely annoying to homeowners that live on the property. Some agents prefer pocket listings just to avoid the hassles of the MLS. It can be a nightmare getting a million phone calls a day for the same property. Other realtors push for pocket listings with the sole intention of securing both sides of the commission. Of course, these terms must be discussed and agreed upon by the seller beforehand.  

A broker must explain exactly what a pocket listing is to the seller as well as fully inform the seller of the cons as well as the pros of pocket listings the broker could face legal allegations that they failed to enter the property in the MLS and caused the seller to have a limited ability to attract the highest and best price for their house. It could as lead to accusations of housing discrimination. In some cases, real estate agents try to convince sellers to use pocket listings so that they can secure both sides of the commission by representing both the buyer and the seller in the transaction.  If an agent puts their own financial gain ahead of the seller’s it’s illegal and they run the risk of being prosecuted for it.

As an Orlando Realtor, I personally would never recommend pocket listings to sellers. It’s just common sense, if you limit the amount of exposure of something you’re trying to sell for top dollar, then you have a much less chance of getting the best price. Would you try and sell your car by not advertising it or only telling certain people? Of course not! I get the whole celebrity thing with pocket listings but thankfully I don’t have any celebrity clients and I’m free to market my listings to the fullest extent of my capabilities.

If need to sell an Orlando property fast and for top dollar, visit us at https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com or call 407-902-7750

Jenny Zamora, RE Broker

Orlando Real Estate Broker

 

 

 

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Boosting Estate Agency Sales as the Market Picks Up

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

As the housing market picks up, estate agents need to be ready to satisfy both buyers and sellers. Orlando Real Estate Agents will have to work harder to make sales, as home owners have become more savvy. They know the ins and outs of the industry and more are willing to sell properties themselves.

Recent figures have shown that more properties are being built and sold and that there are an increasing number of people looking to buy. This is all good news for estate agents who have had to weather the storm over the last few years. What should real estate agents be doing to boost sales and take advantage of this positivity?

Price realistically

Prices might be increasing, but that doesn’t mean you should be too optimistic with your asking prices. Home owners have a range of online services where they can view the prices of similar properties and what they sold for. They won’t be taken in by a property that’s overvalued. Even if they do make an offer that’s accepted, there could still be problems when they come to have it valued or look for quantity surveyor services. If a property is at the right price, there’s more chance of it selling quickly.

Join services

When people are buying and selling properties they need to use a range of professional services. If you don’t already have links with other local businesses, now would be a good time to start. Look for solicitors, mortgage advisors and quantity surveyor services that would be happy to recommend your business in exchange for you marketing them.

Good descriptions

The descriptions sell the property, as potential buyers want to get a feel for it before they view. Spend plenty of time making sure you have all the exact measurements and cover all the details. Speak with the current owners about local amenities and the distances to them, as well as what they really love about the house. This will give you a good indication of what will sell it to buyers.

Focus on the photos

As well as the descriptions, an excellent photo will also help to sell a property. If they’re attracted to a photo then they’re more likely to read the description and view the house. Buyers don’t want to see gloomy shots, so try and take them on a bright day. Think about what can be seen in the photo and remove anything that takes away the focus from the property: for example washing or rubbish.


Go mobile

More consumers are browsing property sites on the move, whether in their lunch break or on public transport. Therefore, it’s important that you’ve got an excellent mobile site, that’s easy to navigate. Buyers tend to use these sites more than sellers, so the search function should be high up on the page. There’s not as much space as on a static website, so concentrate on the important elements:

  • Image
  • Price
  • Location
  • Bedrooms

After the economic difficulties, estate agents and quantity surveyor services will be glad to see some positive news. The better-equipped agents are to sell properties quickly, the easier it’ll be for them to attract sellers and buyers.

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A Seller’s Guide to Interviewing an Orlando Realtor

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

So, you’ve finally made the decision to sell your home and you’re ready to hire a realtor. Now what? Well, that’s easy, right? Just hire the first realtor you come across in your area… Wrong!

Hiring the right Orlando realtor is crucial when listing your house for sale and it could save you a ton of headaches and thousands of dollars. There are currently over 8,000 active real estate agents in Orlando and choosing the right agent to list your home can be confusing especially when all the ones that you’ve spoken with have convincingly promised you the world… or at least that they will sell your home super fast for top dollar. Interviewing an Orlando realtor the right way will ensure that you get an outstanding real estate professional.

So which one should you believe? The answer’s easy… none of them. Anyone can tell you anything so it’s up to you to find the truth. When interviewing a real estate agent, you have to ask the right questions. Here is a list of questions that you should ask a real estate agent in the interview. These answers to these questions will help you to determine which realtor to choose.

1- Do you work as a realtor full-time or do you also have another job?

This is an easy one. If the agent tells you that they only work in real estate part-time, then you say “have a nice day…Next!” and move on to the next candidate. If they only work as a realtor part-time it means that not only are they not able to make enough money selling houses, but that selling your house won’t be a top priority.

2-How many listings do you currently have and how many are under contract?

This will tell you how hard of a worker the agent is and what’s the average time it takes to get a house under contract. If the agent only has a few listings or if they have listings that are several months old with no contract, then this is a sign of a somewhat lazy agent. You want an agent that is a go-getter and someone who is determined to get the job done ASAP.

3- How many houses have they sold in the past 6 months? How many in the past year? How many were they not able to sell and why?

Getting a clear picture of the realtor’s recent track record will give you a very good indication of what you can expect if they list your house.

4- Do you have some references from past clients that I can call and ask about you?

This is one of the best ways to find out how this agent will treat you moving forward. If they have no references to present to you then something’s wrong. This most likely means that they haven’t had very many happy clients.

5- Do you have a staff or an assistant or are you a one-man show?

A great real estate agent will always have a support staff or an assistant at the very least. There are a million details that a real estate agent has to deal with on a day-to-day basis and if they have to handle every tedious detail on their own,  then they aren’t good at managing their time. Or they have too much time o their hands. Neither of these scenarios is a good one.

6- What kind of systems do you use for organizing and following up with your leads, clients, potential buyers, etc.

To be a successful agent in this day and age, you have to have systems in place so that things are organized and run streamlined and smoothly. Following up with clients, potential buyers, title companies, etc is a huge part of being a great realtor.

Realtor in Orlando, FL

7- How will you market my house other than putting it o the MLS?

The majority of Orlando realtors list the house on the MLS and…that’s about it. There are soo many effective ways to market a house such as video marketing, social media marketing, blogging, target marketing, etc. all these techniques can be used to effectively sell houses. An outstanding realtor will constantly test new ways to market their listings and their houses will typically sell the fastest.

If you ask these questions when interviewing a realtor, then you will know what they’re about by the answers that they give you. Also, don’t interview just one agent, you should interview at least 3 agents and puck the one that you feel the most comfortable with.

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Negotiating the payoff on a second mortgage

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

As an Orlando short sale realtor, negotiating the payoff on a second mortgage is something I  do on a day-to-day basis. I would say that at least half of the homeowners that visit our office have more than one mortgage. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen homeowners that have up to 3 mortgages on one piece of property.  The good news is, however, that in a short sale situation 2nd and 3rd lien holders don’t have much leverage if the property is being foreclosed on by the first mortgage holder. In this type of situation, the 1st mortgage holder is always first in line as far as who gets paid first if the property goes to public auction. The only exception to this rule is if there’s an IRS lien in which case they would get paid first. After the 1st mortgage gets paid then the other lien holders get paid according to what order the liens or mortgages are attached.

A short sale is when a lender agrees to the sale of a property for less than what’s owed on the property because there isn’t enough equity to cover the full amount of the payoff. At this point, the second mortgage basically becomes an unsecured debt. If the sale of the property won’t even cover the 1st mortgage payoff, there’s no way that any other lien holders will get paid.  When we are able to prove this to secondary lien holders, they are usually very eager to negotiate.  They know that they don’t have a leg to stand on and  if the property goes to foreclosure, or if the homeowner files for bankruptcy they won’t get a dime.

Once secondary mortgage holders realize there situation, it’s usually pretty easy get them to take a massive discount on what’s owed. Many times the 1st mortgage holder will only allow up to a certain amount to be paid the second mortgage holder or they won’t approve the deal. This is also a very powerful tool because when first mortgage holders have these guidelines in place, second mortgage holders have to either accept whatever the amount is or get nothing at all when the property goes to foreclosure. At this point, the burden of having to negotiate with secondary lien holders gets taken of the short sale realtor completely because the 1st mortgage holder will stick to their guidelines no matter what.

Many of my clients ask if we can negotiate their second mortgage balance with the loan being current. Unfortunately, in my experience of 8 years as an Orlando realtor, that has never been the case. The way they look at it is, if you’re still making the full payment why should they even entertain the idea of accepting less than the entire amount. I never, ever advise my clients to stop making their payment and I  never will. However, I do educate homeowners on the way that things work and most of the time they decide to stop making that payment. unfortunately, this is usually the only way to get their attention.

Why should you settle at all? There are several reasons why you should settle with second mortgage holders as opposed to just not addressing it at all. For one thing, these deficiencies can come back to haunt you in the future and cause damage to your credit. Also, many times the original mortgage holder will turn collection efforts over to a collection agency that uses much more aggressive tactics to collect the balance. Also, in short sale situation, you have no choice but to settle with the second or the sale will not go through, it’s as simple as that.

Orlando short sale expert

 

 

 

 

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10048 SAVANNAH BLUFF LN | Orlando Short Sale

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Video- 10048 SAVANNAH BLUFF LN | Orlando Short Sale

This Orlando short sale is a Beautiful 4 Bedroom 2 Bath Home with Many Upgrades. Original Owner. The home is in  Immaculate Condition, Ready to move in. Big Master Room and lots of Closet Space. All appliances are included. Very Low HOA dues. You need to come and see for yourself, The Home will be sold before you know it!

Orlando Realty Consultants is a full-service Real Estate brokerage located in Orlando, Florida which specializes in doing Orlando Short Sales and Foreclosure Prevention with a team of highly experienced short sale realtors on staff.

We provide Professional Real Estate solutions for both home buyers and sellers. Our diverse team of Orlando real estate experts have experience in all aspects of Real Estate. We will work with you to make your home purchases and sales process as simple as possible, while providing you with the most up-to-date information of your transaction process as it develops.
https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/  Trusted Buy Your Neighbors Since 2005

 

Realtor in Orlando, FL

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