Category: Orlando Real Estate

Highlighting your property’s best features

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

If you’re getting ready to sell your home, make sure that your Orlando realtor does a good job of showing off the things about your property that make it special. Make sure that you take advantage of mentioning anything that sets your property apart from the rest. Sometimes when someone has lived in a house for soo long they tend to not see all the high points that their property possesses.

You’re probably thinking… “Isn’t that my realtor’s job?” The answer is yes, your Orlando real estate agent should have the ability to go through your home and highlight all the extra features that your house brings to the table that the others in the neighborhood don’t. However, not all Orlando realtors are created equal and in my opinion, the selling of a house is just way too important of a transaction to just turn over to someone and hope for the best without making sure that they are doing all they can do to get top dollar for your property.

List of things that sellers commonly forget to mention when selling their home

Over-sized lots.

Larger than average closets.

Sitting area in the master bedroom.

Extra storage space.

Bonus rooms.

Separate entrances.

Beautiful views from the front or back yard.

Walking distance from shops, restaurants, and schools.

Don’t False advertise

As important as it is to make sure that your property’s best features are highlighted, it’s equally important to verify that your Orlando listing agent isn’t making any false statements. If your home is being portrayed as something more than what it is, this can only hurt you as well as your agent. Imagine yourself as an agent on the way to show a listing to a client based on the listing information you saw online, when you arrive at the house you realize that the photos that you viewed online have either been photoshopped or are of a different house altogether!  Some other examples that I’ve seen are neighborhood descriptions such as “newly developed” when “deteriorating” would have been a better match, “move-in ready” instead of “Fixer-upper”, etc.

I guess the moral of this story is, make sure that you follow up with your Orlando realtor and insist that you be informed on what’s happening. Ask to see the live MLS listing as well as any other marketing being done to sell your property. After all, selling your house is statistically one of the most important, if not the most important transaction in your lifetime.

Want to know how much your Orlando property will sell for: click here for your free property analysis.

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Orlando Short Sale | 1330 Sun Meadow Dr. Orlando Fl 32824

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

1330 Sun Meadow Dr. Orlando Fl 32824


This property is located in the very desirable subdivision of Harbor Lakes in the 32824 zip code. The gated community with neighborhood Clubhouse and pool is a great home at a great price for any family wanting to live in this area.

It’s a 2 story home with 4 bedrooms and 2 and 1/2 bathrooms and 1,946 sq ft of living space.

Here are just a few of the property’s features

* Large master suite with sitting area

* Open Kitchen with tons of cabinet space

* Vaulted Ceilings

* Solid wood cabinetry throughout

* Dining and great room designed for family gatherings and entertainment.

*Lots of natural lighting

* Huge fenced in backyard

* 2-car garage

* Community Clubhouse and pool

Easy access to schools, first-rate shops, and restaurants. A must-see!

Call to make your appointment, You DO NOT want to miss out on this Great opportunity! BANK-APPROVED PRICE!!

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Orlando Real Estate | Location vs. Lifestyle

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

There are so many things to consider when you’re shopping for a new home. When it comes to Orlando real estate there are three words that just about everyone thinks of,  location, location, location. We’ve been taught that location is the only thing that should matter when choosing a home. However, for many people, this is not the case. For these people,  It’s not so much where they live but rather how they live. New generational values have changed and people are increasingly more concerned with how a home will work for their lifestyle than what neighborhood they live in.


When meeting with a new home buyer, It’s important to find out what kind of hobbies or past times they enjoy and whether they want to be near the beach, a golf course, retirement community, etc. A buyer might not be so impressed with the house you just showed them but you if informed them of all the nearby amenities that the community offers that house may have just gotten a whole lot more attractive to them. It may come down to a nearby bike path or a lake for fishing and kayaking to turn that house into their dream home.

 Maintaining a home should be a big factor in your decision to buy

Consumers are becoming more aware of the cost of maintaining a home in addition to the mortgage. When choosing a home buyers need to be aware of all the additional costs that are involved in the community such as homeowners association fees,  yard maintenance, etc. These costs can add up to be a substantial amount of money. After the market crash of 2007, it seems that people are much more aware of not getting in over their heads financially.

The size of the home also makes a huge difference in maintenance costs. Buyers are more willing to move into a smaller home especially when they can enjoy nearby social and recreational amenities.

Sometimes It makes more sense to rent

Many younger adults prefer to rent over buying for financial reasons as well as lifestyle reasons. Young people today are used to having subscription-based technology services. This same concept makes sense to them when renting a house. They can subscribe to a rental home for a while then move on. By renting, they don’t have to be concerned about things like qualifying for a mortgage or having to get the house sold if they want to move to another area.

If you’re looking to buy or rent a home in Orlando, please visit our site and search the MLS like a pro.

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Do younger Orlando Realtors have an edge over “old school” agents?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

More and more young people are choosing to become full time Orlando real estate agents as a profession.  Historically,  real estate has proven to be a great field to be in no matter what the market is doing.  The ones who are able to keep up with what the Orlando real estate market is doing and make changes to their business model accordingly, are able not only to survive in tough markets, but thrive in any market.

Young agents definitely have an edge in the technology department over the “old school” agents that try to resist technology. Being internet savvy is a huge advantage just because of the time you save. Although our office still maintains a paper file on every client, those files are a fraction of the size they used to be thanks to amazing real estate soft wares that are available today.

I’ve been an Orlando realtor since 2005 and I can tell you that technology, as it applies to real estate has come a long, long way in 7 years. One thing is for sure, agents that apply new techniques such social media marketing, maintaining an up-to-date blog, up-to-date website, SEO [Search Engine Optimization], etc. will be much more successful than the agents that do not. The cruel truth is that technology has completely changed the way realtors do business and you have to keep up with the trend or get left behind.

Being a Realtor is like having your own Business

Another reason why so many young people are flocking to the world of  Orlando real estate is the allure of having their own business. Real estate agents are independent contractors that are responsible for marketing themselves and finding their own clients or they don’t get paid.  It’s a great field for self motivated people because they basically have no boss and the sky’s the limit if they’re willing to put in the work. For young and eager agents this presents an opportunity of a lifetime. People that want to be nestled in an office everyday and do the minimum amount of work just to get by, will eventually find a better fit for themselves pursuing professions other than the ever changing world of Orlando real estate.

Helpful Tip on finding the right agent:

Just by typing in the agent’s name and city they work in,  you can find out anything and everything you need about an agent and what they are all about. A successful realtor will usually be all over the internet for they areas that they specialize in and if they aren’t, then you may want to move on to the next candidate.

 

 

 

 

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Orlando Short Sales…anything but short

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Short Sales…. Long time

For potential buyers short sales can mean either getting a great deal or going through a very frustrating ordeal. by first impression a short sale implies a getting good deal on a home, kind of like a house as being on sale “houses 30% off! “. However, you should know what’s involved with buying a short sale before making an offer.

A short sale is when the lender agrees to take less than the amount owed in order to get the property sold as opposed to taking it through foreclosure. Before the lender agrees to anything, there’s a whole process that the seller needs to go through and get approval before the bank even agrees to entertain any kind of offer. This process involves the seller getting together an entire package of docs to their lender

Short Sale Docs Required from the Seller

1-Hardship lettter

2-Financial statement or profit and loss [if self employed]

3-Last 2 years tax returns

4-Recent Paystubs

5-Bank statements

6- Listing agreement

7- Purchase and Sales agreement

As you can see from the list above the seller has their homework cut out for them and some sellers aren’t the most organized people which means, just getting this list of docs together could take weeks. Once the package is complete, it is then submitted to the short sale lender.  If you think that’s it… you’re wrong, this is just the beginning. The lender will usually find a few things wrong with the package no matter how well it was put together, something will need to be in a different format, typo o the HUD, missing addendum, etc. it’s always something.

The next thing that will happen is the lender will order a BPO [brokers price opinion]. This is usually a local agent that is hired by the lender to give their opinion of what the property is really worth. Whatever this amount comes in at will be the negotiating point. That means that if your offer is much lower than the BPO amount, the bank will counter your offer until you come to an agreement. Unfortunately, some agents don’t like the extra work involved in going back and forth with the lender to get the best deal possible, so they just stick with the first amount that the lender countered at.

Hopefully, the agent handling the listing is an Orlando short sale specialist, if not it could be a very frustrating experience for both the buyer and the seller.

Buyers that need to buy fast

If you’re a buyer that needs to get into a house quickly for whatever reason, then you probably want to steer clear of short sales. Just because you’ve submitted a fair offer on a property, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get it. Not only that, you may be waiting for a month or 2 before even getting a response on whether your offer was approved or not. My suggestion is to find an Orlando realtor that specializes in the area that you want to live in and tell them what your time frame is. If you can’t find a good deal right away, maybe you should rent for six months. This will allow you more time to find the great deal you’ve been looking for.

Buyers that are in no hurry to buy

If you have all the time in the world to find a great deal on Orlando real estate, then short sales are definitely worth looking into. Find a realtor that is an Orlando short sale specialist in the area that you’re interested in living in. Meet with the realtor and let them know what kind of property you’re interested in buying and where. The agent should provide you with a list of short sale and REO properties in the area that meet your criteria. After you get your list, tell your agent immediately which ones you would like to see and go see them A.S.A.P. Orlando real estate is hot right now and good deals don’t last for very long.

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