On behalf of Orlando Realty and our entire team of Orlando real estate professionals, we are proud to introduce a weekly report of market statistics of what’s happening in the world of Orlando real estate. This report provides up-to-date information to help educate Florida Home buyers and Sellers so that they can get a feel for the market and make educated decisions when it comes to buying or selling Orlando Real Estate.
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When it comes to doing an Orlando short sale, many things come into play. One of the most important aspects of this particular home selling process is the agent that you choose. Your real estate agent will be doing all of the negotiations for you with your bank as well as with the potential buyer; therefore, you have to trust your short sale agent. In order to trust your agent, you should know important things about them before turning the steering wheel over to them when it comes to selling your home. When picking an agent, it’s absolutely crucial that you do your research on that person.
The first thing you should do is research the agent’s background and area of expertise in Orlando Real Estate. The best way to research the company is to utilize online search engines. Simply type in the company or the agent’s name followed by “reviews.” Within seconds you should be able to find numerous reviews from previous clients that will help you to determine the reputation of the company in which your agent is associated.
As with anyone that you hire, you should take into consideration the agent’s real estate experiences. You can also ask the agent to provide you with references, which you can call to obtain detailed information from previous Short Sale clients. References can provide you with the best information about what to expect if you need to do a short sale on your house.
Also, make sure that you agent has their Certified Distressed Property Designation. Although this isn’t the most important thing that you should consider when hiring an agent, it certainly doesn’t hurt to hold this endorsement.
There are many “Cash For Keys” type programs out there right now from organizations such as HAFA. We’ve gotten our clients anywhere from $3,000.00 to $20,000.00 back from the bank at closing. When interviewing a realtor, make sure that you ask about these programs and what the plan of attack will be before signing anything. If they don’t specialize in short sales, then chances are they’re not going to know what the latest laws and regulations are and what they’re able to qualify you for.
The problems start when a homeowner hires an agent to do their short sale and the agent either has very limited experience with short sales or none at all. Short sales are not easy and not all realtors have the skills, work ethic or experience required to be an expert short sale agent. When homeowners make the mistake of not hiring the right agent for the job, the result can be disastrous resulting in your home getting foreclosed on.
If you’re in the market for a real estate agent that specializes in doing short sales do your research and find out everything that you can about the agent before making your decision, you’ll be glad you did. Ask me anything, I’m here to help.
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Twenty-one is a pretty good number considering all the great places there are to live in the entire US. As a resident and business owner in Hunter’s Creek, I’m very proud of my neighborhood, but Hunters Creek Real Estate has definitely had its share of ups and downs. When the crash of 2007 happened, houses that were worth 500k were all of a sudden worth somewhere in the low 200’s, I know this all too well because that’s exactly what happened to me.
Our house actually appraised at 580k in 2006 and ended up all the way down at 220k appraisal value in 2008. Although that was a hard fact to face, we really loved the beautiful and kid-friendly neighborhood, and that was priceless to us.
Having two young boys, one of the biggest attractions for us was all the clean and perfectly manicured parks. You can definitely tell that when they started building Hunters Creek 25 years ago, they had young families in mind all the way. There are playgrounds, soccer fields, baseball fields, football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, and racquetball courts for residents to enjoy. Hunters Creek also has youth sports programs for just about any sport you can think of for children wanting to participate. There are also gazebos and community centers that can be used for private activities.
Hunters Creek is conveniently located close to several good restaurants right there in The Village. Wherever you live in Hunters Creek, you’re only a few minutes away from a healthy selection of family restaurants, pubs and there’s even a Farmers market. If it’s a mall your looking for, try going to the Loop. It’s just minutes away and it has a wide array of stores as well as a movie theater.
Over the years we’ve seen enough animals in our backyard to start a zoo. We’ve seen deer, turkeys, river otters, bobcats, foxes, wild boar, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, and owls just to name a few. With ponds everywhere, most residents are able to go fishing, kayaking, or canoeing without even having to drive. Although we’ve seen small alligators in the water, the larger ones are removed by animal control and taken to Gatorland.
Shingle Creek Trail is a beautiful conservation area that consists of hiking trails, bike paths, lakes and there’s even a
trail that travels along the side of Shingle Creek where people go kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. We often go bike riding through the trails because my boys love it.
Being an Orlando real estate broker I can tell you that there is a serious demand for houses in Hunters Creek right now. It’s also a good time for people that want or need to sell a property because of the steadily increasing property values. The top-rated schools in addition to everything else I mentioned make Hunters Creek one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Orlando. The good news is that you can still find a great deal in Hunters Creek.
If you’re ready to see some great homes in Hunter’s Creek, feel free to contact me on my Cell @ 407-902-7750 or you can email me here.
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I had just had to share this story about an Orlando short sale that we’ve been working on for well over 3 1/2 years.
We started this file in December of 2008 It was a pretty common story; She had a 1st mortgage with GMAC for 434k and a second with Bank of America for 116k and she also owed her HOA $5,000.00 at that point [now $15,000.00]. The big problem was that even though she owed about 570k since she purchased in 2006, her house was only worth 180k at the point when we took her on as a client in 2008.
Throughout this process it was a matter of getting all the stars to line up at once , which when your dealing with 3 different debtors is no easy task. Buyers get tired of waiting, lenders wanted new bpo appraisals done every 6 months, the HOA didn’t want to budge and we had to stop her Orlando foreclosure several times.
In the past three years we’ve had 7 solid contracts, 9 bpo appraisals and we stopped the foreclosure sale date a total of 6 times.s, we eliminated her debt. We closed last week with a cash offer for 200k and to top it all off, we got the lenders to give her $7,000.00 back at closing. By the way, she never once went to see an attorney which means probably saved another 7 to 10 thousand dollars.
In the end my client got to live rent free for 3 1/2 years and was able to save up some money and turn her life around. We found her a nice rental in Downtown Orlando and she now lives comfortably within her budget. How’s that for a bailout plan?
It’s true that we had to work work many times harder than a typical short sale file just because of constant updating of expired short sale docs alone, not to mention all the buyers we lost along the way because they got tired of waiting on an approval.
However, when you’re in the short sale business, there is no greater satisfaction than to know that you’ve helped someone solve a huge problem in their life and get a fresh start.
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The tax-relief provisions enacted by Congress during the housing crisis to help financially strapped homeowners is about to come to an end. This is the 2007 law that allows taxpayers to exclude from income the amount of debt that is forgiven or canceled by their lender. The good news is that if your considering an Orlando Short Sale, there is still time to take advantage of this very important law.
Although the law doesn’t officially expire until Dec 31, 2012, anyone considering a short sale should get started now. We’ve had short sale files in our office that have taken up to two years to complete. It’s true that banks are moving Florida short sales along much faster now but overall they still move pretty slow.
I’m not saying that people who are struggling to hold onto their Orlando homes should throw in the towel solely because of the pending tax bite, but it is certainly something to consider.
According to the law, borrowed money doesn’t need not be reported as income because you have an obligation to repay. But if your lender subsequently cancels what you owe, the IRS requires that you report that debt as income because the duty to repay it no longer exists. So, if you owe $350,000 and your lender forgives $50,000 of that debt in a $300,000 refinancing, that $50,000 is considered income. If your combined federal and state marginal tax rate is 36 percent, you would owe $18,000 in taxes. Ouch!!!
However, under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, taxpayers are allowed to exclude from income the discharge of debt on their principal residence when they do a short sale— at least until 2013.
This means that when your lender agrees to a short sale, there is no tax on the difference between the selling price and the amount you owe. When your lender forecloses, there is no tax on the canceled debt. Even when you refinance at a lower loan balance, there is no tax on the difference between what you owed on the old loan and what you now owe on the new one.
Unless Congress extends the law, [and there is no indication lawmakers are even thinking about that] all residential mortgage debt relief that takes place on or after Jan. 1, 2013, will once again be considered taxable income.
If you are on the fence about doing a short sale on your house, consult with a short sale expert and get informed about your options.
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