Category: Orlando Realtors

Orlando Short Sale Realtor, A labor of Love

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

I remember when I  became a FL REALTOR back in 2004, the gentleman speaking at the podium that day, I don’t recall his name but something that he said that day resonated with me and still does until this day. He said, “when practicing real estate don’t make it about the money,… you’ll make more money”. What he was really saying was to always,… ALWAYS put the client’s needs first in any real estate transaction and by doing so you will eventually make more money.  The word will get around that you are the type of agent that goes “above and beyond” for their clients and people will seek you out for all of their Orlando real estate needs.

Well, here I am eight years later telling you that he was totally right! The only marketing that I do, if you want to call it marketing, is writing this blog about real estate [which I love doing!].  Most of my clients are referrals from past clients and my office is running at full capacity, it’s because of this that we are constantly on the lookout for Orlando short sale superstars to recruit.

When I take on a new short sale listing, the law says that my fiduciary responsibility is to my client. However,  I feel that a realtor’s responsibility is to look out for everyone involved.. the seller, the buyer, the lender as well as the buyer’s agent. It’s like I tell the agents in my office “Everyone involved in the transaction needs to walk away satisfied with the results”, and if they practice real estate with that mindset they will be successful.

Orlando short sale specialist… not just a job

Making both sides of the closing table happy… there’s no better feeling in the world.  Being a good real estate agent is kind of like being a good teacher, you really have to love it to be great at it and there’s just no way you can fake it. Have you ever had a horrible teacher in grade school or high school? I’m talking about the teacher that just doesn’t care and it’s painfully obvious to everyone in the classroom. I’ll bet that there’s at least one teacher that just popped into your mind as you were reading that last sentence. Well, imagine having a realtor represent you that just doesn’t care about you. Sure they go through the motions of what a realtor is supposed to do and they do just enough to scrape by.

That’s because that type of realtor chose the wrong profession to be in and they’re miserable. I’ve known many of these agents over the years and have even made the mistake of hiring a few for short periods of time. These agents will eventually show their true colors and everyone around them will know that their heart is just not in it. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying that they are bad people what I am saying is that these people will never be successful real estate agents and sooner or later will realize that they’re in the wrong line of work.

When choosing a real estate agent to represent you and do your short sale, make sure to do your research. I’ve said this countless times and I will continue saying it. Doing a short sale on your home will be one of if not the most important transactions in your lifetime. Make sure that you choose an Orlando short sale realtor that absolutely loves what they do!

 

Orlando short sale expert

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Great Deals on Orlando Real Estate are Drying Up

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Between 2008 and 2010 you could easily buy a property in Central Florida for at least 25% below the property’s market value. Since then we’ve seen these huge discounts on real estate shrink to about 3% or less. Even with Orlando short sales, the banks are just not giving us the deep discounts that they were just a couple of years ago.

When I tell people that we’ve been specializing in doing short sales since 2005, they would ask with a bewildered look in their eyes “did short sales even exist back then?” or “how were you doing short sales in a hot market?” and the truth is that we just marketed to people that were in foreclosure and tried for the short sale with the bank and they were accepting these jaw-dropping low ball offers. And believe it or not our closing rate on short sales back then was about 85%.

I believe that the lenders were always a bit behind when it came to knowing what was really happening in the real estate market, there seemed to be a delay, kind of like getting today’s newspaper next month. Within the time it took them to catch up to what the reality really was, home buyers were getting some really great deals on Orlando short sale properties,  especially cash investors that we’re able to buy multiple properties at one time.

These days it’s evident that lenders are more “on the ball” when it comes to knowing what the true market value of a property really is.

I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone that the Orlando real estate market is getting hot again and we’re not done yet. We’ve had buyers just a few months ago that didn’t want to pull the trigger and buy yet because they wanted to hold out for a  better deal, against my advice. When they contacted me again recently they didn’t like what I  had to say, not one bit. These same buyers are now scrambling to buy a property with a great sense of urgency. This holds true for a lot of people who thought that the market was still on a decline.

With very little inventory out there, prices continue to rise and it looks like this trend will continue for a while. Every new Orlando listing that we get in our office ends up getting a contract on it within three or four days.

Some properties fall short on the Appraisals

When an Orlando property gets listed for a certain price many times buyers will submit a contract for thousands of dollars over the asking price. The problem lies when it’s time to get the property appraised and the numbers are just not there. As solid as the market appears to be right now, appraisers are being more careful when doing their job. Appraisers get their numbers from properties that have been recently sold in the neighborhood so that means there’s not much wiggle room on what they can do or what they’re willing to do.

Before the real estate market crashed in 2007, appraisers along with a whole lot of other real estate professionals got into some big trouble for bending the rules to benefit their clients as well as themselves. These days appraisers are more “by the book” than ever and I think it’s a good thing.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Can you do a Short Sale if you’re not behind on your Mortgage?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Typically, 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, death, mortgage payment adjustment, and even incarceration. Oftentimes, however, there are reasons that people must sell their homes when there is no hardship. These include job transfer, military deployment, etc. And, in most cases, for all of the reasons mentioned above lenders have been very accommodating to those who want to sell.

However, now more than ever we get contacted by sellers that want to Short Sale their house but they don’t fall into either category mentioned above. They 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. These sellers just want to get out of a bad investment and get on with their lives.

The truth is that it’s hard to say whether the lender will approve a short sale for a homeowner that has no hardship. Some lenders are more flexible in that respect than others.

It’s important to be aware that many short-sale lenders are controlled by the guidelines of the investors that own your loan. So, while a loan may be serviced by Wells Fargo, the loan is actually owned by another entity. It is that other entity that decides on accepting or declining your short sale. 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. Only after you get the ball rolling with the short sale will you know what the lender will require from you.

If you’re current on your mortgage but would like to short sale your Orlando property because it owes more money than it’s worth, come in and see us. One of our Orlando short sale experts will give you a free “seller’s situation analysis” so that you can find out what your options are and move forward with the knowledge that you need to make the right decision.

Sell A house in Orlando

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

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.

Sell A house in Orlando

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Short Sale in Hunters Creek, FL | 2722 Runyon Cir.

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

This week our featured property is located in the beautiful neighborhood of Hunters Creek. This neighborhood was recently voted the 21st best place to live in America. The top-rated schools in addition to everything else mentioned below, Hunters Creek is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Orlando. The good news is that you can still find a great deal in Hunters Creek.

The Parks of Hunters Creek

If you have kids, you will love Hunters Creek,  It’s obvious that when they made the plans for 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.

Shopping and Restaurants

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.

Shingle Creek Trail

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 boars, 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.

It’s a 1 story home with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and 1,878 sq ft of living space.

Here are just a few of the property’s features

* Large master suite

* Open Kitchen with tons of cabinet space

* Granite countertops throughout

* Vaulted Ceilings

* Solid wood cabinetry throughout

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

* Lots of natural lighting

* Huge backyard on a pond

* 2-car garage

* In-ground screened in 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! Make an offer today before it’s too late.

Are you currently searching for your Orlando dream home?  Look no further just click on;  search Orlando Luxury real estate and you’ll have access to all the properties listed on the Florida MLS. Within just a few clicks of your mouse, you’ll be searching out Florida real estate like a pro.

Sell A house in Orlando

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields