Category: Orlando Realtors

Homeowners Insurance Tips for Orlando home buyers

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Getting the best HOI rates for Orlando real estate

When shopping for homeowners insurance [HOI] quotes, you should seek out companies that have been in business for a while that have high customer satisfaction ratings and good reviews. Many potential buyers make the mistake of just going with the cheapest company they can find.

As an Orlando realtor, I always recommend to my clients to use a company like  Net Quote. This is a company that will provide you with quotes from several different highly rated homeowners insurance companies. Using a company like this to research homeowners insurance can save you a lot of time and money.

Many insurance companies raise their rates when they suffer a financial crisis like the one we’re still recovering from. However, insurance companies still have to compete with other insurance companies for your business which means that most of them are cutting much better deals for new policyholders than for existing policyholders.

Typically after people purchase their HOI and close their house, people tend to forget about homeowners insurance and will just continue to pay whatever premium the insurance company asks for even if it goes up every year. What homeowners should do is research different insurance companies every time they are up for renewal to make sure they are getting the best rate available.

6 Tips for keeping your HOI rates down on Orlando properties

1- Continue shopping for better rates- Every time your policy renewal date approaches, check companies like NetQuote.com to see if they can find you a better deal.

2- Try Bundling– Consider bundling your Homeowners policy and your auto policy with the same insurance company. By doing this you may be able to cut your premiums by up to 15%.

3-Make sure you don’t have too much coverage- It’s very common for policies to have inflation protection provisions that will automatically increase your coverage amount. Now that construction costs have fallen, these increases are not always justified. Find out what your house is actually worth make adjustments to your policy if can. If you’re able to lower your replacement value, it could save you up to 10% on your premiums.

4-Make sure your reputation is as clean as possible-If you’ve been denied coverage or they want to charge you an arm and a leg because of claims you’ve made in the past, check your insurance report for mistakes at choicetrust.com; it’s free if you’ve been denied coverage. Insurance companies make mistakes all of the time especially when it comes to record searches on clients.

5-Stick with high deductibles– I always recommend getting a policy with a high deductible for 2 reasons. 1st, your premium will be much less and 2nd, If you file a claim for every little repair that comes along, it can drive your premiums up by up to 15%. Use the money that you’re saving on those premiums to cover the small repairs.

6- Avoid Flood Zones– Before you buy your home, you should be aware if it’s in a flood zone. If you live in a house that’s in a flood zone, then you will probably want to make sure that your policy covers flood damage. You could save money and not get flood coverage but then you run a big risk if your house ever gets flooded. My advice, avoid flood zones.

If you’re in the market for an Orlando property and you still have a million questions about homeowners insurance or anything else regarding the purchase of a house. Contact us for a free consultation with an Orlando real estate expert.

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Fixing your credit after an Orlando short sale

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Getting your credit score back on track after your short sale is complete

 

The local economy is recovering “slowly but surely”, the housing market is getting stronger and the term  “Orlando short sale” has become a household name. Delinquent homeowners generally elect to pursue a short sale as opposed to going through foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Short sales have become so common in fact that it’s hard to find someone that hasn’t heard of a short sale as opposed to just a few short years ago when most people had no clue what a short sale was.

 

A short sale is when a mortgage holder tries to sell their property for less than what is owed. The delinquent homeowner must first get permission from their lender in order to pursue the short sale. Homeowners will typically seek out a short sale when they can no longer afford to pay the mortgage or the house owes much more than what the property is worth. Banks have come to the realization that they actually lose more money by taking a property to foreclosure as opposed to a short sale.

 

Many people will argue that a short sale will affect you far less than a foreclosure but the truth is that whether a seller does a short sale or foreclosure the points you lose are about the same. Fair Issac says the average points lost on a FICO score are as follows:

30 days late: 40 to 110 points
90 days late: 70 to 135 points
Foreclosure, short sale or deed-in-lieu: 85 to 160
Bankruptcy: 130 to 240

 

People who Opt for an Orlando short sale will have a much better chance of qualifying for a mortgage in the future.

It depends a lot on how the lender records or reports the sale once the transaction is complete. A short sale is usually recorded by the lender as a settlement as opposed to a paid debt. When the lender reports the sale as “settled”, it appears on a credit report as the lender accepting less than what  was owed. This will always have a negative affect on credit scores. However, if you’re able to get the lender to record the sale as “paid”, then your credit score will not suffer any further. The chances of this happening are slim to none and it takes some really good negotiating skills by your Orlando realtor with the short sale lender in order to accomplish this improbable task.

 

 

According to some mortgage brokers that I work with, it’s much easier to get someone a loan that has a short sale on their credit as opposed to having a foreclosure on their credit, even after several years have passed. The best thing to do once your short sale has gone to closing, is to contact several of these Credit repair companies and find out what they are offering. My suggestion, as always would be to  Google “credit repair companies” and contact all the companies that appear on page 1. Credit repair has become very competitive and most companies will work with you on an affordable payment plan.

 

 

Orlando short sale expert

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5 tips on flipping Orlando real estate

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Re-habbers are back in business

 

The days of flipping houses in Orlando are back in a big way. Investors have their ears to the ground just waiting for the next good deal to hit the market so they can snatch it up and make a nice profit. The increasing amount of Orlando short sales and REO properties on the market are attracting house flippers like blood in shark-infested waters.

Many rehabbers took a beating when the market turned in 2007. Some were caught with their pants down holding several properties that were freshly renovated and instead of flipping them for a large profit, most of them ended up as Orlando short sales or REO properties.

Rehabbing can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing and there are a million things that can go wrong.  You really need to know your numbers and give yourself a huge cushion as far as how much you price it for.

5 tips to keep in mind when re-habbing a house

1- Buy your investment property at the right price- It’s crucial that you buy your investment property for the right price or you could end up losing a lot of money in the end. Be realistic with your numbers and always, always give yourself a cushion.

2- Keep away from funky floor plans– Nobody wants to live in a house with a weird layout. Even if you think you’re getting a deal of a lifetime it can be very hard to get top dollar for a house that doesn’t have an appealing floor plan.

3- Don’t take on too big of a project- Keep it simple, choose an investment property that doesn’t need any major structural repairs. Kitchen and bath remodels are OK but major repairs should be left to experienced investors.

4-Hiring contractors– Make a list of the work that needs to be completed and get at least 3 estimates. Make sure to ask for references from any contractors you hire and be sure to get everything in writing. It’s crucial that you get the work done as quickly as possible, come up with a realistic time frame for the work to be completed and make sure your contractors commit to it. If not you could end up shrinking your profit margin substantially.

  5- Price it correctly from the start– This is where your Orlando realtor comes into play. Pricing your investment property is key and should be done by an experienced real estate agent that specializes in the area of where your property is located. You don’t want to price it too high because it will take longer to sell. Remember, each day the property sits on the market is costing you money.

The Orlando Real Estate Market is ripe for re-habbing properties right now

Even though you should never rely on appreciation when buying an investment property, the Orlando real estate market provides the perfect conditions for flipping houses right now. Property values are steadily going up in most parts of Orlando and if you’re able to find an Orlando investment property at the right price, you could turn it into a nice profit. Orlando realty is hot right now and smart investors are taking full advantage of the current market conditions.

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Orlando Real Estate: Investors hurting first-time homebuyers

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Savvy Orlando real estate investors are beating first time home buyers to the punch

1st time home buyers looking for their ” dream home” are no competition for the seasoned Orlando real estate investor. People looking for their 1st house to move into with their families are finding themselves being squeezed out of the Orlando real estate market by investors looking to capitalize on the current market conditions. With a growing number of people being foreclosed on each week , Orlando short sales are everywhere and investors know that the rental market will keep getting stronger as homeowners that have been foreclosed on scramble to get into rental properties in addition to people moving into the Orlando area from another state or country.

1st time Orlando home buyers grow increasingly frustrated

I feel bad for my clients who are just looking to buy their first home so that they can get their family moved in and settled. These people have no intention of flipping the house for a quick profit, pulling an equity line on it or renting it out for additional cash flow. They just want to move in, raise a family and do their best to “live happily ever after”. The problem with first time home buyers is that they have to qualify for financing which can take a while sometimes and there’s never a guarantee that they will get approved.

Today’s average seller is very educated on how different types of buyers and terms could affect them. It’s not just about taking the highest offer that you receive.

3 Tips for Sellers when looking at offers

1- Is the buyer pre-approved? I personally won’t even show one of my listings unless I have proof that the potential buyer has already done their due diligence as far as going to a mortgage broker or lender and getting pre-qualified for a loan. The buyer will also know what an affordable purchase price will be for them.

2- Will the house appraise for the amount of the asking price? A seller could have a contract on the property with a pre-approved buyer willing to pay full asking price and the deal can still fall apart. These days lenders will almost always insist on an appraisal being done on the property with an appraiser of their choice, [not the buyer or seller’s choice]. Once the appraisal is ordered by the lender, the lender will work off of the appraisal value and sometimes the property just doesn’t appraise for the amount of the contract price.

Things that can happen if the house doesn’t appraise for asking price.

a- The seller comes down on the asking price in order to make the deal happen. This is what usually takes place because the seller realizes        that he will probably run into the same problem again and will ultimately have to lower the price in order to get the house sold.

b- The buyer will have to come out of pocket to make up the difference. This rarely happens unless the buyer is absolutely in love with the home and the seller is unwilling to lower the price.

c- The deal just falls apart.

3- Are your buyers Cash buyers? Cash buyers are almost always investors looking for their next investment property.

Things to consider when you have an “all cash offer”


a- A cash buyer will not pay you full retail price for your house. Whether they are buying with the intent of flipping or renting it out, they are going to want a deal that makes sense to them, [dollars and cents]

b- Cash buyers can close quickly. One of the benefits of working with cash buyer is that there are no lenders involved. Experienced investors will already know what the numbers are even if there are repairs involved. They will rarely get an appraisal done which means that there are not many things that can get in the way of this deal getting done, usually within 3 days or so.

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Beware of online Orlando Real Estate ads for rent

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Online real estate rental scams are still on the rise

Unfortunately, their are people in this world that are just hardwired to be scammers. The internet age has made things even easier for these scammers to rip off unsuspecting victims especially in the rental arena of Orlando real estate. Scammers will actually post Craigslist ads for properties that are for rent on the Florida MLS but, their asking rent is always much less than what the real asking rent is. This is what makes the ad so enticing, people see the and and say “Wow a 3bd 2 bth in Downtown Orlando for only $500 per month! I ‘d better snatch it up before someone else does”.

Then they continue to exchange emails back and forth with the so-called owner, which of course, happens to be traveling out of the country because he is soo successful and busy. The so-called owner will then request the first and last month’s rent via Western Union in order for the renter to lock in the contract before someone else does. The next thing you know they’re sending 1st and last month’s rent to an internet thief after signing a completely bogus rental agreement.

It’s human nature to be attracted to anything that seems like it’s a great deal. These ads are designed to arouse your curiosity and get you excited about moving into a house that you would normally not be able to afford,… a real lifestyle changer. The problem is that people get so caught up in the idea of moving into their dream house, that their judgment gets clouded and they are no longer thinking straight. Unfortunately, I’ve heard countless stories like these over the years and the sad part is that these types of rental and purchase scams are still on the rise.

Hire an Orlando Realtor and prevent getting burned

Many people don’t like to use realtors because they think that they can save money by finding their own Orlando property to rent and avoid paying a commission by dealing directly with the owner. The truth is that dealing directly with the property owner [even if it’s the real owner] is like going to court without a lawyer. Landlords love it when they get a renter that is not represented by an Orlando realtor. They know that they will not only  be able to control the situation completely but they don’t have to pay a realtor commission.

The place where someone lives is the most important place in their lives. This is the place where you and your family come together for shelter, safety, food, rest, entertainment, etc. Like Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home”.

This is why it’s soo important to use a licensed Orlando Realtor to find a place to live, whether it’s to rent or own. By trying to save a few hundred bucks upfront, you could end up paying a lot more than that by doing things on your own. Orlando real estate agents are trained to go through contracts and to make sure that everything is done legally as well as look out for your best interest. Top Orlando realtors are also much better negotiators than the average person which means that you might even be able to get a better price on a rental than you would have on your own.

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