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Orlando Realty Prices Continue to Rise while Inventory Drops

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Real estate prices keep increasing as Inventory decreases

It’s becoming painfully obvious that when it comes to Orlando real estate, it’s officially a seller’s market. The market is nowhere near as inflated as it was in 05′ 06′ , but we’re definitely moving in the right direction. For the 4th month in a row Orlando home prices continue to go up. This is great news for homeowners that have had their value cut in half during the past five years, whether or not this trend continues remains to be seen.

Most of our own listings at Orlando Realty Consultants usually will have a solid contract on them within 5 days of putting them on the market,  sometimes we’ll even get a contract within that first day of listing them. More and more we are seeing multiple offers come in and most of the time the offers are above the listing price.

Orlando’s summer Home Buying season is in full swing

It’s that time of year again. The kids are out of school and people that have been wanting to buy an Orlando Property but didn’t want to switch their kids to a new school mid way through the school year are now actively searching for their Orlando home before the new school year begins. The evidence is in the numbers, median home prices are up 2.6 percent since April. This is proof that Orlando home buyers are on the hunt with a certain sense of urgency.

However, even with the increased seasonal demand and attractive interest rates, Orlando Realtors completed fewer sales in May than they did a year earlier. Orlando agents reported a preliminary count of 2,337 home sales last month, down 5.8 percent from May 2011

If you’re thinking of selling your Orlando Property, now may be the perfect time to do it. Finding a buyers for Orlando realty has never been easier. Sellers are finally back in the drivers seat for the first time since 2006. Find out what your Orlando Property is worth here

 

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic Orlando RE Broker
Serving the Orlando community since 2005
 

 

Sell A house in Orlando

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Buying Orlando Real Estate without an Agent Can Prove to be Costly

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Buying an Orlando Realty without a Realtor can Result in Disaster

 

Buyers loves to get a great deal on Orlando real estate and there’s nothing that I enjoy more than to provide my clients with terrific Orlando homes at great prices. However, If you you don’t want to use a realtor, there are other options available such as bidding online for properties going to foreclosure or searching craigslist for motivated sellers.

Bidding at the Orange County online foreclosure sale.

It’s true that you can find a good deal at the auction on an Orlando property. Although, if you don’t do your research prior to bidding, there’s a good chance that you could lose big.
A family was recently bidding in an online auction on a foreclosed home in the Orlando neighborhood of Meadow Woods.  However, those bidders didn’t know they’re now on the hook for the previous owner’s mortgage.

The home went to auction on the Orange County Clerk’s foreclosure website, and someone bought their home for $16,000! What a deal right? Wrong!… the guy that bought the house online didn’t do his research until after he bought the house. It turns out that it was an HOA foreclosure and there was a mortgage attached for 200 thousand dollars. Can you imagine thinking that you just got the deal of a lifetime and then finding out that you inherited a $200,000.00 debt?  It’s like, “Oh, my God. What have I done?”

People have this misconception about the online auction where they think bidding on foreclosures is a lottery ticket. The truth is, many people end up losing money bidding on foreclosures.

 

Before bidding, you need to do a title search.

One of the problems with trying to get a house online is all that you have to put in a lot work to be successful. Spending a hundred dollars on a tile search can save someone from making one the biggest mistakes of their lives. Doing a title search is just one of the things you need to do. It’s always a good idea to go to the house even if you can’t get inside. Most of the time you won’t be able to get in but you can at least get an idea of what the outside looks like.

Unfortunately, disgruntled homeowners that have been forced out because of a foreclosure can sometimes take out their frustrations by causing severe damage to the inside of the house. I’ve seen houses with well over $20,000.00 in damages caused by angry homeowners and their favorite sledgehammer or golf club.

The moral of the story is this; If you choose to find a property without the help of an Orlando Realtor, make sure to do your due diligence or you could end up losing money.

 

 

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Orlando Realty’s Weekly MLS Market Report

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Realty’s Weekly Report for Home Buyers and Sellers

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.

Our research is done by our Top Orlando Realtors using Florida’s Multiple Listing Service.

Orange County from 4/27/2012  through 5/4/2012.

*  Number of Short Sale Properties Listed –                      83

*  Number of Short Sale Properties under contract-       187

*  Number of REO Properties [Bank Owned] Listed –   384

*  Number of REO Properties under contract-                  126

*  Number of Regular listings (By Owner)-                        205

*  Number of Regular listings under contract-                 203

*  Total Homes Sold in Orange County-                                 397

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Orlando Short Sale Closed After 3 1/2 Years Battling with Lenders!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The longest Orlando short sale in our company history.

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.

No Attorney Necessary.

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.

Doing the short sale was the best decision for her.

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 Window is Closing on Orlando Short Sales!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire

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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