Category: Mortgage Companies

Avoiding the Orlando Loan Modification Mine Field

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Loan modifications have helped thousands of Orlando homeowners to keep their homes.

However, you must be aware of the fine print and know exactly what it will mean to you. Sometimes the terms of a loan modification are often worse than the original mortgage. The best loan modifications are when you are able to not only reduce your payment but reduce the principal balance of the loan. Many loan mods are structured so that your payment gets reduced but you still have to pay off the entire amount of the original mortgage plus penalties. In my opinion, these types of loan modifications are just not worth agreeing to. If your house is only worth $100,000.00 and your loan amount is $200,000.00 why on earth would you want to end up paying that entire amount?

Push for a loan modification with principal balance reduction

Banks will always try to get you to agree to what suits them better, this is why you have to be a tough negotiator, don’t just agree with the first proposal that they put in front of you. You have to remember that banks also want to come to an agreement. It costs lenders a lot of time and money to take someone through the foreclosure process. The best thing you can do is hire an Orlando real estate attorney that specializes in loan modifications. If you try to go at it alone with your lender, it could end up costing you a lot more money in the long run. Sure, a good Orlando real estate attorney may cost you a couple of grand upfront, but you’ll have a much better chance if you have an experienced negotiator in your corner.

5 things to watch out for when negotiating an Orlando loan modification

1- Your lender has the option of dropping all penalties. Don’t be bullied into a take-it or leave-it trap where they give you the option to pay off the penalties upfront or have them roll the penalties into the balance. You should demand that they wave all penalties as part of the deal.

2- Sometimes lenders will try to get you to agree that if they lose the original loan documents, you must assist the lender in reproducing them. As ridiculous as this may sound, it’s true and you should never agree to something like this. It comes down to the lender having additional legal protection if they screw up. A clause like this has absolutely no benefit to you.

3- Step by step rate increases that are too steep for you to afford or balloon payments that become due before you have time to be prepared for them.

4- Don’t agree to payments that you really can’t afford. When doing a loan modification, the idea is to make the loan affordable to you and your family. Be realistic, don’t put yourself into a position where your budget is soo tight that you’re only one major car repair away from being in default again.

5- Don’t agree to an interest rate that can automatically adjust based on an index over which you have no control.

An Orlando Short Sale may be your best option

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you need to watch out for when entering into a loan modification with your lender. The fact of the matter is that even when you have the bank’s best offer on the table, it still may not be good enough.

You may be much better off doing an Orlando short sale.  At the end of the day, it’s just a house, it’s not part of your family. By doing an Orlando short sale, not only will you be free of your lender forever, but you can get enough cash back to start over and get yourself into a much better situation than you would be agreeing to the terms of a loan modification.

As always, if you have questions about anything to do with Orlando real estate. Call us and set up a free consultation with an Orlando real estate expert.

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The world of Orlando Short Sales may be coming to a screeching halt

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

What will happen to Orlando short sales if the Mortgage debt relief Act of 2007 is not extended?

Short sales have been very popular since the market crashed in 2007,  mainly because sellers have the benefit of not being taxed for the deficiency between the mortgage amount and the actual payoff. What people worry about now is that the  Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007  is about to come to an end at the end of  2012 and so far we haven’t anything about the government extending it.

What do you think would happen if the law doesn’t get extended? In my opinion, this would be the end of Orlando short sales as we know them.

When you think about it, what incentive would a seller have to do an Orlando short sale if they end up with a massive deficiency when it closes?  That’s right… there would be no incentive. In fact, I think that most people will just end up letting it go to foreclosure. This means that Orlando REO realtors would be busier than ever.

Deep down I truly believe that this law will be extended, it just makes good business sense for everyone involved… sellers buyers, and lenders. Orlando real estate is moving right now and a big part of that is because of the short sale inventory.

If you are considering an Orlando short sale on your house, don’t take a chance on the mortgage debt relief act of 2007 being extended. Consult with an Orlando short sale specialist and find out what your options are now or you might regret it.

Jenny Zamora, Lic RE Broker. Orlando Short Sale Specialist

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Orlando short sale vs. Deed in Lieu

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

 

A deed in lieu/ foreclosure with a smile

By now just about everyone living in Orlando has heard of terms such as “short sale” , “deed in lieu”, loan modification, etc. It’s important to know exactly what the difference is between these terms are and what the implications are. For  example; many  homeowners believe that a deed in lieu is  the same as doing a short sale.  This couldn’t be further than the truth. A deed in lieu is simply put is a foreclosure with a smile on it’s face or a “voluntary foreclosure”.

An overlooked downside to a deed in lieu of foreclosure is the possible forgiveness of the deficiency balance. Under federal law, a creditor is required to file a 1099C whenever it forgives a loan balance greater than $600. This may create a tax liability for the former property owner because it is considered “income.” However, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 provides tax relief for some loans forgiven in 2007 through 2012.

The key issue in a deed in lieu of foreclosure is whether the lender is willing to forgive the deficiency balance. Make sure to read the contract carefully to see how the deficiency balance issue is handled. If the document is unclear, take it to an experienced Orlando real estate attorney with experience in property law. An attorney’s time is not cheap, but will be a bargain compared to signing an agreement you do not understand and are surprised later to realize its implications.

 

Consider Doing an Orlando Short Sale Instead of a deed in lieu

I’ve had a countless number of Orlando homeowners over the years come into my office asking me to explain the difference between a deed in lieu and a short sale. By doing an Orlando short sale the lender agrees to accept less than the balance owed on the mortgage at sale. The deficiency balance may be forgiven and you also may qualify for a “Cash for Keys” program which means that by doing a short sale, your lender may give you a cash incentive [between 3- 30 thousand dollars] . On the other hand a deed in lieu of foreclosure is basically a voluntary foreclosure n which you sign the deed over to the lender and walk away. However, a foreclosure, unlike a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the ownership of the property is not transferred to the mortgage holder, and remains with the owner.

The lesson here is if you are considering either a deed in lieu of foreclosure or a short sale you must review the terms and conditions carefully and make certain you understand whether the deficiency balance is forgiven. This is why it’s absolutely crucial to consult with an Orlando Real Estate expertwhen making such an important decision.

Lenders prefer ventas en corto over taking a property to foreclosure because they don’t want to own distressed properties. They would much rather see the owner sell the property and lose the deficiency balance than be forced to take the property through foreclosure, as foreclosure is a costly and time-consuming process.

Another reason to consider a Orlando short sale over a foreclosure is that Foreclosure auctions tend to bring significantly less money than a normal sale would bring. If the sale brings less than the amount owed on the loan, the remaining balance of the loan is called a deficiency balance. This means that you could end up with a deficiency judgment against you for the balance.

If you still have questions about Orlando short sales, come see us for a free consultation. We’ve been specializing in Florida short sales and our team of Certified Distressed Property Experts are up  to date on the latest laws and regulations when it comes to Bienes raíces en Orlando ensuring that our clients get the best options available to them.

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic.  RE  Broker, CDPE

 

 

 

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Lenders Forcing Homeowners to purposely default on Orlando Real Estate

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Financial Hardship is not the only reason why Orlando homeowners are not paying their mortgage

Strategic Default is when a homeowner decides to stop paying their mortgage, not necessarily because they can’t afford it, but because it’s a bad investment not worth paying into anymore. Even if the consequence means to possibly lose their house to ejecución hipotecaria and damage their credit.

Orlando homeowners have been purposely defaulting on their mortgages for several years now. When people become aware of the reality of their situation, they make a conscious decision to stop paying their mortgage. In most cases, I can’t say that I blame them. Don’t get me wrong, I would never tell a client to stop paying on their mortgage. However, I do tell my clients what their house will sell for and about how long it will take to sell and they do the rest of the math on their own.
Although Bienes raíces en Orlando is making a steady recovery and I believe will continue to do so. There are Orlando homeowners that will never get the money back that they’ve put into their property.

Strategic default  Vs. Moral Obligation

Some Orlando homeowners are worried about their moral obligation to pay the mortgage. The truth is that the homeowner entered into an arms-length transaction with their lender in which both parties had competing interests thus spelling out their obligations in a clear, signed contract. Unless the contract states that the homeowner has a “moral obligation to pay,” then it’s plain and simple – they don’t.
Here are the facts;  when a homeowner borrows the money to buy an Orlando property, they have entered into a business transaction. The lender evaluated the risks and concluded that it was a risk worth taking. For its protection, the lender also required that the homeowner put the property up as collateral, as well as any equity that they had in the house.
The contract spelled out that if the homeowner doesn’t pay, the lender has the right to take the property and sell it before the homeowner gets any equity back – if there were any equity left, which of course in these cases, there isn’t. The lender would not have approved the loan if they didn’t think it was a smart business decision. The homeowners choice to enter into this agreement was also a business decision.
It’s now obvious, that both the homeowner as well as the lender made a bad decision. Now, the contract spells out what happens if the homeowner stops paying, the lender gets the property.

However, there are other options available to homeowners like doing an Orlando short sale or a loan modification. In my opinion, most loan modifications that get approved just don’t make financial sense unless they reduce the principle balance of the loan.

Strategic default is actually something that is caused by the lenders. The fact is, lenders won’t even consider entertaining a short sale unless a homeowner is behind their mortgage thus forcing the homeowner stop paying the mortgage.


By doing a short sale, the homeowner is able to get their house sold and walk away from the responsibilities of the mortgage. Also, there are now several “cash for keys” programs available where lenders offer substantial cash incentives for doing a short sale, sometimes up to $30,000.00 depending on what kind of loan they have and who the lender is.


Your value as a person is not determined by the value of your real estate, or how much money you owe to a bank.  You are worth more as an individual than your bank will ever understand. Life is too short, and there are so many things more important than an underwater mortgage. For many Orlando homeowners, it’s literally the difference between happiness and depression.


If you’re in a situation where you need to do an Orlando short sale on your house go speak with an Experto en ventas cortas en Orlando and find a solution, you owe it to yourself and your family.

 

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic Re Broker/ Orlando Short sale Expert

Experto en ventas cortas en Orlando

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As the Unemployment Rate Falls, Orlando Real Estate Sales Improve

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Orlando Realty sales improve partly because of less unemployment

 

 

The unemployment rate in the state Florida dropped one tenth of a percent in May. That is the lowest we’ve seen it since 2008. It makes perfect sense that this is having a positive effect on state tax collections, and Florida real estate transactions are leading the way. With less unemployment  things are moving forward again. Not just in the Orlando real estate market, but across everything else the board.

 

Florida banks are lending money again.  This not only helps people get loans to buy property, but since the beginning of 2012 financial institutions have created fifty seven hundred new jobs in Florida.  In fact, Florida’s financial institutions account for 1 out of every 10 new jobs created in Florida since the first of the year.

 

The fact that pending sales in Florida are up thirty five percent is proof that people are back in the market ready to buy. It’s a fact that if your making enough money to pay your bills and support your family, your happy.  If you’re happy you will spend more money and feel good about it, it’s just human nature. This is why the Orlando market is improving at the rate that it is. People feel like the recession is behind them and there is hope again. Fact: the #1 cause of divorce in our country is financial problems. I’m not certain but I would guess that the divorce rate in Florida overall has also dropped together with the unemployment rate.

 

Foreign nationals Purchasing 1 out of every 6 Orlando Properties

 

With Orlando Realty prices being what they were, foreign nationals are making some serious home purchases. Whether it’s for a vacation home or to move in as a primary residence to escape the cold once and for all. Orlando Real Estate is a hot commodity for people oversees. I have been working with some English investors for several years now which have purchased at least a dozen Orlando properties from us since 2008.

 

New Construction in Orlando Still Suffering

 

Although we’re seeing dramatic improvements in the Orlando real estate market lately, new construction still remains one of the hardest hit areas in Florida’s economy, losing about 20,000 jobs within the last year. Orlando Real estate Developers are going to have to come up with some even bigger incentives in order to compete with the rest of the market.

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic RE Broker/ Orlando Real Estate Expert

 

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