Tag: Jenny Zamora Broker

Benefits Of A Short Sale

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


What Are The Benefits of A Short Sale?

A short sale in Orlando is a real estate transaction where the sale price of a home is less than the full amount the homeowner still owes on the mortgage. Both the seller of the property and their mortgage company must agree to a short sale. Most lenders these days will agree to the terms of a short sale and also agree to release the lien they possess on the property.

Depending on what the lender agrees to, a short sale doesn’t guarantee that the borrower will be released from the obligation to pay the remaining balance on what’s owed on the loan AKA the “deficiency”.

This is why it’s extremely important that when you hire a Realtor to do your short sale, you don’t hire just any Realtor. Make sure you hire an Orlando Short Sale Specialist. This will ensure you have the best chance at success when doing your short sale.

By agreeing to do a short sale, lenders avoid a drawn-out and costly foreclosure and the homeowner can walk away free of their debt. Before deciding on a short sale, we recommend that you find out all the options that are available to you to see what works best for you.

Benefits of A Short Sale

Less Credit Damage Than Foreclosure
When you compare the impact of foreclosure vs. a short sale on your credit, a short sale harms your credit much less than a foreclosure will. For example, you’ll be eligible for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac home financing after only two years following your short sale. However, after a foreclosure, it will take you at least 5 years to be eligible for the same financing.

This is because of the way the mortgage underwriting rules were changed after the financial crisis of 2008.

Cash Back To Sellers

Just about all short sales in Orlando are sold “as-is” which means you won’t have to spend a dime on fixing the place up. In addition, all lender fees, commissions, property taxes, etc. on both sides of the transaction will be paid for by the lender.

In most cases, we’re able to get our clients anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 at the closing for relocation costs

A Fresh Start

A successful short sale gives distressed homeowners a clean break from their financial hardship. Over 50% of homeowners that opted for a loan modification instead, wound up going into default again and ultimately ended up doing a short sale. Loan modifications are usually modified to benefit the bank in the long term and most of the time you still end up paying the entire amount of what you owed in the first place.

The Sale Date Can Be Negotiated

If a homeowner is in active foreclosure, the lender together with the judge will eventually schedule a sale date of the home at the hearing. You should show up for this hearing with written proof from your Orlando Realtor that you are actively pursuing a short sale on your home. Have your Realtor go with you and provide an MLS printout of the listing, contract, as well as any communications you’ve had with your lender thus far. From my experience as a short sale realtor, they will almost always push the foreclosure sale date a maximum of 120 days giving you ample time to close the transaction.

Easier To Rent A House

Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and evictions are all red flags to landlords who will probably deny you as a renter. However, while your short sale is being negotiated, you’ll have plenty of time to find a rental to move into.
Remember, landlords are creditors also and if they see that you’ve been proactive in doing the right thing in your situation rather than just letting your home gets foreclosed on your chances are much better for them to approve you for their rental.

If you or someone you know needs short sale services in Orlando FL, Call us at 407-902-7750 or visit our site. There’s never a charge for our services and most of the time we can get cashback to sellers.

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Orlando Short Sale Q and A… Ask The Expert       

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Q and A with Jenny Zamora, RE Broker, Orlando Short Sale Expert                    

Q- My house is worth less than what I owe on the mortgage and there’s no way I can afford to continue making payments on it because I lost my job and I’m only working part-time now. Can I ask my bank for a short sale?

A- Before I begin speaking about Orlando Short Sales, you should be aware that there are other options available to you if you want to try and keep your home. If this is the case, you should contact your lender and ask them if they would be willing to consider a loan modification on your loan. A loan modification is just that….a modification to the terms of your loan so that you can afford to make the payments. Even after pursuing a loan modification, many homeowners find out that the bank’s terms are even worse than before and opt for pursuing a short sale instead.

Assuming that you’ve already decided that you want out of the situation and sell your house, you can ask your lender if a short sale is an option that they would consider. I would strongly suggest that you contact an Orlando Short Sale Expert to help you with this. Most realtors don’t like doing short sales because of the amount of all the extra work involved so make sure that you find one that lives eats and breathes short sales. Your Orlando realtor can give you an estimate of how much your home is worth in today’s market so that you know exactly where you stand before approaching your bank. Your short sale realtor should also be a skilled negotiator to ensure you get the best chance at a successful short sale. Negotiating with the bank as well as prospective buyers is a common part of the short sale process.

Q- How does the short sale process work?

A- A short sale happens when your mortgage lender is willing to accept less than the full mortgage payoff on your loan. You’ll need to provide your lender with some documentation like financials, a list of assets, and a complete explanation in writing of why you can no longer afford to continue making your mortgage payments AKA a “hardship letter”.Once your realtor has submitted the entire short sale package to the bank and they agree to a short sale, you’ll be required by the bank to list the property for sale with your Realtor for market value.

Q- How long does a short sale take?

A- Unfortunately, short sales are anything but short. Banks don’t like taking a loss, so don’t expect them to be in a rush to help you get out of the situation. In addition to negotiating with your lender, your Realtor will also be negotiating with potential buyers and buyer’s agents trying to get the deal done. You have to remain patient when it comes to processing a short sale.

Q- What are the tax implications if I do a short sale?

A- The Internal Revenue Service considers a debt that has been forgiven as income. This means that if you paid your lender $110,000 through a short sale and you owed $180,000, the unpaid balance of $70,000 would be considered income. In 2007 the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was instated to help homeowners who lost their homes through short sale or foreclosure by waiving the income tax implications on the forgiven debt. Unfortunately for today’s distressed homeowners, this Act expired in late 2013. This means that you will more than likely be responsible for paying income tax on the debt that was forgiven by your lender through the short sale.

Q- How will a short sale affect my credit?

A- The good news is that a short sale will have much less of a negative impact on your credit than a foreclosure or bankruptcy. However, depending on the number of late payments you have on your mortgage, your credit will still be significantly affected and it will probably be a few years before you can get another mortgage.

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Another Orlando Foreclosure Stopped In A Nick Of Time!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

This is the story of Veronica from Hunters Creek, FL. I’m not using her real name or address because this short sale is still being processed. However, the fact that we’ve stopped the foreclosure sale a total of five times in the past two years I felt was worth writing about.

It’s the typical short sale stuff you hear from lenders. “We didn’t get the file”, “the financials need to be updated”, “the BPO came in too high”, “we’re still waiting to hear from the investors”, you name…on this file, we’ve heard them all.

This case, however, came with a bit of a twist at the end of the year. In December of 2014, everything was set to go, the bank had everything they needed including a solid offer for the price that they wanted. With a foreclosure sale date of January 20, 2015, there was more than enough time to get this one closed and put it behind us.

Out of nowhere, the bank decides that there isn’t time for them to process the short sale and they proceed to close the file!!? WTF? are the only three letters that make sense here. Any realtors that specialize in Orlando short sales know exactly how frustrating this can be, especially after putting so much work into something.

Although I’m not an attorney, after making hundreds of visits to the courthouse, sometimes I feel like one. My client was so disgruntled with the bank that she was ready to call it quits and just let the property go to foreclosure. I asked my client to allow me to give it one more try and asked her to write to the judge requesting a postponement and explain her side of the story. The judge immediately agreed and granted a hearing the following week. Since my client had to work on the day of the hearing, I just had her sign a power of attorney so that I could speak to the judge on her behalf.

Being that we had already stopped the foreclosure sale on four separate occasions, I was a little worried to be perfectly honest. I guess the lender’s attorney assumed this would be a slam dunk and didn’t even bother to show up! This made things a bit easier for me to explain my case to the judge. It took some explaining but after working on this file for over 2 years, I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

After hearing the entire story, the judge decided to postpone the sale date once again! He granted us another three months to get the deal closed, March 12, 2015, which also happens to be my birthday! Although we only need a few more weeks to close it, it’s nice to know we have time to spare.

Working as an Orlando short sale realtor since 2004, I have countless stories like these. If you’re looking for someone to help you avoid foreclosure and the short sale of your home, give me a call at 407-902-7750.

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Avoiding Home Buyer’s Remorse

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

  Home Buyer’s Remorse

Have you ever bought something on the spur of the moment then later on you ask yourself.. “what was I thinking? I don’t even like or need it”. In most cases, you can usually return the items like an expensive shirt or an ugly painting as long as you have the receipt. However, if you paid cash and bought it from someone’s trunk in a parking lot, then you’re probably stuck with it.

 

 

Unfortunately, you can’t do this when you buy a home which makes the home buying process even more stressful. Purchasing a property is a big deal for any family. Not only is this is the place they will call home for years to come but is probably the biggest or one of the biggest investments of someone’s lifetime.

 

 

In today’s competitive housing market where you have bidding wars on a very limited amount of inventory, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of wanting to be the one to “win” the home. Sometimes new homeowners will start to have serious regrets about the huge purchase they just made just days or maybe even hours after the closing. Oh No! What Have We Done!?

There are several things a potential home buyer can do to avoid going through buyer’s remorse…

 

Look at several properties that meet your criteria.

Even if you love the first home your realtor shows you it would be wise to visit several homes that meet or come close to meeting your criteria. Sometimes you think that you’ve found exactly what you’ve been looking for then you go see another home and you like it even better!

 

Don’t fall in love until the negotiations are done!

From my own personal experiences, I know this is a hard one to do but it must be done. Let’s say you put a fair offer on a home that you really like. Then after a few rounds of offers and counteroffers, the price has gone up another $30,000 more than what you can spend.

If you’ve already fallen in love with the house, then you are done…your mind will find a way of justifying the price increase and you’ll probably do whatever it takes to get the house even though you can’t really afford it.

Keep your best poker face throughout the negotiations. Tell your realtor what your budget is and stick to it! You’ll be glad you did.

 

Go see the home several times.

You should go and see the home several times before buying. Seeing the home only once before buying is a sure fire recipe for buyer’s remorse. Go through the home slowly and methodically, Open every door and window, walk through every room and leave no stone unturned.

 

I also suggest visiting the home at night for a another perspective. Don’t be afraid of bothering you realtor. Your real estate agent is getting paid to do their job, so make them earn it.

Make sure you have an inspection contingency.

Your best insurance is to make sure that there’s an inspection contingency in the contract. Some agents call it the “buyers remorse” contingency and it allows you to get out of the agreement if there’s a serious issue with the property you didn’t know before making your offer.

 

Hire An Experienced Buyer’s Agent

Enlisting the help of a realtor that is experienced in the area that you want to purchase in it will make your home buying experience much easier and even pleasurable. Let your agent know about any concerns or questions you have about a particular property or situation.

A good realtor will help you navigate through the entire home buying process as well as advise you of what to watch out for.

 

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West Orange County May See No New Residential Constructions for a Year

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The School Board of Orange County may just cause all residential construction in the area to halt indefinitely. The board wanted to erect a new relief high school at the County Road 535, on Beck Property and was denied permission for the same by Orange County.

The School Board and Orange County entered into a dispute in the last week of February, when the Board shelved the impact fee payments of a developer, Windermere Development Co., of the west Orange County area indefinitely.

School Board tables impact fee payment

The payment, amounting to $27,000 was due on February 25, to be paid to the board as impact fees for the development of project Canopy Oaks – a 59-units residential complex to be built by Mason Simpson and his development company Windermere.

Orlando realtors hold the proximity of Canopy Oaks to the site where the new relief school is supposed to be erected, one of the primary reasons for the dispute. It was confirmed by the School Board later when a board member revealed that the board wanted to wait for the disputes over its petition in the circuit court.

The board had filed the lawsuit in December 2013 and insiders say it may take up to a year to reach a settlement. Joie Cadle, member of the board said the West Orange High School was already crowded and needed a relief. The lack of a proper relief plan was one of the reasons why Cadle and other members of the five-school board voted in favor of tabling the impact-fees payments.

Is the School Board trying to jeopardize construction in Orange County?

Cost of the Canopy Oaks project has been projected around $30 million and Orlando real estate industry-insiders are worried about the longer-term impacts of such a decision by the board. With Winter Garden regulators halting the processing of Canopy Oaks project’s engineering application, Mason Simpson stands to lose some big bucks.

According to Nathan Cross, the president of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando, the situation is more grim than what realtors in Orlando have been contemplating. According to him, Lake Nona and West Orange were the only two places conducive for new construction projects in the Orange County and the School Board essentially cut down one of the them, for at least a year.

Chairman of the School Board, Bill Sublette, however, has something else to say. Sublette, who voted against shelving the impact-fee payments, says the board doesn’t intend to stop construction projects in Orange County. The board just wants to halt the project till the location of the new relief school is finalized.

The circuit court is scheduled to meet in April for mediation on the lawsuit.

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