Tag: Jenny Zamora realtor

Orlando Realtors that were forged by fire are prepared for any market

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

The market crash of 2007 was a great school for young Orlando realtors

Shortly after the real estate market collapse of 2007, many Orlando realtors decided to give up being a realtor as a profession. They just weren’t making enough money to pay their bills and rather than trying to adapt to the new reality of Orlando real estate, they just gave up and looked for employment elsewhere. It’s not very difficult to be a successful real estate agent in a hot market. It basically comes down to listing the property on the MLS, planting a sign in the front yard and wait for a contract. In a hot market, properties sell themselves.

 

However, shortly after the market collapse 6 years ago, it was anything but a hot market. Orlando became flooded with foreclosure properties and short sales and suddenly one third of all Orlando homeowners were upside down on their mortgage. Lenders were also caught with their pants down not knowing how to handle this huge tidal wave of mortgage holders that all of a sudden stopped making their monthly mortgage payment. Realtors were at a crossroads, they had to decide to either adapt to this new jungle of short sales in the market or leave the jungle completely and find another way to pay the bills. Many Orlando real estate agents gave it a shot and did their best at doing short sales but found out very quickly that doing a short sale was 10 times the work of doing a regular listing.

 

There was another breed of agents out there however that weren’t intimidated at all by the drastic changes that were happening in the market. Instead of being discouraged, they saw an opportunity and went for it by jumping in with both feet when the market was at it’s absolute worst. There’s a certain type of person that will do whatever it takes to be successful and they won’t stop until they achieve their goals. This personality type fits well with being a short sale specialist. You have to be tenacious and extremely hard working to make it. Just imagine getting started in real estate at the worst possible time in history…and make it! Now that the market has been getting better, these same agents are really taking it to the next level because things are getting even easier because they’ve already experienced the worst.

 

Studies show that the majority of Orlando Realtors that started 2007 through 2009 are still active as opposed to agents who began working when the market was hot from 2004 through 2006. The market crash was a great battle ground for young realtors to earn their stripes. The experience of grappling with distressed real estate and being forced to get up to speed on the latest internet technologies like social media marketing has prepared this newest generation of real estate agents to better handle the process of buying and selling real estate.

 

 

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Orlando Real Estate | Location vs. Lifestyle

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

There are so many things to consider when you’re shopping for a new home. When it comes to Orlando real estate there are three words that just about everyone thinks of,  location, location, location. We’ve been taught that location is the only thing that should matter when choosing a home. However, for many people, this is not the case. For these people,  It’s not so much where they live but rather how they live. New generational values have changed and people are increasingly more concerned with how a home will work for their lifestyle than what neighborhood they live in.


When meeting with a new home buyer, It’s important to find out what kind of hobbies or past times they enjoy and whether they want to be near the beach, a golf course, retirement community, etc. A buyer might not be so impressed with the house you just showed them but you if informed them of all the nearby amenities that the community offers that house may have just gotten a whole lot more attractive to them. It may come down to a nearby bike path or a lake for fishing and kayaking to turn that house into their dream home.

 Maintaining a home should be a big factor in your decision to buy

Consumers are becoming more aware of the cost of maintaining a home in addition to the mortgage. When choosing a home buyers need to be aware of all the additional costs that are involved in the community such as homeowners association fees,  yard maintenance, etc. These costs can add up to be a substantial amount of money. After the market crash of 2007, it seems that people are much more aware of not getting in over their heads financially.

The size of the home also makes a huge difference in maintenance costs. Buyers are more willing to move into a smaller home especially when they can enjoy nearby social and recreational amenities.

Sometimes It makes more sense to rent

Many younger adults prefer to rent over buying for financial reasons as well as lifestyle reasons. Young people today are used to having subscription-based technology services. This same concept makes sense to them when renting a house. They can subscribe to a rental home for a while then move on. By renting, they don’t have to be concerned about things like qualifying for a mortgage or having to get the house sold if they want to move to another area.

If you’re looking to buy or rent a home in Orlando, please visit our site and search the MLS like a pro.

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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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