Tag: orlando listing agent

Do younger Orlando Realtors have an edge over “old school” agents?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

More and more young people are choosing to become full time Orlando real estate agents as a profession.  Historically,  real estate has proven to be a great field to be in no matter what the market is doing.  The ones who are able to keep up with what the Orlando real estate market is doing and make changes to their business model accordingly, are able not only to survive in tough markets, but thrive in any market.

Young agents definitely have an edge in the technology department over the “old school” agents that try to resist technology. Being internet savvy is a huge advantage just because of the time you save. Although our office still maintains a paper file on every client, those files are a fraction of the size they used to be thanks to amazing real estate soft wares that are available today.

I’ve been an Orlando realtor since 2005 and I can tell you that technology, as it applies to real estate has come a long, long way in 7 years. One thing is for sure, agents that apply new techniques such social media marketing, maintaining an up-to-date blog, up-to-date website, SEO [Search Engine Optimization], etc. will be much more successful than the agents that do not. The cruel truth is that technology has completely changed the way realtors do business and you have to keep up with the trend or get left behind.

Being a Realtor is like having your own Business

Another reason why so many young people are flocking to the world of  Orlando real estate is the allure of having their own business. Real estate agents are independent contractors that are responsible for marketing themselves and finding their own clients or they don’t get paid.  It’s a great field for self motivated people because they basically have no boss and the sky’s the limit if they’re willing to put in the work. For young and eager agents this presents an opportunity of a lifetime. People that want to be nestled in an office everyday and do the minimum amount of work just to get by, will eventually find a better fit for themselves pursuing professions other than the ever changing world of Orlando real estate.

Helpful Tip on finding the right agent:

Just by typing in the agent’s name and city they work in,  you can find out anything and everything you need about an agent and what they are all about. A successful realtor will usually be all over the internet for they areas that they specialize in and if they aren’t, then you may want to move on to the next candidate.

 

 

 

 

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Beautiful Orlando Property for Sale in the Meadow Woods subdivision

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Home in Meadow Woods have the neighbor’s heads turning

From ugly duckling to beautiful swan, this two-story 2,000+ sq ft Orlando property home has been fully renovated from head to toe. One of my investor clients started on this remodel about 3 months ago and finished this week. As soon as you open the front door the property just says “Welcome,  Come on in! “.  The soothing layout is an open floor plan with a very well thought out and functional design including a large downstairs masters retreat with the remaining 3 bedrooms and bonus room on the second floor. Also located on the first floor is a spacious kitchen with a breakfast bar, formal dining room, and large living room with a pond view. This beauty has been 100% renovated using exotic granite countertops throughout, top-quality carpeting and ceramic tile floors, high-end fixtures, and stainless steel appliances.

This immaculate Orlando home is located in the very desirable subdivision of Meadow Woods off of Landstar Rd. which is close to public transportation, shops, restaurants, and attractions. Located on a corner lot, the fenced-in yard is enormous and the property has a pond in the back yard great for fishing and canoeing.

The beautiful landscaping consists of Large Queen palms, Seigo palms, roses, citrus trees, and several other flowering plants that I just don’t know the name of.

No Expense was spared when renovating this Orlando property

The inside of the house was completely remodeled using exotic granite throughout, high-end fixtures and stainless steel appliances, top-of-the-line carpeting, and tile. My client knows that the key to a successful re-hab is to make everything look perfect giving the buyer absolutely nothing to complain about.

By using earth tones and not skimping on kitchen and bathroom cabinets as well as countertops, you are giving yourself the best chance to sell the property quickly. Pricing Orlando real estate correctly is crucial in order to get the property sold quickly, that’s why we do a complete market analysis before listing any of our Orlando homes.

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Florida incomes and Orlando real estate continue to rise

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Floridians income increase along with their confidence

 

Florida has shown substantial gains on three different areas, Real estate prices, income and consumer confidence. Much of this can be attributed to the overall housing market in Florida. Orlando real estate is a great accelerator when it comes to creating jobs and increasing local incomes, then the next logical thing that happens is a confidence boost. It’s just human nature, when people are doing OK financially they not only feel better about themselves but they become more confident about how much they can spend when house hunting.

I think It’s good that Floridian’s consumer confidence is at it’s highest point in 5 years but potential home buyers still need to be careful. The Orlando real estate market is constantly changing and right now it’s on the rise as it has been for the past 2 years or so. This doesn’t mean that you should buy just any house listed on the MLS. The truth is that many Orlando properties that I see listed are seriously overpriced. Sometimes this is due to the seller wanting to sell for the absolute highest price in the neighborhood because sellers typically believe that the house where they live is special compared to other houses in the same neighborhood, again…just human nature.

 

Short Sale Lenders are sometimes to blame for overpriced real estate listings

As short sale realtors, we are sometimes told by the client’s lender how much to list the property for. Sometimes, no matter how many years of experience we have in selling Orlando real estate, they still think they know more about the local market than an experienced Orlando realtor. I’ve argued with negotiators until I’m blue in the face as far as “fair market value” is concerned and they will still try to tell me how much the property should be listed for. However I quickly learn, usually on the first conversation, whether arguing my point will do you any good. Lenders that absolutely insist on telling me how much to list a property for… in my area of expertise,  I do just that.

9 out of 10 times, the result is that the property spends a lot more time on the market than it should have. With no offers or contracts after several weeks or even months of the property being listed, short sale negotiators will eventually figure out that they’re asking price needs to be lowered, then…I do just that and the property gets sold.

 

 

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Orlando Short Sale Realtors outsourcing short sales to unlicensed 3rd Parties

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 “Orlando Short Sale Realtors” using unlicensed negotiators to do the work

It’s recently come to my attention that certain Orlando realtors that claim to be “Short Sale Experts” are actually outsourcing their short sales to  unlicensed third party negotiators. Now, I’ve heard of  real estate attorneys outsourcing their short sales to licensed real estate agents, which to me makes perfect sense especially because by law the property must be listed on the Multiple Listing Service. However, when a licensed realtor marketing themselves as an Orlando short sale expert or specialist goes out and hires a non -licensed 3rd party negotiator it just doesn’t seem right and in my opinion is just downright deceiving to the homeowner.
When a realtor goes to a listing appointment to meet a potential client, they are making a commitment to that client as the realtor that will be representing them throughout the entire short sale process and look out for their best interest every step of the way. Do you really think that they would get the listing if they told the seller “By the way, I will be turning your file over to an unlicensed negotiator for them to work the entire short sale process with your lender and hopefully we can someone to buy it”… No Way!

The truth of the matter is, escrow officers, title representatives, and many of these amateur negotiators are inexperienced and they can cause a deal to fall apart. They lack the proper experience knowledge and care that a transaction of this sensitivity needs. A true Orlando short sale expert knows the urgency of the transaction and possesses the skills, experience and tenacity to get things done. Running a successful Orlando Real estate brokerage requires the outsourcing of many things such as; marketing, lock changing, cleaning crews, posting for sale signs, etc.  However, if a realtor is outsourcing the most important part of any real estate transaction which the processing and negotiating, then maybe that realtor needs to find another profession.

Choosing a Short Sale Realtor that’s right for You

As an Orlando homeowner you deserve the best chance at negotiating a successful short sale with an experienced realtor that’s willing to work hard for you throughout the whole short sale process from beginning to end. That’s why it’s soo important to important to to research a realtors track record as well as ask for testimonials, etc. If you’re in the market for a true Orlando Short Sale expert, read my article “A Typical Work day for an Orlando Short Sale Specialist”. It will help you in choosing the best agent to meet your particular needs.

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Banks are becoming more experienced with Orlando short sales making things easier for realtors

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Banks are getting much faster at the Orlando short sale process

Short sales have had a bad reputation in the Orlando real estate market for several years now. Realtors didn’t want to take on short sale properties either because they didn’t know what was involved and were afraid of getting in over their head or because they knew exactly what was involved and they didn’t want to commit to the hard work that’s involved in completing an Orlando short sale. Buyers didn’t like them because of the time that it would take to hear back from the bank about their offer that was submitted. Sometimes a potential buyer would submit a contract and have to wait three or four months just to find out that their offer wasn’t accepted, and all that time they spent waiting to hear back from the bank could have been utilized searching for other properties. This was extremely frustrating for everyone involved.

Lenders also must have felt frustrated because the truth is they just weren’t prepared to take on all these short sales. They weren’t prepared to handle short sales period… let alone hundreds of thousands of them coming at them at once. I believe that this is probably one of the reasons why loss mitigators would often tell agents that they didn’t receive certain documentation over and over again, or they would say things like we needed these docs in a certain order or a month later they would tell you to send everything again because it needs to be updated. Any experienced Orlando short sale realtors that are reading this post right know exactly what I’m talking about. In my opinion, these were stall tactics because lenders didn’t know how to get these short sales processed in an efficient manner.

Orlando short sales are being fast tracked thanks to experienced negotiators

Short sales are now being processed much faster than was the case just a year ago. Lenders have come a long way in putting systems in place to make things move more smoothly for the homeowner as well as the Orlando realtor processing the whole thing. I feel that the biggest change, however, is because of the short sale negotiators having much more experience in dealing with short sales now. At the end of the day, Big banks don’t run things, people do, and for some people, it’s easier to say that they didn’t receive something or come up with some other type of lame stalling tactic rather than to admit that they didn’t know what they doing.

Lately,  I’ve noticed a huge difference in the way that short sale negotiators handle short sale files. They’ve gotten better in every area; from ordering the BPO to negotiating with their investors and even getting extensions on payoff letters. I have about a dozen or so negotiators with several different lenders that I just love working with because “they get it”, they know how this business works and they will do whatever it takes to get the deal done.  Don’t get me wrong, I still have conversations with some short sale negotiators that frustrate me to no end because they are clueless about the Orlando real estate market or real estate in general yet they still try to tell me how much I should list an Orlando property for, but for the most part it’s gotten much much better.

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