Tag: orlando listing agent

Orlando Real Estate remains strong, despite a dip in prices at the end of summer

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

Summer’s gone and Orlando Real estate takes a drop

Prices of Orlando real estate dropped slightly last month for the first in a year. Don’t panic Orlando homeowners, this happens every year at this time. The reason for the drop is mostly due to the end of the peak of the summer buying season. Two facts remain true, Orlando real estate inventory is low and demand for great Orlando properties remains high. As long as these factors remain a part of the Orlando real estate market, sellers will be able to get top dollar for their Orlando Home.

Other factors indicating a strong Orlando Real Estate market

Orlando homes are selling faster and for more than they did a year ago. Studies show that Orlando homes are spending less than 80 days on the market before coming under contract and selling for almost  97% of the listing price. A year ago, Orlando Realty was selling for less than 95% of the listing price, and these properties were listed on the MLS for over 100 days.

Great mortgage interest rates are still being offered by lenders. The average interest rate currently being offered for Orlando home buyers is at 3.78 percent as opposed to a year ago when homebuyers paid an average interest rate of 4.26 percent. This is a huge incentive right now for potential Orlando home buyers and anyone interested in buying real estate in Orlando should definitely take advantage of these historically low-interest rates.

There are more regular listings in the Orlando real estate market than has been in years. Although Orlando’s short sales and REO’s still rule Orlando’s real estate inventory right now, there is another quieter group that is not desperate to sell their Orlando properties.  Believe it or not, everyone one in three homeowners owns their house “free and clear”. This group as well as homeowners with very small mortgages on their home are able to ask for top dollar on their Orlando home and they don’t care if it sells or not. Their way of thinking is “I will sell for the right price and if not then I’m not selling”. I’ve had several clients like this over the years, and homeowners like these actually help to maintain property values up in their neighborhoods because their listing prices remain high and they really don’t care how long it takes to sell.

Right now is  a great tome to sell your Orlando Home

Considering all the factors in play right now with Orlando Real Estate, it’s a great time to sell your home. Whether you need an Orlando short Sale done or you’re o of the few and fortunate people that own your property Free and Clear. If you’re interested in seeing how much your Orlando property will sell… click on “How much is my Orlando property worth?” or you can come and see me for a free consultation and I would be happy to sit and talk with you.

Realtor in Orlando, FL

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Fannie Mae Making great Strides in the Orlando Short Sale Process

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Fannie Mae is taking the Lead on making short sales move even faster for Orlando homeowners

It’s amazing to see how far certain lenders have come in the way of helping homeowners to get their Orlando short sales approved. In the not-so-distant past, some of the major lenders were hell bent on making the short sale process a nightmare for not only the homeowners but also, the short sale realtors that had to work the entire process. Then even after you’ve submitted the complete package to the lender dotting every I and crossing every t, you would then have to re-submit the entire short sale package several times over either because it needed to be updated or the lender had lost it or claimed to have never received it. I know this may sound absurd to some of you but believe it or not, this used to happen on just about every single file at least once or twice.

It’s only been in the last year or so that we’ve seen a drastic change in the way that lenders handle Orlando short sales in General. There are systems in place such as HudHomes.Gov that some lenders use which make short sales move along a lot faster. And with systems like these in place, no longer can negotiators claim to have never received certain documents or that they’ve lost them. It’s as easy as logging into your account and uploading every page that they request. This was just one of the steps which began to streamline the short sale process.

Since then, there have been laws implemented by congress which require lenders to respond within 60 days of a short sale offer being presented, this was Huge! Even bigger, was when Lenders started giving homeowners large “Cash for Keys” incentives to complete short sales. Not only were homeowners able to get their debt forgiven, but they were able to receive enough cash at closing to start over in a new life.

Most recently, Fannie has come out with new guidelines for loan servicers to follow.  The new guidelines are a part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Servicing Alignment Initiative. The idea is to prevent more foreclosures and help neighborhoods to stabilize.

Fannie Mae’s new guideline changes

• Hardships. Servicers will now be permitted to approve a short sale for borrowers who have certain kinds of hardships but are still current on their loans. Also, in order to reduce paperwork, no documentation of hardship will be required for borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent and have a credit score lower than 620.

• 2nd-lien payments limited to $6,000. Before, 2nd lien holders often attempted to negotiate higher payments. The loan servicer will be able to offer the maximum payment of $6,000 in order to facilitate the transaction. By setting a standard payout amount and a limit for every transaction, Fannie Mae is removing the guesswork in order to accelerate the short sale process.

• Servicers will have more authority to approve and complete short sales. All servicers will have the authority to approve and complete short sales that conform to the requirements without receiving individual approval from Fannie Mae. Sometimes this part of the process added several months to short sale negotiations.

Jenny Zamora Lic RE Broker, Orlando

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Orlando Real Estate, one of the Nations Highest in Asking Prices, but we won’t be Fooled Again!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 Orlando Real Estate is Hotter than ever right now

As of a year ago in August asking prices are up 8.6% which means that we are actually eighth in the nation, tied with San Jose California. This is good news for Orlando homeowners who elected to ride the storm out since the crash in 2007. These homeowners who have been wanting to sell their Orlando property but didn’t want to take a huge loss are now able to sell and even make a profit depending on how much they owe.

Orlando real estate Experts can speculate all they want to and try and predict what the future of Orlando real estate will be, but the fact is that only time will tell. One thing that I always try to advise my clients about is to be very careful when buying Orlando Real estate, especially as an investment. Sure, buying Orlando realty as an investment can be a great idea if you buy it right and don’t let your emotions cloud you’re thinking.

Homebuyers should never depend on Orlando Real estate appreciating when making their decision to buy. This is where a whole lot of people got into a whole lot f trouble in past years. In 2006 people went into a frenzy buying up houses and condos in new construction properties in Orlando with an “I can’t go wrong attitude” thinking that they were going to make a killing. And the fact is that many investors did make a killing doing just that. But there were many more people that lost everything and have never recovered. I know this because working as Orlando Short Sale specialist, most of my clients are short sale clients. I’ve had clients that have had 20 and 30 properties and they now have  20 and 3o properties in default and upside down.

Orlando home buyers should never forget what happened in 2007

As hot as the Orlando real estate market is today, I really hope that people don’t fall into that trance again where they believe that Orlando home prices will only rise and can never fall, that kind of thinking is what got everyone into trouble in the first place.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a home in Orlando, consult with a proven Orlando Real estate expert so that you can make educated decisions on your approach to the world of Orlando Real estate investing.

Orlando Investment Homes

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6 Things that can Kill your Orlando Short Sale

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Clock is running Out on Orlando Short Sales


By now almost everyone is familiar with the term “Orlando Short Sale” that owns real estate in Orlando. In a nutshell… It’s when the bank agrees to take a substantial discount on what is owed on a delinquent mortgage.
Our office has been receiving a ton of calls and emails lately from sellers that are upside down on their mortgage all asking the same question. “ Are we still in time to do a short sale on our home without being taxed by the IIRS for the deficiency?” The simple answer to this question is yes, as long as you get it closed before 2013. However, there are many other things to consider besides the “Mortgage tax relief act of 2007”.
6 things that could kill your Orlando Short Sale

1-    The Bank refuses to take accept the short sale offer- These days this doesn’t happen that often. However, Some lenders are just not realistic when it comes to what the property is actually worth and they will just flat out refuse to do a short sale.
2-    Stubborn Homeowners Associations- In the state of Florida, HOA’s will be paid 1 year of dues if a property goes to foreclosure. However, for some reason, that I’m still trying to figure out, there are HOA’s out there that would rather let the property  go  to  foreclosure and collect a year of delinquent dues instead of collecting an amount that is  much more than that. It’s almost  like the HOA’s take it personal that a homeowner can’t pay and they want revenge!
3-    2nd mortgages not giving enough of a discount- When you do an  Orlando Short Sale on a  house that has 2 or more mortgages, the amount that you offer to that second mortgage holder as to be approved by the first mortgage holder. If the frst mortgage holder only wants the second to get $2,000.00 and the 2nd mortgage holder wants $5,000.00 guess what? That’s right… it’s a deal killer.

4-    The BPO Comes in Too High- Part of the process when doing an rlando  short sale is for the bank to order a BPO [Brokers Price Opinion]. Kind of like a mini appraisal, a BPO is usually performed by a local realtor that goes into the house and records details of the house damages, upgrades, etc. Based on all of this information the BPO agent will determine what they  think the house is worth. Unfortunately, I’ve had BPO’s done on properties where judging by their valuation of the property, they must have been either
5-    intoxicated or the more likely scenario, they want the property to get foreclosed on in hopes that they get the listing on the property from the lender as an REO listing.
6-    The buyers back out or are unable to close- Usually, you’ll know way ahead of time if you’re dealing with a legitimate buyer as opposed to a tire kicker because of a Deposit and proof of funds or a pre-approval letter. However, for whatever reason, a buyer will sometimes just not want to go through with the deal at the last second or their financing falls through. Unfortunately, It’s just the nature of the Orlando Real Estate business.

Hire an Orlando Short Sale Expert

If you’re in need of doing a short sale in Orlando, you should find an experienced short sale realtor to give yourself the best chance possible. Short sales can be tricky and hiring a good  realtor will the key to your success.

 

 

Orlando short sale expert

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More Senior Citizens Facing Orlando Foreclosure

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Older Americans who own Orlando real estate are not immune to the foreclosure process

Many Americans that are 55+, grew up thinking that real estate in Orlando would only appreciate in value and that you need to own a house to be financially secure. That way of thinking was passed on from there parents and was shared by just about everyone else in that generation. Unfortunately, according to AARP Senior Americans got in just as much hot water as the younger generations.

The perception is that older Americans are more housing secure than younger people, but the truth is that millions of Americans that are over the age of 55 are carrying more mortgage debt than ever before, over three million of which are at risk of losing their homes.  And as of December 2011, approximately 3.5 million loans of people age 55+ were upside down, meaning that their home is worth less than the loan amount. From 2007 to 2011, a staggering 1.5 million + older Americans lost their homes to foreclosure.

Even though older Americans still have lower foreclosure rates than people that are under 55, they are increasing at an alarming rate.

Older Americans weren’t immune to the Orlando real estate boom and bust. They took out equity lines of credit when Orlando property values shot up, sold their homes for retail prices and purchased investment properties that floundered just like everybody else.

 The biggest difference here is that if you’re under 55 and lose your house to foreclosure, you still have time to get back on your feet through hard work and perseverance. Older Americans don’t have this option because the truth of the matter is that time is not on their side. When I think about Older people losing their homes to foreclosure, it literally brings tears to my eyes, it’s just really sad.
 
For generations, home ownership has been a safety net in retirement, the report notes. Equity that built up over decades could be tapped for medical bills, supplement fixed incomes or help transition into an assisted living facility. If a senior needs to transition to an assisted living facility but can’t sell his house to get the money to pay for it, then that’s a huge problem.

Gail Matillo, director of elder housing for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, recommends seniors call a local aging resource center if they are having trouble with house payments. The statewide hot line is 800-863-5337.

If you are in need of an Orlando Short Sale, call us for a free consultation.

 

 

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