Florida Timeshares Vs. Travel Clubs

People are always asking me if it’s a good idea to buy a timeshare. There are soo many different companies out there that will tell you their program is the best and they even go so far as to bribe you with free hotel stays and other expensive gifts. It’s all designed to lure you into a room decorated with breathtaking almost life-size luxury vacation photos created to entice you while you eat the complimentary breakfast or lunch they’ve given you [law of reciprocity], they even provide you with free child care to eliminate anything that may distract you from their highly polished sales pitch that they’re about to hit you with.

Their next move is to set down their modest little binder in front of you and start to show you photos of their own family vacations as they ask you personal questions about your kids, your line of work, and of course… your vacation habits.  You can always tell how experienced the Orlando real estate agent is by how good they deliver their personal story and then effortlessly mix it into the whole timeshare “Set Up” at the end of their enchanting little story. The agent then goes into a carefully rehearsed presentation about all the benefits you could receive by becoming a member and how if you walk out the door without buying you would regret it for the rest of your life.

I know what you’re thinking and you’re right…I’ve been to a whole bunch of these. The truth is, before we became successful in Orlando Realty Consultants my wife and I would sit through these excruciating timeshare presentations just to get a cheap vacation out of it for our family.

By going to all these presentations we learned a heck of a lot about timeshares as well as travel clubs. We saw one common denominator with timeshares that was a huge negative for us. That was that even if you don’t use your timeshare, you would still have to pay maintenance fees and property taxes. Over the years, I’ve had people approach me wanting to just sign the timeshare over to someone for free just to be free of the taxes and maintenance fees. They didn’t even care about losing the $10,000.00 they paid to buy it in the first place.

Travel Clubs are the way to go

Travel clubs on the other hand seemed to make a whole lot more sense to us. Joining a travel club is like joining a big box store like “Sam’s” or “BJ’s” in the sense that they buy up all these unused days in resorts, condos, etc., and pass the savings on to the consumer. They charge you a yearly fee to be a member, usually around 3 to 5 hundred dollars. Once you’re a member, you can access seriously discounted vacations by calling or through their website. The downside is that you have to buy in at about the same amount you would for a timeshare [five to ten thousand dollars] but that’s it. After that, there’s no property tax or maintenance fees to worry about at all.

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Another Great Orlando Short Sale

9797 PORTOFINO DR in ORLANDO

This is an Orlando short sale, that will be sold at a huge discount and will be a great deal for anyone wanting to live in this area.


Orlando Realty Consultants is proud to add  9797 PORTOFINO DR in ORLANDO to its list of breathtaking luxury homes. Built in 2003, this 2,476 sq ft. two-story single-family home is located in one of Orlando’s premier neighborhoods, Nonacrest!

A must-see! This is a Gorgeous 2 Story 3 Bedroom/3 Bath Home with a Bonus Room that can be used as a 4th Bedroom. The master Room is upstairs with a HUGE sitting area and Pond View. It’s Breathtaking.

 

With 3 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms and large common areas, the open layout has an enticing flow to it. Exquisite solid wood cabinetry, exotic granite countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances all come together with amazing attention to detail throughout this gorgeous house.

Check out these features

* Huge master’s retreat with sitting area

* Wide open Kitchen

* Vaulted Ceilings

* Granite counter tops throughout

* Solid wood cabinetry throughout

* High end appliances and fixtures throughout

* Dining and great room designed for family gatherings and entertainment.

* Covered back patio

* 2-car garage

* Large pool with a spacious deck for backyard Barb-B-Que’s and pool parties

Easy access to schools, first-rate shops and restaurants, and close to Orlando’s top medical facilities

So much more a definite must-see!

Call to make your appointment, You DO NOT want to miss out on this Great opportunity! BANK-APPROVED PRICE!!

Are you currently searching for your Central Florida dream home?  Look no further just click on;  search Orlando Luxury real estate and you”ll have access to all the properties listed on the Florida MLS. Within just a few clicks of your mouse, you’ll be searching out Florida real estate like a pro.

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

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

 

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

 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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