Tag: Orlando Real Estate

Buying Orlando Real Estate without an Agent Can Prove to be Costly

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Buying an Orlando Realty without a Realtor can Result in Disaster

 

Buyers loves to get a great deal on Orlando real estate and there’s nothing that I enjoy more than to provide my clients with terrific Orlando homes at great prices. However, If you you don’t want to use a realtor, there are other options available such as bidding online for properties going to foreclosure or searching craigslist for motivated sellers.

Bidding at the Orange County online foreclosure sale.

It’s true that you can find a good deal at the auction on an Orlando property. Although, if you don’t do your research prior to bidding, there’s a good chance that you could lose big.
A family was recently bidding in an online auction on a foreclosed home in the Orlando neighborhood of Meadow Woods.  However, those bidders didn’t know they’re now on the hook for the previous owner’s mortgage.

The home went to auction on the Orange County Clerk’s foreclosure website, and someone bought their home for $16,000! What a deal right? Wrong!… the guy that bought the house online didn’t do his research until after he bought the house. It turns out that it was an HOA foreclosure and there was a mortgage attached for 200 thousand dollars. Can you imagine thinking that you just got the deal of a lifetime and then finding out that you inherited a $200,000.00 debt?  It’s like, “Oh, my God. What have I done?”

People have this misconception about the online auction where they think bidding on foreclosures is a lottery ticket. The truth is, many people end up losing money bidding on foreclosures.

 

Before bidding, you need to do a title search.

One of the problems with trying to get a house online is all that you have to put in a lot work to be successful. Spending a hundred dollars on a tile search can save someone from making one the biggest mistakes of their lives. Doing a title search is just one of the things you need to do. It’s always a good idea to go to the house even if you can’t get inside. Most of the time you won’t be able to get in but you can at least get an idea of what the outside looks like.

Unfortunately, disgruntled homeowners that have been forced out because of a foreclosure can sometimes take out their frustrations by causing severe damage to the inside of the house. I’ve seen houses with well over $20,000.00 in damages caused by angry homeowners and their favorite sledgehammer or golf club.

The moral of the story is this; If you choose to find a property without the help of an Orlando Realtor, make sure to do your due diligence or you could end up losing money.

 

 

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We are Currently Hiring Orlando Realtors!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Realtors Wanted!

Due to the ever increasing amount of leads that we have coming into our office, it’s once again time to hire more Orlando Realtors so we can keep up with the demand. Have you ever wanted to work with and learn from a Top Orlando Broker?  Well, If you are a licensed Orlando Realtor, then now is your chance. Here are some of the things we take into consideration when hiring an Orlando Real Estate Agent.

Top 5 qualities we look for in when hiring an Orlando Real Estate Agent

1-  Be on time- Whether your coming into the office or headed to a meeting with a potential buyer or seller, nobody likes it when you make them wait. It’s unprofessional and It starts things of on the wrong foot. I’ve seen agents lose potential Orlando listings just because they showed up late for the appointment. The  seller will automatically think that you are always late for every thing you do.

2- Be a person of your word- If you say that you are going to do something, then follow through and do it. Being someone of your word will help to build your reputation as a trusted real estate professional in the community. It also helps to build trust with the people who work around you on a day to day basis. To be a successful Orlando agent you must have the  reputation of being a dependable agent and people will know that you won’t let them down.

3- Always be willing to learn- There are some agents out there that think they know everything because they’ve been doing real estate for a while, they get stuck in a certain way of doing things and resist change. With all the new laws and regulations that are happening in Orlando real estate, you have to be aware of them in order to serve the client to the best of your abilities. If you don’t know about the “New Law” that came out yesterday that will help your new client to achieve their goal, then you’re failing to do what’s best for your client.  I’ve been in real estate for 10 years and I feel like I learn something new everyday.

4- A good work ethic- This is something that is taught and instilled in you from when you’re a child. In my experience, It’s virtually impossible to teach an adult to have good work ethics if they don’t already have it in them. In the competitive world of Orlando Realty, you must be a hard worker if you’re going to survive solely as Realtor. We can provide an agent with a steady flow of leads for Orlando real estate, for both buyers and sellers. However, if those leads aren’t followed up on or worked on, then it’s a complete waste of time and marketing dollars.

5- Have a positive attitude- People that have a positive attitude tend to radiate positive energy or otherwise known as having a “Good Vibe”. These is really something that you either have or don’t have. I’ve met Orlando agents that absolutely hate being a realtor and it shows through. No matter how bad they try to hide it you just get the feeling that the don’t want to be there. This is negative energy aka having a “Bad Vibe”. Having a bad attitude will cripple you and ultimately destroy your career as a real estate agent. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. To be a successful Orlando realtor, you have to absolutely love what you do and submerge yourself in it.

So there you have it. If you have the qualities mentioned above and you want to join one of Orlando’s Top Real Estate Brokerages, then please contact me so we can have a chat.

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New rules set to improve turn around time for Orlando Short Sales

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 Orlando Short Sale Process should be much faster with new rules in place

With the new rules regarding short sales taking effect this month, federal regulators are hoping to streamline the entire Orlando short sale process from beginning to end for residential properties.

The new regulations which will regulate both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,  forces the agencies to give short sale buyers a yes or no answer within a 60 day time period. The rule is supposed to go into effect on the 15th of this month.

The rules also force the agencies to respond to initial requests for short sales within 30 days of receiving a buyer’s offer. For Orlando realtors, this is great news! No longer will they be able to take their own sweet time to respond, which sometimes meant waiting  a couple of months to see if they even considered the offer. And most of the time the buyer would get frustrated and walk away from the potential deal.

What is an Orlando short sale?

For those of you who don’t know, a short sale is when a lender agrees to accept a contract price for less than what is owed on the mortgage.  Orlando Real Estate values have dropped an average of 35 to 45 percent since 2007 leaving many homeowners with more debt than their home is worth.

Orlando short sales are very popular right now. It’s the perfect solution for the sellers, the buyers, Orlando realtors and the lenders. Lenders get to recoup some of their money back, Sellers are able to get rid of an enormous debt and avoid Orlando foreclosure, Buyers get a great deal on an Orlando property, and it gives realtors an opportunity to earn their money. Any Orlando short sale realtor can tell you that negotiating a short sale is no walk in the park

I believe that with the new short sale rules in place will benefit the entire Florida housing market.

Lenders prefer short sales because they are much more efficient than foreclosures. Although many homeowners have become casualties of lengthy and unpredictable time frames that it takes to process a Florida short sale.

We’ve closed thousands of Orlando short sales over the years and I can tell you from experience that unless you’ve worked with certain lenders before, there’s no way of knowing how it’s all going to play out. We’ve worked some that have taken 60 days from start to finish and some that have taken two and a half years to complete.

 

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The HARP Program is a Real “Life Changer” for Orlando Homeowners

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 What Is The HARP Program?

HARP is the Home Affordable Refinance Program. It was an initiative by the Obama Administration begun in 2009 to allow underwater homeowners to refinance their homes at today’s low mortgage rates. The program is currently available to homeowners through June 30, 2012.

If you are current on your mortgage, with or without equity, then you are eligible for this program and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t apply for HARP. It doesn’t cost anything to apply and it could the answer to your mortgage problems.

The government continues to purchase mortgage backed securities and rates continue to fall and are near record lows.

HARP allows you take advantage of current market rates even if you are “underwater”. These programs are Financial “Life-Changers”. They are also available for a limited time as determined by congress so people need to act now to take advantage of this stimulus program, and lower their monthly payment and/or term.

We’ve helped many Orlando homeowners to qualify for the HARP program since 2009 when it began. Sometimes people will come into my office thinking that their only option is to sell their Orlando property by way of short sale or by bringing money to the closing table. When I sit down with a client I like to know why they are selling. If an Orlando homeowner tells me that they would love to keep their Orlando property and they’re only selling because they can no longer  afford the payment, I will usually recommend that they apply for HARP before trying to apply for any other programs.

For clients that truly want to keep their Orlando homes, we explore every option available to them to achieve that result. It’s only after we’ve exhausted all means to try and keep the house do we resort to selling it.

Recent HARP applications Surge

According to a recent article in National Mortgage News, the five largest mortgage servicers have seen approximately 400,000 applications for refinancing under the new program. People are starting to become more aware of HARP but for some reason 9 out of 10 of eligible Homeowners still fail to take advantage of this government program.

Many people that are upside down in their mortgage automatically believe that they can’t re-finance. With the HARP you can!

Doing an Orlando Short Sale may be your best option

If you decide that an Orlando short sale is the best option for you, we then try to get you qualified for programs such as HAFA which allows the seller to leave the closing table with a minimum of $3,000.00. Depending on who the lender is, we’ve been able to get some of our clients up to $30,000.00 back in some cases. How’s that for a bailout package?

 

 

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Jenny Zamora Broker

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Orlando Home Sellers Staying After Deals Close

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

More and more sellers are insisting on staying in their Orlando property after deal closes.

As an Orlando Realtor since 2005, I’ve seen it all. Some people need more time to find a new place while others just want to stay to finish out the school year. In some cases the sellers will make a deal with the new owners to continue renting the home indefinitely.

I say why not? As long as the buyer and the seller are able to come to a mutual agreement as far as rent and terms, then go for it.  Although many of my buyers are retail home buyers who want nothing more than to move in their new house, we also work with a lot of investors who buy several homes a year through our company.

Some of these investors are strictly  re-habbers that are interested in fixing the house up and selling it. These particular buyers never want the sellers to stay after the closing because they need to get in there and get to work. Obviously, you can’t have people living in a house while your remodeling it because it’s not livable. The other reason is that a lot of these investors need to close on one deal in order to re-invest in the next one.

However, there is another type of investor out there that is willing and able to accommodate sellers wanting to stay in the property provided that the terms are agreeable to both buyer and seller.

Buyers have had the advantage in Orlando real estate deals since 2006, when the market was flooded with properties and prices were still astronomical.

As Orlando Realty prices became more affordable, sales increased sharply, reducing the supply of available Orlando homes and ultimately giving sellers more power in negotiations.

Bidding wars have now returned for moderately priced homes, some real estate firms and analysts say that Orlando’s housing market has hit bottom. And others say more foreclosures could be on the horizon and will hurt prices.

In my opinion we’ve not only hit bottom but Orlando real estate is steadily increasing. Is it still a buyers market?  Yes, I think so, but in desirable Orlando neighborhoods with not a lot of inventory, buyers are fighting to get the houses.

Sellers are Starting to Regain Control in the Orlando Real Estate Market

Sellers in Orlando realize that the market is starting to come around again and some homeowners use this as leverage to make a deal with the new buyer to stay in the house. At the end of the day, short sale or not, the Seller has all of the control as long as the property hasn’t gone through foreclosure. That means that they can refuse to sign the sales contract if they don’t get the deal that they want.

Most sellers prefer to leave the home on the day of closing or before. However,  in my experience, post-occupancy clauses occur on about 10%  of the deals closed by our office.

While buyers may feel they have no choice but to allow a seller to rent in order to get the deal done, they should be careful about agreeing to it. There should be a written agreement that includes a specific move-out date and the amount of money that will be held in escrow to be used if the seller-turned-renter damages the property.

Ask me Anything, I’m here to Help.

 

Orlando Real Estate Broker

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