Tag: Orlando Real Estate

Fannie Mae Short Sales Just Got Shorter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Fannie Mae

I believe that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as well as most all other lending institutions finally acknowledge the importance of the realtor’s role in the short sale process.

It seems like yesterday [back in 2004] when we started doing short sales. Orlando realtors like myself that specialized in doing only short sales dealt with frustration everyday.

Short sales were rare and many lenders weren’t equipped to properly handle the short sale process. And when you did complete a short sale, getting your hard earned commission from the lender at the closing was like pulling teeth. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then and most lenders are very aware of how to handle a short sale efficiently.

In 2008 shortly after the bubble burst in 2007, the US Department of Treasury introduced the Making Home Affordable Program aka “HAMP”.  The intention was to reach out to struggling homeowners that wanted to try and keep their homes as opposed to selling them via short sale or losing them to foreclosure. The program was extremely successful at what it was supposed to do which was help homeowners modify their mortgage so that they could keep their home.

By this time, “short sale” was a pretty common term for anyone who owned a house or anyone who watched the local news for that matter. Lenders were also getting used to processing short sales and even started offering several different “Cash for Keys” programs as an incentive to homeowners who agreed to short sale their home. Even though, overall, short sales are still complicated and time consuming many lenders have seen the light and have taken leaps and bounds in streamlining the the short sale process.

Fannie Mae [Federal National Mortgage Association] announced recently that they will attempt to assist listing agents that want to pursue a Fannie Mae short sale. In order to understand Fannie Mae’s new and improved process, you have to understand how short sales work.

 

What Changes Were Made With Fannie Mae Short Sales?

Fannie Mae just introduced a new website www home path for short sales .com. At the time of the listing, Fannie Mae will now provide list price guidelines. In addition, the agency will work directly with the listing agent or seller to get the 1st lien approval. The next step for Fannie Mae is to allow realtors to negotiate an offer directly through them saving us even more time.

 

Jennifer Zamora Orlando Realtor

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Orlando Mortgage Brokers Speak Out

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Mortgage Brokers Spill Their Guts

Recently, top mortgage brokers in Central Florida were asked what their biggest challenges were in their industry. A few of them had this to say…

Some claim that the mortgage market still has ways to go before it fully recovers and that home sales are still below normal levels when you compare them to last year. Brokers feel that inventory levels still haven’t quite caught up with the demand. They went on to say that many people are still reluctant to buy because of the overall lack of confidence in the job market.  All of these factors have a tremendous impact on home purchases in Orlando. Some believe that there is a building demand from new families as well as baby boomers that want to move into a smaller space to begin their retirement.

A mortgage broker’s role is to help their clients understand the entire process involved with a mortgage and how to make sense of it so that they can become homeowners or refinance their existing mortgage. As an Orlando Realtor, I depend heavily on my relationship with a few select mortgage brokers that have proven what they can do through past transactions. It works the same way for them. I get a steady stream of short-sale clients from the mortgage brokers that I work with because they know that I’m an Orlando short sale expert and they can count on me to get the job done.            

  

Customer Service Is King …                                                                                                                                                                              Mortgage brokers would also be wise to really focus on making their customer’s experience a good one. I can’t tell you how many times mortgage brokers get blamed when something goes wrong at the closing table. Turn around time is key when you do mortgages and the most successful mortgage brokers are the ones that get the job done and get it done fast. Even though mortgage brokers take a lot of heat when something goes wrong at the closing table, People should understand that many times it’s completely out of the mortgage broker’s hands.

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A New Appreciation For Living In Orlando

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

There’s nothing quite like taking a long road trip with your family in the Summertime. We left Orlando at about 10 pm. A quick stop at my sister’s house to drop off the dog and we were bound for our nation’s capital. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid so it’s great to have the chance to create some new memories with my own boys. We saw the White House, Lincoln memorial, countless museums, and the Capitol building just to name a few. For some reason, the Lincoln Memorial made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. 

Our next stop was New York City. There we saw the Statue of Liberty, Time Square, and The new Freedom Tower, and no trip to New York is complete without a visit to Coney Island. We had an amazing time and created memories that will last a lifetime. But I can’t help to use what’s probably the oldest quote in the book of quotes. “It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there”.

Between the dirty streets, overcrowded sidewalks, and smelly subways, I have never been more ready to come home from any visit anywhere. There’s nothing like a vacation in a big city to make you appreciate living in a beautiful place like Orlando.

 What really sets us apart are the great communities that we have here. We really do have it all… perfectly manicured parks for the kids, beautiful lakes, wildlife, etc. Also, in addition to being surrounded by endless natural beauty just minutes away, we have access to the best amusement parks in the world. What more could you ask for?

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Orlando Real Estate Still On The Upswing

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Although Orlando real estate still has one of the more affordable housing markets in the US, it’s evident that the price of residential real estate in “The City Beautiful” is steadily on the rise.

In the month of May, home buyers in Orlando spent an astounding 18% to 20% of their income on the mortgage payment. I don’t know about you, but this sounds really high to me. Especially, when you consider that at the height of Orlando’s low point in 2010 [after the big crash of 2007] buyers were only spending 10% to 12% of their income on the mortgage payment. What’s wrong with people??!!

Have you ever heard the joke about how Johnny’s dad wouldn’t buy him a $200 bike because of an $80,000.00 mortgage. Although it would be perfect to include in this post, I can’t write about it here because of the adult content that it contains, but if you’re over 18, you should Google it!

There’s nothing wrong with people [for the most part] per say. It’s that they have no choice but to do what needs to be done in order to provide food and shelter for their families. If that means having to spend a nice chunk of their income to keep a roof over their heads, then so be it! We can only do what the market permits us to do.

Check out these numbers; the median home price in Orlando back in 2010 was $1000,000 and just 2 months ago [June 2014] it was up to $165,000. I’m not sure what that exactly means but… Holy Cow! That’s a big increase! 

Orlando Real Estate Market Keeps On Growing and it Shows No Signs Of Slowing.

Even with this huge increase, affordability levels are still relatively low when you look at historical averages. This means that we’re not done growing yet, even if mortgage rates go up a point. Here’s how it works; If mortgage interest rates would go up a point, let’s say from 4% to 5% on a thirty-year mortgage, it would mean that homeowners instead of spending 18% to 20% of their income on a mortgage payment, they would be spending 20% to 22% on their mortgage. According to RealtyTrac this also includes property taxes.

Consider Renting Over Buying

Orlando is said to have one of the most affordable housing rates for buyers in the nation. However, for renters it’s ranked as one of the LEAST affordable places to live in the US… Hold on to your hats! Renters in Orlando spend an average of 34% of their income on paying the rent! Now that’s crazy right?…  Not always.

There are many advantages to renting as opposed to buying a home in Orlando. Here are a couple of advantages of renting over buying.

You don’t have to qualify for a mortgage- Probably the worst part of buying a home is qualifying for it. Unless you have impeccable credit and have never missed a payment in your lifetime, chances are whatever lender you try to get a mortgage with will make you jump through more hoops than a show dog with no guarantees that you get approved. If you rent a home, this is a non-issue and you don’t have to worry about plopping down 20% at the closing table

There’s no commitment- When you commit to a mortgage, you agreed in writing to pay back the entire amount of the loan to the lender or they reserve the right to foreclose on you putting your credit and probably your spouse’s credit at risk. When you rent, you’re only committing to the term of the lease and you can easily pack up and move on. This is why renting is especially attractive to people who are uncertain of there future because of a new job or some other circumstance that would cause them to have to move.


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Why Use An Orlando Listing Agent?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Listing Agents Vs. FSBO

Recently, there has been an upward trend of Orlando homeowners attempting to sell their houses on their own by way of FSBO [For Sale By Owner]. They are convinced that they have a plan that will save them thousands of dollars by not using a real estate agent. Unfortunately, this is never the case. When someone is advertising an FSBO, they don’t realize that the money they set out to save by not using a real estate agent will usually be spent just by doing the things that a realtor usually does.

Think about it this way…If you had to go to court because of an important case that involves you, would you want to show up without an attorney? Of course not, that would be suicide. Then why on earth would you not want to be represented by a professional in the sale of your most valuable asset? I believe that some people have this idea about real estate agents being lazy and they feel that they can do anything a realtor can do.

Orlando Realtors are trained professionals that are licensed by the state of Florida. They provide services that are meant to ease the burden of selling a home and ensuring that everything gets done legally and in a timely manner. Also, realtors are able to market your home to a much larger audience than you could ever dream of reaching by listing it on the MLS in addition to all the other marketing tools that real estate agents have access to.

Use An Orlando Realtor With An Online Presence

These days, It’s important to choose an Orlando Realtor with a strong online presence because 85% of Florida home searches start online.  Every realtor has or should have access to the MLS.  The MLS or “Multiple Listing Service” is a service that allows realtors to submit their listings for maximum exposure.

However, a successful real estate agent won’t rely just on the MLS for marketing a house for sale. A top Orlando realtor will have a very strong online presence as well.  At the very least, they should at least have their own website.

Our company not only has a main website but we also use social media sites, Youtube videos, and a blog to market our properties. By using all the tools available to us, we’re able to sell our properties extremely fast compared to other real estate agents in Orlando.

 

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