Tag: Orlando real estate agent

Tenants Now Able to Stay for a Full Term, Even in Foreclosure

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Good News For Landlords and Tenants

Up until 2009, the law stated that any lease or rental agreement that was entered into AFTER a notice of foreclosure was served wasn’t protected by the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. This meant that tenants weren’t guaranteed the right to be able to stay for the full term of the lease. A tenant could be evicted just by the lender or new owner by simply filing some paperwork with the courthouse. However, when the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Act was put into play landlords were able to continue collecting rent checks and tenants were allowed to stay on their property for the full term of the lease even though the house was in the foreclosure process.

The “Dodd-Frank Act” changed that definition in a big way by allowing landlords to rent their homes out to a qualified for fair market rent even though the home was in active foreclosure, just along as the foreclosure or transfer of title didn’t actually happen yet. This meant that a tenant’s lease would be honored for the entire term of the lease as long as it was reasonable in relation to normal lease agreements.  The law also states that if someone buys the property at the foreclosure sale and intends to occupy the property as his or her primary residence, then they have the right to evict the tenant after 90 days from the transfer of the title to the new owner. Lenders or investors must wait out the entire term of the lease before starting the eviction process.

Benefit to Tenants and Landlords in Foreclosure

Before the law was put into place, landlords that were in the process of foreclosure could still rent their house out but by law they had to inform the tenant of what was going on as well as let them know that whenever the foreclosure happened, that they only had 90 days after the foreclosure sale, just as long as the lease was signed and executed prior to the bank serving the notice of foreclosure. Now, it doesn’t matter when the lease was written and executed, the renter is allowed to stay for the entire term of the lease, unless the new buyer plans to occupy the property as their primary. And since the majority of foreclosures are bought by the lenders or investors that intend to resell or rent the property, this encompasses most foreclosures.

As an Orlando real estate agent, I’ve helped both tenants and landlords find feasible solutions to their housing and real estate needs. Sometimes the answer to their problem has always been there and it’s just a matter of educating people on their options according to the law. Once people know what they are and what they aren’t allowed to do, the solution will usually appear. The laws that I wrote about in this article apply nationwide so realtors should be aware of these options that are currently available to their clients.

My name is Jenny Zamora RE Broker and my passion is helping people in distress find effective solutions to their real estate needs.

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Orlando Foreclosure Discounts Shrinking

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Foreclosure properties just aren’t the bargains that they used to be. In August of 2009, the average discount on a foreclosed home was about 24%. As of September of this year, it’s now down to about 7% compared to what a home buyer would’ve paid for the same property in a conventional transaction.

Orlando, which is one of the cities that was hit the hardest by the foreclosure crisis has such a strong demand right now for properties that the discounts are pretty much gone unless the house is in need of major renovations. Our company specializes in Orlando short sales and I can tell you that just about every one of our listings receives multiple offers for the listing price or above.  It’s extremely rare these days that we get an offer that’s lower than the listing price because buyers know that it’s a very competitive market right now. As a matter of fact, about half of our properties end up selling for over the listing price.

Regular homebuyers [not investors] are the main reason for the increased demand for Orlando real estate. Everyone wants to take advantage of the historic affordability, which means the combination between lower home prices and great mortgage rates. This doesn’t mean that you still can’t get a good deal in Orlando, but be prepared to submit multiple offers on multiple properties. It’s because of this that it’s much more work to be a buyer’s agent where you have to show multiple homes and submit multiple offers before you find what your buyer is looking for. It’s very common these days to go see a house that has been listed for less than 24 hours and find out that the home already has multiple offers on it.

Orlando Re-Habbers Still Turning a Profit

The average home buyer wants nothing to do with remodeling a home after they’ve purchased it. This is why there’s soo much competition for Orlando homes that are move-in ready. However, for the home buyer that is willing to roll up his or her sleeves and dive into some major home repairs, there’s still a profit to be made. There are some lenders that will complete the renovations on their own foreclosed properties before putting them back on the market, but most of the time they just want to sell them as-is.

Homes that are in need of repairs can still be good investment opportunities if you know what you’re doing. Using an experienced Orlando realtor to help with your search is highly recommended. It’s also important to know what repairs need to happen and how much the repairs will cost before you commit to buying a fixer-upper. Although profit margins are quite a bit smaller than they were a few years ago, a full-time rehabber can still make a decent living from flipping houses.

 

 

 

 

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Home Renovations That Draw the Highest Price

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

Investing your money into a property that you intend to resell can potentially earn you a nice profit. However, not all home improvements will guarantee you a profit. It’s crucial that you know where to invest your money so that it will increase the resale value of the home when you go to sell it. Throughout the years, I’ve rehabbed 300+ Orlando homes and through my own experiences both as an investor as well as an Orlando real estate agent,  I’ve compiled a list of home renovations which have given me the best return on my investment dollars.

 

Here are the top renovations that you can add to an investment property that will get you the highest return on your money.

The Kitchen- The kitchen is the most used room in the house and should be one of the main focal points of a re-model. Quality cabinetry, counter tops and appliances are a must in a kitchen. No home buyer will want to buy a home and have to remodel their kitchen when they move in so I suggest not cutting any corners when it comes to the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean that you should get gold plated fixtures and top of the line appliances. However, you shouldn’t buy the cheapest materials either. Try to stay somewhere in the middle price range. I like to go to the large hardware chains and see what’s on clearance [usually at the front of the store]. By doing this, you should be able to get some high end materials for mid range prices.

The Bathrooms- Bathroom remodels come in at a close second to remodeling the kitchen. They are the second most used room in the house and should be updated on any remodel. A new vanity, toilet and fixtures are a must unless the existing ones are in “like new” condition. There’s no bigger turnoff to a potential buyer than a dirty and out dated bathroom. It doesn’t have to cost you a fortune especially if you do some shopping around just like you should do for the kitchen. Any money that you can save on a remodel means more money in your pocket when it’s time to sell.

The Floors- The floors of a home is usually the first thing a potential buyer will notice as soon as they walk in.  If the house has tiled floors and they look half way decent, then I will usually just have them cleaned by a tile cleaning company. A good tile cleaning company will clean the tile as well as the grout joints leaving the floor looking like new. However, if the tiles are in bad shape or they look tacky then you have no choice but to remove and replace them. If there’s carpeting, then 99% of the time it should be replaced with either new carpeting or tile. There’s a myth that tile is much more expensive than ceramic tile but this isn’t always the case. And even if it is a bit more expensive than carpeting, it might be worth the extra expense to have tile instead of carpeting. In my experience buyers will always prefer tile over carpet.

Paint- There’s nothing that will yield a higher return on your money than a fresh paint job. A new paint job will brighten the entire house as well as hide minor imperfections on the walls. It’s important to stick to neutral colors when painting a house that you intend to sell. Some investors make the mistake of using too many colors thinking that it will somehow impress a potential buyer but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because you think that you have great taste in interior design, it doesn’t mean that it’s true. Not only that, but if a potential buyer doesn’t like the colors on the walls this could be enough reason for them to not make an offer. My suggestion is to stick to one or 2 colors for the entire interior of the house. I like to paint the walls off white and the trim pure white. By using only one or two colors throughout the whole interior the house will look new, elegant and best of all… it’s much cheaper for labor as well as materials.

 

 

 

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Boom Time for Orlando Realtors as Apartment Demand Shoots Up

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

At the moment Orlando Realtors are making hay. It is all in the numbers: the rate of apartment occupancy increased to 94.5% from 93.9% of the previous year. As per the Charles Wayne, Consulting Inc published semi-annual report of residential markets, more than 19,000 units have been taken on lease. The 2009 report for Orlando showed only 87.5% occupancy in the multifamily residential space. So figures indicate a sharp rise in real estate leases in the region.

The real estate picture in Orlando

The rate of occupancy increased in nine submarkets of Orlando. Three submarkets, however, exhibited a slight decrease in demand. Occupancy rates were seen to be highest in the Apopka market. Apopka boasted of an average of 97.1% occupancy in September this year. Osceola County and South Orlando also showed high demand.

There was a discernible softening of demand in the Winter Park, Maitland, and North Orlando region. Only 90.8% of the total apartment complexes were occupied. The data, however, incorporate new projects currently under completion. The Charles Wayne Consulting census collated data from about 660 complexes within the Orlando area.

Approximately 3,000 units are being leased each year in the Orlando region. More than double the number of units are being built every year. The rate of apartment buildings being constructed has at least tripled in the previous two years. About 7,124 units were under construction in September compared to 1,929 units that were being built in September 2012.

Sales and leases

The Orlando real estate agent, Sperry Van Ness Florida sold 9 acres of land on State Road 50 in the Clermont area for a sum of $1.27 million. The seller was represented by Miguel de Arcos, of the Lake Mary office, Sperry Van Ness Florida. The buyer was represented by Karen Wentzell of Schmid Properties and Centennial Bank N.A.

A lease of 11,500 square feet at 755 Rinehart Road in Lake Mary was signed by the Florida Hospital Medical Group. The group was represented by Sarah Castor of the Cresa Orlando. Approximately 3,000 square feet were leased by Night Lite Pediatrics at the Hunt Club Shopping Center in Apopka. The tenant was represented by Bill Bagley, Dunhill Properties Inc. Saul Holdings Limited Partnership, the landlord was represented by Coldwell Banker’s Alana Hogan.

 

           

 

 

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How to train your Orlando Buyer’s agent

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

For first-time homebuyers in Orlando, it’s imperative that they’re able to communicate to their real estate agent exactly what they’re looking for.  This will save the potential home buyer as well as the Realtor a lot of time. It may seem like an easy task but you’d be surprised at the lack of communication that goes on between Orlando buyer’s agents and their own clients.

Here are some helpful tips on how to make the most  of your agent buyer relationship

Be clear on what your wants and needs are. The more details that you’re able to provide your agent with like; How many bedrooms and bathrooms, how many sq ft? what neighborhood or subdivision you want to live in? are you interested in Orlando short sale homes? etc., the less time you will waste on looking at houses that don’t meet your criteria. With all the technology available to real estate agents these days,  they are able to eliminate a lot of the leg work by searching for homes for sale online. A good buyer’s agent will do more than just search the MLS, they will also search for homes that aren’t listed on the MLS like FSBOs [for sale by owner]. They do this by extending their search to craigslist, and newspaper classifieds, and even by driving around in the neighborhood where their buyer wants to live.

Be demanding…in a nice way.  Real estate agents want to close deals so that they can get paid. However, agents also want to be the “Hero” when it comes to finding the perfect house for their buyers because they know that if they do their job well, they will probably get more clients from the buyer’s friends and family. It’s OK to be a demanding buyer, I mean you’re about to make a huge investment by buying a house. However,  you should also be nice at the same time. The last thing you want is for your agent to have you on their “Difficult Client” list. This may negatively affect your relationship with your real estate agent and they will be less interested in finding your dream house.

Be responsive. Good real estate agents work very hard for their clients and there’s nothing more frustrating to an agent than when they spend time searching for the perfect house for a buyer then that buyer doesn’t return their call or email and they end up losing that house to someone else. By being responsive to the agent and returning their calls or emails immediately, this will most likely create a reciprocal effect and the agent will be just as responsive to you as you are to them. This will also give you the upper hand if you need to tell your agent to be more responsive to your messages.

Be honest with your agent. If your real estate agent finds you a house that meets all your criteria but for some reason, you still don’t like it, then you need to tell them. Don’t be afraid to hurt the agent’s feelings, it’s not their house. Remember that this is about you [the buyer] first and foremost, therefore it’s the agent’s job to make you happy. If you can’t be honest with your agent, then you probably won’t end up with the house you want and you will end up settling. Would you lie to your doctor about what hurts? Of course not because you want results!

Evaluate your agent. Not all real estate agents were created equally, therefore you should evaluate your agent’s performance after a week or two. Ask yourself these questions

     a. Has your agent shown you houses that meet your criteria?

     b. Has your agent been responsive to your calls or emails as you are with them?

     c. Are you happy with your agent’s performance so far?

If you can answer yes to these three questions, then you may want to hang in there. However, if you feel that your agent is neglecting you or they just aren’t getting the job done as per your expectations, then I would say it’s time to find another real estate agent to represent you.

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