Avoiding the Orlando Loan Modification Mine Field

Loan modifications have helped thousands of Orlando homeowners to keep their homes.

However, you must be aware of the fine print and know exactly what it will mean to you. Sometimes the terms of a loan modification are often worse than the original mortgage. The best loan modifications are when you are able to not only reduce your payment but reduce the principal balance of the loan. Many loan mods are structured so that your payment gets reduced but you still have to pay off the entire amount of the original mortgage plus penalties. In my opinion, these types of loan modifications are just not worth agreeing to. If your house is only worth $100,000.00 and your loan amount is $200,000.00 why on earth would you want to end up paying that entire amount?

Push for a loan modification with principal balance reduction

Banks will always try to get you to agree to what suits them better, this is why you have to be a tough negotiator, don’t just agree with the first proposal that they put in front of you. You have to remember that banks also want to come to an agreement. It costs lenders a lot of time and money to take someone through the foreclosure process. The best thing you can do is hire an Orlando real estate attorney that specializes in loan modifications. If you try to go at it alone with your lender, it could end up costing you a lot more money in the long run. Sure, a good Orlando real estate attorney may cost you a couple of grand upfront, but you’ll have a much better chance if you have an experienced negotiator in your corner.

5 things to watch out for when negotiating an Orlando loan modification

1- Your lender has the option of dropping all penalties. Don’t be bullied into a take-it or leave-it trap where they give you the option to pay off the penalties upfront or have them roll the penalties into the balance. You should demand that they wave all penalties as part of the deal.

2- Sometimes lenders will try to get you to agree that if they lose the original loan documents, you must assist the lender in reproducing them. As ridiculous as this may sound, it’s true and you should never agree to something like this. It comes down to the lender having additional legal protection if they screw up. A clause like this has absolutely no benefit to you.

3- Step by step rate increases that are too steep for you to afford or balloon payments that become due before you have time to be prepared for them.

4- Don’t agree to payments that you really can’t afford. When doing a loan modification, the idea is to make the loan affordable to you and your family. Be realistic, don’t put yourself into a position where your budget is soo tight that you’re only one major car repair away from being in default again.

5- Don’t agree to an interest rate that can automatically adjust based on an index over which you have no control.

An Orlando Short Sale may be your best option

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you need to watch out for when entering into a loan modification with your lender. The fact of the matter is that even when you have the bank’s best offer on the table, it still may not be good enough.

You may be much better off doing an Orlando short sale.  At the end of the day, it’s just a house, it’s not part of your family. By doing an Orlando short sale, not only will you be free of your lender forever, but you can get enough cash back to start over and get yourself into a much better situation than you would be agreeing to the terms of a loan modification.

As always, if you have questions about anything to do with Orlando real estate. Call us and set up a free consultation with an Orlando real estate expert.

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The world of Orlando Short Sales may be coming to a screeching halt

What will happen to Orlando short sales if the Mortgage debt relief Act of 2007 is not extended?

Short sales have been very popular since the market crashed in 2007,  mainly because sellers have the benefit of not being taxed for the deficiency between the mortgage amount and the actual payoff. What people worry about now is that the  Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007  is about to come to an end at the end of  2012 and so far we haven’t anything about the government extending it.

What do you think would happen if the law doesn’t get extended? In my opinion, this would be the end of Orlando short sales as we know them.

When you think about it, what incentive would a seller have to do an Orlando short sale if they end up with a massive deficiency when it closes?  That’s right… there would be no incentive. In fact, I think that most people will just end up letting it go to foreclosure. This means that Orlando REO realtors would be busier than ever.

Deep down I truly believe that this law will be extended, it just makes good business sense for everyone involved… sellers buyers, and lenders. Orlando real estate is moving right now and a big part of that is because of the short sale inventory.

If you are considering an Orlando short sale on your house, don’t take a chance on the mortgage debt relief act of 2007 being extended. Consult with an Orlando short sale specialist and find out what your options are now or you might regret it.

Jenny Zamora, Lic RE Broker. Orlando Short Sale Specialist

Orlando short sale expert

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Homeowners Insurance Prices discourage people from buying Orlando Real Estate

Florida Homeowner Insurance companies are having a negative effect on Orlando Real Estate Sales

 

Even though the real estate market in Orlando is recovering in leaps and bounds, homeowners are not happy about the high price of Florida homeowners insurance. As a matter of fact, for some potential home buyers, it’s proven to be the  straw that broke the camel’s back.
 
 There are still great real estate deals in Orlando, but even if the price of  the property is affordable as well as  property taxes, etc., the homeowners insurance in some cases can be almost as much as a mortgage payment. That’s insane!
 
 

Citizens Insurance raising it’s premiums on Florida Homeowners

 The main reason for the high cost of homeowners insurance in Florida is the recent increase that Citizens has made to it’s premiums. Many times this will cause potential real estate deals to fall through or even worse, it puts the new homeowner in a position to fail because he went over budget, and potentially cause him to default on his payments.
 
 The state run Citizens claims that the had no choice but raise the premiums because they are supposed to be a last resort for people and now they are covering many more homes than the program was designed for. That’s not all, if massive hurricane were to hit Florida and deplete all the company’s reserves, all Floridians would get taxed thus hurting the state economy in a big way.
 
 
 Read the fine print when Buying Orlando Realty

When it comes to buying Orlando Real estate, there’s more than just deciding which homeowners insurance company you’re going to commit to. You have to read the fine print and be aware of everything that you’re committing to. So many first time home buyers  end up in hot water because the fail to understand exactly what they’re signing. Then there is another type of buyer, the type that wants to get into that new house so badly even though deep down they know that it’s beyond there budget.

That’s why you need an experienced Orlando realtor to walk you through the complexities of buying a home in Orlando. I personally will not allow a client to make what I know will be a bad decision for them. As Orlando real estate agents, we have an obligation to look out for the best interest of our clients and help them in any way that we can when it comes to buying or selling Orlando real estate.

 
 
Jenny Zamora. Lic. RE Broker

 

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David Siegel’s Mansion puts Orlando Real Estate in the record books

Orlando Mansion Officially the largest house in North America

Orlando real estate currently has the record for having the largest singe family residence in North America. At 90,000 square feet David and Jackie Siegel have nicknamed their Orlando property  “Versailles”  after the royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. This mansion will officially be the largest house in America when [or if] completed. The would-be Versailles will reportedly feature nine kitchens, a bowling alley, three swimming pools and a full baseball diamond.

Here are some other interesting facts for you; 45 foot ceilings, 13 bedrooms, 23 full bathrooms, a 6,000-square-foot master suite, a banquet kitchen plus 8 satellite kitchens, a 20-car garage, three pools, a two-story wine cellar and a grand hall with a 30-foot stained glass dome. Of course, a home doesn’t get named after a famous French palace without a few more obscene extras. There’s also a boat house, formal gardens, a baseball field, two tennis courts and a rock grotto with a waterfall, a fitness center, a two-lane bowling alley, a roller rink, a video arcade and a theater.

The unfinished Orlando mansion is listed right now for $75 million. If you want it completed, it will only cost you a additional $25 million. Mr. Siegel, the chief executive officer of Orlando-based Westgate Resorts, began building the enormous, resort-like mega mansion for himself and his family in the town of Windermere, Fl.  in 2007 right when the market crashed. The 76-year-old billionaire and his 46-year-old wife had to stop construction on the home three years ago when the market crashed and financing for Westgate Resorts slowed.

It appears that Mr. Seigel is trying to do the right thing. Instead of putting his extra money into this home, it is reported that he’s putting it back into the company to save the employees. Mr. Siegel has had to cut some of his 12,000 employees at Orlando-based Westgate Resorts.

 
Jenny  Zamora, Lic. RE Broker

 

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

 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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