Tag: Orlando Realtors

Orlando’s Real Estate Boom and How to Take Advantage Of It

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Orlando real estate scene has seen renewed residential construction activity this year. According to Real Data Apartment Market Research, more than 6,100 dwelling units are being constructed in the Orange and Seminole counties – double the count of September 2012. Central Orlando and the areas near the University of Central Florida have seen frenetic construction activity. Another 5,000 units are being considered for development in Orlando.

Price recovery

Resale homes from Orlando short sales residential markets are now selling at a higher price compared to last year. The average resale price for a single-family unit in the four-county metro area of Orlando is $172,000 – an increase of 22.9% when compared to the previous year’s price. It is a clear sign that the economy is progressing towards recovery.

How to take advantage of Orlando’s short sales

Foreclosures usually mean an advantage for would-be buyers. But all is not rosy on the property front. Short sales are usually accompanied by costly problems. Buyers must be aware of a few facts before they sign the check to buy a short sale property.

   * Property problems should not be ignored. Prospective buyers should understand that the previous owners were unwilling to part with the property. They tend to take their frustrations out on the construction before leaving. Many of the original owners willfully damage the interiors before they move out. Besides this, many Orlando short sales properties have been lying vacant for an extended period of time. This gives rise to mold, termites, leaks, and filth. Squatters further damage the residential unit.

* This problem is further compounded by the fact that banks are not required to furnish the disclosure statement generally required from a standard seller of a property. It would not even reveal whether the dwelling unit was constructed from quality materials or not. The rule of thumb, in this case, is that if the house is between 15 to 30 years of age, then there is a strong possibility of it requiring some expensive repairs.

*The buyer should physically inspect the home. It is better to physically go to the house and ask all the required questions. If there is an existing problem, the buyer should ask for repair estimates. If required, specialized inspectors should be called in before making an offer.

*Insurance and Legal information should not be ignored. A disclosure statement would state whether the house is constructed on a flood plain. If it is so, the buyer will have to pay thousands more a year as additional insurance costs.

If you’re interested in seeing what properties are available, contact an Orlando Realtor to get the ball rolling.

 

Orlando short sale expert

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How Do Orlando Real Estate Agents Get Paid?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

I was meeting with a client last earlier this week that was looking for a 4-bedroom home in East Orlando. At one point in our meeting, she looked at me with a blank stare on her face and asked me how much I was going to charge her to find her a house. Just at that moment, I realized just how many pieces there are to the puzzle in a real estate transaction.

As Orlando real estate agents, we’re aware of everything involved with buying and selling homes because it’s our profession and it’s something we do every day. However, a first-time buyer may be completely clueless about how a real estate transaction works. That’s why it’s our job as real estate agents to make sure the buyers and sellers are completely informed about every last detail of the transaction they are about to be involved in.

Typically the buyer’s agent’s commission gets paid by the seller. Here’s how it works… The agent representing the seller AKA the “Seller’s agent” signs an agreement with the seller AKA a “Listing agreement” to pay a specific amount of commission in order to sell the home. Then the listing agent will enter the listing into the Multiple Listing Service [MLS] and based on whatever amount they agreed upon with their client, they will usually offer the buyer’s agent 50% of the commission. When the transaction is complete both agents are paid out of the seller’s proceeds.

How do Realtors get paid when it’s a short sale?

It works a bit differently when it’s a short sale or foreclosure situation. In a short sale scenario, the seller is upside down on their mortgage which means that there is more money owed on the property than the property is actually worth. A short sale is a pre-foreclosure arrangement between the seller in which the lender is agreeing to the sale of a property for less than what is owed in order to re-cooperate some of their money. This usually means that the seller is financially unable to bring any money at all to the table. In this case, the Bank pays both real estate agents. Banks will usually approve a commission of 5% or 6% which is to be split 50/50 by both agents involved.

There is one situation in which the buyer pays the commission which is pretty rare. Some homeowners choose to sell their property “For Sale By Owner” in order to avoid paying any commission at all on the sale of their home. In rare cases like these, the buyer pays the agent when the transaction closes. It’s never a good idea for a buyer to enter into a real estate transaction without the representation of a licensed Orlando realtor. 

Orlando Real Estate Broker

A Real estate agent plays many key roles in getting the transaction closed. A realtor can also play the role of negotiator making sure that the buyer gets the best price possible on the property, most of the time the amount of money that a buyer saves on the transaction far exceeds what they agreed to pay the agent.

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Orlando Realtor – Using Funny Videos to deliver information about short sales

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

If your an Orlando real estate professional then you are constantly being told that video marketing is the wave of the future and if you’re a realtor that’s not using video you will be left behind. For the most part, I agree with that statement. I think that a real estate agent can still be successful without the use of video to promote themselves, but by not using video to promote their services, they won’t be nearly as successful as they could be by the use of video to promote their services.

The problem is that most realtor videos are really boring to watch and on top of that they are poor quality. I mean most of them are soo bad that it’s hard to watch one from beginning to end. When I first started creating videos for my business, I was guilty of this myself because it’s what we’re taught to do by these so-called “real estate Gurus”. I was taught that even if the video is poor quality, it’s still marketing and you should create videos no matter what. One day I was checking out some other realtor videos on Youtube and I came across this video about Orlando short sales. Normally, I would’ve just kept on going without even a click, but the thumbnail on the video was of a guy dressed up like a politician  on a podium with a gun to his head!  How could I resist watching this one?…I couldn’t, I clicked on it right away.

The video was all about Orlando short sales just like a million other short sale videos that are out there but this one was very different…It was entertaining and fun! It starts out with Orlando realtor “John Conde” on the podium starting to speak at a press conference. Mr. Conde is a short sale specialist in Orlando, all of a sudden he gets attacked by a 400-pound man with a gun, he quickly disarms him and then continues on with his speech like nothing ever happened. Throughout the four minute video there are several other funny and entertaining things that happen to him and all the while he delivers valuable information about short sales. By the end of the video there’s a link to another, then another and another. I watched all six without hesitation and not only did a learn a world of information about short sales, but I was entertained the entire time.

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Cash buyers fueling Orlando Real Estate market recovery

Posted on by John Conde

The Orlando Real Estate market recovery continues on a positive path and some Orlando realtors claim that the tidal wave of cash deals is behind the recovery. “Florida realtor” studies show that fifty-one percent of single-family home sales are all-cash deals. Cash buyers have a huge edge over buyers that need to qualify for a mortgage and they are preferred over traditional buyers by sellers as well as listing agents.

One reason is that cash buyers have their own money and don’t have to wait on any mortgage company for anything. Also,  sellers know that a cash deal means a quick closing, this can mean big savings for the seller who has to make another mortgage payment for every month that their home is on the market. These days a cash offer doesn’t always mean a low ball offer anymore, investors are aware of the competition and a low ball offer could mean losing the deal.

As Orlando realtors,  we are seeing more cash offers for the full listing price of properties than ever before.

Lower-end properties [under 100k ] are being devoured by investors because of the huge demand for rentals right now. Cash investors are able to buy more of the less expensive properties and turn them into monthly cash cows. And although lower-end properties are also being bought and then re-sold for a modest profit, for the most part, we are seeing them end up as rental properties.

Other investors buy properties with the sole intention of flipping them. They want nothing to do with being a landlord and are only interested in getting in and out of a property as quickly as possible.

These buyers usually have to do some rehabbing in order to see some substantial profit and this means that they are usually pretty limited on how many they can do at once. I have investor clients that will buy one or two properties and then have to wait until the houses are renovated and sold before moving on to the next deal.

So what does this all mean for the Orlando Real Estate market?

I believe that all the cash purchases that are happening right now are driving up prices as well as home values in the Orlando real estate market. And the healthier the market is, the less risk there is for lenders to approve more mortgages for traditional buyers. This is all great news for now and hopefully will be for several years to come.

What worries me is that if home prices continue to rise to unjustifiable degrees, banks will then start giving mortgages to people that can’t afford them, then…2007 all over again!

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Foreclosure Drop Experienced in Orlando

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Foreclosure of residential houses in Orlando has shown a marked decrease. This started from the time when the state began to expedite foreclosures as per the new law that was implemented from July 1 this year. According to reports by RealtyTrac Inc, foreclosure filings have dropped by at least 50% as compared to the past year. The total number of houses in the Metro Orlando area which received their first foreclosure notice fell to 678. This is effectively a fall of 63% compared to the previous year. This trend that is experienced in Orland real estate is repeated across Florida. A statewide report published in July by the Florida Supreme Court states that cases related to foreclosure fell 75% when compared to July 2012.

Reasons for the drop

It is unclear if the drop is the result of a new law formulated to streamline the ability of the lender to repossess immovable structures that are saddled with mortgage payments long overdue. According to one foreclosure attorney, this dramatic fall is the result of banks and mortgage service providers being unable to provide documentation as proof that they are in control of the loan as demanded by the new legislation. As per the attorney, the new law was written in such a way that it was almost indecipherable to the lending industry as well as to the courts.

Mortgage companies are taking the only action they can confidently opt for – either modify the mortgage or sell the concerned house as a short sale. Orlando short sales are said to occur when an immovable property or a house is sold for less the amount of money owed on the structure. The incidence of short sales has been increased throughout Florida in the past few months.

Decrease in foreclosure filings

Foreclosures are markedly decreasing. In Metro Orlando, approximately 2,415 houses gave some variety of foreclosure filing. The August report shows that such filings have decreased by 27% when compared to the previous year’s August report and also a 11% decrease from July this year. The Orlando metropolitan area is made up of 3 regions: Orange, Seminole, and Osceola. According to RealtyTrac Vice President, it is premature to assume that the law is not functioning as it should. Although foreclosure activity is down for the Orlando area, the courts have approved an increase in number of foreclosure sale notices as well as auction notices in the metro region. One way of knowing that foreclosure notices will be filed is that the concerned banks have begun to start the search and preparation work important to start the process of foreclosure.

 

 

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