Tag: Orlando Realtors

Butterfly Destroys the Roof on an Orlando Property! Would Your Homeowners Policy cover This?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Homeowners Insurance Policies are getting cut left and right

Citizens Insurance is a Non-Profit state-run insurance company started in 2002 because of the fact that private insurance companies were leaving Florida due to the risk of hurricanes.
It used to be that when nobody else would cover your Orlando home or business, you could always go to citizens for a policy.  So when citizens sent out a letter to their policy holders late last year informing them that they would no longer be covering carports, screen rooms, patios, pool cages or awnings- expensive items to get fixed – many people were alarmed…Including me.
Even Florida based home insurance companies that we thought were Florida’s future are selectively cancelling policies in higher risk zip codes.

Here are the hard facts

  • State Farm is planning on cancelling 125,000 Home owners policies in addition to the policies they’ve already cancelled
  • Nationwide is dropping an additional 60,000 home owners policies
  • The number of people that report  that Homeowners insurance is too expensive is increasing by the day.
  • Newly formed home insurance companies just can’t keep up with all the policies being cancelled by the larger companies
  • It’s harder than ever for Floridians to find quality Homeowners Insurance at a reasonable rate.
  • Both Citizens and the Florida Hurricane catastrophe fund have reported their concerns about not having the cash needed to pay for a major Florida Hurricane.

Get involved Floridians!
As tax payers and voters, we can make a difference by getting involved. Let’s keep the pressure on the Florida legislative representative to make something happen that would bring more Insurance companies to Florida and keep are rates affordable.

Let  your FL Legislator know how you feel!

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Orlando Real Estate Attorney Drops the Ball, Homeowners Pay the Price!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Last week we picked up a new client , we’ll call him “Joe”, and his story one that we’ve heard far too many times, only the characters were different. So I felt that I needed to share it with everyone in hopes that someone will benefit from it.
Joe fell behind on his mortgage about 6 months ago and decided that he wanted to short sale his Orlando house. Instead of consulting with an Orlando short sale realtor, he and his wife went to see a real estate lawyer.

Joe’s BIG mistake

The biggest difference between consulting with an Orlando real estate attorney and consulting with an Orlando realtor is that one charges $250.00 per hr and the other doesn’t get paid until the job is done. Can you guess which one is which?

Anyway, back to the story. When they sit down with the attorney, they were so impressed with all the shiny plaques on the wall and the expensive furniture, that by the end of the conversation, they wrote him a big fat check for $3,000.00 for him to complete their short sale…[ I guess my mom was right I should have gone to law school!]

The plot thickens… At first they asked him to submit the usual paperwork: bank statements, tax returns, etc. Then he would call in for the usual update once a week or so. This went on for a few months and the answer from the law firm was always the same; it’s being worked on.
After he didn’t hear back from the lawyer for a while, he decided to call his lender to find out what’s going on and guess what?…. The lender had closed the file because of missing documents!!

Joe was furious and wanted answers so he called the Law office to speak with the lawyer. His only conversation with the lawyer to this point was when he wrote him the check, after that he would always be transferred to a processor or secretary.
When he demanded to speak with the lawyer, they said he would have to schedule an appointment to come in…Oh, and he would have to pay the hourly rate of $250.00!!

With an approaching auction date, and having to start the short sale from the beginning, he was now in a much worse position. Not to mention he lost the $3,000.00 that he paid to the lawyer…have you ever tried getting a refund from a lawyer before?
We’re working hard on Joe’s file right now, especially to stop the foreclosure sale on his house. Since he wasted so much time, our work is cut out for us.

The moral of this story is…Even if you’re considering a lawyer to do your short sale, why not consult with an experienced Orlando short sale realtor first. It’s Free!

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Why Pay an Attorney to Do an Orlando Short Sale, Get Help For Free!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Save your Money, Hire an Orlando Realtor

When it comes to lawyers doing Orlando short sales, the fact is most people just don’t need them. Foreclosure filings hit a lull in Florida during the last year. The robo-signing scandal caused many banks to put new Florida foreclosures on hold. That’s coming to an end, and we can expect filings to jump again as we’ve been seeing recently.  Orlando homeowners will be looking for help with their situation. The truth is that the process isn’t just hard, It’s scary. We’re talking about potentially getting kicked out of your home.  It’s tough to navigate the system alone and it’s crucial that you get help from a proven Orlando Real Estate Expert.

Here’s the good news: There is a lot of help available in Central Florida for free. That’s right. No charge. On the house, Gratis.
Organizations certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development should be the first stop for people who have fallen behind on their mortgage or are worried they’re about to. These nonprofit companies are great resources for people who want to know if they qualify for a loan modification.

Your best option however,  is to speak with a Top Orlando Short Sale Broker.  Not only do they not charge anything to speak with you, but they often times will know a lot more about Orlando Short sales than an attorney will. Most of the time attorneys outsource their short sale files to Orlando Brokers anyway,  since by law, a Broker has to be involved in the transaction to represent the seller.

So why would you pay an Attorney upfront, or at all, when you can hire an Orlando Short Sale Expert for Free? If one of my clients had an extra $2,000 or $3,000 to throw around, I’d much rather see them put that toward their moving expenses, etc  than toward attorney fees.

When it comes to short sales there’s never a 100% guarantee that a broker or an attorney will produce the results that borrowers want. The difference is that Brokers won’t take your money in the process. As a matter of fact, they only get paid if they close the deal. How’s that for incentive?

It’s actually illegal in the state of Florida for companies to take money upfront in exchange for mortgage modifications. Lawyers, however, are exempt from that rule… Maybe my mom was right, I should have gone to law school.

Far be it from me to say that lawyers are never needed. Legal counsel is an important part of some foreclosure cases. But watching people plunk down thousands of dollars for help they can get elsewhere for free is just sad. It’s like seeing people suffer from the housing meltdown not once, but twice.

Orlando short sale expert

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

2012… Year of the Orlando Short Sale

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale? 

Since mid-2006, residential values in Florida have declined by 51 percent. Hundreds of thousands of properties have been, or are, in foreclosure and huge numbers of homes have been repossessed. Check out these numbers for the state of Florida.
• 150,000 residential properties in Florida have been repossessed, and are now REO’s.
• 371,000 foreclosure cases are open in courts today.
• 530,000 residential mortgage loans are at least 90 days past due and in default.
•265,000 homeowners have not made a mortgage payment in more than two years.
•1 million residences are in some form “distressed,” whether in foreclosure, owned by banks or in default.
• 46 percent of mortgages are “under water” … in other words, the debt exceeds the current market value of the residential property.
809,… this is the average number of days to process a foreclosure in Florida — It’s easy to understand why Orlando short sales have become so popular with both lenders and sellers, because are the best option for both parties and they create positive movements in the total market.
Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale? I think so, I also think that 2013 might be an even stronger Year of the Short Sale in Orlando because of the volume of pending foreclosures.

There was a group of 150 people that consisted of analysts, lawyers, bankers, real estate agents and developers who attended a forum that more lenders are warming to short sales. They all agreed that distressed homeowners are overcoming their psychological hurdles and coming to terms with the financial implications of an Orlando short sale.

Although, the impacts of Orlando foreclosures and short sales and the fear of more to come are still a threat and prevent value appreciation from returning to its previous levels, there are still some positive signs of growth in the market.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*

Google Maps, A Great Tool When Looking for Orlando Properties

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

If you’re looking to buy a new home or investment property in Orlando, the first thing you should do is consult with an Orlando Real Estate Professional. In addition to hiring a top Orlando realtor you can be doing some research on your own by using Google Maps. It has never been easier to obtain information about a property, like surrounding businesses, schools, etc. Google maps  becomes especially handy when you’re looking at properties outside of your area.

The number one reason to utilize Google Maps when looking for a new home outside of your area is that it is free. All you have to do is log onto Google Maps and type in the address for the property you are considering purchasing. Instantly you will see a map view of where your home is located, complete with street names and some of the surrounding businesses. You can often determine everything from the nearest grocery store to nearby schools. You can then click “directions” to quickly find the directions from the home you are considering and other areas of interest such as work, school, and shopping. How cool is that?

Satellite View Feature

Along with the map view of Google Maps, you can also click “satellite” on the upper right hand corner of the screen in order to see an actual satellite view of the area. Zoom in to see details such as the neighborhood layout. Plus, some addresses will even enable you to take a street view of the property providing you with a better idea of what your home looks like from the road. While utilizing the satellite feature, you can also determine the general neighborhood condition, including the upkeep of nearby homes. However, when opting for the satellite version of the map it is important to remember that it does not stream live so sometimes the maps are often rather old. All in all, Google Maps is a great asset when looking for a new home.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
TOC*