Tag: Orlando Realtors

Tips On Re-Habbing Homes In Orlando

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Buying Homes In Orlando

When you buy an Orlando investment property that you intend to fix and flip, there are three different ways it can go. You either make a nice profit, you break even or you lose money.

Obviously, no one wants to lose money or break even because breaking even is also a loss when you consider the time and effort you spent on the project that you didn’t get compensated for.

Being an Orlando real estate agent as well as a seasoned investor, I’ve made every mistake you can possibly make by flipping homes in Orlando while learning some very valuable information along the way.  I’ve come up with some guidelines designed to help you decide if rehabbing houses is for you.

Buying The Right Property

It’s crucial that you start by buying the investment property at the right price. If you get this part wrong everything else will go wrong and you will lose money.

1st-time investors are sometimes soo excited about starting a project, that they end up paying too much money for a house or trying to turn a “non-deal” into a deal. I don’t care how much you wish and pray, there’s no arguing with the numbers.

I highly recommend enlisting the help of an experienced Orlando Realtor to help you acquire the right house.

Be Realistic With Yourself

For the do-it-yourselfers… make sure that you have the time, the skills, and the burning desire to get it done ASAP. People get pretty fired up watching these house flipping shows on TV, especially when they make it look soo fast and easy.  The truth is… it’s not that easy, it takes a lot longer than you think, and believing that it’s easy can get you in some serious hot water.

I’ve learned over the years that when you try to cut corners or go too cheap, it always ends up costing more money…ALWAYS!

 Even if you do intend to fix the property on your own, you should still get a few contractor estimates as a backup plan so that you know how much the repair will cost in case you happen to fall short with your own efforts.

 Time Is Money

Many newbie investors fail to calculate how much time a project will take correctly. The old saying “time is money” applies to rehabbing houses more than anything else I can think of. Your goal should be to get that property back on the market ASAP. If not, carrying costs alone will drain your profits dry and you’ll be lucky if you break even.

 Cost Of Repairs Or Materials

If you plan on having a professional contractor do the work, make sure that you meet and get estimates from at least 3 different contractors. Make sure they are licensed and insured [don’t take their word for it, research yourself] and ask them to provide you with references from some of their other clients.

If you’re still hell-bent on doing the work your self then your homework [no pun intended] is to seek out and price the material you will need to complete the project.

Whether you’ve decided on using a GC or doing the work yourself, add 15% to whatever you came up with for unforeseen problems.

Note: There are ALWAYS unforeseen problems!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Orlando Realty Consultants Social Media Sites

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Realty Consultants is a great resource when searching for information about Central Florida real estate Join our social media sites to keep informed about the great articles, videos, images, and other resources that we share with people looking to buy sell, or fix up a home.

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Orlando Realtor- Seller Series part 4

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

In this week’s edition of the 6-part “Orlando Realtor Seller Series” we over some tips for staging a home properly for maximum profit in the least amount of time without breaking the bank.

 

By properly staging a home before a showing, it can increase your net profit at the closing table. There are some rooms that are more important than others in the home staging process. It’s also important to spend whatever budget you have for staging on items that will give you the highest “return on investment” or [ROI].

 

Homeowners wanting to sell, shouldn’t start spending money on staging a home without first consulting with an Orlando Listing Specialist.

 

Following are some simple tips that you can implement right now.

 

The first thing you should do is clean and de-clutter the home. Move any furniture or personal items that can make the home look smaller into the garage or storage facility. Just this step alone can make a huge difference in the overall appearance of the home and doesn’t cost much to get done.

 

To enhance the curb appeal of a home, the best thing to do is start with touching up the exterior paint if needed. Your paint color can be matched at any paint store so you shouldn’t need to buy much if you’re only touching up. The landscaping is also important for curb appeal. I’m not saying to spend thousands on new landscaping, usually, all it takes is keeping the lawn mowed and then trimming the trees and bushes. You never get a 2nd chance to make a first impression so make it a good one!

landscape

 

Touching up the interior paint where needed is also a good idea before showing the property. In some rooms, you may even want to consider painting the entire room, especially if the paint looks worn or makes the room look dark and depressing. If the home is in need of an overall paint job, you may want to consider hiring a professional painter. New paint on a home always yields one of the highest returns on your investment when it comes to home improvement.

 

Adding some color with fresh flowers on showing days or a new welcome mat can also make the home look more appealing. These tips on enhancing a home’s appearance are low cost and easy to do.

 
By properly staging a home before showing it, not only will you increase your chances of selling it faster, but you’ll probably get more money at the closing table.

 

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Top Low-Cost Improvements For Selling Your Orlando Home

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Top Improvements For Selling Your Orlando Home

These days there’s more competition for home sellers than ever. To stay ahead of the competition sellers would be wise to utilize the most cost-effective ways to improve their homes making them more attractive to potential buyers.

Typically, there are 2 categories that home improvements fall into. There is the kind of improvements that you do because it’s something personal to you that doesn’t necessarily increase your home’s value, and there are the improvements that you do with the sole purpose of increasing your return on investment.

There are other factors that affect property value that you can’t control like the state of the current housing market in relation to the timing of your sale. Following are some suggestions that will be helpful to you when getting your Orlando home ready for sale.

Clean and De-Clutter

As an Orlando Listing Agent, it’s routine for me to ask my sellers to clean, de-clutter, and organize their homes prior to putting them on the market. This is also the absolute best home improvement you can do for the highest return on your investment. It doesn’t cost much to get some cleaning supplies and get to work.

Move any pieces of furniture that can make the room feel smaller and get rid of as many personal items as possible. Potential buyers want to picture what it will feel like when they live in the home so show them a clutter-free and clean space and let their imagination do the rest.

 Fresh Paint

Coming in at number 2 on my list is new paint. This is hands down the most cost-effective way that a homeowner can make the biggest impact on the appearance of their home without breaking the bank. I advise all listing my clients to fill in any cracks or dents on the walls as well as any minor drywall repairs that need attention before hitting the walls and ceiling with a fresh coat or two of paint.

It’s also a good idea to stick with neutral colors whenever possible. Just because you like super bright and flashy colors, it doesn’t mean the rest of us to do. By using wites and off whites, you can’t go wrong with any buyer. These colors are not offensive and can easily be painted over without too much work.

Landscaping

The first thing a potential home buyer sees when driving up to your house is the landscaping. I’ve had times when I go to show clients a house and when we pulled up to the property, they decide they don’t want to go in just based on what they see outside.

Most of the time, all it takes is a bit of trimming, mowing, and weed pulling to give the home a landscaping facelift. Trim the bushes below window height, prune overgrown trees and shrubs, plant a few annuals for color, and mulch in the beds. You’ll be surprised at what a huge difference this can have on your home’s curb appeal.

We can easily continue on with other home improvements like kitchen and bathroom remodels, new flooring, etc. However, these improvements can be very costly and this article is about “low-cost” improvements so I will end it here.

For more tips on how to get your home ready for the Orlando real estate market, feel free to visit our site at https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/ or contact us at 407-902-7750.

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How Much Mortgage Can You Afford?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Know-How Much Of A Mortgage You Can Afford

Are you unsure about how much mortgage you can afford to pay on a home? If so, then you’re not ready to take the next step until you figure out a few things.

By being sure about how much of a payment you can handle without struggling, you can be confident about going to the next step… Finding a home that meets your budget.

Owning a home should make you feel secure and safe not stressed and worried. You should calculate what you can realistically afford and safely fit into your budget.

Buying a home is usually a very emotional decision and that emotion can sometimes get you into trouble. There’s nothing worse than buying a home because you fell in love with it and then realizing that you really can’t afford it and end up falling behind on payments. This will take years off your life and can easily be avoided by knowing what your budget is.

 Think Ahead.

Lenders and mortgage brokers don’t know and don’t really care about future plans that you may have for your personal life. Only you know what’s coming down the road.

Are you planning to have more children, kids are expensive!

Do you have a teenager that will be heading off to college soon?

Are you thinking about returning back to school yourself?

How secure is the job that you currently have?

All of these things and a million more can have a drastic effect on your income which is why you need to look out a bit further on the horizon when considering homeownership. In addition to factoring in your lifestyle and what you want to accomplish, here are some guidelines that will help you to determine a budget you can afford.

 1- Figure Out Your Budget- Write down every monthly expense that you have on a piece of paper and be sure to not leave anything out no matter how insignificant you might think it is. Make sure to also include future trips and vacations that you plan on taking that year.

See how much is left over to pay the costs associated with owning a home like a mortgage, insurance, property taxes, utilities, homeowners association dues, yard maintenance, pool maintenance, etc.

Just by doing this exercise alone, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what your budget for owning a home will be. Most people are usually very surprised to see how much they spend in a month and not in a good way. The number is always much higher than people expect it to be.

 2- What’s Your Down payment? The more you put down on a house, the lower your monthly payment will be. However, the lower your down payment is the bigger your loan amount will be and your monthly payment will also be higher.

Another thing to consider is that loans that require less than a 20% down payment will usually require that you pay private mortgage insurance or “PMI”. This insurance protects the lender against default and can easily add on another 2 or 3 hundred dollars to your payment.

3- Use A Mortgage Broker. Getting a loan without using a mortgage broker is like buying or selling a house without hiring a realtor. And just like when you’re looking for a good realtor, you should research the mortgage broker to see what his track record is and see if they have any online reviews, etc.

Once you find a good mortgage broker, he or she can be instrumental in getting you a mortgage that meets your needs. They should also be able to help you to figure out your monthly budget in addition to helping you navigate through the mortgage shopping process.

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