Tag: Orlando Realty

Orlando Realtors Getting Creative trying to get New Listings

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Real Estate agents are trying anything to lure new sellers and get the listing.

It’s no longer enough just to send out a few thousand post cards and wait for the phone to ring. These days Orlando real estate agents are getting more and more aggressive when it comes to marketing to new sellers. This is not only the case with Orlando realtors, real estate agents across the U.S. are doing their best to lure sellers into giving them the listing.

Some Orlando realtors host happy hours a local bars in hopes of picking up a new listing while others comb through public records to find out who has lived in their home for more than 10 years and may be ready for a change in scenery.  Bank owned properties that were once hitting the market like wildfire are on the decline. In the first quarter of this year, foreclosure filings were at their lowest level since 2007.

Orlando Homeowners are waiting it out

The once plentiful sea of available Orlando Real Estate is drying up fast, but Orlando sellers aren’t budging. Sellers know if they wait out the slow rise in home prices, that they can sell their home for more than it’s worth at present, leaving them closer to the original price they paid or at least closer to what remains on their mortgage. Some homeowners are even hoping to make a nice profit when they sell their Orlando property.

Marketing Orlando Realty Consultants

Here at Orlando Realty Consultants we have just about all the business we can handle from referrals. We get referrals on a daily basis from either past clients that we’ve helped, other realtors that need help with a short sale and even banks that we’ve established good relationships with over the past 7 years.

Like most successful Orlando Brokerages, we started by using traditional methods of marketing for buyers and sellers such as postcards, newspaper ads, etc. but it just got to the point where we just didn’t need to do it anymore. As a matter of fact, the only form of marketing that we do is this blog which is attached to our website, and it was never intended to be about marketing for more clients.  I started writing a blog so that people could easily get valuable information about Orlando Real Estate, which happens to be be one of my passions.

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic Orlando RE Broker. Ask me anything, I’m here to help.

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Orlando Realtors Being Targeted in a New Scam

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Scam Artist Targets Orlando Realty

Last week I picked up a beautiful $300,000.00 listing in Winter Springs. Less then a week later a man calling himself Dr. Andrew Cowley contacts me through my Orlando Realty Consultants website regarding this listing, it went something like this.. I am Dr. Cowley from the UK and I found my dream house on your website. I want to submit a full offer contract on it right away and I would like to submit an offer for $5,000.00 less than the listing price”.  A day or two go by and Dr. Cowley sends in the offer for almost full offer price complete with his financial statements which showed a balance of $5,856,765.00 .

I thought to myself, great! This guy really wants the house and even more importantly he really has the money. Being the only Orlando agent involved, I stood to make an $18,000.00 commission and it was all supposed to be done within a week. I got my seller to sign the contract, collected a $195,000.00 deposit from Dr. Bs and submitted everything to my Title Co.

The next day I get a call from my title company that blew me away. My title agent informed me that as soon as he submitted everything to underwriting, about a million red flags went up when Dr. Cowley name was submitted.  Apparently, this guy has been ripping off title companies throughout Central Florida, and now they were on to him.

 When something appears to be “To Good to be True” it probably is, especially when it comes to Orlando real estate

Here is how his scam worked. First he finds a house to submit an offer on and contacts the Orlando Listing Agent.  He then tells the agent how he is a successful Dr. from the UK and he has the financials to prove it. He also tells the agent how he has to have this house and is ready to buy sight unseen because he doesn’t want to lose it. The whole time, he goes back and forth the the agent on details of the contract to make himself more believable. Finally, after all thishe sends in a signed contract with a deposit of $195,000.00, when the contract only requires a $2,000.00 deposit.

Here’s the kicker…. A  couple of days later, he contacts the title company and tells them that his wife had a miscarriage and he really can’t move forward with the deal and that he needs his full deposit back immediately. By doing this two days after he sends the deposit, he knows that his bad check is still being processed and requests the title company to wire him complete deposit amount immediately.

I know what you’re thinking… Do title companies really fall for this scam?! Thank God my Title company is on top of things and saw this guy coming a mile away. However, there was a  title company that actually fell for this scam and he got away with it!

Jenny Zamora,  Lic RE Broker. Orlando, Fl

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Domestic Tourists Agressively Buying up Orlando Realty

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Record numbers in Orlando Tourism is contributing to the shortage of Orlando real estate.

 

Increasing numbers of domestic tourists are buying up Orlando properties creating a noticeable decrease in nice Orlando homes. Who could blame them? This is a great place to live and even better place to visit. It seems everyone wants their own little piece of Orlando Realty. The majority of tourists that buy Orlando Real estate, intend to use these properties as vacation homes or second properties.

Orlando is considered to be the world’s top destination for families.

The theme park capital of the US attracted over 55 million visitors last year.  As a matter of fact, Orlando beat out New York to be the first tourist destination to attract more than 50 million visitors in a single year.
Thriving tourism means more demand for quality Orlando properties, especially for the neighborhoods located close to the theme parks like Disney World.  Although some people choose not to rent out their vacation home most people do. Homeowners are cashing in on the Orlando short term rental market. Since Orlando never really has a low season, savvy out of  state landlords are able to pull in a steady stream of income all year round.

So what does these mean for the future of Orlando real Estate?  Increased sales means a continued stabilization in Orlando realty and I really can’t think of a downside.  We can only assume that this will translate into an even higher sense of urgency for potential Orlando home buyers.

 

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic Orlando RE Broker

 

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Orlando Realty Sales being affected by Bad Appraisals

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Real Estate Sales are being affected by appraisers who fail to recognize appreciation

With the current Orlando Real Estate market on the rise, appreciation has become an actual factor again. It’s very common these days for an Orlando property to receive multiple offers on it thousands of dollars above the asking price, especially in the more desirable Orlando neighborhoods. One of the problems we are seeing here is that appraisers rather than taking into consideration the recent appreciation of a property, are just looking at the original listing price and are trying to get as close as they can to it.

The big problem with that is, if the house doesn’t appraise for the contract price, then the bank won’t finance the deal. At this point, there are three things that can happen.

1- The buyer can make up the difference by bringing cash to the transaction  [This hardly ever happens]

2- The buyer will want to change his or her offer to the “appraisal value”, however the seller now believes their property is worth more than the original listing price and will refuse to go down on the price.

3-The deal falls apart and the process starts all over again unless the buyer can get a different lender or appraiser or both to try and make the deal go through.

Any way you choose to look at it, bad appraisals are affecting Orlando Realty sales.

Are Orlando Appraisers afraid of history repeating itself?

Back in 2004 through 2006, many appraisers ended up in deep trouble because of overinflated appraisal values.  Things were soo crazy back then that it was common for Orlando Real Estate Investors to tell their appraisers what value they wanted the property to come in at and that’s what it would come in at. Everyone was making soo much money that nothing else seemed to matter.  Fast forward to 2007- The doo doo hits the fan. Appraisers among other people in the industry such as mortgage brokers, etc. ended up in serious legal trouble for fraud.  Inflated appraisal values, bad loans, illegal kickbacks, you name it, and any real estate professional with a license was getting in trouble for it.

I don’t blame appraisers for being extra cautious about not turning in inflated appraisals. That being said, I think that some appraisers are going to the opposite extreme now and are under appraising properties which are having a negative effect on Orlando Home sales.

Here’s a tip on dealing with the appraiser

Make sure the agents on both sides of your transaction have created a CMA [Current Market Analysis] that demonstrates how the market has changed in the past six months or less. Then make sure the appraiser gets a copy.

Your sale or purchase doesn’t have to be jeopardized simply because the appraiser doesn’t have — or chooses not to collect — all the relevant recent facts.

Jenny Zamora Lic Orlando RE Broker

Jenny Zamora Broker

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School’s Out and Orlando Real Estate is as Hot as the Summer Sun

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Real Estate is Hot, Hot, Hot

Orlando’s summer home-buying season is here. With school being out, parents don’t have to worry about pulling their kids out before the end of the year. There is a sense of urgency in the air and potential home buyers are scrambling to buy a piece of Orlando Realty before the beginning of the new school year. Potential Orlando home buyers are out in record numbers actively searching for their next home. The problem is that there is just not enough inventory to keep up with the demand for Orlando Real Estate.

As an Orlando realtor, I am constantly showing homes to potential buyers, and finding the right one is not always an easy task. When I come across a terrific Orlando property that my clients love, I will almost always recommend them go above the asking price. Orlando real estate is a hot commodity once again and when you find a great deal, you’d better move fast or be ready to miss out. Now that the summer is upon us this is more true than ever.

When it was a buyers market, I would have to show a potential home buyer between 6 and 10 homes before they would even consider putting in an offer on one of them, buyers had the luxury of being extra picky. This made things a lot harder on realtors forcing many Orlando agents to pursue other ways to make a living.

Submitting a full price offer on an Orlando Home may not be enough

The problem these days is that you can’t make an offer soon enough. And sometimes when you send in the offer and there are already multiple offers on the table.  Although this can get frustrating for buyers, part of being an Orlando realtor is to guide our clients on their home buying mission every step of the way. If a client of mine really likes a certain Orlando property, I will almost always suggest that they offer more than the listing price to ensure that they have a chance at getting their offer accepted.

Following up with the Agent is Crucial

The sign of an experienced Orlando Realtor is that they know how to follow up. Many times, listing agents get overwhelmed and if you don’t stay on top of them, your offer could get pushed to the side or end up on the “back burner”.  It’s the realtor’s job to not only submit the offer but to make sure the offer was received and follow up, follow up, follow up. Unfortunately, there are agents out there that don’t always follow the rules like they are supposed to so that they can drive up the price and increase their commission. This is why it’s important to have a Top Orlando Realtor looking out for your best interest.

Happy House Hunting!

Jenny Zamora, Lic RE Broker

Sell A house in Orlando

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