Tag: Orlando short sale realtor

Frustrations Increase among active Orlando Real Estate Buyers

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Active Orlando Realty buyers are more frustrated than ever

People that are actively searching for an Orlando property are getting more and more concerned about rising prices on quality Orlando homes and they have every right to be. Inventory is at an all time low while demand is through the roof. Many of them have even decided to put their home buying plans on hold and have elected to remain in their current housing situation.

One of the biggest concerns right now is the lack of inventory in Orlando real estate. Buyers get very frustrated when they find a property that they like only to find that there is already 10 offers on the table for the same property.

In Orlando there is about half as many homes for sale as there was this time last year. Some people still believe that prices will drop and are holding out for that “deal of a lifetime”.  Thinking that prices will drop in the near future is just not realistic and is just flat out not true.

The fact is that prices of Orlando real estate will continue to rise for quite a long time. Sure you can still try to get a good deal on a house needing to be refurbished, but in that market you’re competing experienced Orlando real estate investors. Re-habbers make their living on buying properties, fixing them up and selling them for a healthy profit. If you think that competition is tough on the retail side of real estate, try competing with local investors. The wholesale market is just as competitive if not more than buying an Orlando home that is move-in ready.

 

Orlando homeowners are staying put

For homeowners who were on the fence about selling but really don’t want to, have reconsidered and have decided to remain in their home. They see what’s going on in the Orlando Real estate market and they are loving it.  There seems to never be a time when both buyers and sellers are pleased with whatever the market is doing. Sellers will always want top dollar for their home and buyers will always want to get a fantastic deal on a great property.  Let’s face it, Who in their right mind would sell right now if they didn’t have to?

 

Jenny Zamora, Lic Orlando Real Estate Broker

 

Jenny Zamora Broker

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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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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

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Make sure your Orlando Short Sale Payoff gets recorded or it could Kill your Credit

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Responsibility of an Orlando Short Sale Realtor doesn’t end at the closing table

I’ve heard of this happening time and time again. The realtor gets the short sale done, the bank signs off on everything and everyone goes home happy. Then, one day the seller goes to check his credit report a year later and finds out that he still has an outstanding debt with the lender that approved the short sale on his house. Even though the seller has all the closing documents, the approval letters, and copies of the wire transfers to prove them wrong, it was still showing a delinquent loan.

You would think that this would be an easy fix, just provide proof of the transaction to the bank and they would report that everything was paid to the credit bureaus. Not always true. This situation has the potential to become a complete nightmare for the former homeowner. Sure you can spend countless hours and phone calls trying to get it resolved yourself, but the chances of that happening are slim.

Make Sure your Orlando Short Sale Agent follows up after the closing

After you’ve completed the short sale with your Orlando Realtor, make sure that you or your agent follow up with your lender after the closing. It is absolutely crucial that the satisfaction of mortgage is recorded, if not, then you’re still on the hook for the balance in the banks’ eyes as well as the credit bureau’s eyes.

Banks are made up of people and people make mistakes all of the time. Sure, they have people in place whose only job is to look over these documents to make sure there are no errors and also to make sure the payoff gets recorded, but even they make mistakes. One thing is for sure, no one will care about your situation as much as you will.

I’ve been an Orlando Short Sale Realtor since 2004 and I learned early on that when dealing with Orlando Short Sales there are some extra steps that need to be taken as opposed to just a regular closing. Short sales can get very complicated at times and if you don’t know how to navigate your way through them…well…remember what happened to the “Titanic”?

As an Orlando Short Sale Expert, I have a system in place in which closed short sales get followed up with until the payoff to the bank has been recorded, at no charge to my clients. So as far as “Orlando Realty Consultants” is concerned, it’s not closed in our eyes until the client receives a “satisfaction of mortgage”. Unfortunately, most realtors just assume that everything has been done the way that it’s supposed to be done, collect their commission, and don’t give it another thought. This means that it falls on you.

Get a Credit Report after your Short Sale Closes

It’s a good idea for all of us to check our reports every so often. However, if you’ve completed an Orlando short sale recently, getting a credit report is not only recommended but necessary to ensure that you are free of your short sale lender once and for all.  A good place to do that is at your bank.

Still, have questions? Call us at 407-902-7750 to consult with an Orlando short sale expert.

Jenny Zamora, Lic RE Broker/ Short Sale Specialist

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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

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