Tag: orlando short sale specialist

Orlando Short Sale Buying Tips

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 

Buying a short sale home can potentially land you a deal of a lifetime. It can be a long drawn out process but if you can mange to hang in there until the end, chances are that you’ll be glad you did.

 

Our brokerage specializes in doing short sales for distressed homeowners and I can’t tell you how many times we’ve lost buyers potential buyers because they get tired of waiting on the lenders.

 

The flip side to that is we’ve also had many clients that were willing to hang in there and see it through to the end. By doing so they ended up with a heck of a deal.

 

If you’re one of those people willing to stay the course throughout a short sale process, then here are some tips that might help see you through.

 

1- Enlist the help of an Orlando short sale specialist.

An experienced short sale realtor can quickly provide you a list of all the properties that are listed as short sales in the area that you’re interested in. They can also advise you on negotiating an offer. “Short sale specialists” can easily be found on Google.

Interview at least three realtors and ask them to provide you with references from past clients.

 

2-Do A Title Search

It would be wise to do a title search to find out how many liens are on the property. In a short sale, each lien holder must be dealt with and satisfied before you can close on a property.

Your realtor should be able to help you with this because if they close a lot of deals with the same title company then they should be willing to provide a quick title search either free of charge or at least at a discounted rate. Title searches usually cost between $200-$300.

 

3-Be Patient

There are many moving parts in a short sale but there are two main things that need to happen. The sellers must first agree to your offer, then the lender must also agree to the offer.

There’s a whole lot of paperwork going back-and-forth between the sellers and the lender which can sometimes take several months to process depending on who the lender is. If there are second and third lien holders, it can take even more time.

 

4-Have Your Financing Ready To Go

It’s always best to offer cash in these transactions. This will capture the lenders attention and your offer may get accepted even over a higher offer that depends on financing. However for most people, paying cash for a property is not an option. The next best thing is to be pre-approved by a lender to make sure you can close quickly.

 

 

 

 

Orlando short sale expert

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Orlando Short Sale Expert Press Conference Video

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Short Sale Expert Press Conference Video Transcript  | Orlando Realtor

From Speaker: “Hello Everyone My name is John Conde on behalf of Orlando Realty Consultants THIS IS A PRE-FORECLOSURE SITUATION! We don’t have much time. We’re here to talk about short sales today I know you all have a lot of questions so let’s get right to it, let’s please try and keep the questions short and to the point”.
From Crowd: “What is exactly is a short sale anyway”?
From Speaker: A Short sale is a pre-foreclosure arrangement between a homeowner and their lender, where the lender agrees to a sale of the property for less than what’s owed as opposed to taking the property to foreclosure.

From Crowd: “Why would a lender agree to short sale”?
From Speaker: “Well it comes down to time and money, it’s expensive and it takes a long time to take a property through the foreclosure process and banks know that they will never get even close to full payoff at the auction. Most of the time the lender buys it back as an REO property and sells it at well below market value anyway. So by doing a short sale it’s a win win for everyone involved”.
From Crowd: ” What are some reasons why someone would consider doing a short sale” ?

From Speaker: ” There are a several reasons why someone may need to do a short sale. Loss of employment  , transferring to another job,  maybe your payments have gone way up,  or Maybe your upside down and you just want to get out of a bad investment.
There could be a million reasons why someone would need a short sale”.
From Crowd: “Don’t you need an attorney to complete a short sale”?
From Speaker: “There’s a common myth that you need to involve an attorney when doing a short sale on your home and I’m here to tell you that it’s just not true! Not only that, real estate attorneys charge thousands of dollars for what a short sale realtor does for free. We actually service short sale files for several law firms in Central Florida. So long story short,… no you don’t need an attorney, but the bank does require that a licensed real estate agent represent the seller”.

From Crowd: “How will a short sale affect my credit”?
From Speaker: ” This is a subject I will be going into detail with in the coming weeks but in a nutshell, It’s much better to have a short sale on your record than a foreclosure or bankruptcy and it will be a lot easier for you to get another mortgage in the future”.

From Crowd:”What goes into a short sale package”?
From Speaker: “Another great question,… there are many different components that make up a complete short sale package, We don’t have time to get into it today but in the days ahead we will be going into each component of what makes up a complete short sale package .

“I know everyone is desperate for answers and unfortunately we just don’t have the time to get into it today. But I will tell you this… In the coming Weeks we’ll be breaking down in detail,  the different Components that go into a complete short sale package.
In closing, just know this… by completing a short sale, homeowners can walk away from their properties without having a foreclosure reported on their credit – all while having their mortgage debt completely forgiven by the lender.
Not only that but in most cases we’re able to get money back to the seller anywhere from $3,000 – $30,000.00, and you can quote me on that.
For the folks watching at home feel free to visit the website below or call the number. For everyone here I do have some business cards here for any one that wants one so just come on up”.

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Short Sale Specialists vs Real Estate Agents

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Like any profession in the world, there are specialists in every field… Orlando short sales are no different. If you’ve ever attempted to do a short sale, you know that not only can things get frustrating but the situation can change at a moment’s notice without any warning whatsoever. You could be negotiating with a lender for weeks or even months then finally get your approval letter with the buyer lined up and ready to go, etc. Then all of a sudden WHAM!… the loan just got sold to another lender and all of your hard work is gone… just like that.

As short sale realtors, we have to follow very detailed instructions as laid out by the lender. The problem is that these instructions can sometimes be ever-changing and you have to be flexible enough to roll with the changes… it’s kinda like trying to hit a moving target.

The 2nd worst part of a situation like this is that the real estate agent handling the short sale will usually get blamed [out of ignorance] by not only the seller but the buyer and the buyer’s agent as well. I know this because it’s happened to me more times than I care to remember. A true short sale specialist will or should handle a situation like this with patience, persistence, and grace. Also, a good short-sale agent can’t be the type of person that is easily discouraged or they won’t get anywhere in this “dog eat dog” profession.

They call us “specialists” for many reasons. It’s not just about getting the short sale done, it’s about educating everyone involved along the way on what’s going on and why. We’ve been Negotiating Orlando short sales since 2004 [before it was even in style] and we understand what a stressful time the homeowner is going through which is why we maintain good communication with them and keep them informed every step of the way. Even if nothing happens inside any given week during the process, our clients get a weekly update regardless if there was any progress with their file or not.

The way I see it, If a distressed homeowner had enough trust in our company to hand us over control over their short sale listing, then we owe it to them to get the job done, and get it done in a timely and professional manner, after all… we’re not just real estate agents, we are short sale specialists and that’s something that we’re very proud of.

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Orlando Short Sale Realtor, A labor of Love

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

I remember when I  became a FL REALTOR back in 2004, the gentleman speaking at the podium that day, I don’t recall his name but something that he said that day resonated with me and still does until this day. He said, “when practicing real estate don’t make it about the money,… you’ll make more money”. What he was really saying was to always,… ALWAYS put the client’s needs first in any real estate transaction and by doing so you will eventually make more money.  The word will get around that you are the type of agent that goes “above and beyond” for their clients and people will seek you out for all of their Orlando real estate needs.

Well, here I am eight years later telling you that he was totally right! The only marketing that I do, if you want to call it marketing, is writing this blog about real estate [which I love doing!].  Most of my clients are referrals from past clients and my office is running at full capacity, it’s because of this that we are constantly on the lookout for Orlando short sale superstars to recruit.

When I take on a new short sale listing, the law says that my fiduciary responsibility is to my client. However,  I feel that a realtor’s responsibility is to look out for everyone involved.. the seller, the buyer, the lender as well as the buyer’s agent. It’s like I tell the agents in my office “Everyone involved in the transaction needs to walk away satisfied with the results”, and if they practice real estate with that mindset they will be successful.

Orlando short sale specialist… not just a job

Making both sides of the closing table happy… there’s no better feeling in the world.  Being a good real estate agent is kind of like being a good teacher, you really have to love it to be great at it and there’s just no way you can fake it. Have you ever had a horrible teacher in grade school or high school? I’m talking about the teacher that just doesn’t care and it’s painfully obvious to everyone in the classroom. I’ll bet that there’s at least one teacher that just popped into your mind as you were reading that last sentence. Well, imagine having a realtor represent you that just doesn’t care about you. Sure they go through the motions of what a realtor is supposed to do and they do just enough to scrape by.

That’s because that type of realtor chose the wrong profession to be in and they’re miserable. I’ve known many of these agents over the years and have even made the mistake of hiring a few for short periods of time. These agents will eventually show their true colors and everyone around them will know that their heart is just not in it. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying that they are bad people what I am saying is that these people will never be successful real estate agents and sooner or later will realize that they’re in the wrong line of work.

When choosing a real estate agent to represent you and do your short sale, make sure to do your research. I’ve said this countless times and I will continue saying it. Doing a short sale on your home will be one of if not the most important transactions in your lifetime. Make sure that you choose an Orlando short sale realtor that absolutely loves what they do!

 

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Orlando Short Sales…anything but short

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Short Sales…. Long time

For potential buyers short sales can mean either getting a great deal or going through a very frustrating ordeal. by first impression a short sale implies a getting good deal on a home, kind of like a house as being on sale “houses 30% off! “. However, you should know what’s involved with buying a short sale before making an offer.

A short sale is when the lender agrees to take less than the amount owed in order to get the property sold as opposed to taking it through foreclosure. Before the lender agrees to anything, there’s a whole process that the seller needs to go through and get approval before the bank even agrees to entertain any kind of offer. This process involves the seller getting together an entire package of docs to their lender

Short Sale Docs Required from the Seller

1-Hardship lettter

2-Financial statement or profit and loss [if self employed]

3-Last 2 years tax returns

4-Recent Paystubs

5-Bank statements

6- Listing agreement

7- Purchase and Sales agreement

As you can see from the list above the seller has their homework cut out for them and some sellers aren’t the most organized people which means, just getting this list of docs together could take weeks. Once the package is complete, it is then submitted to the short sale lender.  If you think that’s it… you’re wrong, this is just the beginning. The lender will usually find a few things wrong with the package no matter how well it was put together, something will need to be in a different format, typo o the HUD, missing addendum, etc. it’s always something.

The next thing that will happen is the lender will order a BPO [brokers price opinion]. This is usually a local agent that is hired by the lender to give their opinion of what the property is really worth. Whatever this amount comes in at will be the negotiating point. That means that if your offer is much lower than the BPO amount, the bank will counter your offer until you come to an agreement. Unfortunately, some agents don’t like the extra work involved in going back and forth with the lender to get the best deal possible, so they just stick with the first amount that the lender countered at.

Hopefully, the agent handling the listing is an Orlando short sale specialist, if not it could be a very frustrating experience for both the buyer and the seller.

Buyers that need to buy fast

If you’re a buyer that needs to get into a house quickly for whatever reason, then you probably want to steer clear of short sales. Just because you’ve submitted a fair offer on a property, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get it. Not only that, you may be waiting for a month or 2 before even getting a response on whether your offer was approved or not. My suggestion is to find an Orlando realtor that specializes in the area that you want to live in and tell them what your time frame is. If you can’t find a good deal right away, maybe you should rent for six months. This will allow you more time to find the great deal you’ve been looking for.

Buyers that are in no hurry to buy

If you have all the time in the world to find a great deal on Orlando real estate, then short sales are definitely worth looking into. Find a realtor that is an Orlando short sale specialist in the area that you’re interested in living in. Meet with the realtor and let them know what kind of property you’re interested in buying and where. The agent should provide you with a list of short sale and REO properties in the area that meet your criteria. After you get your list, tell your agent immediately which ones you would like to see and go see them A.S.A.P. Orlando real estate is hot right now and good deals don’t last for very long.

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