Tag: top realtors in Orlando

Protect Your New Orlando Home With A Home Warranty

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Protect Your New Orlando Home

So you’ve purchased your first Orlando home, it’s wise to consider a home warranty and how they will give you piece of mind. No one expects for things to go wrong as soon as they move in to their new home, unfortunately many times that’s exactly what happens. As an Orlando real estate agent I always inform my clients about the benefits of a home warranty. Sometimes homes sit vacant for extended periods of time and like with everything else that doesn’t get used for a while, different components of a home such as AC unit, water heater, etc. can start to give you problems after not being used for a while.

Home Warranties Are Sometimes Included In The Sales Price

By investing in a home warranty, you can feel better about encountering unexpected problems with your new home. Many times the Orlando listing agent or seller will include a home warranty as part of the purchase price as an incentive. 

Something like an AC unit can set you back several thousand dollars right out of the gate. However, with a quality home warranty you have the piece of mind that all you will be paying is he deductible which is usually in the range of $60 or so. This to me is a no-brainer, your home warranty just paid for itself 20  times over with just one use!

In general a home warranty will cover your appliances, Central AC, plumbing, electrical, the roof as well as several other items. The warranty company will send out an inspector to ensure that all of these items are in good working condition prior issuing your home warranty.

It’s important to note that home warranties are very different than home insurance and cover different things. The best thing to do in order to make sure that you’re buying your warranty from a reputable company is to research them online and read the reviews that were written about each company. Once you’ve researched a hand full of them, you’ll be ready to make an educated decision.

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Orlando Home Values Are In The Eye Of The Beholder

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Real Estate Is Not An Exact Science…Not Even Close! 

The truth is that there are many variables involved and I’m not just talking about physical variables like granite countertops and travertine floors. I’m talking about other aspects like the motivations and the desires of both sellers and buyers. It can be very difficult to account for more value or less value when you bring the human element into the mix. Sure, it’s easy to pull up data for value trends in a certain area, but you have to blend that data with variables that are present in each situation.

Working as a Realtor in Orlando since 2004, I realized long ago that real estate is about people and every person is different with different needs and different motivations. Orlando home values can differ drastically depending on who you’re talking to.

These days most home buyers know exactly what they want. What may be considered valuable to one person may be viewed as a negative to another. Does the home provide a specific need for the new buyer? A perfect example of this can be a home with a pool. Living in Orlando especially, I personally place tremendous value on having a pool in the backyard so that my family and I can cool off on those hot summer days.

However, there are people who prefer to not have a pool. Having a pool for them could represent having more things to maintain and more expensive or maybe they have small children who can’t swim. To these people, having a pool is a huge negative and they may not want to even consider looking at a home with a pool.

Other examples that can influence buyers with a specific need may include having an in-law suite, one-story or two-story floor plans, a master on the main floor, a handicapped-friendly floor plan, etc. Some may place the quality of the construction and the home’s design at the top of the list.

Elements outside of the home itself like living in a specific school district, being close to public transportation, or having a pond view can also increase or decrease the appeal of a home depending on what the homeowner is looking for.

People will always be willing to pay more for what they perceive to be valuable to them in their lifestyle. A Home’s Value has to be measured in two different ways: On paper – what the data says and, how well it will serve the buyer and their needs.

Appraisal Value Is The Only Thing That Matters To Lenders

I’ve seen single-family homes in Orlando with bowling alleys, batting cages, and even basketball courts…indoors! However, while a house may contain all these luxurious features, the problem is that these items are considered to be over improvements and just don’t add any “dollars and cents” value to the home.

Although a buyer or a seller may place more value on a home for personal preferences, the lenders are only interested in the appraised value. Attempting to challenge an appraisal in these situations is close to impossible. Underwriters typically do not like to think outside of the box.

 

 

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Value of Orlando Homes Predicted to Increase by 7.3% in 2015

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Homes On The Upswing

It is an excellent time for homeowners in the Orlando area. The value of homes in the Orlando metropolitan area is predicted to increase by 7.3 percent in 2015. According to the Real Estate Market Report published by Zillow, this rise easily beats the national prediction of 2.9 percent.

Other predictions

Other than the predicted increase in home values, there are a number of other predictions about the Orlando real estate residential market embedded in the report:

* The average Orlando real estate home value will increase by 15 percent every year. The value has increased to about $161,300. In the other facet, values also decreased in short term and dipped by 1.1 percent in the period between April and May. According to Orlando realtors, home values in the Orlando metropolitan area are now back to the levels witnessed from 2004 to 2007.
* The average rental value increased by 4.4 percent every year to reach $1,296.
* The inventory of total listed for sale residences increased 36.5 percent every year and increased by 4.4 percent every month in May.

When considered all over the United States, the listed for-sale home inventory increased in May and jumped 11.8 percent. Another fact that should be considered here is that a majority of these gains were achieved among residences that are priced in top one-third and middle home values. According to Orlando Realtors, the sale of homes in affordable Orlando real estate – the kind of property favored by people who are buying their homes for the first time – decreased every year in 28 of the country’s biggest metro jurisdictions. These findings came up when the numbers were crunched by Zillow.

Rents

All over the US, rents fell a little in May compared to April. It was a reduction of 0.1 percent and the median rent was calculated as $1,310. National rents (year on year basis) increased to 2.3 percent in the previous month (May).

In May, value of homes all over the US increased by 0.1 percent as compared to April and touched $172,300. This marked its consecutive rise in 28 months when considered year over year. In May, the value of homes increased in Orlando by 5.4 percent. This yearly appreciation in values is the slowest when considered for more than one year. Average rate of interest paid by purchasers decreased to touch 4.39 percent in April.

 

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Central Florida’s Real-Estate Bust May Just be Over

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Word is around the Orlando real estate market that Central Florida’s real estate bust has come to its end. There are not one or two, but three different sources that are ready to vouch for the positive turn of events in Central Florida. The three different sources and data contained in their industry reports  – all of which were released within a week’s time, point toward a growing industry.

Three sources, three reports, and several reasons to revel

Industry reports focusing on the real estate and construction market of the US as a whole as well as the states individually show signs of recovery and a rosy future. The sources include the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Urban Land Institute, and Economic and Demographic Research’s Florida Office.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks Florida number one in the nation in terms of state construction growth. The state’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research cited buildings as the reason Florida’s economy was recovering. Further, reports from the Urban Land Institute project a rosy, bubble-free future for Florida’s real estate industry.

While the dark clouds of foreclosures still loom large – Florida sporting the highest percentage of foreclosures in the nation – real estate agents in Orlando and industry experts alike, agree that the numbers are merely recession leftovers.

What Orlando Real Estate Experts Have to Say

What’s more, is that several industry experts are in agreement with the views expressed in the three reports. According to Cecelia Bonifay, who chairs the Urban Land Institute (Central Florida), the real estate industry has gained momentum throughout the nation, and Florida is no exception. She notes how all factors were aligning themselves for an extremely “positive marketplace” and adds that the positive sentiments were shared by almost all sectors of the US economy. Bonifay also points out that the recently released reports were essentially different because the recovery has become broader and spread across pretty much all economic sectors.

Leo Nimkoff, the Chair of the Commercial Council of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association is another expert who agrees that Florida’s real estate bust has approached its end. He reasons that people moving into Florida have helped the state grow – something top Orlando Realtors will agree with. Orlando itself has seen its fair share of new constructions, many of which are multimillion-dollar projects like the $56 million Crescent Central Station complex.

According to Nimkoff, people moving to Florida to settle permanently or the ones moving temporarily for work, generate jobs that go well beyond real estate and construction. Retails, restaurants, and malls spring up to meet the demands of a growing Floridian population and jobs get generated for the locals in such retails, restaurants, and malls.

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Orlando Foreclosure Rates Continue On A Downward Trend

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


CoreLogic has some great news for Orlando realtors and the real estate industry in general. The American business intelligence agency that provides financial and real estate information and analytics to businesses and the feds, reports that Orlando foreclosure rates reduced again in December 2013.

This brings in a ray of hope for real estate agents in Orlando who have been worried for quite some time due to the high rates at which properties in the city get foreclosed. Even with a  decrease in the foreclosure rates in December, Orlando still sports foreclosure rates higher than the national average.

Orlando Foreclosure rate 3.65 percent down from same time a year ago

 

CoreLogic reports that 6.69 percent of residential properties in the Sanford-Kissimmee-Orlando area were slapped with foreclosure in December 2013 – 3.65 percent down from the foreclosure rate in December 2012 (10.34 percent).

CoreLogic, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as CLGX also reported that the national average of residential-property foreclosures for December 2013 was 2.09 percent. Further, the report also revealed that homeowners of the Metro Orlando area had become more regular with their mortgage payments.

The delinquency rate dropped by 4.53 percent in December 2013. CoreLogic reported an 11.04 percent of mortgage payments coming in later than 90 days in December 2013. A year ago mortgage defaulters in the Metro Orlando area peaked at 15.57 percent.

As is the case with foreclosure rates, the Metro Orlando mortgage delinquency rates top the national average of 5.03 percent this year. Back in 2012, the rate stood at 6.40 percent for the same month.

 

Orlando Realtors Anticipate Improved Sentiments In Near Future

The health of a state’s real estate market greatly influences the health of the overall economy of the state. Listing agents in Orlando reveal that reduced foreclosure rates in Metro Orlando are promising news for the Orlando real estate market because it not only signifies that the housing market is improving, it also helps boost the values of other residential properties.

Add to it the fact that lowered foreclosure, as well as mortgage delinquency rates, are elementary proof that the market is less distressed and the financial status of homeowners is improving.  You’ll know why real estate agents in Orlando are tying this news to the hopes of a stronger market and more buyer confidence in the near future.

 

 

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