Category: Orlando Real Estate

With all of the short sale houses on the market in Orlando, we are often asked, “Where do we start?” It’s really quite simple. If you are looking for any types of houses for short sale in Orlando or the Central Florida area, you should first start with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS can be accessed by any realtor and includes every house for sale in the Orlando area, short sale and non short sale.

If you can find a good website with a good search engine, like www.YourOrlandoRealty.com, you will be able to locate every short sale house in Orlando by yourself, with the specific criteria that you are looking for. When you conduct your short sale search, our powerful search engine will allow you to search only for short sales, therefore eliminating all the other properties that you are not interested in.

Once you find some short sales that interest you here in the Orlando area, please contact us and our realtor/attorney can walk you through the entire process and explain the entire transaction to you. Short sale houses can be a bit more difficult to buy, but in the end, if you can buy one, it will be worth it. Don’t let the process or the legal procedures concern you. If you are well represented, your realtor will take care of all of it.

Finding a good realtor is important as you go through the real estate buying and selling process. There is an old saying in the real estate business saying that “20% of the agents do 80% of the business”. The important thing for you is, how can you find one of these good realtors? The best realtor does not always work at the biggest company, close the most deals or earn the most money. The best realtor is an experienced professional who will listen to you, conduct himself or herself in an ethical manner, and knows the market.

1. REALTORS and Real Estate Agents

All Realtors are licensed to sell real estate as a real estate agent or a real estate broker, but not all real estate agents are Realtors. Only a Realtor can display the Realtor logo. Realtors belong to the National Association of Realtors and pledge to follow the Code of Ethics, a list of industry standards of practice, which establish levels of conduct that are much higher than ordinary business practices or those required by law. Less than half of all licensees are Realtors.

2. Referrals

Most of the best realtors stay in business – and successfully – because satisfied clients refer them to friends, family, neighbors and coworkers. Ask those around you what realtor they have used and ask them to discuss their experiences with this realtor. The best realtors realtors make their clients’ satisfaction their number one goal.

3. Use Print Advertising

Realtors run real estate ads for two purposes. The first is to sell specific real estate. The second is to promote the realtor. Look in your local newspapers for ads in your targeted neighborhood. Then look up the websites of the realtors who are advertising. These realtors could be specialists in your neighborhood or type of home.

4. Professional Associations

The best realtors typically are very involved in their profession and related professions. Ask your realtor what activities he is involved in. And if you really want to find a professional, find a realtor who is also a licensed attorney at law. A realtor who is also an attorney can more easily walk you through the often complicated legal process that involves contracts and closing.

5.  See how the Realtor Works

Meet the realtor out in their working environment, not in their offices. The best realtors spend very little time at their desks.

6.  Have a Website

Make sure your realtor is online. Having a web savvy realtor with a strong web presence is very important today as over 85% of all buyers initially see their homes online. The best realtors have laptops and often have moved to mobile technology to assist. A realtor in today’s world must email, text, and be available to buyers and sellers all the time.

7.  A Busy Realtor!

Look for signs that the realtor is busy. A hard-working, go-getter of an agent is good. But if they pass you to an “assistant”, move to another realtor that will give their time to you.

8.  Respected by Peers

How respected is the realtor? The best realtors network and work cooperatively with other realtors and professionals. Seasoned realtors know other realtors in the area and have good working relationships with them. This helps you!

Many prospective home buyers here in Orlando always ask about the availability of short sales. Are there many out there? Are they a good buy? Yes and yes…but they can be difficult to work with and they take time. For an investor, or a home buyer who is not looking for a home to move into immediately, we recommend taking a look at the short sales in your preferred Orlando area neighborhood. But for those of you looking to buy, close and move into your new home quickly, short sales may not be the way to go for you.

Short sales can sometimes be misunderstood. So let’s first take a look at what a short sale is. A short sale is when a lender accepts a discount on a mortgage as payment in full. Lenders often accept this so that they don’t lose a larger sum of money down the road when the home owner may go into foreclosure or bankruptcy. Although the buyer is still buying the home from the seller, the lender must give permission and final approval of everything. An example of a short sale situation would be when the mortgage on a home is $250,000, but the home is worth somewhere in the high 100’s. In this scenario, a buyer may offer to buy the home for $180,000. The seller would then need to provide all relevant information to the lender to see if the lender will accept that amount as payment in full, and therefore approve the short sale. The lender may accept this knowing that if they didn’t, then they may have to foreclose on the home in the future and receive only pennies on the dollar at a foreclosure sale.

There are many benefits of a short sale. The biggest benefit for a seller is to get the home for far less than what it would sell for if the mortgage was not so high. The biggest drawback to a short sale is that it can require much more work on the part of the buyer.

But with all the short sales available in Orlando at this time, it certainly is worth a try if you are not in a hurry. Typically,  And don’t forget about second mortgages! Even if the seller and buyer negotiate a deal with the first lien holder, the others will also have to agree on a deal to discount their liens as well. And if the buyer is paying entirely in cash, the lender will usually take that offer more seriously and be more likely to approve the offer.

So if you are looking for a home in Orlando, consider any of Orlando’s short sales. They are worth a look and worth discussing with a qualified Orlando short sales realtor.

Contact us today if you have more questions.

Should you rent or buy? The Orlando real estate market offers the best of both worlds. If you are looking for a home for sale, you will find anything you are looking for. If you are looking to rent a home, short term or long term, you also can find anything you can imagine. So whether you rent or buy in Orlando, this decision must be based on several factors, including:

How long you plan to stay?

If you’re not going to keep the home for several years, the transactional costs of buying and selling can wipe out any buying edge.

Do you have cash for closing?

It’s not easy today to find banks willing to lend more than 80% of the cost of a home. That means buyers will have to come up with 20% down, plus closing costs. On a $300,000 home, that’s $60,000. This is not easy for many home buyers.

Can you can cover all the costs of owning the home? In addition to the mortgage, there are property taxes, hazard insurance, heat, utilities and regular maintenance.

Can you can claim the tax advantages of homeownership?

Mortgage interest is deductible and can save a lot on taxes. Mortgage interest comprises almost all of the monthly payment in the first few years of the mortgage loan. So this deduction can be huge. Also, married couples can earn up to $500,000 tax-free when selling a home at a gain. Singles get $250,000.

Other Factors

Buying a house isn’t strictly a financial decision. This may sound simplistic, but first and foremost you should find a neighborhood and a house that you just like. Moreover, you should check on the sales price trends of homes in that neighborhood. If it looks like the area is declining in value, then avoid commitment. You’re probably better off renting. Finally, don’t forget that even with the tax-breaks of home ownership, you will still be incurring out-of-pocket costs that you wouldn’t encounter as a renter from the cost of ripping down wallpaper to repairing a leaky roof. So, before you buy, estimate how much those costs will be. After all, you don’t want to live hand-to-mouth even if it is in your own home.

Is emotional satisfaction important to you?

We mentioned  that buying a house is not always a financial decision. It frequently is an emotional decision. Having a place to call “yours” and to call “home” is often what the american dream is all about. For good or bad, a home that we own tends to define us. Having your own home allows you to decorate and remodel your home to fit your personality. Renting does not always allow this

So whether you want to rent or buy, you will have plenty of choices for each in the Orlando real estate market. Contact us today to learn more about your options.

If you are thinking about foreclosure houses in Orlando, then now is the time to act. As you all know, Orlando was one of the hardest hit areas when the real estate market started going down a few years ago. Now that the real estate market seems to have stabilized, many people are now, once again, shopping for houses throughout the Orlando area. And fortunately, it is still a buyers market.

Part of the reason that the current Orlando market is so favorable to buyers is because of the large inventory of houses available for sale. During the market decline, which lasted about 6 years, many houses were still being built. This was primarily because the plans and financing were already in place once the downturn started. Also, over the past few years, many people have either had their house foreclosed by the lender, or have just moved out voluntarily to seek out more affordable rental properties. All this has contributed to the large inventories of houses for sale in the Orlando area market. Of these, the largest group seems to be the foreclosure houses.

Banks are now holding vast numbers of foreclosure houses in their inventories and are not too interested in holding on to them much longer. For this reason, banks are willing to rid themselves of their foreclosure houses for lower than fair market prices. This is why there are so many foreclosure house in Orlando and why one can find good bargains on foreclosure houses.

But don’t get too excited yet. Although good bargains exist, not all foreclosure houses are being put up for sale at less than fair market prices. As the general real estate market here in Orlando begins to head up, this buyers market will soon start to phase out. As this happens, you will start to see the foreclosure houses disappear. The bottom line? If you are looking for a foreclosure house in Orlando, now is the time to start looking.

Please contact us today if you have any questions about the real estate market or foreclosure houses in the Orlando area.

What is the best real estate website? Of course, that is a very difficult, if not impossible, question to answer. It certainly depends on what the home buyer or seller is looking for. With thousands of real estate websites in Orlando and the Central Florida area, the prospective home buyer or seller has many options. With the massive growth of the internet many home buyers and sellers are now turning to real estate websites to begin their search, before contacting a real estate agent. Many websites allow the home buyer to search virtually every house that is listed for sale. They also allow the home seller to post his or her house so that the entire world can see it.

We believe that the best real estate websites share certain qualities and content that set them above the rest. If you are thinking to buy or sell a home or real estate and wish to begin the process by searching for a real estate website, here are some things that you should look for in that website. Only after giving careful thought to this list of items can one start to think about which is the best real estate website for him or her.

1.  Access to the full MLS – Any good real estate website will provide you with full access to the Multiple Listing Service for that market. This search engine will allow you to see the details of any and every house that is listed for sale.

2.  Easy-to-understand search engine – Just having access to the full MLS is not sufficient if it is not easy to use. Most search engines give the user the ability to search using many different parameters. It must be easy to understand.

3.  Ability to save search results – Most people who search the MLS on a good real estate website will search many different homes and neighborhoods. The best real estate websites will allow the user to save those search results so that he or she can come back later and pull up again the homes that they like.

4.  Provide future similar properties – The best real estate websites will also have the ability to capture the user’s preferences and be able to identify future listings that match the user’s preferences – thereby providing the user with all new listings that fit the user’s profile without the user having to go back in and do a new search every day.

5.  Eye appeal and ease of navigation – A good real estate website will always be pleasing to look at and will provide ease of navigation throughout the site. A user should never have to “search” for where to go next.

6.  Easy, no-obligation contact – The best real estate websites will make it very easy for you to understand how to contact a real estate agent for more information – with no obligation!

As you can see, it can be very difficult to determine what is the best real estate website for any given user. However, by asking the right questions, and looking for the right things, one can quickly learn what is the best real estate website for them. Your real estate and legal team at YourOrlandoRealty.com take these factors very seriously and are proud to provide one of the best real estate websites!

Who is the best realtor in Orlando? That obviously is a very complex question and the answer depends on what the home buyer or seller is looking for. With thousands of realtors in Orlando and the Central Florida area, the prospective home buyer or seller has many options.

However, we have determined that the best realtors share certain qualities and characteristics that distinguish them from the rest. If you are thinking to buy or sell a home or real estate in Orlando, here are some things that you should look for in a realtor. Only after considering these factors can one determine who is the best Orlando realtor for him or her. And do not ever be afraid to ask questions. The “best realtor in Orlando” will always be honest with you.

1.  Knowledge of the neighborhood – The Orlando real estate market is too big and diverse for any one realtor to be knowledgeable about each and every part of it. If you’re thinking about buying, selling or renting a home in the Orlando area, then you need a licensed realtor who has extensive knowledge and experience in the area where you are planning on buying, selling or renting a home.

2.  Negotiation skills – An experienced realtor will negotiate a much higher price than their fee takes away and will reduce the stress of buying or selling your home.

3.  Willingness and ability to market your home – All too often, a realtor who represents a seller of an Orlando home will list the home for sale on the MLS system and then do nothing else to sell the home. A good realtor will also actively market the home for sale. Marketing the home includes brochures, flyers, open houses, listing in local publications, speaking with other realtors, and so on.

4.  Legal skills – Buying or selling a home in Orlando can include a myriad of legal forms and procedures. Although your Orlando realtor is not required to know all the laws associated with buying or selling a house, you may want to work with a realtor who is also trained as an attorney. Having a realtor who is also an attorney at law could greatly aid you as you search for your home or real estate in Orlando.

5.  Honesty and Integrity – A good realtor will always be honest with you and put your interests above his or hers, even if that means encouraging you to not use that realtor. The best Orlando realtor is a professional and will always act like one.

As you can see, it would be nearly impossible to determine who is the best Orlando realtor. However, by asking the right questions one can quickly learn who is a very good realtor for them. Your real estate and legal team at YourOrlandoRealty.com take these factors very seriously and are proud to call themselves one of the “Best Orlando Realtors”.

Foreclosures in Orlando have been among the highest in the country over the past few years. No neighborhood or community in the Orlando area didn’t have any foreclosures nearby. Foreclosures just seem like they are now a normal part of the Orlando real estate market. And they are.

If you drive around Orlando looking at homes for sale you will see so many for sale signs in the front yard with the word foreclosure on it. Or if you are searching online for homes for sale you will see so many of them listed as foreclosures. For a home owner, the word foreclosures is not a nice thing to hear. But to a home buyer this can be a wonderful word.

When most of us think of foreclosures, in Orlando or elsewhere, we tend to think of the negative implications. However, foreclosures can provide great opportunities to anyone looking to buy a home in Orlando. These Orlando foreclosures could provide your family with their dream home.

When a lender decides to foreclose on a home they normally buy it back at a very reduced price at the foreclosure sale. Once they become the official owner, they can do whatever they want with the home. It would seem logical that the lender would want to put it back on the market for the fair market value and wait for a home buyer who can make a reasonable offer. And sometimes this happens.

However, with so many foreclosures here in Orlando, the lenders now have a large inventory of foreclosure homes. They are not in the business of selling homes. Thus, they do not have the time, patience or desire to let the foreclosed home sit on the market for a long period of time. For this reason, lenders like to get rid of the foreclosed homes quickly. This is why there can often be bargains with foreclosures.

So if you are in the market for a foreclosure in Orlando, please visit us at www.YourOrlandoRealty.com for more information.

As consumers increasingly search for friendly, green homes for sale, constructing green homes is becoming a priority for many home builders throughout Orlando and the Central Florida area. Home builders are now constructing homes that are greener and friendlier for the environment and more cost effective for homeowners. Green homes can decrease your carbon footprint, can save the homeowner on monthly utility costs, and could retain their value much more in the future.

Energy Star is known to most people. Most of us are familiar with this term as we see it listed on new appliances for sale. But this government program also certifies new home construction that is eco-friendly. Energy Stars are given to newly constructed homes that meet certain federal guidelines for energy efficiency, making Energy Star homes 20-30% more efficient than traditionally constructed homes. To qualify for an Energy Star, builders must work closely with an independent Energy Star rater, who works with the builder throughout the construction process to ensure that appropriate features – such as high-value insulation, efficient HVAC systems and Energy Star-rated appliances – are incorporated into the home. This is a voluntary process for the builders, and they have to meet minimum standards in order to be considered “partners” of the program.

The United States Green Building Council’s LEED Certification is another certification that you may find during your search for green homes for sale in Orlando and the Central Florida area. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications measure a home’s energy and water efficiency, its indoor air quality, the sustainability of building practices used in its construction, as well as the impact of the construction on the surrounding community and environment.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) also has a certification program. Becoming “Green Certified” by the NAHB Research Center requires builders to work with a third-party rater, who in turn certifies that the builder’s project meets the requirements of National Green Building Standard (NGBS). The NGBS sets guidelines for green construction and land development in six different categories:

• Lot & Site Development

• Resource Efficiency

• Energy Efficiency

• Water Efficiency

• Indoor Environmental Quality

• Homeowner Education

Green homes are becoming more and more popular with both the builders and the prospective homeowners. If you are for looking for green homes for sale in Orlando, you will have many different options. Seek the help of a qualified real estate agent who can assist you with your search for green homes for sale in Orlando.

Short sales are plentiful now in Orlando. Any Orlando realtor can confirm this. It seems like on every block there is a home for sale as a short sale. Like so many cities around the country, the Orlando real estate market hit the skids a few years ago, causing home prices to plummet. Fortunately, the real estate market now appears to have stabilized. However, there are still many houses that are worth less than the debt on them.

For this reason, you should be able to find a short sale in the area of Orlando that you are looking for. But be weary of the short sale process. It’s not always an easy path to follow. The short sale process can take months, with  many communications going back and forth from the buyer to the seller to the bank. Banks play a major role in the short sale transaction. So, please consider working with an Orlando short sale realtor who understands this area. An Orlando short sale realtor is not just a realtor that can help you buy or sell a short sale home, but instead is a realtor who competently understands the real estate and legal complications of the short sale process.

Many realtors in Orlando claim to be short sale experts. But this is not always the case. Many of these Orlando short sale “experts” do nothing more than show you short sale homes from the MLS. That’s not sufficient. Be sure to ask questions regarding their experience with short sales to be sure that they indeed have specialized knowledge. Legal training is always a strong benefit when hiring a realtor to help you with short sales. We at YourOrlandoRealty.com have a licensed attorney and realtor available to answer any questions you may have on the short sale process. Feel free to contact us today to tell us how we can help you with your new short sale in Orlando or the Central Florida area.