Investment and Vacation Real Estate - Orlando, Florida

Making an offer on a piece of property is nerve wracking; especially if your offer is a little (or a lot) lower than the asking price. You can make your offer more appealing with a few simple additions that are good ways to cinch a Orlando real estate deal.

Get Approved

It's easy to add a contingency to a bid that the offer is only valid when you get financing. But that means you're keeping the seller waiting on pins and needles to find out if you qualify for financing. If your offer is low, the seller may be unwilling to accept the double whammy of a financial contingency and a low offer. Getting pre-approved for a loan is a much better incentive for a seller to accept a lower offer.

Increase Your Earnest Money

A larger amount of earnest money makes you seem more serious about purchasing the home.

KISS (Keep It Simple Silly)

A low bid with a lot of little requests or contingencies that complicate it will hurt your chances. Don't ask for drapes or appliances that were not originally offered by the seller. And, don't ask for minor repair work that you can easily and inexpensively take care of yourself.

Write a Letter

Write a letter to the sellers telling them what you like about the home and why it's perfect for you and your family. It might sound trivial, but offers are often accepted just because the sellers like a buyer.

Let the Sellers Choose the Closing Date

Tell the sellers the closing date is negotiable. Do they need 60 days instead of 30? Let them have it. Do they need a few days to move out after closing? Give it to them.

Let us help you construct an offer that gets you a great price and cinches the deal.

Home sales may be up in many parts of the country but prices continue to scrape along the floor, raising fresh doubts about the recovery of a critical sector.

Prices in 20 major metropolitan areas dropped by 18.7 percent in March when compared with the same month a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index that was released Tuesday. That was about the same as February and just shy of January’s record plunge of 19 percent.

“Foreclosures have picked up, and that seems to be pushing prices down,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of S.& P.’s index committee. “The recession is really biting.”

Seventeen of the cities tracked by the index declined from February. That was an improvement over the previous month, when prices in all 20 areas fell. Denver and Charlotte, N.C., managed tiny gains, while Dallas was flat.

In many urban areas, including those tracked by Case-Shiller, the residential real estate market is essentially cleaved in two. The top half of the market is largely stagnant, with owners unwilling to sell and buyers unable to buy. “Move-up” families seeking another bedroom or a better kitchen are an endangered species.

The low end, however, is sizzling, as investors armed with cash and first-time buyers equipped with tax breaks compete for foreclosed properties.

As a result, some argue, the Case-Shiller numbers make the market appear worse than it is. Minneapolis is a case in point. Prices there plunged 6.1 percent from February to March — the largest single-month drop for a city in the history of the index.

The area was not prone to the bubble excesses of California or Florida, but it has its share of foreclosures. Until recently, banks tried to hold on to these houses to get the best price, said Steve Havig, president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. complete story

Source: NYTimes.com - David Streitfeld

Stop Foreclosure & Save Your Credit SELL your Home - Short Sale

It sounds almost too good to be true: IRA holders can use their retirement funds to purchase real estate before the age of retirement without incurring distribution taxes or penalties. And they can realize their real-estate investment profits tax-deferred in their retirement account.

But it is true, and growing numbers of savvy investors are taking advantage of the opportunity to build their portfolios while saving aggressively for their retirement years. Since 1974, IRA and 401(k) account holders have had the option to personally control the ways in which their retirement monies are invested, including investing in real estate. And because the investment is made on behalf of the retirement account (just like the IRA investing in stocks and bonds), the acquisition is made without triggering a taxable event. Accounts that enable holders to self-direct their funds into investments of their choice (including real estate, tax liens, personal loans, etc.) are known as "self-directed IRAs."

Creating a structure for these self-directed transactions can be complex, so there are financial services companies throughout the country that set up these self-directed accounts. One such company, Guidant Financial Group of Bellevue, Wash., specializes in a variation on the traditional self-directed IRA -- a self-directed IRA LLC. This is basically a self-directed IRA paired with a Limited Liability Company established in the account holder's name.

This two-part structure gives account holders even more control enabling them to use a checkbook tied to their retirement funds. According to Guidant's CEO David Nilssen, "The checkbook control of a self-directed IRA LLC enables you to literally write checks on the spot to purchase foreclosures, tax liens, and other timely investments. Additionally, you don't have to suffer through the delays or costs of running each of your transactions through a traditional self-directed IRA custodian."

Self-directed IRAs and the IRA LLC variation enable you to invest your retirement funds in a broad variety of purchases, including real estate (residential, commercial and international), tax liens, foreclosures, mortgages, gold bullion, private stock and more.

These remarkable accounts do come with some caveats. The primary one is every purchase/investment must be made with an eye to growing the IRA for your future financial needs. Consequently, you must avoid any transactions with parties that could create a conflict of interest, such as buying a home for yourself or a relative. These limitations are referred to by the government as prohibited transactions" and "disqualified parties." Nilssen reports that, while the guidelines are pretty straightforward, a good deal of his staff's time is spent making sure Guidant clients clearly understand them so they can steer clear of questionable transactions.

As with every investment decision, the more informed you are, the wiser your decision will be. Thankfully, information about self-directed IRAs is getting easier to come by, and there are increasing numbers of Internet sources dedicated to the subject. So do your due diligence and remember: These retirement monies represent your future security!

Source: AraLifestyle.com 

The pace of housing sales has been rising in many markets this year, but it is only partly because families seeking affordable housing are returning to the market.

It also is because of investors like former Deutsche Bank managing director Matthew Cooleen, whose firm has spent $30 million buying pools of foreclosed houses from banks.

His newly formed Greenwich, Conn.-based firm, HudsonCross Financial, is betting it can make a profit reselling in beaten-down markets in states like Nevada, Arizona and Florida and in Southern California because it is paying so little for the homes.

Outside San Francisco, a former Morgan Stanley executive director's new firm is buying four houses for 75% less than they cost four years ago, and is raising $6 million to purchase others.

In Phoenix, Mark Allen, a former division president at D.R. Horton, the nation's largest home builder, is reselling homes he is buying at courthouse auctions with funding from Gorilla Capital, an Oregon-based firm that targets foreclosures. "It's the only way to make money in Phoenix residential real estate right now," Mr. Allen says.

After mostly retreating from the housing market after the bubble burst, investors are returning in droves, hoping to take advantage of the distress. In many cases, Realtors say, investors also are outbidding first-time home buyers and other would-be occupants because they often come to the table with all-cash offerings.

Some of the new investors profited while home prices boomed and are now trying to cash in on their decline. Far from their trading rooms and executive suites, some are spending their days looking for deals in far-flung suburbs and staking out courthouse auctions.

While many real-estate trade groups don't track investor purchasing on a monthly basis, real-estate agents in many markets say investor buying is high. One telltale sign is how many home buyers are paying all cash.

Though not every cash sale involves an investor, the investors often use cash because they can close quicker and get a better return. In the Phoenix area, for example, about 38% of April sales of single-family homes were all-cash deals. In Punta Gorda, Fla., the figure was 67%, and in the Las Vegas area, total cash sales were 39%. complete story

Source: Wall Street Journal - Michael Corkey

The financial headlines during much of the past two years have been largely negative if not hugely negative, but in the generalities of the day we sometimes look past a basic reality: Opportunities for real estate profits are still out there.  

The folks I have in mind are small real estate investors, individuals who have a few properties here or there, enough to impact their balance sheets, standard of living and monthly income.  

I bring this up because for all the recent financial news, many small investors have done fairly well. Indeed, on the basis of cash flow a number are no doubt asking, “downturn, what downturn?” 

The idea is not that small real estate investors are somehow immune from the declining prices seen in most markets, rather the point is that they don't particularly care because they're not selling or refinancing every Tuesday. Their interest in real estate is surely tied to values and they certainly would like to see them go up, but it's not a day-to-day thing.  

What does pique their interest is income today and income tomorrow. They're long-term holders of real estate, people who like monthly checks. 

“Lost in the headlines about falling real estate prices and slowing sales is a baseline reality,” says Jim Saccacio, Chairman and CEO at RealtyTrac.com, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure listings and data. “People have to live somewhere. Most people like to live indoors. The need for good indoor space is how long-term investors fill their wallets.”  full story

Source: RealtyTrac.com - Peter G. Miller

More Than 1 in 5 U.S. 'Homeowners' Actually Own Nothing

I regret the need to continue to repeat myself regarding the horrific collapse in the U.S. housing market, the worst real-estate meltdown in human history – which naturally follows the largest housing “bubble” in all of history. However, not only is the U.S. propaganda machine proclaiming on a daily basis that this market is close to a “bottom”, but their propaganda becomes more and more outrageous (and detached from reality) every day.

The latest numbers which have been released indicate that more than 20% of U.S. “homeowners” have “negative equity”. What is never mentioned by the U.S. propaganda machine is that people with “negative equity” own nothing – by definition. All these people are doing is paying money to the bank which owns this property. complete story

What makes this situation even more alarming is that with U.S. home prices guaranteed to keep falling for many more years (prices MUST decline at least 30-50% from current levels), many of these people are falling further and further “underwater” while they continue making payments.

The obvious question is this: why would anyone but a fool continue making payments on these homes?

There are now roughly 20 million U.S. “homeowners” estimated to have “negative equity”, and that estimate is certainly an understatement. Consider the propaganda being distributed on the collapse of home prices in the U.S. While the respected, (private sector) report from Case-Schiller showed U.S. house prices falling by approximately 19% in the first two months of this year, official U.S. government “statistics” reported that U.S. home prices increased in both of those months. complete story

Source: SeekingAlpha.com - Jeff Neilson 

Stop Foreclosure & Save Your Credit SELL your Home - Short Sale

Fitch: California, Arizona, Florida Home Price Declines in Line with U.S. RMBS Forecast

Home prices in hard hit states like California, Arizona and Florida still have a considerable way to fall before stabilizing in late 2010, according to the latest U.S. home price forecast from Fitch Ratings.

Importantly, however, these additional declines remain within the ranges assumed previously in Fitch's RMBS rating actions. Therefore, the new data, in and of itself, is not expected to lead directly to any widespread negative rating actions.

Fitch expects that California will lead the way with an additional 36% decline in home prices from current levels over the next 12 to 18 months. Florida and Arizona are forecast to see declines of over 20% from today's levels in the same period. Not surprisingly, these states saw the largest run up in prices, with them more than doubling in the 2002-2006 period. To date, home prices in these three states have already fallen by 40% on average.

"Though substantial further home price declines are still to occur, it does appear that the new data is not indicating declines beyond those already anticipated," said Group Managing Director and U.S. RMBS group head Huxley Somerville. "Fitch expects that declines will continue for at least a year before home prices reach bottom."

California, Arizona and Florida account for approximately 50% of the overall non-agency mortgage origination volume by dollar over the past four years. New York has averaged approximately five percent of the dollar volume with New Jersey, Texas and Illinois accounting for three to five percent on average.  complete story

Source: Business Wire .com - Fitch Ratings .com 

Stop Foreclosure & Save Your Credit SELL your Home - Short Sale

If you're like many people today, you not only want to live comfortably you want to live responsibly. That means having a Orlando home that is as eco-friendly as possible.

If you don't buy a home that's already eco-friendly, you'll have to do your own improvements. Why not look for Orlando homes that had eco-friendly features originally built in or recently installed. Here are a few things you can look for to see if your prospective new home is "green" no matter what color it's painted.

· Double-paned windows are one very important eco-friendly feature. They keep the cold out in the winter and hold heat in, and vice versa in the summer months.

· Eco-friendly appliances already in the kitchen and utility rooms mean you won't have to go running out to buy brand new ones. Look forEnergy Star symbols and ratings on all major appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, washer/dryers, heating and cooling systems.

· Low water flow fixtures keep your costs down while saving the planet's water supply.

· Even something as simple as awnings over the windows adds a great energy saving resource to a Orlando home. Retractable awnings are even better because they will keep the heat out in the summer, and in the winter, you can put them up to let the sunlight help heat your home.

· Color counts: The color of your home's exterior should be light to reflect heat, rather than a dark color that will attract and hold heat.

· An on-demand hot water system saves energy because it only heats water when it's needed.

Looking for an eco-friendly Orlando home? We can help.

When looking for property that will be a good investment either as a rental, resale, flip, or even a home that will eventually be worth a great deal more than you originally paid, location is a paramount concern. For the very best in Orlando real estate investments, location means more than just being situated in a good neighborhood—it means a location with perks.

1. Lakefront Property - There is something about a home that sits on a lake that makes it an amazingly popular property. Perhaps it's the ability to wake up in the morning and have coffee looking out over soothing waters. If you're looking for one of the very best selling homes, consider lakefront or other waterfront properties. However, be absolutely sure that the Orlando real estate you purchase on a waterfront is built so that it is not going to flood should the waters rise.
2. Gated Communities - Privacy and security are worth their weight in gold—or at least you'd think so considering what people are willing to pay for the peace of mind of knowing their neighborhood is secure.
3. Great Communities in Major Metropolitan Areas - Big cities mean big bucks and lots of need for housing. People living in large cities typically have more disposable income and are willing to pay for the convenience of living in the middle of the action.
4. Rapidly Growing Communities - If you're lucky enough to know when an area is in a growth spurt, buy investment property there.

If you'd like help locating the best Orlando real estate investment opportunities, We can help.

Buying REOs is a very popular method of buying Orlando real estate for investment. If you're just getting started accumulating investment property, this is one way you can get very good deals and amass a great deal of property quickly.

REO stands for Real Estate Owned and is the acronym banks place on properties they have taken back from mortgage defaults. REOs are considered non-performing assets meaning they have value but are not bringing in any money—bad for the bank, good for you.

Buy REOs at Foreclosure Auctions

Foreclosure auctions are a great way to get fantastic deals that you might not be able to convince a bank to go with prior to the event. Some savvy investors try to catch properties while they are in pre-foreclosure which avoids a property being bid up in an auction atmosphere. To do that, you often have to convince the holding bank to "short sale" a property and sell it for less than the note they were holding on it. At a foreclosure auction, the bank is usually desperate to unload the Orlando real estate and often settles for far less than the actual value without all of the short sale paperwork.

Do Your Homework

If you choose to buy properties at auction do your homework. Use foreclosure worksheets to determine the true value of a property and what your maximum bid should be in order to realize a profit from its eventual sale or use as a rental. Doing this prevents you from getting caught up in the moment and over-bidding on a piece of Orlando real estate that has a lot of competitors bidding on it.

If you would like more information on how to acquire REO properties, We can help.

Declining prices give Orlando-area home sales a lift

Florida Short Sale Agents

FL Realty Agents

FL Realty Agents .com: Provides services to home buyers and sellers in Southeast Florida, including FREE MLS (multiple listing service) search, new construction homes, preconstruction property, foreclosures, short sale and bank owned REO property in South FL. We are experienced real estate agents and real estate brokers that can represent you in the buying process as a buyers agent or help you in selling a home in (Broward, Miami-Dade & Palm Beach) county.

New report: Orlando-area new-home market could be on verge of bottoming out

If no new houses were to hit the Metro Orlando market for the rest of the year, it would take more than eight months to sell the ones already built but still vacant, according to a quarterly report on local housing starts released Wednesday by a national housing-data firm.

The good news in that: It may be another sign that Central Florida's housing downturn is leveling off,

The four-county metro area has more than enough finished-but-vacant new homes to cover the population of a town the size of Eatonville. While that may seem sizable, the inventory actually shrank again, from 4,223 at the end of last year to 3,037 during the first three months of this year, according to Houston-based Metrostudy.

Competition from the resale market, bloated with foreclosures and distress sales, is keeping the pressure on housing starts and new-home sales, Metrostudy said. "Existing-home inventory levels have declined but remain high," said Anthony Crocco, director of the firm's Central Florida division.
complete story

Source: Orlando Sentinel - Mary Shanklin