The Year of the Orlando Short Sale

      Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale?  Since mid-2006, residential values in Florida have declined by 51 percent. Hundreds of thousands of properties have been, or are, in foreclosure and huge numbers of homes have been repossessed. Check out these numbers for the state of Florida.

• 150,000 residential properties in Florida have been repossessed, and are now REO’s.
• 371,000 foreclosure cases are open in courts today.
• 530,000 residential mortgage loans are at least 90 days past due and in default.
• 265,000 homeowners have not made a mortgage payment in more than two years.
• 1 million residences are in some form "distressed," whether in foreclosure, owned by banks or in default.
• 46 percent of mortgages are "under water" … in other words, the debt exceeds the current market value of the residential property.

     Add this number  809,… this is the average number of days to process a foreclosure in Florida — It’s easy to understand why Orlando short sales have become so popular with both lenders and sellers, because are the best option for both parties and they create positive movements in the total market.
Will 2012 be the Year of the Orlando Short Sale? I think so, I also think that 2013 might be an even stronger Year of the Short Sale because of the volume of pending foreclosures.

     There was a group of 150 people — analysts, lawyers, bankers, real estate agents and developers — who attended the forum that more lenders are warming to short sales. They all agreed that distressed homeowners  are overcoming their psychological hurdles and coming to terms with the financial implications of an Orlando short sale.

     Although, the impacts of Orlando foreclosures and short sales and the fear of more to come are still a threat and prevent value appreciation from returning to its traditional levels in single digits. There are many positive signs of growth in the market.

Orlando Short Sale Listings Rising Dramatically

        The market is seeing a remarkable spike in Orlando short sales, an increase in overall median sales price for existing homes and increases in median sales prices for foreclosed properties. The Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) reported that in November 2011, short sales jumped 39.38 percent versus prior year sales.  Surprisingly, the accompanying median sales prices jumped by 7.07 percent; rising from $99,000 to $106,000.  The fact is that 73 percent of homes under contract and pending closing are short sales” …Wow! That’s a big number.
         Although the performance stats for the Orlando market are encouraging we’re not out of the woods yet. The good news is that there will be some great real estate deals in Orlando for some time to come. If you need to get your Orlando house sold quickly whether it’s foreclosure or not, contact us today.

Foreclosure Growth Pushing Down Home Values

Orlando Florida Foreclosure listings keep on growing, continuing to push down home values and casting a shadow over the efforts of local and state governments to stabilize and strengthen the housing market.
    Orlando real estate experts say that the increase in foreclosure and short sales have caused home values to slide down even further. They said that home sellers are forced to reduce the sale price of their properties to be able to compete with discounted prices of foreclosed homes.  Sometimes  , buyers are having to bring more money to the table because of the property not appraising.  Many times, a reduced property value could kill a sale.
     Lenders will usually determine the loan amount based on either the appraised value or purchase price of the property, whichever is lower. In the event that appraisals come in at a lower amount than the purchase price, then either the buyer needs to bring more money to the table in order to obtain the financing or the seller will have to accept a reduction in the purchase price. Because of the volume of foreclosure houses and short sales, many homes listed for sale are priced well below the fair market value.
    Although Orlando short sale experts say that home prices are showing some signs of stability. A great number of distressed foreclosure home and short sales still need to be closed and then cleared from banks’ inventory before the housing market could reach any kind of stability.

Kissimmee Foreclosure Filings on the Rise

  Kissimmee real estate saw a huge spike in foreclosure filings last month, showing that the halted foreclosures from “robo-signing” issues in late 2010 are finally coming to the forefront, showed a new report from Realty Trac.   In the month of January alone Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole  counties  reported a whopping  3,537 foreclosure filings, or one in every 266 households. That’s almost twice as many filings as there were in December 2011. That puts the Orlando area at No. 14 for the most foreclosures among the nation’s largest metro areas.
    That means that there will be a whole lot of people trying to do an Orlando short sale. Once the foreclosure proceedings begin, the homeowner needs to take action one way or the other. Although many homeowners will attempt a loan modification, most of them will come to the realization that their best option is to stop the foreclosure by doing a short sale on their Orlando home.
   Lake County was the only county to see a drop in foreclosure filings with a reported 362 filings last month, which was 10 percent less than the 403 posted in December 2011.


The other counties foreclosure count was as follows:
• Seminole reported 566 filings in January 2012, which was 97.9 percent more than the 286 reported in January 2011 and 45.8 percent up from the 388 posted in December 2011
• Osceola had 657 filings last month, 89.9 percent more than January 2011’s 346 and 76.6 percent up from December 2011’s 372
• Orange posted 1,952 filings, about 47 percent higher than January 2011’s 1,327 and 30.5 percent more than December 2011’s 1,496.


      Experts predict that more foreclosures were coming, once issues were resolved by banks, who in September 2010 halted thousands of filings when it discovered the automated steps used to repossess delinquent borrowers’ homes wasn’t being checked thoroughly.


      If you or someone you know is in Foreclosure, get advice from an Orlando Short sale Expert to find out what is the best plan of action for you to take.  Contact us to set up a Free consultation with one of our Orlando real estate experts.

Orlando Real Estate Making a Comeback

The National Association of Realtor’s International Homebuyer survey indicates that 14% of the Sunshine State’s overseas buyers purchased Homes in the Orlando-Kissimmee area. There is a lot of foreign investment in Orlando homes especially in countries like Germany, UK and Canada.  Prices are also coming back. According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA), median prices in 2010 were 1.29% ahead of those in 2011. This rise spiked in December, with prices in the last month of 2011 ($118,000) 12.38% up on December 2010’s median price ($105,000). The number of Orlando bank-owned properties sold in Orlando went down by over 50% however, with short sales and 'normal' sales rising in prominence.


The increased activity indicates a renewed faith in Florida’s and Orlando’s housing. Buyers are taking note of Orlando's historic affordability conditions, consistent increases in prices, and dramatically declining inventory and taking action. In addition, I expect to see even more sales activity once the problem of contract failures - estimated by the National Association Realtors to be as much as 33 percent nationwide - is resolved by an easing of unnecessarily restrictive lending standards."


Orlando also benefits from having one of the world’s top tourist attractions on its doorstep. In 2010 it attracted 51.5 million tourists, while New York only attracted 48.7 million. On top of this, further developments at theme park Walt Disney World have been given the go-ahead, including an Avatar-themed land at Animal Kingdom, with work set to begin in 2013.


Much of this is fueled by Florida’s unrivalled status as a tourist hotspot and the allure of steady rental income in a sunshine State. Orlando is also serviced by its own international airport, and services 26 international destinations including key markets such as Canada and Brazil. The latest figures from 2009 show that international passenger numbers at Orlando was 2,977,920…nearly 300,000 more than 2008 and a 600,000+ jump from 10 years previous.

If your ready to get a great deal on an Orlando Investment Property, Come see us for some of the best deals in Orlando. 407-855-6996

How to Sell your Orlando House in 24hrs

  
One of the things that people always struggle with is procrastination.  They will clean out the garage tomorrow, they will do their taxes this week, and they will list their home for sale someday…
What if I told you that I could list your Orlando home today and have a contract on it by tomorrow?  Would that get you fired up to take initiative?  I would like to think so it would or at least it should.
 So how does one go about selling an Orlando home in 24 hours?
     In the real estate industry there is good amount of prep work to be done in order to achieve these results.  Before you list your home with an Agent you need to find the “RIGHT” Agent for the job.  You want an Agent that is able to come and talk with you and listen to your goals and one that will provide with  a real solution to your problem.  You want someone who is able to get the paperwork done fast, get pictures taken,  get the marketing strategy in place all within a very short period of time.  Also, you need an agent that will price your house correctly the 1st time around so that it will draw attention to your property.  One thing that I do on all my properties is offer a bonus to the buyer’s agent which I pay  out of my commission. Once the property is listed the marketing strategy is enacted.  This includes a website page, ad sites, social networking, an email bulletin, a press release, outside flyers,  ect…Getting this all into the hands of hungry buyers is crucial. When done correctly the proper pricing of the home along with the prep work and a quick marketing strategy can in a lot of cases lead to heavy buzz on a home and in turn lead to a quick offer.
           So if you have been saying that you will “eventually” sell your Orlando home, stop procrastinating and give me a call.  Let’s see how fast we can get a SOLD sign in your yard….

The Window on Orlando Short Sales Closing Soon!!!!

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire!!

The most important tax-relief provisions enacted by Congress during the housing crisis to help financially strapped homeowners is about to come to an end. Although the 2007 law that allows taxpayers to exclude from income the amount of debt that is forgiven or canceled by their lenders doesn’t expire until Dec. 31, it will probably take your bank at least that long to either foreclose or allow you to short sale your house. So if you are someone that’s considering a short sale on your house you should know that time is running out.

While owners who are struggling to hold onto their homes shouldn’t throw in the towel solely because of the pending tax bite, it is certainly something to consider.

According to the law, borrowed money doesn’t need not be reported as income because you have an obligation to repay. But if your lender subsequently cancels what you owe, the IRS requires that you report that debt as income because the duty to repay it no longer exists. So, if you owe $350,000 and your lender forgives $50,000 of that debt in a $300,000 refinancing, that $50,000 is considered income. If your combined federal and state marginal tax rate is 36 percent, you would owe $18,000 in taxes. Ouch!!!

However, under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, taxpayers are allowed to exclude from income the discharge of debt on their principal residence when they do a short sale— at least until 2013.

This means that when your lender agrees to a short sale, there is no tax on the difference between the selling price and the amount you owe. When your lender forecloses, there is no tax on the canceled debt. Even when you refinance at a lower loan balance, there is no tax on the difference between what you owed on the old loan and what you now owe on the new one.

Unless Congress extends the law, [and there is no indication lawmakers are even thinking about that] all residential mortgage debt relief that takes place on or after Jan. 1, 2013, will once again be considered taxable income.
So why should you worry about this now? Because the timeline for most lenders to approve a short sale in absolutely horrendous, especially if your lender is Bank of America.. I’ve worked certain B of A short sales that have taken up to 3 years to close.

There are other factors besides a tax break to consider when deciding whether to short sale your house. What will a foreclosure or short sale do to your credit score? How long will you be precluded from buying another house? Will the extra income push you into a higher tax bracket? How long will it take before the amount I owe is on par with what is owed? Is it worth being tied down to one property for many years or should I just short sale and be back in the market within 2 years and probably buy more house for way less.

The best thing to do is consult with a short sale expert and find out exactly where you stand.  Contact us for a free consultation with my team of short sale experts. After closing thousands of Orlando short sales  we are the leading authority for short sales in Orlando.