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.

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.