Good tips to get a great deal on Orlando Homes

In today’s real estate market investment opportunities are everywhere, you just need to know where to look. One good place to start is bank foreclosure listings [REO’s]. In case you don’t know… an REO property is a property that has gone to public auction and the foreclosing bank ended up keeping it because either no one bid high enough or no one bid at all. Both home buyers and investors alike have realized the impressive return potential of these homes. The problem with REO properties [in my experience] is that when you find a good one and you’re ready to submit a contract through the realtor that has it listed, they already have three other offers on the property. Here are a couple of tips that I share with all my clients: First, make sure you have your financing lined up ready to go [ this will keep you from wasting your time and my time], and B, find a good realtor, someone that is aggressive and follows up and someone that has your best interest at heart. You may have to go through a couple to find the right one but there are realtors out there that specialize in REO’s. Also don’t think that just because you’ve submitted an offer at full asking price that you will get it. The realtor has to submit the contract to the bank and then they have to wait for the bank to approve it. This can take up to a couple of weeks sometimes.

To find the best deals around then I would suggest subscribing to a foreclosure listing company in your area. Once you have the service, you can print out a list of homes in the area that you want to live in and mail them a letter. Or if you want to get really aggressive, go knock on their door. When I got started as an investor I went door knocking everyday. Sure you’ll get some doors closed in your face, but if you’re willing to do what most people aren’t, then you will definitely get the best deals out there… I know I do.

If you want to, you can also check out public foreclosure auctions. But you have to make sure you are knowledgeable about the auction rules and regulations in order to come prepared. Also, many times there will be a small group of cash buyers that usually work together at these auctions. Many times when they see a newbie bidding on a house, they will bid on it also, causing the bidding to go up higher than it should and at the end withdraw their bid. They do this to frustrate and discourage people from coming back. I know this because some of these cash buyers are friends of mine. The good news is that pretty soon all of the bidding will be done online thus leveling the playing field.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your homework. That means when it’s time to submit a contract, you should have a real estate professional involved. This will keep you from making any major mistakes and ensure that you get a good deal.

Central Fl Foreclosure train... not slowing down
According to records from Central Florida realtors, Home prices are still being dragged down by foreclosures. In the first quarter, the median price for all single-family houses sold, dropped 5% from the median prices in the same quarter last year. For condos even worse it dropped another 13% since last year.

However, according to some real estate analysts. The Florida real estate market has hit its lowest point and has started stabilizing. They explained that several metro areas in Central Florida have posted substantial increases in sales of pre-owned homes in the first quarter and that all metro areas posted increases in condo sales. A total of 38,846 pre-owned homes in Florida were sold during the 1st quarter, marking a sharp 24 percent from the 31,410 homes sold one year earlier. Total first-quarter sales also marked the seventh straight time that year-over-year house sales increased. Although some analysts said that Florida home prices already hit their bottommost level, University of Central Florida analysts contended that prices are still approaching their bottom levels.

The sharp increases home sales were driven by low-priced bank owned homes in two ways: the increased sales of REO units, and the downward price pressure of REO units that made home prices more attractive to buyers. In recent reports released by the Mortgage Bankers Association Florida ranked second with a default rate of 14.65 percent, second only to Nevada, which posted 15.98 percent. Nonetheless, local realtors hope that Florida foreclosures slow down substantially so they would lose their negative price influence on newly-built homes and non-distressed pre-owned homes.

Now what does this all mean to us real estate professionals?… Don’t worry about it! Just keep doing what you’re doing. The foreclosure train in Florida is not slowing down anytime soon. So for us investors or realtors that specialize in distressed properties, keep on truckin! This is the time for us to make some serious money in doing short sales. Right now you should be as busy as you want to be. If you aren’t, it’s only because you’re not marketing yourself enough or this just isn’t for you and you really don’t like doing short sales. My advice to people that really don’t enjoy what they are doing is… find something that you like… Life is too Damn short!