Buyers

What the home seller will take for the property is a loaded question   Home seller bottom line on the property is always a mystery. As a buyer agecy office, we often get asked what the home seller will take for the property.  I can give an educated guess but have been surprised too many times to think that there is a magic formula.  There is not.   The listing agent does not know what the home seller will take either.  The home seller may be fickle about price too, dep...

Some home buyers think they don't need a Real Estate Agent...   Every so often I see a consumer ask questions on a real estate forum asking how to go about buying a home alone, without a Real Estate Agent.   Funny thing, is that they don't want to use a real estate agent and yet they are asking questions because they REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!   So why are homebuyers trying to buy a home alone?   Home buyers that are thinking of buying a home alone, mis...

Orlando Home Report 2014   The Orlando Home Report for this past month (Oct. 2014)  is showing a price gain of 18% over the Oct. 2013.   The number of Orlando single family homes sales increased 18.28%.  Condo sales went up 11.3% over the same time last year.   After reading the Orlando Home Report it is easy to conclude that the real estate market sales in Orlando and the Central Florida is hopping.  The Orlando Market has recovered faster than any other big ci...

Buying lakefront property in Orlando can be confusing   There is lakefront property in Orlando and then there are more lakes...thousands of them in Central Florida.   Lake county is named such because it is home to more than 1,200 lakes. Polk county has more than 500 natural freshwater lakes. The city of Orlando has more than 140 named lakes.   Whatever you desire in Lakefront property in Orlando, or anywhere in Central Florida, we can find it.   What ki...

Renting to a Service Dog   I have been handling rentals for many years, but  just recently had someone want to rent with what they claimed was a "Service Dog". Since this was my first experience with a service dog, I decided I needed to learn more about it.   The first thing I learned about a "service dog"   It is easy to dress your pet to look like a service animal.  Just go shop on the internet.  You can get the service dog jacket, ID card, a harness and even a c...

Title commitment is often overlooked and always misunderstood   Home buyers spend so much time searching for the perfect Orlando home, and learning the details of their financing, that they often forget to review their title insurance policy.   Buyers fail to understand the importance of making sure they review  title searches, title commitment, the survey, and what their rights to the property really are...or maybe what their rights are not.   Unless yo...

Orlando Title Insurance   Title insurance is one part of the Orlando real estate transaction that is rarely understood.  A Orlando title insurance policy protects the buyer (owners policy) and lender (lenders policy) from losses as a result of any title defects that may arise from the past.   Title defects can range from innocent mistakes to blatant fraud. Google "robo signing" to read about some shocking problems that are not uncommon in Florida.   The Orl...

Are you buying an Orlando home or just a "looker" on vacation?      Buyer Agents that work in the sunshine states all have this dilemma of sorting out who is serious about buying an Orlando home and who is just here on vacation, wanting to look at  homes.   Most of the time it is not hard to figure out who is serious about buying an Orlando home,  but sometimes the lines can be blurred.     Lets face it, being on a Disney vacation can be intoxic...

Should you consider Buying Orlando Property or keep renting?   The National Association of Realtors statistics show that since 1981, 40% of home sales were first time home buyers.   In a recent 2014 survey, the rate for first time home buyers has dropped to the lowest level of 33%.  The biggest reason for less first time home buyers is due to the lack of sufficient funds needed for buying Orlando property.   High loan debt, rising rents, and a weak job mar...

Is the bigger home always the best to buy?      Most home buyers think that they need more space.   One of the biggest complaints we hear is that the bedrooms are not big enough.   How big do the bedrooms need to be? Most Florida homes do not have massive bedrooms because they are only used for sleeping.   Florida is an outdoor living State   No one stays indoors too long.   The sun shines, the weather is great and there are a lot of ...