Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

Although there are thousands of homes for sale in most real estate markets, it still seems that the good REOs sell quickly (often with multiple offers) and the short sales might make a good value for an owner occupant that is willing to wait, but are often a real challenge for investors to make any money.  So where can someone that truly wants a great investment property find the deals? 

Well below is a long list of ideas to put into place.  These ideas are also a great place for Realtors looking to obtain new listings. Not all these ideas will work in every market and some may be out of date for certain marketplaces, but hopefully they will at least get your brain thinking. 

Most of these ideas boil down to 2 types of properties - (1) properties with motivated owners that nobody knows are for sale, and (2) properties that others have passed over or that nobody wants for whatever reason. If you have any ideas you care to share, feel free to post them so we can all learn.

1.  Place a daily/weekly newspaper ad

2.  Place weekly/monthly ads in Pennysaver, local weekly city paper, HOA newsletter, church bulletin, school newsletter, magazines, etc.

3.  Place an ad in the local Yellow pages - they even have targeted books just for certain cities

3.  Place an ad in online classifieds - Craigslist, Kijiji, MerchantCircle, etc.

4.  Create an internet website or blog

5.  Search the MLS for junker properties

6.  Search the MLS for expired and withdrawn listings

7.  Search the MLS for old stale listings - listed for 90 days +

8.  Bandit signs (little cheapo signs by the side of the road or nailed to a phone pole)

9.  Drive neighborhoods looking for For Sale By Owners / FSBO's

10.  Call for sale by owner ads in newspapers, Craigslist, other classifieds

11.  Search / network on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Activerain for people looking to sell / buy

12. Contact landlords who are evicting a tenant

13. Contact landlords with properties for rent

14. Contact multi-family property owners - there are lots of tired landlords

15. Contact commercial property owners - there are lots of people looking to sell or close their business if they got the right offer

16. Pre-foreclosures, lis pendens lists

17. Foreclosure auctions and sheriff sales

18. HUD home auctions

19. Tax deed auctions

20. Ebay auctions, other private auctions

21. Contact probate properties and estate sales

22. Contact divorce forced sales

23. Properties with outstanding building, health code, or code enforcement violations

24. Fire, sinkhole, hurricane, earthquake damaged, or a similar niche properties

25. Absentee landlords and out of state owners

26. Networking with professional people - Realtors(r), attorneys, CPAs, surveyors, etc.

27. Networking with service providers - lawnmower service, mailman, pool service, pizza deliverers, contractors, etc.

28. Networking with your sphere of influence - hand out your business cards to everyone you know

29. Join a local networking group - investor association, chamber of commerce, Kiwanis club, garden club, etc.

30. Post ads with large employers, military bases, hospitals, relocation companies

31. Bird dogs (paying a bird dog fee to unlicensed people may be illegal in some states, so make sure to obey the law)

32. Property wholesalers, other investors

33. Outdoor ads - magnetic car sign, bus stop benches, shopping cart ads, billboards, taxi cabs

34. Clothing and accessories - I have embroidered shirts, baseball hats, magnetic calendars, ball point pens, etc. with my logo on them

35. Canvassing a neighborhood, talk to neighbors, door hangers/fliers

36. Radio and TV ads

37. Direct mail / postcards

38. Private money lenders or people holding seller financing that might consider selling their mortgage at a discount in lieu of avoiding foreclosure

39. People who have done a mortgage modification or had a foreclosure dismissed within the recent past - odds are they are still struggling

40. Property owners in bankruptcy

41. Property owners with tax liens, judgments, or construction liens recorded against them

42. The individual/company that owns the judgment or construction lien that might sell at a discount instead of trying to foreclose

43. Property owners with HOA or condo liens recorded against them

44. Drive neighborhoods looking for vacant homes, high weeds, etc.

45. Properties with title problems

46. Properties on state/county government lands available for sale list, government surplus

47. Properties that can be combined with others to make the whole parcel more valuable

48. Properties that can have the zoning or land use changed to make the parcel more valuable

There have been several articles over the last year about the next big wave of foreclosures coming down the pipeline.  60 Minutes did a whole documentary on this last year.

Today USA Today published another article discussing the backlog of foreclosures on the horizon caused by failed short sales, failed modifications, government moratoriums, etc.  Another 7 million homes in the USA are destined to go into foreclosure over the upcoming months.

This article makes an interesting read: Another Wave of Foreclosure Looms.

Central Florida / Orlando gets hundreds of new foreclosure case filings every single week.  So anybody that is telling you that "the recession is over" is simply kidding themselves.  I hate to say it, but it sure looks like a tidal wave is on its way to shore in the near future. If you are in the real estate business you need to continue to be focusing on foreclosures, REOs, and short sales.  They are going to be around for many years yet to come.

The Orlando real estate statistics for October 2009 have been reported by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.  Here is a direct link to these stats.  Below is a breakdown on the numbers.  The stats are for Orange & Seminole County, Florida including Orlando, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Casselberry, Lake Mary, Oviedo, and Sanford.

                 Inventory    New Pendings   Under Contract     Expired    Withdrawn    Closed    Days on Market

January 09    22,613        2282                 3830                     1377          1598           1050          103

Sept 2009     15,967        3858                 8790                      846           1014           2292          96

Oct 2009       15,743        3864                 9050                      924            646            2206          98

If you look at some of the graphs at the link above, you can really see how inventory has plummeted.  It hovered around 26,000 properties during most of 2007 into early 2008.  Then slowly started decreasing to where it is today.  The inventory decrease does appear to have slowed.  Most of this slowing has to do with a giant backlog of pending short sales which often take several months to actually close.  From my own rough estimates, approximately 62% of the current pending contracts in metro Orlando are short sales.

The number of sold properties continues to be strong.  Although sales were slightly less than in September, at a volume of 2206 they are still the highest they have been since August 2006.  Actually in July 2009 we saw the first time in several years where the number of sold properties exceed the number of properties that didn't sell (expired + withdrawn). 

Foreclosures still dominate the Orlando landscape.  Roughly 20% of the sales in October were short sales while another 43% were bank owned REOs.  Only 37% of the sales last month were not in foreclosure. 

Prices are another story altogether the median price for October was $130,000 and the average price was $161,800.  These are way down from just a year ago in October 2008 when they were at a median of $175,700 and $220,200.  But talk to any good Realtor and they will tell you that just about any property priced under these median amounts will sell within a matter of days if not hours right now - unless the property is a piece of junk and is not desirable to most buyers. 

The median price for bank owned REOs was $70,000, for short sales $125,000, and for non-foreclosure properties it was $185,000. This just goes to show the disparity between foreclosure prices versus non-foreclosure prices.  Also many of the bank REOs are condominiums which are selling for unbelievably cheap prices right now.

I'm just glad to see all the activity.  If you are interested in more detailed statistics for the Orlando real estate market or just wonder what your home is worth, feel free to contact me directly.  

In light of the recent events at Fort Hood, Texas, it brings to the forefront yet again the radical enemies that we are fighting against.  Very sad that it was one of our own soldiers that apparently turned sides.

All veterans past and present deserve our honor and praise.  On this Veterans Day, thank you so much for your service to our country.  God Bless America!

The President did sign this into law on Friday.  Should be great for the real estate business.  But not that great for the overall debt that America continues to bury itself in. Chris did a great job of explaining the details and changes of this extension.

The $8000 tax credit extension has passed the U.S. House & Senate almost unanimously and is headed to the President's desk for a signature. 

Now the tax credit will be good for contracts signed no later than April 30, 2010 and closing no later than June 30, 2010.  Additionally existing homeowners who have lived in a principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years - these will get a maximum $6500 tax credit.   

There are some additional caps on income and some supposedly new anti-fraud measures (ha ha) in place as well.

You can read the full details of this extension at NAR's website.

This is great news for the real estate industry. Not sure how great it is for the national debt though. But I'd rather see the money going to the middle class than to Wall Street zillionaires.

October was another strong month for home sales.  Our office sold 32 properties last month and many more are pending for November. Banks love to dump their REO and short sale inventory during the 4th quarter so that it won't be on their books for the new year.  Look at some of these great Central Florida home deals that closed in October 2009.  

     Fisher Drive                                  Morning Glory Lane                     Pelican Lane

- Fisher Drive, Deltona, FL 32725.  This 3 bed/2 bath/2-car garage home was a true investor special.  Bank owned REO needing a bunch of work but what do you expect for this sort of price.  It sold for the super cheap price of just $46,000 after just 5 days on the market. 

- 1st Avenue, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714.  3 bed/1 bath/1-car garage block home.  Located in the coveted Lake Brantley school district in Seminole County.  House was a true handyman special, but the bank REO department wanted it sold.  Seller let this one go for the low low price of just $27,500.

- Morningside Drive, Orlando, FL 32806.  Big 4 bed/3.5 bath pool home.  Just steps from Lake Lancaster near Delaney Park in downtown Orlando.  Owner was motivated and this was priced to sell.  After only 6 weeks on the market it sold for $270,000.

- Morning Glory Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34747.  This was a fabulous short sale home in Celebration Florida. 4 bed/2.5 bath/2-car garage with spacious kitchen and modern features.  At the top of the market this home sold for over $500K but we negotiated a short sale with the bank at just $340,000.  We still have one more Celebration short sale home available.  Call for details.

- Pelican Lane, Orlando, FL 32803. 3 bed/2 bath block home near downtown Orlando.  Bank owned REO and a great wholesale deal.  This Audubon Park home sold for just $105,000.

Our office has a constant stream of new bank owned REOs, foreclosures, short sales, and other investor specials.  Make sure to sign up for our weekly hot property email list.

Before you let your Florida real estate license go inactive, make sure to check out our real estate referral brokerage Sand Dollar Referrals LLC.  We have 2 plans - a "hands off" referral plan and a "hands on" active plan for sales associates that want to sell real estate and keep their license active, but can't afford your local ORRA Realtor dues. 

What we provide to our referral associates:

• Professional help and advice when you need it.
• Centrally located Altamonte Springs office. Free use of our conference room and on staff notary.
• Free attendance to all monthly sales meetings of Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc.
• Earn additional income from our affiliations with local title company Brokers Title and the sale of home warranties.
• Easy exit agreement. As long as your expenses and splits are paid in full to us, you can give us 7 days notice to cancel the agreement.
• Free access to all member MLS's when you come to our office and work directly with one of our Realtors.
• Errors & Omissions insurance paid by the brokerage to cover all your transactions.
• If you decide that you want to join the local Realtor association and obtain MLS access for yourself, you can switch your license over to our Realtor-brokerage, Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc., at anytime (subject to broker approval).

What we require of you:

• You must have a valid and current Florida real estate license (sales associate or broker associate).
• You must pay your DBPR licensing fees and take the continuing education required by law.
• You must register your potential customer leads and property deals with us in writing..
• But other than that we do not require much else from you. No quotas of any kind. No requirement to list or run all your personal sales through our firm. For the Hands Off Plan just send us your leads, and let us do the work. For the Hands On Plan just work with the broker to sell some properties. Either way when the deal closes, you get paid. How easy is that?

For more details on our commission splits just click over to our website Sand Dollar Referrals LLC .  If you are interested in a confidential interview, feel free to contact me anytime.