Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

We are well into the rehab now and actually a little ahead of schedule.  Our crew has been working nearly every day except for Christmas, so we have gotten a lot done.  We had our regular plumber come out and make sure the house was free from leaks (bank REO houses have often been vacant for 6 to 12 months, so you never quite know what to expect).  Things are coming along.  The demolition work always makes the house look bad, but soon we will be putting it all back together.

---- I have learned to always put up no trespassing signs on the fences and contact phone numbers in the windows.  That way if vagrants, thieves, bored kids, or whoever decide to mess with the property (or steal the copper, or sleep in the porch) the police have the right to give them a trespass warrant and our contact phone numbers are easily available to them.

---- "We Buy Houses" sign in the yard.  The neighbors are often very curious about what is going on and sometimes they contact you about their own house.  I have bought houses and listed houses because of this sign in the yard. (2 neighbors have already stopped by and shown an interest in the house.)

---- Notice up on the roof.  The chimney and the dormer windows have had all the old T-111 siding removed and new hardi-board installed.  The front of the house has also had the siding removed and is getting prepped for a stucco job and then painting.  The decorative boards around the front awning have been removed.  We are trying to modernize the look in the front.  Most of the old shrubs have been thrown out as well.

---- The back porch.  This has been completely stripped out as well.  --- The interior.  There was cedar paneling on the walls (which I neglected to photo the last time). This has all been removed and replaced with drywall.

---- The master bath.  Nice big modern tile has been installed in the shower.  --- The hall bath.  The old tile is gone and new durarock has been installed around the tub area.

---- The kitchen.  All the cabinets are gone and we are totally remodeling this.  The drop ceiling is also gone and being replaced with a vaulted ceiling. 

Until next time ...

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Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando  flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

One of the many services I offer to investors is mentoring and counseling.  I will be happy to sit down with you for a free initial consultation to discuss what you are looking to accomplish and ideas on how to get there.  If you like what you hear, we can work to design a specific game plan for you to get there.  I can help you find the deals, or if you have a potential deal and need help, I can walk you through the process from beginning to end.  Fees can be based either by the hour or by the deal depending on the help that you need. 

The two things you will find in dealing with our office is that (1) I am experienced in just about any type of residential or land deal you can bring, and (2) I know how to structure things creatively.  Skilled in subject to deals, short sales, foreclosures, lease option/lease purchase, rental properties, contract assignments, seller financing, fix up & flip, mortgages, etc.  Please contact me for more info.

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Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando  flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

I just wanted to post a quick update about my Seminole County property tax hearing in mid-November.  This is a link to my previous post.

I never received a written notice from the county, so I finally called over to the clerk's office.  They tell me that the assessed value was upheld by the special magistrate, so I won't be getting any further reductions on this property's value.  I don't plan on appealing it, because I don't feel like spending my time and energy on the remote chance of winning an appeal.  I feel that the hearing was fair, but I believe they were just wrong on their value.  It was an interesting and enlightening learning experience for me.

My hope is that in this upcoming election year that the people of Florida will rise up and tell our legislators and our local governments that we are fed up with their high taxes and runaway spending habits.  In addition hopefully many of the local officials will get ousted from office, so that we can get some fresh faces instead of the current "good old boys club" (and ladies) that is there now.  Just do a quick tally of your local property appraiser, clerk of court, tax collector, sheriff, supervisor of elections, county commissioners, etc. and you will see that many of these officials have been in office for DECADES. (In Seminole County almost every official except the property appraiser and a county commissioner or 2 has been there over 10 years.)  After 10 or 20 years in office, you don't think they feel that they "own" those jobs?  I am sure that the citizens can find somebody new and better to replace many of these complacent bureaucrats.

Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando  flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

LISTING INFO MOVED TO A DIFFERENT BLOG POST.   

Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlandoflat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

LISTING INFO MOVED TO ANOTHER BLOG POST.

Newly remodeled interior. New kitchen and baths with granite counter tops, new AC, plumbing, doors, etc. Nearly 1/2 acre lot with boat dock on this ski lake. Seller will take trade of other property or house in exchange for this house.

Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlandoflat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

I am not afraid to say it.  I don't get all this "Happy Holidays" nonsense.  Is anyone actually offended by Christmas?  Has Christmas become a politically incorrect holiday?  I sure hope not because life is way too short to get offended over something that silly.  It seems kind of weird, but I seriously can't recall one person this year whether in a store or just while I am out and about that said the phrase "Merry Christmas" to me.  All have said "Happy Holidays" or "Have a good holiday." But I digress ...

So to everyone I know including all my friends, associates, and customers.  Please have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

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Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

A few people have emailed me wanting more information about the numbers on this deal.  I was meaning to post them yesterday, but the post ran a little long. 

I did a quick MLS search for the actives and solds in the last 4 months within 1 mile of this property.  Here is what I came up with.

Solds range from a low of 160K to a high of 187K.  Actives range from a low of 169K to a high of 229K.  We will probably end up listing it for sale at around 170K or so.  Price is the main thing that is selling properties right now, so ours will have to be priced at the low end of the range in order to get sold quickly.

Using the MAO formula, the purchase price is right in line with where it should be.  For those not familiar with the formula it is:  

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     A.R.V. (After Repaired Value) * 70% - Repair Amount = M.A.O. (Maximum Allowable Offer)

     $170,000 * 70% - $20,000 = $99,000

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Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

Well we closed on the house yesterday.  The house is a 3 bed / 2 bath / 2-car garage block house in the Northwesterly Pine Hills area. (For those not in Orlando, Pine Hills is an infamous area of town often tagged as "Crime Hills" but the area covers nearly 20 square miles - some parts are war zones while other parts are actually nice.)  This subdivision is a decent 1980s (and late 70s) working class neighborhood. 

This house was listed in the MLS in November as bank-owned for $149,000.  Another investor actually called me about this one.  He had just closed on it for $85,000 just 2 weeks earlier by lowballing the bank and agreeing to close before the end of the year.  He was asking $105,000 but accepted $98,000.  Not a bad deal for him either.  At the top of the market in June 2006 this house sold for $192,500.  We signed a contract last Thursday and closed on it this Thursday by obtaining private financing for 100% of the purchase price.  It definitely pays to know where to get the money quickly.

The outside is reasonably clean for an REO property.  You can't see it real well with these photos, but there is T-111 siding attached to the front.  We plan on pulling that off and then painting and stuccoing over that - it is block underneath.  We also plan on removing some of the outdated decor around the front posts and the overhang.  The chimney has some rotten wood on it, so we plan on replacing that with hardi-board siding.

-----The back side.  I blew up the right rear roof of the porch.  That is a car door on the roof.  Go figure.

-----This is the back porch.  I am not sure what someone was doing here.  If you can't tell, that is a home-made wet bar and 2 church pews.  Either this was a weekend hangout for drinking buddies or else someone was preaching sermons on Sunday morning??

-----The living room.  We are probably going to leave the chimney alone but build a mantle over the fireplace.  All the tile and carpet is getting ripped up, and we are putting down fresh new tile in the living room, wet areas, and foyer. -----Master bathroom.  Eeeeew! This is getting a big makeover including re-tiling.

-----The hall bath.  Re-tiling and upgrading here also.  The tub faucet is disconnected so a plumber needs to fix that.  -----The master bedroom.  You can't see much from this angle.  It is dirty.  New carpet to go in all bedrooms.

-----The kitchen. All these cabinets and counters are going bye-bye.  Most of the doors are buckling.  The counters have cracked tile.  The window over the sink is plexi-glass and held up with some sort of contractor tape. 

I will try and give an update on the progress every week.  The goal is to have it rehabbed by the end of January.  That might be a little optimistic, but it is do-able.  I will be happy to give any Realtors, investors, or buyers a personal tour of this property.

Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

Here are our featured properties for sale this week.  Some are full service listings and some are flat fee MLS listings. Please call us for a private showing or to make an offer. 

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1. 1010 Winderley Place #133, Maitland, FL 32751.  3 bed/2.5 bath/1-car garage 2-story townhouse.  Great location close to Maitland Center and easy access to Interstate-4. Walking distance to restaurants, offices, and RDV Sportsplex.  Shows beautifully.  Gated community with lake access.  Bring your ski boat. Best price in the area. MLS# o4808403. -- OFF THE MARKET

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2. 862 Kensington Drive, Orlando, FL 32808. 3 bed/1 bath block house. Ready for you to move into.  Completely updated with new paint, kitchen, AC, flooring, etc. No homeowners association dues.  Very affordable price. MLS# o4808381. -- SOLD

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Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.

Hopefully in the next few days I will be purchasing a Central Florida house that I intend to buy, fix up, and then put back on the market and re-sell to an owner-occupant buyer.  I haven't done much of this in the last 18 months because of poor market conditions, but now that in my opinion the market is close to bottoming out I plan on getting back into it.  As I have stated in several previous blogs, good deals abound right now.  Investors need to be taking advantage of this time and not sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting.

I am going to go into detail about my rehab on this blog for the next few weeks in order to help my fellow Realtors and investors see the entire flip transaction from one end to the other.  I can't give out the street address and detailed numbers on the transaction until we actually close, but by the end of the week the house should be mine.  I hope this to be a learning process for anyone that chooses to read along and share their comments while I do this house flip during this crazy market.

Copyright © 2007. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public,             

407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Contact me for more information on Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate.  Florida Orlando flat fee MLS listings and Florida Orlando For Sale By Owner services available. We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary.