Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

Serious news just broke that the House of Representatives just rejected the $700 Billion bailout plan.  The House vote was 205 for and 228 against. The Republicans actually voted 2-1 against this bill.  President Bush just symbolically got punched in the stomach by his own party.  Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

You can read the full story in USA Today.

While I am glad that Washington apparently received the messages that so many of us have been screaming at them for the last week now, I am very concerned about what will happen next.  We do need some sort of high-level intervention, but we don't need hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars being spent on some rush-rush plan done in secret rooms behind closed doors. 

Sure, small decisions can be made using snap judgments and minimal discussions.  But giant monumental decisions need to be planned out with input from lots of smart people that are actually out there in the field every day. 

The DOW Jones average was down some 777 points at its closing today. Uggggh! The word is that the House is going to try again to come up with something before they break for the rest of the year. Hopefully their next step will be to get some input from people in the trenches every day (like business owners, Realtors, mortgage brokers, investors, and similar groups of people that are dealing with the man on the street on a regular basis) and not just Washington bureaucrats and Wall Street millionaires.

We will see.

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

We are an experienced real estate broker that help with FSBO & for sale by owner in the Indian River County Florida & the entire Treasure Coast.  Our firm has been an established icon in Florida since 1996. We presently service 27+ counties in Florida and all of Indian River County including Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere, and surrounding areas.

A listing in the MLS gets you 12 full months of advertising in the Regional Multiple Listing Service of South Florida and on Realtor.com.  Our firm also uploads your house's listing onto hundreds of other internet sites including all of the places listed on our website: http://sdrhouses.com/MLSwebsites.html.  With our Basic Listing service, we provide you pricing & marketing assistance, a listing in the local MLS, a listing on the web sites previously listed. With a Deluxe Listing we can get your property onto Oodle, Craigslist, Zillow, Postlets, & many other by owner type web sites as well as provide you a 360-virtual tour.

To obtain more info on our for sale buy owner FSBO services & flat fee listing in the MLS, visit the website Sand Dollar Realty Group.

We also service Melbourne, Palm Bay, Indian River Shores, Orchid, Wabasso Beach, Gifford, Oslo, Port Saint Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart, and the entire Space Coast and Treasure Coast region of Florida.

Our company specializes in short sale & foreclosure houses & properties. If you need help selling your home just call us, and we will help develop a detailed realistic marketing plan to sell your house fast.

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

With the November elections just a few weeks away, it is important to be informed as much as possible on what you will be voting for.  In addition to the many state, local, & federal elections for congressional seats, city commission, school board, sheriff, judge, mayor, and of course the President, there are also 6 proposed amendments to Florida's Constitution on the 2008 ballot.

There were a total of 9 amendments, but just recently 3 of these were removed from the ballot by Florida's Supreme Court.  All of those removed had to do with the school system with the big one being the proposed Amendment #5 which would have swapped real estate taxes for sales taxes.  But I am not here to talk about the amendments that won't be on the ballot.  I want to discuss the ones that will be on the ballot.  So here are short summaries of the 6 proposed amendments.

Amendment #1 is regarding property rights of aliens ineligible for citizenship.  It deletes a portion of one sentence in the Constitution regarding the regulation of real property rights for aliens.  Supposedly this current language is something from a past era that is now considered discriminatory from what I have read on this matter.

Amendment #2 will amend the definition of marriage to be one man and one woman. It is basically a constitutional ban on gay marriage. 

Amendment #3 is regarding real property taxes.  It deletes an old tax exemption regarding renewable energy source devices that is apparently no longer in effect.  It also adds new language that improving a property for purposes of reducing resistance to wind damage or installing a renewable energy source device will not increase the property's assessed value. 

Amendment #4 is also regarding real property taxes.  It adds a new tax exemption for properties dedicated for long-term conservation purposes.  Basically this would reduce the taxes on privately-owned land set aside as nature preserves and similar type properties.

Amendment #6 is once again regarding real property taxes.  It addresses the assessment requirements for "working waterfront properties" like marinas and fishing piers.  It requires county property appraisers to assess the properties as they are currently being used even if the value of the land would be worth much more if it were used for something different - like upscale condos.  Apparently there was a problem with property appraisers possibly abusing the system on these under-utilized waterfront properties.

Amendment #8 is regarding sales tax and community colleges.  It gives counties with community colleges the option of raising the sales tax to help pay for the college. It requires a vote by the locals in order for the new tax to be levied.

So there you have it.  Hopefully this is a helpful little rundown of the amendments on the Florida ballot this November.  If you want to read the full text of these amendments, I suggest that you go to https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/constitutional-amendments/pdf/GEN579Re.pdf   where you can read all the juicy details for yourself. 

The Orlando Sentinel did an analysis of these amendments and gave their endorsements and non-endorsements.  You can click the link and read what they had to say.  I will most likely post my opinions on #'s 3, 4, 6, and 8 at some point in the future.  For Amendments #1 and 2, vote your conscience - that's the best advice I can give you on those.  All amendments need 60% voter approval in order to pass.  So until next time ...

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

President Bush and his executive branch buddies are in a big hurry to hack out a deal for this massive $700 billion bailout.  This kind of reminds me of the big hurry they were in to invade Iraq instead of letting the U.N. inspectors finish their inspections.  It also reminds of the wonderful immigration bill that Bush along with McCain, Kennedy, and several others tried to railroad through Congress without the public having any say so.

Don't get me wrong.  I like President Bush, I voted for him, and I think he has been dealt many unbelievably tough blows during his Presidency. I don't envy him one bit.

However, I think he is sure in an awful rush to slap something together.  All I can say is that you don't slap a $700,000,000,000 (yes that is 11 zeros after the 7) deal together in a week.  Especially when you are talking about taxpayer money that could have massive future implications on the government, the private sector, and future generations of Americans.

I think Congress and the President need to step way back and take a deep breath before they even start negotiating.  I know Congress is in a hurry to break for the year, but granted that they have basically done NOTHING productive for 2 years now, taking a break is unacceptable.  I think any Congressman that is in a hurry to take a break can go ahead and do so, and while they are at it turn in their resignation papers.

So here are a few ideas I have for a taxpayer bill of rights:

1. The government needs to have lots of input from people in the trenches like business owners, investors, and Realtors.  They should not just take advice from government bureaucrats and fat cat Wall Street millionaires. The same millionaires that have helped cause all this chaos.

2. All the short sales currently on the table at a reasonable price need to be accepted by these lenders and PMI companies before they receive a dime of bailout money. If the lenders and PMI companies don't want to accept the short sales, no problem.  They just don't get to participate in the bailout.

3. All Wall Street and private companies that receive bailout money must have their executives sent packing (fired) and not allow them to receive any severance money, pension money, nothing, nada.  They caused their own mess, so we can't reward them for a job terribly done.

4. All loans in default should be allowed to be assumed with no qualifying and no significant fees on a one-time basis.  All back payments will be added onto the back of the loan.  This might immediately get many payments back on track.

I think those are a few good ideas to at least be considered.  Not all of them are mine.  Before bureaucrats and Wall Street gurus play casino with $700B of our tax dollars, many more options need to be looked at first. 

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

If you want a real estate broker that assists with for sale by owner & FSBO services in the Orange County Florida & metro Orlando area, then look no further.  Our firm has been an established icon in metro Orlando since 1996. We presently service 25+ counties in Florida and all of Orange County including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Apopka, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Windermere, Belle Isle, and surrounding areas.

When you list in the MLs, you receive 1 full year of advertising in the Mid Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service and Realtor.com.  Our firm also up-loads your house's listing into hundreds of other internet sites including all of the ones listed on our site: http://sdrhouses.com/MLSwebsites.html.  With the Basic Listing service, we provide you pricing and marketing assistance, a listing in the local MLS, a listing on the web sites previously listed. With a Deluxe Listing we can get your property onto Oodle, Kijiji, Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, & 10 other by owner type web sites as well as provide you an electronic Supra lockbox and a 360-virtual tour.

To get more info about our for sale by owner FSBO services & flat fee MLS listings, visit the website Sand Dollar Realty Group.

We also service Waterford Lakes, Avalon Park, Hunters Creek, Edgewood, Oakland, Zellwood, Gotha, Pine Hills, College Park, Thornton Park, Baldwin Park, Bithlo, Christmas, Vista Lakes, Lake Nona, Meadow Woods, Metrowest, Doctor Phillips, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, Oviedo, and all of Central Florida.

You can upgrade your MLS only listing to a full service regular listing at any time during your listing term.  Our company specializes in short sale & foreclosure houses & properties. If you need help selling your home just call us, and we will help develop a detailed realistic marketing plan to sell your house quickly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

We sell properties in Winter Park, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Maitland, Apopka, Windermere, and Orlando in Orange County Florida. Flat fee listing, flat fee MLS, for sale by owner, fsbo orlando.

If you are looking for a real estate broker that assists with FSBO for sale by owner services in the Seminole County Florida & metro Orlando area look no further.  Our firm has been an established icon in Altamonte Springs for many years now. We presently service 27 counties in Florida and all of Seminole County including Lake Mary, Sanford, Casselberry, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Geneva, Fern Park, Heathrow, and surrounding areas.

A listing in the MLS only gets you 1 year of exposure into the Mid Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service and Realtor.com.  Our firm also loads your property listing into hundreds of other web sites including all of the ones listed at http://sdrhouses.com/MLSwebsites.html.  With the Basic Listing services, we provide you pricing & marketing advice, a listing in the local MLS , a listing on the websites previously listed. With a Deluxe Listing we can get your property onto Kijiji, Backpage, Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, & 10 other FSBO type websites as well as provide you an electronic lockbox and a 360-virtual tour.

To get more information about our for sale by owner FSBO service and flat fee listing in the MLS, visit the website Sand Dollar Realty Group.

We also service Deltona, Debary, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, & Kissimmee.

You can upgrade your listing to a full service regular listing at any time during your listing term.  Our company specializes in short sale and foreclosure properties & houses.  If you need help selling just call us, and we will help develop an aggressive marketing plan to sell your house quickly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

We sell properties in Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Casselberry, Sanford. Flat fee listing, flat fee MLS, for sale by owner, fsbo.

Our firm provides real estate FSBO for sale by owner services in the Polk County Florida & metro Orlando area including Lakeland, Winter Haven, Haines City, Davenport, Auburndale, Lake Wales, Bartow, and surrounding areas.

An listing of MLS only gets you 1 year of exposure into the Mid Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service and Realtor.com .  Our firm also loads your property listing into hundreds of other web sites including all of the ones listed at http://sdrhouses.com/MLSwebsites.html .  With the Basic Listing service, we provide you pricing & marketing advice, a listing in the local MLS, a listing on all the web sites previously listed. With a Deluxe Listing we can get your property onto Postlets, Craigslist, Kijiji, Zillow, Trulia, & 10 other FSBO type websites as well as provide you an electronic lockbox and a 360-virtual tour.

To get more information about our for sale by owner FSBO service and flat fee listing in the MLS, refer to our website Sand Dollar Realty Group.

We also service Fort Meade, Polk City, Frostproof, Babson Park, Dundee, Eagle Lake, Lake Hamilton, Lake Alfred, Highland Park, Kissimmee, Poinciana, Champions Gate, 4 Corners, and even south to Plant City and Tampa.

You can upgrade your listing to a full service regular listing at any time during your listing term.  Our company specializes in short sale and foreclosure properties & houses.  If you need help selling just call us, and we will help develop an aggressive marketing plan to sell your house as quick as possible.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

We sell properties in Lakeland, Bartow, Lake Wales, Winter Haven, and Haines City. Flat fee listing, flat fee MLS, for sale by owner, fsbo.

That's right. This new foreclosure law goes into effect on October 1, 2008. That's just 8 days from now. 

This controversial Foreclosure Fraud Law a/k/a House Bill 643 a/k/a Florida Statute 501.1377 is coming at Florida real estate investors, home buyers, brokers and sales associates, title companies, home inspectors, short sale mitigators, and similar companies like a giant freight train.  If any of the above people are you and you haven't read up on the new law, you had better start getting very familiar with it.  Here is the link to the Florida Statutes for you.

     I've already elaborated on the law many times over the last several months, so I am not going to do it again.  At the bottom of this article, I referenced some links to my previous blogs so that you have some reference.

Just so everyone knows what steps I am taking so far, here goes...  I have informed all my Realtors that if they are taking a listing with a property that is or soon will be in foreclosure, and they need to get the seller to agree to do or to sign anything except for a standard listing agreement with a short sale addendum that they also need to get the disclosure form signed and stick to the deadlines in the law.  If the seller's lender or lienholder comes back with any funky, non-standard requirements for the seller and the seller still wants to move forward with the deal, then that is enough to warrant the disclosure as well in my opinion.

As several local real estate attorneys have already spoke about (and I blogged about -- see articles below), there are many "gray areas" in this law.  So until those gray areas get cleared up, there is no need to take a risk on our part.

Since the Florida Association of Realtors has not come up with disclosure forms for us to use, I have taken it upon myself to provide a form for the "Foreclosure-Rescue Consultant" disclosure to our firm's many Realtors and sales associates.  You can obtain this form at our company's website, however it is protected so that only our sales associates can access it. (Hey, we are always hiring new Realtors, so give me a call if you want to move your license over.) 

I have yet to come up with a form for the "Equity Purchaser" because from reading the Florida Statute 501.1377, that form is a little more complicated.  Realtors would not fall into the Equity Purchaser category anyway, only investors and home buyers. If you are an investor or home buyer and need help with the disclosure, there are some websites that sell the disclosures or you could contact an attorney and have them draft it for you.  That is about the best I can offer to you at this point.

Here are the links to previous articles.  Make sure you are following the law because these politicians are not playing around when it comes to Florida foreclosure rescue scenarios. The real estate industry is really under the microscope right now.

Florida's brand new foreclosure fraud law - the good, the bad, and the ugly 

Florida's Foreclosure Fraud law HB 643, confusing to say the least 

Some official opinions on Florida 's Foreclosure Fraud Law FS 501.1377 

More official opinions on the Florida Foreclosure Fraud Law FS 501.1377 

Florida foreclosure fraud law update FS 501.1377 - meeting with the Attorney General 

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

Florida foreclsoure, Central Florida foreclosure, Orlando foreclosure, Florida short sale, Orlando short sale

I sell foreclosure homes in the Central Florida and metro Orlando.  Our office currently has over 100 houses and properties for sale that are either short sales, in foreclosure at some stage, or bank owned REO.  I am also on a first name basis with many of the other short sale and bank REO listing Realtors in Central Florida, so I can get you an upper edge on many of those property listings as well.

   My lead Realtor, Sylvia, and I know the Orlando market quite well and can help get you a fantastic deal on your next home purchase.  Whether you are a home buyer or an investor, we can find what you are looking for.  We also have a good list of homes for sale by short sale mitigation companies and private money lenders that we work directly with.

Though our main focus is the metro Orlando area, we do have properties for sale in many areas throughout Central Florida and beyond including Daytona Beach, Cocoa, Clermont, Sanford, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Deland, Deltona, Melbourne, Lakeland, Kissimmee, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Vero Beach, and even Port Charlotte. 

We also list foreclosure homes and help sellers, short sale companies, banks, and lenders get their properties sold as well.  Our firm has been in business in Central Florida for over 12 years now and is holding strong and well capitalized even during tough times. 

If you have a foreclosure or short sale property that you want to buy or sell, please email or give me a call.  For more info on the services we offer, our main website is www.SDRhouses.com .

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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318    www.SDRhouses.com/   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/

Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. We sell properties, list properties, and we buy houses cash throughout the Central Florida & metro Orlando area.  

I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

I can understand the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Those entities were created by the Federal Government decades ago to serve a specific purpose.  Fannie Mae was set up to provide liquidity for banks and mortgage companies by buying their mortgages on the secondary market.  Freddie Mac was set up to do the same thing for Savings & Loans (now called Thrifts).  If either of those entities tanked, the real estate and mortgage market in America would basically collapse possibly for decades to come.

 However, the privately-owned big banks, brokerages, and insurance companies are another issue altogether.  Does the Federal Government really need to bail them out too?  Apparently so.  Here are some articles in USA Today and the Wall Street Journal on this topic.

Isn't Wall Street basically a Vegas style casino where people gamble using their retirement accounts and investment capital?  I honestly don't see much difference.  I did some day trading of stocks back in the late 90's.  I won some and I lost some.  I realized it was a risk.  I also have some of my IRA money in stocks and mutual funds for the long-term, and I realize there is risk associated with this especially in the short-term.

These giant institutions knew there was plenty of risk with all these sub-prime loans and marginal mortgages when they lent the borrowers money. It goes without saying that a person with rotten credit and little or no income is going to struggle re-paying a loan.  However, the upside was that there was plenty of profit to be made as well.  So they made all the money when the market was hot, but now they don't want to incur the risk when the market is rotten.  Bailing them out simply doesn't pass the smell test to me! 

If the politicians really want to stimulate the economy instead of rescuing these big mega banks and brokerages by giving them $700 Billion in hard-earned taxpayer money, why not give it back to the taxpayer instead.  Just divide $700 Billion by the number of people that filed a tax return in 2008 and can prove that they had either a mortgage, brokerage account, or life insurance policy, or some other qualifying account (so say $100 million people).  Then just stroke a $7,000 check to the people and not the rich and powerful.

Now that sounds like a real plan.  Why bail out multi-millionaires?  Why not bail out the average Joe working class instead? The multi-millionaire will most likely have created a bigger and better new bank or brokerage in a few years anyway.  Isn't that how it works?

   The mortgage lenders want any bail outs for the little guy to require them to sell or refinance their property (and of course that means new loans and new insurance policies and lots of new fees for these institutions).

In all honesty though, I don't think that any checks should be given to anyone. This is just my little rant. Let people be responsible for their own actions. If people did not read and understand their mortgage documents before signing a stack of papers saying they owe hundreds of thousands dollars, then they are just plain STUPID.  If executives and employees of giant mega banks, brokerages, and insurance companies intentionally scammed somebody, then cart them off to prison for a few decades and seize all their personal assets to pay back the account and policy holders. 

I know Washington is broken beyond repair, so this will never happen.  But one can still have hope that justice will prevail.---------------

Update from a comment below - I might be a little more receptive to all this if the government simply forced the banks to accept all the short sale deals currently on their books.  If they did this, it would have a much similar effect as this injection of taxpayer money. 

The banks will drag their feet for 4 or 5 months and then reject a short sale, and then they take the property back as an REO and sell it for even less.  That is dumb and reckless.  If the government wants to do a bailout package, then make it mandatory that all properties currently in short sale status must immediately be sold to any buyer that is paying at least 75% of the original debt amount. After that is completed, then we can talk bailout.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando and Central Florida.

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

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