Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

head_left_image

Is this really "change" or is it just more of the same?

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an $888 billion stimulus package yesterday.  Yes, that is $888,000,000,000.  Great idea since the last stimulus package just 5 months ago has done such a "fabulous" job of getting the economy going and lenders loaning money again. Let's railroad another giant spending package through Congress.

capitol   

Yes Obama voted for the previous $750 billion bank bailout when he was a Senator and a lot of good that has done. (And out of fairness so did John McCain.)  Republicans in the house unanimously voted against this bill yesterday.  I do have to wonder how many of the Democrats who did vote for it actually read the bill.  After all the bill is 647 pages long

The bill appears to be more of a government pork barrel spending bill than any sort of stimulus.  Those that have analyzed it haven't indicated much excitement in the way of decreasing the unemployment rate except maybe in the government sector.  $90 billion of infrastructure projects - things that will take years to even get started, be run by government bureaucrats, and probably come in billions of dollars over budget. $10 billion for the National Endowment for the Arts - yeah, that will help get people back to work. $650 million for digital TV coupons - and that helps the economy how? I could go on and on.

An interesting thing is that only $13 billion of this is being allocated to the housing sector. So in other words 1.5% of the stiumulus money goes to fix the root problem of the whole economic mess.  Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Then again, the American people voted and made their choices back in November.  I do want to be positive about all this, so I sure hope all this spending actually works to get the economy going instead of bankrupting the American people altogether. I guess time will tell.

Some related stories on this topic. USA Today,    CNN,       Washington Post.

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

State Farm Insurance is leaving Florida

That's what State Farm claims at least regarding their homeowners insurance division.  The State of Florida did not approve the rate hike that State Farm wanted, so State Farm is planning on pulling out of the homeowner insurance business in Florida over the next 2+ years.  That will leave many Florida homeowners scrambling to find new coverage.

hurricane   I've never done business with State Farm, so I can't give an opinion on them.  I used to do business with Allstate until they canceled my homeonwer's policy about 2 years ago (even though I had them for 7 years and never filed a claim).  I now only do business with local Florida insurance companies for my personal residence and my rentals.  It is probably best anyway because the bigger the company is, the more bureaucratic it gets.

Governor Crist didn't seem to care about the announcement.  He indicated that he thinks their rates are already too high.  My biggest concern is that more people will continue to insure with the state-owned Citizens Insurance.  And all it takes is another major hurricane to come through here and Citizens will become basically insolvent due to all the claims that will get filed.

You can read the whole story in the Orlando Sentinel

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

City of Sanford Florida is considering putting major burdens on property owners

This post is an update of a similar blog post I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

The City of Sanford is strongly considering putting some major cumbersome burdens on property owners.  Some of the proposals include new stringent property codes, registration of all rental properties, designating a local resident as an agent for out of town owners, new rental property business taxes, registration of all vacant and foreclosure properties, and new code enforcement fines and penalties.  Not pretty stuff.

  

And all this is on the table at a time when the economy is already in trouble, and the Central Florida real estate market is hurting badly.  What the heck why not throw even more burdens on the backs of struggling property owners???

Sanford is having a public hearing to address these proposals on Thursday, 1/29/09 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.  If you have rental properties, live in, or do business in Sanford, it is important that you attend this meeting in order to find out what the Sanford City Commission has in store for you.

More info about this hearing is on the City of Sanford website. 

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

Sanford residential rental property ordinance, sanford rental licensing, sanford rental property tax

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Modernizing the MLS for the 21st century

The multiple listing service a/k/a MLS used by the local Realtor (r) associations has been a fabulous marketing tool for decades now.  My local MLS is the Mid-Florida Regional MLS which covers some 9 counties in Central and West Florida and parts of 2 other counties. These counties are home to some 16 different boards of Realtors (r) each of which is an owner or a member of the MFRMLS.  Are you confused yet???

  

When I first became a Realtor (r) in the early 1990's, each of these 16 Realtor (r) associations had their own separate MLS which they did not share with their neighbors.  That was more workable in the pre-internet era.  Over the last 15 years or so, these MLS's have been slowly consolidating.  After all with the internet, the consumer does not realize that a property in south Orlando is under a different board of Realtors (r) than a property 2 miles away in northern Kissimmee.  Why would they? Those boundary lines are pretty much blended together anymore.

But on the same note, counties like Volusia County have 3 boards of Realtors (r) and 3 distinct non-sharing MLS's.  If a Realtor (r) wants to do a true MLS search or list a property, anywhere in the county that Realtor (r) has to pay to join 3 different MLS's.  That's crazy!  The New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors (r) covers just 3 little cities in the southeastern portion of the county and yet they charge $430 per year to be a member of their MLS. (I paid $302 in 2008 for Mid-Florida MLS access which is light years ahead of the New Smyrna Innovia system and covers 9+ counties.)  And nearly every Realtor (r) in New Smyrna is also a member of the Daytona Beach Association and is thus paying dues there because there is such a huge overlap between the territories.  In fact to properly service that area, you really need to be a member of Flagler and Mid-Florida MLS too (which means paying 4 sets of dues).  That's just plain insane and antiquated. 

On top of being that, each MLS has its own rules, its own data forms, and its own search fields which don't necessarily match those in a neighboring county's MLS.  Can you say D-U-M-B ?!?!  That is kind of like being forced to go through the checkout line at the grocery store a different time for every different aisle that you shopped on in the store.

The solution is consolidation onto a similar platform for a statewide MLS.  That is good for both the consumer as well as the Realtor (r).  Especially in this modern era of the internet.  Our Mid-Florida MLS has been doing a great job at a tremendous cost savings to Realtors (r).

In Connecticut they have combined their entire state (not that Connecticut is big or anything) into one statewide MLS and have declared a so called "MLS Bill of Rights" for their members.  I thought these rights were pretty interesting.  Below are a few of these:

  • The right to do business throughout the state where they are licensed to practice real estate;
  • The right for brokers to own their own listing data;
  • The right to timely, accurate MLS data;
  • The right to expect that the MLS will act in their best interests;
  • The right to representation on the governing body of the MLS, and for broker representatives from large, medium and small-sized firms to "share equally in governance";
  • The right to advertise and distribute online listings content within the rules and regulations;
  • The right to an Internet Data Exchange (IDX), Virtual Office Web site (VOW) and/or broker download feed and/or access.

In my opinion some of these little MLS's that cover just a small area are not looking out for the best interest of the consumer (or for their members) and could possibly be considered in violation of Article 1 of the Realtor (r) Code of Ethics by not promoting the best interests of the consumer.  I've actually sat in on an MLS training at one of the smaller Realtor (r) associations and heard the trainer flat out admit that they don't want Realtors (r) from outside their area "to come in and sell off all their listings."  (Of course that was a few years ago, and they might have changed their tune by now.)  Amazing!  Sounds almost like a federal anti-trust violation to me.

Well enough of me ranting.  Hopefully some day in the near future I won't need to be members of 6 different MLS's to list all of our properties. But until then, I guess I will just have to bite the bullet. 

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We 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 foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Florida lawmakers pillage $190 million from affordable housing fund

Last week the Florida legislature met to try and ease Florida's budget crisis.  In addition to raising a whole bunch of fees and miscellaneous taxes, the legislature also gobbled up some of the money in the state's many trust funds.

  

The affordable housing trust fund which is paid for out of documentary stamp revenue from house sales and new mortgages was a big target.  The legislature took $190 million dollars in affordable housing money to make up for budget shortfalls.  You can read more about this online at FLAnews.

My biggest concern is that this money is meant to pay for county down payment assistance programs like HANDS, SHIP, and SAIL (acronyms for long fancy titles). It is sort of a catch-22 in that the doc stamp revenues are generated by property sales and financing, but by cutting out much of these needed funds it could perpetuate a downward spiral in the real estate market.  Thus continuing the trend as opposed to turning it around.  Since I would bet 10% or more of the sales that come through our office involve some sort of down payment assistance deal, this is just going to slow things down even more.  Thus even less doc stamp revenues for the State of Florida this year.

Hopefully I am wrong.  There is still a lot of fat to trim from Florida's budget and I don't think raiding trust funds is the answer to our state's economic woes.  Taking this money is very short sighted in my opinion.  But who am I to second guess our leaders???

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We 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 foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Good luck to our new President Obama - he is going to need it

Today is a fantastic day!  Whether you like the guy's politics or not, President Barack Obama is in a monumental position today.  Being the first minority President of the United States is a big achievement with some very big shoes to fill.  He has an awful lot on his plate right now, and I could not even fathom being in his position right now.  Even FDR facing the Great Depression did not have 2 wars going on at the very time he was entering his first term of office.  (Heaven forbid that this economy gets as bad as the Great Depression ever did.) Obama definitely has some tough challenges ahead of him.

  

I do wish the new President the best of luck.  For the sake of the long-term survival and strength of our country, we all need to be supporting him.  Hopefully he can truly make some "change" for the good and get this country back on the right track towards peace and prosperity.

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Orlando foreclosures are everywhere - we're #7

According to statistics released by RealtyTrac and the Orlando Sentinel, Florida is the #2 state in the USA and Orlando is the #7 metro area in the USA for foreclosures being filed.  Whether you like them or not, short sales and foreclosures are here to stay for quite a while.   The trend doesn't seem to be slowing down one bit.

  

What does this mean for anyone in the real estate industry? It means you better be focusing on foreclosures if you want to survive. Cheap foreclosure properties are still selling.  We have had 4 closings since January 1, and all 4 were bank owned properties.  2 sold to investors for all cash and 2 sold to owner occupants.  People are still buying.  Mortgage money is still out there.  And CASH IS KING.  Both of the investor deals were single-family houses in decent Central Florida neighborhoods that sold for under $50,000.  We also have several short sales that are in the final stages of approval and should be closing soon. 

Some of the bank owned REO condos I posted over the weekend already have offers in on them.  Foreclosures are selling!  

I am writing this just to let everyone know that the market is still selectively good.  You just need to re-focus your efforts right now.  The foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned properties keep coming in, so if you are interesting in picking up some great deals please give our office a call.

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Orlando & Orange County market statistics December 2008 - Apopka Ocoee Winter Park

The latest market number for December 2008 have been provided by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (R).  You can read a more detailed version of the report with lots of charts and graphs at the Metro Orlando market statistics webpage.

The info shows a lot more of the same trend we have been seeing for months.  Inventory slowly declining, sales remaining steady, days on market slowly drifting downward, prices still going down.  The big decline in inventory for December is typical because many listings expire on December 31 - it happens every year. This is typically followed by a surge of new listings in January. At least the new pendings and solds are up quite a bit from December 2007.

Some interesting numbers.  The graphs on the ORRA website paint a better picture of the Central Florida marketplace.  The stats below cover Seminole & Orange County including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Apopka, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Belle Isle, Hunters Creek, Waterford Lakes, and College Park.

There were a total of 902 properties (houses, condos, and townhomes) that sold in Orange County during December 2008 with a median price of $173,250.  Prices have gotten awfully low during the last years and the numbers are finally making sense from a cash flow standpoint.  It is a good time to buy and hold.  Interest rates are at record lows. 

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Seminole County market statistics December 2008 - Altamonte Springs & Longwood

The latest market statistics for December 2008 have been provided by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (R).  You can read a more detailed version of the report with lots of charts and graphs at the  Seminole County market statistics webpage.

The information shows a lot more of the same trend we have been seeing for months.  Inventory slowly declining, sales remaining steady, days on market slowly decreasing, prices still going down.  The big decline in inventory for December is typical because many listings expire on December 31 - it happens every year. This is typically followed by a surge of new listings in January. At least the new pendings and solds are up quite a bit from December 2007.

Some interesting numbers.  The graphs on the ORRA website paint a better picture of the Central Florida marketplace.  The stats below cover Orange & Seminole County including Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, Casselberry, Winter Springs, and Oviedo.

There were a total of 283 properties (houses, condos, and townhomes) that sold in Seminole County during December 2008 with a median price of $185,000.

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

City of Sanford Florida has proposed a new tax on rental properties

Sanford is the latest city in Central Florida to propose this.  The Cities of Deltona and Belle Isle passed similar ordinances in 2008. 

     

Here is a link to the Sanford City Commission hearing info - it is listed on page 3 as ordinance # 4154. 

The info on this page doesn't go into detail. But typically these type of proposals require that the property owner have a person located in the county designated as the "local representative" which means that a property owner that lives outside the county may have to hire a property manager - good thing for us Realtors(R), but just another burden on already struggling landlords.  Then they typically require an annual fee just like an occupational license.  Sometimes this fee is required every time a new lease agreement is signed.  Sometimes they require the city to send inspectors in prior to a lease signing in order to check for violations.  My question is do we really need MORE burdensome government regulation and MORE taxes on the real estate industry especially in today's economy???  Guess who ultimately pays for these additional expenses?  That is right. The tenant - a person who is typically a working class, lower income earner.  

As a side note, check out on the same page 3, ordinance #4157.  Regulating maintenance of vacant and forclosure homes.  I'm not sure what that is all about either.  Don't they already have laws on the books regarding mowing your grass and keeping the property is safe condition?  What the heck, let's make banks and property owners pay another fee to register their vacant house with the City of Sanford too.

Hopefully enough interested people will show up to the City of Sanford hearings in order to address both sides of this issue.  These rental regulation proposals tend to spread from city to city as you can see. The first hearing in Monday, January 12, 2009.  I've alerted my key real estate contacts in Sanford already.  If you are involved with real estate in Sanford, you might want to be there.

Update 1/13/09: There is actually quite a bit more proposed than I originally was aware of.  Ordinances # 4152, 4153, 4154, 4155, 4156, 4157, and 4158 all have to do with this.  The city is proposing big changes to the building code, new fines and penalties, etc. in addition to the other proposals.  Because of the serious impact of these proposed changes the first reading was delayed.  I will post more info as I find out. Now is a good time to contact your colleagues and city commissioners on these issues - before they make up their minds.

Update 1/24/09: According to the city's website, a public hearing on these ordinances is scheduled for Thursday evening 1/29/09. http://www.sanfordfl.gov/meetings.aspx

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

(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)   Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.

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

ABR, CPL, CRB, CSP, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Notary Public

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   We Buy Houses Florida

We sell foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned REO properties throughout Central Florida. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.

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.   

Sanford residential rental property ordiance, sanford rental licensing, sanford rental property tax

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

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

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

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.