Central Florida & metro Orlando real estate services

It sure seems like they do.  I completed my first short sale transaction back in 1999 with Option One Mortgage and even back then, it was a real chore.  After 4 months of waiting, I get notifcation less than a week before the foreclosure auction that the short sale was approved if we could close before the auction.  Ha ha!  My investor-buyer pulled it off.  But it was only then that I began learning how rotten dealing with short sales can be.

The struggle dealing with these lenders didn't just start to happen back 3 years ago when the floodgate of foreclosures started coming.  I was already not too excited about dealing with short sales by 2004.  At least nowadays, the lenders are a little more agreeable.

Now this morning I read this New York Times article that states what many of us had already suspected.  The mortgage companies (who service the loans and don't own them) have little incentive to work with homeowners or their investors because the mortgage companies are keeping all these extra fees.  The ones losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per loan are the investors (i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the ones losing their sanity are the homeowners, the potential homebuyers, the Realtors, and all the other people trying to get the short sale to close.

Read a few of the quotes from the NY Times article.  From the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston:  "The rules by which servicers are reimbursed for expenses may provide a perverse incentive to foreclose rather than modify."

Diane Thompson from the National Consumer Law Center: "For many subprime servicers, late fees alone constitute a significant fraction of their total income and profit."

It is an interesting read to say the least.  This continues to give us all further insight as just to how much these big mortgage companies are intentionally screwing over everyone - borrowers, buyers, Realtors, investors, and the federal government. 

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

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

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

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.

Can I make changes to my Florida flat fee mls listing once it has been inputted into the MLS? Yes. We allow unlimited changes to your MLS listing during the first 14 days. After that we allow 1 change per week with a maximum of 20 changes during the life of the listing. We are quite liberal with allowing changes as long as we feel we are not being taken advantage of. All changes will need to be in writing and submitted on a Status Change Form.

Can I use my own For Sale By Owner sign on my flat fee mls listing? We recommend that you use our company For Sale sign. Other Realtors often get confused or nervous about not getting paid their commission if they do not see the Listing Realtor's sign in the yard. If you do want to use your own sign, we recommend that you write the MLS # on the sign along with the words "Brokers Protected." That should make other Realtors feel more comfortable in showing your property. If you are attempting to rent your property, we recommend inputting your property on Rentals.com either through our firm or on your own and using their sign with your contact information on it.

How much commission should I offer to a buyer's agent? You are free to offer whatever commission you want to other Realtors. Our standard listing agreement has 3% pre-printed on the form, but you are welcome to cross that out and change it. However, we recommend that for properties priced under $500,000 that you offer no less than 2.5% to them. For properties priced above $500,000, we recommend that you offer no less than 2%. When the market is slow, we recommend that you instead offer a higher commission or a bonus (some people offer as high as 5%-10% commissions) to entice Realtors to show your property to their buyers. With properties listed For Rent, we recommend offering no less than 50% of the first month's rent to other Realtors as a commission incentive to bring a tenant.

Is my listing going to appear any different in the MLS and the internet than a listing by a full service Realtor? Your listing will appear in the MLS and the internet exactly the same as any other listing. The only exception is that the MLS will contain a note in the "Realtor Remarks" section that this is a limited service listing and that other Realtors should contact you in order to show the property or negotiate an offer. Other than that, there is no difference.

Will other Realtors sell my house or will they avoid my listing because it is an flat fee MLS-only listing? Smart Realtors show their customers everything that is available for sale that meets their buyer's criteria. Every property is a little bit different, so by avoiding your property their buyer might end up buying nothing and then the Realtor loses out on getting paid any commission. There is always the chance that some Realtor may "blackball" a listing and not show it because it is a limited service agreement, a low commission amount offered to the buyer's agent, or any number of reasons. Typically Realtors who bring up these sort of scare tactics are just doing so becuase they are unsure of how else to justify charging you several thousand extra dollars for their own nearly identical services. The U.S. Department of Justice has already stated  that anti-competitive practices like blackballing violate federal antitrust laws. In the future, flat fee MLS listings like so many internet-based services will more than likely be the norm rather than the exception.  

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

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

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

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.

Can I offer a property For Rent using the flat fee MLS listing service? Yes. Just like we can input a home for sale, we can also input a home for rent in the MLS. The procedures are basically the same as a home for sale. However the data input form and the commission/fee structure is slightly different. We can also do a 1-time input of your listing on Craigslist, Postlets, and Rentals.com for an additional small fee. Sorry we do not offer For Rent signs to our customers unless you use our additional service to post your property on Rentals.com .

If I sell or rent my house on my own, what happens? Many times our customers end up selling to a buyer that found the property on Realtor.com, the internet, or other marketing without involving another Realtor. If you happen to be fortunate enough to sell or rent your house on your own, then your savings are even greater. You do not owe us anything more than the upfront money already paid to us. Upon closing, we will need a copy of the signed HUD-1 settlement statement in order to close out the file. You can provide us the contact information for the title company or attorney handling the closing, and we will take care of obtaining the settlement statement. If you end up renting your property, we just need you to send in the completed Status Change Form so that we can close out your listing in the MLS.

What counties / areas do you service for the flat fee mls listing? We currently service the following 29 Florida counties. If you do not see your county, call us anyway because we still may be able to help you. Alachua County, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, East & Central Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, Saint Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia County (West Volusia, Daytona area, and New Smyrna area). Properties in Flagler County will be loaded into the Daytona Beach area MLS. CLICK HERE FOR SERVICE AREA MAP

How long is my flat fee mls listing for? Our standard listing agreement is for 12 months. If you want to list for a shorter period of time, you are welcome to choose how long you want to list for. We typically do not list properties for longer than 12 months, but we will allow you to extend your listing indefinitely at no additional charge if it is close to expiring.

How much time does it take to get listed on the MLS and the internet sites? Typically we can get your listing loaded into the MLS within 1-2 business days of receiving all of the paperwork from you. Realtor.com and the other internet websites upload their data from the MLS. Listings often take 4-5 business days to show up on these websites. 

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

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

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

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.

We can provide you a free list of foreclosure, bank owned REO, short sale deals, handyman special, and great steal deals on homes and investment properties. The Central Florida real estate market is full of awesome foreclosure deals.

Sign up for our Central Florida free foreclosure list here.

If you are looking for a detailed list of the latest foreclosure properties in the Central Florida and metro Orlando area, you have found the right place. Our firm has been a Florida investor real estate company for well over a decade now. We have sold thousands of properties throughout Central Florida to buyers and investors looking for a fantastic deal. With the market the way it is right now, sellers and banks are extremely motivated to unload their inventory and sell you their foreclosure home for a fraction of what they are worth.

  

Whether it be a short sale, a foreclosure house, bank reposessed house, or just a great deal in your neighborhood, we can help you find a deal on the property you are looking for.

This is what we need from you in order to provide you a foreclosure list meeting your individual needs:
(1) The location of where you are looking to buy - city, county, or zip codes.
(2) The price range you are looking to spend in.
(3) The property type you want - single-family house, condo, multi-family, commercial, vacant land, etc.
(4) Your contact information - name, phone #, and email address.

That is it. Then we are ready to get started. Our office has been focusing on investment properties and great deals since 1996 when we started in business. Find out more about our investor friendly services here.

Give us a friendly call or an email, and we can get you started on your next great deal. Or sign up to our email "hot property" list above.  Orlando home foreclosure deals are everywhere.

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

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

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

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.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association released the sales numbers for the month of June 2009 for Orange County and Seminole County, Florida and again the stats are looking up.  Here is the webpage for a detailed report.  Also Orlando Sentinel article on the numbers as well.

ORRA Originated Sales

The inventory is down another 1,300 homes since May to 17,831.  This inventory and sales are the equivalent to where the Central Florida market was at in mid 2006.  Pending sales are higher than they have been since 2005.  Average and median home prices increased for the first time in over 2 years as well.  You almost would think that the market is starting to recover.

I don't know if this "recovery" is just a slight bounce or if it is something long-term though.  There are still a huge amount of option ARM loans that have not even begun to adjust. Then of course all the current people that are trying to either short sale their home or get a loan modification - probably half of these will end up just getting foreclosed.  So we still have a long way to go before all this gets behind us.

Make sure to get out there and buy something while the prices are still low.  I just bought my first home for 2009 and expect to make a great profit on it.  Deals are everywhere. Don't miss out on yours.

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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, Palatka, Jacksonville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

This an update on an older article I had written a while back.  I figured it was good to re-post because I continue to get asked this question by investors at least a couple of times a month.  Should you get a real estate license or not if you plan on becoming a serious real estate investor?  There is no quick and easy answer to this question.  The answer really depends on what you plan to do in your investment career. 

 (Registered Trademark of NAR)

A real estate license is typically for someone who wants to work with other people to help them buy, sell, or lease their real estate.  That is what a traditional real estate licensee (the legal term in Florida is "sales associate") does.  Most investors are not planning on working with others, but I do know many sales associates who invest in real estate as a side business.

There are really two main reasons to get a real estate license outside of doing traditional sales associate services.  Reason #1 is to obtain access to the local Multiple-Listing Service (MLS for short).  The MLS is the database used by nearly all residential sales associates to advertise their listings to other sales associates and to get their listings posted onto major websites like Realtor.com.  The MLS has information on all listings past and present in the area including solds and expireds.  It makes checking for comparable sales easy. MLS access can only be obtained by dues paying Realtors®, assistants to dues paying Realtors®, and licensed real estate appraisers. A few people have asked me to let them be my assistant, but our local MLS has a limit of 2 assistants per Realtor® because they know that people try to get around their licensing rules.  There is also a way to be what is known as a "Thompson Broker" and join the MLS without being a dues paying Realtor®. To be a Thompson Broker, you still need a real estate license and the annual fees are about double those of Realtors®, so I do not see any benefit in going that route.

Reason #2 is to legally get paid commissions or referral fees without being a principal in the transaction.  Some investors are going to be quite upset by what I say here, but it is the truth.  In Florida unless you are a principal in a transaction AND you have "substantial consideration" (meaning money to possibly forfeit) on the line to tie up the contract, you cannot bring buyers and sellers together and get paid a fee.  If you are a wholesaler and you are trying to wholesale a property that somebody ELSE has under contract by shopping it around, you are violating the law.  You also need a real estate license to be a property manager for another person.  In fact in Florida it is a 3^rd degree felony to do any of this without a license and the presumption is upon you to prove that you are not acting illegally.  (Reference: Chapters 475.41, 475.42, and 475.43 Florida Statutes.)  I know several very prominent investors who have been hit with cease & desist orders by the State of Florida for unlicensed real estate activities and the State and Federal prosecuting authorities are currently out for blood especially with the new foreclosure fraud law FS 501.1377. I will not beat on this any further except to ask you to check the law for yourself.  My goal here is not to scare anybody but to open your eyes to some mis-information that is being taught out there.

Here are a few of the other positives for obtaining a license. 3. The educational benefits from courses offered and trade magazines and newsletters. 4. Access to the legal hotline and the technology hotline. (The technology hotline is fantastic for non-computer techies like me.) 5. Ability to show properties to yourself without needing another sales associate to accompany you.  A big obstacle if you are making lots of offers on listed properties. 6. Favorable income tax rules regarding active vs. passive income and tax write-offs. (Ask your tax adviser.) 7. You can offer to list properties that do not make sense to purchase as an investment.

Now, for the negatives for obtaining a license. 1. Educational requirements - pre-licensing, post-licensing, continuing education, and several tests are mandatory. 2. The costs including time and money for the license, the application, and annual dues with the State, the board of Realtors®, and the MLS.  You only need to join the board of Realtors® if you want access to the MLS though; you can still legally get paid a commission without joining the board of Realtors®. 3. Having to abide by the State real estate laws and the board of Realtors® Code of Ethics. (Unlicensed people still have to abide by the State laws regarding what you are not permitted to do with a transaction.) 4. Disclosure of your real estate license to potential buyers and sellers. (There are simple ways to get around this disclosure without it sabotaging a deal.) 5. Courts may hold licensed sales associates to a higher standard then they would a non-sales associate. (However if you are doing lots of deals and are advertising yourself as a professional investor, you are going to be held to a higher standard than a layperson anyway.  If you go to court, you still lose time and money even if you prevail.)

So what is my advice on getting a real estate license?  If you do not plan on listing and showing properties, do not get a license at least in the beginning.  Do a few deals and find out if real estate investing is really what you want to do.  After a few deals, then you can decide if you want to take the step of getting a license.  Having the license is not for everyone, and there are plenty of successful investors that do not have a license.  I have found it is better to get a license if you are doing many transactions on a regular basis or if you have a large portfolio of properties that you are working with.  The more volume you do, the more you probably need the license.  It does not necessarily need to be you that obtains the license though.  I know many investment teams where a spouse, parent, child, friend, or employee gets the license and lets the other team members be their "assistant."

I hope this article has been enlightening to you.  I do recommend that everyone take the real estate pre-licensing course.  You can take it at many of the local community colleges or real estate schools.  Even if you never get a real estate license, the course goes over many of the basics of real estate, the contract, and Florida law.  The course can be a real eye-opener to investors. I know it was for me.  And if you decide to get a real estate license, look up our firm.  We have a bunch of real estate agents throughout Central Florida and a great "investor friendly" setup.  Check out the Sand Dollar Realty Group website for more details. Happy investing!  

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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, Palatka, Jacksonville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

FHA loans are such an important part of the real estate process right now that I thought this would be great information to share.  Andy is one sharp cookie.

We list homes in the local My Florida Regional MLS that services all of Central/Mid Florida including Imperial Polk County, Florida. Our MLS listing service provides you exposure to all of the thousands of Realtors in the Central Florida area as well as millions of buyers via the internet and websites like Realtor.com, MyFloridaHomesMLS.com, and hundreds of other sites.  Additionally we can provide you a free price analysis to determine your home's value, as well as provide marketing tips, and a professional For Sale sign all for a super low price.  If you do want our upgraded Deluxe Plan, we will provide you a Realtor electronic lockbox, a professional 360 virtual tour, and post your listing onto FSBO sites like Craigslist and Postlets.

Polk County covers the cities and areas of Winter Haven, Lakeland, Haines City, Bartow, Lake Wales, Davenport, Polk City, Auburndale, Frostproof, Babson Park, Eagle Lake, Fort Meade, and Dundee, Poinciana, Champions Gate, Kissimmee, Mulberry, and Plant City. Four Corners, Gibsonia, Loughman, 4 Corners, Lake Hamilton, and Lake Alfred.  Our firm also covers the rest of Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Orlando to Tampa and a total of 29 Florida counties.

For more details on pricing and services check out our Frequently Asked Questions webpage or simply give the Sand Dollar office a phone call.

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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, Palatka, Jacksonville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.

We list properties in the local MLS that services all of Central Florida including Lake County, Florida. Our MLS listing service provides you exposure to all of the thousands of Realtors in the Central Florida area as well as millions of buyers via the internet and websites like Realtor.com, MyFloridaHomesMLS.com, and hundreds of other sites.  Additionally we can provide you a free price analysis to determine your home's value, as well as provide marketing tips, and a professional For Sale sign all for a super low price.  If you do want our upgraded Deluxe Plan, we will provide you a Realtor electronic lockbox, a professional 360 virtual tour, and post your listing onto FSBO sites like Craigslist and Postlets.

Lake County covers the cities and areas of Mount Dora, Sorrento, Tavares, Eustis, Umatilla, Altoona, Paisley, Leesburg, Fruitland Park, Lady Lake, Clermont, Montverde, Minneola, Groveland, Mascotte, Astatula, Howey In The Hills, Grand Island, Mount Plymouth, Astor Park, and other nearby areas.  Our firm also covers the rest of Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Orlando to Tampa and a total of 29 Florida counties.

For more details on pricing and services check out our Frequently Asked Questions webpage or simply give our office a call.

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(Copyright © 2009. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)  

Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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, Palatka, Jacksonville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.