About Short Sales

Foreclosures happen when the bank reclaims your property. Short sales are what people do to avoid the bank reclaiming their property (but ironically, the person is still left without their property).

Orange County has taken a lot of flack recently for being an area with a large amount of foreclosures. The reality is, Orange County follows the same trends that most of the metro areas on the east coast have been following.

Let’s look at this way, and we can keep it all on the West Coast. Orange County has over 10% of their listings as foreclosures. On the other hand, Washington has the exact same numbers. Oh, actually Washington has over 11% of listings. So they have even more foreclosure per capita than Orange County does.

One the flip side of things, another important metric to look at is the percentage of short sales. In Orange County, the percentage of short sales has climbed to about 26% of home listings right now.

So let’s think of this way. 1 in 6 listings are short sales in Washington… 1 in 4 listings are short sales in Orange County. 33% more are short sales. That’s a substantial difference. But what is that difference you ask?

More short sales mean that home prices were inflated higher. People bought when the home was ‘worth’ a lot, and then the value of that home fell, so people don’t want to pay on it because really, they’re wasting their money on something that won’t have the same value in a couple years.

This makes for a slow house sale situation. Everybody with their homes for sale are waiting for everybody else to come and purchase their home, and they can’t purchase unless somebody comes and purchases theirs…

So next time you’re in the Orange County area, check out what listings are for sale. Turns out, home prices actually aren’t that bad. Compare them to Denver, and you’ll be happy to see that Orange County doesn’t cost much more anymore.

While we’re on the topic view Orange County Foreclosures and Orange County Short Sales

Home-buyers and home-sellers will benefit from the valuable assistance gained by using a Realtor. Today’s housing market in Florida seems much more difficult to maneuver through, if you’ve not bought or sold a house, in the last few years. You’ll be able to enjoy a better experience, when you are acting on expert advice.

A Realtor has access to the most recent comparable sales, making it easier to price your home right, when selling. This also helps you find the best values, when looking for a home to purchase. Certain areas have experienced steep declines, but there are other bright spots in Tampa’s real estate market, which have remained relatively stable in prices and completed sales.

Getting involved with REO sales or “real-estate-owned” properties that are bank-owned can be a risky business, too. There are some REO marketers that have lockboxes, where you simply push in a code to look at a foreclosed and vacant home. There could be homeless squatters living in there and you probably won’t find electricity or water turned on. This could be dangerous and not testing the utilities could cost you thousands of dollars.

Negotiating short sales and short sale purchases can be tricky business, even for an experienced Realtor. There are many steps to the process and everything has to be handled perfectly. If you try to navigate short sale purchases on your own, expect many delays and lots of wasted time.

Scammers are another concern for home-buyers and home-sellers in and other parts of Florida. With the help of a Realtor, you can be sure you have legally-binding contracts that don’t risk any of your hard-earned assets. They can protect you from the scams that are lurking in the present housing picture.

You would hire experts to help you with health problems or your insurance policies and buying or selling a home should be no different. If you engage the services of a Realtor, you will find the transaction flows smoother and the stress-level is greatly reduced. In addition, properly-priced and well-advertised homes will sell quicker and buyers won’t be faced with appraisals that don’t meet their offers, nearly as often.

While a home seller will pay the real estate commission, it can result in a fair sales price and a quicker sale. For buyers, this means there’s no expense involved with getting expert care and advice. Using a Realtor can save you time and money, when it comes to finding the best and most affordable mortgage lender, inspector or home insurance company. They can give you advice on how to lower your closing costs and help you know what to look for, when searching for the perfect home.

Not only can they handle all the paperwork and negotiations, but a Realtor can make a home sale or home purchase easier and the closing can take place quicker. This is true on beautiful existing homes in excellent condition, short sale purchases that need a little work or a foreclosed home that requires a major renovation.

See Darlene Herman’s website for more information.
At Tampa2Enjoy we are specialist in the Tampa real estate market. If you have any questions or are looking for hard working Realtor give me a call. For details on Wesley Chapel homes for sale or Westchase homes for sale visit us at www.Tampa2Enjoy.com.