407-781-7312 |We Buy Homes in Orlando Fast| We are house buyers in Florida. We help people sell their house regardless of condition or location, equity, or situation. We’ve handled just about every situation you can imagine. We buy with cash. We stop foreclosures for free. We even have many creative solutions available. We are experts.
For example, did you know there are at least a 12 Different Ways to Sell Your Property that Realtors won’t tell you about? Eugene is a licensed Realtor.
Mortgage rates have mostly held steady the past few weeks, with the 30-year fixed-rate loan still averaging below 4 percent.
“The 10-year Treasury yield was relatively flat this week, as was the 30-year mortgage rate, which rose 1 basis point to 3.93 percent,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Despite a strong advance estimate for second-quarter GDP, markets are erring on the side of caution."
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Aug. 3:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.93 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from a 3.92 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.43 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.18 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.20 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.74 percent.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.15 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.18 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.73 percent.
ATTOM Data Solutions, released their Q2 U.S. Home Affordability Index on June 29, 2017, which shows the U.S. median home price of $253,000 in the second quarter of 2017 was at the least affordable level since Q3 2008, a nearly nine-year low in affordability. Median home prices rose faster than wages in 87 percent of local markets; 45 percent of markets less affordable than their historic norms, an eight-year high.
The national home affordability index was at 100 in the second quarter of 2017, the lowest national affordability index since Q3 2008, when the index was 86, and meaning the share of average wages needed to buy a median-priced home nationwide was on par with its historic average (see full methodology below).
The report also shows 210 of 464 U.S. counties analyzed for the index (45 percent) were less affordable than their historic affordability norms in the second quarter of 2017; the highest share of markets less affordable than their historic norms since Q4 2009.
“While home price appreciation in the second quarter accelerated to the fastest pace in more than three years, wage growth turned negative, posting the biggest year-over-year decrease in five years in Q4 2016; the most recent average weekly wage data available,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “That combination of accelerating home price growth and slowing wage growth, along with mortgage interest rates that are up nearly 50 basis points from a year ago, eroded home affordability nationwide to the lowest level in nearly nine years, and pushed the highest share of markets beyond the threshold of normal affordability in nearly eight years.”
Home Prices Rise Faster than Wages
Nationwide the median home sales price in the second quarter of 2017 was $253,000, up 7.7 percent from a year ago, the biggest annual increase since the Q1 2014. The average weekly wage nationwide was $1,067 in Q4 2016 (the most recent weekly wage data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) down 1.4 percent from a year ago, the biggest annual decrease since Q4 2011.
Since bottoming out nationwide in Q1 2012, median home prices nationwide have increased 69 percent while average weekly wages have increased 9 percent during the same time period.
Median home prices in Q2 2017 grew at a faster annual pace than average weekly wages in 403 of the 464 counties analyzed in the report (87 percent), including Los Angeles County, California; Cook County, Illinois in the Chicago metro area; Maricopa County, Arizona in the Phoenix metro area; San Diego County, California; and Orange County, California.
“All counties within in the Seattle market area saw a sharp contraction in affordability between Q1 and Q2, which is disturbing,” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where home price appreciation outpaced wage growth in all three area counties. “The local economy is firing on all cylinders but the number of homes for sale remains at almost historic low levels and this is putting intense upward pressure on home prices as demand far exceeds supply.
Median home prices in King County, where the city of Seattle is located, increased 15 percent from a year ago while average weekly wages increased 3 percent annually.
“Unfortunately, I do not expect to see any substantial growth in the number of homes going on the market through the balance of 2017 and this will continue to erode affordability as buyers compete for the few homes that are available to them,” Gardner added.
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Five Counties with Lowest Affordability Index in Q2 2017
Counties with the lowest affordability index (least affordable relative to historic norms for the county) in Q2 2017 were Denver County, Colorado (74); Genesee County, Michigan in the Flint metro area (75); Adams County, Colorado in the Denver metro area (77); Arapahoe County, Colorado in the Denver metro area (78); and Weld County, Colorado in the Greeley metro area (78)
Other metro areas with counties ranking in the top 20 for lowest affordability index in Q2 2017 were Knoxville, Tennessee; Boulder, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; Saginaw, Michigan; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Kennewick-Richland, Washington; Lawrenceburg, Tennessee; New York, New York; and Atlanta, Georgia.
Counties with the highest affordability index (most affordable relative to historic norms for the county) in Q2 2017 were Atlantic County, New Jersey, in the Atlantic City metro area (161); Sussex County, New Jersey (153); Onslow County, North Carolina, in the Jacksonville metro area (147); Orange County, New York, in the New York metro area (141); and Tolland County, Connecticut, in the Hartford metro area (138).
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Counties with Highest Share of Average Wages to Purchase Median Priced Home
Nationwide in Q2 2017, buying a median-priced home required 31.8 percent of average wages.
Counties with the highest share of average wages needed to buy a median-priced home in Q2 2017 were Marin County, California, in the San Francisco metro area (126.4 percent); Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (125.9 percent); Santa Cruz County, California (112.3 percent); Summit County, Utah in the Summit Park metro area (107.8 percent); and Monroe County, Florida, in the Key West metro area (100.3 percent).
Counties Where Average Wage Earners Need 43 Percent of Income to Buy
Average wage earners would need to spend more than 43 percent of their income — the maximum debt-to-income ratio allowed for a “qualified mortgage” under guidelines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to buy a median-priced home in 144 of the 464 counties (31 percent) analyzed for the report.
Counties requiring more than 43 percent of income to buy a median-priced home included Los Angeles County, California (66.9 percent); San Diego County, California (65.2 percent); Orange County, California (83.2 percent); Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (125.9 percent); and Queens County, New York (77.6 percent).
Counties Where Average Wage Earners Need 25 percent or Less to Buy
Average wage earners would need to spend less than 25 percent of their income to buy a median-priced home in 102 of the 464 counties (22 percent) analyzed for the report, including Wayne County, Michigan in the Detroit metro area (12.8 percent); Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (17.1 percent); Cuyahoga County, Ohio in the Cleveland metro area (18.4 percent); Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the Pittsburgh metro area (22.1 percent); and Saint Louis County, Missouri (24.9 percent).
“Ohio continues to be a very affordable housing market, even though we are seeing an overall statewide increase in housing prices,” said Matthew Watercutter, senior regional vice president and broker of record for HER Realtors, covering the Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati markets in Ohio. “This increase is due to a lack of quality inventory, which causes multiple offers on homes and above asking offers in order for buyers to achieve an accepted offer very early in the marketing of new inventory.
“Some areas are still seeing lower than normal sale prices and home prices are still recovering,” Watercutter added. “These areas are still in an economic recovery mode, and have not seen the increase in housing prices as quickly as other areas of the state.”
Are you looking for ways to find motivated buyers for your real estate properties? Do you invest in real estate but have difficulty finding the right buyers in Orlando? Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place.
The key to locating the right buyers for your real estate properties is to match up the properties you are selling with the types of people most interested in obtaining those properties. Here are 5 ways to find motivated buyers now in Orlando Florida.
5 Ways to Find Motivated Buyers for Your Properties
If you are looking for ways to find the right buyers for your real estate properties, you have to learn to think like the buyer. What is important to them? What type of property are they looking for? Considering these factors can help you to tune into what the buyer is after.
Buyers generally want help with the following things:
Finding the right home to purchase
Determining what homes in the same range are selling for
Negotiating the price for the best deal
Negotiating the terms of sale
Help with paperwork and forms
If you can figure out how to help potential buyers with these areas of concern, you may be able to win over a buyer who might be on the fence about one of your properties.
Beyond offering help to your potential buyers, look into these 5 ways to find motivated buyers now to find the best potential investors for your properties.
Search the classifieds (both off and online). If you want to get an idea about who is looking for properties, you should start with the classified ads. People often place ads asking for certain types of properties that they may be looking for in Orlando as well as other parts of Florida. It takes a keen eye to pick up on these ads but if you check them regularly, it may pay off for you when trying to sell properties. Check online ads too in places like Craigslist or Realestate.com to see what people are searching for and what is available.
Place an ad yourself. Just as you can locate motivated buyers by searching the classified ads, you can sometimes find buyers by placing an ad for your property yourself. Make the ad attractive using the best photo possible to represent the house, then create a compelling description using words that resonate with your target audience. You can also place your home with a real estate agency and then they will list the property for you in their section of the newspaper.
Create a real estate video. Video sells better than any other medium. If you can create stunning sales video that shows a tour of the house (both inside and outside), you will draw more interest from motivated buyers. Place the video on YouTube and your social media accounts and use descriptive words that match up with what potential buyers are looking for including the location in which the home is located.
Buy real estate leads. One unconventional way to find people who are wanting to buy real estate properties is to purchase real estate leads. Companies such as Experian.com offer a way to purchase real estate leads that help you locate more motivated buyers. However, you should use this cautiously as some leads may be recycled and sold again.
Use social media. Another way to find potential buyers is to use Facebook or other social media. By placing an ad, submitting posts and photos offering information on your properties, you may be able to connect with the perfect buyers via social media outlets.
Find Motivated Buyers in Orlando
We hope you have benefited from these 5 ways to find motivated buyers in Orlando for your real estate properties. Another way to find motivated buyers now is to get help from us. We are experts when it comes to finding motivated buyers in Orlando.
Someone in Orlando is probably looking for a property right now. Call us today at (407) 781-7312 or visit our website and we’ll help you connect with motivated buyers.
Tax liens are financial holds that the government places on property holders due to their non-payment of taxes. It puts certain restrictions on their ability to buy or sell the property or to make a profit on the real estate in question.
This protects the banks who have an investment in the property as well as any other stockholders of the real estate property until such time that the person pays their taxes or their property is foreclosed.
In the case of foreclosures or default, this is where you can cash in on the investment opportunities in Florida. Even if you have never worked in the real estate industry, there are ways that you can take advantage of the opportunities that tax liens provide.
Before you can cash in on the opportunities of tax liens in a real estate investment, you have to know what the applicable laws are in Florida and Orlando. You need to study the laws of your state of residence or the state in which you plan to purchase the property before completing the transaction.
One of the best features about buying a property through the Florida county it is located is if there were any junior liens they will be cleared and removed.
A poor understanding of tax liens and how they work in Florida can lead to lost profits and even stiff fines. Remember, you want to keep your bank account in the positive side at all times and avoid any legal troubles.
In addition to the state laws, there may also be city or county ordinances that dictate what you can do regarding tax liens. Some cities, for example, require that you have a real estate license in order to get involved in the transaction while others do not encourage private lending or private money transactions.
Know Your Limits
Another important thing to know is how much you can afford to invest if you want to cash in on a real estate transaction that involves a tax lien. Remember, if you do start transacting real estate business involving tax liens, you are profiting from the interest on the tax lien that is placed on the property on an annual basis. You must report this amount on your personal income tax and there may also be fees associated with doing this sort of transaction.
Know how much credit you can extend to private investors and try to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to dealing with tax liens. If the person whom the lien is held against does not pay their amount due, the property may revert to you. So make sure you are investing in a good property with resale value.
When to Ask for Help
If you need help, you can locate a real estate investment expert or tax lien specialist and ask them how tax liens work in Florida. That way, you cover both city and state ordinances and figure out what you have to do to be in compliance with state and city laws. The last thing you want to do is to find yourself in a precarious legal situation or one that requires you to pay large fees for your lack of knowledge.
Investing in properties with tax liens can be risky. It’s no shame to ask for help when you need it to avoid a costly error down the road!
If you’re like a lot of us, you probably think of Facebook as just a place to hang out and have fun, getting and posting recipes and jokes, keeping in touch with friends and family, and picking up the occasional news tidbit.
But it can be a lot more than that and can have some effective business uses. So if you’re trying to sell a home, you may want to use these tips. Finding leads both to buy a home or sell a house is easy on Facebook.
1. Treat Facebook Like an Inbound-Marketing Channel
First, don’t try to use an unfocused shotgun approach, and don’t try to force Facebook marketing into the old outbound marketing mold. Instead, think of it as inbound marketing.
According to a post titled “Stop Failing on Facebook: 8 Ways to Rake in the Real Estate Leads“, some sellers, using well deployed Facebook inbound marketing techniques, are garnering “over 100 highly targeted leads a month into their email database.” The goal isn’t to broadcast a bunch of “let’s see what sticks to the wall” sales pitches or ads or to get a ton of “likes.” No, the goal is to get targeted leads and then to convert them – using the tested inbound techniques of the internet marketer – because, like it or not, you’re now in the inbound marketing business.
2. Use Targeted Facebook Ads
Facebook has all the data, and you can leverage that fact and let Facebook use that data to help you sell homes. Well-thought-out and carefully crafted Facebook ads can get great results – or they can be a waste of both time and money.
Facebook keeps track of all those bits of data (interest indicators) about what people want based on what they type on their wall, what they comment on, and what they share. Facebook then feeds all that into their algorithms. As a result, they know exactly who is interested in buying a home in Orlando, the kind of home, and the price range. For example, Facebook knows (and has reported) that 1,135,580 users show interest in the “Real Estate” category.
All you have to do is use the available keywords and audience demographics to target your specific audience. Couple that with some top-notch copy-writing in your ad, all the while making sure to treat it as inbound marketing, and you should have a winning combination.
3. Find the Influencers on Facebook in Orlando
If you want to find home buyers on Facebook in Orlando, you’ll definitely want to look into this last one. It takes less time and effort and builds on targeted, already-established audiences.
There are people out there in the real estate industry with a huge, effective, lead-generating Facebook presence. There are also people who are simply sharing information (content) a potential home buyer would find interesting, readable, and shareable. And often these two groups are the same or at least overlap quite a bit. They are recognized as experts and have a lot of clout. So why not take advantage of this existing marketing power?
Your job is to seek out and identify these people who are popular and influential on Facebook in the area of home buying and selling. Then, having found them, you can begin to interact – not just plug your home selling business. You might, for example, like their pages or post useful, insightful comments on their posts. The goal is to get your name and your houses in front of a much larger audience than you could using your influence alone.
Use These Tips
So use these 3 ideas to find home buyers on Facebook in Orlando and leverage the power of this social media channel. Get higher returns on your effort, time, and money invested with these ideas and take advantage of the potential for the greater number of targeted leads you can generate. To discover more, just give us a call at 321-231-7100 or fill out the form, on our website.
You’ve probably heard the horror stories about people who buy a property for investment purposes, and then that property turns out to be a huge money pit rather than a money-making asset. It can certainly happen, but it doesn’t have to if you keep in mind these 5 features of a profitable investment property in Orlando.
So, then, what are three most important things to look for when you’re considering a potential investment property? You already know the answer because you’ve heard so many times before. And those three things are, of course, location, location, and location.
But that seemingly over-simplified answer contains all the rest within it. With that in mind, we offer these 5 features to help you in your investment decisions.
Low Crime Rate
You most likely won’t want to invest in a property in a high-crime area. On the face of it, this probably seems to be the most obvious of our 5 features of a profitable investment property in Orlando. But things aren’t always what they seem on the surface, so you have to do a little digging.
Check with the local police department and visit the public library to get accurate crime statistics for the area in which your potential investment property is located. Be sure to look at the number of both serious and petty crimes, vandalism rates, and the growth/decline in local crime rates. It’s also a good idea to talk to neighbors about the frequency of police presence in the area.
Promising Neighborhood
The personality and quality of the neighborhood (and there’s location again) play a big part, too. The kind of neighborhood will determine in large part the kind of tenants you will attract.
Here’s an example. Suppose a property you’re considering is located very near a college or university. That means the pool of potential tenants you have to draw from will consist largely of students. And, as a result, you’ll have to deal with frequent vacancies, especially during the summer months.
Reasonable Property Taxes
Property taxes are, of course, an inevitable expense, but they aren’t always as uniform and predictable as you’d think. And you don’t want overly high property taxes to cut into your investment returns. So, again, you need to conduct some research.
A good place to start is the local assessment office where the tax information for your property will be on file. You can also talk to homeowners in the area to get a feel for property-tax rates.
Solid Job Market
Obviously, if they can’t find work, they can’t rent it or buy it. If the investment property is in an area with solid or growing employment opportunities, then it’s probably a good bet. And if a large company has announced plans to move into the area, that can be an even sweeter deal for you.
Your research in this area should probably start with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics where you can find a wealth of information on employment prospects in the area. And, again, the local library can be a good source for pertinent information.
Profitable Rental Rates
For most people, rentals make up the largest portion of their investment property strategy, so it’s imperative to find out what average rental rates are in the area. If you can’t command a reasonable rental fee, then you can’t turn much of a profit on your investment.
You know that the amount of rent you can charge must cover your mortgage payments, property taxes, and upkeep expenses. The thing to keep in mind, though, is that even if rental rates are adequate for this right now, they may not remain that way in the future. What you have to do, then, is look at rental rate trends over, say, a five- or ten-year period. You need to determine whether rental rates will remain high over the next five years or so to justify investing in a particular property.
Just keep in mind these 5 features of a profitable investment property in Orlando, and you’ll likely be well on your way to a sound investment.
Is your calendar filled with buyers meetings and showings? If you are like most sellers, even if you consider yourself busy, you are always trying to fill that pipeline with buyers. Do you need to generate real estate buyer leads?
Here Are 6 Ways to Get Started Now in Orlando
1. Open Houses
Open houses are tried and true way to meet people who want to buy a house. Ask listing agents in your market area if they need help with an open house. Busy agents often need the extra time to tend to other matters and welcome an enthusiastic person to show their listing.
Many buyers walking through open houses aren’t represented. If you happen to click with them, get their information and have adequate follow up, you may get some leads.
Rarely will the open house walk-in buy the house you’re showing from, but who would argue with that outcome either. What generally happens is the buyers get a feel for their options through open houses. If you can add value with your service to take their search to the next level, you’ll capture a buyer.
The quickest way to get leads is to pay Google and Bing.
There are a number of ways to get your website ranked at the top of search engines. One of the most cost effective ways is to create useful content that buyers want to read. Whether your content is about market trends in Orlando or how to make an offer sellers take notice of, content should be engaging and helpful to buyers.
More buyers research online as much as possible online before they ever reach out to an agent. When they finally do, you want to be top of mind. Be their educator through the process online and get inbound leads consistently.
Don’t forget to have some type of email capturing tool embedded on your website. This will allow you to follow up with them by email later.
3. Facebook and Social Media
Getting leads on social media takes more than just posting listings or asking for referrals. Engage audiences to build your brand. People will follow your posts because you are knowledgeable and fun. Yes, Facebook is a place for fun but it works very well for business too.
Create memes of the “worst listing photos” that you come across in on the MLS. Your audience will appreciate the lightheartedness and subtly realize that a professional pays attention to details.
4. Craigslist Ads for Real Estate Leads
Craigslist is useful for more than just advertising listings. By designing a Craigslist ad that directs buyers to a landing page capturing information on potential buyers, you give yourself a growing book of potential buyers.
Your Craigslist ad needs to have a great title and offer something people want. Just saying, “I’m here to help you find your dream house,” will get you little if anything. Be creative. Create a weekly list of the “5 Biggest Fixer Uppers in Orlando.” Something like this attracts investors looking for fix and flip opportunities. These are potential clients that regularly buy and sell homes. Become their expert deal finder.
5. Give Mortgage Lenders A Platform
Power partners are essential for realtors. Many buyers will start with lenders to see what they qualify for before even looking, let alone talking to an agent. While every lender out there is inundated with agents who want to partner up, offer the lender something in return.
No, you don’t need to buy their love. Remember that engaging content you’re putting out there? Feature your favorite lender as the professional expert for a blog about interest rates or FHA financing. Share their contact information with your audience. Help them build their brand and you’ll get some love in return.
6. Complete and Update a Zillow Profile
Yep, we already said it: buyers are shopping online before they ever call a realtor. With Zillow being the biggest and most popular real estate search provider, complete your profile and constantly update it on Zillow. This optimizes results.
If you can, specialize in a hyper-focused area to have Zillow recognize you in smaller markets because competing in the larger arenas is where bigger brands are spending their money, throwing a wider net.
If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Orlando or know someone who is, feel free to give us a call at (407) 781-7312 or fill out the form on our website.
If you’re like a lot of us, you probably think of Facebook as just a place to hang out and have fun, getting and posting recipes and jokes, keeping in touch with friends and family, and picking up the occasional news tidbit.
