Orlando Real Estate News

Seminole County High Schools Make Newsweek List

Eight of Seminole County’s nine high schools made Newsweek’s 2009 list of the top 1,500 high schools in the country.  This list represents the top 5% of high schools in the U.S.  The only school not making the list was Hagerty High in Oviedo, which actually has the highest comprehensive test scores in Central Florida.  Hagerty just graduated its first senior class, so there was not enough data available to make the list.

The list is compiled using a relatively simple ratio, with the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the total number of students in the school.  The method has drawn much criticism arguing that basing a school’s merit on its magnitude of AP exams means little.

Orlando Real Estate Market Update April 2009

March numbers continue an upward trend, with 1,653 home sold in March 2009 compared with 1,120 in March 2008, an increase of 47.59%.  In addition,  Orlando Realtors filed 2,956 contracts pending in March 2009, an increase of 76.06% over March 2008.  There are currently twice as many total contracts pending as there were last year at this time.  Housing economists consider pending contracts to be a reliable indicator of future sales (duh!!).

The median price of all homes sold in Orlando in March was $137,000, down 37.74% from March 2008.  49% of those homes were bank-owned or “distressed” sales.  The median price for bank-owned homes was $95,000 in March, short-sales $143,000, and the median price of “normal” properties was $175,000.

Lower prices, record-low interest rates, vast selection, and the $8,000 tax credit are driving buyers back into the market.

Orlando Real Estate Tour: Longwood, FL

The second stop on our Orlando real estate tour are a few of my favorite neighborhoods and communities in Longwood, FL. The area encompasses several country club developments as well as more moderately priced homes for families just starting out. The area is renowned for both its amenities and the excellent schools in the region.

The first stop on the tour this week is Alaqua Lakes where homes are priced from $550,00 to over $2,000,000. The lots are a bit on the small side, but the developer incorporated green space around each home helping to preserve the natural beauty and topography.

The centerpiece of the community is the Legacy Club, a 7.160 yard Tom Fazio designed golf course. Fazio has carved around a dense forest of lush, mature trees with spectacular topography, dramatic slopes, rises and knolls unique to Florida. The Legacy Club holds the distinction of being the only facility in Central Florida to be certified as an Audubon International Signature Certified Sanctuary golf course.

Along with the championship golf course the community also features a 7-acre community park with pavilion, heated pool, lighted tennis courts, basketball court, and a multi-purpose field.

Another of my favorite communities in Longwood is Sweetwater Oaks, a master planned community with homes ranging in price from $300,00 to $800,000. The entire community has an established, neighborhood feel to it. The Lakefront park and and access to Lake Brantley are unbeatable.

Another thing that can’t be beat is the amenity package - 11 tennis courts, 7 soccer fields, basketball courts, community center, 5 mini-parks, a nature park on the Wekiva River, and a lakefront park, boat ramp, and picnic area on 350 acre Lake Brantley, a sand-bottom clear ski-lake. Memberships are also available for very reasonable fees at Sweetwater Country Club, a private facility with an 18 hole championship golf course.

Last on the tour this week is Wekiva, a master planned community with over 2,500 homes with prices ranging from $150,000 for condos to over $500,000 for homes. Formerly a hunting preserve, the property is heavily wooded and well established. Wekiva residents enjoy seven different parks with tennis courts, basketball courts, racquetball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds, and fishing lakes. Wekiva also features over 20 miles of bike and jogging paths that run behind the houses. The semi-private Wekiva Golf Club features an 18 hole championship golf course with a distinctive North Carolina feel.

Of course, there are many other great communities in and around the area. If you’re interested in Longwood real estate or anywhere else in the Orlando area be sure to visit my web site, send me an email, or drop by the office anytime.

Orlando Foreclosure Buying Nightmare

I represented a buyer of a Freddie Mac foreclosure condo that closed this week that was an absolute nightmare.  The level of incompetancy of the listing agent(s), closing attorney, and the seller was unbelievable.  There were more than a few times I thought some kind of cruel joke was being played on me or my buyers.  I kept looking for the hidden cameras from Candid Camera, Punked, or Howie Do It.

Freddie Mac was advertising a special program where they would pay 3.5% of the sales price toward buyer’s closing costs and the listing agent made reference to this deal in the Orlando MLS.  My buyers were approved for FHA financing but didn’t have a lot of cash, so this deal was very attractive to them.  For the contracts to be accepted, the buyer must sign a Freddie Mac addendum, to which no changes can be made.  In that addendum, it specifies that Freddie Mac can determine which of the buyer’s costs are “reasonable” at their discretion.  In addition, Freddie Mac is exempt from paying documentary stamps on the deed, which is normally a seller’s cost item in this part of Florida.  They will only pay for the owner’s title policy (normally a seller’s cost item in Florida) if you use their designated law firm to close.  The problem is, this law firm is so incompetent and difficult to deal with, that many lenders refuse to do business with them.  Therefore, buyers have to get their lender’s title policy from a different title company or attorney.  That means they have to pay full price for a lender’s policy since it is not a simultaneous issue with the owner’s policy.  On top of that, Freddie Mac is exempt by federal law from paying documentary stamps, intangible tax, and other recording fees.  So the bottom line is, while a buyer may think they’ll get 3.5% of the purchase price for their closing costs, they’re lucky if they get even 1%.  Imagine that.  Our own government agency using deceptive bait-and-switch techniques.

Three days before closing, after hiring our own title company to issue the lender’s policy, we find out from them that the aforementioned incompetent law firm missed a second mortgage on their title search for which there had been no satisfaction.  There had been no satisfaction because the second mortgage lender never got served with foreclosure notice from the first mortgage lender.  Any guess what law firm handled that foreclosure?  You got it.  Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe again.  In the meantime, my buyer has given notice to their landlord and there rate-lock expires while we wait for this title issue to be cleared up.  The incompetent law firm won’t return phone calls and neither them or the seller offer the buyers any help with the extra expenses they’ve incurred.  As for the incompetency of the listing agents, that’s a whole story for another blog post.  They did nothing toward resolving any of these problems and nothing toward seeing that they or their seller, our own government agency, fulfilled their obligations under the contract.

My point is this:  If someone tells you how easy it is to buy foreclosure real estate in the Orlando market, think again!  On the seller’s side, you will likely be dealing with a “team” of agents who handle hundreds of foreclosure properties and don’t really give a flip whether you close or not.  I’ve yet to talk to the agent whose name was on this listing even though I insisted on it, and I’m still not sure he even exists.  Likewise, the seller may be a quasi-government agency and they simply don’t care about anyone or anything.  The seller designated closing agent will likely be someone that everyone in the real estate business dreads dealing with.  I really have to commend the mortgage broker and title agent on this deal, both of whom I recommended to the buyer, for their persistence in getting this deal closed.  Without them, the seller’s indifference would have prevailed.  Don’t dare buy an Orlando foreclosure without a competent buyer’s agent looking out for you and your interests.  This story does have a happy ending.  The buyers closed, moved in, and are very happy.  Even if the memory of their first home buying experience is a little tainted.

Good News For Orlando Home Buyers!

FHA has increased their loan limit in the Orlando real estate market to $353,750 from $274,850.  Seminole, Orange, Lake, and Volusia counties are affected.  This is a significant increase and should have a positive effect for home buyers in the $300K-$350K price range.  About 90% of the financing activity right now involves FHA, and activity above the FHA loan limits in Orlando has been slow.