Florida Mortgage Lender Blog & Real Estate News

Golden Oak Resort

Disney's new Luxury Residential Resort Community

Golden Oak offers a truly unique opportunity to purchase a custom luxury home at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  Golden Oak will consist of three types of single family homes - village homes, estate homes and grand estate homes priced between $1.5 and $8 million. At final build-out, Golden Oak is anticipated to include approximately 450 homes.

http://www.goldenoakresort.net/

Financing For Foreigners Returns!

Finally, after an 18 month drought, financing to foreigners in Central Florida has returned! We currently offer an excellent product featuring a 15 or 30 year term, 35% minimum deposit, 6.5% interest rate on a 5 or 7 year fixed rate, and is available for REMORTGAGES ( Equity release loans are allowed) and NEW PURCHASES!

Loans are available for Single Family Villas, Townhomes and Condos, (Condos require prior bank approval). Loans are available for owners that only have 1 Florida property, multiple property owners are not eligible. No upfront application fees, NO REDEMPTION PENALTIES!!

Contact us for more information 407-876-5771

Our source is the ONLY Mortgage Banker that can offer mortgages to foreigners in Central Florida!

Orlando Distress Sales - Bargain Prices
Orlando Foreclosures	Foreclosures Orlando
Kissimmee Foreclosures	Foreclosures Kissimmee

Home staging has long been a way to sell Florida homes for sale. In short, stagers come into your home, look the place over and start packing (if it’s not already empty). They bring furniture, draperies and other things to make the home look warm, beautiful and inviting to buyers.

The trick is to make the Florida homes for sale inviting in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the buyer’s personal tastes. It’s worked, selling thousands of homes that might not have sold otherwise, and selling them faster than non-staged homes.

For the past year or two, however, virtual (or conceptual) staging has come into the real estate world. Somewhat like traditional home staging, the virtual stager spruces up your home for sale. The differences are where the work is done and what the live house looks like. They may not sound like much, but these two differences have people asking, “Sales method or a snake oil scam?”

Virtual Staging
Home staging came about because the real estate industry realized that most buyers have a tough time visualizing what a place will look like with their unique touch on it. With more tech savvy buyers, however, some may not even visit the home to enjoy the staged view. Many buyers find their potential home online and, once they’ve viewed the online pictures, contact the REALTOR® listing the home.

Virtual staging provides beautiful images for buyers to look at online using digital enhancement. You may have a home staging team doing the computer work, or it may just be one person with fantastic design software.

Here are the benefits to virtual staging:
• It may pull in more potential buyers than non-virtually staged homes.
• It can be cheaper than having a home stager come to your home.
• If you’re worried about vandalism and theft (some sellers have had the staging furniture stolen), it may solve this problem.

But there are potential pitfalls you need to be aware of before you try virtual staging:
• The first and most obvious is not to use virtual staging to deceptively hide imperfections in your home. The purpose of these images is to enhance, yes, but if you hide issues it’s not only unethical, but, in some states, illegal.
• The second is to be sure to let the potential buyer know that the home is either vacant or has different furniture than what’s shown. You must be transparent and upfront that the images are computer generated. Otherwise, they will feel confused - or even scammed - when they get to the home to see and buy it. This may seem a deal “killer,” but it all depends on how this information is presented.

Home stagers have written in favor of real life home staging (putting down virtual staging, of course). Virtual stagers have written the opposite. So which one is better? If you have one of the Florida homes for sale, consider your budget, your options and what you want to accomplish. As long as you’re willing to be upfront about the images, virtual staging may be the right option for you.

Need help preparing your home for sale? We can help. Give us a call today at 407-876-5771.

Stop Foreclosure & Save Your Credit SELL your Home - Short Sale

As you may be aware, there are two primary ways to sell and buy Florida homes. One, FSBO (For Sale By Owner), means just what it says – the owner sells the home. The second, of course, is selling the home through a real estate agent. What you may not be aware of is the main reasons why so many choose to hire an agent, whether selling or buying Florida homes.

Should you hire an agent? Of course, I’m going to say yes. However, what I really want you to do is make up your own mind after reading. Only you can answer this question because only you know your situation, but you need to know the facts:

Fact #1, for buyers – Real estate is one of the biggest areas of fraud in the U.S., and a fraud in which the scammer is less likely to be caught. Instances abound where an unsuspecting buyer has bought a home that still belonged to someone else. Someone else who had no idea their home was up for sale in the first place. You won’t be able to get your down payment back, because the con artist will be long gone with it. Agents deal directly with the homeowner whose name is on the title. If a licensed real estate agent represents a home, you know it’s really for sale.

Fact #2, for sellers – Real estate agents have access to many marketing venues that individuals don’t. FSBO sellers are limited to a few websites on the Internet versus the multitude of websites agents use to advertise homes for sale. With the knowledge agents gain through training and experience, the marketing available to agents, and the resources agents have at their fingertips, you have a much better chance of selling your home with an agent than on your own. If you don’t mind having your home sit on the market for awhile, FSBO may be the way to sell. However, if you need your home to sell sooner rather than later, you need an agent.

Fact #3, for buyers and sellers – Selling or buying a home isn’t as simple as “yeah, I’ll take it” and throwing money down. Selling real estate includes everything from negotiations and contracts to assessments and legalities. If either side doesn’t complete the steps correctly, actually closing the deal may be impossible. To be blunt, real estate agents are trained to handle the pitfalls of selling or buying a home and ensure that the sale goes smoothly.

Should you hire an agent to sell or buy Florida homes? To us, this isn’t the real question. The real question is: Can you afford not to?

If you’d like to work with a knowledgeable, experienced agent to buy or sell a home, We would love to have the opportunity to interview for the job. Call us at 407-876-5771.

Moving to a new florida home and, in some cases, to a new location all together, can be an exciting event. It can also be a difficult thing, especially for children.

When a move means a new Florida home, new school and new friends, children realize they’re leaving their comfort zone for the unknown. This can be frightening, especially to very young children.

Along with packing up boxes and making plans for a move, parents need to spend time thinking about how to make the transition as easy as possible for kids. Following are some suggestions for doing just that:

• Make a scrapbook: Let your kids take pictures of friends and places they would like to remember. Then put together a scrapbook you and your kids can take to your new home and look at, especially when homesickness strikes.

• Listen to your kids: Children often have fears that they don’t share with their parents. Your children may be very ambivalent about moving, but afraid to say so or don’t know how to put it into words. Take time to discuss the move with your children. Ask them how they feel about the move and then talk out any fears they may have. Don’t dismiss the fear of making new friends by simply saying “of course you’ll make new friends.” Explain that you’ll also be without friends and together you’ll meet new people.

• Visit your new Florida home: If possible, take your children to the home you’ll be moving into. Let them visit their new school, walk around the neighborhood and play at the local park. Giving them a chance to visit the place they’ll soon call home will help alleviate some of their fears and perhaps even get them excited about the move. If physically visiting your new home isn’t possible, virtually visit it. Help your children explore their new hometown online.

Need to move to a new home? Whether you want to move within Florida or you need to relocate to another state, we can help. Give us a call today at 407-876-5771 for more information.

If you're anything like me, you've driven through neighborhoods, admiring the Florida homes and immaculate lawns. You've pictured your dry, brown yard, wondering how these homeowners managed to get their lawns looking so great.

Here are a few tips and tricks that can help achieve that plush, green grass that everyone hopes for:

1. Choose a type of grass seed that's right for your climate zone.

There are three climate zones: Warm, transitional and cool. Warm season grass is better for lawns in the South, cool season for the North, and transitional for Central. The best bet for the transitional zone is either a mixture of warm and cool season grass or using the same seeds as the warm zone.

2. Plant at the right time.

Throw grass seed on the ground at the right time, and it’ll grow.

• Warm zone grasses - sown in the spring, once the soil is warm enough for sprouts to grow.

• Cool zone grasses – sown in the fall, generally between August 1 – 15 for the far North, and August 15 – 30 for the warmer areas.

3. Cut at the right height.

No matter what zone the Florida homes with gorgeous green lawns are in, you may notice that the lawns all seem to be about the same height. There’s a reason for that. Lawn care experts say you should never cut your grass shorter than two inches.

4. Use the right mower.

You want to use mulching lawnmowers, replacing the blades every season to keep them sharp for cleaner cuts. These lawnmowers turn the clippings into perfect grass-feed, which takes care of about half of the feed for the season.

5. Have a good watering schedule.

The best time to water a lawn is first thing in the morning. You want to water all at once instead of in short spurts, soaking your lawn with about one inch each time you water. Cool zone lawns should be watered whenever it's been dry for a week. Lawns for warm zone Florida homes should be watered twice a week during the summer.

Want to buy a home with a lush lawn? we can help. Give us a call today at 407-876-5771.

South Florida Real Estate  -  Bargains
Bank Foreclosures	REO Listings
Short Sales	Pre-Foreclosures

Swimming Pool

NationWidePools.com

Enjoy the luxury of a swimming pool in your own back yard at factory direct prices.

Windsor-Hills .biz

Windsor Hills Resort is an unparalleled gated Orlando vacation resort community consisting of private pool homes, townhouses and condos.  Boasting a 10,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, double lagoon style pools, movie theater, game rooms, sundries shop and much much more.

Windsor Hills Listings

Orlando Homes for Sale

Orlando-Homes-for-Sale.biz

Orlando Homes for Sale - Search all Orlando and area homes for sale.  Thousands of Orlando real estate listings to view and enjoy via a simple FREE Orlando MLS search tool.

Orlando Search

OrlandoSearch.net

Orlando Search gives you instant access to all homes listed in the Orlando real estate market.  Search MLS Orlando by City, Price, County & Zip Code.

If you’re in need of an appliance for your Florida home, you may want to buy now to save cash. The U.S. government is giving you good reasons to buy energy-efficient appliances through its Energy Star designation. Thirty-six states have launched programs to distribute almost $300 million in rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances.

The federally-funded programs are similar to the hotly debated cash-for-clunkers auto rebate program of 2009. Rebates differ by state and appliance but typically run between $50 to $75 on refrigerators, washers, dryers and freezers.

To qualify for rebates, consumers must buy Energy Star appliances, which meet or beat energy standards. These standards are set by the federal government and are up to 30 percent more efficient than non-Energy Star appliances.

Should you buy new appliances for your Florida home now? Say yes if:

· You need a new appliance anyway.

· You’re tired of throwing away money every time you operate inefficient appliances.

· You want a good deal on a new appliance.

· You want to help the environment by going green and saving energy.

You may even be able to trade in your old-but-still running refrigerator or dishwasher when you buy a new Energy Star model. For the specific rules and amount you’ll save, go to Energy Savers.

Want to save even more? You may also be eligible for rebates offered by manufacturers, local utilities and retailers. Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears are all planning special promotions in certain states to coincide with the federal rebate program.

Research the stores’ promotions before you buy. To find a list of retailers of Energy Star qualified products in your area and the categories of products they carry, use the Energy Star Store Locator.

Since rebates for Energy Star qualified (or higher) appliances are generally being given on a first-come, first-served basis, and because funding is limited, you might want to act fast before the available cash is gone.

If you’d like to buy a new Florida home for your new appliances, we can help. Give us a call today at 407-876-5771.

Buena Vista Development Services

BVDServices.com

The BVD Services Team excels in the following areas - business development, real estate marketing, business inovation, (SEO) search engine optimization, (SEM) search engine marketing, (SNM) social network marketing, business lead generation, lead conversion and internet marketing. 

Buena Vista Development services can hand deliver new prospects with our affordable internet marketing lead generation programs, designed to optimize the sales, marketing efficiency and ROI for any size business. The internet is easily scaled to provide the maximum leverage required for todays competitive business climate.  Discover how to get your fair share of qualified leads, extensive internet exposure and ongoing new business growth for your chosen target market.

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go – Irish blessing

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and, as you know, it’s the perfect time for a whole bunch of tomfoolery. What you may not know is that it’s the perfect time for an open house to sell those Orlando homes. However, if you’re going to do it, it needs to be done right – and the best time to get started is now.

Themed Open Houses

Okay, we (as in real estate agents) often say, “Don’t get your personality all over the house you’re selling” and we mean it. That’s not to say that you can’t have a little bit o’ fun with a themed open house party, though. Here are a few tips to get you started on the right path for getting those Orlando homes sold:

1. Keep your St. Patrick’s Day decorations minimal, but the atmosphere fun. In other words, pick decorations that are bland, but still lighten the mood of the home.
   
2. Lights for the evening, windows for the day. If your open house happens during the day, use as much natural lighting as possible. If it’s in the evening, use lighting that isn’t harsh or overbearing.
   
3. Offer tasty, “smell good” snacks. You don’t have to make a meal to feed an army, but a few Irish snack dishes can go a long way. You don’t have to stick to Irish food, however. A backyard barbecue is a wonderful way to show off the home’s entertainment possibilities.
   
4. Keep the alcohol low, if available. You’re not trying to throw a rip-roaring party, but there are two things to consider with alcohol. One is that it’s St. Patrick’s Day and almost a national drinking day. Two, is that the more relaxed a potential buyer feels, the more positive they’ll feel about the house (this is not to say that you should get the visitors drunk, however).

The main purpose of holding an open house is to get potential buyers to come and see what Orlando homes have to offer. You want to show off the inside, but you also want to show off the outside and the home’s ability to entertain guests. If you have a real estate agent, discuss the open house with them. If you don’t have an agent, give us a call at 407-876-5771.

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Saving money and going green are both hot topics right now. So, I'm sure you've already heard the tips to turn off water while brushing your teeth, turn off TVs and computers and swap out old light bulbs for the new energy-saving versions.

Here are 10 new ideas to help you save money and make your Orlando home greener.

1. Swap stuff. There are hundreds of online sites where you can get furniture, books, CDs, DVDs and even a place to stay for free by swapping stuff with other people. And, I'm not just talking about Craigslist. Two of the most popular and easy to use swap sites are Paperbackswap.com and SwapaDVD.com.

2. Recycle your cell phone. According to the EPA, if the 100 million cell phones no longer being used by Americans were recycled, enough energy would be saved to power more than 18,500 homes for a year. Give your cell phone back to its manufacturer or donate your cell phone to charity.

3. Recycle other electronics. Keep old TVs out of landfills by taking them to a safe e-cycling facility. Return iPods to Apple for recycling or sell them for parts. Take e-waste to stores like Best Buy and Staples that have recycling programs. You'll save money by not having to pay to dispose of the electronics.

4. Wait until May to buy a new TV. New government standards take effect May 1, 2010. Energy Star-labeled televisions will be at least 40% more efficient than comparable models -- a significant savings.

5. Eat foods that are in season. It's healthier, less expensive and better for the environment. Oh, and one more big plus: the food tastes so much better!

6. Install a water filter. Bottled water isn't any healthier than tap water, and all that plastic waste is terrible for the environment. It's also expensive! If you use a water filter in your Orlando home, you can get great-tasting, clean water while reducing your waste and saving money.

7. Turn down your water heater. You won’t notice the temperature change, but your water heater won’t work as hard and won’t use as much energy.

8. Plant a vegetable garden. If you don’t have the space to plant a garden, plant a tree or put some plants outside. Find vegetables and plants that grow well in your area for the best results. Ask your local garden center for that information.

9. Use green cleaners. There’s no reason to use harsh chemicals to clean your home. Use biodegradable cleaners that are safe for the environment or make your own green cleaners. Use old towels and T-shirts instead of disposable wipes and paper towels to cut down on waste and save you money.

10. Check your insulation. Adding insulation to your home will cost money initially, but you'll quickly earn it back plus more by saving long term on your heating and cooling bills. Skeptical? Start out by insulating your attic and keeping track of your energy savings. It averages out to about $116 a year in savings.

Want more tips to save money and make your Orlando home greener? Subscribe to our blog now. It's free and easy.

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