Hojin’s Southwest Orlando Real Estate Scoop

One of the cool things about living in SW Orlando is that you’re near the convention center which plays host to a myriad of industries. A convention that I’m looking forward to is ICAST 2009 on July 15-17. If you’re into fishing, then it’ll be like going through a candy store with the latest gadgets that are soon to hit the market.

It’s been years since it’s been on the east coast much less in your home town.

Some of the items that are expected to be released at this convention is the American release of the Shimano Aldebaran, an upgrade to the Shimano Cumara rod, a Daiwa Fuego reel made of a new material called Zaion, the soon to be released Phat Frog by Snag Proof, and a host of other gadgets made for the fishing enthusiast.

For a fisherman, it’s like getting a chance to get the new Iphone before it hits the market. Can’t wait.

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Tax economist for the National Association of Home Builders, Robert Deitz, explains the ins and out of the first time home buyer credit for 2009. The biggest revelation of this interview is that the 2009 tax credit does not have to be repaid as it was in 2008. The 2009 tax credit is also refundable meaning that if you don’t have a full $8,000 in tax liability, you’ll still get the remaining balance as a refund from the IRS.

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If you’re a first time home buyer and you’re a procrastinator like me, then you’ve been putting off buying a first time this year when interests rates have been the lowest in history, home prices are half of what they were a few years ago, and the government’s teasing you with an $8,000 tax credit.

Everyone’s saying it’s a good time to buy, but they were saying that during the boom in ‘04 to ‘06 and you know a bunch of people stuck in their house.

I can’t honestly say I’m a fortune teller but I’ve got this funny feeling it’s a good time to buy a house provided you plan on staying for at least 5 and preferably 10 years, you’re not going for an adjustable rate mortgage and stretching to make the monthly payments, and most of all, you’ll like what you can afford.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed in February, but I really haven’t seen too many first time home buyers in the market until recently. It seems like there’s a lot of procrastinators out there, but the good news is there’s plenty of time and lots of great deals out there.

Keep in mind that you need give yourself enough time because you’re gonna be competing with all the other people who’ve procrastinated as well as the bottom feeder investors who are coming back in the market in droves.

A typical foreclosure home for sale will see multiple offers with many of them being cash, so you’ll lose out on a few before you actually get one. It’s a bummer, but a fact of the market at the moment.

Many of you will be going FHA financing which will require flooring, kitchen appliances, and door handles which are commonly missing from foreclosure properties.

One bit of advise that I can give is that there’s lots of great deals out there besides foreclosures and the label foreclosure doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.

Also remember that government is offering a tax credit and not a check. Here’s a few key points to remember:

Credit maximum was increased from $7,500 to $8,000. The credit is calculated as 10% of the
purchase price. Example: If the purchase price is $70,000, the credit is $7,000.

Removed the repayment requirement, provided the home buyer does not resell the home for three
years.

Eligibility remains for first-time home buyers only. In this case, a first-time homebuyer is defined as
an individual who has not owned a primary home at any time during the three years prior to
purchase, but who may have done so prior to that time. Although certain income limits do apply, the
amount of the credit is the same for all taxpayers, married or single.

To be eligible for the full tax credit, the home buyer can have an annual adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). A home buyer with an annual adjusted gross
income above that level, and up to $95,000 ($170,000 on a joint return), is eligible for a reduced tax
credit.

The refundable tax credit can be claimed on the purchase of one’s individual or joint tax return for any single-family home that closes between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. It can be claimed on a 2008 tax return (to be filed by April 15, 2009), an amended 2008 tax return, or a 2009 tax return. Individuals should consult a professional tax adviser for specific details and restrictions on exact tax calculations and timing.

Like I said earlier, I’ve got this feelin it’s a good time buy a first home. If you feel it’s time, give yourself enough time by allowing for at least 3 months to find a home and don’t get bummed out when you get beaten out by some investors paying cash. It’s probably gonna happen and you just gotta find another one.

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These days, home buyers are spending more time on the internet to search for properties making web appeal as important if not more important than curb appeal. A post on the Zillow blog, Web Appeal-It’s the New Curb Appeal, got me thinking about how important web appeal is becoming. The majority of home shopping begins on the internet, so the question is how do you stand out from the crowd?

Thanks to the adoption of the internet by the real estate industry, the days of having to drive countless hours is a thing of the past. Nowadays, you can refine the areas and homes you’d like to look at on the internet before hopping in the car making the process a heck of a lot more efficient.

This means if you don’t have web appeal, buyers won’t take the time to drive by your home. The curb appeal you’ve worked so hard on in preparation to sell your home doesn’t do any good unless it also looks good on the internet.

So how does one go about creating web appeal?

First and foremost, get a great picture of the front of your home. It’s the only exposure to home buyers most home buyers get. If buyers don’t like first photo, then they just move on to next gazillion properties that are also on the market.

You’ll also need lots of photos. The chances of a buyer coming to see a home will increase greatly with more photos. Just make sure they’re good photographs. I mean at the very least, make sure the photos are straight, correct the white balance, and watch out for those really bright windows.

Buyers also want a great description to go along with the photos.

I’ve had tons of buyers asking for an appointment excited because of the way a home looked on the internet. Home sellers have a way better chance of getting buyer’s interests on the internet than a traditional real estate sign or stunning curb appeal.

Posting property information on social networks like Facebook and Twitter as well as local blogs are great ways to stand out from the crowd.

If you don’t have web appeal, a large percentage of potential home buyers will not see your home. Make sure you pay close attention to your home’s web appeal. It’s more important than curb appeal in today’s marketplace.

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I’ve been selling a lot of foreclosures lately and noticed that most of the banks are conveying the property with a special warranty deed like builders often do. It’s odd because most people convey title to their property with a general warranty deed.

They’re both warranty deeds, so what the hecks the difference? It sounds like a lot of lawyer mumbo jumbo but in the big scheme of things, the difference between these conveyance instruments can be crucial.

A general warranty deed guarantees the home buyer that the seller will warranty any prior problems with title, not just during their ownership but anywhere along the chain of ownership.

For example, if 123 Main St. was built by Moe, then sold to Larry who sold it to Curly, then when Curly sells it to some other knucklehead, the title is guaranteed all the way back to when Moe owned it with a general warranty deed. If 123 Main St. was sold by Curly with a special warranty deed, then the chain of title is only guaranteed back to the days of Curly’s ownership. So if there was screw up in the way the title was conveyed between these 3 guys, then the new owner would be S.O.L and Larry and Moe would be taking it out on Curly when the new owner finds out there’s a break in the chain of title.

It’s because of such knucklehead maneuvers that we have title insurance to guarantee title in modern day real estate. That’s not to say everything’s gonna be O.K. with title insurance since there’s quite a few exceptions to the policy like any other insurance.

I’d probably be aware of those exceptions if I were buying a home from a builder or one from the bank. It might be a good idea.

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The real estate market is heating up… literally. With the blazing summer heat, the real estate market in Orlando traditionally heats up alongside the rising temperatures.

Really, there’s no correlation between temperature and the real estate market. It’s actually because the summer is the easiest time to move for people with kids in school. If you’re gonna change schools or just move to a different home, it’s a heck of a lot easier when school’s out.

If the market continues it’s improvement, Orlando will finally see an end to declining prices by the end of the summer.

We’re currently at around 10 months of inventory of homes for sale and prices will stabilize when we hit 6 months.

So for those who have been waiting to time the market at the very bottom, we’re getting dang close. The end is near my friend, provided we don’t see another influx of new foreclosures coming on the market and the first time home buyer tax credit actually spurs people on to buy before it expires at the end of 2009.

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The latest installment of the diners and dives series is another little secret place in SW Orlando that’s perfect for beautiful sunsets. It’s a thatch roof bar along the shores of Lake Minneola in Clermont called the Tiki Bar.

You can get there by boat or car and anyone who’s been there will tell you that the hamburgers are the best around. I mean it blows the pants off of 5 Guys or any other joint and the atmosphere is way better.

You sit outside with a view of the lake like you’re at the some tropical getaway. Everyone’s really laid back and the sunsets are spectacular each and every night.

There’s a place to walk along the lake and of course horse shoes. It’s not the fanciest place out there but it makes up for it in scenery and atmosphere. They’re fine if you don’t have shoes or a shirt… my kind of place.

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The latest statistics for the Orlando real estate market were released by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association yesterday and the best news of all is that the inventory is down to 10 months. We’re not that far off from the signal of market stabilization at the 6 month inventory level.

The number of sales remained steady at 1,854 with 19,123 homes on the market. The average days on market stands at 104 days and the number of new contracts is the highest it’s been in quite a few years at 3,455.

I’ve been telling me customers that the market is picking up and these numbers back me up.

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I keep stumbling onto these dives around town that really do have mouth watering morsels so I decided to do a series of posts about diners and dives in SW Orlando so stay tuned if you like being surprised by the food in the most surprising of atmospheres.

It’s all about the food here and not so much about the way the place looks. The shabbier the setting, the more satisfied you are with finding the place.

The first in the series is Willies BBQ on 9th St. in Winter Garden. It reminds me of a place I used to frequent in college called Betty Joe’s BBQ. I love me some southern cookin and this place is the real deal from the collared greens and corn bread to the pulled pork and ribs.

Everything’s reasonably priced and Willie sure looks proud of his work. He’s so proud, there’s no BBQ sauce out on the counters like in most places. The seasoning is just the way it should be Willie’s way.

I get a little suspicious when a BBQ place looks too fancy anyway. The antiques and rocking chairs suit me just right and puts me in the mood for some soul food.

I just wish they had fries although it’s not technically soul food. It’s french food ain’t it.

If you ever get a craving for some soul food, I’d check out Willie’s.

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