Orlando Real Estate Blog

We have been looking around for opportunities in the Windermere community of Summerport.  The location is great, the builder was good, and the amenities are just what you would want.  The problem is that most of the homes sold at the peak of the market in mid-2006.  This deal in particular was for a 4 bed 2 and 1/2 bath + bonus room, pool, a conservation view and 3,115 sq ft.  Sold in 2006 for $577,000…the bank agreed to our offer of $265,000 cash after a long waiting period.  During that time we have seen things further deteriorate in the community…the “RESET Button” has been pushed….and unfortunately the “Reset Button” is not the same thing as the “Easy Button”.  This is greater then a 50% reduction in value.  At one point you see a home that looks great and the two beside it have not been maintained at all and look horrible. 

How long will that one guy hold out? Who will bail him out?  At this moment you can buy homes for a lot less then they can be reproduced for, interest rates are low and your dream home is closer to your grasp than you thought possible. The only thing to keep in mind is that if you do buy today, it will take some time for the banks to sell all of the inventory they have coming online and that you will have to look at some sorry lawns for a year or so. The good news is that very little land around this community is available for development due to traffic and school concurrency issues so the competition for reselling these home in the future will be low…if you can imagine that. 

Today we have just contracted on a bank owned house with a cash deal for a 4/2 1960 sf on conservation in a gated community close to the Lake Nona area for $155,000.  This home sold in 2006 for $335,000!  No joke that is more than a 50% reduction.  We have several deal set up to close by the end of the month.  The banks want to get things off of the book prior to the end of the year and now is the time to make it happen.  Our deal is set to close on the 21st of this month…The iron is hot and it is now the time to strike….call or email me to get going.

I have been working with a savvy cash buyer and we just come across a great deal. It is for a house that sold for $153,000 on March 7th 2007….we can now buy it for $50,000!!!! That is a drop like few I have ever seen.  Now keep in mind this is in a rough section of town, needs a little work and was built in 1959; but to see such movement by the bank is amazing and welcomed.  This will allow a lot of inventory to burn off the market. 

It is a buyers market…even if you do not have cash.  Quite frankly since we are going in so low on a lot of these homes I would say 80% of the time we are getting beaten by a financing deal.  I have a great lender at Resource Mortgage named Eric Papalini that can get you set up to go after these bank owned properties…we just need to get your ducks in a row and make sure the bank has nothing to push you back on.