How can Realtors put cash in their pocket today?

This is a question I frequently get from new Realtors and even some veterans on occasion.  While the goal in being a Realtor is typically to create a long-term career, getting started on the right track is often quite difficult especially in a rotten economy. There are several things you can do that will generate immediate income for you.  None of these will necessarily give you money instantly, but all can get you paid within the next 30 to 60 days from right now.

1. Broker Price Opinions  (a/k/a BPO’s).  There are plenty of BPO companies that you can sign up for online that will pay you between $40-$80 to do interior and exterior (drive-by) BPOs.  Back during 2007-2008 when nothing much was selling and short sales were getting rejected left & right, I was able to get by partly by doing 15-20 BPOs every week.  I’ve slowed down a lot on the BPOs since then, but the regular steady checks were great and I still do 2-3 per week even now.  BPO companies typically pay you within 2-4 weeks after completing the work. A great resource for lots of BPO companies is on Garypedia.

2. Cash buyers.  I can’t speak for the rest of the country, but here in Central Florida about 40-50% of all deals selling are from cash buyers.  If you can constantly attract cash buyers, you can sell them any property on the MLS or the auction websites.  Typically these cash deals close within 30 days of signing the contract.  Putting together a cash buyer list is all about marketing, but there are plenty of ways to advertise using internet marketing, social media, classified ads, roadside signs, floor time, free foreclosure lists, etc.

3. Market the listings of a top producer.  Listings are the lifeblood of a successful long-term real estate business, but it takes a lot of marketing and referrals, and time to generate a large amount of these.  However some top producers may be looking for a buyer agent to help sell their listings and work with their buyer calls.  If you cannot convince a top producer to team up with you, then simply ask them if they will allow you to market their properties for them at no charge.  You can market their listings by online ads like Postlets, Craigslist, roadside signs, etc. I’ve told all the agents in our office to feel free to market all of my personal listings – which I have always had at least 50 or more active listings for years now.  Please sell my listings and I will pay you whatever we are offering buyer agents in the MLS.

4. Open houses.  Any vacant listing is a potential open house.  You can do a lot of aggressive marketing to attract people and neighbors into the open house.  If you do not find a buyer for that particular house, you can always sell them any other property in the MLS that they like.  Our office has nearly 100 vacant houses available at the time I am writing this article – many are short sales and foreclosures.

5. Home buyer seminars. These take some time to organize and the venue may cost you something, but these are a great way to attract motivated buyers. You could even hook up with a mortgage professional and get them to share in any costs as well as pre-approve the buyers right then and there.

Hopefully these ideas will get your brain churning.  You really can fast track your career in real estate and start earning checks right away. Just remember buyers and BPOs.  And like I said above, you can always market any and all of my listings.

Sell unrepaired sinkhole damage house in Central Florida

If you have a house damaged by a sinkhole or settlement, look no further.  Our firm specializes in buying homes in Central Florida that have sink hole damage.

We know how to sort through the engineering reports, deal with the insurance company, deal with the mortgage company, and get your sinkhole house sold quickly. We have been buying houses in the Orlando area for nearly 20 years now and know how to fix a Florida sinkhole problem house.

The biggest pocket of homes affected by sinkholes is in the area just north of Tampa in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando Counties.  The second biggest pocket of sinkhole homes is in the Saint Johns and Wekiva River basin from Orlando north into Seminole County and up into West Volusia County.  Cities like Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Winter Springs, Apopka, Deltona, and Debary have had significant sinkhole activity so much so that some insurers do not want to insure for sinkholes in certain zip codes.

If you have an unrepaired sinkhole house or simply do not want to go through the process of grouting and underpinning your sink hole home, please give us a call.  You keep your insurance proceeds and we will buy your house and take care of the sinkhole repairs.

Rob Arnold is a licensed real estate broker and invests in sinkhole homes via www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com or call 407-739-5773 for a 24-hour recorded message.

We Buy Houses Cash Orlando Apopka Altamonte Springs Sanford Florida

Yes, that is right we buy houses in the metro Orlando Florida area. We focus mainly on Orange County and Seminole County but will buy just about anywhere up and down the I-4 corridor if the deal is right. Although I have a real estate license, we are house buyers and generally not looking to list it unless the price, terms, and property do not meet our criteria. 

Some of the places we have bought a home in include Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, Colonialtown, Pine Hills, Orlo Vista, Ocoee, Lockhart, Rosemont, Apopka, Umatilla, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Winter Springs, Sanford, Deltona, Deland, Kissimmee, Davenport, and Belle Isle to name a few.

It doesn’t matter if your house is beautiful or if your house needs a ton of work, we can take care of it as long as the numbers work and everyone is happy. We bought several properties after the hurricanes of 2004 blew through that had roof damage, trees fallen down, mold and water intrustion.  We have bought unrepaired sinkhole damage properties.  We have replaced kitchens, air-conditioners, fixed termite damage, and much more.  And we have bought literally tons of foreclosure and short sales homes in recent years.

Before you decide to list your home for sale with a Realtor, give us a call. Member Central Florida Realty Investors Association, Orlando Regional Realtor Association, and the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida.

Rob Arnold 407-739-5773 http://www.webuyhousesflorida.com/  .

Sell your house in Orlando & Central Florida for cash or terms

If you have a Central Florida house that you need to sell today, look no further.  I buy houses for cash or creative terms in the metro Orlando area.  Although I have a real estate broker license, I am a house buyer and generally not looking to list it unless the price, terms, and property do not meet my criteria.  

I buy houses for fast cash Orlando Florida

I buy houses in the following counties and communities:  Orange County, Osceola County, Seminole County, Volsuia County, Lake County, and Polk County inluding places like Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Waterford Lakes, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Kissimmee, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Clermont, Mount Dora, Eustis, Leesburg, Deltona, Debary, Orange City, Deland, Daytona Beach, and New Smyrna Beach.   

Close on the date of your choice.  If you need to move in 2 weeks or 6 months, we can structure the deal to best fit your situation. 

Here are just a few of the situations I have helped deal with over the last 20 years of buying properties in Orlando Florida:  short sale, foreclosure, divorce, hurricane damage, unrepaired sinkhole damage, termite damage, toxic mold, tenant eviction, title problem, contractor lien, code enforcement lien, problem neighbors, probate and estate sale. You name it and I have probably seen it before. 

Before you list your home for sale with a Realtor, give me a call.  Member Central Florida Realty Investors Association, Orlando Regional Realtor Association, and the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida.  

Rob Arnold 407-739-5773 www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com .

Orlando real estate statistics January 2011

The January 2011 monthly Central Florida / Orlando real estate market statistics have been reported by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.  Here is a direct link to the full MLS statistic details. Below is a breakdown of the numbers. This covers Orange County and Seminole County Florida, including the cities of Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Windermere, Apopka, Ocoee, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Sanford, Casselberry, Oviedo, Winter Springs, and Lake Mary.

                 Inventory    New Listings    New Pendings   Under Contract     Closed    Days on Market

Jan 2010       15,911        4279                 3579                 8590                 1820           89

Oct 2010       15,441        3650                 3466                  8817                1953            91

Nov 2010       15,192        3346                 3243                 8998                 1936           96

Dec 2010       14,993        3444                 3196                 8363                 2467           97

Jan 2011       14,398        3478                 3747                 8777                 1950           96

Inventory levels continue to decrease.  Typically January shows a big increase in the number of new listings, but this January was different. January 2009 had 4340 new listings and January 2010 had 4279 new listings, but January 2011 was only at 3478.  This has helped lower inventory levels and more normalize the balance between buyers and sellers. 

Closed deals were down from December, but January is typically a slower month for closings.  Closings typically occur 30-60 after a deal goes pending which means the January closings were pending deals back during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays which is historically not as busy as other months.  January sales were 130 sales higher than in 2010.

Prices continue to trend downward though. The median price in January was down to $94,950 while the average price was down to $134,700.  The Orlando Sentinel reports that this is the lowest price point since 1997 some 14 years ago.  Talk about cheap.  The reason for this is because some 75% of the sales in January were either foreclosures or short sales.  Many of those were super cheap junker houses and condos.  

Here are some additional analysis put out by the Orlando Realtor Association and the Orlando Sentinel for you to review as well. It is a great time to buy.  Prices are still very low and inventory is still plentiful.  Buy a piece of paradise today.

New Orlando foreclosure and short sale deals available for cheap

We have a nice stack of great Central Florida deals available for buyers to check out.  Look at all these deals we have for sale.  For full details on these properties and everything else we have available, just stop by the property page on our website.

– Apopka, FL 32703 – 2 bed/1 bath on oversized lot with big fenced backyard. Short sale, fixer upper, and priced to sell.  $29,000.

– Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 – 3 bed/2 bath. Short sale, needs a roof but is in otherwise good shape. Updated kitchen and tile floors with indoor laundry room. Lake Brantley school district. $39,000.

– Longwood, FL 32779 – Big 3 bed/2.5 bath townhouse style condo. Located right next to The Springs and Sabal Point. Short sale at $54,900.

– Deltona, FL 32725. 3 bed/2 bath/2-car garage.  Needs a little TLC but is in otherwise good condition. This short sale price is bank approved – no negotiations needed, close fast. $59,000.

– Orlando, FL 32807. 4 bed/2 bath/1-car garage. Located in Azalea Park not far from the Orlando International Airport.  Newer kitchen. Short sale, must sell. $72,000.

– Apopka, FL 32703. 3 unit Triplex apartment building.  All 1/1 units are rented out with written leases.  Gross income is over $1500 per month and the cap rate is over 12%.  Close in 30 days or less – $119,000.

– Winter Garden, FL 34787. 4 bed/2 bath/2-car garage. Great community not far from the revitalized downtown.  Short sale priced at $125,000.

– Orlando, FL 32804. 3 bed/2 bath beautiful College Park home just north of downtown.  Updated kitchen with granite counters and hardwood floors. Short sale priced at $265,000.

– Lake Mary, FL 32746. 5 bed/3 bath/2-car garage pool home on nearly 1-acre of land.  Fantastic neighborhood right near Seminole State College. Short sale sacrifice at $299,000.

– Kissimmee, FL 34747. 3 bed/2.5 bath home in Celebration, the community that Disney built. Short sale priced for $329,000.

Orlando house deals we sold in January 2011

January closed out with some 31 closed deals at Sand Dollar Realty Group.  Typically a slow month due to the lag caused from the Christmas holidays but a bunch of great deals got bought up.  Check out just a small sampling of what we sold last month.

  

     Wyndcliff                    Battlegrove                  Hardy Mills

1. Wyndcliff Circle, Orlando, FL 32817.  Located in east Orlando near the University of Central Florida. 4 bed/2 bath beautifully updated and remodeled.  An investor bought this as a foreclosure and fixed it up.  Sold after just 43 days on the market for $132,500. 

2. Dorris Drive, Orlando, FL 32807.  Located in the Goldenrod area. 4 bed/3 bath home.  Another investor flip deal that was fixed up nicely.  Sold to an FHA buyer for $137,900.

3. Battlegrove Drive, Davenport, FL 33837.  3 bed/2 bath pool home.  Located right near the front yard of Walt Disney World.  Sold for $100,000 with just 47 days on the market.

4. Hardy Mills Street, Kissimmee, FL 34758.  4 bed/2.5 bath home.  Just 5 years old.  Beautiful home with modern features and granite counters.  Went pending after just 2 days on the market and sold to a cash buyer for $124,900.

5. Lemon Twist Lane, Windermere, FL 34786. 5 bed/3.5 bath home. 2-story gem in newer neighborhood.  Looks absolutely fantastic. Sold for $208,900 after just 53 days of the market.

If you want to see your home get featured as a sold deal on our blog, you have to contact us.  We know how to market them properly to bring plenty of buyers through your home quickly and get them sold.  Call myself at the office 407-389-7318 or my Lead Realtor Sylvia @ 407-462-3067 for a free consultation today.