Looking Forward to 2012

May 2012 be your best year yet!

Julie Boyd-Elrod

Orlando's Housing Report for November 2011

Courtesy of ORRA.

New to the Orlando Real Estate Market

Who says Orlando Real Estate is slow??? Inventory may be down but there are sellers looking to sell their homes. Here are great homes I’ve listed in the past 2 weeks as well as one price reduction.

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath with over 1,000 sq. ft., near Downtown Orlando. Priced at $48,000

Just Reduced 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath with 1,303 sq. ft., completely updated! Now Priced at $61,900.

Stunning Lakefront 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath with sunroom, media room, dock and boat house. Priced at $450,000.

Just Listed! 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bath Home in Winter Park near Cady Way. Priced at $259,900

Short Sales in the Orlando and surrounding areas are made easy. I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert, (CDPE) and I am distinctly qualified to help homeowners facing the stresses of an unaffordable mortgage to steer clear of a foreclosure.

Contact Me Today!

Orlando’s Turning It Around!

This is GREAT news for the Orlando area! Orlando is ranked 2nd in leading the nation towards a general recovery and stability of the housing sector and Orlando leads the nation in the ratio of Realtor.com (the National Association of Realtors' website) searches to listings. Orlando's inventory is balancing out with demand and foreclosures in this area are down 58% in Sept. of this year compared to the same time last year. Turning it around indeed Orlando!!!

Florida Markets Dominate REALTOR.com Top Ten Turnaround Report

Though the past four years have seen many cities suffering from large numbers of foreclosures and a loss in home values, ten of these real estate markets are now leading the nation towards a general recovery and stability of the housing sector.

Realtor.com’s Top 10 Turnaround Town Report, based on third quarter 2011 data, includes six Florida markets: Miami, Orlando, Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota-Bradenton, and Lakeland-Winter Haven.

Each of these markets has experienced positive year-over-year median price appreciation, reductions in year-over-year median age of inventory and inventory counts, while also experiencing lower unemployment rates on a year-over-year basis. Florida’s success can also be tied to foreign buyers; the number of foreign buyers purchasing homes there increased from 10 percent in 2007 to 31 percent in 2011.

Let’s take a closer look:

Miami, FL: The number one town on the report, Miami has gone from being one of the first victims of the subprime crash to having a healthy inventory that is only half the size from a year ago. Today, Miami is only reporting one foreclosure for every 407 homes, compared to the national rate of one per every 213. And, condo sales have increased 79 percent in the first five months of this year, largely due to an influx of foreign investors.

Orlando, FL: Ranked second on the report, Orlando leads the nation in the ratio of Realtor.com searches to listings. Inventory has also obtained a balance with demand. Foreclosures hurt the market in 2007-08, but foreclosures in Orlando were down 58 percent in September, compared to last year.

Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL: Median prices in Fort Myers-Cape Coral have increased almost 33% year-over-year, according to Realtor.com’s October 2011 Real Estate Trend Data. In addition, foreclosures are down–only one in 313 homes in September–while inventory has been reduced and foreign buyers have been attracted to the area’s real estate prices. The metro ranked third on the turnaround report.

Fort Lauderdale: FL: A decrease in inventory coupled with an uptick in prices earns Fort Lauderdale the number five spot on the report. Inventory decreased almost 38 percent year-over-year, according to Realtor.com’s October data report. Prices have fallen about 46 percent since 2006, but are now going up.

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically. Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL: A year ago, Lakeland-Winter Haven topped national foreclosure filing lists, but now the area’s distressed sale market share has decreased 46 percent. The area–ranked 7th on the turnaround list–has seen total listings decreased more than 36 percent year-over-year and median age of inventory decrease more than 17 percent, according to Realtor.com’s October data. Prices are also up 12 percent compared to last October.

Realtor.com’s Top Ten Turnaround Town Report is compiled using a formula based on price appreciation, changes in inventory, median age of inventory, searches by Realtor.com visitors, and unemployment data.

Check back in tomorrow for a closer look at the remaining four markets!

Courtesy of Realtor.Com

Julie Boyd-Elrod Helps Homeowners Change the Course

Julie Boyd-Elrod, Realtor, Helps Homeowners Headed Toward Foreclosure to Change the Course!

Adept at negotiating with lenders, distressed property expert helps financially strapped homeowners to salvage credit and avoid foreclosure

Current estimates are that nationwide, 6.3 million U.S. homeowners are more than 30 days late on their mortgage and in some stage of foreclosure. “The problem is compounded by the fact that nearly one fourth of all U.S. homeowners are ‘underwater’ on their mortgage—meaning they owe more on their home than they could net from selling it in today’s market,” noted Julie Boyd-Elrod, Realtor.

“Too often, the solution for homeowners faced with an underwater and unaffordable mortgage has been to let the home slip into foreclosure,” Julie observed. Seismic economic shifts have changed the dynamics of real estate transactions and the level of expertise needed to ensure success, Boyd-Elrod added.

As Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), Julie pointed out that the long-term implications of foreclosure cannot be underestimated. Committed to helping homeowners to understand their alternatives to foreclosure and to take action that will change their current financial course Julie has developed a report entitled, “Change the Course! And Navigate Away from an Unmanageable Mortgage,” that can be downloaded from her website, www.ExpertatShortSales.com.

“Too often, the anxiety associated with missed mortgage payments and the fear of putting ones trust in the wrong hands, causes homeowners who are heading toward foreclosure to avoid seeking help or pursuing a short sale,” Boyd-Elrod said.

Real estate agents who have received the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation have proactively sought out the most respected and recognized designation for helping clients within the complicated and highly charged distressed property arena.

If you or someone you know are in danger of foreclosure, please contact me today.

Foreclosure fears foster true grief

Reports of foreclosures by the millions have been in the news so much over the past few years that to some, it might seem like the new normal.

But as a real estate professional who is in the trenches with financially stressed homeowners every day, it never for a second feels to me like business-as-usual.

The prospect of losing ones home is right up there among the major sources of grief, and often, it goes hand in hand with other tragic setbacks such as the loss of a job, a divorce, death of a loved one, mounting medical bills or skyrocketing mortgage payments.

Unfortunately, the first stage of grief is denial, and that’s even more the case when the threat of foreclosure is looming. No one wants to talk about or admit financial troubles—even when millions of others have found themselves in a similar spot. It’s completely understandable, but for homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, decisive action is often the most critical step toward ensuring the best possible solution.

As a real estate professional who has sought out the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, I help homeowners to deal with every aspect of the grief and uncertainty that accompanies a mortgage which is no longer manageable. In the process, I help them to get on a path of financial solvency.

If you or someone you care about would like to change the course of a life that’s facing foreclosure, I get it and I can help.

Contact me today at 407-257-3433 Cell, 407-420-9oo4 Direct Line or Julie@moving2orlando.com.

Buyers, Sellers and Credit Scores

Wow!!

I attended a very informative seminar today concerning education on credit scoring and credit restoration. This is so useful for me as a Realtor in order to help many buyers and sellers with their home purchases and/or sales.

Harry Snedden, President of Score Crafters, a Credit Restoration and Education company, was the Presenter. Score Crafters, LLC is a local Central Florida credit consulting company that works with consumers to raise credit scores and create a healthy overall credit profile. They also offer personal consultation services to help consumers work through credit/debt related issues.

The event was sponsored by North American Title Company, Security National Mortgage Company and M & I Bank. Mr. Snedden discussed the different platforms and thus, the different uses of the FICO vs. Vantage credit scoring. He went into the top three reasons buyers are declined a mortgage, the Statute of Limitations on credit card debt, when to dispute a credit collection and how to avoid reinstating it by mistake.

While this all sounds very simple, these issues could have legal implications which might be avoided by obtaining professional consumer counseling and knowledge.

Mr. Snedden and his partner, Attorney Joseph M. Guida, are launching their new consumer advocacy website, www.DollarClimb.com within the next ten days which will cover a multitude of topics relating to foreclosure, short sales, bankruptcy, tax liens, settlement of debt, and more It will feature webinars with financial counselors, attorneys, accountants, Realtors, lenders, bankers, contractors, maintenance professionals, etc. All of these area directly relate to the market and affect values.

As a full-time professional Realtor who prides herself on staying up-to-date in this industry, it would be my pleasure to be of service to you, your family and your friends. You may contact me at julie@moving2orlando.com or at 407-257-3433.

FHA Mortgage Updates

I wanted to share this mortgage information I just received from one of my mortgage partners.

Kari Freeman with Security National says “Please be aware that FHA loan limits are proposed to change (which means we are pretty certain they will change) October 1st, 2011. Currently the max FHA loan for Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties is $353,750 and will now be decreased to $274,850. Volusia and Brevard counties will go down to $271,050. FHA case #'s must be issued prior to 10/1/11 in order to stay under the current limits.

Also, there is an upcoming change to USDA loans. Currently, there is only an up front funding fee that is financed into the loan of 3.5% and no monthly fee. This will change 10/1/11 to a 2% funding fee and .30% monthly.

More reasons to get those buyers off the fence and making buying decisions now.”

Many Thanks to Kari for keeping Realtors, like myself, and my clients up to date on mortgage trends.

If you want to buy before these changes take effect, contact me today.

Julie Boyd-Elrod, Realtor

Charles Rutenburg Realty

407-420-9004 Office

407-257-3433 Direct

Julie@moving2orlando.com

www.moving2orlando.com

www.julieboydelrod.com (live and under construction)