I hate to beat a dead horse, but... each day we get folk calling in on Orlando condo conversions - foreclosed - that cost under $50K - and they want to finance them. When we tell them it will be very difficult, we get the "Oh that's not a problem - I have a great credit score and good job" line. But it's not about good credit scores any more, or even how much you put down in many cases. It's about whether the condo is FHA approved or Fannie Mae approved; whether it's has less than 50% owner [...]
I recently heard from a co-owner who is concerned about a neighbor who walks his dog at various evening times using the grassy areas between the buildings and sometimes behind and around those buildings. This neighbor's walk is very disturbing since it results in a person suddenly appearing outside of the co-owner's window and behind his unit. These walks can be later than 10:00 p.m. when it is very dark alongside the buildings. The co-owner wondered if restrictions could be [...]
With mortgages so hard to come by, investors who can't pay "all-cash" are having a hard time scooping up some of today's "fire sale" deals - which can be incredibly frustrating. It's like being (a diabetic) kid in a candy store. (I'm diabetic so I know how that feels.) However since first time home buyers are not subject to the same degree of scrutiny, they don't generally have this trouble, provided they're a good, old-fashioned loan prospect. (Imagine that.) There's tons of [...]
It's official: Barack Obama is the Commander-in-Chief, despite some impromptu rewording of the presidential oath. He even still has that new president smell. In the midst of two wars, rapidly increasÂing unemployment (Caterpillar, ING, Microsoft, Home Depot, Sprint, Pfizer, and US Airways all cut thousands of jobs today), and a sharp and growing international recession, Americans are hopefully hoping for all that hope that Obama talked about during his campaign. I can't personally [...]
Condo Metropolis in conjunction with Orlando Real Estate Pros are now producing Orlando's "Top Ten" real estate deals for a zingy new, nationwide real estate website called, yes... Top10RealEstateDeals.com Each month, we'll be selecting the best of Orlando's real estate deals and will bring them directly to this new listings site. These opportunities represent just a few of the more than 22,000 units on the Orlando homes market at present. Contact us for more info on these or if you're [...]
OrlandoTop 10! Frames are not enabled - To view list goto Marcus Burke's Orlando Top 10 Luxury Condo and Real Estate List
News comes today that the fabulous Reunion Resort has decided to close the sales office both here in Orlando, and at Hammock Beach. The news yesterday afternoon left their in-house agents suprised -and looking for new work. According to one source, "Sales were pretty good but we just can't compete with the wave of foreclosure properties that are coming through the pipeline now." The resort itself which is up and running and about 75% complete, has it's own water park and 3 [...]
After months of negotiations and hints that 55 West condos, downtown Orlando will be partially bought out by a major hotel company, word on the street is that the deal fell through - and they are back to the drawing board. 55 West, Downtown Orlando However in the Orlando Sentinel this morning, Bob Hensley, the developer overseeing 55 West for the Dutch bank that foreclosed on it last year apparently hopes they are only a few weeks away from announcing a new deal to bring a major[...]
CondoDomain have been at the forefront of Boston condo sales for a while now. A new breed of online broker like Condo Metropolis, they were due to join forces with us here in Orlando in the coming months. But now, their operation is in jeopardy as a former partner has decided to sue them over what was or wasn't in their original business plan. It seems that their former collaberators, a regular, bricks and mortar (soooo old school) real estate company are feeling the pinch of their [...]
Like them or not, Real Estate Auctions will be around for sometime. According to the National Association of Realtors, one out of three real estate sales will be marketed through Auction in 2010. Whether you are a buyer, seller or broker knowing the auction process and benefits will be crucial to you over the next several years. This is a brief overview of auctions. I will get into the nitty gritty of auction types and the feedback and success we have seen with them in another blog. [...]