Florida Real Estate Blog - Jen Dollar

Home Repairs You Have To Do Before You Sell Your House

There are some home repairs that you have to complete before you sell a house.  These are the repairs that will make a good impression on home buyers so that you will be able to sell your home at a good price.  That's why they are so important.  Getting these repairs done now can save you the hassle of trying to explain to potential customers why you put them off until later.

The Front Door

Your front door, and every door, needs to be in perfect condition.  If you have a screen door then count that in with this too.  Home buyers start deciding how they feel about the house before they even walk into it so you need their initial impression to be one of perfection if you want to sell a house.

The Roof

The roof is another spot that home buyers look…

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Bidding on an Overpriced Home

Today's real estate market is saturated, and there are plenty of homes in foreclosure. These statistics make the market one of the best for buyers in a long while.

Still, it's very possible for you to find a home that's over priced and be unsure how to handle the situation. Don't write off the home that's over priced. There are a few legitimate reasons that the price might be a bit high.

1. The homeowner (and their realtor) has not kept up with the comparable sales in the market. Home prices have fallen very rapidly very quickly in some areas. If the seller and his or her realtor haven't kept pace, they may not realize that their price is out of the ballpark.
   
   
2. The homeowner is under water on their mortgage. If the homeowner purchased the home…

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Support The Realty Executives Food Drive!

During this holiday season, we should take the time to be thankful for our many blessings such as a roof over our heads and food to eat.  Some of our neighbors in Seminole County are not so fortunate.  There are 30 students right now that attend Lake Mary High School that are homeless.  We are organizing a food drive so that we can collect food for these students and their families so they have something to eat over the holidays. 

There is a list of suggested items but anything is appreciated.  If you want to donate money, the office can purchase the food items for you to donate.  Please let…

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So, You're Thinking of Buying a Home...

Owning a home is something that most people strive for in North America. It is both a place to live, and an investment in the future. It's also come to be known as a symbol of status or accomplishment in our society; homeownership means a certain level of success has been reached.

In these economic times it has become increasingly difficult for young people to enter the housing market, due to lower income levels, increases in debts like student loans and credit cards, and general economic instability. For young people, the dream hasn't gone away. It's just that in today's market people must be more resilient than ever, and plan their finances carefully if they want to become homeowners.

Before purchasing your first home, many factors need to be…

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Celebrating Halloween in Orlando!

For Orlando residents looking for a spooky way to pass the time in the weeks coming up to Halloween, there are some great options that have just started or will be starting shortly. Some of the spooky events that are taking place are great family-friendly attractions, while others are best for older teens and adults who can handle some serious frightening!

Magic Kingdom Park: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

• Open Sept 13 — Nov 1
• Dress up to Trick or Treat
• Halloween Parade
• Lots of familiar Disney characters in costume
• Special holiday decorations and effects to make the park just a little spooky!

SeaWorld:

• Weekends in October
• Trick or treating
• Themed shows
• Sesame Street Halloween show
• Great Halloween activity for families…

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Prost!: Celebrating Oktoberfest in Florida

Oktoberfest is a beer festival that runs in Munich, Germany and goes on for a little over two weeks, from late Sept until the first weekend in October. While you might think that to celebrate the world's most famous beer festival that you'd have to travel to Bavaria, you can in fact celebrate right here in Florida!

While the official festival is taking place this year from Sept 17 - Oct 3, Florida's communities are celebrating on a much smaller scale. Some locations are having a one day event, while many others are providing a weekend-long celebration.

Where in Central FL can you go to celebrate Oktoberfest?

Orlando Brewing - 5th Annual Oktoberfest: Sept 24th & Oct 22nd (opening & closing)

• Food & beer
• Commemorative beer steins
• Games

…

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Tolls to Increase for Florida Drivers

For anyone considering relocating to an area closer to work, the recent news that Florida will be increasing all of the tolls on state-owned roads by June 30th 2012 might just be the nudge that sends you out looking for a REALTOR® to cut down on your daily commuting costs.

Tolls will be increasing by 25¢ on most of Florida’s roads before the start of next summer.

As always, SunPass rates will remain at about 1.5¢ cheaper per mile than cash tolls, making this a great option for anyone looking to avoid paying much of an increase. SunPasses can be purchased in two forms, a mini-sticker transponder that you affix to the windshield of your vehicle or a portable transponder that you can move from one vehicle to another. Both types of transponder use a radio…

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6 Tips for Buying Distressed Properties

If you're shopping for a new home in Central Florida, you've no doubt realized that many of the properties out there are "distressed", meaning they're either in foreclosure or being listed as a "short sale". These properties can offer great value, but there are some things that are specific to buying them. Here are some things you should know.

Feedback

When a property is in foreclosure, the bank will take multiple offers on the property. This means that you may be in competition for the property. It also means that you may not hear back from the bank right away once you've made an offer. In some cases, the bank will have an "offer period" at the end of which they'll respond to all offers. This can be frustrating for potential buyers, since you may…

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Rents to Rise in Orlando this Year

There's continued good news for those who want to invest in the Orlando real estate market for the purposes of owning rental property. Real estate experts Marcus and Millichap predict that rents will rise in Orlando this year.

It's expected that the vacancy rates among Orlando rental properties will drop down to 7.1% this year, which is down from 7.9% earlier this year.

This is great news for those who own investment property in Orlando and for those who plan to own Orlando investment property in the near future.

The inventory of condos for sale is still quite high, making it easy to find an Orlando property that's perfect for renting. Whether you plan to rent your property weekly for vacationers, or by the month for long-term renters, you can…

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Should I Make Major Upgrades to Sell My Home?

The idea of selling your home in today's market is not a pleasant one. With so much inventory for buyers to choose from, sellers are anxious to do everything they can to help their home stand out from the crowd.

On the other hand, prices are at near record lows and may well dip further before they bottom out. So, sellers are hesitant to spend money on upgrades to their homes when they're not sure of how much of that investment they'll be able to get back when the home sells.

The balance between attracting buyers and preparing financially for a lower sales price than you hoped is a tough one right now.

The best advice we can give people whose homes need repairs or upgrades is not to try and sell right now. Waiting until there's less inventory and…

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