Today, the Orlando real estate market is a very strong seller's market! The inventory is low, and the homes that are for sale are very limited in the market. If you are currently looking at to buy a home without a REALTOR, you may be making a big mistake. When you use a REALTOR to buy a home, it does not cost you anything and is free because the seller is paying their commission. Working with a REALTOR will help you find a property in today's market, negotiate the contract for you, keep the deal together, etc.

After you have made the decision to use a REALTOR, you need to find a REALTOR who is a Buyer Specialist. This is someone who works specifically with buyers and knows the inventory listed on the market very well. After they have an idea of what you are looking for in a future house, they will show you the homes that match your interest and budget. This will save you lots of time and money.

When buying a home, you may also want to work with a buyer specialist who is part of a team; if they work with a listing specialist, they will have access to pocket listings. These are listings that are not on MLS yet, so the other 12,000 realtors and buyers don't have knowledge of them. This gives you an advantage in the Orlando real estate market.

If you are in the process of looking to buy a new home, our team specializes in both buyer and listing specialists, and we can help you find the home of your dreams within your budget. Our Buyer Specialists are inventory experts in Central Florida, and they can show you properties that did not hit the market yet.

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

As a home seller in Orlando, Florida, you always want to get the best price for your house. Right now, the Orlando real estate market is in a seller’s market, which means that the inventory of homes is low and that there are a lot of buyers searching for properties.

So when you get multiple offers on your home when you're selling, what are your options?

Your first option is to try to negotiate with the first offer, and if you can't come to an agreement, you should start to negotiate with your second offer. From my experience, this approach works; however, from what I have found in the central Florida housing market, it's always best to ask for the buyers to come back with their best and final offers. Think about it this way: If you're the buyer and you love this house, you are going to put your best foot forward because you don't know what other buyers will come back with. If every potential buyer does this, it ensures that the seller will almost always get the best price and terms which they are looking for.

Something else that your REALTOR can do for you is that when they ask for the buyers' best and final offers, they can let the buyers know what's important to the sellers. This can be things such as a high escrow, short inspection period, waive appraisal contingency, etc. This ensures that when the offers come back, they could match what the sellers are wanting in their contract.

Once you get your house under contract, you can still continue to use the leverage you have throughout the closing process. If something pops up in the inspection report that the buyers want to be fixed, you can lean on the fact that you have other buyers wanting to purchase your house as well. This leverage gives you better positioning during the negotiation process.

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

In central Florida real estate, a common question that I often get asked is, "Should I price my house higher than market value so that I have room to negotiate?" 

The answer is, "No, you should not!"

In order to understand why, you have to understand how Orlando MLS works. When buyer specialists are working with buyers, they put them on an automated e-mail notification system via the Orlando MLS, which will send them an e-mail when a house comes onto the market that matches their requirements. So when you first put your house on the market, hundreds and hundreds of e-mails are set up to potential buyers who want a house just like yours, in your area of town, and in a certain price range. With that being said, it is so important that you have your house priced right from the very beginning because if you don't, you will be missing out on potential buyers. You see, if your house is just $1 over the criteria that were set by the potential buyer, they will NOT see your house pop up. Therefore, your house will not be visible to the buyers who are looking for a house just like yours.

Another thing to keep in mind is that 90% of buyers work with REALTORS to help them find a house to purchase. Whenever a buyer finds a house they want to buy, before they make an offer, the agent will do a market analysis of the property to let them know if the house is priced right, if it's underpriced, or if it's overpriced. If your house is overpriced, it will not get any offers! You see, if you were a buyer and your REALTOR was telling you that the house you wanted to purchase was overpriced, you wouldn't want to waste your time trying to convince the sellers that their home is overpriced when there were other homes to look at. 

Now, this doesn't mean that you have to cheaply give your house away; however, you do need to price it right in order to drive the traffic through the front door. The more demand you have on your house, the higher it will sell for -- and I'm sure that it what you want! Studies show that overpriced homes take twice as long to sell, and they sell for 6% less. So price your house right from the beginning so you can get it sold for top dollar!

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

In central Florida, if you are an AirBnb host and you currently have a renter, you may risk the possibility of voiding your homestead on your home. For those of you who are unfamiliar with AirBnb, it is a website where you can find people who will rent out a room in their house -- or their entire house -- for a person to stay. This has become the new alternative instead of staying in a hotel for many travelers around the world, and even fairly popular in the Orlando area.

Now that we know what AirBnB is, let's talk about homestead exemptions. As it sounds, a homestead exemption is where you can claim your primary residence as your homestead to get an exemption. This gives you a credit of $50,000 off of your assessed value, which means that your property taxes would be higher without it.

Recently, a new property appraiser for the city of Miami informed the public that if you are a person who rents out your home on AirBnB, you could be creating homestead fraud. Under the homestead act, you can not rent out your house for more than 30 days for 2 years, and if you are doing it for more than 30 days, you should not be declaring homestead exemption. The penalties, if you are caught doing this, would result in you possibly losing your homestead exemption, plus a 50% penalty and 50% interest. 

Since AirBNB is still fairly new, the government agencies haven't officially released a stance on this concern. There are folks within the government who would like to allow this; however, they would require the tenants to pay a lodging tax just like they would if they stayed in a hotel. Then, there are those that don't want to allow it because they feel that it would be disturbing the neighborhood. Regardless of what they decide, it is important that you know the laws and rules in your central Florida area to avoid complications that could result in severe penalties!

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

For many people, especially in central Florida, their biggest financial asset is their home. As a homeowner, there may be many reasons why you would want to know the value of your Orlando home. You may want to know how much equity in the house so you can pull some money out if you want to build a pool. You may want to know if you are still underwater and owe more than your house is worth. Or, you may just be curious and want to know the value of your home. Whatever the reason is, for most Floridians, it is important that they get the most accurate value for their house.

Since it provides a lot of information about the history of the house and the neighborhood, using Zillow has become very popular in Orlando over the last few years. However, when it comes to providing you with an accurate value, Zillow may not be the best resource. Zillow is a computer-based application that takes raw data and just crunches numbers! At times it may be accurate; however, in most instances, it's way off the mark.  

One of the main reasons that Zillow is not able to provide the most accurate analysis to your home is because it doesn't have the capability to make the appropriate amount of adjustments when comparing properties. Since Zillow only crunches numbers, it's not going to know what updates a house has compared to another. Without these adjustments, their price could be $100,000 off of what the true value may be.

If you are looking for a more accurate way of understanding the value of your house, you should have a professional REALTOR stop by to help you out. They can come by the house and get a feel for the condition of the property as well as the upgrades. This will then allow them to make the appropriate adjustment on how your house compares to the other comparable properties. This will provide you with a more accurate value of your property then what you would receive from Zillow.

When you have a REALTOR come by to assess the value for you, make sure that you have a REALTOR who has the experience and expertise to do a proper assessment for you. If the agent just shows you what properties have sold nearby and then throws out a number to you with no supporting documentation, we suggest that you get another REALTOR in the central Florida area.

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

In this video blog, you will get "Real Estate Smart!" I will be talking about a closing cost that not a lot of people are familiar with called the "estoppel fee."

An estoppel fee is a fee charged by the homeowners association to the title company in order for them to determine the status of your account. They will determine if you are current and on-track, if you are behind, or if there are any special assessments that are due by the seller. This information has to be known prior to a closing so it can be taken care of during the closing.

In the past in Orlando real estate, estoppel fees used to appear on the closing statement as a separate line item; however, over the past three years, this has changed. In part, it has changed because more homeowners associations have increased the price of their estoppel fee from $100 all the way up to $650. They also are starting to charge additional fees for an expedited request or, if it has to be done again, upon expiration. Since the cost has gone up and the title company would still be responsible for these fees, if it doesn't close, then the title companies are now getting the seller's credit card information in advance and having them pay for it when it is requested from the HOA.   

Since the HOAs have turned this into a stream of revenue for them, there is currently a bill that is being drafted for the state of Florida that would place some restrictions on them. First of all, the most they could charge would be $100, and if an expedite is needed, it would only be an additional $50. The estoppel letter would also be good for 30 days rather than expiring on the expected close date. So, if a closing is pushed back, the seller would not have to pay another estoppel fee.

Knowing what you are going to walk away at the closing table is typically one of the most important things to sellers. So, before you list your Orlando home with a REALTOR, make sure that they provide you what's called a "net sheet." This sheet will provide the estimated amount of closing cost you would occur at a certain price point, making it easier and more straight-forward to sell your house!

As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

I’m sure many have heard the phrase “buy low, sell high.” This phrase is typically used in the stock market; however, it also can be used in the Orlando real estate market. Like anyone, if you were buying a house, you would want to buy it when the prices are low, and if you wanted to sell your house, you would want to sell it when the market is at its peak.  However, I will tell you that waiting for the central Florida market to peak is not the best strategy!

In Orlando real estate, like any other industry, the market is controlled by supply and demand. The supply represents the number of homes that are currently for sale within a given market, and the demand represents the number of buyers who are in the market to purchase a home.  As a seller, you always want to sell your house when the inventory of homes is low and when the number of buyers is high. The best time to find this scenario is right before the peak of the market. This is because when the inventory of homes is low, it typically means that it’s a seller's market. So, as a buyer, you have fewer homes to choose from, and as a seller, that gives you more leverage in the negotiation process.

You also find that right before the peak, the numbers of buyer who are in the market are fairly high because everyone is trying to buy a home before the prices of homes go any higher. With lots of buyers, you can typically sell your house for more money than you would if there were fewer buyers searching for a home.

If you wait until the peak, you typically find out after the peak was already met and the market has already shifted. Inventory typically starts to swell, which means that the buyers have more homes to look at; this can reduce your leverage as a seller. This is also when the market typically flips from a seller's market to a buyer's market. Additionally, after the peak of the market, the number of buyers goes down.

So, as you can see, the best time to sell your house is typically right before the peak of the Orlando market. This will give you the best opportunity to get your house sold for top dollar and within a shorter period of time.

For more information on this or if you need trusted realtors to represent you, feel free to Contact Us, and we would be more than happy to assist you. "Get Real Estate Smart" with The Millers!

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

Believe it or not, planning a wedding and buying a house are two major events in your life that are very similar in nature. Since weddings have a lot of moving parts and, depending on the parents, can quite be expensive, it's always a good idea to meet with a wedding planner prior to actually planning the event. If you don't, it can become very overwhelming, and you may find that you don't have the appropriate resources to put it all together.

Well, when you're buying a house in central Florida, it's no different!

Since buying a house is typically one of the biggest investments that a person will ever make in their life, it's very important before you start the home search that you partner with a knowledgeable buyer specialist. Just like a wedding planner, a good buyer specialist will find out what's important to you when buying your home and can then put the proper resources in place to make it happen. They will also update you on the local Orlando real estate market, educate you on the local buying process, and have a list of trusted vendors which could be used during the closing process (i.e. home inspector, termite, home insurance, etc.).

Unfortunately, in the Orlando real estate market, some agents don't take time to sit down with their buyers prior to helping them with their home search. They typically just find out your criteria, put you on an email notification system on the web, and tell you to call them when you find something that you like. Then, they simply show you the house because they have the key to get you in.

On the other hand, when you partner with a good buyer specialist, at the initial consultation they will actually ask you the right questions to find out what's important to you about buying your next home. They will then find out the details of what type of home you are looking for and why those details are important to you. The buyer specialist will then start searching for that perfect house for you by setting up a search on the local MLS. Rather than having all of the new listings come to you, they look through them first to make sure they match your criteria; then, they will send it along. They will also talk to other agents about your requirements to try and find new properties that are not on the market yet. For example, if there is a particular neighborhood that you are interested in and there is nothing for sale that matches your criteria, they will call the homeowners in the neighborhood to try to find someone who may have been thinking about selling their house. 

The difference is clear: under the passive approach, you as the buyer are doing most of the work during the home search process, while with the aggressive approach, the REALTOR is actually doing the work in finding you your next home. Ultimately the aggressive approach will save you both time and money in the long run, plus a much better central Florida home-buying experience! 

For more information on this or if you need trusted realtors to represent you, feel free to Contact Us, and we would be more than happy to assist you. "Get Real Estate Smart" with The Millers!

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

Since first impressions are everything in Orlando real estate, it is vitally important to spend time and money to ensure your home has the best curb appeal. This is very important for two reasons:

First of all, when potential buyers are looking at central Florida houses on the Internet, the picture they will see first is the one of your exterior of the home. Within a few seconds, buyers will be making decisions about your home based on that one picture. Even though your home may have a beautiful interior, if the exterior doesn't show well, the buyers won't even look at the additional pictures and may just move onto the net property.

Secondly, according to the National Association of Realtors, over 63% of potential buyers will do a drive by a property prior to scheduling a showing with their agent. The exterior of the house will serve as a snapshot to potential buyers of what's inside of the property; because of this, you want to make sure that you have great curb appeal that will entice them to want to come inside. 

Here are the Top 5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Curb Appeal:

1. Wash the exterior of the house: Soap, water or even a pressure washer can easily clean the outside of your home. Also, if the exterior paint is old and faded, a fresh paint job may cost you a couple of thousand dollars, but it could add $10,000-$15,000 more to the sales price for some homes. 

2. Maintain a well-manicured lawn: Cut back trees and bushes so that the exterior of the house can be seen. Add fresh flowers to the flower beds, make sure the yard is always cut, and plant some flowers to add color to the house. You could even add a flower pot by the front door.

3. Clean the roof shingles or tiles on the roof so they show well: Since replacing a roof can be very costly, it is important to have the roof look as good as possible so buyers don't cross your home off their list, thinking your home is in need of a new roof.

4. Clean the driveway & walkway: If needed, pressure wash the driveway, sidewalk, and walkway to the front door. 

5. Highlight your front door: One of the most important things you can do is make sure that the front door to your home shows well. The front door is the first thing that a potential buyer will see and touch prior to entering the house. How it looks and feels will resonate with them as they go through the house. If the door handle is tarnished or old, upgrade it. If the front door needs some fresh paint, paint it. You want their first impression of the house to be positive and not one of what else they need to do prior to moving into the house. 

Lastly and most importantly, it is always a good idea to partner yourself up with an experienced and knowledgeable Orlando REALTOR who can recommend you things that you would need to do to improve your home's curb appeal. If you don't, it could ultimately cost you thousands of dollars in the long run. 

For more information on this or if you need trusted realtors to represent you, feel free to Contact Us, and we would be more than happy to assist you. "Get Real Estate Smart" with The Millers!

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.

It is so exciting when a buyer finds a home they fall in love with and puts a contract on it! When an offer turns into a contract, the buyer will have to write a check for a deposit at that time, which can be cashed and used at the closing. What many buyers don't realize is that during the closing process, their deposit money could be at risk if they are not paying attention to the timelines of the contingencies that are in their contract. 

In the state of Florida, there are three main contingencies which you need to stay on top of during the closing process: 

The Inspection Contingency: This is the period of time you have to do the inspections of the Orlando property. It is also known as the inspection period. Since the time period is negotiable, it typically varies between 5 to 15 days from the effective date of the contract. Basically, you are able to do any type of inspections you want for the property during that time period; however, the property has to be left in the condition it was in at the time of the contract. These inspections typically consist of a home inspection as well as a termite inspection, but they could also include a septic and well inspection. Also, keep in mind that the buyer would be paying for all of the inspections, not the seller.

By the end of the inspection period, the buyer has to make some decisions depending on the type of contract they have on the home. Since most REALTORs in Florida use an "As Is" contract, we will focus on this type of contract.

With an "As Is" contract they would need to let the sellers know by the end of the inspection period if they are moving forward with the contract or backing out. They could also ask for some repairs on the property; however, per the contract, the seller would not be required to do them. If they decide to back out of the contract, they would be able to get their deposit back, but they would not be refunded for the money they spent on the inspections. If they wait until after the inspection contingency period to back out of the contract, they would, unfortunately, lose their escrow. Always make sure that you understand when the inspection ends!

The Appraisal Contingency: This is usually performed after inspections and is usually within the 2nd or 3rd week of the contract. If the appraisal comes in at or above the contracted price, the purchase can proceed to move forward with the lender. However, if the appraisal comes back lower than the contracted price, the buyer could back out of the contract and get their deposit back. Since the buyer is responsible for the payment of the appraisal, it is important to be partnered with an experienced REALTOR who can make sure you are not wasting your time on an overpriced listing prior to going under contract. 

The Financial Contingency: The last and typically the longest contingency is the financial contingency, which is typically 30-45 days from the effective date of the contract. This is the period of time that the buyers have to receive a commitment letter from their lender stating that their lender will be providing them with the funds necessary to purchase the property. During this period of time, the buyer will be working closely with the lender to provide them with the paperwork needed to process the loan. 

This is also the period of time that the appraisal would take place on the property. If the buyer is unable to get the loan prior to the end of the financial contingency, they would be able to get out of the contract and get their deposit back. However, if it is after the financial contingency they would, unfortunately, lose their deposit. 

If the buyer is purchasing their Orlando home with cash, there is no financial contingency within the contract. 

All in all, the most important thing you can do as a buyer is make sure you are working with an experienced and knowledgeable REALTOR who is able to take care of all of the transnational deals so you don't get into a situation where you are able to lose your deposit. Working with the wrong agent could cost you thousands of dollars if they fail to keep you informed and on top of all of the contingencies within the contract.

For more information on this or if you need trusted realtors to represent you, feel free to Contact Us, and we would be more than happy to assist you. "Get Real Estate Smart" with The Millers!

The Miller Realty Group is a successful real estate team who provides real estate solutions for residential homeowners in the metro Orlando real estate market, including Lake Mary, Longwood, Heathrow, Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, and surrounding cities. Founded in 2006, The Miller Realty Group has transformed themselves into one of the top real estate teams in Central Florida.