On April 5, 2010 a new program will go into effect that will change the way short sales have been stigmatized and processed for the past several years. Under the US Treasury’s new HAFA plan (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) short sales will be more streamlined, less stressful and offer more to the seller in terms of commitment, guarantees and cash. The new program not only offers incentives to the underwater borrower but also to the lender, in an effort to finally reach some level of balance between the two.

If you are a home owner, unable to pay your current mortgage and struggling to find a solution, this may be the solution!

To find out all of the important details of the plan and how it differs from a traditional short sale read below:

Why is this so HUGE?

In the past the lenders have tried to settle hardships with borrowers by modifying their loan. If the borrower did not qualify for a modification or was still unable to pay after a modification was granted, the home would either be listed as a short sale or eventually go into foreclosure. In these situations the lender is able to come after the borrower for the remaining dollar amount. (For example: a borrower’s mortgage amount is $200,000 the home is sold as a short sale for market value at $135,000. The lender holds the borrower responsible for the $70,000 difference.)

With the new HAFA program, the lender guarantees total debt forgiveness. They promise to NEVER come after you or hold you responsible for the remaining balance.

What’s in it for you?

In addition to the lender guaranteeing total debt forgiveness and  pre-approving the short sale terms (so you can move on with your life more quickly and avoid foreclosure!), Cash for Keys is the only program that offers you up to $3,000 cash in relocation assistance. The HAFA program is also probably one of the least credit damaging options available. In a traditional short sale your credit gets hit each month you miss a payment, with the process taking so long it can add up to over a year of missed payments. And the lender can still hold you responsible for the difference.

The new program requires that the entire process take no more than 5 months, there-by minimizing the damage on your credit report and releasing you from future liability.

Find out if you qualify for HAFA today:

Simply fill in the form below or call one of our Certified Distressed Property Experts at 407-340-6458 and find out if you could and should consider this program!

Cash for Keys (or HAFA) is designed for borrowers who are facing a hardship and cannot pay their mortgage. A lender participating in the program must consider borrowers for this new program if they qualify. After filling in the form you will receive all the details about the program via Email and find out if you qualify.  For a more immediate response please call one of our CDPEs at 407-340-6458.

How will this affect the real estate market?

Part of the problem currently affecting real estate is the flood of homes on the market. Traditional short sales take up much of this inventory. Because the negotiation process with the lender is so slow, these homes can sit for months after an offer for purchase has been made. The vacant home begins to show neglect and eventually prices in the community drop even further spurring more short sales and prolonging the instability of the market. In addition the prospective buyer may get tired of waiting for a response and finally move on to another property.

With the new Cash for Keys program the lender pre-approves the short sale terms and promises to respond to offers with in 10 days. The simplification of the process and a rapid response to offers helps the market stabilize more quickly and reduces the number of homes available for sale.

What’s the First Step to get started?

If you want to participate in the HAFA or any short sale program your home will have to be listed with a Realtor. Please remember that there will be absolutely NO fees for you – we will be paid by your lender! Our team has been trained in all aspects of successful short sale completion and we are CDPE certified and have attended the HAFA training of the Certified Distressed Property Institute! You can rely on our expertise and professionalism to help you with the successful sale of your home.

Please contact us today at 407-340-6458 (or fill in the contact form on the top left of this page) to schedule a confidential consultation so we can inform you about your options. This is a free service and there is absolutely no obligation!

Below are the single family home sales data for the Zip codes 32771 and 32773 (Sanford) in the month of February 2010, organized by subdivisions. The historic town of Sanford and the new subdivision of Tusca Place with 4 sales each and Retreat at Wekiva with 3 sales lead this month in home sales. Altogether there have been 52 sales recorded for Sanford in the Orlando MLS in February.

The fastest sale happened after only 3 days in Groveview Village. The lowest sales price was $20,000 in Cates, the highest a custom home in the Enclave (on Markham Road) for $1,200,000.

For more information regarding street address etc. please contact us directly or fill in the form below with your questions and we will be in touch.

Subdivision/Community Name	Sold Price	SP/SqFt	Sold Date	DTC	Beds	Baths	Sq Ft	Built	Pool
BAKERS CROSSING PH 2	140,000	80.14	2/12/10	183	3	2	1747	2003	N
BEL-AIR SANFORD	32,000	36.04	2/10/10	25	3	1	888	1961	N
BRYNHAVEN 1ST REPLAT	98,000	74.87	2/26/10	17	3	2	1309	1990	N
BUCKINGHAM ESTS	305,000	100.53	2/19/10	12	5	3	3034	2004	N
CATES ADD	20,000	39.22	2/26/10	81	1	1	510	1935	N
CELERY LAKES PH 1	113,000	51.02	2/26/10	61	3	2	2215	2003	N
CELERY LAKES PHASE 1	140,000	49.82	2/10/10	193	4	2	2810	2004	N
DREAMWOLD	49,000	35.79	2/24/10	217	3	2	1369	1980	N
ENCLAVE	1,200,000	266.67	2/25/10	202	5	4	4500	2009	N
ESTATES AT WEKIVA PARK	330,000	85.51	2/26/10	36	4	5	3859	2008	N
ESTATES AT WEKIVA PARK	720,000	136.05	2/26/10	153	5	6	5292	2007	Y
FLORA HGTS	65,000	54.99	2/2/10	17	4	2	1182	1940	N
FLORA HGTS	159,000	73.27	2/3/10	87	3	2	2170	2004	N
FRANK L WOODRUFFS SUBD	33,000	19.86	2/1/10	39	5	2	1662	1953	N
GROVEVIEW VILLAGE	58,000	51.79	2/26/10	3	3	2	1120	1981	N
HAZEL GLEN	90,000	60.89	2/18/10	126	3	2	1478	1986	Y
HIDDEN LAKE PH 2 UNIT 1	57,600	55.38	2/12/10	16	3	2	1040	1981	N
HIDDEN LAKE UNIT 1-B	110,000	63	2/8/10	175	3	2	1746	1975	N
HIDDEN LAKE VILLAS	67,000	56.49	2/22/10	371	2	2	1186	1984	N
KAYS LANDING PHASE 1	200,000	87.64	2/2/10	54	4	2	2282	2006	N
KAYWOOD REPLAT	110,000	74.07	2/3/10	63	3	2	1485	1986	N
KAYWOOD REPLAT	134,000	83.8	2/26/10	112	3	2	1599	1986	N
LAKE FOREST SEC 18	530,000	142.74	2/5/10	271	4	4	3713	2005	Y
LAKE JESUP WOODS	224,990	92.86	2/25/10	135	4	3	2423	2009	N
LOCKHARTS SUBD	63,000	49.68	2/19/10	41	3	2	1268	2006	N
MARKHAM PARK HEIGHTS	75,000	34.01	2/5/10	110	4	2	2205	1925	N
MAYFAIR OAKS	125,000	89.16	2/22/10	11	3	2	1402	1997	N
N/A	172,000	179.73	2/12/10	37	1	1	957	1938	N
PINEHURST 1ST ADD	70,000	51.32	2/17/10	339	4	2	1364	1934	N
PLACID WOODS PH 2	95,000	73.53	2/23/10	70	3	2	1292	2001	N
PRESERVE AT LAKE MONROE UNIT 2	152,000	78.59	2/12/10	91	4	2	1934	2005	N
RETREAT AT WEKIVA	270,000	85.17	2/22/10	70	4	3	3170	2004	Y
RETREAT AT WEKIVA - PH 2	230,000	83.55	2/23/10	370	4	3	2753	2005	N
RETREAT AT WEKIVA PHASE 2	236,500	85.91	2/11/10	216	4	3	2753	2005	N
SANFORD PLACE	58,000	40.87	2/12/10	58	3	2	1419	1988	N
SANFORD TOWN OF	25,000	10.76	2/19/10	107	5	3	2324	1914	N
SANFORD TOWN OF	38,500	41.85	2/15/10	29	3	1	920	1925	N
SANFORD TOWN OF	39,000	30.71	2/17/10	110	3	2	1270	1930	N
SANFORD TOWN OF	78,000	47.1	2/22/10	36	3	2	1656	1928	N
STEVENS ADD TO MIDWAY	34,750	28.34	2/2/10	79	3	1	1226	1968	N
SUNLAND ESTATES	56,750	37.58	2/5/10	62	3	1	1510	1960	N
SUNLAND ESTS	45,200	49.13	2/2/10	18	3	1	920	1958	N
TALL TREES	294,000	107.06	2/12/10	39	5	3	2746	1995	N
TUSCA PLACE NORTH	148,455	96.27	2/26/10	28	3	2	1542	2009	N
TUSCA PLACE NORTH	148,455	95.35	2/26/10		3	2	1557	2009	N
TUSCA PLACE SOUTH	161,180	91.84	2/26/10	72	3	2	1755	2009	N
TUSCA PLACE SOUTH	170,985	86.79	2/26/10	67	4	2	1970	2009	N
WELLINGTONS ADD TO SANFORD	49,900	63.01	2/26/10	17	2	1	792	1930	N
WOODBINE	96,000	80.2	2/8/10	72	3	2	1197	1991	N
WOODMERE PARK 2ND REPLAT	43,000	35.66	2/2/10	15	3	2	1206	1971	N
WOODMERE PARK 2ND REPLAT	62,000	38.34	2/3/10	113	4	3	1617	1973	N
WOODSONG	146,000	97.99	2/19/10	20	3	2	1490	2003	N

As you can see, there is lots of real estate sales activity taking place in Sanford.

By simply filling in the form below you can subscribe to our FREE market snapshot email updates for the neighborhood or zip code of your choice. All we will need to get you started is your Email address and the neighborhood of your choice. You can unsubscribe anytime, it is that easy!

The advantage to this form of home sales research and neighborhood price observation is that this information is the most up to date. The minute a home is listed as sold in the Orlando MLS (Multiple Listing Service), you will be notified. No more waiting and guessing and no need to call anyone to get the complete info. Another benefit is that with this solution you will be able to see features and pictures of the home that sold so you can truly get a good comparison to your home.

Please note: If you would like to extend the sales alert to other areas or an entire Zip code please fill in the appropriate fields. For extended searches we recommend giving us as much information as possible so we can make sure to only send you relevant properties that truly compare to your home.

(After completing the form you will be re-directed to our Home Search Page.)

Wondering if the the Orlando real estate market has stabilized? Watch the Central Florida Market Update Video provided by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association and learn more:

Here is a quick summary of the Orlando real estate market video:

• Sales in January 2010 are up 66% compared to January 2009.
• January 2010 was the 17th consecutive month where we have seen more sales than the year ago.
• 54% of homes sold were below $140,000 (due to first time home buyer and investor demand).
• The overall median sales price was down 30% compared to 2009 from $148,274 to $103,000. This has improved affordability which means new opportunities for buyers.
• Even though homes are more affordable there are less homes to choose from. Inventory has dropped dramatically from the last year from 22,613 to 15,911 homes in the Orlando real estate market. That is an almost 30% drop! This amounts to about 9 months of supply as opposed to the 21 months supply of homes the year before.
• Decline in inventory and increase in sales means it is taking much less time to sell a home than it used to, making it 90 days in today’s market, a drop of 12% compared to the average days on market a year ago.

So altogether, not bad news for Orlando’s real estate market! Let’s see how the soon expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit affects market activity. What we have noticed lately is: there really are not many homes to chose from in the market! It is becoming very hard to find a home in the $200,000 – $300,000 price range in the Sanford/Lake Mary area. So if you are a home owner and have been thinking about selling, now may be the time! And obviously, if you are a first time home buyer, buyer (who qualifies for the $6,500 expanded tax credit) or investor in the Orlando area: now is the time to buy!

If you think your neighborhood has seen a lot of foreclosures over the past year, you should see the growing list of celebrity real estate that has gone back to the bank. Celebrities across the board have faced a bad year with their real estate. MLB players, NBA players as well as movie and TV stars have found themselves in a very real, very “main street” position as they collect their mail and find the infamous “pink” slip.

Most notably, Nicolas Cage has lost not just one home, but two of his New Orleans’ mansions to foreclosure and is now facing the possibility of losing a third home. In addition to these foreclosures, he has been forced to sell off several other properties due to a “difficult (personal) economic situation” in the past year. And singer Toni Braxton of “Un-Brake My Heart” fame has recently found that she must either pay over 12 million dollars to Bank of America or risk losing her L.A. apartment to foreclosure.

But not all celebrity real estate has ended in foreclosure, many celebrities facing the prospect of losing their home have taken the difficult decision to respond with a short sale listing of their property rather than live with the consequences of a multimillion dollar foreclosure. Lisa Wu Hartwell, made famous through the reality TV series “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” recently had to make this tough decision. After an unsuccessful attempt to modify their 2.9 million dollar loan, Lisa along with her NFL linebacker husband, chose to short sale their home for 1.9 million dollars.

When middle class America can relate (even sympathize?) with celebrities, it is clearly a difficult time for everyone.