Heather the Realtor - Orlando Area's Top Real Estate News

Baldwin Park New Construction Homes for Sale. David Weekly is in their final close out stages in this highly sought after community. Baldwin Park is just minutes to downtown Orlando yet has a suburban feel. Even a stepford wife would be jealous of this neighborhood.

Baldwin Park is free from gates and fortress walls. It's a carefully planned neighborhood that has a true sense of community and is one of the friendliest one's in Orlando. With seemlingly endless places to meet up with your neighbors, friends and family all homes are walking distince to the local Publix, shops, doctors offices, CVS, schools and many restaurants, located all within the community.

Miles of endless sidewalk and trails blend seemlessly with the surrounding lakes and natural wildlife. There are 3 community pools for residents to enjoy, a fitness facility, 2  community clubhouses and more parks and playgrounds then I have fingers. Want to join a dog club, they've got it. Want to do yoga in the park, they've got it. Want a place to meet your mommy and me play group for dancing with your kids, they've got it at the all new Vibe. Baldwin Park is the perfect blend for all lifestyles and stages of life.

Homes come in a few main styles, from Mediterrain to Colonial to the custom estates. Garages are accessed by alleys in the rear of homes for a prettier and friendlier streetscapes. It's an Orlando community you'll be proud to call home

The community is a true slice of heaven, but the best part is the deals. If you are looking for a home in Baldwin Park  then you have come to the right place. I recently negotiated a few deals on some inventory units that are ready now. One property is a full $100,000 off asking price plus $15,000 in closing costs, got them to throw in hardwood floors and a refrigerator to seal the deal

Baldwin Park New construction Homes for Sale with all the bells and whistles starting in the low $300,000s for a nice single family home. Baldwin Park is slated to be completly closed out by years end.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these great deal you need to contact me by August 30th to take advantage.

Send me an email Heather@HeatherTheRealtor.com or text or call me at 407-810-6304

Every wonder how the rest of us live?  Well here is your chance to own a piece of boy band history or at least take a peak inside their stunning digs. If you can cough up the nearly $6 million, you can own Joey Fatone's house. If you're interested contact me for more details and a private tour. I must say the outdoor living space far exceeds the home itself, no need to ever travel this home optimizes the staycation, plus it has a private outdoor sushi bar.

"Paradise Found", a 12,000+ sqft gated, 4.36 acre lakefront estate on Butler Chain of Lakes. Boasts 6 bdrms, 6 baths, 4 half baths, home theater rm (w/stadium seating), office/study, game room, 10+car garages, $1M+ resort-style pool, dock/boathouse. Please view the Virtual Tour photography to appreciate the splendor and lavish inclusions of this palatially proportioned and exquisitely appointed lakefront estate. The gourmet kitchen boasts granite counters and island, dual refrigerators, two built-in ovens, and breakfast room. The formal living and dining rooms are ideal for informal family gatherings or hosting gala events. The majestic 3,800-sqft master wing boasts vestibule entry, spacious sitting room w/butler's pantry, dual-sided fireplace; a nearly 700 sqft master closet w/3 dressing islands, built in perimeter shelving and hidden access door. The master bath suite offers separate sauna, steam room, dual water closets, walk-in shower, and Jacuzzi tub. The theater room provides a private retreat, stadium seating, large projection screen, and state-of-the-art surround sound. The upstairs game room/bonus area includes a separate serving bar, and there is a second laundry room, multiple bedroom and bath suites, and two private balconies from which to enjoy panoramic vistas of the expansive, manicured grounds and azure lake views. The resort-style pool is undoubtedly the most dramatic and infinitely-appointed offering in residential history! State-of-the-art security, surveillance and sound systems.

Orlando Real Estate Market in review for the week of July 19 -25, 2009. There is a portion of the Central Florida real estate market that is moving at a fast clip with properties flying off the shelf, then there are other segments of our market that are barely moving off the starting line.

Orlando's First Time Home buyers need to be educated and work with a buyers specialist dealing in their price segment. Properties under the $150,000 price point are almost in what's considered a normal market and no longer a sellers market. So lets she what has happened this week in Orlando's Real Estate Market.

Lake Mary Luxury Living in Magnolia Plantation one of the area's nicest gated communities, not to mention golf course communities.

You know you are home when you enter the gates of Magnolia Plantation in Lake Mary, FL. This beautiful "Back to nature" setting of North Orlando is nestled up to the Wekiva River Basin and offers large quarter-acre to one-acre custom estate home sites. Some of the many custom builders found in this community are Brentwood Homes, Hillcrest Homes, Aruther Rutenberg Homes & Carmen Dominguez. Most all homes enjoy a wooded conservation or golf view.  A large nature park area equipped with playgrounds and picnic pavilions, 18 hole championship golf course and clubhouse are some of the many amenities available. 

Magnolia Plantation is located in Lake Mary, FL which was rated the #4 best place to live by Money Magazine.  Lake Mary is home to some of the best schools in the state with Lake Mary High School, Greenwood Lakes & Markham Middle and Heathrow Elementary. Looking for a place to eat? There is something for everyone in Lake Mary from big name chain restaurants to quaint boutique deli shops there's even a fresh seafood and butchers market. On Saturday stroll downtown Lake Mary's farmers market or take the kids to enjoy the splash park. Coming this fall is Lake Mary's own Dog Park.

If Magnolia Plantation sounds like the neighborhood you have been looking for then start searching Magnolia Plantation Homes for Sale and be one step closer to owning a home.

Thornton Park Condo Living is one of the best experiences I have had. I grew up in Lake Mary, FL and have spent the past year and half living in a Thornton park Condo in Downtown Orlando. Thornton park living has so much to offer for singles, families and empty nesters alike. 

Thornton Park is located in Downtown Orlando, Thornton Park is the city’s most stylish district.  Just east of Lake Eola, this residential neighborhood is home to both urban condos and oak-shaded bungalows with wrap around front porches and spacious front yards.  Thornton Park is filled with brick-lined streets, shade trees and sidewalks dotted with a variety of chic boutiques, trendy restaurants and relaxed outdoor cafes reminiscent of European cities.

Thornton Park also features a vibrant commercial district which stretches along Washington Street, Summerlin Avenue and Central Boulevard. Thornton Park offers a fresh urban scene that is distinctly different with its Old Florida style homes that are both attractive and affordable priced. Living in the Thornton Park neighborhood enables residents to keep their finger on the pulse of the city both day and night.  The downtown district and Thornton Park neighborhood is highly regarded by its diverse group of homeowners and has become the place to be for Orlando’s intellectuals, artists and young professionals.

As a resident of Thornton park condo I get to fully utilize the mix use space that is on the ground floor of my building. I have the option of walking to my amazing hair dressers at Lamb's Eat Ivy, grabbing a bite to eat at one of the plethora of great restaurants including Dexters, grab fresh produce on Sunday at the farmers market, walk to my eye doctors for that annual eye exam. Find that new best selling book at Urban Think, mail out my package to my sister in Michigan at the UPS store, shop for trendy threads, get a pedicure at one of the spa's like Thornton Park spa. Oh and when cooking that amazing dish and forgetting that all important item, I can simple walk over to the Publix or to the 7-11 for a refreshing slurpee. There are so many other things to do when you purchase a home in Thornton Park but these are just a few of my favorite places I like to walk to.

While Downtown Orlando is not a large city like Denver, New York City or Atlanta, Thornton park sure does have the feeling of a large city with a little bit of that laid back Florida atmosphere.

Orlando home sellers have challenges when it comes to selling their house in this current market. As most of us know the majority of the listing in Orlando are either short sales or bank owned properties, this makes it very hard for the average seller to compete. However when you do receive an offer on your home there are some things to keep in mind when negotiating offers.

DON'T

Dont let disagreement over a minor point take the focus away from a well-priced offer. The value of the concession is probably far less then the profity you will be making on your home.

Try not to get "Negotiating Fever" negotiating isnt a game so dont treat it as such by going back and forth, if the price is reasonable and the terms, then dont keep pushing.

DO

Try to find other options for unacceptable contingency clauses. Maybe the buyers have a contingency to sell their home prior to buying yours because they need the down payment. IF applicable maybe you can hold a 2nd mortgage on the house for 6 months or so while their home sells or closes.

Remember everyone is trying to low ball in today's market and that's ok. Lets say the house is priced a $200,000 and buyers offer $180,000 that's only a 10% reduction like offering $.90 instead of a $1

Remember to weigh the offer based on your own urgency to sell and the time the house has been on the market, maybe that offer isnt that bad.

Don't go and break out your parachute pants just yet and start doing the hammer shuffle. No it's Hammer Time because Im in the building. At the beginning of the year I was speaking with a lender that I work with on many deals and adore. She is a hard working no holds bar type of lender and if she says it gets done it will get done. If I know a deal is with her my job is 10x times easier because of her. But that's for another blog. In our discussions she told me how much other Realtors she deals with hates Orlando Bank Owned properties because they need work and the banks wont do anything to them. She was taken back, well my Realtor Heather always gets the banks to do things, a new roof, $10,000 worth of repairs you name it, she is a Hammer. And so the nickname was born.

When I meet clients and we start talking about making an offer on a property the story of The Hammer is often times brought up. So my clients like to joke if I will be a small hammer or a sledge hammer in getting them the deals they want.

Recently one client after a long struggle I got them the house they wanted for the price and terms they wanted and they praised me up and down telling me I was a sledge hammer. Needless to say the transaction wasnt a smooth one and I even had to get on the phone with her student loan company to get somethings straightened out and at that point she said your not just a sledge hammer your a golden hammer. 

On the day of closing she handed me a small gift, it was a golden hammer charm, which I simply adore and love. It means the world to me because it's a representation of my hard work and dedication to my clients and their appreciation for what I do.

Maybe now I need to break out the theme song....... HAMMER TIME

Many Orlando First Time Home Buyers are still sitting on the fence with the thought in mind that the market has not yet hit bottom and they are waiting for prices to fall. I must agree I dont think we are at the bottom yet either. We are bouncing around the bottom and Im sure some area's and homes will continue to go lower value over the next few years, but there should be a different fear in minds of home buyers or should I say a cost associated with waiting for that perceived bottom.

The interest rate. There is one thing that will inevitable happen the interest rate will rise. Over the past month we have seen just that same very thing happen. Rates went from 4.25-4.5% to as high as 5.8% in just a matter of weeks. On average there was a 1% increase in the interest rate. While 1 looks like a small number and really wouldnt make that large of an impact on buying you would be amazed at what a difference 1% can make.

So lets put this scenario into action. Lets say Buyer Sally is preapproved up to $250,000, lets see how a 1%+ increase in interest rates will affect her purchasing power.

Buyer Sally once was able to purchase a home up to $250,000 and have a $1,285/mo payment, but since the interest rate went up 1% she can now only look at houses up to $217,289. She lost over $30,000 in purchasing power. If she waited longer for prices to drop she can now only look at houses up to $195,660 over a $50,000 reduction. If you have ever compared house, you will notice that a $32,000 price difference means a significatly different house and over $50,000 means your not even in the same neighborhood or area of Central Florida.  

Now you're probably thinking well it wont matter because if I wait for the Orlando Housing Market to drop to the bottom I will be able to pick up the same home I looked at $250,000 for $217,289.  That would mean over a 15% decrease in price, at our current rate of .92% it would take over 16 months for that house to come close to the $217,289 price. However it only took one week for rates to jump over 1%, honestly Im not sure we have a 16-20% price reduction left in this price point.

Orlando First Time Home Buyers shouldnt be looking at just one factor of price but also the purchasing power they have in this current market with low interest rates. If you are ready to consider purchasing your first home in the Orlando area give me a call to discuss your purchasing power.

A month ago I spent the day at Univerisal in Orlando as us Floridians call it doing the tourist thing. In light of tonights opening of Harry Potter which your's truly will be at I wanted to post a picture of the upcoming ride set to open in 2010 at IOA. They are redoing the Dueling Dragons ride and turning it into Harry Potter land (I dont know the name) Take a look below at the beginnings of what looks like Hogwarths. 

Almost 2 years ago to the day I wrote a blog post about the changes coming for the Downtown Orlando Farmer's Market I am proud to say that the farmers market has done a complete 180 and has truly become a destination place for many locals on Sundays.

I love stopping by to get some fresh produce for Sunday dinners and week breakfast (I love the grapefruits)

Or some exotic blends of cheese's from an old high school friend that's there every Sunday.

Plus who can argue with live music and a beer garden while taking in the sights and sounds of the Downtown Orlando Farmer's Market and Lake Eola.

If you haven't checked it out make sure to come on down this Sunday.