Can we in Orlando, Florida help with Ideas to better the Real Estate Market in this State? (Pine Hills: foreclosures, rental)

[Eric G. Ortiz, P.A.]

After 5 years of being a Realtor for Remax in Orlando and going through the housing bubble (2003 to 2006) and then back to where we are right now with so many foreclosures and the Real Estate declining in our area... can't stop thinking if there is someone outhere that can share some good ideas that we can forward to our Government and Leaders to somehow jumpstart this market and the economy.

I don't know if this could be a good idea but may be if we ask our current administration to consider offering to overseas better opportunities to big companies, such as tax incentives, or may be even some inmigration amnesty for people with resources who want to come, invest, buy a home and live in Florida.

I am not sure if that is a viable alternative but if we get rid of the great inventory of foreclosures the bottom of the Real Estate Market might not be too far.

Here in Orlando and overall in Florida we have a great amount of visitors all year around and if you ask anywhere in the world chances are that they have heard or even visited Walt Disney World.

How can we use this advantage to better our Real Estate status?

Please advice. Thank you.

[**NoodLes**]

I think they should do away with ALL HOA's and leave code enforcement to local officials. HOA's don't do anything. That would help.

[idr591]

The problem is, if you look at what is on the market, everything is still overpriced.

Appreciation in the real estate market was far too much too fast. Homes are not "worth" anywhere near what people are asking for them. They never really were.

I think a large correction is necessary. Anything that falsely elevates real estate values will simply defer the inevitable.

[GloryB]

I think only time has the possibility of correcting a flooded condo/villa market. When Disney jumped in as a major competitor, then the economy took a nose dive, it left a gigantic resort area in a panic. The ones that are resorting to renting at an affordable local -vs- a vacation rental price will probably at least hold on until things pick back up for them. Also, good rent to own options may be an idea. There are real estate companies advertising such options....but I'm not sure people feel comfortable with this type of offer unless it came through a very reputable and well known real estate company.

Lowering down payments and basing loans on actual income, rather then credit score, may also be a thought. In short, market more to the lower middle class ($50,000 or less).

[s8film40]

I think the prices are somewhat reasonable right now. For me the deciding factor was buying a house for about what I pay in rent monthly. As long as the prices stay low there are plenty of people out there who want to buy. I think the $8000 credit is more than we should expect from the government other than that the only thing I could see being done on a government level to help the real estate market would be to limit investors from buying up property.

[beckycat]

They need to work on the real estate tax situation. I think it's bogus how they figure out RE taxes. I think everyone should pay the same based on the value of your home. It's rediculous when you can pay $2k and your neighbor $700 with the same home. (Only b/c they lived there longer) It should be equal for everyone.

[Silent1900]

Here is the wacky idea I have been bouncing off people at work:


Instead of dropping $700 billion down the black hole that is our current financial industry accounting system, they should have:


1) Used $400 billion of it to buy roughly 2.3 million distressed properties (using a $175,000 average price). This would accomplish two things...puts cash back on the balance sheets of the banks, and greatly reduces the 'supply' side of housing supply and demand while generating reasonable comps.

2) Used the remaining $300 billion to pay all the out of work construction guys to tear down all of them. I know this sounds horrificly wasteful, but it creates jobs, removes the carrying costs of the properties, and permanently removes millions of houses from inventory that should have never been built.


Banks are healthy....home values have not dropped down a hole...all for money that they've already tossed down a hole anyway (and the problem continues)....problem solved!


Ok, now flame away

[Metallisteve]

It's not the government's responsibility. The fault is on both the greedy mongers who doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled their house "price" (not going to call it value) and the 'tards who paid it. Why should the government be burdened with helping folks who hurt themselves? My wife and I packed it up and left the fiasco that was happening a couple years ago. $250k for a house in Pine Hills was absurd...and the cliche' rhetoric of "you're not supposed to like your first house...use it as a stepping stone" was making me sick.

So how do you "fix" things? I think you're stuck. Sorry to be negative. But what else are you going to do when tons of people are $100k or more upside down on their mortgage? Better damn site NOT use my tax dollars to help them out. I did the responsible thing and left a grossly over-inflated market to somewhere I could afford a humble and respectable home. My highly unpopular opinion of the solution: everyone is just going to have to sit for a while and make up that gap between principle and home value. If that takes 10 years, so be it. A home is supposed to be somewhere you settle down, not something used as a gambling token on a craps table. Folks should have thought a littl eharder about paying so much for something that they couldn't live with for that long if that solution pains them.

If I sound sore or negative about the subject, then my tone has come across accurately. I had to bail on the region I was raised in...my hometown, my family, and friends. The area went to crap largely in part to the real estate firestorm of idiocy that happened 2004-2007. Nobody wanted to listen...everyone wanted to make 200-400% on their "investment." No one gave a crap about what it was going to do to the region. Now you've got a half-brained dim-witted tax "reform" causing major head aches at the local municipalities and a huge ownership in the whole national economy issue (don't believe that statement? look at a map of foreclosures acorss the country and see that Central Florida is one of the few places with about 1 foreclosure per 150-200 homes...which I believe is a very watered down number).

Sorry...rant machine shutting down now.

[AONE]

Don't sell, it is only a loss when you do. hold for 5 years.
For banks lower deposits and make the loan process a little easier
For commercial allow 20% down, not the 30% they want.

[Metallisteve]

Originally Posted by AONE

...For banks lower deposits and make the loan process a little easier. For commercial allow 20% down, not the 30% they want.

I do agree with the commercial idea, but as for the lax residential lending, isn't that what helped get us into this mess???