New Florida Real Estate Blog of Interest

Florida Realty Resource Blog

http://blog.orlandorealtyresource.com/

The purpose of this blog is to provide useful real estate information, which will assist both buyers and sellers. We will provide you with valuable market updates, statistical data and new trends as they develop. Many consumers find it difficult to locate the information they need when looking to buy and sell a home. This site is being provided as a free service to assist buyers and sellers in the Florida housing market make informed real estate decisions. In order to better educate and inform buyers and sellers, we will continue to develop and provide a set of comprehensive FREE Florida Real Estate Reports as a FREE No-Obligation service to our visitors. In the hope, you who visit this site and in turn, consider us in order to assist you in the purchase or sale of your home.

We truly hope that you find our blog postings, information, tools and resources helpful and we look forward to building a potential business relationship in the future.

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Horror Stories to Avoid When Buying Orlando Real Estate

Everybody has a horror story of some kind, when talking about Orlando real estate. There are just some things most people don't think about when searching for property to buy or sell, whether you’re the buyer, the seller or even, yes, the agent.

Exhibit A
Sheryl (name changed to protect the innocent) is exhibit A. Now, she thought she’d bought a nice house at a good price. Everything seemed to be perfect. The one place that Sheryl went wrong was forgetting to do a home inspection on that beautiful piece of Orlando real estate.

After a pleasant day of moving in, she went to take a shower. Turning on the faucet, she noticed the water pressure wasn’t what it should be. Ignoring the indications of worse yet to come, she flipped from faucet to shower. Only a few lonely, sad drips came from the showerhead. To compound the issue, she discovered that the washer didn’t have enough pressure to get her clothes clean, washing dishes was an exercise in futility and if a hose was turned on in the garden the second story toilet wouldn’t flush.

After much ado, many phone calls and two plumbers, Sheryl found that the beautiful tree in the front yard that had sealed the deal had also burst the pipes. She now had to pay to have the tree removed (it couldn’t be saved), as well as the pipe dug up and replaced. In addition, she owed the water company for all the water lost through the break.

The moral: Don’t skimp on the details just because you’re under pressure.

Exhibit B
Bob, a real estate agent (again, name changed), still loves open houses. They’re a big deal for him and he makes plenty of contacts that way. However, even Bob, who has been in the industry for years, forgot to do a last walk through before a certain open house started. Unfortunately, he and the potential buyers found an unpleasant surprise in the upstairs bathroom, deposited thoughtfully by the current owner. In trying to take care of the surprise, he found the toilet was blocked and the bathroom fan didn’t work. Needless to say, the potential buyers didn’t stick around to tour the rest of the house.

The moral: A short walk-through can save a lot of embarrassment.

With any Orlando real estate, there’s always the chance that you’ll miss something. A homebuyer’s checklist or home seller’s checklist is a great way to make sure you don’t. If you do, try to take what comes with a grain of salt, a lot of patience and as much of a smile as you can muster.

If you’re trying to find a great home without the horror, we can help. Call us at 407-876-5771 for more information.

Don’t Forget to Inspect the Orlando Homes for Sale!

Just because you’ve found some interesting Orlando vacation homes for sale doesn’t mean your house hunt is up. There’s much more to do before signing those closing papers, and one of the biggest is having the home inspected. In fact, getting a home inspection will probably be drilled into you by your real estate agent. Yes, it’s that important.

What can you find out from a home inspection report?
Although many people do get a home inspection, just as many have a difficult time deciphering the reports to find out what’s serious and what isn’t. To make it worse, inspections vary from state to state. Fortunately, the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, who has a list of inspectors all around the United States and Canada, has a specific set of guidelines.

General Inspection
A general inspection doesn’t require a specific license. It covers such things as:

Structure – how well the walls, ceiling, foundation and more are put together
Exterior evaluation – landscaping, elevation, drainage, windows
Plumbing – Checks the condition of piping and identifies the materials used
Roof and attic – framing, flashing, gutters, ventilation
Systems – water heaters, duct work, air conditioning, chimney, furnaces, sprinklers
Garage – Slab, firewall, garage door
Appliances – including smoke detectors
Electrical – main panel, types of wiring, grounding, circuit breakers, light fixtures and more

The inspection reports will state whether the Orlando vacation homes for sale have serious health and safety issues, bad or old roofs, systems malfunctions, foundation problems, and moisture and drainage problems.

Special Inspection
Some things require a specific license for inspection. Although you may not want to spend the extra money, these things can cause the “sick house syndrome” (people getting sick a lot for no recognizable reason). These problems should not be ignored:

-Asbestos
-Radon
-Formaldehyde
-Mold, mildew and fungi
-Rodents
-Lead
-Methane
-Radiation

Some issues aren’t big and can be dealt with fairly easily. Other things, however, are expensive fixes and usually deal breakers. Before you sign closing papers on one of the Orlando vacation property for sale, get that inspection done to find out what you’re really getting.

If you’re looking for a healthy home in good condition, we can help. Call us at 407-876-5771 for more information.