The Orlando Condo Blog

One of the most serious misconceptions for potential home buyers right now is the idea that they’ll qualify for a mortgage “no problem”. If you’re an all-cash buyer, you can ignore everything that follows, but if you’re an investor looking to leverage, listen up - because the days of telling your Realtor “Don’t worry about [...]

You guys may notice a new logo at the top of this newsletter.  Your friendly local mortgage     professional has decided to hang his hat at a new brokerage, opening up access to almost twice as many lenders and, most notably, FHA financing.  The government’s working for ME now.  Take THAT, Uncle Sam.  Aside form that, [...]

“You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today’s rate of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31. Let’s say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. [...]

A couple of weeks ago, we forecast the mass buyout of cheap condos by investors which could reduce condo inventory and begin to threaten Florida’s “buyer’s market.” Now, the Miami Herald reports that Jorge Perez, south Florida’s condo tycoon, is setting up a $1B fund to purchase some of these troubled condo developments. As this happens, condos become [...]

Fiction: Inquiries from multiple mortgage lenders while shopping for a loan will lower my credit score.

Fact: Looking for a mortgage or an auto loan may cause multiple lenders to request your credit report, even though you’re only looking for one loan. To compensate for this, the score ignores all mortgage and auto inquiries made in [...]

Dear Sherry: What’s the difference between getting pre-approved and pre-qualified for a mortgage? I hear these terms used interchangeably - are they the same thing?
Though a prequalification and a pre-approval may seem to be the same thing, the differences are quite significant. Both require specific information from homebuyers. But that’s where the similarity [...]

I recently spoke with a buyer who was interested in being pre-approved to purchase a new condo. After our initial meeting, we reviewed his credit and to his dismay his credit rating was much lower than anticipated. A further review of his credit revealed several open accounts with balances that he did not recognize. It [...]

Dear Sherry: I’m purchasing a new condo and I’m really having a hard time comparing the different good faith estimates that I’ve received from various lenders. Why isn’t there an identical form every lender fills out with charges, similar to tax paperwork?
Signed: Confused and Frustrated.
Dear Confused and Frustrated: It’s true, it can be confusing. But every potential [...]

Dear Sherry:
My boyfriend and I want to purchase a condo in Orlando. The problem is that we both ran up credit cards when we were younger, and we have been late on our car payments a couple of times. I know our credit isn’t the greatest, but we have paid our bills on time [...]