The City of Lake Mary takes pride in its strong sense of community and its commitment to high standards of quality living. Only 30 minutes from Orlando and 45 from Daytona Beach, residents have plenty of shopping, cultural and educational pursuits in their own backyard - well planned residential communities, excellent schools, prominent businesses, and a variety of shopping.
Well located in relation to main transportation arteries, public transportation, higher education and medical facilities, recreation and commercial entities - the City is also the location of choice for many corporate office relocations and light manufacturing operations. Lake Mary, in a teamwork effort with Seminole County Government, Economic Development Commission and Seminole Community College has developed a "target industry district" to support and promote the economic development of the area. On weekdays the residential population of 15,000 climbs to more than 43,000 as business commuters arrive.
Currently, the I-4 corridor has been targeted for over 8 million square feet of office, commercial and light manufacturing uses in several planned commercial developments. The City is already home to such businesses as: AT & T- Cingular Wireless, Crescent Resources, FISERV Solutions, H.T.E., Inc.. Progress Energy, Siemens Information and Communications Network, Inc, Strang Communications, WOFL-TV Channel 35, WKCF-TV Channel 18, AAA National Headquarters, Dixon Ticonderoga, Bellsouth Mobility, Convergys, Mitsubishi Power Supply, and Colonial Town Center.
Other Highlights:
Currently, sales have increased by 49% and inventory has decreased 24%. However, prices remain low. Condos in good condition can still be found as low as $35,000. Single family homes start at around $125,000.
SEARCH CENTRAL FLORIDA MLS AT: WWW.ORLANDOSEARCHMLS.COM
SUCCESS INVESTMENT REALTY 800-590-9458 Serving Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties
EMAIL ME AT Wanda32779@aol.com FOR A FREE LIST OF THE BEST BUYS in your area.
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Lake Brantley High School opened in 1972. It is located eight miles north of downtown Orlando, Florida, in Altamonte Springs (pop. 42,000). The school has approximately 3,000 students enrolled in grades nine through twelve. The school is located on Lake Brantley in an area listed as one of the Central Florida area's most desirable locations. The school enjoys close proximity to a wide variety of recreational, cultural and advanced educational facilities.
LBHS, consistently receives "A" ratings from the Florida Department of Education and is ranked in the top 100 schools in the nation by Newsweek Magazine. Mary Williams serves as the fourth principal of Lake Brantley High School. Mrs. Williams, along with her husband and her sons are all alumni of LBHS.
The high school offers 27 AP courses in a wide variety of academic subjects as well as in elective interests and performs significantly better than the average Florida school average and national school average in SAT and ACT test scores. The school excels in extra curricular activities. Their athletics program is exceptional and the school is equally known for it's music programs. Lake Brantley's auditorium is home to the Don Baker Memorial Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre organ. The marching Patriots, consisting of over 350 students, are the largest band in the state.
Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Florida Department of Education, the LBHS curriculum consists of over 300 courses with programs offered in the following areas: general, vocational, exceptional education, honors, gifted, Advanced Placement, and Tech Prep/Dual Enrollment with Seminole Community College.
Statistics:
52% of seniors received Florida's Bright Futures Scholarships in 2008
National Merit Program & AP Scholars Commended 11
National Hispanic Recognition 1
National Achievement Finalist 2
AP National Scholars 130
AP Scholars with Distinction 43
AP Scholars with Honors 31
AP National Scholars 13
AP tests administered 2008: 1640
Number of students tested: 722
Number of tests w/a 3 or higher: 889
Percent of LBHS students passing: 54
Honors Level Offered
9-12 English Honors
Alg. I and II, Geometry, Trig/Analyt Math Analysis, Pre-Calculus, Analysis of Functions
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology
World History, American History, American Government, Economics
Third year of any foreign language is given honors credit.
AP Classes Offered
Art Portfolio
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chemistry
Comparative Government
Macroeconomics
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Environmental Science
French Language
German Language
Government and Politics
Human Geography
Latin Literature
Latin Vergil
Music Theory
Physics B
Physics C
Psychology
Spanish Language
Statistics
U.S. History
World History
SEARCH CENTRAL FLORIDA MLS AT: WWW.ORLANDOSEARCHMLS.COM
Homes for Sale In Lake Brantley District:
April 2009 - 42 homes for sale under $100,000
72 homes $100,000 to $200,000
Wanda Phillips, Broker Success Investment Realty wanda32779@aol.com 800-590-9458
1. There are usually no guarantees from the lender (or the seller) with short sales. Be prepared to be flexible.
2. The employees of the lender that are negotiating the sale are not there for the benefit of the buyer or the seller. Their only goal is to collect as much money possible for the lender. The lender may:
• Misrepresent their own policies or use other means to pressure the parties involved into paying more money.
• Require the seller to sign a note or new loan for the balance of the mortgage due.
• Change their price and terms up until the moment of closing.
• Pursue a judgment against the seller for the amount of the shortfall.
• Investigate the seller for indications of mortgage fraud if there are unexplainable gaps or discrepancies in the seller's current financial situation and what he claimed at the time the loan was granted.
• Expect the home to initially be listed at or close to market value and then dropped accordingly until viable offers are received.
• Require their own broker's price opinion or appraisal.
• Require the property be sold "as is".
• Require that the seller and the property qualify for a short sale.
• Require an offer be made before they will consider discussing a short sale.
• Give an "approval" letter that is just a thinly disguised "maybe".
• Set caps on payments to Realtors, title companies.
• Set restrictions for amounts paid to investors negotiating assignments or simultaneous closings.
• Set restrictions on issuing clear title.
3. The seller does not have to be in foreclosure or even behind on payments to ask for a short sale - the seller must prove that his house can't be sold for what he owes.
4. The term "short sale" or "foreclosure" does not automatically mean "under market value".
5. The time frame involved in a short sale varies from lender to lender, however, in general, it can take two weeks to 60 days just to receive an approval from the lender to consider a short sale.
6. The parties involved in the short sale will need to contact the lender's loss mitigation department to get basic procedure information such as:
• What is the process to qualify the seller and property for a short sale?
• Whom do you submit a contract to?
• What is the estimated time frame for acceptance of a contract?
• Will the lender confirm in writing that they will accept a short sale?
7. Sellers should always disclose the financial status and lender position to potential buyers upfront.
8. Sellers should always include an addendum to the sales contract stating that the sale is contingent upon approval of a reduced loan payoff by a third party - the Seller's lender.
9. Sellers should not sign a quit-claim deed subject to the mortgage. Sellers will still be liable for the mortgage payments.
10. The shortfall could be taxed as income to the seller. For example, if a seller is in a 30 percent tax bracket and has a $30,000 shortfall - they could end up owing an extra $9,000 in taxes.
11. In most cases, to make a short sale worthwhile for a buyer, the property should be priced substantially lower than comparable (easier to purchase) properties.
12. Tips for Buyers:
• Ask for verification that the Seller's lender has already agreed to a short sale.
• Get the terms required for the short sale.
• You can get some information about the mortgages and any other liens on the property by visit the local county public records department for additional information (some counties allow online access to public record) In Seminole County, FL search online at: http://officialrecords.seminoleclerk.org Orange County, FL: http://www.occompt.com
• Verify the status of the seller's payments and where they are in the foreclosure process.
• Lenders are getting better at working with short sales but regardless - Understand there is no guarantee that the sale will close or that the price, terms and cash required will not change prior to closing.
• Protect earnest money deposit until the lender approves the short sale.
• Specify in your contract that the buyer will be permitted at their option to cancel with full refund of deposit if the sale is not approved in writing by a specific date.
• Specify in your contract that the buyer will be permitted at their option to cancel with full refund of deposit if the sale does not close by a specific date.
• It is especially important to stay in touch with all parties involved including the seller, listing agent and settlement agent, and if possible, the lender.
• All buyers should be pre-approved for a mortgage before submitting the offer.
• Wait on having a home inspection and an appraisal for the loan until after the lender has accepted the short sale proposition.
SUCCESS INVESTMENT REALTY Serving Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties
EMAIL ME AT Wanda32779@aol.com FOR A FREE LIST OF THE BEST BUYS in your area.
Please specify the zip code(s) or cities:
Size minimum:
Type (single family, townhouse, condo):
Personal Residence or Investment:
Maximum Price Range:
NEED EXPERT ANSWERS NOW? Join the Financial and Real Estate Hotline at www.IASFinancial.com
SEARCH CENTRAL FLORIDA MLS AT: WWW.ORLANDOSEARCHMLS.COM
Search Engines and Web Directories
Search engines and web directories are two different search services available to the Internet community; and both are important to your website success.
Search engines use computer programs called robots, crawlers or spiders to automatically go from page to page through the web, reading content, and adding it to their databases. To speed up the process of getting your site indexed, most major search engines have a way for you to submit your website to their search engine.
Web directories are run by humans who review web sites and categorize them within their directories.
The top web directories include:
• Yahoo Directory: dir.yahoo.com - $299 per year
• The Open Directory: DMOZ.org - Free
• Best of the Web: botw.org - $80 per year
Getting Your Site Listed
Many search engines find your website when it appears as a link on another site. When another webpage lists your site as a link, the search engines sees this as a "vote" or "recommendation." The more "votes" your site has the more relevant it should be.
The primary websites to get links from are the Yahoo! Directory and the Open Directory. The top ranked search engine, Google, will crawl and index sites that are listed in either, or both, of these directories. Just search the directories for potential "partners" or other sites that would be interested in posting a link to your site. If all your site does is sell products or services, you will need to add some additional linkable content. Examples include how-to articles, product reviews, tools, tips and so on.
It is also a good idea to submit your site to the web directories, and then also to the individual search engines. Web directories can provide a lot of free traffic and many search engines give a relevancy boost to sites that are already indexed in major web directories.
You can submit your site directly or you can use professional online submission services that will do the work for you such as Priority Submit.com which offers paid inclusion of your webpage in top search engines within 48 hours.
There are also search engine submission software programs that can automate the tedious task of submitting hundreds of web pages to the search engines. It is generally recommended that you use submission software that simulates manual submissions, as most search engines have banned automated submissions that simply submit URLs without any regard for the search engine's submission guidelines and limits.
Here are some tips to maximize your submissions:
1. Make sure your website is 100 percent ready. Be sure your site loads quickly, makes a good first impression, is easy to navigate, includes your contact information and any applicable disclaimers, copyrights, etc.
2. Double check for errors such as spelling, typos, bad links, etc.
3. Carefully read and follow the submission guidelines in each directory.
4. Submit to the most appropriate category. This could make or break your listing, so make sure you get this right, as you only have one chance at it.
5. Make sure the contact details you enter in the submission form matches the details in your site and the InterNIC (Whois) records.To find your Whois records, visit Domain Registration Bank, click the Whois link at the bottom of the page, and enter your domain name. www.domain-registration-bank.com
6. Consider submitting to a regional directory or category and to other countries.7. If your website contains time sensitive news or information, make sure you indicate this on the submission form.
NEED EXPERT ANSWERS NOW? Join the Financial and Real Estate Hotline at www.IASFinancial.com
SEARCH CENTRAL FLORIDA MLS AT: WWW.ORLANDOSEARCHMLS.COM
Navigating the Foreclosure listing services
From what we hear in the news about all the foreclosures and short sales - you would think getting a bargain priced home would be as easy as shopping in the sale racks at the mall. But, everyday I talk with people who are just overwhelmed by the volume of properties to sift through. And if they find something interesting, it can take hours to get more information.
Usually, the problem isn't the market - it is the method they are using to search for properties. A lot of people use foreclosure listing services like Foreclosure.com and RealtyTrac. While these are great resources for checking the status of a property or your target area - using them as your primary source to search for a property when looking for something to buy can be very time consuming.
For example, when you click on Preforeclosures in your target zipcode or city - a long list of properties come up. The general assumption is that these are all in foreclosure and they are all for sale. However, the reality is that any property that has any legal notice filed against it (lis pendens) shows up on these lists. That legal notice may be from a lender threatening foreclosure but it could also be a divorce dispute, a Home Owner Association (HOA) lien, mechanics lien or other filing that doesn't typically end in foreclosure.
The owners address is usually listed and if you spend the time you can usually get a phone number for them. However, if you are able to get in touch with the owner of the property - they may not be happy to hear from you. The homeowner may be negotiating with thier bank to keep their home or they may have already caught up their payments. Also, you may see the same property listed several times. This usually means there is more than one lien filed against it. For example, if the HOA, the first mortgage holder and the second mortgage holder all file liens against a property it will show up as 3 foreclosures. (this is one reason why States that typically have more HOAs may show higher foreclosure rates - like Calif and Florida)
There is usually a Realtor Contact listed with the property - Can't I just call them to get all the info on the listed property?
Look closely at the realtor contacts listed. In most of the listings, there is a small print notation that says the realtor is listed as the 'community expert' or a local contact that pays to advertise in that spot. They don't represent the owner of the property and it is not their listing. They are usually someone who knows the area but they typically won't have much more info about the owner's intentions than you do. The "For Sale By Owner listings" and "Deals" on foreclosure listing sites are also paid advertisements similar to what you see in the paper or on Realtor.com. They are not necessarily 'foreclosures'.
An Easier Way
I am not suggesting that you can't find a deal through the foreclosure listings - I just find it takes a great deal more time and effort. Since the best priced bargains are usually snapped up quickly - getting there first is to your advantage. For instance, today, I spoke with a buyer looking for bargain priced homes in Volusia County. She found 2,085 listings on Foreclosure.com in that area. If she looks at each one for just 10 seconds - that will take me nearly 6 hours just to view. Further, these are properties that may not be for sale and there are no prices, contact info or showing insructions.
The quickest way to find out which properties are actually for sale is to contact a local realtor in your target area who specializes in bank owned properties and short sales. Tell them what you are looking for and ask him/her to keep you updated with lists of bargain priced properties that fit your criteria.
Are All Foreclosures Listed on the MLS?
Most lenders list their properties with realtors who utilize the MLS. Government listings such as HUD, VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also listed on the MLS. When an owner is negotiating a short sale - their lender will typically require them to market the property through a realtor, so most preforeclosures that are intereted in selling end up on the MLS also. Therefore, it makes sense that the most logical place to find just about every available distress sale is - THE MLS.
Realtor Tip
Even when searching the MLS, with so many available properties, going through each listing one by one can take hours. To help narrow things down quickly - I put in a maximum price and then instead of looking at the main version of the listing, I focus on the tax view. The tax information usually lists what the property sold for in the past and what the current tax value is. While these numbers doesn't always ring true, it can give me a quick assessment of which properties are worth a second look. The tax value is based on the average sales prices in the area and that gives me a ballpark idea of which properties are underpriced for investment purposes. For example, I used this strategy to look at properties in Volusia County. I had a maximum price range of $150k. In the tax view, most properties were listing previous sales and tax values in the same range as the listing price so when I saw one that sold for $246k in 2005 and had a current tax just value of $235k - I looked further When I switched to full listing view - it was a 4 year old golf front home listied for $67k. BINGO! Definately, worth a second look. I just checked that listing and sent it to everyone on my list that is interested in bargain homes in that area.
Instead of wading through the foreclosure lists' 2,085 listings in Volusia - I spend my time going through the 104 that are actually for sale with the criteria my investor clients are looking for. My clients get the best of those.
Success Investment Realty - Serving Central Florida (Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties)
SEARCH CENTRAL FLORIDA MLS AT: WWW.ORLANDOSEARCHMLS.COM
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