James

J.R. - As someone with Irish heritage who has ties and friends in Ireland I can assure you that the question and the use of the term 'ghetto-blaster' by the original topic poster was not made in reference to anyone's race or with the intention to be derrogatory to anyone or the area in which they live.

My take on it was that the topic poster wants to find a property in a rural setting with birds singing and peace and quiet as opposed to a more populated and higher crime urban area where noises like ghetto-blasters (which is a slang term for a loud portable stereo to the best of my knowledge) are more prevalent.

Everyone has a right to choose where and what type of neighborhood they want to live in and I believe the poster was just trying to make that clear. Sure, they could have choose a different way to phrase it to an overly sensative, always trying to be politically correct, American audience; but you need to understand the poster is from another country where their standards and use of slang is different than ours. I believe he had no malicious or racial slur intent in his posting and any and all Florida agents qualified to help him should. - Mon Jul 14 2008, 11:01

Kenfran, one of my best friends lives in Ireland (County Cork) and is looking to purchase vacation/investment property in Florida as well right now. I personally do not know the Jacksonville area very well, but I do work with several real estate agents who live and work in Jacksonville and could advise you which areas are the best and safest for what you are looking for. Feel free to contact me at mercurytitle@gmail.com and I will gladly refer you to them. - Mon Jul 14 2008, 10:29

Your best bet is to get more infomation on the property, which it appears you are doing. Just because a Lis Pendens is filed it does not automatically mean this property will end up being a foreclosure or even a short sale. The current owner could be exploring possibilities to refinance and save their home, you never know. The bank will not and cannot give you any information on the home or pending litigation due to RESPA and privacy laws, so contacting them would be a dead end until the property is foreclosed or listed with a realtor. You could try tracking down the owner and contacting them directly and trying to negotiate with them (many title companies have specific software and know where to look in public record to find this information).

I would recommend consulting a real estate or title professional to help you get more information with this since the property is already in the early stages of foreclosure and the action would have to be stayed (and then dismissed and title cleared after purchase). Additionally, when someone stops paying their mortgage, they usually stop paying other bills and taking care of the property and could have more actions (judgments, liens, code enforcement, etc.) filed against the property and that would need to be cleared up as well. Also, if you do speak with the owner you need to find out if they have any equity left in the home (probably not) and if they do not then you would have to work with them so they could work with their lender to try and negotiate a short sale. It is not a striaghtforward process and unfortunately there is no 'easy, cut and dry' answer or way to go about it. Negotiating short sales, checking for other title issues, stopping foreclosure and working with the lenders is not something I would recommend to someone not experienced and knowledgable in that area. - Wed Jul 9 2008, 08:08

I live in the Mount Dora area (Sorrento) myself, and although it is on the quieter side of Orlando, it was exactly the reason why I moved out here. I work in Sanford and commute daily down 46 in about 20-25 minutes during 'rush hour'. I can get to Altamonte in about 30-35 minutes. As for young familes (I am 33, my fiance is 29 and we have a 7 month old son) there is plenty of family oriented things to do in and around Mount Dora and the surrounding areas of Lake and Orange County. In fact, I find this area to be a much safer and family friendly area then where I previously lived in Maitland. - Mon Jul 7 2008, 12:56

I have had great experience working with Aparo-Griffin Properties in Deland. They are truely the top agents in Deltona, Deland and all of Volusia County. They have many properties for sale including some amazing deals on REOs and short sales. All of the agents there work dilligently to advertise and promote their properties. Their Owner/Broker Kathy Aparo-Griffin is always one of the TOP producing agents accoring to MLS every quarter for the past 5 years. I have great confidence in them. (and I am NOT an agent marketing myself, like others here, this is my opinion). - Mon Jun 30 2008, 09:54

I will gladly give you a closing cost estimate, please check my website http://www.mercurytitle.net and feel free to contact me for an estimate.

As a seller you have the right to choose which title company will close your transaction once it is under contract, by shopping around now and being proactive you will save yourself money. Instead of letting your realtor decide for you, shop around and check out a few title companies before making a decision. There are many different title companies in the area and some have higher and lower closing fees, above and beyond that, get references and check them out for your best deal to save you money at closing. - Mon Jun 30 2008, 09:39