Thomas Lord, Living in St. Cloud Florida Real Estate

Thomas Lord, Living in St. Cloud Florida Real Estate Helping buyers & sellers navigate St. Cloud & Osceola County real estate with honest, local insight.

09/25/2026

🏡 OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY IN ST. CLOUD!

Looking for your next home in St. Cloud? Come take a tour of 5103 Jones Rd, St. Cloud, FL 34771 this Saturday!

📍 5103 Jones Rd, St. Cloud, FL
📅 Saturday, September 26th
⏰ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
🔑 Hosted by Realtor Marie Vaca

Stop by, walk through the home, explore the property, and see if this could be the one you've been waiting for!

Marie will be there to show you around and answer any questions about the home or the buying process.

✨ No appointment necessary....just stop by!

Know someone looking to make a move in St. Cloud? Tag them or share this post with them!

📲 For more information, contact Thomas Lord, Central Florida REALTOR®
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]
🌐thomaslordrealestate.com

PEOPLE | HOMES | NEXT CHAPTERS

09/24/2026

🏠 SELLERS: I said it in a prior video and I'll say it again. Your competition isn't just the house down the street. It's the BUILDERS.

I recently worked with a buyer who really liked a resale home.

My client needed some help with closing costs. The seller was offering some assistance, but unfortunately, they weren't willing to negotiate enough to make the numbers work.

We hit a stalemate.

So I told my buyer, “Let's go see what the builders have available.”

And wouldn't you know it…

The builder was willing to work with my client, put together a deal that made financial sense, and now my buyer is UNDER CONTRACT on a brand-new home. 🔑🏡

There's an important lesson here for anyone selling a resale home in today's Central Florida market:

You are competing with new construction.

Builders may be offering:
🏗️ Closing-cost assistance
💰 Financing incentives
📉 Interest-rate incentives
🤝 More flexibility to get the deal done

That doesn't mean you have to give your home away.

But when a qualified buyer is standing in front of you, you need to understand what they're comparing your home against...and sometimes a little flexibility can be the difference between putting up a SOLD sign and continuing to sit on the market.

Price gets buyers interested. Terms can get the deal CLOSED.

Thinking about selling in St. Cloud or Central Florida? Let's make sure your home is positioned to compete, not just with other sellers, but with the builders too.

Thomas Lord | Central Florida REALTOR®
People. Homes. Next Chapters
📱 321-394-9383
📩[email protected]
🌐 thomaslordrealestate.com

09/16/2026

What can you get for under $350K in St. Cloud right now?

Quite a bit actually. Rates might not be so great, but the interest rate is only one part of the deal.

In today’s market, buyers may have something they haven’t had much of in years:

LEVERAGE.

More homes to choose from.
More sellers willing to negotiate.
More opportunities for closing-cost assistance.
And less pressure to make a rushed decision just to beat 10 other offers.

Could rates come down later? Absolutely.

But here’s the question nobody talks about:

What happens if rates drop and a bunch of buyers jump back into the market at the same time?

More competition could mean fewer concessions, more multiple-offer situations, and potentially more upward pressure on prices.

Instead of waiting for the “perfect” rate, I’d rather help you find the right house, at the right price, with the strongest terms we can negotiate TODAY.

And if rates improve later? You may have the opportunity to refinance.

Thinking about buying in St. Cloud or Central Florida? Let’s talk.

There are deals out there, you just need to know where to look and how to negotiate them.

Thomas Lord | Central Florida Realtor®
People | Homes | Next Chapters
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

09/15/2026

Your biggest competition may not be the resale home down the street — it may be brand-new construction.

Right now, St. Cloud buyers have a LOT of choices. Builders are competing with attractive pricing, rate incentives, closing-cost assistance, and homes that are move-in ready.

That doesn’t mean your resale home can’t compete. It absolutely can. But the strategy matters more than ever.

✅ Price it correctly from Day 1
✅ Make the home show its best
✅ Market it aggressively
✅ Understand what nearby builders are offering
✅ Give buyers a reason to choose YOUR home

The days of simply putting a home on the MLS and waiting for multiple offers are behind us.

If you’re thinking about selling in St. Cloud or Osceola County, I’ll show you exactly what you’re competing against, resale AND new construction, and how we position your home to win.

📲 Thinking about selling? Let’s talk.

Thomas Lord | Central Florida Realtor®
People | Homes | Next Chapters
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

09/04/2026

💰 Osceola County is creating a $5 MILLION arts grant, but at the same time, we're being warned that essential county services could face cuts?

That's the part residents need to be paying attention to.

As I discuss in this video, Osceola County is moving forward with the creation of a $5 million grant for the arts.

Now, supporting the arts isn't necessarily the issue.

The issue is priorities.

At the same time this money is being made available, members of the County Commission have been warning about the potential consequences if Amendment 3 passes, including the possibility of cuts affecting county services.

So residents have every right to ask:

👉 If the financial situation is serious enough that we're talking about cutting services, how are we also in a position to create a new $5 million arts grant?

👉 Are we truly facing a funding crisis, or is this ultimately about where the County Commission chooses to spend taxpayer dollars?

👉 And when budgets get tight, what should come first?

These are exactly the kinds of decisions taxpayers should be watching because they ultimately affect our taxes, our services, our communities and our quality of life.

🏡 As a local Realtor, I try to keep you informed about more than just home prices. What's happening in local government and what's being built and funded around us can help shape what it's like to live here for years to come.

What do you think? Is creating a $5 million arts grant the right priority while simultaneously warning residents about potential cuts to county services? 👇

Thomas Lord- Central Florida Realtor®️
The Homepride Group/ eXp Realty
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

09/03/2026

🏡 Mortgage rates are back around 6.8%… but buyers may actually have MORE reason to negotiate.

Yes, higher rates hurt affordability. But there’s another side to the story.

Higher rates can mean fewer payment-qualified buyers in the market.

And when there are fewer buyers, sellers and builders have to compete harder for the ones who are still shopping.

That can create opportunities to negotiate:

💰 A lower purchase price
🏦 Seller-paid closing costs
📉 Mortgage rate buydowns
🏗️ Builder incentives and financing specials

So the opportunity right now isn't the 6.8% rate itself…

👉 It's what we may be able to negotiate because of it.

And here's something else to consider: if mortgage rates eventually fall, more buyers could jump back into the market, which could mean more competition and less negotiating leverage.

If you're thinking about buying in St. Cloud or Osceola County, don't just ask, “What's the interest rate?”

Ask: “What kind of deal can I negotiate in this market?”

📲 Want to know what buyers are successfully negotiating right now? Send me a message.

Thomas Lord-Central Florida Realtor®️
The Homepride Group| eXp Realty
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

09/01/2026

💰 Amendment 3 could mean more money staying in the pockets of Florida homeowners, and Osceola County is already talking about what it could cost THEM.

Osceola County Commissioners yesterday discussed the potential financial impact Amendment 3 could have on county revenue.

But here's the question I think homeowners should be asking:

What about the financial impact property taxes are having on US?

Home values have climbed dramatically over the last several years. Insurance costs have increased. HOA and CDD fees can add hundreds of dollars a month. And homeowners continue to watch their overall cost of living go up.

So when government officials talk about how much revenue they could potentially lose from additional property-tax relief, taxpayers have every right to ask:

Before asking homeowners to keep paying more, have we done everything possible to control government spending?

Osceola County has experienced tremendous growth, and residents haven't always agreed with the decisions being made by the people sitting on that commission.

Maybe the answer isn't automatically finding another way to collect the money.

Maybe it's forcing government to take a harder look at how our tax dollars are being spent.

I'm in favor of Amendment 3 because I believe homeowners deserve meaningful property-tax relief.

But I want to hear from YOU.

🏡 Would you support Amendment 3 if it meant more money stayed in homeowners' pockets, even if Osceola County had to tighten its budget?

👇 Let me know in the comments.

08/31/2026

🏡 Two homes in St. Cloud can both be priced at $400,000… but that doesn’t mean they cost the same to own.

One reason.... The CDD.

If you’re shopping for a home, especially in newer communities, you’ve probably seen CDD mentioned. But what exactly are you paying for?

CDD stands for Community Development District. It’s a special-purpose local government that can help finance and maintain infrastructure and community facilities.

That can include things like roads, stormwater systems, landscaping, streetlights, common areas, parks, playgrounds, pools and other amenities.

💰 Here’s why buyers need to pay attention:

CDD assessments can become part of the annual cost of owning the property. And depending on the district, there may be costs associated with both ongoing operations and maintenance and debt service related to infrastructure financing.

And a CDD is not the same thing as an HOA. Depending on the community, you may have both.

So imagine comparing two similar homes:

🏠 Home A: $400,000
🏠 Home B: $400,000

Same price doesn’t necessarily mean the same monthly payment or total cost of ownership.

When I help buyers compare homes, especially new construction, I want to look beyond the sticker price:

Mortgage + Property Taxes + Insurance + HOA + CDD = the number that really matters.

A CDD isn't necessarily good or bad. The important thing is understanding what you're paying, what you're getting for it, and how it affects your budget.

Thinking about buying a home? Let’s compare the real cost of the homes you’re considering, not just the asking price.

📲 Thomas Lord | Central Florida Realtor
The Homepride Group/ eXp Realty
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

08/28/2026

🏗️ WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH SANDPIPER ON HICKORY TREE ROAD?

One of my viewers, Diane, asked whether I’ve heard a start date for the Sandpiper development planned near Hickory Tree Road and Robert Lee Road.

The short answer: not yet.

Sandpiper is a proposed residential community covering approximately 50 acres. Osceola County approved a preliminary plan in December 2023 that includes:

🏠 252 residential lots
🌳 16 additional tracts for stormwater, open space, utilities and similar uses
🏘️ A mixture of detached and attached homes

However, I have not found a confirmed builder, groundbreaking date, home-sales timeline or starting prices. A 2025 development report still classified the project as “prospective.”

So, the development is real and the preliminary plan has been approved, but there is currently no publicly confirmed construction start date.

I’ll continue monitoring the permits and county records and will share an update as soon as something changes.

What other St. Cloud development would you like me to investigate? Ask and I'll answer.

Thomas Lord, Central Florida Realtor®️
📞321-394-9383
📩[email protected]

I met Pam as she was looking for a Realtor and realized we had some mutual friends. We met and discussed a plan for the ...
08/27/2026

I met Pam as she was looking for a Realtor and realized we had some mutual friends. We met and discussed a plan for the sale of her home. She had a great grasp on the current market and trusted my knowledge of the local area.

We priced it RIGHT and went on the market. First week TEN showing requests, and we received an asking price offer and were under contract in SIX days.

Yesterday we closed and Pam is starting a new chapter! Congratulations Pam!

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St. Cloud, FL
34772

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