Start with probate, because inherited houses in Pine Hills, Azalea Park and Winter Park make up a big share of what we hear. Estates go through the Ninth Judicial Circuit, filed at the courthouse on North Orange Avenue. Whoever has the original will has 10 days to deposit it with the Clerk, and wills held for safekeeping can be searched online. The case file itself cannot. Orange County probate cases are confidential with no online docket, so you will not see from your desk whether a personal representative has been appointed or whether anyone has petitioned to sell.

That changes how you work an estate lead. A petition to sell real estate is reviewed in chambers, and proposed orders go to the judge in Word format with a checklist, so a sloppy filing can stall a closing for weeks. Creditors get three months from first publication. If the estate is under $75,000 after exempt property, or the owner died more than two years ago, summary administration can speed things up. If the house was homestead and there is a surviving spouse or minor child, Florida limits who could have received it by will, which changes who signs.

Foreclosure is judicial. The lender sues in circuit court and nothing sells until a judge signs a final judgment. Florida law then sets the sale 20 to 35 days out unless the lender agrees to more time. Orange County moved those sales online in 2011, and they run at myorangeclerk.realforeclose.com at 11:00 a.m. The winner puts down 5 percent, there is a 10-day objection window, and then the Clerk issues the certificate of title. Any surplus over the judgment belongs to the former owner, which is worth mentioning to a seller who thinks the auction leaves them nothing.

Tax deeds are a separate track run by the Comptroller, not the Clerk, and they have been fully online through RealAuction since the last live auction in September 2016. Bidders wire the greater of $200 or 5 percent of their top bid by 4 p.m. the day before, and the balance is due within 24 hours. The deed is usually issued within a day and the buyer takes the property as is. A certificate holder can apply two years after April 1 of the issue year, and the owner can redeem until final payment arrives. Homestead adds half the assessed value to the opening bid.

Here is a call our team takes more often than you would think. A woman answers from Kissimmee. The house is in Orlo Vista, the one she grew up in; her father still owns it but has moved in with her. It took water in Irma, they redid the floors, and Ian put close to three feet back inside. Insurance covered part of it. The caller confirms who is on title, whether there is a mortgage or a flood insurance policy, what repairs are done, whether anything is open with the county, and the number that would let her father stop thinking about it. All of that goes into the verification note.

Condition is where Orange County deals are won or lost. Pine Hills dates to the 1950s and 1960s, so expect original electrical, cast-iron drains, older roofs and years of tenant wear. In Orlo Vista and other low spots, ask about water lines on the drywall, mold remediation and whether the slab was ever dried properly. Older Winter Park homes carry their own charm and their own permit history. And in the newer West Orange subdivisions, the issue is less the house than the HOA: ask about dues, violations and any lien before you write an offer.