A lease-purchase can sometimes  be a good alternative for buyers  …  especially given the current real estate market in Miami.  

If you are relocating, a lease-purchase offers you the ability to lock in a purchase price (and yet still lease!)  …until you can sell the home you currently own.

Alexandra and I have two separate lease-purchase contracts …  in Miami (Pinecrest, Florida)… that we put together this month.  Two transactions really don’t constitute a wave …  or a trend for that matter … but it’s an option we thought worth sharing with you in our real estate blog  MiamiRealEstateCafe.com.   The terms can be worked out (as they are in any transaction!): to the benefit of both parties. Read the rest of this entry »

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Looking for a great place to vacation in Miami? Try The Palms Hotel & Spa- a well kept secret on Miami Beach. The beachfront hotel is located on 31 St and Collins Ave and boasts lush gardens, a beautiful pool area with cabanas and a delicious restaurant.

The hotel also features a world-class spa and hosts a ton of weddings throughout the year. If you live here, head out to Essensia, their fabulous restaurant, sit on the terrace and enjoy the view.

If you’re visiting, stay a while, enjoy the pool, the beach, the beautiful setting…you won’t want to go home!

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European buyers are divided almost evenly between those wanting a condo and those wanting a single family home. 

47% of Western European real estate acquisitions in Florida are for single family homes.  41% are for condos … with a handful looking for townhouses.

And 90% of them are paying cash.

Looking to buy, sell or relocate?  If you’re looking for a local Miami real estate agent to work with, we would love to hear from you.  Call us any time.  You can reach us on our direct line 305 793-1365  or email us at restivo.v@ewm.com .   Vicki & Alexandra Restivo @ EWM Realtors.

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We were showing property this week to a buyer looking for a home  priced under $500K …   Let me tell you  – There are SO many well-priced (nice) homes in Miami available  for under $500K  right now.  

Because of the pricepoint for these buyers we are working with, an FHA loan is an option. 

And we wanted to post a blog  for your benefit  … and for others of you who might looking to buy …   who might be in a similar situation:

The current loan limit on FHA loans in Florida for both  Miami-Dade and Broward counties is $423,750.00  for single family homes. 

In a prior post on MiamiRealEstateCafe.com we mentioned that FHA loans  are not limited to first-time home buyers.  

That’s true.  FHA isn’t  limited to first-time home buyers…. and that makes it a viable option for many who are looking to buy a home.

FHA loans are available to qualified individuals looking to finance a home purchase …  up to $423,750.00  …  with a loan amount of  up to 96.7% of the purchase price  …  and a downpayment of  3.5% in Miami-Dade and Broward countires. 

Call us when you’re ready to move …   Whether you’re buying or selling or relocating, we look forward to helping to make your next move a good one.   Vicki & Alexandra  Restivo …  The Restivo Team …  EWM Realtors.  Direct number:  305 793-1365  E-mail:  restivo.v@ewm.com

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The 20 year agreement between the City of Coral Gables and the University of Miami is benefiting Gables residents once again. If you reside in Coral Gables and would like to attend these games, go to the War Memorial Youth Center at 405 University Drive on the dates below, show proof of residency, and receive up to 4 tickets for the games. Only 250 tickets will be distributed per game and are given on a first come first served basis. Here’s the schedule:

Game 1: Sunday, January 22 at 12 noon. University of Miami vs. North
Carolina State. Tickets distributed starting Monday Jan 9 at 8 am.

Game 2: Wednesday, February 1 at 8 p.m. University of Miami vs.
Maryland. Tickets distributed starting Monday Jan 23 at 8 am.

Game 3: Saturday, February 18 at 1 p.m. University of Miami vs. Wake
Forest. Tickets distributed starting Thursday Feb 2 at 8 am.

Game 4: Sunday, February 26 at 6 p.m. University of Miami vs. Florida
State University. Tickets distributed starting Feb 15 at 8 am.

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Florida Wildlife Officials have put up signs along the Snapper Creek Canal, warning residents that there have been crocodiles spotted in the canal. If you frequent Red Road Linear Park or areas around the canal, you should exercise caution and be aware of your surroundings.

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The Village of Pinecrest recently started using a people mover, a free ride that connects Palmetto Middle School and Palmetto High School with the neighborhood. Many Pinecrest Middle and High school students do not qualify for Miami Dade County School Bus Service, so the People Mover is a great solution for those students. The bus runs in the morning and afternoon, with various routes in teh afternoon to accomodate after school activities. Here is the map and schedule for the People Mover.

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Last year, Experian-the credit report company- added a section which includes rental payments. It helped elevate scores for tenants who paid rent on time. Two other credit report companies are also adding the rental payment history section to their reports. Sources at FICO report that on time rental payments may help consumers because consumers with a low score could see an increase of 100 points or more on their reports. It seems as though the rental payment history does not have much effect on people with average or above average scores to begin with.

It seems that the new addition to the report benefits people who have been through a foreclosure, because it’s an opportunity for them to rebuild credit history quicker because they are paying rent on time. Given the number of foreclosed properties that have been on the market and are still to come, this news is helpful for those who have suffered the loss of their homes.

The Restivo Team would be glad to help you find a home, so give us a call today.

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In an age where social networking and blogging allows us instant communication, travel writing has now fallen on the shoulders of young explorers, armed with backpacks and digital camera’s to provide up to the minute updates on their adventures. Welcome to the new age of travel writing.

I feel travel writing has lost its personality. When I was a boy, my dreams were fueled by the stories from the mountaineers, my heroes, standing atop the windy summit of Mt. Everest. I used to take in every photograph, every film, and every dispatch about what was happening 29,000 feet above me. The stories that first inspired me told a personal and harsh reality about the place they were in. Reading the excellent Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, it didn’t romanticize the expedition. Rather, it told about what happens when things go wrong, when the objective changes, and the adventure becomes the will to survive. This is where I feel the writing has become impersonal and dull. I’m going to write about the splendid beauty of a place, like the explosion of color and aroma from a spice market in Kathmandu, or the simple design on the walls of a seldom explored church in the hillsides of Tuscany, but I’m also going to describe the troubles, the days when things turned unexpected, such as being trapped among a 2010 Maoist uprising in Nepal, or climbing a 450 foot sandstone tower in Utah in the midst of a rainstorm. I enjoy these stories because they make travel real and tangible.

My responsibility as a travel blogger is not to brag or show off where I’ve been or what I’ve done. My responsibility is to inspire others to do the same. I believe that personal experience abroad enriches the mind, and adventure forces one to realize what their body is truly capable of. I aim to make it as affordable and possible for any person my age. My recommendations are not the most luxurious or the most eye-popping, but I strive to make it simple and practical, such as urging travel on discount European airlines, or staying in simple room and board hostels. I encourage alternate forms of travel from being a simple tourist, to procuring work and volunteer opportunities for the ultimate cultural experience.

In selling travel, blogging and social media is the ultimate tool. In 2010, I was a volunteer for six months in Nepal. Through Facebook I was able to instantly share my photos, my experiences, and my personal thoughts and opinions, from the feeling of longing and homesickness, to physical ailments, joys, and defeats. It was acclaimed for being more than a travel story: it was an insight into the personal emotions of being in such an unfamiliar place. I took this into the founding of my personal travel blog, Mike Off The Map. Applying this model to my other travels, I make these rarely seen places realistic, tangible, and accessible.  This is how I believe writing should be marketed. Not through clichéd, general descriptions, but through personal experiences and opportunities. I want to know about strange foods, bizarre and uncommon customs, and I want to see the world through the eyes of the people who inhabit it.

The future of travel writing will be determined by personal and shared experiences. Stereotypes and generalizations will be broken by stories of warmth and hospitality from even the roughest areas of the world. I see a new age of exploration where young adventurers will be inspired by the instantly transmitted photos and dispatches from those travelling into the unknown, in the same way that I was first inspired. Furthermore, discovery through social networks and blogging will unite those who dream of exploring the world into a global community of storytellers and photographers. This is where the modern travelogue is headed.

Michael Restivo

 

 

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