Miami Real Estate

Real Estate prices are dropping in Florida. What does that mean for the Real Estate Market – for 2010? Whether you and I are buying or selling (or just curious) …  information will be key to our decision-making.

New York Real Estate Guru, Steve Harney, and founder of “Keeping Current Matters”    flew to Miami last week to shed some light  – and met with Realtors from Esslinger Wooten Maxwell: “Shadow Inventory hasn’t (yet) hit the real estate market in South Florida.  Just How big a role will foreclosures play?” Read the rest of this entry »

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ARE INTEREST RATES GOING UP?    Not yet… No!   They are about to though!  Interest rates are low (on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage) and have stayed artificially low (for such a long time). The Federal Government has  been keeping them that way - stimulating the economy by buying mortgage backed securities.  

HOW LONG will the FED keep doing this?     WHEN  will they  STOP?     Read the rest of this entry »

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Miami attracts foreign buyers in droves.  The destination is appealing .  It’s  easy to get here.   From almost anywhere in the world you can be in Miami in just a few hours.  The weather is  hard to beat.  Where else can you be outdoors, poolside and oceanfront,  literally year-round?    Miami  offers an alluring lifestyle …  has a diverse population with  a mix of  cultures  and people .  Not hard to find common ground here:  food, languages, interests.  It’s an easy place to fit in…   make friends…  and feel at home.  

35% of  property bought in Miami over the past year was purchased by foreign buyers.  In 2009,   sales  of condos equalled the number of single family homes sold.  Read the rest of this entry »

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BusinessWeek bellows:  “If you don’t buy a house now, you’re stupid or broke”.    Okay, Marc Roth softens the blow somewhat as his article continues … but the basic gist of the message is simple and straightforward.  Here’s what matters…  Want to know why?   Read the rest of this entry »

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In real estate, location is everything … The same applies to timing.  In the midst of a major South Florida real estate downturn, and a disasterous economic climate that Miami has been swimming through over the past several years,  I’m not at all convinced that breaking ground and launching one of the biggest projects Coral Gables has seen in awhile was well-timed: Old Spanish Village.  

Ponce Circle Developers (a partnership between Jose R. Mas and Juan C. Mas of the Mas Group, and Raphael Sanchez of the Sanchez Group) obviously disagreed though Read the rest of this entry »

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The more information you have ( buying or selling property, getting homeowners insurance,  or re-negotiating your taxes) the better you can negotiate the best possible outcome.

I want my buyers and sellers go in to any real estate transaction with their eyes wide open, rather than risking a last minute hiccup. Read the rest of this entry »

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With the oversupply of high-end homes in many parts of South Florida (foreclosures and vacant properties) sellers are becoming more creative with  marketing efforts.   Across the country, companies are staging properties for a quicker sale and a higher price… Some rely on ”home managers” to give the home a lived-in look.   Home managers are  actually house sitters (of sorts).  They are, for the most part,  executives (who want to get a feel for the area before buying) or people in transition (for one reason or another) who are Read the rest of this entry »

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If you are wanting to sell your house,  technology could be the magic bullet!  Selling property has moved into a new era of technology! 

“Take a look  … buyers worldwide can now see your house online,   and by running their cursor over the property photo,   link  directly to pertinent information about the house,   view other comparable homes for sale in the area,   and research everything at the touch of a hand”. 

Esslinger Wooten Maxwell Realtor, Vicki Restivo, says:  “This new technology exposes intimate details of  Florida Homes to  inquiring  eyes across the globe”. 

Take a peak at the cutting edge technology  here and explore the premier homes for sale.  Selling homes boils down to high tech genius. The e-Styled Mailer is another EWM first!  If you are wanting to buy or sell property in Miami,  please give me a call at 305 793-1365 or send me a note here  through MiamiRealEstateCafe.com.   It takes more than a For Sale sign!   We market to sell!

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Buying an older home in Miami?  If  it was built more than 25 years ago, there are some  insurance coverage guidelines  you may want to be aware of.     Tile roofs  30 years old, or more … require  recertification.  Shingle roofs  25 years old, or more… require recertification.  Both tile and shingle must have a minimum remaining life expectancy of  3 years .

Wind mitigation inspection (for roof,  and shutters/ impact windows and doors)  can cut your insurance premiums.  A roof  replaced after Hurricane Andrew  can save you a lot of money.   Savings  are the same, whether the house has impact glass or it has shutters.

Citizen’s Insurance requires homes built 50 years ago (or more)  to have updated plumbing, air conditioning, roof and electric.  That means that everything from the wall out (PVC piping, traps, etc) needs to be replaced.

A house with fuse boxes can benefit from reduced insurance rates, provided that the buyer issues a letter stating that he/she  will convert to circuit breakers within 30 days of closing.

Homes  35 years old (or older ) require a FOUR POINT INSPECTION.  The Four Point Inspection actually came into existence after  Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida in 1992 … and the inspection covers roof, electrical, plumbing, roof and HVAC ( heat, ventilation, and air conditioning). Passing the four point inspection gives new homeowners  insurance discounts that are fairly substantial.  Not all inspection companies offer these inspections and Citizens requires they  be done by an engineer, architect or contractor.

Many landlords now require their tenants  take out renter’s insurance. Effective January 6, 2009   Condo owners are  required to carry insurance above and beyond any insurance the building itself carries.  (Individual owners must now have condo unit owner’s policy).   The condo association and/or  mortgage company can enforce the rule.  

Rates for Citizens’ coverage are expected to increase by 10%  January 2010.

If you’re buying a house in Florida,  you’re probably wise to have all your inspections done at one time.  Doing so will save you money on the inspections themselves (as opposed to doing them separately) and passing those inspections will save on insurance coverage.

There’s a lot to navigate in buying or selling a house. MiamiRealEstateCafe.com  invites you to Contact Us with any questions you have regarding real estate.  We blog about what impacts Miami (buyers and sellers) and your comments and thoughts are welcome! Looking for a Realtor?  Call Vicki Restivo (305) 793-1365 / Alexandra Restivo (305) 632-0164.

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GONE are the days when you could slap down 5-10%, and scoop up a 90-95% loan… moving in thirty days later!   Buying a single family home or condo in Florida?  If so, you will likely need to scrounge up 20-30%  for a down payment…  unless you fall into one of three categories:  

1) You have a high net worth and  a Private Banking Arrangement ( Private banking arrangements are limited to individuals with substantial net worth.)  Through a private banking arrangement you CAN  probably get 100% financing (or close to it).

2)You are applying for an FHA loan. If so, you are looking at a down payment of  3.5%,  with the lender financing the balance. FHA  does limit the purchase price  to $423,000.00 though.

3) You are a Foreign Investor. If so, you are looking at a down payment as high as 40-50% .

According to the loan amount you are applying for,   buying a single family home or  condo  anywhere in Miami,  will require you to come up with down payments of:

20% for loans up to a million dollars

25% for those  from a million  to $1.5

30% for anything  beyond $1.5

Vacation (or second homes) have slightly more stringent guidelines, demanding:

25% down on values up to a million

30% down on those over a million

For a more detailed analysis on down-payment requirements in South Florida, take a look at  Juicy Estates’ blog article by James Venney.

Foreign buyers, by and large, are required to come up with cash down payments of  as much as 40-50% of their real estate investment, in order  to obtain a bank loan on a Florida  home purchase.  Looking to buy property in South Florida?  Contact the Restivo Team at EWM Realtors at 305 793-1365.

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