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Archive for the 'Investment Real Estate' Category
Student Housing Popular With Investors
An article in CoStar regarding student housing, reinforced what I already know. Student housing is a good investment and not all student housing is created equal. As a parent with two students in college, and a third student one year away, I spend a lot of money on housing. My first experience was when we arrived in Gainesville four years ago. We found that student housing is big business and extremely competitive in terms of rental rates. For less than $600 a month, my son had his own room and bathroom in a fully furnished apartment in a student complex. It was secure, had tons of amenities and activities geared around the college student. Even though he wasn’t living in the dorms, I feel like he still had a dorm-like experience.
Our second son is attending college in Fort Meyers and though he is living in the dorms, there is a student housing complex nearby identical to the one my son in Gainesville lived in. It is expected to be completely rented out in the next couple of months because the university just bought up a large multi-family complex close to their campus to convert into off campus dorms. In terms of investments, it is no wonder student housing is popular. Remember, the closer to campus, the higher the premium.
5 Steps To Take If You Are Buying In Today’s Miami Real Estate Market
If you are trying to purchase your first home or investment property and take advantage of the low interest rates and prices, congratulations! A couple of things you may want to do to avoid frustration:
1)If you are financing, prequalify for a mortgage. It will make your offer that much stronger.
2)Do your homework-find out what properties are listing & selling for in the area you are looking in. If they are selling for more than you qualify for, you are looking in the wrong area.
3)Be realistic with your expectations-if you are only looking at foreclosures and short sales, realize that with the former you will be competing with cash buyers, be in a multiple bid situation where the property will probably go for more than asking, and you will most likely need to do some work. With a short sale you are looking at a long closing process.
4) If you are planning on working with a Realtor, work exclusively with one and have him/her set up all appointments, even if you are searching on-line on your own. If you go to open houses let the person holding it open know you are working with a Realtor.
5) If you submit offers and consistently lose them for any reason other than you were competing with a cash buyer, find out what the reason is and address it so you won’t make the same mistake next time. If it is consistently due to price, stop lowballing if you really want to get in the market or, go back to #2 above
Office Building For Sale Coral Gables, FL
This free-standing building with 14 parking space at 3860 SW 8 Street, Coral Gables is a great buy. Located in the popular 
medical district of 8th Street and Ponce de Leon, it is a great buy: 6535 square feet for $1,300,000 is less than $200 per square foot. You can’t build a new building for that price! Hurricane shutters, elevator, open air spaces, offices, conference rooms
3860 SW 8 St., Coral Gables – Free Standing Office Building For Sale
Free Standing Office Building with Parking
This updaated and well maintained office building is in the bustling medical and office district of 8th street, between Galiano and Ponce De Leon in Coral Gables. Hurricane shutters, 14 parking spaces, an automatic gate and great location, make this an ideal building for an owner-user. 6,535 square feet at $229 per square foot.
San Jose Island, Pearl Islands, Panama
I first visited breathtakingly beautiful San Jose Island was two years ago. After arriving at the Tocumen airport in Panama City, less than a three hour flight from Miami, I jumped on an Air Panama flight for the short 20 minute flight to the island. As we were flying over the Gulf of Panama, I was amazed that I could see schools of fish from the air.
As we circled over the island and came down the 5,000 linear feet landing strip, I had the insane notion that Tatoo was standing on the island somewhere saying “De plane, de plane!”. We were picked up and driven through beautiful jungle canopy to the boutique resort, Hacienda del Mar
I spent four days there and can’t wait to go back! It is currently for sale and would make a spectacular world-class resort destination.
Miami Real Estate: High Affordability + Low Prices = Buy
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal uses Miami as one example as to why 2011 may be the year to buy.
- Affordability, which looks at how many months of income an average family would take to pay for a home, is at the lowest level in 35 years
- Pricing is believed to be at or close to bottom
- Investors are getting back in the market
The article does a good job of differentiating between buying a home and investing in real estate. In terms of buying a home, Michael Larson, a real-estate analyst in Florida, is quoted, “Pricing is down so much in some markets that when you analyze renting versus owning it makes much more sense to own”.
If you are planning to buy for investment, the article returns to the old adage of “buy and hold”. They recommend at least a 10-year hold plan for investment real estate or suggest investing in funds that have real estate in the mix if you want to make real estate a part of your portfolio.
Remember to see what the numbers are in the area you are planning to purchase. While the affordability index was high in most areas, it is low in Washington D.C.
“Economists Bullish On Miami”
In case you missed my posts on the projected economic improvement of South Florida and Miami-Dade in particular, read today’s front page Miami Herald article, Forecast calls for robust rebound in Dade.
Previous posts I have written include a lot more detail if you want to read more:
Commercial Real Estate Starting To Pick Up
Still Doubt An Economic Recovery Is Taking Place In Miami?
Miami Real Estate – If You Are Looking To Invest, Miami Is Top Choice
Rental Property Owners Must Issue 1099′s
The Small Business Jobs Act that passed Congress last year requires all property owners that rent out properties to file a 1099 for each vendor who does $600 or more in work. Even if you only rent out a single property, you must collect the following for each vendor:
- name
- address
- Social Security or Federal Employer Identification Number
The details to the exceptions to this requirement have yet to be ironed out but the exceptions include:
- burden: if gathering the required information and issuing the forms create a hardship
- duration: the property is only a temporary rental of your own residence
- income: your income from the rental doesn’t meet minimal threshold requirements (as yet unidentified)
If you are renting out a property, make sure you, your bookkeeper, and/or CPA have a way of tracking each vendor starting January 1, 2011.
Miami Real Estate – If You Are Looking To Invest, Miami Is Top Choice
According to Mark Vitner, an economist for Wells Fargo, Miami is his top choice of a market poised for economic growth. How can that be? We have one of the highest unemployment, foreclosure and number of underwater homes in the country. However, Vitner stated that Miami is currently posting some of the highest taxable sales and number of jobs created in the state.
Miami has always been blessed with gorgeous weather, colorful landscapes, tourquoise waters, and beautiful beaches. One of the main reasons our economy has been chugging along better than most is due to our popularity with tourists, especially international ones, who have helped both our tourism and retail industries.
Miami Real Estate – Shadow Inventory
Shadow inventory is basically the number of properties that are projected to hit the market due to distressed owners, those who are behind 90 days or more on their mortgage, or because they will be or already have been taken back by the bank. There has been a lot of speculation lately about how this background inventory will affect the housing recovery, with many experts saying it will significantly delay it.
A CNNMoney.com article on Shadow Inventory states: “Of the 20 separate markets S&P analyzed, Miami was the only market of the 20 that S&P analyzed where shadow inventory did not did expand during the first three quarters of 2010.”
What does this mean for buyers? Record high affordability and a wide selection of properties to choose from.
For sellers, it means a continued suppression of prices, with prices either dropping further or bouncing along the bottom for a while. If you were thinking of selling your home within the next year or two, you may want to put it on the market now. Or, if you have equity in your home and have entertained the idea of owning investment property, turn it into a rental and buy your move-up, downsizing, or retirement home at the lowest prices we have seen in a long time.
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