Tuesday night, CBS 4 reported on a homeowner whose house has been taken over by squatters. According to the story, the house was sold and when the Realtor went to the final walk through before closing, she found people living in the house. The people living there claim they were duped and rented the property.
During the height of foreclosures, many properties had sqatters move in. This house, however, was not in foreclosure, was actively listed with a real estate agent and had probably had activity with showings and, most likely, inspections. The owner had to hire an attorney. The “tenants” have 40 days to move out.
The Village of Pinecrest is hosting a town hall meeting at Pinecrest Gardens to discuss the proposed MDX US 1 Express Toll Lane project. Anyone who travels on US 1 (also known as Useless 1) from Miami to communities south, has experienced the frustrating traffic and knows that relief is needed. As proposed, the current project would address traffic from Dadeland South to Florida City and would require overpasses the height of Metrorail be built at intersections along the route. If the goal is to move traffic off of US 1, wouldn’t a much more progressive plan be to build the 21 mile South Link extension from Dadeland South to Florida City?
Several studies have shown that commute times and access to public transportation are important factors in the home buying process. Millenials, individuals between the ages of 17 & 35, especially have shown a preference for communities that rely less on cars for transportation.
I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a long time and they have an amazing public transportation system. Many who have moved from Boston, New York, the DC/Virginia area and Europe, often comment on the lack of public transportation. Do you think Miami should try to move away from the car and expand on it’s public transportation system?
A green corridor comprised of Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables, Miami and Miami Shores has been formed to assist in financing energy related improvements to property. Formaly named The Property Assessed Clean Energy District (PACE), this new corridor will enable businesses and residents to finance energy related improvements to their properties through a special assessment on their property. This program is strictly voluntary and provides a list of contractors as well as energy efficiency assessments. If you can save money on your electric bill, would you take advantage of this program?
I want to preface this blog with the statement that I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. As a matter of fact, I had a perfect morning. Woke up before the sun was up, had coffee, read the paper, had a nice long walk with the dog, chatted with other neighborhood walkers and came back home to start work. While I was leafing through my daily Google alerts, I came across a listing in Pinecrest. I clicked on the link and was immediately familiar with one of Josie Wang’s listings. It happens to be a modern home in Pinecrest at 9500 SW 60 Ct., and is just around the corner from my house.
9500 SW 60 Ct., Pinecrest
As I scrolled through the link, I did not see anything that mentioned Josie or AVATAR, her broker. I know that a lot of agents and brokers have a myriad of websites, blogs, and aggregators (such as Trulia and Zillow) in order to promote their listings and maximize a seller’s internet exposure. However, I also know that most agents and brokers clearly advertise themselves on these pages as well, so I immediately realized that this was someone hijacking Josie’s listing as their own. Sure enough, when I scrolled to the very bottom of the page, the last line read that the listing was AVATAR’s. I can assure you, I am going to be one of the few who reads that very last line. I immediately sent an e-mail to Josie and contacted leaders in the Miami Realtors Association. This is an increasingly common occurrence that needs to be stopped.
This exact thing happened to Carole Smith, a Realtor in my same EWM office. Carole took action on the hijacking of her listing and I applaud her and urge all Realtors and sellers do the same. Even though she is extremely busy, she took the time out to file a complaint, blog about the issue and post the blog on her Facebook page. The feedback and frustration she heard back from other agents and individuals shows how rapidly this unscrupulous practice is spreading.
Why should you care?
1) If you are a Realtor, it should be obvious. As a listing agent, we spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to develop a marketing strategy as unique as each property. This includes pictures, videos, and verbiage to highlight the property. We also take time to get to know other features about the property and the neighborhood it is in. When someone takes that information and passes it off as their own, it should be the same as plagiarism or copyright infringement.
2) If you are a seller, number one above applies to you as does the following: the listing agent has information that may need to be shared with a buyer or buyer’s agent but that isn’t specified in the marketing literature. If the hijacker is passing your property off as being their listing, you have no control over what they are saying to hook the buyer. The listing agent also has spent the time getting to know you, your home, neighborhood and the specific properties that make your home special. This added knowledge helps you get the most money for your home and allows for disclosure of issues that may affect the buyer upon their purchase, thereby avoiding potential problems after the sale.
3) If you are a buyer BEWARE. The main reason these agents/brokers hijack other agent/broker listings is to find you! Some of them may be new in the business, focus on buyer representation vs listings, or simply not have enough of their own listings. If they clearly acknowledge that this listing is another agent’s/broker’s, most agent’s have no problem with the practice of having their listings posted on another agent’s website or blog. Most of us want the maximum exposure for our listings and are happy to “share” (that is basically what IDX is about) our listings to get them sold faster and at market price, which is the price you and the seller agree to.
If these hijackers act unethically with their own peers, is this someone you want representing you in your purchase, when your money is on the line?
I want to preface this blog with the statement that I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. As a matter of fact, I had a perfect morning. Woke up before the sun was up, had coffee, read the paper, had a nice long walk with the dog, chatted with other neighborhood walkers and came back home to start work. While I was leafing through my daily Google alerts, I came across a listing in Pinecrest. I clicked on the link and was immediately familiar with one of Josie Wang’s listings. It happens to be a modern home in Pinecrest at 9500 SW 60 Ct., and is just around the corner from my house.
9500 SW 60 Ct., Pinecrest
As I scrolled through the link, I did not see anything that mentioned Josie or AVATAR, her broker. I know that a lot of agents and brokers have a myriad of websites, blogs, and aggregators (such as Trulia and Zillow) in order to promote their listings and maximize a seller’s internet exposure. However, I also know that most agents and brokers clearly advertise themselves on these pages as well, so I immediately realized that this was someone hijacking Josie’s listing as their own. Sure enough, when I scrolled to the very bottom of the page, the last line read that the listing was AVATAR’s. I can assure you, I am going to be one of the few who reads that very last line. I immediately sent an e-mail to Josie and contacted leaders in the Miami Realtors Association. This is an increasingly common occurrence that needs to be stopped.
This exact thing happened to Carole Smith, a Realtor in my same EWM office. Carole took action on the hijacking of her listing and I applaud her and urge all Realtors and sellers do the same. Even though she is extremely busy, she took the time out to file a complaint, blog about the issue and post the blog on her Facebook page. The feedback and frustration she heard back from other agents and individuals shows how rapidly this unscrupulous practice is spreading.
Why should you care?
1) If you are a Realtor, it should be obvious. As a listing agent, we spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to develop a marketing strategy as unique as each property. This includes pictures, videos, and verbiage to highlight the property. We also take time to get to know other features about the property and the neighborhood it is in. When someone takes that information and passes it off as their own, it should be the same as plagiarism or copyright infringement.
2) If you are a seller, number one above applies to you as does the following: the listing agent has information that may need to be shared with a buyer or buyer’s agent but that isn’t specified in the marketing literature. If the hijacker is passing your property off as being their listing, you have no control over what they are saying to hook the buyer. The listing agent also has spent the time getting to know you, your home, neighborhood and the specific properties that make your home special. This added knowledge helps you get the most money for your home and allows for disclosure of issues that may affect the buyer upon their purchase, thereby avoiding potential problems after the sale.
3) If you are a buyer BEWARE. The main reason these agents/brokers hijack other agent/broker listings is to find you! Some of them may be new in the business, focus on buyer representation vs listings, or simply not have enough of their own listings. If they clearly acknowledge that this listing is another agent’s/broker’s, most agent’s have no problem with the practice of having their listings posted on another agent’s website or blog. Most of us want the maximum exposure for our listings and are happy to “share” (that is basically what IDX is about) our listings to get them sold faster and at market price, which is the price you and the seller agree to.
If these hijackers act unethically with their own peers, is this someone you want representing you in your purchase, when your money is on the line?
With real estate sales increasing and decreasing inventories, many developers are starting to launch new condominium projects. Many, such as the Porsche Tower in Sunny Isles, are aimed at the uber luxury market. This building is going to have special elevators to bring the resident and their cars up to the actual condo unit.
The Bellini on Williams Island, another luxury building, is requiring that buyers be primary or secondary home owners, not investors.
Most of these developers are counting on cash buyers putting significant down payments on their purchase in order to fund the construction. Considering how low prices are in comparison to the peak and how many mortgages are under water, I wonder if the real estate industry isn’t feeling just a little too confident.
Last week I wrote a blog about Miami Metrorail’s link to MIA and how much farther we have to go to have a great rail system in Miami. Well, it looks like we may be another step closer towards making that a reality. Florida East Coast Railway is proposing building a station, modeled after London’s Paddington railway station, on a site it owns along NW First Avenue. The station would be the starting/ending hub for a passenger rail line connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando with a goal of 3 hours from Miami to Orlando.
Would you ride it?
EWM is the only company in South Florida that has a rapid form of response for every online inquiry.
What does this mean if you are a seller? All inquires on your property are answered immediately by our EWM Customer Care Team. Since 90% of buyers start their home search online, having a quick response time when they are looking at your property on our website is vital to capturing their interest and getting them to visit your property.
If you are a buyer searching online for a new home, nothing is more frustrating than finding one that meets your criteria only to not have your request for further information ignored. EWM’s Customer Care Team ensures that you receive an immediate response.
This is the newest generation of online lead management and we are happy to be on the forefront!
In most markets in the country, Labor Day is the official end of summer because children are back in school and the weather starts getting cooler. Along with students settling in their seats, the real estate market also starts to slow down since parents try to make their move to align with the start and end of school.
As anyone who lives here will tell you, Miami is not like most cities in the country about anything and real estate is no exception. We actually have two real estate markets, the “traditional” one that is from Spring to Summer and the “snowbird” market that is from Fall to Spring. So basically, year round!
With the huge number of sales we are posting in 2012 and the amount of cash that is still out there, I do not see the market slowing down.
If you are a seller that had been considering selling but were holding back until prices came up, now is a good time to list your home. Inventory is down, demand is up, and prices in many of our neighborhoods have increased. If most sellers wait until the “traditional” listing season, you will have more competition next Spring.
If you are a buyer, know that competition is tight. You are going to need to be prepared if you want your offer to be accepted. If you are not paying cash, be pre-approved for a mortgage. The more money you put down, the stronger your offer will be. Know the market and the listing history of the house you are putting an offer on. If the house is price well based on relevant sales in the neighborhood and the house has not been on the market long, don’t make a lowball offer. It isn’t the buyer’s market it was two years ago.
On August 13, the Financial Times of London posted a video titled Foreign Buyers Flock to Miami. EWM’s Ron Shuffield and Carole Smith were featured in the story, which highlighted the following:
2011 was a record year for the number of sales of single family homes and condos
Majority of foreign buyers are from Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina
2011 60 % of sales from foreign buyers and 90% of them paid cash
2012 sales jumped 20% in first 1/2 of year.
65% of June 2012 sales were cash sales 90% of the sales were to foreign buyers
Sunshine, multiculturalism and global access are features that make Miami so attractive to buyers
Tuesday night, CBS 4 reported on a homeowner whose house has been taken over by squatters. According to the story, the house was sold and when the Realtor went to the final walk through before closing, she found people living in the house. The people living there claim they were duped and rented the property.
