Tips to make your real estate buying experience a smooth one
Properties that were in communities near public transportation with frequent routes did 42% better in maintaining their value than those that were not near public transportation. As real estate sales in Miami continue to rise, neighborhoods near public transportation are some of the areas with the tightest inventories.
Many communities, such as Brickell and Coral Gables, have added trolleys and many suburban communities, such as Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, have added People Movers.
Congratulations! You have purchased or rented your new home. Now is a busy time with moving, forwarding mail, and starting utilities but FPL has automated their connection and disconnection for electrical service to make connecting easier. Properties that have been unoccupied might not have service when you move in, so be sure to get it connected before your moving day.
You can start your service online at www.FPL.com/startservice or by calling 1-800-226-3545. For same day service, you must call before 2:oo p.m. Before having the service connected, turn off inside breakers, electronics, and appliances, and remove items that are on the stove.
When you sell your property or terminate your lease, empty, open and unplug the refrigerator and call or log on to disconnect the service so you do not incur charges .
Learn more online:
If you are a landlord, consider joining FPL’s Automatic Connect program to ensure you have power when you
need it in the properties you manage. Visit
http://www.fpl.com/customer/autoconnect.shtml.
I work with a lot of international clients who buy and sell real estate in Miami and often recommend they speak to a local attorney and/or CPA to discuss the tax implications of owning property here. I came across a great article from Bilzin Sumberg Attorneys that addresses tax planning for foreigners buying real estate .
In order to give short sale properties an opportunity to receive “highest and best” offers, new Fannie Mae guidelines state that each new short sale listing must remain active in our MLS system for a minimum of 5 days and must include at least one weekend. If you are a buyer making an offer on a short sale, realize it may be a while before you receive an answer from the seller.
Even though this close to the start of the school year sales should be slowing down, nothing could be further from reality. Our EWM office had over $20 million worth of sales this week, which represents a total of 31 sales. 5 of the sales went for the asking price and 3 went above asking.
The graph below is for single family homes in Pinecrest, a neighborhood known for its luxury homes on large lots community parks and great schools. Second quarter inventory in Pinecrest is down 12% from the same time last year, and based on both closed and pended sales for the quarter, there is only a 4.7 month supply of inventory. Although it is only a snapshot of one Miami community, it is indicative of what many communities are going through: tight inventories, increasing sales, and frustrated buyers.
Congratulations! You either have the cash, or have been approved for a mortgage, to buy a home or investment property. Now that you have determined how much you can afford, remember to keep in mind your closing costs, which will run between 3-4% of your purchase price for closings with a mortgage and less than 1% for a cash deal. Closing costs typically include the following “Out of Pocket” expenses:
Appraisal
Courier (federal express)
Credit Report
Digital Imaging/Archiving Fee
Documentary Stamps on the Note: $.35 per $100.00 of note amount
E-recording fee: $4.00 per instrument to be recorded
Flat Fee Commission if company you use charges one. Usually $200-$300
Inspection Fees and other lender’s fees
Intangible Tax on the Mortgage: $.20 per $100.00 of mortgage amount
Mortgage Points
Title Insurance: Lender’s Policy
Endorsements
Owner’s Policy
Recording Fees: $10.00 first page, $8.50 each additional page
Settlement Fee
Survey / Termite Report / Roof Report (if required)
Prepaids:
2 to 13 months property taxes (changes depending on time of the year closing takes place)
14 months hazard insurance
14 months flood insurance (if required)
14 months of windstorm insurance (if required)
P.M.I. Premium (if loan to value ratio is higher than 80%)
Prepaid Interest (from closing date to the end of the month)
In today’s Miami Herald, there was an article about the new Centro Lofts that are going up in downtown Miami. This building will not have a parking garage and will instead opt for a Car2Go, bike racks, and public transportation to get it’s residents around. I moved from San Francisco and love the idea of not needing a car, but I am not sure Miami is quite ready for buildings without parking. First of all, it is hard enough to park downtown without all of the residents that are moving down there and this will only work if residents don’t have cars, not if they have cars and just park them elsewhere. The second thing is that it will work for people who work downtown or in an area with Metrorail service, but south Florida’s discombobulated public transportation system is not conducive for no car. How would someone who works in Doral get there? Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea, I am just asking do you think Miami is ready to go carless?
As of the time of this post, the Miami real estate market has yet to hit the summer doldrums even though many buyers are taking time off to travel with their out-of-school-children. This week EWM’s Coral Gables office did over $16 million in sales and last week we did almost $30 million. Given the lack of inventory, in spite of all of the fact that Florida leads the nation in foreclosures, it is amazing that we are selling that much real estate.
It must be our beautiful views, waterfront properties, international clientele, and numerous outdoor and cultural activities that keeps drawing people here.
Many of my clients have been calling me, shocked at how rapidly home prices have risen over the last year and questioning whether the South Florida real estate market is entering a new bubble. Although this graph confirms that prices have gone up, we are a long way off from the peak. Given that we arrived at inflated pricing due to speculation, easy and bad mortgages, and fraud, I think we will stay off the peak for quite a while.
The reason for our current rise in prices is due to a lack of inventory. Many homeowners who bought at the peak are still under water and will be for quite some time; foreclosures and short sales have been slow to work through the backlog; there are investors with large amounts of cash looking at real estate; mortgages are still difficult to get; and appraisals have been off of what buyers with mortgages are offering thereby keeping owner/occupiers out of the housing market. Now that builders have started to construct new homes and buildings, inventory should start to creep up again.
Based on the Miami Herald’s Economic Time Machine in the July 1 Business Monday, at the current pace of value increases, we won’t hit a new peak until July of 2018.
You know what they say about real estate, location, location, location, and boy does 1542 Drexel Avenue #205 have it. Location: 2 blocks from Lincoln Road. Location: 1 block from Espanola. Location: 3 blocks to the Ocean. In the heart of Miami Beach, yet on a quiet, low traffic street, this fully furnished unit is the perfect Miami Beach Pied-A-Terre. Rarely available one bedroom. The last one bedroom for sale in this boutique building was in 2011!
If you are looking for an investment property instead of a weekend get-a-way, the last fully furnished unit that rented in this building was a studio that rented for $1500 per month! Listed for sale, fully furnished (minus the art work) for $170,000.
