Category: Investment Real Estate

The difference between home ownership and investment real estate

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Selling

Mortgage Interest Deduction: Should It Be Phased Out?

Well disappointingly, but not suprisingly, the Congressional “Super Committee” failed to come up with a plan to reduce the Federal deficit.

The fact that the deficit needs to be reduced and there were no new proposals on the table of how to go about doing so, got me to thinking about some of the original recommendations from the Simpson-Bowles plan. One of their recommendations was to eliminate certain mortgage interest rate deductions, namely on second homes, equity lines of credit, and mortgages over $500,000.

Costco addressed the phasing out the mortgage interest deduction completely in their November edition of The Costco Connection.

If it were phased out completely would that change your plans to buy? Would it speed up your plans to sell? What if only the Simpson-Bowles recommendation were implemented? Would that change your plans to buy or sell?

Categories
Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

Thinking About Investing in Miami Real Estate?

I attended the Realtors Commercial Alliance’s Super Conference today and wanted to share some of the things I heard that may help you decide whether or  not now is the time to invest in real estate.

Dr. Randy Anderson, the Howard Phillips Eminent Scholar Chair at the University of Central Florida:

  • pointed out that no other asset class did better on growth of a $10,000 investment between 1996-2010 than direct real estate;
  • retail sales are higher than before we entered the recession despite low consumer confidence, mostly due to pent up demand.  He believes retail sales will start to level off and stabilize.
  • Most buyers underestimate the cost of owning an office space because they base their projections on a 5-10% vacancy when nationally it is closer to 12-14%
  • Big institutional investors have been purchasing Miami real estate for the last year.
  • Each 1% decline in homeownership is equal to 1.2 million rental households

Dr. Pascal Goldschmidt, Senior V.P. Medical Affairs and Dean of UM Miller School of Medicine:

  • stated that every great city has a great educational hospital
  • projects that when UM’s Life Sciences Center is built out over the next 7 years, there will be 10,000-15,000 new jobs with an average salary of $65,000-$75,000.
  • Miami Dade College is working to train people who live in the area, which is next to Jackson Hospital, to work in various aspects of the medical/health field.
  • Envisions a live work area around Life Science Park.

Jeffrey Bercow, attorney with Bercow Radell & Fernandez, P.A.

  • believes that Miami-Dade County is under-retailed when compared with Broward and West Palm Beach

If owning the physical real estate does not interest you, consider investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) such as Duke Realty or Healthcare Realty.

 

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Selling

Investors Are Taking A Bite Out Of Inventory

I had a buyer call me today wanting to buy a 2 bedroom 2 bath in Kings Creek for under $90,000.  I told her there weren’t any on the market in that price range at the moment.  She responded, “What happened to all of the inventory”?  I explained that investors were snapping up the lower priced units, usually foreclosures and short sales, and turning around an renting them.

At every single one of EWM’s weekly office meetings over the last several months, we have been selling and renting more than we have been listing.  Inventory has been decreasing steadily and the pickings right now for buyers are slim.  That may turn around if the back log of foreclosures come on the market, but the banks are also getting smarter and are finally starting to agree to short sales.  If you are a buyer, you might want to get off the fence.  If you are an owner with equity, you may want to consider selling.  There are buyers out there without a lot to choose from.

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Luxury Real Estate Selling

San Jose Island, Panama: How Big is 11,000 Acres?

San Jose Island, Panama For Sale

Okay, I have already posted that it is twice the size of Key West, but maybe that is still hard to put into perspective.  So, I will compare it in size to other famous islands.   Using AskNumbers.com conversion table, I came up with the following:

Cayman Brac: 14 square miles =8,960 acres

Little Cayman: 10 square miles = 6,400 acres

St. Barts:  10 square miles = 6,400 acres

Virgin Gorda: 8 square miles = 5,120 acres

Basically, 11,000 acres is big enough for you to build your own town, or two! 

 

Categories
Buying Investment Real Estate Market Summary Selling

Miami Real Estate: The Market is Changing

If this week’s sales vs listings in just one of EWM’s offices is any indication, the market is changing.  Our Coral Gables office had 37 residential sales versus 10 new listings and 27 leases vs 8 new rentals.  Our total for this week, which include the sale of a commercial property was almost $35,000,000.  This market change doesn’t mean that prices are going up yet, but it does mean we are clearing our inventory.  We are seeing an increase in rental rates, however, as more people decide to rent and the inventory decreases.

If you need to sell, now is the time to do it since inventory is decreasing and there is demand.  Remember to price it right, however, since pricing is everything in this market.  If you don’t need to sell, but want to take advantage of the current market, use it to move up, downsize, while you rent out your current home.  Alternatively, stay in your home and buy a rental property. 

If you are planning to buy, now is definitely the time to buy due to a combination of low interest rates and low prices.  If you don’t buy soon, you may find yourself priced out of the market or with even more limited choices.

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Luxury Real Estate

Ever Dream of Owning Your Own Private Island?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMdFQogX7JM[/youtube]

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

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.

Categories
Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate

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

Categories
Buying Foreclosures Investment Real Estate

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

Categories
Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

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