You may have heard talk about rising rents. By some estimates, the median monthly rent cost is about 25%higher than a typical monthly cost for owning a mid-priced home. Check out these quick stats:
*Costs to own are averaged historical samples only; they are not an offer to lend. Costs as follows: historical, annualized average prevailing first year monthly interest expense for a loan amount of $162,000 (10% down on a $180,000 home), taxes of $300, insurance of $40.50, Private Mortgage Insurance of $81. Actual expenses vary for any home and loan program; will include additional considerations for principal, maintenance, potential tax savings and appreciation/depreciation; and can be more or less than illustrated. Rates and fees for current scenarios available by request. Data is provided with rights for use by Estate of Mind, Inc.
As owners or buyers, we're all impacted by high rental rates in some way. Consider this:
Rising rents could push new homebuyers into the market, which could drive prices higher. Rising values may help with refinancing or even accessing cash for repairs, improvements, tuition or other expenditures.
High rents make it harder to save for a down payment. Fortunately, low down payment options are plentiful.
Rising rents improve potential cash flow opportunities on investment properties or vacation homes. The timing may be right to follow that dream.
If rising rents mean it's time for you or someone you care about to take action, please reach out. I'll be glad to help.
VanDyk Mortgage Corporation - 2449 Camelot Ct SE , Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Investing in real estate can mean several different things: you can flip real estate, wholesale, or buy to sell when the property appreciates in value. The best way to invest in real estate is to buy and long-term lease a property. While this can be a lot of work, most investors find that leasing a property creates the best outcome. You can get consistent cash flow and long-term investment turnaround. Renting is the best way to invest in real estate; it’s the core of the market.
Being a landlord has become easier with the rise of the Internet because there is always helpful information just at your fingertips. If you use property management services, being a DIY landlord is easier than ever. From finding and screening tenants to building a lease to maintenance, property management can be done in a simple, efficient manner.
Yes, buying an investment property is a large undertaking, but it is also immensely rewarding. Here are 7 reasons why you should take the plunge, buy investment property and become a DIY landlord.
1) High Leverage
Real estate has high leverage. You can get a loan more easily for real estate than for other investment vehicles.
“Try walking into your local bank and asking for a line of credit for $800,000 secured against only $200,000 of your cash for the purpose of investing in gold, stocks, mutual funds, commodities, etc. They would probably laugh at you. But, if you walked into that same bank and told them you wanted to buy 10 houses at $100,000 a piece, they would usher you over into their mortgage division to begin working on your 10 loans.” Getting financed to begin fulfilling your investment goals is easier when you invest in real estate. Part of the reasoning for this is that the return on your investment is more likely to occur.
2) High ROI
High leverage and a high return on investment (ROI) go hand in hand. When you use borrowed capital for an investment, you are only using a small portion of your own money to invest in the property, which helps you get a better return on your investment in the long run.
Furthermore, when you rent to tenants, you expect their rent to cover not only marginal expenses, but also to pay off the interest payable on your loans. This allows your profits to exceed many other types of investments. You are ultimately expecting your profits to be made greater than the interest you owe, which increases your ROI.
This is also why real estate is considered to have a high payout over the long-term and is considered a “high-performing asset.” Essentially, the high leverage allows your monthly cash flow to increase, thus giving you a higher ROI. What’s more is that any appreciation on the property makes your ROI even higher.
3) Diversify Your Assets & High Appreciation
One of the first lessons you learn about investing is the power of diversification. In order to see real benefits without too much risk, it is smart to invest in many markets. Real estate is its own market and your asset is the property itself. Having real estate as an asset is beneficial because it appreciates over time.
Even despite recent crashes in the real estate market, it’s safe to assume some level of appreciation in the long term. The value of real estate can rise and fall, but it is considered a safer, steadier market, especially in the long haul.
Moreover, in real estate, you have the ability to research the market based on the location you want to invest in. You can learn the trends and make a more informed decision about the market, which makes for a less volatile investment compared to others, like the stock market.
Appreciation with real estate is also unique in that the money you invested in the property (or, your down payment) appreciates in addition to the actual asset. In other words, the entire asset is appreciating, and not just the initial money you put into it.For more information on how real estate investments are worthwhile.
4) Tax Benefits
Owning real estate allows for many different kinds of tax deductions, like the ones below:
Interest: Landlords can deduct interest from mortgage interest payments on loans used to buy or improve the property. You can also deduct interest on credit cards used for goods or services used for your property.
Depreciation: Real estate gives you tax benefits by way of depreciation if the property is providing you income. This way, landlords can deduct the cost of the property over several years.
Repairs: The cost of repairs is deductible in the year in which they are done. For example, if you repaint, fix the floors, or replace any broken appliances, you can deduct these costs.
Home office: If you work from home, which is common as a DIY landlord, then you can likely deduct home office expenses from your taxable income, provided you meet certain requirements. This is true whether you own your home or whether you are also a renter.
Insurance: You can deduct insurance premiums from any insurance policy that has to do with your rental investment. This includes landlord liability insurance, flood/fire/theft insurance, or the cost of an employee’s insurance.
The benefit of using tax deductions is self-evident–you keep more of your taxable income in your pocket!
5) Ward Off Inflation: Rising Rents
Rising inflation is more easily combated in real estate than in other markets. This is because as prices rise, so will the value of your asset. When you use leverage to buy real estate at low interest rates, you more easily ward off inflation. Inflation endangers investments because it can lower the value of your assets. But in real estate, you own an asset that “rises with the tide,” which is a great way to protect your wealth. The rise of rent means that you will be pocketing more money, which will be necessary as inflation makes all goods more expensive (like the cost of repairs and appliances).
6) Retirement Income
Real estate investment is most valuable over the long term when gains can be seen from appreciation. That’s why real estate is a great platform for retirement income. Income on rental properties is considered passive income, meaning it generates money with less work compared to other income-generating jobs.
Of course, that’s not to say being a DIY landlord is perfectly effortless! The potential to retire on rental income is very real. The retirement strategy is this: own a property (or several) for a couple of decades, create a high net worth, use the cash flow to supplement a retirement fund, pay off mortgages using rental income, and sell for a cash intake when you want to.
7) The Decision to Sell: How and When to Exit the Investment
Real estate is a good investment platform because you can sell whenever and however you choose. Although it’s recommended to hold onto your property over the long term, there are no fixed rules. You govern the decision on when you sell. You can also use different exit strategies to maximize your profits. The power is in your hands. Due to appreciation, you are likely to sell your property at a higher price tag than what you bought it at, which makes selling an exciting and profitable end goal to your investment!
Overview
While buying a property and leasing it sounds hugely beneficial (and it is), it’s important to keep in mind that you have enough resources before you begin. A common mistake DIY landlords make is underestimating the amount of capital it takes to renovate, cover unexpected damage, or unexpected legal/eviction fees.
It’s important to have a safety cushion of capital in case of unanticipated problems. Tenants don’t always pay rent on time, which can throw off your anticipated monthly cash flow. They also sometimes don’t take good care of a property, which means an added cost of repairing the property as needed. However, you can decrease the risk of renting to bad tenants by thoroughly screening potential tenants. What to look out for in rental applications to make sure you that you choose quality tenants. Tasks like finding and screening tenants, building a lease, and other DIY landlord responsibilities are easiest when you use our services here at Rentalutions! Feeling the rewards of investing in real estate with less of a hassle is a big deal, and we can help make it happen.
NEW YORK – Feb. 3, 2016
Where should real estate investors put their money in 2016? Forbes teamed up with North Carolina-based data company Local Market Monitor to produce its list of 2016 Best Buy Cities – the top 20 housing markets to invest in this year – and Florida dominates the list.
According to Forbes, Florida offers good values "where investors get the best bang for their housing buck, and where aspiring homeowners have the best prospects of making an economically sound purchase."
Orlando took second place and was followed by six other Sunshine State cities. Among them, average home prices are highest in West Palm Beach (No. 19) at $285,000 and lowest in Tampa (No. 14) at $193,000. The averages, though, have been accelerating at a rate of 9 percent to 14 percent in all the Florida cities.
Florida's domination of the list makes a lot of sense in light of the national economic recovery, says Ingo Winzer, founder and president of Local Market Monitor. "Since the national economy has stabilized and is growing again, the factors that prompt people to go to Florida have recovered," he reasons. "Best-buy" markets for 2016 housing
1. Grand Rapids
2. Orlando, Florida
3. San Antonio, Texas
4. Charlotte, North Carolina
5. Salt Lake City
6. Dallas
7. Austin, Texas
8. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
9. Seattle
10. Cape Coral, Florida
11. Indianapolis
12. North Port, Florida
13. Nashville, Tennessee
14. Tampa, Florida
15. Charleston, South Carolina
16. Denver, Colorado
17. Madison, Wisconsin
18. Jacksonville, Florida
19. West Palm Beach, Florida
20. Boise, Idaho
A two-story retail building has been proposed in Miami’s Upper Eastside neighborhood near the Design District.
MacArthur Properties III’s rezoning proposal will go before the Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board on Sept. 2. It concerns a 0.8-acre site at 3701 and 3737 Biscayne Blvd. and 306 and 316 N.E. 38th Street. It’s just off the Interstate 195 exit ramp that spills onto Biscayne Boulevard.
The Miami Design District, a luxury retail and arts area, is just to the west. This project hopes to capitalize on the retail success in the neighborhood that has seen rapid property value appreciation and rental rate increases.
Miami attorney Melissa Tapanes Llahues, who represents the developer, said the new zoning would allow a 40,000-square-foot retail building. The developer would renovate the 61-year-old building of 9,123 square feet. A small multifamily building would be demolished and about 30,877 square feet of new retail and structured parking would be constructed.
“MacArthur is seeking the rezoning due a provision in Miami 21 [city zoning code] that limits office and commercial uses to less than 25 percent of the building floor area total,” Tapanes Llahues said. “Accordingly, two stories of commercial uses would only be permitted within an eight story building, and MacArthur is proposing less.”
New York-based MacArthur Properties is owned by Anthony Contomichalos, Samuel Andrews Benner, Allia Rae Benner, Paul C. Contomichalos, and Nathalie Contomichalos.
It acquired the property in two transactions for a combined $7.25 million in 2014. Art By God, a retail gallery of animal and nature decorations, previously owned the building and got $4.25 million for it from MacArthur Properties. It moved its gallery to Wynwood.
Brian Bandell Senior ReporterSouth Florida Business Journal
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Known for years as little more than a retirement community with a racetrack and a few pastel-hued motels that had seen better days, this small oceanfront town is not the first place that comes to mind when wealthy Brazilians and Russians seek out expensive condominiums.
But the construction boom of recent years south of here, in Miami Beach and its neighboring areas, has used up almost all the best lots. So developers are migrating north to Broward County locales like Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale that do not have as much cachet but which, because of their beachfront locations, are seen as having great upside potential. The land is cheaper, too, which makes for relatively good deals — at least for now.
“It’s very, very exciting,” said Joy F. Cooper, the mayor of Hallandale Beach, who views the luxurious residential projects here as a transformative shot in the arm. When she was elected a decade ago, Ms. Cooper said, development was “stagnant” and the median age of the city’s residents was in the 70s. Now, it’s 47.
Photo
The Melia Costa Hollywood Beach Resort shown during construction in Hollywood.Credit Oscar Hidalgo for The New York Times
“We’ve seen a total gentrification of our community,” she said. “We took the playbook right out of Miami Beach.”
The development along this stretch of the coast includes not only residential complexes, but hotels and retail space that promise to change the face of this region.
Even as the post-recession boom in South Florida shows signs of cooling — evidently because the strong American dollar is eroding the purchasing power of foreign investors — prices in coastal Miami-Dade County remain largely stratospheric, prompting prospective buyers with somewhat less disposable income to cast their nets elsewhere.
“People who are financially comfortable should be able to get something fantastic, and it gets harder and harder in Miami,” said Ryan Weisfisch, the developer of the Oceanbleau tower in Hollywood, scheduled to open in early 2017 with 48 units starting at $1.6 million. “They’re coming here not because of the allure, but because people are priced out of Miami Beach.”
On Broward County’s 24-mile coastal strip, 83 new residential towers, with 7,901 units, have been announced or are under construction — 37 of them in the last year, according to Peter Zalewski, a real estate consultant who tracks local trends on the website CraneSpotters.com. In Fort Lauderdale alone, he said, 44 such projects are in the works, 29 more than last year.
Adding to the appeal of the new Broward developments are prices per square foot that are often half or less of what similar condominiums have been fetching in Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour and other coastal communities in Miami-Dade County. Value for money, Mr. Zalewski said, is especially important for cost-conscious foreign investors who plan to rent out their units.
“These are people who previously wouldn’t have considered going to Broward County,” Mr. Zalewski said. “People are getting more comfortable with Broward than they were a few years back.”
Still, it has not necessarily been an easy sell. Crawford Sherman, the regional director for COMO Resorts and Hotels properties in Miami Beach and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and who has worked also in Paris, Hawaii and New York, notes that it usually takes a long time for a place to be known as a hot commodity.
“You can go anywhere in the world and mention Miami, Palm Beach or even Fort Lauderdale and there’s immediate recognition,” Mr. Sherman said. “I don’t think those other places have the cachet,” he went on, referring to Hallandale Beach and Hollywood, “although I’m sure the developers are hoping they do.”
Photo
Balconies at the Regalia in Sunny Isles.Credit Oscar Hidalgo for The New York Times
Jorge Perez, South Florida’s most prolific condominium developer, is one of the optimists. “It’s exploding,” he said of the Broward coastline, which until recently had barely registered with builders who were busy cashing in on the Miami Beach rush.
Mr. Perez’s Related Group is responsible for several projects in Broward County, most of which have sold out quickly. They include the 22-story Apogee Beach in Hollywood, completed in the fall of 2013, after which Mr. Perez himself moved in; Beachwalk Resort, a 32-story condominium-and-hotel tower that opened this year on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hallandale; the Hyde Resort and Residences, which straddles the border between Hallandale and Hollywood and is set to open in late 2016; the Hyde Beach House across the street, recently announced; and, on the site of the old Ireland’s Inn motel in Fort Lauderdale, the 171-unit Auberge Beach Residences and Spa, under construction.
“If that building was in South Beach, it would probably command close to $5,000 a square foot,” said Carlos Rosso, head of the Related Group’s condominium division, referring to the Auberge. “But because it’s Fort Lauderdale, spectacular luxury units with 20-feet-deep terraces are selling for $1,100 a square foot.”
Finding oceanfront sites in South Beach — the most chic part of Miami Beach — “is close to an impossibility these days,” Mr. Rosso said during a tour of the firm’s developments in Broward. “It’s a different scene up here. It’s more quirky — you need to discover it. It’s not like South Beach, where everything is so obvious. The market will get here because there’s nothing left. Up here, you can still get a place for $600 a square foot. Buyers want access to the beach, but at a fraction of the price.”
Driving on Hallandale Beach Boulevard, the town’s main east-west thoroughfare, Mr. Rosso said, “This whole avenue is going to be developed.”
He cited a plan by the Chateau Group to build a mixed-use development on the boulevard that will include more than 140,000 square feet of retail space, almost 100,000 square feet of office space, 280 hotel rooms in a pair of eight-story buildings and 727 residential units in two 53-story residential towers.
The 22 other “major development” projects listed on the Hallandale Beach city government website include not only residential and hotel buildings but office complexes, commercial and medical buildings, a retail plaza, a new fire station and emergency operations center, and an enlarged Bluesten Park, with a new pool, baseball field and community center. In addition, retail stores, speculative office spaces and other “minor development” projects are being planned in the shadows of the larger ones, said Keven Klopp, Hallandale Beach’s director of development services.
Advertisement
Similar commercial development is in sight for Hollywood, where both the Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort and the Meliá Costa Hollywood Beach Resort are expected to open this fall.
After long battles with an entrenched anti-development movement in Fort Lauderdale, city officials have in recent years managed to approve a number of projects. They include a $1 billion plan for the Galleria Mallthat includes homes, apartments, hotel rooms and a 45-story tower; the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, a 23-story structure expected to begin construction next year; and two projects set to open in 2017 — the Paramount Fort Lauderdale Beach, a 95-residence tower, and the Gale Boutique Hotel and Residences, with 128 condominiums, 96 hotel rooms and suites and pre-construction prices from the low $400,000s to more than $1.2 million.
“The people who come here don’t want the chaos of South Beach,” Mr. Montello said. “The parking problems, noise, traffic — all that stuff you get with South Beach.”
304-unit development will be complete this yearFebruary 24, 2015 11:15AM
Developers of the Meliá Costa Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood have released new renderings of the oceanfront property now under construction. The 304-unit condo-hotel, developed by Liberty Grande, is opening in 2015 and will range from studios to one to three-bedroom apartments, according to a press release. International hotel operator Meliá Hotels will manage the resort. Units will come equipped with full kitchens and energy efficient appliances, plus flat screen TVs and an automated valet parking system. Amenities include a spa/fitness facility, five restaurants, a business center, a gourmet coffee shop and a rooftop infinity pool (with a bar and grill). The development offers views of the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal.— Katherine Kallergis
First-timers can be eager to jump into home ownership. But real estate experts say they see them committing the same mistakes, time and time again. Here are some of the most common ones, as identified by experts in a recent CNBC article:
1. They’re unprepared to compete against all-cash offers. Buyers need to be ready to make a quick decision if they’re housing market is heating up. Buying a home is “really like finding a job – it’s going to take a lot of time to prepare,” says Cara Pierce, a certified housing counselor with ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. “That way, when the deal comes along, you’re ready to pounce on it.” Housing experts say buyers should have already saved as much as possible for a downpayment, repaired any credit report blemishes, and gotten preapproved for a loan as they start their house hunt to put them in a better position to compete.
2. They place a car ahead of the home.Lenders are going to scrutinize applicants’ debt-to-income ratio when assessing how well they can afford a mortgage payment. Consumers’ debt has gone on average from $40,000 in 2010 to $51,000 today, according to David Norris, president and COO of loanDepot, a non-bank mortgage lender. "It would be much easier to own a home if you can show a history of saving and not have gotten yourself into too much debt," Norris told CNBC.
3. They place too much emphasis on online loan information.Online sites can be good for finding out general information about loan products and estimated costs, but experts recommend visiting with mortgage lenders face-to-face to help demystify some of the process and to take into account your specific situation. Go to different places and talk to loan officers to get a feel for what the differences are between similar types of loans," says Pierce. "Sometimes a company won't charge an origination fee, but then the interest rate is higher … and in some cases you can put many of the upfront costs—closing costs, title insurance—into the loan, which makes your balance larger."
4. They bank too much on online home values. Some real estate websites are giving buyers a false sense of home values, the CNBC article notes. "If a buyer believes that the actual value of the property is $1.1 million [as listed online] when it's really $1.3 million, it's a real disservice to the client,” says John Barrentine, co-founder and CEO of RED Real Estate Group. “You really should [spend time] with someone that understands the market, someone who's there day in and day out." Home buyers can get the best feel of the market by working with a real estate agent and driving around neighborhoods and get a sense of things about homes that may be less valuable or even more valuable than perceived online.
5. They forgo the home inspection.About 10 percent of homes recently purchased weren’t inspected by a home inspector, according to Bill Loden, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. Some buyers were trying to cut down on the costs of hiring an inspector to investigate a home – which usually averages about $450 — but defects uncovered later could potentially result in the loss of thousands of dollars. "It takes a trained eye to be able to see the problems that can exist in a home," Loden said. "The inspection can also give the first-time buyer a bit of a schooling on the house and how to maintain it." Buyers should also be prepared to ask questions about conditions that are common to specific areas, such as radon in Midwest; sewers in California; and active clay soils in Dallas that can lead to foundation issues, the CNBC article notes. The home may require additional inspection from a specialist to rule out potential problems.
Demolition of the long-vacant Millennium Mall in Hollywood is underway, paving the way for a new Walmart Supercenter slated to open in 2015.
About 80,000 cars travel daily past a growing pile of rubble that holds hope for reviving a desolate section of Hollywood.
The debris used to be the Hollywood Fashion Center, one of Florida's first indoor malls when it opened in 1972 at Hollywood Boulevard and U.S. 441. Most recently, it was The Millennium Hollywood's City Place, an indoor flea market. The property has been vacant for nearly a decade.
Now, Dacar Management, a real estate company based in Dania Beach, is demolishing the landmark mall to make way for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Wal-Mart, along with TD Bank, Pollo Tropical and Taco Bell, all have agreed to move to the corner partly occupied by a GFS Marketplace.
"For us this is a major redevelopment," said Davon Barbour, director of Hollywood's Department of Community and Economic Development. The vacant mall "has been an eyesore, a plague to the community."
It wasn't always that way.
Hollywood Fashion Center once was a bustling shopping destination and one of the city's largest employers, anchored by retailers such as JCPenney and Burdines. But the mall closed after 21 years when its major tenants packed up to go six miles west to a more attractive, just-built shopping center: Pembroke Lakes Mall.
The flea market was the property's "last hurrah," Barbour said. It closed in 2005 for lack of vendors.
Wal-Mart's arrival heralds a rebirth for an important corridor leading to the heart of Hollywood and the beach, Barbour said. The retailer will bring about 300 jobs and generate an unspecified amount of tax revenue for the city.
Barbour also believes Wal-Mart's presence will bring more businesses.
"It's important to have a global retailer move into our community," Barbour said. "It signals confidence in the marketplace and attracts other national tenants."
The 180,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and pharmacy will sell groceries, clothes, household items and other general merchandise. Wal-Mart will occupy about half of what will be called "The Place at Hollywood." Other parcels will be built for surrounding stores and restaurants.
Dacar Management bought the property about four years ago for $15.8 million, said Alberto Micha, a firm representative.
"Wal-Mart will bring a lot of life into the area," Micha said, adding that at least 165,000 people live within three miles of the development. "We're sure that this will not only be a good investment but a good service to the community. We'll change the face of that area."
Dacar owns several other retail centers in South Florida, including a shopping center on U.S. 441 across the street from the Wal-Mart site. Micha said Dacar also plans to upgrade that plaza.
Mercedes Ramos, 77, rides the bus for about five minutes to get to a thrift store across the street from the new development. She's happy she will soon have a Wal-Mart nearby as an option. Every now and then, the Hollywood resident takes the bus to a Wal-Mart in Hallandale Beach.
"I hope it lasts," Ramos said of the upcoming shopping center.
The owner of a subs restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard also hopes the new development is successful.
"Look at it now," said Don Drybread, owner of Sub Center, pointing to demolition debris across the street. "It's empty, terrible, ugly. People don't want an area that's depressed. They want an area that's happening.
"Hopefully this will give me exposure, no one wants to be on a block where you are the only business."
WASHINGTON (February 26, 2014) –
The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown:
“NAR supports reforms that promote economic growth, but we strongly oppose severely altering the rules that govern ownership and investment in real estate. Real estate powers almost one-fifth of the U.S. economy, employs more than 17 million Americans, and contributes a quarter of all federal and state tax revenue and as much as 70 percent of local taxes.
“We are extremely disappointed with several of the provisions contained in U.S. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp’s tax reform draft released today, namely proposed limits on the mortgage interest deduction and capital gains, and the repeal of deductions for state and local property taxes. These proposed changes to the taxation of real estate will impact every single American, either directly or indirectly.
“NAR will carefully analyze the details of the Chairman’s plan so we can best educate Congress and the public about how this plan would impact the owners, consumers, and producers of both residential and commercial real estate.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Median prices, inventory levels rise in county last month February 21, 2014 10:30AM
In a sign that 2014 could indeed be the year when the resurgent housing market cools off, Broward County posted a decline in residential sales last month.
Single-family home sales dropped 4.3 percent in Broward to 989 in January, the Miami Herald reported, citing figures from Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors. Condo sales fell 4.5 percent to 1,132. The median single-family sale price jumped 16 percent to $260,000, while the median condo price surged 23.8 percent to $117,500.
Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors president Marnie Allen dismissed the sales drop-off as a “minor adjustment that is typical of previous Januarys” after homebuyers scramble to close purchases by the end of a calendar year.
An increase in for-sale inventory could slow down the pricing gains, however. Single-family inventory in Broward rose 18.3 percent in January, while condo inventory jumped 19.6 percent. [Miami Herald] — Eric Kalis
Jimmy Buffett-themed resort set to open in July 2015 February 21, 2014 11:15AM
Margaritaville rendering
The Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort remains on track for a July 2015 opening.
Construction of the $147 million resort on five city-owned acres at Johnson Street and A1A has progressed to the fifth floor, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Developer Lon Tabatchnick said the project is on schedule and within budget following the first six months of construction.
Plans for the 349-room resort include seven restaurants and bars, oceanside pools, a wave ride and 35,000 square feet of convention facilities.
Some neighbors, including the adjacent Beach Market store, have complained about a loss of customers since Margaritaville construction began. The Johnson Street parking garage was closed before the project’s groundbreaking, which eliminated 700 spaces frequently used by Hollywood Beach visitors. [Sun-Sentinel] — Eric Kalis
Today’s priciest new listing is a four-bedroom, four-bathroom condominium at Jade Ocean asking $4 million. The 2,485-square-foot home is located at 17121 Collins Avenue, Unit 3001, in Sunny Isles Beach. It features marble floors and built-in closets. The complex has a spa, fitness center, screening room and a children’s play room. Listings are taken from the South Florida MLS.
–Mark Maurer
2.55-acre lot at 20 Casuarina Concourse in Coral Gables (Source: StreetEasy)
Demand for waterfront property in South Florida is so high that the price for vacant parcels of land is rising along with it, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
Available lots are not all snapped up, but they are getting scarcer. In Coral Gables, a vast and exclusive vacant lot at 20 Casuarina Concourse in Gables Estates has a $13.5 million asking price, the Business Journal said. The trend can be seen in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Meanwhile, many are tearing down existing homes and building anew.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez is tearing down his Old Cutler Bay home at 275 Solano Prado in Coral Gables, which he bought in May for $4.5 million, said Toni Schrager of Avatar Real Estate Services.
A home’s physical, functional and economic value, as well as its age and surrounding property values, factor in to the price a buyer would pay for a teardown, author and developer Frank McKinney told the newspaper.
[Business Journal] – Mark Maurer
Spring Clean your credit report in advance of kicking off your house hunt. It’s stressful to have little credit report glitches get in your way and hold up the process after you’re already in heated house hunt mode.
Getting out in front of potential financing issues by doing a DIY credit cleaning gives you the chance to remove all those glitches and obstacles to a smooth loan approval, underwriting and home buying transaction.
Here’s how to do-it-yourself:
1. Do one scan for flat-out errors. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and order your credit reports from all three reporting bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Look for accounts that aren’t yours, that have long been closed or otherwise are erroneously reported (e.g., payments listed as late that were actually on-time, a short sale listed as a foreclosure, etc.). Follow the instructions on the reports to dispute such report errors immediately - both online/on the phone and in writing.
Be prepared that it might even take several rounds of disputes and submissions of documents proving your case to ultimately clear everything up - if you experience this, make sure to loop your mortgage pro in after the first dispute round, rather than waiting months and months to even make the first call. It might be the case that the hard-to-dispute items are simply not making much of a difference to your ability to get a home loan.
2. Do another scan for small reporting inaccuracies you think don’t make a difference - but do. In particular, you’re looking for things like:
delinquencies that should have aged off
balances listed as higher than they truly are
limits listed as lower than they really are, and
short sales/foreclosures that are improperly dated, among other things.
Paying bills late or not at all is only one thing that dings your credit report and score. Having a maxed out credit account (loan, line or card) limits is another. So, if your credit report shows your balances as higher than they actually are or your limits as lower than they actually are, this by itself can actually impair your credit score.
These sorts of little, technical errors can, cumulatively, create a serious, negative impact on your credit score. They are very common - and commonly overlooked by consumers who are looking primarily for big, bad errors and wrong reporting that might indicate identity theft or other nefarious goings-on. So take a second tour through your credit reports looking for inaccurate balances and limits.
In the same vein, triple-check the dates of any delinquent payments, collections, short sale(s), foreclosure(s), or bankruptcies that are legitimately reported. Another common error is for these sorts of derogatory credit marks to have been dated inaccurately. Delinquencies should age entirely off your report after 7 years, and bankruptcies after 10. The precise date of a short sale or foreclosure can actually make or break your ability to qualify for a home loan - so make sure it is reported accurately.
3. Pay the right things off - and take care not to pay off accounts you need to show your responsible use of credit. A few things that most lenders will demand you settle, bring current or pay off entirely before you can buy a home:
accounts in collections
state and federal tax liens
past home loans or lines of credit in default that were not extinguished through foreclosure or short sale (e.g., second loans, home equity lines of credit, etc.)
defaulted federal student loans (for FHA loan applicants).
If you do have to negotiate with any such creditors for settlements or repayment plans, consider including the way they report the account as one of the negotiables in your settlement deal. Consult with your mortgage professional about how you should ask the creditor to report the resolution as part of the settlement - you might not get it, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.
Your mortgage pro can also help you understand how you should sequence and prioritize the various items on this little laundry list. For example, some lenders might allow you to simply extinguish a tax lien at closing, while most FHA loans won’t allow for a credit pre-approval while you have a defaulted federal student loan on your report.
But do exercise some caution when you start paying off debt in preparation for home buying. Some house hunters take the opportunity to pay all their debt off and close out old, unused accounts, thinking it will document their readiness for the financial responsibilities of homeownership. Not so: credit scores are optimized when they show that you (a) have credit available to you, and (b) are responsible in how you use it. The ideal for the FICO score calculations is to be using roughly 30 percent of the credit available to you on your accounts. So don’t pay them entirely off, and whatever you do, don’t close accounts that are open and/or current.
That said, don’t go out charging up a storm trying to bring zero balance accounts up to 30 percent credit limit usage. A flurry of new charges can upset your debt-to-income ratio and be seen by the FICO calculating robots as a sign of potential financial distress.
4. Get your mortgage pro to help. Up to now, you’ve been working on the reports that you can pull yourself, for free, as mandated under the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) through AnnualCreditReport.com. These reports are free and are the smart starting point for your credit Spring Cleaning, but they have two important shortcomings: (1) They are almost never identical to the report your lender will actually use as the basis of your mortgage application, and (2) They do not include the FICO credit score on which lending decisions are based.
So, once you’ve dealt with any major or minor reporting errors you detect on the free reports, get your mortgage pro in the loop (if you haven’t already) and ask them to pull your report and FICO score, and help you to troubleshoot it. From the report, they can tell you whether you’ll have any challenges qualifying at the price range you desire and, if so, they can help you put a plan of action into place for finishing up your credit fitness program.
Many mortgage pros have software or expertise that can power a set of recommendations about what you need to do to complete your credit report Spring Clean, like paying 3 particular accounts down by a specific dollar amount, each. Also, they generally have access to Rapid Rescore or similar programs that will have your report updated and your credit score revised within a day or two after you pay a bill down or execute your mortgage broker’s other score-boosting advice. (By contrast, it can take 30 days or more it can take for your score to be updated if you dispute your report on your own.)
5. Ask about augmenting your report with non-traditional “tradelines,” if needed. If you simply don’t have much credit because you like to pay cash, kudos to you for managing your finances responsibly. Increasingly, lenders will allow borrowers to use non-traditional accounts to document their credit history. If you can document your history of paying your rent, health insurance, or even child care bills on time, every time, for at least 12 months, talk to your mortgage professional about whether you can use any of these accounts to prove yourself creditworthy to mortgage lenders.
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson | Broker in San Francisco, CA
According to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, South Florida’s housing stock appreciated 10.8 percent in February from the year before, the Sun-Sentinel reported, marking 14 consecutive months of increases.
As in half of 20 metro areas surveyed, South Florida showed double-digit increases in home prices over the last year. The Phoenix area saw the biggest jump, with a 23 percent gain year-over-year.
“Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March, housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement.
Broward County’s median price for existing homes in March was $242,500, a 26 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors. In Palm Beach County, the median price last month hit $249,894, 28 percent higher than a year ago, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches reported.
The median price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade County soared 25.1 percent to $225,000 in March from $179,850 a year earlier, the Miami Association of Realtors said.
The median price of a Miami-Dade condo jumped 19.3 percent year over year, to $167,000 from $140,000. [Sun-Sentinel]
–Emily Schmall
The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill late Monday to speed up foreclosures and unclog backed-up courts, the Florida Current reported.
The bill, HB 87, would enable the mortgagee to move the court to hold a hearing to show cause, a procedure by which a court can require defendants in a real estate foreclosure action to demonstrate why a foreclosure judgment should not be entered.
The controversial reform, hotly debated among members of the Florida Bar Association, would also prevent those foreclosed on fraudulently or in error from getting homes back if they have already been sold to a third party, the Current said.
Opponents say people struggling to hold onto their properties will lose an important recourse, but the bill also contains provisions to protect homeowners, according to the Current.
Supporters of the bill say it is needed to reduce Florida’s backlog of foreclosures, which continue to flood the market, depressing home values. The average foreclosure takes more than two years to make it through the court system.
“Florida is number one in foreclosures. That is not a distinction we wish to have,” Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, told the Current.
The bill now goes to the Senate. Similar legislation passed the House last year but didn’t make it through the Senate, the article said.
–Emily Schmall
Five of the top 10 cities for turning a profit from flipping houses are in Florida, according to RealtyTrac’s latest foreclosure report.
The foreclosure data provider picked the top 25 municipalities nationwide in which a seller’s rate of return is the highest from flipping a single-family home, defined as purchasing a property and selling it within 90 days. The data are based on the flipper’s gross profit, which is the difference between the average purchased price and the home’s flipped sale price later on. Investors are expected to have even better luck with flipping homes this year.
Flippers earned an average $64,976 in Orlando, or 63 percent gross profit, the report said. The next best markets for flipping were Las Vegas (53 percent), Phoenix (44 percent), Tampa (43 percent) and Memphis (42 percent). In Miami, flipped homes were purchased for $138,064 and sold for $189,291, netting investors 37 percent gross profit.
Florida is ripe for flipping because of the wide gap between foreclosure sales and regular sales, which makes a flip of a foreclosed home more profitable, and because housing prices are quickly rising, according to RealtyTrac economist Jake Adger.
The most single-family flips last year happened in Phoenix, with 10,589, RealtyTrac noted.
–Emily Schmall
NEW YORK – April 24, 2013
A study conducted looked a changing marriage trends in America and how they impact the purchase of a first home.
According to the study, the timing of a first-home purchase hasn’t changed a lot over the years, but an upswing in later marriages means more couples are buying a home before they walk down the aisle – if they ever do – or making a purchase earlier in the marriage.
About one in four married couples between the ages of 18 to 34 purchased their first home together before their wedding date, compared to 14 percent of those ages 45 and older. According to the survey, 35 percent of all married couples purchased their first home together by their second wedding anniversary; 80 percent of these married homeowners said it strengthened their relationship more than any other purchase.
“What we’re seeing is that young couples are switching up the order and purchasing their first home regardless of whether or not they have set a wedding date,” says Dr. Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and lifestyle correspondent.
“This is a huge movement within the American culture,” Ludwig adds. “While younger generations may be focusing more on their career, and in turn waiting longer to get married and have children, they are not delaying their dream of homeownership.”
Other survey trends
• 17 percent of all married couples surveyed purchased a home together before their wedding day.
• 72 percent of married Americans in the South waited until after they were married to purchase a home, compared to 60 percent of Americans in the Northeast.
• Only 16 percent of married U.S. adults have not purchased a home together with their current spouse.
Ludwig says the tasks involved with a home purchase can strengthen a marriage. “(Married couples) not only learn about each other’s wishes and dreams during this process, but they also learn how to be practical with each other and compromise,” he says. “Buying a home has more of an impact on a couple’s relationship than any other purchase they will ever make.” Impact of home buying on a marriage
• 93 percent of homeowners who purchased their first home while married always planned on owning a home after marrying.
• 80 percent said purchasing a home with their spouse did more to strengthen their relationship as a couple and family than any other purchase they have made together.
• Over one-third of married homeowners (35 percent) wish they had taken the plunge (into homeownership) sooner than they actually did.
Ludwig offers the following tips for couples buying their first home together: 1. Decide “needs” vs. “wants,” and be willing to compromise. Ludwig says it’s common for a couple to uncover conflicting values, interests, likes, dislikes and tastes to come that create tension. But no one gets everything on their checklist, so it’s important to compromise to get a home that pleases both people. Patience, understanding, compassion and compromise are key. 2. Work together to prioritize what’s important in a home. Make an independent list and compare notes. Even the closest couples are still two people with separate ideas and agendas. Searching for a home can bring up a couple’s different priorities and ideas about life. Working together to decide what is best for a combined future strengthens the bond between individuals and prepares couples to effectively deal with future disagreements. 3. Be open, honest and organized with finances. This includes the ability to talk about personal savings, debts, budgets and credit ratings. Money is one of the leading causes of marital discord.
4. Think about the future for three, five and even 10 years down the road. Before buying a home, talk about plans for careers, having a family, and what that means in terms of neighborhood and space. For some people, talking about their future needs creates anxiety. Support each other if it does.
The Porsche Design Tower Miami has opened its sales center, Porsche Design Group and Dezer Development announced. The 60-story, 132-unit tower, which will have a robotic garage, will be located at 18555 Collins Avenue. It will launch construction in mid-2013, with move-in scheduled for 2016. The sales center will include small models of the residences, along with a video display of the parking technology. — Alexander Britell
