Pocket Listings are not smart for the Seller

Many sellers and also their agents when they are hired by such a seller are not very smart when they agree to make a pocket listing. Both the seller and their agent will leave good money on the table.

The reason for this is that the pocket listings are not marketed to the biggest possible audience because it is a pocket listing. The nature of a pocket listing is that it sits in the pocket of the seller or the agent and only a hand selected buyer audience will have the chance to make an offer. 

On the other hand the members of this ‘elite’ crowd may not include that potential buyer with the deep pockets that the seller is hoping for or need to get out of his/her property. The buyer with the deep pockets is often outside this crowd and the seller will not get to this buyer because this buyer does not know that the seller wanted to sell his/her property. That is not a good position for the seller.

Therefore Mr. Seller you should think twice what is better for you – Make a pocket listing and get a lower price from a limited buyer audience or publish your listing with an broker on the MLS and get a higher sale price and a potential higher gain from your sale because your property is seen by a much bigger buyer crowd with deeper pocket?

You have a real estate question? We love to assist you – andrea@florida-informations.com.
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To Cheat on Your Property Tax May Not Be a Good Idea

Everybody wants to keep as much money as possible in his/her own pocket that is understandable. And may be the reason to cheat on your property taxes and therefore you do not tell your tax appraiser about the alteration that you have done to your home – your new addition or your new pool without the proper permits from the city and the adjustment to the property taxes.

But that is not a good idea in our technological new world. Each person has a cell phone and we record and document everything want we see and what we do and post it right away to the social networks everywhere not realizing that we expose not only ourselves but also our neighbor. And don’t forget, what you can do, the tax appraisers can do too but only on a much higher level.

The property appraisers are normally not allowed to trespass your property for their assessment pictures and when you have a fence they are not allowed to peek over it. However, they have something much better for their purposes – the aerial pictures and this services is legal for them and you can do anything against that. Therefore you should think twice when you enhance your property with items like a pool without getting a permit and a tax adjustment. It is only a matter of time until the property appraiser will notice it.

On the other hand you should not forget, that your property tax is used for your own good. Your taxes pay for schools, fire department, the sheriff or police and the hospitals. Therefore when you cheat on the property taxes you only hurt yourself and your family.

You have any questions to this topic? You can reach us at andrea@florida-informations.com.
In Real Estate always on your side -  http://www.amazon.com/Your-Residence-Paradise-Property-Purchase/dp/0986252913

What are Closing Cost?

This is a very important question for a home buyer because these costs are related to your home purchase and they are additional to the purchase price. The closing costs are expenses that are often ignored and not clearly explain to the buyer. The amount of these costs can easily add up to 2 to 5 % of the purchase price.

When you as the buyer make your probably biggest live time investment you are certainly interested to get your new home without any strings attached. To accomplish this goal you have to know that there are some service expenses involved. However, not all closings costs are paid by you as the buyer.

Parts of the closing expenses are paid by the seller but you are the beneficiary. The seller paid costs are the title and lien search to make sure that your title is clean and marketable. The seller also pays his/her part of the service costs of the title company and the documentary stamps for the transfer of the real estate property.

Your buyer part of the closing expenses are the title insurance, the title service fees, the recording fees at the court for your deed and the mortgage. The title insurance covers you as the buyer in case an unrecorded lien is put on your property but the seller or another former owner of your property is the debtor. Such a title insurance is a must have so that you will have a good night sleep in your new home. The title service fees and the court recording fees are mandatory to make sure that you are correctly noted on all legally relevant public records and documents.

Besides these direct related closing costs there are also the expenses for a home inspection, the survey and the lender’s appraisal cost in case you take out a loan on the property. Not every home buyer want these expenses and try to avoid them but that can be a big mistake in the future.

This is only a short summary and focused on a Florida real estate transaction. For more details you can reach us at andrea@florida-informations.com or find information at this link:  
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I want to sell the condo of my inherited condo

When I took that listing I thought that is an easy task. The market is good, the location is excellent and close to the beach. The unit is in good condition. Let’s move and we hoped to get the transaction closed within 30 days.

The public records of the property didn’t show any information that should rise a red flag. However, during the title examination we found out that the probate at the time of death of my customer’s father who was the former owner of the unit was not properly done. The father of my customer deceased in New York and the probate was done at the court in New York. During this probate proceedings my customer got papers that stated that she was the owner of the unit and she thought everything was okay.

Sadly the attorney who had done the probate case in New York forgot to file the probate case also in Florida. Because of this attorney’s mistake my customer had to retain a second probate attorney in Florida who did the missing filings. Such additional filings are a costly factor in a real estate transaction.

To prevent such a costly issue you should already at the purchase time decide if personal ownership is the best choice for you. There are better options to protect you of such a probate situation. To find out the best options for your specific situation the advice of a real estate attorney is the best protection.

Please contact us for further questions at andrea@florida-informations.com 

The housing market in Florida is back

Finally the recovery of the real estate market has reached the normal balanced market trend. A balanced real estate market in Florida is an inventory of 5 to 6 months. That means the new listing number is higher than the sale number and the available properties in the market would be sold in the next few months.

The available market data also show that after the rapid home price increase in 2013 this trend goes back to a normal level of 4 to 5 % annually. Based on the moderate price increase the home buying and flipping of house is no longer attractive for some investors in the market and their engagement is declining. The foreclosure rate is also on a low level and the shadow inventory that comes with this kind of real estate action is falling.

The new construction is showing an upward trend especially in south east Florida where most of the international buyers are making their real estate investments. The international buyers have a strong market position in the sales numbers.  

There are still good deals in this real estate market. However, you have to make your move now when you are interested in a good purchase deal.

For more you can contact us at andrea@florida-informations.com

New coming markets - MINT

A few years ago when I earned my designation CIPS -Certified International Property Specialist - we had the BRIC market: Brazil, Russia, India and China. At that time these four countries where the emerging markets with the greatest potential for the future.

The next big coming market potential is MINT. That means the countries Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. Economists see the upcoming opportunities in these countries because they have a growing population and their economies are starting to grow. It is still too early to predict outline the market potential and the timeframe.

Mexico is the country, which is closest to the US and will be a good investment market for will outbound investors at the US doorstep.

Indonesia located in South East Asia is farthest away. Between these two geographic spots are Turkey in the European Mediterranean Region and Nigeria on the African continent.

Nigeria with its starting growth is the first country in Africa that is on its way out of poverty and demonstrates that there is a lot of potential on the African continent for business opportunities.

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