Archive for January, 2011
Investment Properties In Coconut Grove
January 31st, 2011 | categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove, Coconut Grove Real Estate
This is the last day of answering reader’s requests. Due to the high number of emails I could not get to everyone’s questions via the blog. For those which I did not post, you should have received an email answering your question. Today I am discussing investment properties in the Grove. Below are a few different options for investors who would like to take advantage of the current market.
Buy and Rent
I have had several clients recently who are interested in buying now and renting the property out for a few years. This is a good option and it is possible to cover your costs if you choose the right home. It appears that the owners of the home located at 4155 Kiaora Street have decided to do such a thing. The home sold last year for $1,075,000 and they now have it listed for rent at $5,500. Listing agent is Malvina Godoy of EWM, for photos and information of the home click here.
The Multi-Family Residence
The house located at 3528 Royal Palm Avenue is a multi-family residence consisting of 4 different structures. First, a large 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath house with high ceilings, large master suite and updated kitchen. Second is a separate cottage with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. And finally, there are two detached 1 bedroom, 1 bath strucutures that have a separate gated entrance. You could live in the main house and rent the others out or rent all of them out individually. The property is listed at $1,595,000 and the potential rental income (per the seller) for this property is $64,000. Listing agent for the home is Belinda Sime of Avatar, for photos and information of the house click here.
Flip It
Another type of invesmtent property is the flip. Last year the foreclosure located at 2620 Natoma Street sold for $389,000. The investors completely gutted and rebuilt the home. They put it back on the market in 2010 for a list price of $849,000 and it sold for $600,000. Listing agent was Bryan Shaeffer and Georgia Corbin of Coldwell Banker.
Invest In Land
In my opinion, vacant land in Coconut Grove is the place to put your money right now if you are an investor. If you can buy a lot in north or south Grove for under $40.00 per square foot and hold onto it for several years I believe the return on investment will be greater than either of the options above. Click here to view land for sale in Coconut Grove.
I know the numbers, I analyze the market, my clients make better decisions. If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Recap Of Coconut Grove Short Sale Presentation
January 27th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Yesterday we had Scott and Rob Perdigon of Perdigon Title visit our office to give a brief presentation on short sales. Perdigon Title handles all of my short sale transactions and I thought that some of this information would be helpful to anyone considering buying or selling a short sale.
Here are a few of their pointers:
- When listing a short sale you should list high and then lower the price.
- As a seller if you wouldn’t accept the offer if it wasn’t a regular sale don’t accept it for a short sale.
- The whole game changes once a foreclosure is filed.
- As a buyer drawing up a contract, closing should be 30 days from lender approval, seller should pay the title and select the title agent, give 90 days to provide short sale approval, time periods and other obligations commence from the date the buyer recieves written short sale approval.
- As a buyer, you should commence inspections before approval.
Here are a few differences between short sales and foreclosures:
- In a short sale the debt is forgiven and deficiency judgments can be avoided. In a foreclosure the lender has the ability to file a deficiency judgment against you and all other assets that you may own.
- In a short sale a foreclosure is not reported to the credit bureau whereas in a foreclosure it will be.
- A short sale reflects on your credit report for 1 to 3 years whereas a foreclosure reflects on your credit report for 3 to 5 years.
- In a short sale you can expect a FICO score to drop between 75 to 125, whereas in a foreclosure you can expect a FICO score to drop between 200 to 280.
To view a list of all short sales (approved and unapproved) in Coconut Grove click here.
If you are contemplating selling your house and think that you may owe more than what your home is worth I would be happy be to sit down with you and discuss your options. I am a Coconut Grove real estate specialist and have closed over a dozen short sale properties. I can always be reached on my cell phone at 305.342.1623 or you can send me a note here.
Sold! 3891 Coco Grove Avenue, Coconut Grove
January 27th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
My listing on Coco Grove Avenue closed this week for a sales price of $410,000 ($278.00 per square foot).
Congratulations to the buyers who got a great house on a wonderful street.
If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Grand Avenue Project: Getting Closer
January 26th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
I am always getting asked about the ”Grove Village” project that has been in the works for the past several years in the west Grove. For those of you who are not familiar with the project it will be located along 6 blocks of Grand Avenue and is going to include 175,000 sq. ft. of retail, 175,000 sq. ft. of office space, 200 market rate rental apartments and over 40 workhouse housing units. The retail space will be located on the bottom of these 5 story buildings with the office space above it. A new grocery store has also been included at the request of local Grove residents. Max Strang and Albert Cordoves are the design architects for the project.
As many of you know, working with the City to get all the necessary permits can be a lengthy and difficult process. According to Real Estate Bis Now things are moving along nicely for Pointe Group Advisors, the developers of the project. They have received some of the necessary approvals but are awaiting on a Major Use Special Permit which can take over a year to complete.
I have been asked in the past if the 200 rental units will saturate the market. In my opinion, the rental market in the Grove is so strong that there will be no problem finding tenants. The Grove is close to the University of Miami and it continues to be a draw for young professionals. These are two unchanging factors. I also think that the rental units will bring 200+ more people into our village who will shop in our stores and eat in our restaurants.
If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Entry Level Homes In Coconut Grove
January 25th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Another request I received last week was for an update on entry level homes in Coconut Grove. This $400,000 and below market is a relatively new one for Coconut Grove. During the boom an entry level home would cost at least $500,000 but now we have homes in the north and south Grove far below that.
There were approximately 20 homes sold in Coconut Grove under $400,000 last year (excluding West Grove). The average price per square foot of these was $226.00, many were short sales or foreclosures. For those of you who purchased a home in this segment of the market recently, I feel confident in saying that your home has held its value.
To view entry level homes currently on the market in Coconut Grove, click here.
I know the numbers, I analyze the market, my clients make better decisions. If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Valuing A Piece Of Land With A Tear-Down Structure
January 24th, 2011 | categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove, Coconut Grove Real Estate
Today I am answering a reader’s question regarding how to price a piece of land with a tear-down house on the property. When you are valuing a vacant piece of land the only factors are location, size and how big of a house you can build on the property. But what if you have a structure on the lot that needs demolished? How does that impact price? Should you give some value for the foundation, water and sewer that are already in place?
Here are some things to consider. Most of the time when you are buying a lot that has a tear down house on it there is an added cost to the buyer for demolition and removal of the house. There is also an added tax cost if you buy a lot with a tear-down house on it. This is why you see many people take the house down as quickly as possible (as well as to avoid liability) as soon as they gain ownership.
If it is truly a tear-down property, the bits and pieces of foundation/water/sewer that could be salvaged would likely be cancelled out by the cost involved in demolition. In my opinion, these types of properties should sell at roughly the same price as a vacant lot or slightly below.
Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish a tear-down property from one that can be saved. For instance the house that sold last year at 3737 Kent Road for $1,350,000 would have been demolished by some buyers but not others. In this case, you can look at both the land price per sq. ft. as well as the living area price per sq. ft considering the condition of the home. This house sold for $27.00 per square foot of land, or $224.00 per square foot of living area.
I know the numbers, I analyze the market, my clients make better decisions. If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
McMansions On Espanola Drive, Coconut Grove
January 20th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Another email I received from the “Taking Requests” post was in regards to the two uncompleted McMansions on the corner of Espanola Drive and 17th Avenue. Here is what I know about those properties. Only one of the homes (1709 Espanola Drive) is actually recorded on the tax rolls. That home sits on a 9,700 square foot lot. The other home (on the right hand side in photo above) does not show up in the tax records at all.
That being said, 1709 Espanola Drive is in default with a $1,500,000 mortgage. The home was placed for auction at the courthouse steps on December 14 of 2010. It appears to me that it was not sold and may be coming on the market as a foreclosure sometime in the future.
The reader also inquired about 1721 Espanola Drive (photo above) which has been on and off the market for the past few years. The home’s most recent asking price was $1,499,000 for sale, and $11,500 for rent. According to the MLS history, it has not been rented or sold. Roberta Ingletto of Ingletto Realty had the listing. It was a nice house and if anyone is still interested in the home, I would be happy to contact Roberta and see if the sellers would allow us to show the property.
I know the numbers, I analyze the market, my clients make better decisions. If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Is Modern Your Style?
January 19th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Thank you to all of my readers for the large number of requests we received yesterday and today regarding our upcoming posts. I will be posting them over the next several weeks. The first email we received was from a reader who would like us to feature some of the best contemporary homes on the market in Coconut Grove. Here we go…
Certainly, the home located at 4080 Douglas Road (photo above) would top my list. This is a Max Strang masterpiece that has won countless design awards, been featured in Architectural Digest as well as the “Miami Vice” movie. Although the home offers a modern style, the use of natural materials gives it a warmth that many contemporary homes don’t have. In doing some research for a buyer of mine, the listing agent Rex Hamilton gave me quite a history on the home. One of the many interesting facts was that the coral rock excavated from the huge trench system dug to the support the house was re-used to wrap the fireplace, cover portions of the exterior building as well as a new coral rock wall which surrounds the property. The price was recently reduced to $3,450,000. View photos and details of the home here.
3835 Carole Court (photo above) is another exceptional modern style home, this one offers breathtaking views of Biscayne Bay. The home has walls of glass with soaring ceilings, a large master bedroom with his/her bathrooms and closets, elevator, media room and library. The home has 3 canal front docks along the seawall, it is 3 lots in from the Bay. List price is $5,190,000. The listing agent for this property is Toni Schraeger of Avatar Realty. View details and more photos of the home here.
Moving down in price a little bit, I’ve always liked the house located at 3636 Hibiscus Street and have featured it several times here on the blog. The house is finished very well with open spaces and bright light. One thing that helps this house stand out from the rest is the private theater located on the lower level. This house is listed for $1,750,000 by Pat and Joe Parker of Coldwell Banker. View details and more photos of the home here.
Lastly, I will feature an Alfred Browning Parker home located at 4195 Park Avenue which has recently come back on the market at a reduced price of $599,000 (previously $750,000). I am partial to this house thanks to its amazing garden and rare plant species. The house itself is very striking with an open floor plan and large windows which really brings the outside in. The home is listed by Sean Reichart of Grove Properties. View details and more photos of the home here.
I know the numbers, I analyze the market, my clients make better decisions. If you would like to buy or sell real estate and are looking for an experienced Realtor in Coconut Grove, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
Taking Requests
January 18th, 2011 | categories: Grove News
Today’s post is a question to all of you who follow The Real Estate Coconut. What topics do you like me to write about here on the blog? What are the most interesting posts? Is there a particular building or segment of the market that you have been curious about? Do you ever say to yourself, I wish Riley would write about this…..
If you do, please send me a private message here or post a public comment below and over the next few days I will write my posts according to YOUR requests.
By the way, have you checked out my other blogs lately? Here are today’s posts from my Coral Gables Real Estate and South Miami Real Estate blogs:
Just Listed In Exclusive Ye Little Wood
January 17th, 2011 | categories: Coconut Grove Gated Communities
This elegant home located at 3811 Wood Avenue offers many special features including a grand winding staircase, vaulted white wood ceilings, travertine and wood floors, custom cabinetry, impact windows and french doors throughout. The full guest suite offers its own kitchen, bedroom, bath and fireplace.
We are holding the house OPEN this Wednesday (January 19th from 12:00 to 2:00) with a catered lunch by Whisk. If you are in the neighborhood please stop in and have a look.
Details of the home include:
- 7,286 Square Feet Of Living Space
- 19,500 Square Foot Lot
- 6 Bedrooms, 6 Baths, 2 half baths
- 2 Car Garage
- For more photos and information click here.
- Offered at $2,350,000
If you would like to schedule a showing of this home feel free to contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a message here.