Archive for the 'Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove' Category
3265 Coacoochee Street, Sold And Resold Within 8 Months!
March 15th, 2010 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
I had some wonderful clients who purchased 3265 Coacoochee Street back in July of 2009 for $715,000. In January (only 6 months later) I received a call from them and they informed me that they had just been notified of a job transfer out of state and would need to put their house back on the market. Yikes!
Of course, our main concern was getting them out clean (i.e. not losing any money). But in this market it wouldn’t be easy. Many buyers would not be willing to pay MORE for a house that sold just six months ago, right? Wrong!
We came up with a list price, drew up the papers, took some new pictures and got the house back on the market priced at $829,000 (remember, they purchased it for $715,000 just 6 months prior).
After only 1 Broker’s Open House and a few private showings we had a signed contract on the house within a week.
With a little luck and a little help from a great Realtor we closed today without the sellers having to come out of pocket.
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If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove and are looking for a Grove specialist, please contact me at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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The Ultimate Guide To Short Sales In Coconut Grove
March 10th, 2010 categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove, Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
There are so many short sales currently on the market that some people are touting 2010 as “the year of the short sale”. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, short sales occur when a lender allows a property to sell for less than what is owed on the mortgage and takes a loss.
Here are a few tips that I have learned from my many short sale transactions:
What is the time frame on a short sale property?
It is my experience that buyers can wait 4 to 6 weeks just to receive a counter offer on an unapproved short sale. Once the buyer and bank agree on a sale price the deal can typically close in 30 days. There are new government regulations that have been put in place to speed up the process but I have not personally experienced any change in the timing. Truth be told, there doesn’t seem to be any way to force the banks to comply with the new regulations.
If I short sell my house, how long will it be before I can get another mortgage?
According to the New York Times, the average person who short sells their house can get a mortgage within 2 to 3 years. This is compared to 5 to 7 years if your home goes into foreclosure. Keep in mind these numbers don’t factor in any other credit issues.
Maybe you can get a loan modification as opposed to short selling the home?
Maybe you can but maybe you can’t. In the TARP report to Congress in January of 2010, 3+ million people have requested a loan modification in the United States but only 166,000 have received a permanent one. Personally, I know about 3 people who have been successful getting a loan modification and more than 20 who have not.
Maybe You Should Foreclose On Your House Instead of Short Selling It?
Keep in mind that when you walk away from a home in a foreclosure the bank can come after you for the difference between what the mortgage was and what the bank ultimately sold it for – i.e. deficiency judgment. Most of the time in a short sale the lender will release the seller from any future obligation of debt.
What Are The Questions I Should Ask When Submitting An Offer On A Short Sale?
- Is the short sale “unapproved” or “approved”? The difference is night and day and can take weeks off of your closing date.
- Are there any other offers? Many times an agent will keep a short sale “active” because they want backup offers knowing that the original buyer often times won’t stick around until the bitter end. But sometimes they do stick around and you should know ahead of time where your offer stands.
- Is the seller working with an attorney? If so, this can help the process move much more quickly.
- Am I required to use the seller’s attorney as my title agent? Many times, an attorney will not agree to handle a short sale transaction for the seller unless it is stated in the contract that they will get the buying side of the deal as well. They don’t make much money on handling a short sale transaction and try to recoup some of their cost on the Title. If this is a deal breaker for you, you should know it up front.
- Is it a local bank? Local banks seem to negotiate short sales much faster than larger national banks.
Short Sale Properties In Coconut Grove?
Click Coconut Grove Short Sale Properties to scroll through the 100+ short sales available in Coconut Grove. If you would like to see any of them give me a call and I would be happy to arrange a showing for you, as I said I have a great amount of experience dealing with short sales on the buying and selling side and would be happy to assist you.
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Goodbye Coconut Grove…Hello Virginia, A Relocation Success Story
February 26th, 2010 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
EWM Realtors has an incredible relocation division. Whether you are moving to or from Miami our company is here to assist you every step of the way. We work closely with brokers all over the world to assure that you get the same standards and service provided by EWM.
Below is a letter from a client of mine, Mark Cohen, who used the services of EWM to facilitate his move from Coconut Grove to Virginia. Mark listed his house with me in January and we got a contract within a matter of weeks. In fact, by the time they had found a house to buy up in Virginia we already had a signed contract on his house. They plan to close on both homes within the next few weeks.
Riley,
Just for the record, you should pass this along to everyone in the relocation department who helped us with our move to Virginia.
The referral to Long & Foster Real Estate and the specific Northern Virginia Realtor to whom we were assigned worked out great. Although we took her just a bit outside her primary geography, she understood our needs/wants perfectly and knew just the right time to step in when our knowledge of real estate fell short and we needed help.
In addition, the referral to Star Moving Alliance for help in soliciting bids from movers and in assessing the bids and making a decision also worked out great. We actually went with the higher of the two bids because we were more comfortable with how they planned to crate our limited number of fragile/valuable items.
So in addition to the quick sale of our property, the other services provided by EWM to make our move as smooth as possible proved to be helpful beyond all reasonable expectation.
Please pass along our appreciation to the folks you recruited to help us on these issues.
Regards,
Mark Cohen
If you are considering a move to or from Miami, please let me and my team here at EWM Realtors assist you in your relocation.
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The Riley Circus
December 17th, 2009 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
With 4 closings and negotiating 5 offers all within 2 weeks, I feel like the ringmaster of my very own circus.
I closed on a house earlier this week in South Miami ($425,000), I am closing today on 79 West Shore Drive (list price $899,000), closing on Monday on 1666 Micanopy Avenue (list price $1,535,000), and closing on December 29th on 3625 Bougainvillea Road ($1,399,000).
I currently have under contract 3802 Little Avenue in Ye Little Wood and 3055 Virginia Avenue in Center Grove both looking to close in early January. And as I take a look at my buyer board, my team is working with over 20 buyers who all seem to be very anxious to get in a house after the New Year.
If you have been following the blog you know that inventory is very low, if you are considering selling your house, I would love to preview it to see if it matches any of my buyer profiles.
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Many Coconut Grove Residents Are Stuck In Their Homes
December 15th, 2009 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
We all know that the number of listings in Coconut Grove is down. Part of it is due to the time of the year (i.e. the holidays) but as I talk to residents in the Grove and go on my listing presentations it seems that most people are just STUCK and cannot sell.
In general, if you purchased a home in the last 5 years (even if you put down 20%) you are upside down on your mortgage. Meaning you currently owe more than your home is worth and you cannot sell unless you are willing to bring money to the table or negotiate a short sale with the bank. I believe this is the number one reason why our inventory levels are so low right now, and unfortunately I don’t see an end in sight.
The good news is that for those of you who can afford to sell, this should help push prices up slightly as there is such a lack of quality homes for sale in the Grove today.
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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French Style Villa Sells for $419.00 per square foot
December 7th, 2009 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
This beautiful home on one of Coconut Grove’s most prestigious streets sold today for $419.00 per square foot, one of the highest price per square foot numbers we have seen all year (three that were higher included a house in The Moorings for $454.00 PSF, a house in North Grove which sold for $700.00 PSF and a house in The Anchorage which sold for $592.00 PSF).
Details of 4160 La Playa Boulevard include:
- 6 Bedrooms/6 Baths
- 5,240 Sq. Ft. of Living Area
- Built in 2000
- List Price: $2,295,000
- Sale Price: $2,200,000
- 41 Days On The Market
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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Another “Real Estate Coconut” Success Story
November 25th, 2009 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
The story began when some buyers contacted me from the blog and asked for my assistance in helping them find a home here in Coconut Grove. They were originally interested in my Matheson Avenue listing but upon seeing it told me that they really wanted something more “Grovey”, with more land, and priced in the low $500k’s.
A few days later, an associate in my office mentioned to me that her Battersea listing (priced at $749,000) was now a short sale. I knew right away that it was THE property for my clients and took them over to see it. They immediately made an offer.
Due to the fact that the property was a short sale and that the tenant living in the house had a “right of first refusal” we knew ahead of time that it would not be an easy transaction. The right of first refusal was a contract between the tenant and the owner/landlord that the tenant had a right to match any offer presented by a buyer.
After waiting several weeks, making many calls to the lawyer, and suffering through many missed deadlines (on the seller’s part), my clients finally received notice that the tenants would not be exercising their right of first refusal AND received notice that the bank had approved the short sale. Having all of the details wrapped up, we closed on the house last week for $525,000.
An interesting twist to the story is that 3 years ago this same house was listed at $1,350,000. I had a client (a builder) who made an offer the first day it came on the market at a price of $1,300,000. He was interested in splitting the lot and building two separate houses. The sellers turned his offer down. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
After all was said and done, the current buyers are thrilled with their purchase and I am happy to welcome them as new Coconut Grove residents!
Details on 4035 Battersea Road:
- 2,085 Sq. Ft. Living Area
- 13,000 Sq. Ft. Lot
- 2 bedrooms/2 baths
- List Price: $749,000
- Sale Price: $525,000
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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Buyer Activity Is Up, Listing Activity Is Down in Coconut Grove Real Estate
November 23rd, 2009 categories: Buying Real Estate in Coconut Grove, Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
Buyers have been very active the past few weeks in Coconut Grove. I am out with clients just about every day showing property and we have had record numbers at our open houses.
Where are my buyers coming from? The majority of my buyers are coming from out of town, mainly the Northeast and a few from outside the US. I also have some who currently live in Coconut Grove and are wanting to upsize/downsize, and some renters from the Brickell area looking to buy.
On the other hand, listing activity has been slow across the board. We see this slow down every year around Thanksgiving time because people like to wait until after the holidays to put their home on the market. Although it may be more convenient to wait until January to put your house for sale, these people are missing out on one of the busiest months of the year. Think of all the out of towners who will not get to see their homes!
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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Should You Update Your Home Before You Put It On The Market?
October 19th, 2009 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate, Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
If you attended my real estate talk last night you now know that prices have fallen significantly in Coconut Grove in the past year. The average Single Family “Sale Price Per Square Foot” in October of 2008 was $343.00 and the average is now $260.00.
In years past, the decision whether to update your home before putting it on the market was easy because it was pretty much guaranteed that the improvements (kitchen, bath, floors, etc.) would increase the value of your home and you would recoup the money.
Since Coconut Grove homeowners have already experienced such a large drop in value over the past year, many people are not so keen on the idea of putting MORE money into their house before they place it on the market.
I tell my clients that they need to think about it this way….you are not putting more money into your house in order to make a profit. Instead, you are putting more money into your home in order to make it stand out and get it sold!!
There are 178 houses on the market in Coconut Grove right now and very few are in move in condition. So unless you are willing to price your home under market value, updating your home is another way to get your house sold quickly in this market.
Need more motivation? The average house that has sold this year has sat on the market for 9 months. One thing that you can do to get it sold faster is to make it turnkey ready!
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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Park Avenue Sells For Land Value
October 15th, 2009 categories: Selling Real Estate in Coconut Grove
My listing located at 3812 Park Avenue closed today. There was a structure on the property but it was not worth saving and the new owners intend to build.
Park Avenue had a 21,600 square foot lot and sold for $630,000 ($29.00 psf land). I pretty much had the property sold before I even got the listing agreement signed. When I got the okay to start marketing the property, I called several agents who I knew had clients looking for large lots to build and was able to put the property under contract immediately. As soon as they did their due diligence, they made their second deposit and closed with cash.
To stay updated with all of the current Coconut Grove real estate information, receive my blog posts directly to your inbox by subscribing here.
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove, please give me a call at 305.342.1623 or send me a note here.
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