by Jamey on December 28, 2009
Repost
When buying a condo in Miami Beach, Brickell, Midtown or Downtown Miami it is now more important than ever to delve a little deeper into what’s really going on in the building. In today’s marketplace you cannot assume that all is well inside that big huge glass structure. Although there are definitely some incredible deals out there, you need to know what you are buying into; because if you are buying a condo in the Miami and Miami Beach area, you are buying into something much larger than just your one unit. Often buyers assume that because our city is a tourist destination that there are very loose rental restrictions, more often than this is not the case. So in addition to just the basic details there are definitely smaller details that can affect you long after your purchase.
Think about important questions that will matter to you down the long road of this ownership such as:
(I took these directly from the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Sheet provided by our Realtor Association.)
1. What are my voting rights in the condominium association?
2. What restrictions exist in the condominium documents on the leasing of my unit?
3. How much are my assessments to the condominium association for my unit type and when are they due?
4. Do I have to be a member in any other association? If so, what is the name of the association and what are my voting rights in this association? Also, how much are my assessments?
5. Am I required to pay rent or land use fees for recreational or other commonly used facilities? If so, how much am I obligated to pay annually?
6. Is the condominium association or other mandatory membership association involved in any court cases in which it may face liability in excess of $100,000? If so, identify each such case.
Other questions that I always think about:
1. Is parking deeded or assigned?
2. Depending on the age of the building; is the building up for any special certification projects like a 40 year certification required by the city and if so how much are the assessments expected to be for this project?
3. How long has the current board of directors served and how well do they work together?
and last but not least my all time favorite….
4. How many certified nuts live in the building (just kidding but hey, next time I buy I am going to ask this.)
I am sure there are more questions to be thought of but the most important thing is to think beyond the initial excitement of the purchase and think of long term questions that may affect your daily living in the property.
by Jamey on October 8, 2009
I get a lot of inquiries from buyers and buyer investors who are interested in purchasing a condo in Miami or Miami Beach and unfortunately their expectations of what you get for your money is sometimes a little off.
It’s not their fault, these contradictions stem from many different sources but just beyond the pricing expectation is something that all buyers should know about in this market.
1. You know the saying “you get what you pay for”? This is very evident in today’s market. Yes, there are some great deals but you have to be very careful and know what you are buying. It may be cheap but what else? If you are buying in a building, I strongly suggest that you have a good idea of what’s really going on in the building. Pay the money and order a condo questionnaire to know what’s going on financially with the building. What if half of the units are in foreclosure and unit owners aren’t paying maintenance? Is this still a good deal for you? Maybe yes. Maybe you are purchasing at such a great price that if there are shortfalls, the assessment passed on to the paying owners is worth waiting out the bad debt? You have to know and run the numbers.
2. The short sale. If you find a property priced really low amongst other similar listings, chances are, it may be a short sale. Too good to be true? Maybe and maybe not. What you have to know in advance is that the price listed is a price that the seller and their agent have deemed to be “market price”, a price that the bank may find acceptable in order to short sell the property.
Quick short sale intro: the sellers need to sell, the property is worth less than the mortgage and they have decided to sell it for less than what they owe the bank. They list the property to sell at a price that they feel is a good “market price” and once they get an offer from a buyer, they submit the offer to the bank. This is the tough part. Patience….. Some banks may work quicker than others but on average I have been told that it takes 4 to 5 months to get an answer back to the offer from the bank. Do you have time? If yes than maybe a short sale is a good deal.
3. I love, love recent closed real estate sales data. Because in the end, it’s the closed data that matters. Not what it’s listed for, not what the news says, the closed data… So what is the closed data? Well it’s first important to know that each area is it’s own little market. Brickell one market, Downtown Miami a market, South Beach and so on. Then within each of these markets are other little mini markets which are the individual buildings themselves. For instance you could have one building where the one bedrooms are closing at $200 per square foot and then another building right beside it closing at $400 per square foot. If you “generalize” this data and group the closed data together for a general “area”, it really skews the numbers. So my advice is to really keep in mind what you are looking for in your purchase and pull closed comparable real estate data within that building and then if the data isn’t in the building go outside of the building to similar buildings with closed data. There are many ways to pull really good closed data. Make sure you are working with an agent who knows how to do this correctly.
In conclusion, just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s always a good deal. You get what you pay for…
By: Ognjen Prezzi
I can remember buying our first property before we got into the real estate business and honestly back then I didn’t know the importance of a good inspection. I just wanted everything to be ok so we could purchase the property. I didn’t know what questions to ask or what qualifications to seek. Unfortunately after our sale went through, we had some major issues that could have been solved had a more professional inspector been on site when our inspection was completed.
When you hire a home inspector, you really want him to find anything possibly wrong with the property, even if you have fallen with love with it. Not only you will avoid future surprises but a good inspection will find anything that needs to be corrected. Not only will you “know in advance the costs of the issues” but during the sales transaction it may be possible to negotiate out some of the “found” issues.
What are the factors for hiring a good Home Inspector?
References. Ask for a list of clients with numbers, so you can call and verify the references and their experiences. What better way to find out if the inspector is good than from past clients that are probably actually living in the properties that he inspected.
Sample Report. Ask for a sample report. Read the details and try to understand what is included in the report.
How long will it take to do inspection? It shouldn’t be less then 2 hours depending of the size of the property.
How long does it take to deliver the inspection report? You will definitely need someone who is thorough but can also provide a report in an efficient manner.
Proper training, education and certificates. Make sure the inspector meets the requirements of all laws or regulations in your state or province and if he has completed continuing education and additional training.
What kind of insurance? It is crucial that you home inspector carry insurance including general liability and Errors & Omissions insurance.
What are the most common defects that are found during home inspections:
Poor plumbing, drainage, insufficient and old electrical systems, heating/cooling system, minor structural damage, insect damage, inadequate insulation, fire safety & plain old poorly overall general maintenance.
More info on home inspectors:
http://www.ashi.org/
http://www.homeinspections-usa.com/
Better to be safe than sorry! Trust me, I wish I had known in advance.
