Three years ago I started my real estate career bright eyed and optimistic. I am happy that no one really knew (or told me) how bad the market would tumble because honestly that would have been a very intimidating career switch and I may not have done it. In the end, it has been one of the most positive things that I have committed to and one of the best things for my family. Over the last three years I have learned so much about people, made some of the best friends of my life and created a great business partnership with my husband (who is now with me full time).
Now a days, when I am off work, I am often hesitant to tell people what I do because right after I say, “I am a Realtor”, the inevitable next question that comes is, “How’s the market?” If I say, “Excellent! It’s a great time to buy!!!”, then I am labeled as a typical “Realtor”. If I say, “It’s awful!”, then I am a Negative Nellie. Quite frankly, in all honesty, I really fall some where in the middle but closer to the it’s a good time to buy…. but with a side of caution, know what you are buying into.
Holiday FAQ for fun…
1. Are there some great deals out there? Absolutely.
2. Are there some buildings that are not financially stable? Absolutely.
3. So far this year in Miami Beach there were 1495 units that sold.
- 1027 closed with cash
- 413 closed with conventional loans
- 9 closed with FHA
- 128 of these units sold for $1 million plus
4. My other areas: Brickell, Downtown Miami & Midtown Miami…. not posting data from the MLS because there are so many developer units that don’t get listed on the MLS and it throws the numbers off. The MLS mostly tracks resale properties. Sorry, but if you are interested, I could go into other records individually for you.
5. Are you happy that you are a Realtor? 100% Yes! I am still bright eyed and optimistic today. There is no business like Real Estate and I love what I am able to do for my clients and their families. And I genuinely mean that from the bottom of my heart. I just got this email today from a client….
“Thank you so, so much for all of your help with this! You and your husband make an amazing team! We will definitely be in touch with you for anything in the future.”
what more can you ask for?
6. What’s one thing you wish buyers would understand? Buying today is not like buying the past. You need to know what you are buying. If you are purchasing a property in Miami or Miami Beach with a conventional loan, there are some limitations and it is not like buying in the past. If you are purchasing a property in Miami or Miami Beach with a conventional loan, you should get a pre-approval letter from your bank waaaaayyyy in advance to looking at properties. I cannot tell you how many times my buyers have waited only to loose a buying opportunity once they found a property they liked due to the bank/lender taking time on the pre-approval process. Most seller’s agents in today’s market, especially the short sale and REO listings require a pre-approval letter submitted with the offer.
7. What are your client’s favorite buildings?
In Miami Beach:
- Continuum I & II
- ICON
- Yacht Club at Portofino
- Floridian
- Waverly
- Sunset Harbour
- Bentley Bay
Brickell:
- ICON at Brickell
- The Plaza
- Latitude on the River
- Neo Vertika
- Wind
- IVY
- 500 Brickell
- Brickell on the River South
Downtown Miami:
- The MET
- Marina Blue
- 900 Biscayne
- Ten Museum
Midtown Miami:
- 1800 Club
- Quantum on the Bay
- Platinum
- Midtown Miami
8. What’s one thing that you wish your readers would get from the blog? That we really, really love our business and care about our clients. We want more than anything to do a good job and we do that by arming ourselves and our clients with information. I am an information junkie. I can spew the details. Not everyone really cares about the details but if you need them, I have them (or will find them). I never realized the perception that outsiders have of people in my business (the agents) until I was in the business and read about it. One of my clients who I adore once told me, “you must know that some people in your business are big cheese balls.” I responded by saying, “Well yeah but I am not one of those people. I may be a little chunky but I am not a cheese ball.” I really, really don’t want to be a cheese ball.
In conclusion. Life is good, I love my business and my clients. We work hard because we love what we do and in the end we don’t want to be considered cheese balls.
Although I do hope there are some cheese balls to eat at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow!
Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours! Thanks for reading our blog!
