What’s “The Right” Amount For A Good Faith Deposit?

So you are buying or selling a home. How much money should you negotiate in escrow (good faith deposit)?

The answer is that there is no right answer. There is no “normal” amount or “customary” figure. It all narrows down to your level of motivation to acquire the property.  Tipically, stronger contracts tend to offer more deposit, and vice versa. Some other factors to consider when determining an amount:

  1. The other party’s motivation (whom you are negotiating)
  2. Are you competing against other offers?
  3. How long the property’s been on the market?
  4. How strong (or weak) are the other terms in your contract?

Questions about your home value? Call / text (305) 305 1535 or email me!

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2 Reasons Zillow Gets Home Values Right, Half The Time

9 times out of 10, people check their home value on Zillow or Trulia prior to calling a real estate agent. I personally think these sites are great considering they get it right about 50% of the time (when you take into account that an algorithm is trying to determine a very complex ordeal such as the value of a home…props to that).

So why do they miss the mark the other 50% of the time?

I don’t really know, and I doubt anyone else truly knows, but here is my guess. Because they can only see what’s on the outside of the property thru the eye in the sky – aka satellites –  and they can only analyze what can be found on public records such as number of beds, number of baths, etc.

The problem here is two-fold.

  1. Often, public records are incorrect
  2. These sites can’t see the interior of your home

Say you added a family room to a property. Or your home was built in 1975, but you have made an update here and there. It’s this lack of accurate information that can distort what’s reported in sites like Zillow.

Questions about your home value? Call / text (305) 305 1535 or email me!

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3 Must Have Components To A Contract

Long story short, any contract from a buyer to purchase your home must be made up of 3 components. Anything less is often, a meaningless offer.

  1. A contract spelling out the terms of the offer (Ex: price, closing date).
  2. Evidence that buyer is able to buy property (Ex: letter from a bank).
  3. Good faith deposit, or escrow payment (this is THE BIGGIE, and must be made up front along with contract).

Explaining Escrow for Buyers

Questions about contracts? Call / text (305) 305 1535 or email me!

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Proud Sponsor Rotary Golf For Scholarships 2016

Rotary Golf Classic 2016 was held at the Biltmore Hotel during the month of February.  Proceeds raised benefit Miami resident high school students transitioning into college. This event is hosted annually and attracts about 200 golf players that get to enjoy breakfast, an 18 hole game, and an auction-luncheon.  We give because I also benefited from these type of funds in order to get my degree in Finance. And I encourage you, in one way or another, to get involved!

More event pictures and details can be found at rotarypinecrest.org.

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Questions about this event or how to get involved for our 2017 event, call or text me at (305) 305 1535.

15813 SW 102 LN Kendall FL $430,000

 

FHA VA OK! Two-car garage single family in Garden Hills, no homeowner’s association. New high efficiency AC, accordion hurricane shutters, well sprinklers. Solar powered pool heater/salt system. Tiled flooring/vaulted ceilings throughout entire home. Open living/dining room layout. Expansive kitchen w/ granite counter tops, wood cabinetry, overseeing family area. Master bedroom w/ walk-in closet, walk-in shower, spa-tub. Paved flooring surrounds pool, Jacuzzi, and outdoor kitchenette underneath cabana.

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  • Transaction Type: Seller Representation
  • Address: 15813 SW 102 LN
  • City, State and Zip: Kendall, FL 33196
  • Asking price for sale: $430,000
  • Short sale or foreclosure: no / no
  • Type of property: single family home
  • Living and lot size (sqft): 2,406 / 7,644
  • Year built: 1997
  • Beds, full baths and half baths: 4 / 2 / 1
  • Garage: 2
  • Water front or access: no / no
  • Exterior walls and roof: concrete / barrel
  • Floor and pool: tile and carpet / yes
  • Heating and cooling: central / central
  • Sewer: municipal

Got questions on this listing? Call or text me at (305) 305-1535

Monthly Mortgage Payment at 4.5% interest rate, 30-year fixed, and purchase price of $430,000:

  • Conventional loan with 10% down: $1,960
  • Conventional loan with 20% down: $1,743

Need other mortgage scenarios? Mortgage Calculator

Local Schools:

Location:

 

Area Demographics:

  • Average Income: $71,059
  • Population: 44,031
  • Owners vs Renters: 74% and 26%

Check out the latest Kendall 33196 Demographics Summary or Kendall 33196 Demographics Detailed analysis .

Nearest Rotary Clubs:

What’s Rotary? Neighbors, community leaders, and global citizens uniting for the common good. Learn more at Rotary.org

Questions? Call / Text 305.305.1535 or Email Me!

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Home Prices Flat, Sellers Edge Buyers Despite Slowing Market


FYI: data analyzed in this blog post is for single family homes only.

How’s the market?

Prices remain unchanged and sales volume (number of homes sold) is slower than usual.  Although this trend is expected as we are just heading out of the holiday season – when most homeowners keep their property off the market – there is a stronger deceleration in units sold at the turn of 2015-2016 when compared to the turn in 2014-2015 (see below graph).

miami real estate price trend single family home

*Above graph represents combined data from Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Sweetwater, The Roads, West Miami, and Westchester*

What’s the outlook?

In my opinion, home prices will continue to remain unchanged for the remainder of 2016.  Around March or April, volume of sales will take an upturn just like it did in March and April of 2015, but it will not be as significant. This will have no impact in home prices due to economically healthier home owners that are able to hold on to their homes till prices go up.

WLRN: Miami real estate may slow in 2016

Should I sell my home?

In my opinion, it will not make a difference weather you sell now or at any time during the year since prices are expected to remain  status quo.   However, should your home-carrying expenses (mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, etc) exceed any appreciation in price in your neighborhood, then it may be a good time to sell.

Find out your home value today

How long will it take my home to sell?

On average, 122 days or 4 months.  See below graph for the average number of days it will take your home to sell in your neighborhood.

miami real estate days on market

 

How’s the foreclosure market doing?

Not good.  And this is good news considering such market makes up less than 20% of sold homes.  See below graph to see how the foreclosure market is doing in your neighborhood.

miami real estate type of sales

 

*This post’s source of data: Miami MLS