kendall

Paris Love Lockets in Kendall

Rocio Casales1 Comment

love lockets

You might have heard of the famous love lockets that cover up two bridges in Paris, France (Pont de Arts and Pont de l’Archevêché). If not, allow me to do a quick story telling:

Couples in love and wanting to share their devotion for each other go with their locket and write their names or initials on it and lock them on the bridge and then throw away the key in the water symbolizing their eternal love.

No one really knows how it started but there are countless of theories of its start. Nonetheless, it has become a phenomenon in Paris, France and it has spread around the world.

The bridges are completely covered in lockets and at times hard to find a new spot to add a new locket because of their popularity among soul mates. Now this tradition has slowly begun to take over a bridge here in Kendall! love lockets

If you go to The Palms at Town and Country right across Cadillac Ranch restaurant, you will see a lovely bridge overlooking the lake and its’ nice to look at water fountains. As you approach the bridge you will start noticing locks on the rails of the bridge. If you get closer you will be able to read couples names. Some are very faint to read or have completely been erased due to weather but the locks still stay as a symbol of everlasting love. Some lockets are simple while others are decorated to stand out.

Next time you take a nice romantic evening stroll at The Palms at Town and Country, make sure to cross over the bridge and take a quick look at the love lockets. Even if you don’t add your own love locket it is a nice feeling seeing other couples expression of love.

Does Size Matter Among Real Estate Companies?

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

 

kendall shopping

Who to choose in the event of selling is a million dollar question for many homeowners?

The quick answer is: it doesn’t matter.

The real answer: companies don’t sell homes. Agents do.

So I recently listed a client’s home for sale by the Calusa area in Kendall. This is a prospect that simply went online and found three real estate agents. Appointments were made with each, and I was the lucky chosen one to represent the seller.

According to the seller, I was competing against an agent from Remax and an agent from Coldwell Banker. During the interview, the seller asks me; “Who the heck are you? Never heard of your company name.” And I replied; “K&A Realty…family business.”

His next question was; “why should I hire you if you are unknown?”. I replied; “all you need to feel is convinced that the agent you hire will sell your home for the highest possible price within your time expectations. As for branding, logos, company names, the car I drive, cologne I wear…all that might as well go down the drain”.

There are a few other compelling reasons I provided to the seller as to why it does not matter if you hire a big or small company, but I’ll leave that for our appointment (yes…you reading this).

Am sure most of us have seen big realty companies advertise on TV during prime time. Ever seen your home address included in those ads? Nooo!

See, what big companies do want you to “feel” is that you are hiring a corporation with bells and whistles to handle the sale. And real estate agents from big companies drill this “feeling” at appointments with one goal in mind. Get the listing.

Watch out. Don’t be fooled by this. You may be hiring a part time Realtor that sold two listings in the past twelve months. And one of them was their own home 🙂

Lastly, half of the top agents nation wide run their own show under their own name. And I am one of them. Why would that be?

What $300,000 Gets You

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

15230 sw 100 ave kendall fl 33157Don’t worry. You have options.

So today I had a good friend call me to help him, his wife and two kids find a single family home for under $300,000. So here is the lowdown based on my search.

West of the Florida Turnpike, and from 8th street all the way to 120th street, you’ll easily get a home with a small or medium size yard. One car garage (maybe two) and most likely no association. And living space hovering 2,000 square feet. And possibly with a pool.

Now..say in between the Florida Turnpike and Palmetto Bay? Bells and whistles begin to get chopped. Now you are looking at a small lot, or a medium sized home under 2,000 square feet under AC. And most likely the home will be in need of a considerable repairs or upgrades (five years of roof left, replacement of AC, kitchen in need of gutting, etc).

And most likely you will only be able to buy it cash of via a conventional loan. No FHA. And its not that the homes don’t qualify for FHA. Its the competition (other buyers). They are strong and willing to put down the necessary “mula” to get the deal done…not just 3.5% down payment.

East of Palmetto Bay? Good luck. Unless you have $300,000 in cash. Only then will your be able to buy a property in need of major repairs…to the point where the home is not finance-able. Or you can always settle for land 😦

Times are changing and changing quickly. Prices are moving up and not just in our neck of the woods, but also throughout the United States. And although rumors are that prices will flatten out in 2014…they are only a rumors.

Make Or Break. Home Price

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

the falls single family homeHome price. Like the concept of “truth”, its mainly in eye of the beholder.

So a gentleman from Amaretto, a Kendall community composed of single family homes, phoned me a few days ago asking for the value of his house. And I gave it to him…and it caught him off guard. What a surprise 😛

I told him that homes in Amaretto (as of 10/30/13) are more less going for in the low to mid $200,000(s) depending on the interior condition of the property and several other factors.

Then he asked, “how come other homes like in Westchester or Calusa are going for well over $300,000?”. I replied, “it’s mainly due to three factors:

  1. the garage
  2. lot size
  3. HOA or association

Believe it or not, in the area of Kendall as of 10/30/13, what makes or breaks the $250,000 (approximate) price mark for single family homes are these three factors.

In other words, if you home is located in a community that has an association. In a community where lot sizes are relatively small at less than 6,000 square feet. And such homes do not have a garage…then expect prices to be under $250,000.

Now…say you start adding a garage…that one item alone can put you in the mid $200,00s.  Add a larger lot…automatically you’re in the high $200,000s. No association? Starting ballpark price? $300,000. Off-course…adding these factors do not have to be in that order…but you get the point.

Who’s the lesser of the three evils…I would say the lot size. Most buyers I work with prefer to give up a larger lot size in order to find a home with at least a 1-car garage and preferably with no home owner’s association. What’s your preference?

Disclaimer. Disclaimer. Disclaimer. The above is a rule of thumb or a good approximation of how prices are looking in today’s Kendall market. Am not an attorney so I won’t complicate this. Want to know the precise value of your home?

Contact me.

Want to have a ballpark idea of your home’s value…re-read this post or you can also Contact me.

3 Reasons To Live In Kendall

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

movie theater in kendallONE – The People: Let me say something up front. I love Miami. I grew up here and I have lived here all my life. I have been blessed to travel to many places around the globe and still choose to come back to Miami…because of the reasons to live here.

The water, the city, the food…it all rocks. However…the people…that is where it gets complicated. Here is my formula. 33% of Miami’s people are really nice. The other 33% are cordial…they’ll greet and go. And the remaining 33.9% are dead-right…not nice.

Now…a good chunk of the 33% of really nice people I have to say live in Kendall, Pinecrest or Palmetto Bay…in my opinion.

I remembered when I moved here, neighbors were bringing me cookies and welcome flowers. Holy Molly! I was so shocked I had to ask my wife…are we still in Dade County? I even had a neighbor bring me a pot of candy…and I don’t even like candy! Needless to say…the latter is just a sample of my run-ins with people out here. Out here…people are extraordinary.

TWO – Silence: No am not dead. And its not that I actually look for silence, but it’s great to have it as an option. When I used to live with my parents near Coral Gables…it rocked for the most part. The homes are somewhat in close proximity to the street. So every time you hear a wanna-be-gangsta blasting their stereo to the beat of Snoop Dog at 2 am…that sucked. BTW…am a fan of snoop…so no harm on him.

Or…get this. Parties. I love parties. Am Hispanic ..my mom gave birth to me in the middle of a party…it’s in my blood. But not on a Wednesday night when you just got home from having a few too many drinks with your buddies and you have to get up Thursday at 7 am to get ready for work. That sucks.

So having the option of silence where you live is great. In these areas, the loudest thing you’ll hear are the dogs barking at the squirrels. Am serious.

THREE – More Bang for the Buck: Palmetto Bay home lots average about 12,000 square feet and you can easily find those 15,000 square foot ones without worrying of how you are going to feed your kids next month. Yes…you may be sacrificing space for location, but…location is a relative word if you plan to not only live here but also work. Want a pool? You’ll have space. Want dogs? They’ll have space. Want Mangos? You’ll have space? Get the point?

I personally wasn’t a fan of living here until I got married. I was shooting for South Miami or Coconut Grove. And now that I got a taste of it…am hooked. The only downside is that “proper” lawn care can get pricey. And am not just talking about cutting the lawn and blowing off leaves. Am talking about lawn fertilizer, sprinkler system, weed control….the works. My lawn needs more care than my two-year old…it blows. But it’s a great feeling to come home to my beautiful house surrounded with thick and well manicured landscaping. It’s worth the buck.

Cash Not Always King

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

wood door

In the real estate world, cash not always being king is an understatement. Why? well…in case of a dispute, if checks or money orders were used then you can simply follow the paper trail to help resolve the problem.

Now. You may be asking about the pic. Yes…that is me with a tenant from a unit in Vista Lago in Kendall Florida I rented to (I represented the landlord). The tenant is a woman that simply likes to deal in cash. For rentals, I do tend to make exceptions about not just taking checks or money orders but also cash. I do not advice it, but I do it sometimes if other factors fall in place such as:

tenant has good or better verifiable credit (600+ fico). tenant can verify employment and income commensurate of the monthly rental payment. tenant has no criminal background. tenant can provide verifiable previous landlord reference where I can verify that the previous landlord is the actual owner of the place.

And so on. Notice I often say “verifiable”. This is key as a lot of time, I get information from tenants that blow my mind.

One time, a tenant gave me a name and number of the previous landlord where he lived. So I called that landlord and asked for his complete name. So I pulled up title records and the name given did not match what was on title. Needless to say, the person on phone abruptly hung up.

Need to verify a name on a property’s title?

So…if you do decide to work with a tenant via cash, take a picture just like the one you see on this post. Actually you may wan to add a time-stamp on the pic (which I did not do). And right away, email that pic to all parties involved in the transaction with a note explaining the picture (example: 1st months rent April 1, 20013 by John Doe).

About the time stamp…there is software that detects wether the time stamp was photo-shopped or is legitimate. One less thing to worry about.