The Hendriks Group - Miami Real Estate Broker

Renovations Sell Homes

Miami Metro Mover

Originally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

An article in the weekend edition of the NY Times was about the positive effects of renovating your home, to make it more marketable in the eyes of home buyers.

As a broker I am constantly espousing the benefits of updating a drab property in order to get the highest and best offer, it is no different than detailing your car before showing it to buyers or trading it in to the dealership.
A clean home is attractive, an updated home is lustful.

But there are many instances when the seller doesn’t get it.
excerpt from the NY Times:
“I remember when I helped Bill buy the apartment,” Mr. Coates said. “I thought the kitchen was dreary and dated.” The countertops were mauve; the kitchen cabinets had frosted plastic windows. “I told Bill that if he hoped to earn some money on the deal he should renovate it,” he recalled.

To his relief, Mr. Tooker agreed. Persuading prospective home sellers to go the extra mile (or two) is not easily accomplished. “People say to me, ‘This is the way it looks; I am not spending any money,’ ” Mr. Coates said. “And yet, they still want top dollar.”

You can’t get top dollar for a property that is not in top condition. Do your pocket a favor and reward it by putting the best face you can on your property.

Posted in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Real Estate, Staging, Sunrise, strategy | No Comments »

Second Home Purchase

There are many reasons to buy a second home. Retirement, Investment or just vacationing. No matter what the reason, caution and diligence should help guide to the right property for you. The means of financing and taxation are different from your primary home, but well worth the benefit when executed properly.

An excerpt from The New York Times:

”

KNOW WHY YOU’RE BUYING

“People don’t take a step back and think about why they really want to buy this home,” Mr. Venezia said. “There are all kinds of factors: as an investment property, a personal getaway or as a place you’ll ultimately retire to. Those factors cross one another, but if you know the single reason, then that’s going to drive where you buy, the type of house you buy, and whether you’ll rent it out.”

For example, if you determine that your getaway is going to be your eventual retirement home, you’ll want to think about accessibility and the proximity of health care facilities.

SECOND-HOME FINANCING IS DIFFERENT

“Getting a loan on a second home has always been more difficult,” Mr. Venezia said, adding that such loans can carry a higher interest rate than one for a primary residence.

“Don’t assume your current lender is your best bet for financing,” Mr. Haden said. “Different lenders have different standards for mortgages on second homes.

“Plus, whether you’ll rent the property some of the time is a factor as well; standards for what qualifies as an investment property vary greatly between lenders.”

The bottom line is that you should do your financial research, get help with your potential tax benefits (which can get complicated), and don’t stretch yourself too thin - or you will pay for it.

“Think about all your other expenses,” Mr. Venezia said, “not just on the primary home and daily expenses, but savings for retirement and your kids’ education. Are you going to be able to do that and have a second home, or are you going to be tapping into those things?”

“

Posted in Real Estate, investment properties, national, property taxes, second home, strategy | No Comments »

Having Trouble Selling?

If only there were enough people to take up the large amount of inventory in Atlanta, but there aren’t, sellers need to try every approach possible to garnering a sale.

1. Pricing it Right - Not what YOU feel the value is, but what the market at the present time has declared the value.
2. Fix Everything - Fix the issues with the house before their inspector comes to your home. The shot at selling puts sellers in an awkward position to renegotiate due to repair issues.
3. Fresh and Clean - Set off a Bomb of freshness in your house, similar to a spring cleaning, but more intense.
4. Staging - You don’t have to, to sell a house, but it helps the buyers picture how they would live in your house.
5. Representation - Hire a an educated agent, who will keep you from the pitfalls that many sellers fall into. 
6. Promotion - Your real estate agent is your marketing department, his ability is directly tied to time it takes to sell.
7. Incentives- Even in a stable market, we have to provide incentives to move inventory. No Cars or TVs, home buyers aren’t as gullible as you think, if, in this market they have the income, credit score and down payment to purchase their home in this credit crunch, they will see right past that desperate ploy. Incentives should be in the form of money (bonus to agent/closing costs) or costs deferred like this example.

Posted in Real Estate, atlanta, price, short sale, strategy | No Comments »

Relocating to Atlanta?

Relocating to Atlanta?Originally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

The New York Times posted an article on a problem many homeowners are facing in our current economy.

When meaningful employment is scarce in our community, in order to survive, people migrate to where they can find a job or is more affordable to live in. I receive a lot of leads from agents in in South Florida who have clients who would like to; have to, move to Atlanta.

Atlanta’s cost of living is much lower than South Florida’s, even without comparing home prices and carrying costs. When you Include home ownership, smart money will bet on Atlanta real estate.

Let us Compare: (median price statistics, courtesy of Trulia)
Dec - ‘07 to Feb - ‘08

3 bedroom 2 bath home

Miami:
Median Price Home in Miami $334,234.00
Taxes @ 1.9% = $6,175.00
Insurance Approx. $5,500.00

Atlanta:
Median Price in Atlanta $131,208
Taxes @ 1.30% $1,705.70
Insurance Approx. $600.00

That is why the rush is on to leave Miami to more affordable areas, such as Atlanta.

The problem is, what are current South Florida Homeowners going to do about their properties? In some cases they need to sell in order to buy and if they buy while holding, the carrying costs will eat away at their funds until one or both of the homes go into foreclosure.

If you are considering moving to Atlanta and own a home in South Florida, contact me, I have many top agents I can refer you to in that area, that will get your home sold.

Posted in Condominium, Downtown, Georgia, Real Estate, atlanta, national, property taxes, strategy | No Comments »

Atlanta Foreclosure Auction

Atlanta Foreclosure AuctionOriginally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

Well, it sure wasn’t an April Fools Prank yesterday at the Atlanta Foreclosure auction. The first Tuesday of every month, the Atlanta foreclosure auction is held on the front steps of the municipal courthouse, in Fulton County’s case there were over 2200 homes that were foreclosed on, within Fulton County and a good portion of the city of Atlanta.

This Auction had one of the lowest turnout I have seen for a foreclosure auction. The smart buyers know that this vehicle is not the best way to get the best prices on real estate at the moment.

I have developed a strategy to purchase homes for $.30 to $.40 on the dollar. It has helped many investors stay afloat during this transitional market. For a consumer, who is willing to rehabilitate a house, there are some phenomenal deals that the average buyer will feel overjoyed for purchasing. For an Investor, who plans on rehabilitating a house to then sell it to the end user, deals are a lot harder to come buy, hence the reason for such a poor turnout. Investors have to use more creative ways of procuring properties in Atlanta if they plan on selling them back into the market.

Posted in Georgia, Real Estate, atlanta, foreclosure, price | No Comments »

Selling Real Estate; Parting with your home.

Atlanta Real EstateOriginally uploaded by The Hendriks Group
It is no surprise to any broker the attachment an owner has with their home. Whether it is 3 months or 30 years, people develop a bond with their domicile/ Shangri -La/ Palace. This bond is no more evident than when it is time to sell.

We, as real estate brokers are faced with a tough job when presenting our cma’s (comparable market analysis) to family that has lived in the same house for over twenty years, where they have raised 4 children from infancy to adulthood, where they have celebrated birthdays and hosted parties. We mean not to insult you, but the added value you hold so dear is intangible and can’t be passed along to the future owner of your house. The buyer looks at it , as you first saw it; a house. Atlanta real estate pricing is currently in flux and

New York Times presented an article that does a good job at explaining why people resist to sell their homes for market value, but to instead place an inflated value on their house, hoping a stranger will pay for the great memories the seller has enjoyed in the property.

Wrong Price = No Sale.

Posted in Real Estate, atlanta, national, price, regional | No Comments »

RE Tech South is a Hit!

RETech South is a Hit!What an event this was! Thanks to Brad Nix of Maxselland Matt Fagioli
of Diamond Dwellings for putting this event together.
There were many informative panels and it was a pleasure to meet the
faces behind a lot of the blogs I have in my rss reader.
Judging by the turnout, I was impressed with how many
web savvy real estate agents there are in our region.It was a pleasure to meet you:
Mary McKnight of Rsspieces (hilarious and a provided a wealth of
knowledge)

Rudy Bachraty of Trulia (I am joining Trulia Voices today)

Darren Clark of softrealty.com (I am waiting for your wonderful Idx
solution)

L. Lane Bailey of C21 (great marketing niche)

Bob Stewart of Activerain.com ( great advice on web video and the flip
video camera is already ordered)

Very informative and I hope to attend many more.

Posted in REtechSouth, Real Estate, strategy | No Comments »

Atlanta Condominiums are Losing Value?!?!

12th & Midtown Condominiums
Originally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

Though Atlanta was not deep, up to the waist in the muck that was the “Real Estate Bubble”, It appears as if Atlanta is feeling the effects (even though not as badly as other markets, i.e., Miami) of not only per se a Real Estate Bubble, but a credit crunch.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote an article about the reduction in prices amongst the Atlanta Condominiums. I believe that the market isn’t as much to blame as the ridiculous prices I see for the majority of the condominiums in, especially, Midtown. Atlanta’s rise to becoming an international city, along the likes of Chicago, etc.., doesn’t mean that developers should leap ahead of the market in terms of pricing. I think pricing has as much to do with the decline as much as overbuilding and the credit crunch.

That being said, with the conversion of some condo projects to rental buildings and many stalled development plans, the market will soon stabilize.

Posted in Real Estate | No Comments »

Atlanta New Construction or an Atlanta Custom Home?

Atlanta New Construction

Originally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

I have a buyers who only want new construction. It has to be new, I have to be the first person to live in the house, I want them to build the way I want it built.

While I am glad to get you the house of your dreams, In whichever type of structure you like. The idea of going into a development and requesting “Can you take out this wall?” “I would like you to move the laundry room downstairs” is not feasible for many builders.

They have paid for the design plans of specific models and it would help their bottom line to stick to those plans. After all the Inspector has checked of on the plan, the sub contractors are well versed in building that plan and the marketing company has all the material ready to sell that specific plan.

They don’t want to risk an inspection disapproval, to delay their sales process. What if you put money down to build a completely altered floor plan and then couldn’t receive financing (it happens).

My suggestion to buyers who need such customization to satisfy themselves, to build a custom home.

According to CNN the time to build a home has never been better, building material prices have fallen a great deal, making a custom home more of a reality than ever before.

The article estimated that you could build a 2,100 sq-ft. home for $140,000.00! Compared to new construction pricing I have seen, that is a pretty good bargain.

Considering there listing for residential land in nice areas, In-town for as low as $45,000 for a .5 acre, I would consider a custom home to be high on my options for my next purchase.

While building a house may seem like a daunting task, it is actually simple, once you involve the right people to help you build the house of your dreams.

1 - You need a consultant, to guide along how a home is built and the different people involved, Such as a project manager, architect, contractor, Sub-contractors, permit runners and the inspection process. www.ubuildit.com

2 - If needed, Financing, poor financing can leave your home half built and exposed to the elements until you can secure further financing. www.buildmax.com

3 - When you have a clear idea of what you would like and the budget you would like to work within, then now is the time to either hire an architect or if your tastes are along that of the masses you could try :

- www.dreamhomesource.com for a low fee, they have ready to build plans, with over 14,000 plans you have a good chance at finding one for you.
- www.eplans.com with over 19,000 plans you might be a bit overwhelmed with such choice, but choice is always preferred over no choice at all.

But for the discerning, hip and creative buyers out their, I implore you to seek out a reputable and daring architect that will set your home apart from the cookie cutters.

Posted in Real Estate, price, strategy | No Comments »

Philips Arena

Philips ArenaOriginally uploaded by The Hendriks Group

I was invited to a basketball game at Philips Arena last night. It was
a good game (until the final quarter), watching the Atlanta Hawks play the Houston
Rockets.
 Background info from Wikipedia

“Philips Arena is an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Completed in 1999 at a cost of $213.5 million, it is home to the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL and the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. It is owned and operated by Atlanta Spirit, LLC, the group of investors that also owns the Hawks and Thrashers. The arena seats 18,729 for basketball and 18,545 for ice hockey. It includes 92 luxury suites and 1,866 club seats. For concerts and other entertainment events, the arena can seat 21,000.”

Posted in atlanta | No Comments »