Miami Real Estate Blog

Hurricane Season is right around the corner.  Every time I even hear the word hurricane, by stomach turns and my breathing pattern changes (I'm not kidding).   So here's what I had in mind.  Instead of rushing out the last possible minute after getting a warning, wouldn't it make sense to get certain necessities now?

At the beginning of each Summer we stock up on water - we buy a number of cases of spring water and store it in our garage, this is the item that goes first when there's an emergency and then you see people buying expensive "designer water" because there is nothing left.  Just go get it now and save yourself the hassle....the good thing is that it won't go bad.

Other items that you should by are batteries, flashlights or lanterns and stock up on some canned goods, and make sure you have an extra tank of propane gas for your bar-b-q grill.

READ THE FULL STORY AT MIAMISM.COM  ........ 

**UPDATE for May 31, 2007**

Beatrice Garcia , in her article entitled "Tax-Free Essentials", makes reference to this announcement in today's Business section of The Miami Herald by saying,  "Ines Hegedus-Garcia, a Realtor in Miami Shores who writes a blog on the residential real estate market and the Shores community, has posted a notice about the tax-free shopping days on her website to alert clients and friends and said she'll be shopping for her supplies during the next 12 days"

Of course this area needed a catchy name and it is not at all unlike Manhattan's Upper East side.....well maybe it is.  But the whole concept of this area is very similar to what happened to South Beach years ago.  Some people began refurbishing old buildings, the city came in with improvements and BAM!  That's when it all got started.

Miami's Upper East side is now going through those dreaded road improvements, which will affect many local businesses, but the project is expected to be finished before the year is over.  The city improvements include roads, new drainage, new sidewalks, new street lights, traffic signals and landscaping. 

So what encompasses the Upper East Side?  You have 2 historic districts:  Bayside and Morningside, the very esteemed Bay Point (don't even try to go through the guardgate if you don't have any business in there), Bell Meade, Shorecrest, Davis Harbor and Magnolia Park - all of these adjacent to the Biscayne Corridor from I-195 all the way to Miami Shores.

READ THE FULL STORY AT MIAMISM.COM  ...... 

You hear a lot of talk about Mortgage Fraud, how it is rampant, how banks are cracking down on easy loans, how the number of foreclosures is increasing......but the call we received today still has me in SHOCK!

We have a couple of listings of homes that need a lot of work, are not only advertised as such, but the pricing also reflects that.

A gentleman who identified himself as a "real estate investor" called us today about one of these listings and this is what he had in mind. He said that he had an appraiser run a pencil search on the property and the house was valued at more than $150K over listing price. We explained that we were aware of that and so was the seller, but it was priced accordingly considering the amount of work it needed. He proceeded to ask if we could increase the list price by $150,000, he would pay full price and would request the difference at closing.

We told him that not only would we not increase the price, we would not partake in anything remotely similar to what he was suggesting because it would be considered mortgage fraud. We also told him that the owner would consider seller contributions, as long as these followed all Fannie Mae guidelines.

I know there are a lot of agents in our market that are participating in deals of this nature. I even know a lot of sellers that think nothing is wrong and they could play the "dumb card" just to make the deal happen. The only thing I have to say to these people is that Mortgage Fraud is a Felony. You can go to jail, plain and simple.

DISCLOSURE:   From time to time, you may find absolutely meaningless posts in Active Rain (this one is not one of them, it does have a clear purpose). But if you are looking for meaningful real estate information, this may not be the article for you.  The purpose of this post is for entertainment reasons and nothing else.....it's not too late, you can still click away!

Now that that's over, let's get to the nitty gritty, to the core of this post.  THANK YOU ANN!!  I received my goodies today and will have pancakes tomorrow for breakfast to taste that delicious maple syrup.

For those of you that are clueless, Ann Cummings did an awesome 100th post entitled JEOPARDY, Active Rain Style - MY 100th Post!!.  Ann was able to captivate us and engage us and I was the lucky winner -  And The WINNER Is............. JEOPARDY Active Rain Style!! .  So here's a take on The New Hampshire goodies I received.  (I already shared a maple syrup lolypop with my little one).  Take a look.

WARNING- the take you are about to see is not appropriate for people without a sense of humor, or for those with a weak stomach.  Any guest appearances in this video are purely coincidental and release all responsibilities to third parties.  The people on this video are not actors, but real people portraying real life experiences......with a twist

"What makes a house a home" is the all time favorite question of a Realtor.  We're in the business of selling houses, houses that will become homes to many.   When selling a house, we always recommend to our sellers that it is best to show it as a house, not a home so that a buyer may be more prone to feeling a possible attachment.  When working with buyers, we always try for them to look beyond someone else's "home" to be able to picture themselves there.   CONFUSED YET??

The bottom line is that buying a home or selling a home can be very emotional.  Emotional because of memories that are associated with home.  Is home a place?  Can home be a house? or is home something you make of it?  In my opinion, it is all of the above.

Although the material association of a home can be irrelevant to many, there are feelings associated to certain places.  I will give you the perfect example.

READ THE FULL STORY AT MIAMISM.COM  ......

Today I was so impressed with V-flyer.  Not because they have a great real estate listing product, not because they have a cool customizable widget, not even because my listings are automatically populated into tons of real estate sites, but because I received a personal call from one of the founders, Oliver Muoto.

He called me to personally thank me for using his product, to tell me he had seen the widget being used here in Active Rain, to offer his help if I ever needed it, and to tell me they would love feedback.

THAT's what I call CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

So here's a cool widget that took me about 10 seconds to personalize.

I love this product and now like it even more after hearing from one of the founders himself - thanks Oliver!