Posted by admin | Real Estate | Posted on October 23rd, 2007
Renting a property in the Miami real estate rental market is more difficult than ever before. The number of potential problem tenants is overwhelming. The landlord must be able to set the correct rental price, advertise and market the property aggressively, collect all deposits, conduct a thorough tenant screening, collect the rent, do evictions, fill out the residential lease and all other pertinent documentation and disclosures, avoid emergency tenants and don’t try to do it yourself.
These are the 10 mistakes landlords make in the Miami real estate rental market.
1. Price – The landlord does not know how to obtain the right rental price. He/she will listen to a family member or friend who is not an expert and will offer the wrong amount. The landlord will lose hundreds of dollars a month if the house is rented for the wrong amount. The Miami real estate agent must obtain comparables of recent rentals in the area in order to determine the best rental price for the property. The comparable property must be similar to the subject property. The rental amount should not be negotiated.
2. Advertising – The landlord will try to save money and not advertise the rental property. This lack of exposure will hurt the landlord deeply. It is very important to advertise the property in all local newspapers, magazines, flyers, etc. The Miami real estate realtor should conduct at least one open house to get the proper property marketing. The property must be listed in the MLS to ensure maximum exposure.
3. Deposit – The desperate landlord will rent the property to the first person that walks in and will not collect any money in deposit. This is a recipe for disaster in the Miami real estate market. Never show that you must rent the property immediately. A three month deposit must be required up front. The third month deposit could be negotiated and paid in installments if needed.
4. Screening – Always obtain a thorough tenant screening investigation for potential tenants. Obtain a credit check, get a police report, call employers, check references, call prior landlords and ask if they would rent to the tenant again and did they pay the rent on time. Make sure the tenant has not been evicted before. Properly screening the tenant is an essential step in Miami real estate property management.
5. Evictions – Delaying or not evicting a tenant fast enough is a tremendously time consuming and costly mistake that will devastate the landlord. The landlord must be prepared to evict if after all the screening the tenant still won’t pay the rent due to lost of job or other unforeseen problems. Evictions must be started immediately. The Miami real estate rental realtor should be familiar with non-paying tenant eviction proceedings.
6. Emergency – Avoid a tenant who must move in immediately. Do not allow the tenant to move in without a full screening and verification being completed. A tenant who must move in right away is usually being evicted or has some other hidden agenda. Check all prior landlord’s references and run an eviction check and a credit check. Don’t allow the tenant to rush you into making a decision.
7. Lease – Never rent month to month or worse never rent the property with no lease at all. Always insist the tenant sign a one year lease and collect at least one month deposit. In today’s Miami real estate rental market a two month deposit plus the current month rent is the norm. All legal and biding documents should be in writing to avoid any misunderstandings. A lease is always required in court to provide repair, terms, and lease expiration and rent determination. All legal documents should be in writing.
8. Occupancy – Never give the tenant possession of the property without signing the lease or without a deposit. Do not give the tenant the keys to place some furniture or other small items inside the property. Tenants have been known to move in the premises before all terms and conditions have been established. Tenants will occupy the property and keys should be delivered only after all the paperwork is signed and all funds have been verified and deposited.
9. Repairs – Don’t allow the tenants to make unnecessary repairs prior to renting the property. Painting and cleaning the property is normal should be done. New refrigerator, new kitchen cabinets, new air conditioner, complete remodeling is not normal and should not be tolerated. Do no rent to tenants that have a long list of things to be repaired. Never allow the tenant to dictate all the terms for repairing the property as a condition of renting.
10. Don’t do it yourself – Always hire a Miami real estate professional do all the work for you. A landlord that tries to save money by doing it yourself will make a costly mistake. Usually the fee is only one month’s rent. Collecting and Evictions services are not included and are charged separately. The money you save by doing it yourself in the beginning will cost you triple in the end.
Landlords must avoid amateur mistakes in Miami real estate property management. Certain rules must be followed in order to rent the property to a good paying tenant who will pay the rent on time and take good care of the property. Most landlords simply do not have the time or the knowledge to properly conduct all the necessary steps in order to ensure renting the property to the best candidate. The best way to prevent non-paying tenants and avoid tenant evictions is by not renting to bad tenants at all. Hiring a Miami real estate professional to rent the property for you is a must.
Posted by admin | Real Estate | Posted on October 4th, 2007
Often with financial help from parents, some college-age students choose to purchase homes or condos in communities where they attend college. This option allows students to live in a property that is usually more spacious and comfortable than typical dormitory-style rooms. For students who value attending a college with a large football program, affordable real estate may be an important criterion when selecting a college or university.
Coldwell Banker, a real estate firm, conducted a recent survey to identify the most affordable college football towns. The survey compared the average price of a single- family home with 2200 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2
Posted by admin | Business | Posted on October 3rd, 2007
Real Estate is in an insecure position. If you want to invest, it is important to have the appropriate income, credit and job security. If you have these in place, there are many deals to be had. If a potential investor is not yet ready on this front, now is not a bad time to sit and do research. Watch the market, see how others invest, and then, when the time is right, make the best move you can.
With the economic slowdown and as a result, the need to be more efficient with both resources and costs, tenants are increasingly focused on the operating costs of buildings — whether they are looking to relocate or remain in their current space.
Tenants are also making efforts to operate within their offices more efficiently.
Going green therefore provides them a way that they can save money and the environment.
To that end, executives from the real estate, legal and energy services industries recently joined together for “The Green Symposium; Capturing Efficiencies in the Commercial Office.” The event was hosted by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and panelists from Howard Ecker + Company, DLA Piper, NELSON and BlueStar Energy headed up a focused discussion on green opportunities in the commercial real estate market.
Luxury real estate coupon buzz stirred nationally last week, after Cape Coral resident Rich Ricciani bought an advertisement in a Southwest Florida publication that included a $1 million coupon for his $6.9 million Italian villa. The Wall Street Journal and television news programs in Chicago and California picked up on the program.
“We figured everyone likes to save some money,� said Ricciani. 62, a retired accountant who now buys and sells real estate full-time.
So there you have it, Chicago real estate in in flux. But if you have the means, there is plenty of opportunity.
Posted by admin | Real Estate | Posted on October 2nd, 2007
4B/2B — four bedrooms and two bathrooms. “Bedroom” usually means a sleeping area with a window and a closet, but the definition varies in different places. A “full bathroom” is a room with a toilet, a sink and a bathtub. A “three-quarter bathroom” has a toilet, a sink and a shower. A “half bathroom” or powder room has only a toilet and a sink.
assum. fin. — assumable financing
Closing Costs: This has different meanings in different states, in some states a Cincinnati real estate transaction is not consider “closed” until the documents record at the local recorder which is the public official who keeps records of transactions that affect real property in the area, sometimes known as a “registrar of deeds” or “county clerk,” s office, in others, the “closing” is a meeting where all of the documents are signed and money changes hands, costs — the entire package of miscellaneous expenses paid by the buyer and the seller when the Cincinnati real estate deal closes. These costs include the brokerage commission, mortgage which is a legal document that pledges a Cincinnati property to the lender as security, that is, the property that will be pledged as collateral for a loan, for payment of a debt, instead of mortgages, some states use first trust deeds,-related fees, escrow or attorney’s settlement charges, transfer tax which is state or local tax payable when title passes from one owner to another, is, recording fees, title insurance and so on. Closing costs are generally paid through escrow.
CMA — comparative market analysis or competitive market analysis. A CMA is a report that shows prices of Cincinnati homes that are comparable to a subject home and that were recently sold, are currently on the market or were on the market, but not sold within the listing period.
Contingency — a provision of an agreement that keeps the agreement from being fully legally binding until a certain condition is met. One example is a buyer’s contract which is an oral or written agreement to do or not to do a certain thing, dual right to obtain a professional home inspection before purchasing the home.
dk — Most often refers to a deck
Expansion pot’l — expansion potential mean that there’s extra space on the lot or the possibility of adding a room or even an upper level, subject to local zoning restrictions.
Fab Pentrm — fabulous pentroom, a room on top (but under the roof) that has great views
FDR — formal dining room
Fixture — anything of value that is permanently attached to or a part of real property which is land and appurtenances, including anything of a permanent nature such as structures, trees, minerals, and the interest, benefits, and inherent rights thereof, . (Real estate is legally called “real property,” while movables are called “personal property.”) Examples of fixtures include installed wall-to-wall carpeting, light fixtures, window coverings, landscape, that is, adjustable rate mortgages have fluctuating interest rates, but those fluctuations are usually limited to a certain amount, those limitations may apply to how much the loan may adjust over a six month period, an annual period, and over the life of the loan, and are referred to as “caps,” some arms, although they may have a life cap, that is, for an adjustable-rate mortgage (arm), a limit on the amount that the interest rate can increase or decrease over the life of the mortgage, allow the interest rate to fluctuate freely, but require a certain minimum payment which can change once a year, there is a limit on how much that payment can change each year, and that limit is also referred to as a cap and so on. Fixtures are a frequent subject of buyer and seller disputes. When in doubt, get it in writing.
Frplc, fplc, FP — fireplace
Gar — garage (garden is usually abbreviated as “gard.”)
Grmet kit — gourmet kitchen
HDW, HWF, Hdwd — hardwood floors
Hi ceils — high ceilings
In-law potential — potential for a separate apartment, subject to local zoning restrictions
Large E-2 plan — this is one of several floor plans available in a specific building
Listing — an agreement between a Cincinnati real estate broker and a Cincinnati home owner that allows the broker to market and arrange for the sale of the owner’s home. The word “listing” is also used to refer to the for-sale home itself. A home being sold by the owner without a Cincinnati real estate agent, that is, a person licensed to negotiate and transact the sale of Cincinnati real estate, isn’t a “listing.”
Lo dues — low homeowner’s association dues. But find out how “low” the dues are compared to other dues in the area.
Lock box — locked key-holding device affixed to a for-sale home so Cincinnati real estate professionals can gain entry into the home after obtaining permission from the listing agent
Lsd pkg. — lease which is a written agreement between the property owner and a tenant that stipulates the payment and conditions under which the tenant may possess the Cincinnati real estate for a specified period of time parking area. May come with additional cost.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service. An MLS is an organization that collects, compiles and distributes information about Cincinnati homes listed for sale by its members, who are Cincinnati real estate brokers. Membership isn’t open to the general public, although selected MLS data may be sold to Cincinnati real estate listings Web sites. MLSs are local or regional. There is no MLS covering the whole country.
Nr bst schls — near the best schools
Pot’l — potential
Pvt — private
Pwdr rm — half bathroom or powder room
Title Insurance — an insurance policy that protects a lender, that is, a term which can refer to the institution making the loan or to the individual representing the firm, for example, loan officer which is also referred to by a variety of other terms, such as lender, loan representative, loan “rep,” account executive, and others, the loan officer serves several functions and has various responsibilities: they solicit loans, they are the representative of the lending institution, and they represent the borrower to the lending institution�s are often referred to as “lenders” or owner’s interest in real property from assorted types of unexpected or fraudulent claims of ownership. It’s customary for the buyer to pay for the lender’s title insurance policy.