Comfortable condo for an LGBT buyer in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors or perhaps Miami?

A new client of mine wrote in today to ask…

“I’m looking  to consult with a local agent in fort Lauderdale area for a potential investment property or vacation home.  For us the most important search criteria is location.  I know years ago, Wilton Manors was a good area to invest and live in for the LGBT community, is this still the case?  Are there any other neighborhoods that we should be considering?

We are debating between investing in Miami or Fort Lauderdale.  What are your thoughts pros and cons for each market if you are familiar with both?

Here is our search criteria

  • 1-2 bedroom(s) condo
  • At least 1.5 bath
  • HOA fees less than $400/monthly depending on amenities could pay more
  • LGBT neighborhood preferred or central location in metro FLL or close to beach
  • Must include Parking and pool
  • Max price -$300k
So here’s the deal in South Florida.  This is going to hold especially true for southern Broward County and into Miami-Dade.

A tale of Two Markets

The single family home market is healthy and vibrant.   In fact, it’s overheated.   Prices are increasing.   Demand is strong.   Broward is an economic engine – not just a vacation destination – and demand for family homes in good school districts is strong.
The condo market is the opposite.  Several agents mentioned Dave Gervase.  Dave lives in Hollywood and serves greater Broward, but he is willing to work further south than I do.   From Hollywood, down into Hallandale, Sunny Isles and Miami, the condo market is struggling.   New development is over-built.  Developers are scrambling to convert properties already out-of-the-ground into apartments.   Seriously scary shit.
Me and the husband (Condo Guru Steve West) settled in Oakland Park (which may as well be Fort Lauderdale) on the north east side.  We are 8 minutes to Wilton Manors, too.   So I am biased.   I’ll push you towards Fort Lauderdale (including Wilton Manors and Oakland Park) because I think it’s the most gay-friendly, relaxed, amazing place to live.
However Fort Lauderdale is a “Tween.”    What I mean is that the only reason it exists is because it was a whistle stop on the way south to Miami from the Treasure Coast.   So your North Easterners with money will choose West Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast.
Folks who want an international destination with the feel of a big city will choose Miami.
The rest of us think that Fort Lauderdale is “Just Right.”    It’s a bit more quiet.   It’s not as homogeneous as West Palm Beach.    And after the heyday of Spring Break (which BTW is still going strong) gays and lesbians moved in and fixed the place up.
As far as what you can get?    I had a fellow agent from Michigan purchase a condo in Pompano Beach for under $100,000.   Pompano Beach is farther from Wilton Manors, of course.  But Michael and Karl got a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, only a mile to the beach off Atlantic Boulevard, in a community with a pool, near restaurants and bars.  The condo itself was gorgeous.   The community was on the more basic end of the scale.  They won’t lose money, however.  Ever.
NOTE:   You can NOT Air BNB in most condos.  You probably can use your condo as an annual rental.    Read this:http://sunshineguru.com/2017/05/18/can-i-use-my-condo-in-south-florida-as-a-short-term-rental-or-vacation-rental-by-owner/
$300,000 will almost get you a whole house.   Clients Ed and Jeff close on a house in Oakland Park next week for $330,000.   It’s a 2 bed, 2 bath, full 2 car garage, and a pool overlooking a canal.    $300,000 will comfortably get you a townhome, almost new townhome in Pompano.   A 1970’s or 1980’s townhome in Wilton Manors.   Easily a condo.   And if you’re near the gayborhood, you’re less susceptible to the vagaries of the market that are plaguing the beachfront in Miami-Dade.
NOTE:   You can easily use a townhome or a house as an Air BNB.   Heck, I have a pocket listing duplex that would allow you to keep one, and AIR BnB the other.   The various villages have inspection and registration requirements.   For example, a vacation rental needs a $500 inspection and registration in Fort Lauderdale.  On the other hand, Oakland Park is a free-for-all.   Similar for Wilton Manors.
Last but not least:   You should feel comfortable anyplace in Broward.  Just a matter of style of community depending on where you are.   You don’t have to be right inside Wilton Manors.   I have uber-business lesbians out in Coral Springs because that’s where the good schools are located.  There’s a young vibrant gay community in Boca Raton because of several universities.   Oakland Park seems to be “Where The Bears Are.”

Lessons learned from Hurricane Irma

Our hurricane preparedness drill is deceptively simple:  I go someplace safe and comfortable, and Steve (the Condo Guru) stays behind.

I go because I take care of what’s important to Steve.  Mom Nancy.  Dogs Lola and Gracie.  And this time, one more friend Dustin.

Last year during Matthew, I scooped up the dogs and traveled to Fort Myers and camped out for one night at a family owned condo.  Two hours drive.  One home cooked meal.  Storm passed by.  And the next morning we were on our way home.

This year by Tuesday, it was clear we were going to get whacked.  By Tuesday night we started making plans.  By Wednesday the storm track was right up the center of the state so we couldn’t just dash over to Fort Myers.  We couldn’t even dash up to Orlando.  To keep the plan’s intent, we had to go pretty far.  Atlanta, maybe?  Then a friend called.  He arranged to drive to Adel, Georgia on Thursday, and onward to Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday. Stay in Nashville until home was habitable.  The thing we knew is that even if the house is fine, electricity and gas and water and sewer and fuel could all be out, broke, disconnected, or unavailable for days.  Weeks.  A month?

He had the same agenda as we did.  Grab the elders and the pets, and get them someplace safe and someplace comfortable.  The official evacuation plan for the State of Florida says you move dozens of miles (if necessary.)  Not hundreds.  If you’re in a storm surge zone, you head west and hunker down with a friend or family farther from the coast.  You’re not supposed to clog up the highways.  There are really only three main roads out of Florida and they can’t handle millions of people in time.  But what do you do with your elderly if the house is without electricity (and air conditioning) for days or weeks?  Our friend had lived through Wilma without electricity for six weeks.  You can’t really live like that.  Obviously a lot of people thought the same thing as the official estimate was six and a half million Floridians left the state.

The plan had a few good points.  Several of our friends were following the same plan so we had camaraderie in the group.  The old folks could take care of the pets if we decided to have some fun in Nashville (which we did.)  The location in Nashville placed us close enough to Chicago to make a mad dash north if necessary so that we didn’t keep running up hotel bills.  Two rooms for four nights got expensive!  But it turns out being cooped up in an air conditioned hotel room for days on end is also mind-numbing.  We reminded ourselves that the most important thing we were doing was being safe, but that was not much comfort as all we had to entertain ourselves was CNN and local coverage of the storm affecting our homes and loved ones working in it.

We toured the museums.  We listened to live music.  We ate the BBQ.  We sang show tunes into the night.  The storm came and went and it became apparent that the storm was both more and less of what we expected.  The Keys were left uninhabitable.  Broward County was left largely without power but mostly undamaged.  The storm took a wiggle west and severely damaged our friends on the west coast near Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.  Strangely, Tampa and Saint Pete were fine.  But the storm was still barrelling towards us.  Atlanta and Nashville were expected to experience tropical storm winds and rain in a couple days.

We decided to head north.  We dropped Mom at her former home in Davenport, Iowa, and then headed to my family home in Chicago.  The hotel charges were certainly cheaper and having the comforts of home and family seemed enticing.  We rode the EL.  We saw the sights.  We ate some pizza.  We hit the museums.  We walked the dogs.  We visited the suburbs and the relatives.  And we shopped.  Oh boy, did we shop.

Meanwhile, Steve was working 13 hour days, fixing pumps, managing cranky residents, chasing elevators, harassing vendors, and generally working miracles.  Then he started working on the house.  Mostly unscathed, but plenty of trees and branches and debris to clean up.  Ultimately, power was out for nine days at the house.  Tauntingly, homes across the street got power in 5 days.  But their sewers backed up so I suppose we got the better end of the bargain.

Nancy’s condo was completely undamaged, and power remained blissfully unaffected.  She was furious to learn that she could have stayed home and been perfectly fine.  Her cable TV even remained operational.  Steve dutifully emptied our refrigerator and moved “the good stuff” to Nancy’s, along with himself as the condo was calm, cool, and comfortable while the rest of our friends in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park sweat it out in the dark.  Nancy can’t sit for long periods of time, so the 1,700 mile journey was agony for her.  Finding herself in Davenport and learning that her place was perfectly habitable, she promptly booked a flight.

As one of our favorite nautical authors says: “Nothing goes to windward like a 747” she was home on Tuesday.  Nancy says her lesson is that she won’t do that again.  She’d rather meet her maker in the condo.  So there’s one opinion.

Me?  I’m not so sure.

  • We could have flown away.  But by the time you know you have to go, it’s too late to get a flight.  And how does one fly away with two big dogs?
  • Stay put?  But what would living be like in a 90 degree house with 90% humidity for a week or more?
  • Hope the next storm allows us to drive, but not leave the state?  We have friends or family in Naples, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Tampa, Saint Pete, Orlando, and Jacksonville.  Surely the next storm won’t traverse the entire state like Irma?

One thing for sure, the 2,200 mile round trip took its toll and when it came time to head back for home, the looming drive caused us to hesitate for a couple extra days.  Certainly one lesson learned – not quite THAT far.

 

 

 

Could hurricane Harvey push Florida insurance rates higher?

Lynne McChristian, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry organization, said that Florida homeowner insurance rates shouldn’t be affected for one simple reason: rates are set at the state level and are based on what happens within the state. “What happens in Florida stays in Florida, what happens in Texas stays in Texas and that is the way it works in every state,” she said.

Check out the full article…

 

June 2017 Market Stats

Market Stats for June 2017 – Broward County – Single Family Homes and Condominiums

Prices for homes and condos in Broward County are up YTY for June, while closed sales are down.  We attribute the lower number of sales to tight inventory along with quality issues.  Backing up this theory is the slight decline in market time.  List price to sale price ratio remains tight at 96% – no change YTY.   It’s a sellers market for single family homes with under four months supply of inventory.  The condo market is more balanced, with six months supply, however figures are skewed with plenty of junk on the market and quality homes still selling in a matter of weeks.

620 NW 170th Terrace Pembroke Pines Exclusively Listed by Robert Darrow at 954-446-9001

Sold and Closed:  620 NW 170th Terrace, Pembroke Pines, Fl, 33028

List Price $325,000

Sold Price $312,000 <– Highest price for a townhome in Pembroke Isles!   Call me to see how we can set a record for your sale, too.

This beautiful home was renovated top-bottom and is truly a showcase. New kitchen features gorgeous shaker cabinetry and granite counters, along with new stainless-steel appliances. Carpet was replaced with engineered-wood floors including the staircase and looks amazing! Upstairs baths renovated with same cabinetry and granite including additional linen storage. New laundry just installed. There’s an attached garage and driveway for convenient parking. The front patio is an inviting welcome to the home, and a matching rear patio was just installed taking advantage of the beautiful rear yard overlooking a wetlands preserve.

Pembroke Palms within Pembroke Isles has all the amenities you could want including a fully equipped club-house, three outdoor pools, tennis courts, and basketball courts. Residents enjoy the privacy afforded by guarded entry as well as mobile community patrol. Panther Run Elementary School in Pembroke Pines is just around the corner and walkable for students.

Click to download a flyer for this property

Click to view homes available in this neighborhood

Click for an instant valuation of your home

 

Contact me if you wish to schedule a private tour of this home. Office (954) 446-9001 or Text (954) 282-9262

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Can I use my condo in South Florida as a short-term rental or Vacation Rental By Owner?

Your Guru gets asked every now and again to help a buyer, who fancies himself/herself an investor, locate a condo that can make a little income (or perhaps a lot of income) on the side.  You should know that there are virtually NO condos in the area that allow AirBnB, VRBO or short term rentals.

Why can’t I rent my condo short term?

Here’s the reason:  The over-supply of condos in 2005 heralded the “beginning of the end’ of the condo building boom in South Florida.  We led the nation in the real estate “bust” and in turn, led the nation in the recovery.

Cash investors bought up the bargain-priced inventory and used those condos as rental properties – in any way they saw fit.  There were traditional long-term rentals, but those investors also treated their investments like short-term rentals and even as alternative to hotel rooms.

Lending on condominiums ground to a halt because so many condos had more tenants than owners.  Most lenders didn’t see condominiums as viable investment for their lending portfolios – they believed they’d lose money on every one of them.

Condominium boards also got an earful from angry residents as tranquil buildings turned into transient communities and party-pads.  Associations responded by enacting rules requiring anything from a year of ownership before an owner could rent their unit, to restrictions on lease length, and outright bans on short-term leases.  In most cases here in South Florida you’ll find a condominium association will have a minimum of a 6-month lease, or 12 month lease, or a restriction that a unit may only be leased once or twice per year.

Our marketplace and season has matured as well.  We don’t get as many snow-birds as in the past who drove the short-term rental demand.  The Fort Lauderdale and Miami metro areas are not as tranquil as they once were, contributing to the decline in demand for quiet short term housing.

Do You Really Need A Lockbox When Selling Your Home?

I had a conversation with a colleague this week about using lock boxes.  She hadn’t been able to convince her seller that using a lock box was advantageous and whether having a lockbox on her door was even necessary to sell her home. Those of you that don’t know, a lockbox is an apparatus that usually holds your front door key securely inside; your listing agent will attach it (the lockbox) in a convenient location somewhere on or near your home, making it very easy for the buyer’s agent who wants to show your home to gain access.  To get the key out of the lockbox, a Realtor would use an electronic key or an app on their smart-phone to access the lockbox.

 

In the South Florida market, Real estate agents have become very accustomed to lockboxes and almost expect them for the convenience they afford.  Often agents will schedule several homes to show with their buyer and will want to have the ability to quickly go from one property to another without having to worry about keys. If your home is one of the few properties without a lockbox, it puts a monkey wrench in the flow of things.  Homes without lockboxes run the risk be tagged “Difficult to Show.”

Without a key on site (in a lockbox) there are usually only few other ways to gain access to your home; none of which agents care for:

  • Seller has to be home to let you in
  • The buyer’s agent has to go to (listing) agent’s office to get and later return the key
  • Listing agent has to go to your property to unlock the door and wait at the property with the showing agent until done

Agents don’t have time to worry about keys nor do they like having to schedule around other people’s time such as the home owner or listing agent.  Thinking you will always be home or that your listing agent will always be available to accommodate another Realtor’s showing schedule is not realistic.  A showing can happen at anytime and arrival time to your home is usually within a broad time-frame which fluctuates within a half hour to an hour.  It is usually inconvenient for the listing agent to sit around your home waiting for a showing, and it’s often challenging for a buyer agent to keep a precise schedule.

Agents are like water, they follow the course of least resistance.  If your home is difficult to get inside an agent may drop it from their showing schedule.

What would be your objection to a lockbox anyways: Safety? Security? Someone coming in your home unannounced?  The South Florida MLS uses a lockbox system call Supra. It is very secure and affords Realtors many options controlling the lockbox functions.  Once you see the lockbox firsthand and understand how secure it is (holding your key inside) and all the control you and your listing agent have over others having access to the key inside. The box itself is virtually indestructible and it would be far easier for a nefarious intruder to break down your door instead of trying to gain access to a lockbox.  Going that extra step to assure your home accessible at any given time will go along way in helping you sell your home.

Realtors in South Florida using the Supra system can:

  • Block-out showing times;
  • Provide you (the seller) with online access where you can restrict showings;
  • Require all showings to be confirmed by you, by me, by both of us, or completely automatically;
  • Know exactly when any Realtor accesses the lock box in real-time;
  • Post all showings and agent feedback in real time online.
Block-Out Showing Times Feature:

You can ask your agent to automatically block off showings (and disable your lockbox) for any specific time or recurring time frames.  Unless otherwise objected, I like to restrict home showing times to fit between: 9AM to 7PM daily; before or after that time-frame Realtors can not automatically schedule a showing online and the lock-box goes into complete lock down – The lockbox is completely disabled and no one has access.  It’s also good to know for example, when when an owner has a vacation home and wants to “use” it for the weekend they can block out times days or weeks in advance.  It’s simple to block out those days and time they plan on being at the property.  Scheduling block-out times is very easy. Another option is the do not disturb feature. This gives a seller the ability to disable the lockbox ANYTIME desired.

Do Not Disturb (DND) Feature:

You have total control when someone can use the lockbox. You can disable the lockbox on your property at any time – from the comfort of your home.  Say for instance you are feeling a little under the weather, took the day off from work and are at home bedridden; you called your listing agent and asked them not to schedule any showings for the day but … you keep thinking about the key in the box outside.  Not to worry, all you have to do is enter a simple code (provided by your agent) and that code will completely disable/lockout anyone that tries to get access until you turn off the DND function.  You can keep it off for minutes, hours or days – you have total control over that lockbox.

Showing Record:

Every Time your lockbox is accessed by a Realtor their unique electronic key instantly embeds their personal identification, date and time of access and the information is then transmitted wireless to Supra which can be accessed online. We always know who was at your property and when.

Sellers’ Gateway:

In addition to documenting who has accessed the lockbox, the Sellers’ Gateway also solicits agents’ feedback about your home, keeps a tally of all the showings you had, and will even show future showings.  Our sellers love this feature and it’s only possible when using both the Supra lockbox and our ShowingTime scheduling system.

Going back to the question at hand – Should you use a lockbox when selling your home? Of course I feel strongly that it is in your best interest as a seller to use a lock box.  A lockbox makes a home much more accessible to buyers and their agents and  provides you with a complete and accurate record of showings.  The key inside is safe and secure and you always have total control.  When I visit for a listing presentation I will bring a sample lockbox with me.  I will show you all the features of the lockbox firsthand and how we interact with it.

Having a lockbox at your home increases the number of showings and foot traffic through your property. The buyer’s agent still needs to make an appointment with the listing agent to show the house and no one can gain access to your home without your knowledge.

Homes for sale in the Lakeside Elementary School District in Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines is known for its great schools and Lakeside Elementary is considered to be one of the best. Lakeside Elementary has a Great Schools rating of 8 out of 10. Parents give complements to the great teachers, the involvement of the local PTA and a great administrative staff.

If you’re looking for a home in this great school district, check out the homes available in Lakeside Elementary

Homes for sale in the Panther Run Elementary school district in Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines is known for its great schools and Panther Run Elementary is considered to be one of the best. Panther Run elementary school has a Great Schools rating of 8 out of 10. Parents give complements to the school’s diversity, the well-qualified teachers, an amazing auditorium, after-school clubs and plenty of activities.

If you’re looking for a home in this great school district, check out the homes available in Panther Run Elementary School