Wilton Manors Single Family Homes

When they say “Put ’em all on an island….” Wilton Manors residents usually reply that they’re already there! The US Census has noted that the village on Wilton Manors is the second gayest city in the US, with 140 same-sex couples per 1,000 residents.

Wilton Manors is sandwiched (wink) between Provincetown, Mass, and Palm Springs, California.

The village is literally an island city, surrounded on all sides by Fort Lauderdale or Oakland Park. Although the population is only about 12,000 residents, Wilton Manors enjoys its proximity and the crowds that visit Fort Lauderdale and surrounding communities.

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First Time Home Buyers Need Love, Too!

South Florida home sellers have become spoiled, and I am one of the guilty parties.   The market is hot enough at the moment where we are seeing many sellers restrict the terms that they are willing to accept on their homes to conventional financing only, or cash buyers.   In some instances, cash-buyers only!

I must admit, on my most recent listing, my sellers and I would only entertain cash buyers as well, but we justify our reasons because the property was a co-op apartment and it needed such extensive renovation.

First Time Home Buyers represent a significant portion of the market right now

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As you can see above, right now, first time buyers want to get into the game!    They can’t keep living in their folks’ homes forever 🙂       Note:   38% of the market right now represents first-time buyers!

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And they’re willing to make sacrifices to get into their first home!    The majority of them have stated that they will make lifestyle changes such as cutting spending on luxury goods, entertainment or even cancel a vacation or two to make their home buying dream a reality.

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It makes perfect sense, although in the current market, so many over-eager sellers think that they’re in the drivers’ seat and can be as picky as they like.     But it’s wise to keep in mind that if you restrict the terms you’re willing to consider, you MAY be cutting out 38% of your potential buyers.

Mixed emotions–Jealousy and Rage–about Rent Control

On the MyFace today I stumbled on an article about the now-famous Herbert J. Sukenik who lived in rent-controlled apartment overlooking Central Park.

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/stubborn-tenant-holds-absolutely-insane-amount-money-finally-leave-rent-controlled-nyc-apartment/

Herb was a bit of a loner who moved into a small 350 square foot apartment back in 1974 and settled in for the long haul.

The short version of the article above was that a developer eventually paid Herb $17-million to move out of his apartment AND let him live in another $2-million apartment for the rest of his life at a newly negotiated LOWER rent of $1 – a month!    All this in order to be able to demolish the old structure on Central Park West for which they had purchased for $401-million and developed for $1-BILLION.

I would LOVE to be that guy!

Argh! Can you imagine?    You move into a little studio for $750 per month and eventually turn it into $17-million and a free apartment for life?   And you never put up a dime of your own money?     Amazing!

What kills me…

The whole notion of real estate ownership is that YOU (as the owner) should be allowed to do whatever you want – because it’s YOUR property.

It makes my entrepreneurial soul cringe when I hear that a property owner is losing $1800 a month because a rent-controlled apartment SHOULD be renting for $2500 a month but is rent-controlled at $700 a month.    Where’s the incentive to be a landlord?     How do you plan for improvements?    Besides the fact that you can’t afford to upgrade the apartment, nor why would you when someone is paying below-market rent….   But what if the building needs upgrades like an updated fire-safety system, or a new roof, or new elevators?

What would YOU do if you were in Herb’s shoes?

Or better yet, what would you do if you were in the OWNER’s shoes?

We don’t have rent-control in South Florida so this isn’t an issue that we have to deal with here.   In fact, I’d say that the climate is even more favorable for landlords and property owners in South Florida.    A lot of landlords let tenants rent on month-to-month leases, which are convenient for the tenants that need flexibility (or are deadbeats who are barely living month-to-month anyways) but it sure makes it easy for a landlord to give notice and move a tenant out of an apartment for nearly any reason.   In fact, on month-to-month leases here in Florida, without a longer notice written into a lease, the required notice is TWO WEEKS!    Yikes!

Fort Lauderdale’s old Howard Johnsons demolished this week to make way for new Luxury condo’s

howard_johnson

This week brought the end of an era with the demolition of the former Howard Johnsons hotel that had been abandoned since Hurricane Wilma in 2007.    The old hotel was severely damaged and then with the economic downturn no developer could put together a plan and the necessary resources for any sort of development. HoJo Demo2

Breaking ground later this year will be the new Paramount Residences which is being promoted as the first true Ultra Luxury property directly on Fort Lauderdale’s beach in a decade.    The Paramount will be an 18 story building with 95 condominium homes.    Developers are hoping that the first residents will be moving in mid-year 2016.    Prices start at $1-million and go up from there.

HoJo Demo1

Top 4 Derogatory Credit Events and the waiting periods before you can buy a new home

Have you ever wondered how long you might have to wait after Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, or Short Sale before you can purchase your new home?

Check out the chart and see how long a lender will require you to wait before you can borrow again.

Link to the PDF here:  http://sunshineguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Derog-Credit-Chart-Fisher-Darrow.pdf

Interestingly, I recently had a client that was able to purchase a new home just two short years after his short sale.    A wonderful confluence of events allowed him to use his VA eligibility to purchase with nearly zero money down.

He was also able to begin the mortgage process several weeks BEFORE the two-year anniversary date of his short-sale closing, so that he was able to close in a matter of days after the anniversary date passed.

Derogatory Credit Chart

Florida leads nation in cash-only home sales

The Florida Association of Realtors posted an interesting article yesterday about the number of sales that are cash transactions and how Florida is leading the nation in cash sales.

 

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http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=1&id=296212

Some of the more interesting statistics from the article:

Florida led the nation last month with what one expert called an “astounding” rate of all-cash home sales: 66 percent, a new report shows.

Among Florida’s metropolitan areas, Brevard County had the highest rate of cash deals: Seven out of every 10 house sales last month went for cash. Next in line was the giant metro area that includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach; 69 percent of all sales there were all-cash deals.

The buyers seem to be predominantly foreign buyers who view Florida condominiums and homes as a solid investment without much risk.

Much of the cash buying in South Florida is from foreigners who view condominiums as safe investments. In the past year, large funds have entered the region, buying single-family homes and renting them out for a year or longer. The Blackstone Group of New York and California-based Waypoint Homes are two of the larger funds buying in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Another interesting stat from the article, speaks about the national Private Equity firms and institutional buyers who HAD been buying up homes in droves have moved on to markets where there is more inventory to choose from and not quite as overheated market conditions.

Private-equity firms and institutional buyers have been actively picking up Florida’s lower-priced houses, fixing them up, and renting them for some time already, but those buyers are moving on to other states, RealtyTrac’s report shows. During July, institutional buyers drove 22 percent of the home sales in Georgia, 16 percent in Nevada, 15 percent in Arizona and 14 percent in Florida.

These institutional buyers made national headlines in recent months as they purchased distressed homes in bulk, renovated them and rented them out in record numbers throughout Florida.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/real-estate/nearly-700-florida-foreclosures-sold-in-bulk-to-pr/nR7LM/

But it seems that these institutional buyers are looking towards greener pastures.    Or at least a market that’s not so competitive as Florida this year.

Floridians are paying the 9th highest closing costs in the nation

Closing Costs

Check out the interesting article at BankRate.com that describes how Floridians are paying the 9th highest closing costs in the nation.

Besides lender fees and title charges, don’t forget about your pre-paid taxes and your insurance premiums when you’re calculating how much to save for your down-payment.

Here in South Florida, your insurance premiums are going to be a LOT more than the standard 1% that your lender is going to estimate for insurance on your Good Faith Estimate. Single family homes that don’t have hurricane windows and other storm protection can have insurance premiums as high as $5,000 a year.

Where are folks coming from & leaving to: Interactive map at Forbes.com

 

I love this interactive map at Forbes.com!     You can enter any major metro area, or county, in the search box, and a map will pop up showing where most of the residents are moving from, or moving to, when they move in or out of the area.

http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2011/migration.html

 

My favorite two searches:     Miami/Dade County vs. Collier County (the Naples & Fort Myers area) in Florida.     Why do East Coast residents traditionally choose the Atlantic Coast and why do Midwesterners typically choose the Gulf Coast?

 

Because I-75 runs from the mid-west straight down the gulf side, and I-95 runs from the Northeast straight down the Atlantic Coast.

 

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You’d think this was illegal, wouldn’t you?

Check out this story from the Sun Sentinel about a condominium association near Venice, Florida.     This association just passed a new rule prohibiting leasing to unmarried couples.    The only permitted lease or sale is to a single person, or to a married couple consisting of a husband and wife.

And here in Florida this is perfectly legal.

 

 

This surprised the daylights out of me as I came from Chicago where people were protected by three layers of laws.    The city of Chicago had an equal protection law; Cook County had a Human Rights Ordinance; and the State of Illinois also passed a law banning discrimination against discrimination of gay couples (and unmarried domestic partners) in most accommodations.

Well it looks like we have some work to do down here in the backwater of Florida.