Take A Trip Inside This Miami House

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This stunning glass-and-steel contemporary, located in the uniquely gorgeous Ponce-Davis neighborhood, is the sort of home that dreams are made of. Nestled in an ultra-private gated estate and shaded by lush live oaks, the five-bedroom estate is just waiting for the right owners to come and add their discriminating touch.

The unforgettable tour begins outside on the 34,408-square-foot lot, where the turquoise waters of the infinity pool beckon alongside a modern cabana. The outdoor space is accented by vertical gardens, designed by none other than Andres Tabora of Venezuela. An open-air kitchen rounds out the alfresco experience. With these delightful features just outside the door, it would be hard to imagine ever wanting to go inside, but what awaits within the walls is worth more than a second glance.

The home–built by Norway Builders, following a design laid out by O’Donnell Dannwolf & Partners Architects–boasts 7,916 square feet of living space. Classic wood flooring, stack stone, and a floating staircase are just a few of the marvels featured here. While the property lists five bedrooms and six and a half baths, there are numerous multi-use spaces just begging to be transformed into whatever the owner’s heart desires–maid’s quarters, an office or study, a cozy den, a walk-in closet, or perhaps a media room. The master bath features a soaking tub deep enough to lose yourself in, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling impact glass windows. Natural light spills freely throughout the interior, with open walkways and abundant windows making the space feel even larger than it really is.

Step into the modern kitchen, with its crisply neutral color palette and sleek lines, and have a seat at the built-in breakfast bar. Overhead, the recessed lighting provides just the right degree of ambiance to make you feel instantly at home. Wood paneling gives a nice texture and contrast to the open space. The appliances are all state-of-the-art and fashionable to boot, and the entire house is wired for high-tech sound and security.

At $5.9 million, this property is priced for the discriminating buyer, the one seeking a home that’s unlike anything else on the market. While its design blends in perfectly with the South Florida landscape, you’d be hard-pressed to find its equal in any of the surrounding neighborhoods, or even within Ponce-Davis itself.

Australia’s Housing Market Prices Are Falling

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The up-and-down nature of the real estate business is notorious, but Australia in particular has been on a consistent “up” since the turn of the millennium. That trend, however, has seen a significant downturn as of late, with home prices dropping at a rate of 4.5 percent in Sydney alone. So what are the reasons behind this sudden decline?
Prices soared dramatically around the time of the Great Recession
In 2008, the Australian government doubled an existing tax credit, offering $14,000 instead of $7,000 for first-time buyers of an existing home. If the home was new, the credit was increased to $21,000. This incentive contributed to buyer interest, keeping home prices higher than they might have been otherwise.

It’s also worth noting that Australia offers tax breaks on rental properties, to the effect that the government essentially subsidizes any losses incurred from investing in real estate. With a safety net like this, it’s no wonder that the industry thrived for so long.
The Australian economy continued to strengthen over the past decade
While the United States floundered beneath the tide of the Great Recession, other markets were booming. China was purchasing large amounts of and coal and iron ore from their Australian neighbors, thereby keeping the economy strong enough to justify the rising home prices.
China also invested heavily in real estate during this time frame
Although the Australian government has restrictions on foreign buyers, a small percentage does manage to sneak in under the radar. Lately, it’s become increasingly clear that a number of Chinese buyers made these investments as a way of keeping their funds off-shore, as the homes they purchased were lying vacant. As this foreign interest in Australian real estate has waned, so too have the prices.
An increase in interest-only loans has created a speculative bubble
Interest-only loans allow investors to borrow more, which increases their debt but allows their gains to flourish as long as the value of the homes continues to rise. Conversely, however, when home prices fall, so does their equity. As many as 40 percent of Australian mortgages are currently interest-only, which leads prognosticators to assume that the investors are concerned mainly with short-term gains. If the prices continue to go down, many of them may try to bail out by selling their properties, which will contribute to the downward spiral.

Common Mistakes Parents Make When Buying a Home

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When purchasing a new home, parents tend to make a few mistakes that show up later in life. It is important to look at the past, present, and future when considering a new home. What can we learn from others’ past mistakes, what do we need for the present, and what does the future hold that we can prepare for now? When we consider these during a new home purchase, we can get a home that will meet our needs.

The Past

Learning from others’ mistakes is important when shopping for a home. Many parents purchase a home without checking out the local schooling options. Then when the children are old enough to go to school, they don’t like what is available. Decide if the schooling system near you will meet your child’s needs in the future.

Safety Issues

Learn from parents of the past concerning safety issues. Do the stairs have a handrail? Does the pool have a safety fence around it? Is the deck in good order or do boards need to be replaced?

The Present

Will the home meet the grandparents’ present needs? Is there a fenced yard for a dog? Is there plenty of storage for ball equipment or musical instruments? Is there plenty of space for doing laundry, and for folding?

Driving to Activities

Is the church nearby? Is there plenty of shopping close? What about the doctor’s office? Make sure the family can get where they need to go within a reasonable amount of time.

The Future

Look into the future for the family. Having more children means needing more bedrooms. It also means the family may need more bathrooms, especially if they are girls. We can’t know everything the future will bring, but we can anticipate some things and prepare for them.

Anticipation of Expectations

Think about what the family already loves to do, or is interested in doing in the future. Consider these options:

  • homesteading
  • home-based business
  • homeschooling
  • fishing and hunting
  • husbandry
  • horseback riding

Looking at the past, present, and future needs of the family, will help parents make a wise choice on such a big ticket item. They can know that they have thought through all the reasonable possibilities that this new home needs to provide. In doing so, the home will the refuge throughout the years.

An Overview of a $30 Million Mansion

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What kind of real estate does $29.5 million buy? That’s a question that few will ever have the opportunity to explore–at least seriously. This Manhattan townhouse, though, allows a heady peek into the lifestyles of the upper echelon. Read on for a sampling of the delights of this Chelsea gem.
It comes with its own Bentley
Yes, it’s true: Whoever buys this house won’t have to worry about finding a place to park in Manhattan, as the pad comes fully equipped with a hot rod–itself worth half a million dollars. Check out the pictures here.
It offers two-plus bathrooms for each bedroom
While the mansion itself has a relatively modest five bedrooms, there are 11 baths, including a steam room and a sauna. This means that even if two people were to occupy each room, no one would have to take turns in the shower. Talk about how the other half lives.
There’s a yoga room and a lap pool
No need to join a gym–the tenants will have plenty of opportunities for exercise right in their own home. That ought to make the price tag sting just a little bit less.
The living room is the best spot in the house
Alyssa Soto Brody, the Realtor handling the property, is most enamored of the 26-by-23 foot living room. In addition to the 13-foot ceiling and wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, the space also boasts LED lighting that casts different colors on the enormous gas-powered fireplace.
A kitchen to die for
With its marble surfaces, cabinets covered in Swarovski crystals and vegan crocodile leather, and sleek chrome appliances, this area almost looks too pretty to cook in–although that’s not likely to bother the residents..
A room with its own floor
The fourth floor is taken up entirely by the master suite, which includes a gorgeous hand-cut mosaic Italian soaking tub.
The Realtor refers to the property as the “Bentley Batcave”
At 11,000 square feet, the space is clearly no cave; however, die-hard Bruce Wayne fans are likely to appreciate the comparison. While the price tag may be steep, bear in mind that in this corner of the Big Apple, parking spots alone have been known to fetch over $1 million.

4 Key Tips For Selling Land And Lots

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You may think that selling land is the same as selling a home, but in reality the two are very different. In a changing real estate market, it is hard enough to sell a house, but selling land and lots can be even more challenging.

So what exactly is it that makes selling land and lots so different from selling a house? First of all, land and lot buyers are different from homebuyers. They have different needs and perspectives. While homebuyers want a home they can move into, land buyers are looking for the opportunity to customize the land to fit their needs. Selling land also requires different sales techniques, and the market for land is significantly less active than the market for existing homes. Additionally, it takes longer to sell a lot or vacant land, so the process requires patience.

Here are a few steps you need to take to successfully sell land and lots:

Understand your buyer.
When you’re selling land, it’s important to evaluate who your likely buyers will be. This depends on what type of property you’re selling, the location of the land, whether it has been developed, the market conditions and more. There also may be different buyers depending on whether it is a parcel of suburban land, a finished lot or rural acreage. After you’ve identified your likely buyers, try to think like them so you know what message to convey.

Make sure the land or lot looks presentable.
Before showing your lot to potential buyers, you’ll definitely want to clean it up. First impressions are extremely important in real estate. Make sure you remove trash and cut the grass. When your property is looking its best, take marketing photos. Some people who are selling vacant land will even plant wildflowers to make the land look more appealing.

Choose your price.
Picking a price is something that you need to put a lot of thought into. One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is pricing their lot or land too high. Pricing land can be harder than pricing a home. If you’re selling a developed lot in a community, you may be able to determine the “market” price based on the sale of similar lots. Raw land is a bit more difficult since there isn’t as much to compare to. The price you can attract for undeveloped land or a singular lot can vary based on the buyer’s intended use of the property. Land that a buyer feels is suitable for a high-end home development will likely bring a higher price per acre than land that a buyer only wants to use for a single home.

Use online listings specific to land and lot buyers
You’ll want to market to land and lot buyers in particular. While MLS is a helpful tool, it is focused on marketing existing homes. Therefore, it you want to sell land or a lot, MLS should not be a the only tool you use. Use a tool that is specifically for these listings, such as LotNetwork.com. Make sure that when you writing your listing, you understand your buyers and provide the information that they are likely to need.

Selling land and lots can be wildly different from selling a home. There may be some added difficulty, but with these tips you’ll be able to successfully sell your land or lot to a satisfied buyer.

6 Steps To Becoming A Real Estate Developer

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Real estate development can be described as the act of buying real estate, making improvements and then selling the real estate. The improvements usually involve making the buildings better or creating new buildings on the land. Real estate can be very lucrative, but only if you can predict market trends and recognize opportunities. If you cannot do this, you could suffer some heavy losses. Here are a few steps to become a good real estate developer:

Get an degree.
There is not one particular degree that lends itself to real estate development. It is however, important that you study something that is relevant to this line of business. If you want to go into real estate development, it’s a good idea to earn a degree in construction management, business administration, urban development or finance. You’ll also need to take the necessary classes and assessments to receive a real estate license in your particular state.

Work for someone in the real estate business.
Seek out a job that allows you to be involved in the buying, selling or development of real estate. While you’re working in this position, try to absorb as much information as you can about the industry. In the meantime, make sure you’re building up your credit score and your personal savings in order to help you finance your future real estate development business.

Establish your business’ legal identity.
The real estate business can lead to high financial risks. For this reason, you should form a business entity that provides you with liability protection, like a corporation or a limited liability company. When you form an entity like this, you will likely encounter more accounting issues and higher fees than you would come across if you had a sole proprietorship or a simple partnership. However, these issues are nowhere near as major as the personal costs you would face if there was a sudden downturn in the real estate market.

Work alongside professional contractors and construction firms.
Once you’ve set up your company you’ll need to construct new buildings or improve your properties. In order to do this, you’ll need to work with construction firms or professional contractors. Once you build relationships with construction professionals, you will have people to rely on for timely and quality work in the future.

Build relationships with lenders.
The best way to finance your investment activities is to connect with local and independent lenders. When theses lenders begin to trust you, they will give you quick personalized services for competitive rates.

Research market trends.
If you want to be a successful real estate developer, you need to be able to project rises and falls in real estate prices. Sell when prices are high and buy when prices are low. Make sure you get up-to-date information about real estate prices using specialized Internet tools.

Being a real estate developer can be an extremely rewarding and lucrative business if you are able to predict market trends. Follow these steps and you’re bound to achieve a lot of success in the field of real estate development.

A Guide To Smart Home Buying: Part 2

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home buying

In previous blog post, we discussed some tips for smart home buying. But that was only the beginning. If you’ve already gotten your cash together and searched for a home, it is now time to purchase the home of your dreams. This may seem simple, but there are quite a few steps left in the process. Here is a continuation, starting at step 6, of the step-by-step guide to buying a home:

6) Make an offer on the home
After you find the house you want, you’ll want to make your bid quickly. You’ll want to get advice from your buyer’s broker, if you are working with one, to figure out the initial offer. If you’re working with a seller’s agent, you will need to figure out your offer strategy on your own. Find the data on at least three houses that have recently sold in the surrounding neighborhood. Generally speaking, do not make a bid that snubs the seller. This may lead the seller to give up due to sheer annoyance. The amount of leverage a buyer has depends on the market’s pace. You have a lot of control in a slow market, but in a hot market, you have almost none at all. It will probably take some creativity to satisfy the needs of the seller. For example, you can ask the seller to throw in some of the appliances if you meet his or her price.

7) Enter a contract
After reaching a price that both the buyer and seller can agree on, the seller’s agent will draw up an offer to purchase. Run this document by your lawyer and buyer’s agent in order to make sure that:

  1. You will obtain a mortgage.
  2. The home was inspected and has no significant defects.
  3. It has been guaranteed that you can conduct a walk-through inspection 24 hours before closing.

You are required to make a good-faith deposit which will typically go into an escrow account. This is typically 1% to 10% of the purchase price. After the deal has closed, the seller will receive this money.

8) Secure a loan
You will now have to call your mortgage broker or lender in order to agree on terms. You will decide whether to choose a fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage. You will also have to decide whether to pay point. At this point, you should expect to pay $50 to $75 for a credit check, as well as an extra $150 on average for an appraisal of the home. The appraisal price could, however, be anywhere up to $300. The majority of other fees will be due at the time of the closing of the house.

9) Get an inspection
The mortgage lender will make an appraisal of our home, but it is also a good idea to hire your own home inspector. On average, an inspection costs around $300, but big jobs can cost up to $1,000. An inspection takes two hours or more. You should ask to be present during your inspection. This way, you can learn a lot about your house, such as its overall condition, wiring, construction material, and heating. If the inspector finds significant problems, such as a roof that needs replacement, you should ask your agent or lawyer to discuss this with the seller. The seller should either repair the problem before you move in, or deduct the cost of the repair from the home’s final price. If the seller does not agree to do either of these things, you may walk away from the deal without penalty as long as you have a properly written contract.

10) Close the deal
Approximately two days before the closing of the house, you will receive a final HUD Settlement Statement from your lender. This will list every charge you will have to pay at closing. It is important to review this document carefully. It will include important information such as the cost of the title insurance. This is the insurance that protects you and the lender from any claims people may make regarding who owns the property. The cost of this insurance is typically less than 1% of the home’s price, through it varies a good deal from state to state. You may also need to establish an escrow account. The lender can tap this account if you fall behind on your property tax payments, or on your mortgage. The closing itself will not have any surprises, but you should ask your real estate agent or your lawyer to brief you on the specifics.

Buying a home doesn’t have to be overwhelming and confusing. If you follow this step-by-step guide, you will be on your way to buying the home of your dreams in the smartest way possible. Happy home buying!

A Guide To Smart Home Buying: Part 1

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home buying

Buying a home can feel overwhelming. You know you want to purchase a home but there are so many steps to the process that you may not know where to start. How will you decide on a good budget? How will you find the right realtor? And most importantly, how will you find the perfect home for you? Buying a home takes a lot of preparation and careful thought. Here is a step-by-step guide to buying a home:

1)Look into your credit
There are three major credit agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These agencies keep credit reports, which indicate whether you have ever run into any serious issues with credit and whether you tend to be late with payments. Credit scores are calculated from a formula based on the information found in your credit report. Each person has three different credit scores, one to correspond with each of the person’s credit reports. If you have a low credit score, you may struggle to get a good interest rate, or to get any financing at all. If you find any errors in your credit report, make sure you contact the agencies directly and correct the mistakes. This can take two or three months to resolve.

2) Set your budget
Once you’ve got your credit score figured out, it’s time to figure out how much you can spend on a house. A good starting point is using an online calculator. While these calculators are helpful, you will get a more accurate figure by asking to be pre-approved by a lender. This lender will assess was kind of loan is right for you by looking at your debt, income, and credit. If you are looking for a rule of thumb, you can multiply your gross annual salary by 2.5 and use that number as a guideline for the cost of your home. In addition, all of your monthly home payment should be no more than 36% of your gross monthly income. You will also need to take into account the size of your down payment.

3) Get some cash ready
For your down payment and your closing costs, you’ll need to come up with some cash. Lenders typically see a down payment as 20% of a home’s price. If you are able to put down more than 20%, your lender may approve a larger loan. If you don’t have 20%, you will need to search for loans that will help you. Low down payment mortgages can be provided through a number of private and public agencies, such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Federal Housing Administration. If you qualify for these mortgages, it is possible that you will only have to pay 3% up front.

However, if you have a down payment lower than 20% you will probably need to pay for private mortgage insurance, which is essentially a safety net that protects the bank in case you do not make your payments. With private mortgage insurance, about 0.5% of the total loan amount will be added to your mortgage payments for the year.

So you’ve considered the down payment. But you still need to make sure you have enough cash to cover fees and closing costs. This includes loan fees, inspection fees, the appraisals fee, attorney’s fees, and the cost of a title search. This may add up to a sum of more than $10,000, and it will often make up 5% of the mortgage amount.

If you don’t have enough cash available to cover these needs, there are many options available to you. If you have a first time homebuyer, you can withdraw up to $10,000 from an Individual Retirement Account if you have one. There is no penalty, but you need to pay taxes on the amount. Another option is receiving a cash gift of up to $14,000 per year from each of your parents. There is no gift tax.

You could also figure out whether your employer can help, especially if you work at a big company. Many big companies will help contribute to a down payment or help an employee get a low-interest loan from certain lenders. Another option is tapping a 401(k) or similar retirement plan so you can get a loan from yourself.

4. Get an agent

The majority of home sellers list their homes via an agent. Those agents, however, work for the seller rather than the buyer. They are paid according to a percentage of the purchase price, typically 5 to 7%, so usually they will try to get you to pay more. When you need in an “exclusive buyer agent.” These agents are either paid directly by you, on an hourly or contracted fee, and other times the commission that the seller’s agent gets upon sale is split. A buyer’s agent will have allegiance only to you.

5. Look for a home.

The first part of looking for a home is figuring out what city or neighborhood you would like to live in. When searching neighborhoods, you should look for indications of economic vitality. This includes low unemployment, good incomes, and a mixture of young families and older couples. Whether you have children or not, you will want to pay attention to districts that have good schools. When the time comes that you will want to resell the property, living in an area with a good school system will allow your home to keep its good value.

It’s also a good idea to figure out the real estate market in the area. If homes in the area are selling near or even higher than the asking price, this means that the area is desirable. Doing your house hunt in the colder months of the year is a smart plan if it is possible. This is the “off season” for housing hunting, and you will have less competition, meaning that sellers are more likely to negotiate with you.

Just make sure your search criteria aren’t too restrictive. Make sure your price range is 10% above and 10% below your true range. In terms of location, search in a 10-mile radius of the location you specify.

These tips will help you to buy a the right home for you. Stay tuned for part 2 of the guide to smart home buying.