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| The Rob Report - Fort Lauderdale Real Estate News |
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Mid-Century Modern Waterfront 3/2 2400 s.f. pool home by Modernist architect Arthur Rude 180 ft. on water. PENDING SALE $699,000 http://www.southfloridahome.com/id2100 |
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Bamboo Flats Townhome Bauhaus Modern new townhouse with double garage, roof terrace, high ceilings $379,000 http://www.southfloridahome.com/idbamboo723 |
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Victoria Park-Two Houses Charming bungalow with great room addition, 2/2 guesthouse, new pool. Motivated. $745,000 http://www.southfloridahome.com/ID4139 |
| Lake Ridge 2/2 Estate Sale Great mid 50's ranch on big deep lot. Terrazzo Floors, Cent A/C, big kitchen, Fla Rm,Porch. $208,000 http://www.southfloridahome.com/id1223 |
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Bamboo Flats Annual Lease Three Bedroom, 3.5 Bath, double garage, roof deck $2200 Mo. Annual http://www.southfloridahome.com/idbamboo317rental |
Articles and Advice |
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| Navigating Today’s Real Estate Market Avoid Frustration, Know What To Expect By Rob Rose The great majority of property sales in Broward County are short sales, the second most active sale type are foreclosures. As of March 1st, there are 10,237 pending property sales reported by the Ft. Lauderdale Association of Realtors in Broward County. Of those, 6,257 are short sales, and 1,441 are foreclosures. There are currently 21,810 properties listed for sale in Broward County, of those, 6,394 are short sales and 982 are foreclosures. Being a buyer or seller in today’s market can be a frustrating experience. Lending guidelines have become strict, further frustrating the market. It is critical that buyers and sellers of properties in today’s market use a Realtor who is not only competent and knowledgable of the market in the traditional sense, but also experienced and effective in short sales, foreclosures and the pitfalls often found in financing. While no one likes the short sale and foreclosure sale process, ( many Realtors refuse to deal with them!) they are and will be very much a reality of the market for years to come with more than half of the mortgaged properties in Broward County worth less than the mortgage balance. I have handled dozens of short sales and foreclosures in the last year for buyers and sellers, and have up to date knowledge of new lending guidelines, all of which contribute to easing the stress so often a part of today’s real estate transactions. Here are some general guidelines and tips for buyers and sellers in today’s often frustrating market. SHORT SALES: A short sale is a sale where the mortgage balances are greater that the market value. When you buy or sell a short sale property, the mortgage holder must agree to accept less than what is owed by the seller. If you are a buyer, most likely the property you find will be a short sale. The frustration for buyers and sellers of short sales is the time it takes to get the sale approved by the mortgage holder. It takes a great deal of patience. The mortgage companies aren’t concerned about deadlines that buyers and sellers need or expect. An approved short sale is easier to accomplish. In an approved short sale, the lender has had the property appraised and has agreed to accept a certain price and has qualified the seller financially. If the seller hasn’t started the short sale process, a typical short sale can take 90 days on average. The process begins when the seller alerts the lender to a short sale situation so that they can have the property appraised and provides the lender with financial information to get qualified. There are many pitfalls to a short sale, the most common are the seller failing to qualify, the property appraising for more than the contract price, or the seller failing to provide documentation (and the lender losing the documentation) needed to approve the sale. It is very common that buyers lose patience waiting for a short sale approval and cancel the purchase. FORECLOSURES: Foreclosure sales are much smoother than short sales, but tend to be properties in rougher condition. With a foreclosure the lender has taken title and possession of the property. Because they own the property they are much more aggressive on pricing them for a fast sale. One of the most frustrating situations in today’s market occurs when buyers of foreclosures bid on properties well under the list price. Another frustration for many buyers of short sales is the way they tend to be treated by the listing agents. Realtors’ who represent banks in foreclosures focus on the fiduciary relationship they have with the seller, and tend to be very user-unfriendly toward buyers. Don’t expect the usual niceties from the listing agent of a foreclosure. Foreclosures are not retail sales. The listing agents follow guidelines and process paper and aren’t concerned about your needs otherwise. I recently had a buyer cancel a purchase because he resented the tone of the listing agent. Typically foreclosures sell fast, at full price, and even over the list price. That often surprises and frustrates novice foreclosure buyers. If you have a property to sell or are in the market to buy real estate in the Broward County area, I would like to hear from you. I have 30 years of experience in the local market, and can guide you through today’s frustrating market as smoothly as possible. |
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Fort Lauderdale Only For the Old and Rich? Special to the Miami Herald by Betty Lou Rose Ellis-1974 By Rob Rose and his mother, Betty Lou Rose Ellis If you read nothing else in this newsletter, take a few minutes to read this article that was published as a special to the Miami Herald in 1974, and written by my mother, Betty Lou Rose Ellis. My parents moved to Fort Lauderdale before I was born in the 1950’s. This article is an entertaining conversation among people who arrived in Fort Lauderdale in the '50's in response to the fear that Fort Lauderdale had become a place only for the old and rich by the 1970’s. Thirty years later the comments are as timely as ever. Special to the Herald…Betty Lou Rose If you don’t want to get ticked off about something, the best thing to do is just not read the morning papers or pick up the phone. Morning should be gentle. I’ve been ticked off ever since the morning I read that the population of Ft. Lauderdale will soon be limited to the old and rich. My friends, THAT was depressing. Now, before all you rich old folk out there get mad and form an international organization to protect yourselves from agists like me, let me tell you what I mean. I do not want to live in a town where the population is predominantly any one kind of people. Maggie Kuhn is my heroine, but I do not want to be surrounded by Gray Panthers. I look forward to being an eccentric and grouchy old woman myself, and am well on the way to it, but what fun is there in being old and cranky if there are no children to shake your cane at? How will I know it’s spring if there are no collegiates on the beach to moon me from passing cars as I come out of my driveway? To whom will I tell stories about agonies of childbirth and heartbreak of motherhood if there are no pregnant women to corner at Publix? Furthermore, there is still too much to be done here which requires strength and vigor and a positive point of view. Old people can’t do it and shouldn’t have to. When we arrived here in the middle fifties with the second wave of homesteaders, this was still frontier territory. Everybody was young and scrambling. After more than twenty years of struggling against the fastest growth this country has ever seen, we have all prospered, but we still haven’t caught up with some very real community needs – adequate roads, public transportation industry, cultural institutions among them. I won’t harp the fact that we started a museum in 1959 and are still in temporary quarters, but that’s one of my questions. If we’re so rich, why is a mere $6.5 million to build a fine museum so hard to pry loose? The survey droned on to say that because of the high cost of living, specially housing, and the scarcity of jobs, young people can’t afford to come here. What has not being able to afford it got to do with coming here? Young people have never had any money. That’s the rate of exchange for perfect health and no wrinkles. They are also blissfully impractical and have always gone anywhere they wanted to, taken on mortgages and families and toughed it through against ridiculous odds. Are young people old too that they can’t take chances? Seeking an attitude of youthful optimism, I called pioneer Moe Katz, realtor, banker and bon vivant. He was aghast. “Anybody who wants work and a place to live can find it here,” he scoffed. When Moe Katz came here in 1923, nobody offered him a job. He opened a real estate office. When property didn’t sell during the depression, he opened the first liquor store. He built the Las Olas Inn and lost it during the big bust. Now, he submits, he is medium old and medium rich, but he still sees Ft. Lauderdale as frontier territory, full of promise. There are 66 years left on his real estate office lease. He plans to renew. Jim Leavitt, realtor since 1951 and former mayor, didn’t believe it. “Young people are going to come here. They would be fools not to. There are great futures here in clean technical industry, aviation, electronics, export-import…the opportunities are better than ever.” But what about housing, I pressed? They both agreed there is a problem, but it isn’t hopeless. “West Broward is the bedroom community for east Broward,” said Leavitt. “And there is still some affordable housing out there. Banks are making 95% loans at high interest rates. There is also the new graduated payment mortgage which allows people to make lower payments when their earnings are low and increase them later when they’re making more money.” Katz, who knows all about cycles said, “The interest rates will come down. They always have. In the past forty years, they have taken four or five broad swings from as high as 13 % to as low as 6%.” Leavitt pointed out some options, “young people are buying homes, borrowing 75% of the appraisal value and renovating them. Others are ‘grandfathered in’ and will inherit homes. Still more may start off like so many of their parents and live with the family for a few years.” Both Katz and Leavitt said there will be enough reasonably priced housing if the governing bodies will relax density standards and the mentalists will get off the backs of builders. As for rentals, they said when the demand is great enough, someone will build them. Government may have to subsidize low cost housing and public transportation and roads, they said. “Of course,” said Katz, “one of the problems is that retired people on fixed incomes go to the polls and vote against such measures.” Feeling better all the time, I called former mayor Peter Clements of Clements Pest Control. I got Virginia. “Virginia” I began, “are you aware that Ft. Lauderdale will soon be peopled entirely by rich old people because young people cannot afford to live there?” “Well then, I’m moving,” she barked, echoing my sentiments exactly. Peter was not impressed with how difficult it is for young people to live here. “Have you seen the ‘help Wanted’ section of the paper lately? There are plenty jobs available. I need a husky young man to run one of my spray trucks and I can’t find one. I talked to Al Novak of Novatronics today at the Executive Breakfast and he says he can’t find employees at any price, including vice presidents.” “They say they can’t afford to live here? The beaches are full of them. They seem to live well enough on $105 a week unemployment insurance.” I asked Peter what he sees as the town’s worst problem. “South Beach,” he answered promptly. “I think we ought to declare a new tax district and go in there and buy up all those shacks at A1A and Las Olas and clean it out. You can’t even walk on the streets down there.” You see this is not an unbiased report. I only asked the old-timers, those who have spent a good part of their lives here and have really cared about it. They all know what it means to be young and poor in Ft. Lauderdale and it is not all bad. When the Leavitts were married in 1954, he was making $400 a month selling real estate, but the banks lent him the money to build the house they’re living in. The lot cost $8,700. The house cost $25,000. In 1939 when the Clements were married, he was making $135 a month spraying bugs. Their apartment cost $25.00. With the rest, I doubt that they bought a Rolls Royce and a floor length chinchilla dyed orange to wear to the Cancer Ball. But I do not doubt that they had fun. They still do. Dick Fast and Barbara who also moved into Coral Ridge in the mid-fifties said they never knew anyone except Joe Packo who had a well-stocked bar. On Saturday night when you entertained the neighbors, you bought a bag of charcoal, some hamburger and one bottle of vodka. Perhaps the real problem is that young people want to skip over the one bottle of vodka stage and start out with everything their parents have. Trouble is, their fathers are now board chairmen, presidents of companies, commo dores of yacht clubs and senior partners in firms. Finally, I turned for total solace to the very handsome and young present mayor, E. Clay Shaw. “It is true that Ft. Lauderdale is becoming a graveyard by the sea marked ‘No Children or Pets Allowed?’ I sobbed. “Anyone who believes that has not seen what’s on the boards at the planning department,” he soothed. “I really believe Ft. Lauderdale will undergo a reanaissance in the next five to ten years. What’s happening in the downtown area, in industry, in the recycling of homes, offices and apartments buildings? All of it is being done by young people. The best days of this city are ahead of us.” A renaissance. I like that. Miami is already having one, but Miami had to wait until there was nowhere to go but up. I hope we don’t wait that long. Betty Lou Ellis |
| Hot Links |
| Finding a Bottom in Home Prices http://online.wsj.com/video/finding-a-bottom-for-home-prices/72AFD199-25DD-43AB-8D5A-8772EE02F4D5.html Walk Away or Stay in Home - Online Calculator Helps You Decide http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/03/31/walk-away-or-stay-online-mortgage-calculators-help-decide/ Search Greater Fort Lauderdale MLS HERE http://www.southfloridahome.com/bin/web/real_estate/AR40906/ACTIVATE_FRAMES/HOME_SEARCH/Fort+Lauderdale/1233008326.html Rob Rose Real Estate BLOG http://robrose.blogspot.com/ Oceanfront 3/3 condo, 3 balconies, 1800 SF under 499! http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/744977E95D |
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