A Few Qs on Weston (Miami, Miami Beach: short sales, foreclosures, HOA fees)

[Lost in Translation]

Hello,

My wife and I are looking into relocating to Weston in the next year or two. We've noticed quite a lot of 4br/2ba homes in the area under $400K (a few even in the $320K range), and wondered if any of the Weston residents/experts - especially you Compelled :-) - on the forum could answer a few questions:

1) Are there areas to avoid in Weston (due to road noise, unsavory neighbors, etc.)?

2) Is there a reason why some of these apparently nice homes are selling so cheap (besides the obvious answer that SoFlo sucks and everyone is moving to the Carolinas)?

3) What's the range one could one expect to pay in maintenace fees for living in one of the gated communities? I know it varies by lot size, so let's say a 4/2 with 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space)

4) Any lessons learned you wish to share?

5) Do you think prices will still be going down in a year, or is now the time to buy?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Lost in Translation

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

Hello,

My wife and I are looking into relocating to Weston in the next year or two. We've noticed quite a lot of 4br/2ba homes in the area under $400K (a few even in the $320K range), and wondered if any of the Weston residents/experts - especially you Compelled :-) - on the forum could answer a few questions:

1) Are there areas to avoid in Weston (due to road noise, unsavory neighbors, etc.)?

2) Is there a reason why some of these apparently nice homes are selling so cheap (besides the obvious answer that SoFlo sucks and everyone is moving to the Carolinas)? Google "housing bubble"

3) What's the range one could one expect to pay in maintenace fees for living in one of the gated communities? I know it varies by lot size, so let's say a 4/2 with 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space)

4) Any lessons learned you wish to share?

5) Do you think prices will still be going down in a year, or is now the time to buy? Google "housing bubble"

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Lost in Translation

Best of luck and compelled can chime in for the rest

[compelled to reply]

1. Not really. Just try not to live right off of 75 in Bonaventure. Even The Meadows is relatively distanced from 75 because of the lake. Also keep in mind that if you have high school aged kids, the Bonaventrure area is now zoned to go to Western High School which is not considered as good as Cypress Bay. I would say that it's more sparkling new when you get on the other side of Indian Trace on the outside of 75.

2. Rude people! Nobody speaks any english! But really, I think it's just price correction. Broward just didn't have the economic support to support the high prices (google housing bubble) so people are packing their bags and leaving faster than anywhere in the US except for Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit), woo hoo, and Weston was among the cities to lose population (we lost like 100 or so people). The market is probably going to correct itself quicker here and on the bright side things will probably get on track quicker too. Less malcontents is going to be another plus of the bubble, assuming they don't get tired of North Carolina and come back with a vengeance and screw up the prices again (note, I'm not trying to offend anyone, I am just a minor A-hole lol).

3. I honestly am not a subdivision expert here. I would ask momma bear or jhlcomp for more specific advice on that. My neighborhood is a little tiny one towards Bonaventure. I'm not sure and don't have any reason to know.

4. Make sure you aren't too xenophobic. There are more Spanish speaking people here than surrounding areas and anywhere else in Broward and make up 2/5ths of the population. Make sure you aren't offended just because you see Goya food in the store and somebody might be speaking Spanish on the phone as the population on both sides is bilingual, (yes) English preferred.

5. I only see the prices going down. Weston is STILL more expensive than many (not all, SW Ranches is more expensive) surrounding areas, and the surrounding areas are pretty nice too.

[acegolfer]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

2) Is there a reason why some of these apparently nice homes are selling so cheap (besides the obvious answer that SoFlo sucks and everyone is moving to the Carolinas)?

3) What's the range one could one expect to pay in maintenace fees for living in one of the gated communities? I know it varies by lot size, so let's say a 4/2 with 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space)

I just bought a 4/2 1940 sqft property in Weston for under 400k. The reason why so many homes SEEM to priced low is because of unadvertised short sales. I gave a list of 20 homes to my realtor for showing. Out of 20, 14 were short sales. Most of these are advertised as regular sales but short sale is indicated in the broker's remark. Unfortunately, general public can't see these remarks. Sp you need to ask your realtor to verify one at a time.

As for maintenance, here's what I think I have to pay. I'm moving in in 2 weeks.

1. tax: roughly 2% of purchase price
2. insurance: $2k/yr if built after 1996, $3,500 without any windstorm mitigation discounts
3. HOA: little more than $100/month
4. water bill includes $45 mandatory cable TV fees
5. lawn mowing: $50/month (if necessary)
6. pool cleaning: $70/month (if necessary)
7. termite control: ?

Good luck finding a property. I have been following Weston market for 5 months. PM me, if you need more infor.

[compelled to reply]

Good point ace. A lot of forecloesures and short sales, especially in the zip code 33326. Because the problems are so widespread and well documented, I just told him to google housing bubble. Nothing different out here that hasn't already been discussed somewhere. Looks like wild style did the same!

Congrats on the new home ace!

[Elvi03]

sorry to be ignorant --- but what's a short sale?

[compelled to reply]

Owner can't pay the bills, wants to foreclose but doesn't want to ruin their credit, so they sell the house for a loss and bank pays the difference. Well, it's way more complicated than that, so I suggest looking it up on google, those people out there can explain it WAY better than me.

[jhlcomp]

1) Are there areas to avoid in Weston (due to road noise, unsavory neighbors, etc.)?

There is an area that straddles 595 and 75 that can be quite noisy. Apart from that the noise level isn't bad - not like living in the country though.

2) Is there a reason why some of these apparently nice homes are selling so cheap (besides the obvious answer that SoFlo sucks and everyone is moving to the Carolinas)?

I want to correct some of the really horrible things that people have written about South Florida. Given it has its moments, but what area doesn't. You wont't find cleaner streets, better maintained areas than anywhere in this country. No kidding.
Homes are selling so inexpensively because we are ground zero for the housing market. Then you have to take a look at the house - perhaps there is a good reason why the price is so low - but mostly, people either need to move, can not afford the home, etc.
3) What's the range one could one expect to pay in maintenace fees for living in one of the gated communities? I know it varies by lot size, so let's say a 4/2 with 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space)

It really varies. If you are on the Bonaventure side where there are older single family homes homes such as ours, it is zero. Yes. As to the gated communities I hesitate to comment, but figure about what $200 per month depending on the community.
4) Any lessons learned you wish to share?

I have lived here for over 20 years and I wouldn't go anywhere else. Of course, I tend to change my tone after a hurricane. :-) If you have children, which I do not, then you really need to speak to a parent - gangs are on the rise down here.

Also, once you have identified the home you wish to buy, ensure that is has a hip roof and not gable as it will drive up you home insurance. You should know that home owners insurance has taken a massive roller coaster ride since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Ours went from $3200 one year to $9000 the next year. We got our house inspected last year and the bill was $2300. Amazing isn't it?. We are now installing hurrican impact windows.

5) Do you think prices will still be going down in a year, or is now the time to buy?

Prices are still going down. I believe you will see real opportunities for at least the next year if not beyond.


Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[Lost in Translation]

Originally Posted by acegolfer

I just bought a 4/2 1940 sqft property in Weston for under 400k. The reason why so many homes SEEM to priced low is because of unadvertised short sales. I gave a list of 20 homes to my realtor for showing. Out of 20, 14 were short sales. Most of these are advertised as regular sales but short sale is indicated in the broker's remark. Unfortunately, general public can't see these remarks. Sp you need to ask your realtor to verify one at a time.

As for maintenance, here's what I think I have to pay. I'm moving in in 2 weeks.

1. tax: roughly 2% of purchase price
2. insurance: $2k/yr if built after 1996, $3,500 without any windstorm mitigation discounts
3. HOA: little more than $100/month
4. water bill includes $45 mandatory cable TV fees
5. lawn mowing: $50/month (if necessary)
6. pool cleaning: $70/month (if necessary)
7. termite control: ?

Good luck finding a property. I have been following Weston market for 5 months. PM me, if you need more infor.

Thank you - very informative! Insurance and HOA fees seem to be reasonable, which was my biggest concern. I already knew more or less what I'd pay for taxes, so the additional info is much appreciated.

By the way, do you think the short-sale trend will continue to drive prices down, or are we seeing the end of the downward spiral?

[Lost in Translation]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback:

I guess another question to ask everyone here is why are prices falling in Weston faster than in other places like Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale proper, etc.? I mean foreclosures and short-sales are happening everywhere in So Flo, but prices don't seem to budging in other areas as they are in Weston.

At least that's my perception - I could be wrong!