Miami Real Estate Market (Kendall, Sarasota: condos, mortgage, appliances)

[suzycue]

As we have heard and read in newspapers, the market is slow in lot's of places....Can anyone share their experiences in selling their home in the Kendall area? Did you seek a realtor? Since the market is slow, what incentives have you offered to sell your home? I will be putting my home on the market next month and I would like to know other people's experiences so far to get myself mentally ready for this crazy market... I was going to try to sell on my own, but after researching thoroughly the market, I said HELL NO! Am I wrong??

[bale002]

The best incentive is a price that is in line with real people's affordability based on income from real productive work.

I hope this old-fashioned formula works for you too.

Buon lavoro!

P.S. I don't read newspapers, or watch television.

[at7815]

I own a condo in Kendall and am sort of in the same process. Wondering whether to do by owner or realtor. Here are my thoughts - set up an appt w/ a realtor so you can do a comparative market analysis and figure out how much you would list the house w/ them for, as well as negotiate their fee. Then take your time to figure out what your "bottom line" is as far as price and leave some room for negotiation (contribution towards closing costs, etc. if such a discussion should come up w/ any prospective buyers) then I would put up a sign of "by owner" and maybe list it on craigslist or better yet, the flyer. Give it a couple of weeks and if it moves too slow or you're disatisfied somehow, list it with the realtor. You could save the 5 to 6% listing fee.

I've given you advise based on what I'm planning on doing. I would also make sure the house is impeccable when you show it to the realtor and when you start showing it to buyers.

Good luck!

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by bale002

The best incentive is a price that is in line with real people's affordability based on income from real productive work.

I hope this old-fashioned formula works for you too.

Buon lavoro!

P.S. I don't read newspapers, or watch television.

If this was the case, you could buy a starter home in Miami for 90,000.00 This formula only works for American cities without a free flow of foreign capital. The American dream left Miami sometime in the 80's, tried to come back and was eliminated after 2002. Time will tell if it ever returns.

[doggiebus]

I too am in Kendall, my neighbor is trying the by owner route for a month to see what happens. Then she plans on going with a realtor if nothing pans out. Just a thought if you are not in a rush. Someone once told me if you are in a rush to sell give your realtor an incentive like a higher commision rate if he sells it in 3 months or two months. This way he will bring more people by your place than he might usually do.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by tallrick

If this was the case, you could buy a starter home in Miami for 90,000.00 This formula only works for American cities without a free flow of foreign capital. The American dream left Miami sometime in the 80's, tried to come back and was eliminated after 2002. Time will tell if it ever returns.

Excellent, excellent rejoinder, tallrick, kudos!

[suzycue]

Originally Posted by at7815

I own a condo in Kendall and am sort of in the same process. Wondering whether to do by owner or realtor. Here are my thoughts - set up an appt w/ a realtor so you can do a comparative market analysis and figure out how much you would list the house w/ them for, as well as negotiate their fee. Then take your time to figure out what your "bottom line" is as far as price and leave some room for negotiation (contribution towards closing costs, etc. if such a discussion should come up w/ any prospective buyers) then I would put up a sign of "by owner" and maybe list it on craigslist or better yet, the flyer. Give it a couple of weeks and if it moves too slow or you're disatisfied somehow, list it with the realtor. You could save the 5 to 6% listing fee.

I've given you advise based on what I'm planning on doing. I would also make sure the house is impeccable when you show it to the realtor and when you start showing it to buyers.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I think we are going to need a little more help though in this slow market. I know a very good realtor that has a lot of experience in this type of market. We have already met with her and seeing the comparables of my area was SCARY!!!. She has a lot of integrity and credibility, which is hard to find in Miami....there are a lot of BAD realtors out there!!! And I am talking from experience....I think if you have someone you can trust, go for it!...They will save you lot's of headaches.... I really wanted to save some money, but I live in a townhome built in the 1980's, and with all new developments being constructed all over the Kendall area, it is going to be really hard to sell on my own…..Also, these new developments are offering LOT’s of incentives to buyers like paying their closing cost, paying their mortgage for certain amount of time, etc, etc….There is a lot of competition out there where buyers can take their sweet time in searching for their home and can negotiate a better price…...

Now if it was a house, maybe not so much, but I live in a complex with association fee's, side by side neighbors, one designated parking and one guest etc...this makes it more difficult to market on your own…....This weekend I am going to fix up certain details like paint, fix here and there, decorate, etc...I am lucky that my home is in very good condition, it is decorated contemporary stile, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 1,850 SF, big living and dining room, his/hers walkin closets, big masterbedroom, roman tub, new appliances, etc….I am hoping people fall in love with my home like I did

When I was a buyer a couple of years ago, you had to fight for the house you wanted!!! People paid more money because there were so many people in line for that home….It was CRAZY….go figure now....All I want is to sell and move out of here!!

[anjaflorida]

I am a Realtor in the Sarasota area. The price is certainly an incentive, but fact is that the supply is higher than the demand and we have seen homes with ridiculous low prices that linger on the market as well. Try to find a hard working realtor who is not just sticking a sign in your front yard and submits a listing on the MLS, but who actually works hard to find and draw the attention of the limited number of buyers to your home. They are certainly out there. All the best of luck!

[at7815]

Originally Posted by anjaflorida

I am a Realtor in the Sarasota area. The price is certainly an incentive, but fact is that the supply is higher than the demand and we have seen homes with ridiculous low prices that linger on the market as well. Try to find a hard working realtor who is not just sticking a sign in your front yard and submits a listing on the MLS, but who actually works hard to find and draw the attention of the limited number of buyers to your home. They are certainly out there. All the best of luck!

If I may ask, how do you suggest we go about looking for a good realtor??? Meet with a few and then decide who to list with???

Thanks in advance!

And to the OP - it sounds like your condo is really nice but also big so probably priced as high as the new condos (by this I'm not implying that you are asking too much $ for your place, but simply that it is probably not in the 100's). There are a lot of incentives with new construction but the association fees are quite high. Best of luck though!!! I really do hope you find a buyer and the transaction goes as smooth as possible

[MananaLand]

these new developments are offering LOT’s of incentives to buyers like paying their closing cost, paying their mortgage for certain amount of time, etc

LOL, How about this for an incentive: LOWER PRICES!