Bob Bishopric » Buying a Home in South Florida

New High Pines Sale–the Real Story

Bob Bishopric — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:21:41 +0000

7420 SW 53rd Place closed yesterday for $600,000. This was on the market for just eight days at an asking price of $699,000. At $600,000 this translates to just under $300 per square foot for this 2015 sq ft 3-bedroom, 3-bath 1947 High Pines classic home. It was not improved, but was very nicely appointed, complete with working fireplace and a 12,500 square foot lot. But here’s the real story. Three years ago the owner tried to sell it herself and was asking over $800,000. At the time I talked to her and suggested that she could realistically expect no more than $750,000, if that. She thought very little of that and subsequently watched the prices decline all around. And now got much less than she could have had she priced her property correctly three years ago. But make no mistake, this is a good price for a property in High Pines in this market. I’m sure the neighbors will be glad to see that 7420 SW 53rd Place went for this price. If you’d like to find out about easy-living High Pines/South Miami, you can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com.

Buying a South Florida foreclosure? You probably don’t need condo association approval.

Bob Bishopric — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:25:29 +0000

Condo Association Paperwork Can Be Frustrating

I’m not a lawyer, so please don’t take this as gospel. But I did call my attorney friend, Michael Rehr, who specializes in condominium law, when I was having trouble with an association over approval for a buyer. Down here in South Florida we often have a lot of bureaucratic difficulty with condo associations. I’m in the middle of a cash deal on a foreclosure property in Homestead. The association was demanding that the buyer provide a social security number for a background check. But the buyer is not a U.S. citizen and doesn’t have one. The association said sorry, no number no deal. In frustration I called my attorney friend. He said that almost all Declaration of Condominium documents have an exceptions clause in the Transfer of Property section that allows a first mortgagee who acquires title by foreclosure to proceed without approval from the association. Here’s a quote from the condo docs in question: “Exceptions. The foregoing provisions of this Section shall not apply to a transfer or purchase by an Institutional First Mortgagee or other approved mortgagee which acquires its title as the result of owning a mortgage upon the Unit concerned, and this shall be so whether the title is acquired by deed from the mortgagor or its successor in title or through foreclosure proceedings….”

So we filled out the association questionnaire completely, sans social security number, and sent it along with a copy of the condo docs section regarding transfers and approvals to the property management company and the sellers title company. We’re proceeding with closing.

It’s neat the things you learn in the real estate business. If you’d like to learn more about foreclosure opportunities in South Florida you can reach me at 305-401-8058 or bishopric.r@ewm.com.

SELECT SOUTH FLORIDA CITIES HOUSE SALES STATISTICS

Bob Bishopric — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:13:05 +0000

Here are some current house sales statistics for selected municipalities that I am interested in. (I either have listings there or have sold there recently. I try to keep current on the basics so that when someone asks me a question, I have an answer ready.) The statistics below on based on the last ninety days as of this writing and are grouped by city. (Not good for a formal price opinion, but good for a general idea of things.) For an accurate methodology on pricing your home, see my article here. These are the main variables people want to know:

How many houses have sold in my area recently? What’s the average list and sale price? How long does it take to sell a house here?

The following sets will give you a snapshot of six different South Florida areas. As you can see, Homestead, the capital of foreclosures is very active and price depressed. The percent of list price is the difference between what was asked and what houses sold for. You can read my article about foreclosures here.

COCONUT GROVE

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      14
MEDIAN LIST PRICE         $824K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE        $759K
% OF LIST PRICE              92%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET   139

CORAL GABLES

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      72
MEDIAN LIST PRICE         $612K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE        $560K
% OF LIST PRICE              91%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET 138

HOMESTEAD

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      140
MEDIAN LIST PRICE         $170K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE        $162K
% OF LIST PRICE              96%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET 102

PALMETTO BAY

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      38
MEDIAN LIST PRICE        $458K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE       $412K
% OF LIST PRICE              90%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET 126

PINECREST

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      26
MEDIAN LIST PRICE        $925K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE       $865K
% OF LIST PRICE              94%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET 126

SOUTH MIAMI

SINGLE FAMILY SOLD      13
MEDIAN LIST PRICE         $450K
MEDIAN SALE PRICE        $447K
% OF LIST PRICE              99%
AVG DAYS ON MARKET 159