Facts About Miami Beach Homes / Buy and Sell Wisely


Miami Beach. How Much Should You Offer?


Comparable sales figures is a good guide for homeowners who are pricing their Miami Beach and a good guide for prospective buyers. Make sure you compare homes that are similar to the one your are considering...the same neighborhood, the same size, the same condition. Also, make sure you compare sales within the past six months.

Ask your REALTOR for a comparison of the list price and sales price of comparable Miami Beach sales. This information may give you a trend and a guideline for your offer. For example, maybe homes in the area have consistently listed for more than they actually sold for. If that is the case, find out what percentage of reduction occurred. Use this information as a basis for your offer.


Bitten by the Miami Beach Home Improvement Bug?


Unless money simply isn’t an issue, the financial implications of remodeling are definitely something to consider. When it comes time to sell your Miami Beach home, the new buyer will usually not pay for over-improvements. This means that if you have the smallest home in an area of larger, more expensive homes, home improvements may make very good financial sense. However, if you already have the largest, most expensive home in Miami Beach, more improvements may make you more comfortable but may not bring you a good financial return. You may find that it is financially wiser to sell and move to a different home that already has the features you want to add.

Buying a Miami Beach Fixer-Upper


Finding the right Miami Beach fixer upper often involves finding a seller who is in financial difficulty and wants to sell in order to protect their credit or to avoid foreclosure. Various government agencies such as VA, HUD, IRS and others offer homes in foreclosure for sale and these homes can make excellent fixer-uppers. Bank owned properties known as REOs, real estate owned, offer good opportunities since financial institutions want to eliminate their real estate holdings by selling foreclosures quickly.

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The Benefits of Selling Miami Beach


As you know, you are allowed to sell your Miami Beach principal residence once every two years and exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) of the gain of the sale on your Federal income tax. Please note: This is not a once in a lifetime tax savings and you don’t have to be any certain age or buy a more expensive property. If you meet the two-year residence test you can sell your principal residence every two years if you are so inclined and the market cooperates. But this tax saving does not affect rental property unless you convert the rental to your personal residence, live in it for two years and then sell it.


What Makes Miami Beach Sell?


Books have been written about this topic but to be concise, successful sale depends on six factors: Price; Terms; Location; The Home’s Condition; The Home’s Accessibility and the Marketing exposure the Miami Beach receives.

Price is what a willing seller and a willing buyer agree on. Price is determined by the current market, which fluctuates causing home values and prices to fluctuate. Often Miami Beach that does not sell is over-priced for the current market. Terms can vary as well. Some owners want payment in full, some are willing to carry a second.

Location is a major consideration in pricing and desirability for Miami Beach. Has the neighborhood gone to pot or does it look like a street at Disneyland? Are there open spaces nearby or is the home located in the middle of commercial district?


Miami Beach DOWNTURNS


Real estate markets are affected by the economy as a whole and in turn, can affect the general economy. Of course, a buyer’s dream is to buy Miami Beach when prices are low and sell when prices are high. However, real estate is not exactly like other forms of investment and most people become comfortable and attached to their homes and are not interested in selling just because the market is right.