Miami Beach Real Estate Guide / Help for Buyers and Sellers


5 Steps To Sell Your Miami Beach Home


Selling your Miami Beach home is a process that involves five basic steps. These steps are Preparing the Home for Sale, Finding a Buyer, Qualifying the Buyer, Negotiating the Terms, Handling all the Details needed to finalize the sale. If you list your home your real estate agent takes responsibility for each step. If you sell on your own, it is your responsibility to complete each step.

Qualifying the Buyer for your Miami Beach Property


Either you or your agent will want to weed out potential buyers who cannot afford to purchase your Miami Beach home. Items to investigate include the buyer’s debt and credit history, current income and employment, the availability of cash for a down payment, the time the buyer needs before closing on the home and the buyer’s level of interest in your home as compared to other properties.


Miami Beach Home Inspection


The purpose of a thorough home inspection is to ensure that Miami Beach home buyers know exactly what a home’s condition is prior to completing the transaction. A good Miami Beach home inspection should include an evaluation of the foundation, framing, roofing, site drainage, attic, plumbing, heating, electrical system, fireplaces, chimneys, pavement, fences, stairs, decks, patios, doors, windows, walls, ceilings, floors and built-in appliances. All significant or pertinent findings should be reported in writing to the prospective Miami Beach homebuyer. The home inspection report gives the Miami Beach homebuyer the information he or she needs to determine whether to buy the property as is or to ask the seller to make repairs.

In most cases, when an Miami Beach homebuyer makes repair requests, sellers usually agree to some if not all of the conditions.

Miami Beach Real Estate Title Insurance


Buying a new home is the single largest financial investment for most families but there are risks. What if the seller doesn’t really own the home? What if there are mortgages, judgements or liens against the property? What if the property taxes have not been paid for several years? Miami Beach real estate Title insurance protects you against these types of risks and against the risks of human error. It is your basic home ownership protection.

Miami Beach Title insurance protects you against future losses arising out of events that have happened in the past. Unlike other types of insurance, title insurance is paid when the policy is issued and is good for the life of the policy. The premium required is based on the amount of the sale or the mortgage.


Buying a Miami Beach Fixer-Upper


This, of course, depends on the condition of the Miami Beach home and the estimated cost of the repairs you must make. Miami Beach real estate in a good neighborhood that is priced about 25% lower than others that are in good shape may be a good deal if it simply needs cosmetic or minor structural repairs. If the house is a gut job, that is the entire inside will be torn out and rebuilt the 25% rule may work and may not so estimate your costs as closely as possible.

Shopping by neighborhood makes good sense when considering the purchase of a fixer upper. As a buyer, the more you know about the Miami Beach homes in a particular area the better able you are when it comes time to judge whether or not a home your are considering meets the financial parameters you are looking for.


Does Your Miami Beach Have Curb Appeal?


From cottages to castles some Miami Beach have so much curb appeal that passersby can’t help but stop and admire them. When visiting property with great curb appeal, prospective buyers often experience 'Love at First Sight' and this disposes them to love the entire home before they even walk through the front door.

Miami Beach curb appeal is the result of a perfect blend of architectural style, landscaping, up-keep and color choices. Money alone does not guarantee outstanding curb appeal. I’ve seen very expensive Area homes with costly landscaping that fail to appeal and I’ve seen very modest priced Area homes with outstanding curb appeal. In part, the landscaping aspect of curb appeal is a matter of personal taste.