Miami Beach Real Estate Guide / Help for Buyers and Sellers

Guidelines for Buying Miami Beach


Let’s say everything is a GO! You have found the perfect Miami Beach home. You know you can afford it and it is actually priced below what you expected to pay. What a bargain! Yes there are bargains to be found in Miami Beach. At this point it is fine to put in an offer on the property but only with a well-planned contingency. Of course, it the home is going to be financed, the lender will want a Home Inspection before agreeing to lend money on the property. However, you need to protect yourself by making an offer SUBJECT TO a clean bill of health from the Home Inspector of your choice. This kind of a contingency gives you an out if the inspector finds a problem with the roof, or foundation or other structural problem that was not apparent to the seller or to your agent. This does not mean you will not buy the house but you will have a good reason to renegotiate the price with the seller.


Miami Beach Real Estate Title Insurance


A Miami Beach mortgage policy that insures the lender remains in effect until the loan is paid off. An owner’s policy insures the buyer and remains in effect as long as the owner or the owner’s heirs own the property. An owner policy may cost a little more than a lender policy. For example, an owner policy may run somewhere around $3.50 per $1000.00 of home value while a policy for lender protection may run in the neighborhood of $2.50 per $1000.00 of home value.

The Miami Beach real estate Title Company searches and examines public records to determine if any problems with the title exist. Your real estate agents works very closely with the Title Company to help clear up any past clouds that may affect the transfer of title to the new owner.


Miami Beach: Art and Science


Buying a piece of Miami Beach real estate is a science but buying your Miami Beach home is an art. The science part involves getting the legal and financial parts down while the art is finding the Miami Beach property that you’ll be happy with.

The total universe of possibilities within the universe of Miami Beach real estate is quite diverse but narrowing your search ahead of time will help keep things in perspective.

In general there are two phases to any Miami Beach real estate search. In the first phase, you get a feel for the different areas and an idea of what is being offered at what price. In the second phase, you search for the Miami Beach real estate that meets all or most of your specifications.


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.

Miami Beach APPEAL


A large part of the appeal of the real estate market in any area is the architecture or the style of the homes themselves. The appeal of Miami Beach is its appropriateness to the region in terms of style, history and weather conditions.

Miami Beach DEPRECIATION


Depreciation is the loss of value of a building or an asset due to wear, tear, and aging. Depreciation cannot be applied to your personal residence unless you use your Miami Beach in some way for business. If you do depreciate a part of your home, let's say a home office, there are tax consequences you must consider when you sell your home.